Tracka, a subsidiary of BudgIT, has said that Nigeria allocated N732 billion on vague empowerment projects higher than the N646.5 billion allocated to health projects in the 2024 national budget.

Ayomide Ladipo, the Head of Tracka disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

Tracka maintained that Nigeria’s empowerment projects were vague and challenging to track due to their nature.

According to Tracka, the huge allocation for empowerment projects would have been channeled to curb the gap in Nigeria’s health sector having the second-highest child mortality rate in the World.

Tracka alleged that empowerment projects were used as a funnel to siphon public resources.

It noted that the National Assembly has 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in the 2024 budget.

Further analysis of Tracka’s report also showed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion were allocated to agencies outside their mandate.

Accordingly, Tracka asked anti-graft agencies in Nigeria to probe these anomalies in the 2024 budget to forestall diversion, misappropriation, and embezzlement.

“Tracka maintains that empowerment projects are vague and challenging to track due to their nature. They are also used as a funnel to transfer public resources to party loyalists, resulting in the misuse of public funds.

“In the 2024 Federal Government budget, there are 4,440 empowerment projects. Previously, empowerment projects were limited to constituency projects, but over the years, they have gradually seeped into capital projects through insertions by the National Assembly. For instance, the National Assembly inserted 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in the 2024 budget.

“Tracka identifies this as a problematic trend, considering the huge infrastructure gap and budget deficits the nation is grappling with.

“Further analysis also showed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion were allocated to agencies outside their mandate. An example is the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) – ERGP20241489 – allocated N5 billion for the Procurement and Distribution of Official Vehicles to Selected Traditional Rulers in the Six Geo-Political Zones in Nigeria (Multiple Lots). Another is the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NiOMR) – ERGP20245718 – allocated N2.32 billion to construct a 3.5km Road from Methodist Church Ibu to the Eri River,” the organisation said.

BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo commenting on Tracka’s discovery said, “The implications of assigning projects to agencies outside of their mandate are that it undermines monitoring, evaluation, and the sustainability of these projects.

“These agencies lack the expertise and personnel to ensure quality service delivery for these projects, leading to under-delivery and a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money and scarce resources.”

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget into law in January this year.

The Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has said that with the right policies implementation, Nigeria’s economy will be revamped in a few months.

Dangote expressed this optimism at the inauguration of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, PECC, by President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in Abuja.

He said the public and private sectors would work together to reposition Nigeria’s economy.

“This is where the public and private sector will work together. We will advise the government on the type of policies needed to revamp the economy.

“Our economy can be turned around in a few months. Things will soon change. We will work to make sure that things change for the better.”

His assurance comes amid his recent outburst on the Country’s high interest rate which stood at 26.25 percent and its impact on businesses.

The African richest man had also blamed cabals in the oil gas sector for frustrating the full-scale kickoff of his 650,000 barrel per day Lagos-based refinery.

Meanwhile, Dangote has insisted that his $19 billion refinery will commence supply of Premium Motor Spirit, in Mid-July, 2024.

The naira further weakened against the dollar at the foreign market on Wednesday.

FMDQ data showed that the naira slumped to N1512.61 against the dollar on Wednesday from N1509.45 on Tuesday.

This represents a N3.16 loss against the dollar compared to N1509.45 traded on Tuesday.

Similarly, at the parallel foreign exchange market, the naira depreciated to N1520 per dollar on Wednesday from N1515 the previous day.

The development comes as foreign currency transaction turnover dropped to $114.91 million on Wednesday from $213.31 million on Tuesday, according to FMDQ data.

The dollar rose Tuesday and Asia equities were mixed as investors weighed the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency after last week’s poor debate performance by incumbent Joe Biden.

Speculation about a second term for the Republican rose on the Supreme Court’s ruling that all former leaders had “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for “official acts” taken while in office but could still face criminal penalties for “unofficial acts”.

The decision comes as Trump faces criminal charges over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, but that trial had been put on hold while judges considered his immunity claims.

Bets on a second term for the controversial tycoon rose after Thursday’s debate, in which he was widely considered to have come out on top after Biden struggled through answers and stumbled over his lines.

That led to calls for him to step down due to worries over his mental state, but Democrats have pushed back and are reportedly seeking a vote next month that would formally make him the party candidate for November’s poll.

“Those two headlines, and given the reaction to President Biden’s first debate, continue to suggest a Trump presidency is looking more likely at this stage,” Tapas Strickland at National Australia Bank said in a commentary.

Observers said the prospect of another Trump presidency fuelled talk of tax cuts and a fresh spike in inflation, pushing up yields and denting hopes for interest rate cuts.

That, in turn, boosted the dollar against its main peers, pushing back to 38-year highs against the yen, putting Japanese authorities on alert after they previously warned they were ready to intervene in forex markets to support the unit.

The euro was also a little softer, though it managed to hold most of the gains made Monday in a relief rally that came after the far-right National Rally (NR) looked unlikely to win an absolute majority in French legislative elections as had been feared.

President Emmanuel Macron and his allies are now involved in intense campaigning and horse-trading ahead of the second round of polls Sunday as they look to deny NR an absolute majority and control of government.

However, Luca Santos at ACY Securities said: “Based on current results, the two most probable outcomes are a hung parliament without an absolute majority or an RN cohabitation government.

“The high number of constituencies won by the RN, coupled with tight races between left and centre candidates, complicates strategic withdrawals and heightens the risk of an RN cohabitation government, which would be less favourable for the euro.

“Consequently, the euro’s current relief rally is unlikely to persist ahead of the second election round.”

Asian stock markets were mixed, with Hong Kong enjoying a rare surge after a recent run of losses, while Tokyo piled on more than one per cent to end above 40,000 points for the first time since April.

The Naira weakened against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Monday.

FMDQ data showed that the Naira closed at N1508.99 against the dollar from N1505.30 recorded last Friday.

This represents a marginal N3.69 appreciation against the dollar compared to the N1505.30 traded on Friday.

However, at the parallel market, the Naira strengthened to N1510 per dollar on Monday from N1515 traded at the close of work last week.

This represents N5 gain against the dollar at the commencement of trading on Monday.

The figure showed that the difference between both FX markets stood at N1.31.

The mixed trading sentiments at both foreign exchange markets amid an increase in Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves which hit $34.14 billion last week Friday.

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria ordered all banks to deposit all excess FX to its branches in Lagos and Abuja.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released new guidelines for Deposit Money Banks regarding the deposit of foreign currency notes.

This directive was detailed in a circular issued by the Director of Currency Operations, Mohammed Solaja, and posted on the bank’s website on Friday.

The CBN specified that each bank is allowed a maximum daily deposit of $10 million in USD 100 and USD 50 notes.

These deposits can only be made at the CBN branches in Abuja and Lagos.

In the circular with reference number COD/DIR/INT/CIR/001/016, the apex bank directed that DMBs must notify the CBN in writing of their intention to make such deposits at least three working days in advance.

Additionally, for smaller denominations of $20 notes and below, the maximum daily deposit is set at $1 million.

“To deepen the foreign exchange market, boost liquidity, and attain convergence in the exchange rates of the parallel and official markets, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved that DMBs may deposit their excess foreign currency notes with Lagos and Abuja branches of the bank.

“The approval is a response to the increasing demand by DMBs to deposit their forex cash with CBN for onward credit to their off-shore accounts with correspondent banks”, CBN said.

Tech giant, Apple is reportedly facing a hefty $38billion fine for breaching European regulator rules over the way it runs the App Store.

According to Mail Online, European Union regulators on Monday levelled their first charges under the bloc´s new digital competition rulebook, accusing the tech giant of preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store.

The European Commission said that according to the preliminary findings of its investigation, the restrictions that the iPhone maker imposes on developers using its mobile App Store had breached the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The company is now facing a fine of 10 per cent of their global revenue for 2023, which came to a staggering $383billion, due to the breach.

The DMA is a sweeping set of regulations aimed at preventing tech ‘gatekeepers’ from cornering digital markets under threat of heavy financial penalties.

The commission opened an initial round of investigations after it took effect in March, including a separate ongoing probe into whether Apple is doing enough to allow iPhone users to easily change web browsers, and other cases involving Google and Meta.

Under the DMA’s provisions, app developers must be allowed to inform customers of cheaper purchasing options and direct them to those offers.

The commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said Apple’s App Store rules ‘prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content.’

Apple now has a chance to respond to the findings and the commission must make a final decision on Apple´s compliance by March 2025.

The commission kept up the pressure on Apple, simultaneously opening a new investigation into contractual terms that it’s offering app developers.

Regulators zeroed in on a ‘core technology fee’ of 54 cents that Apple is now charging developers for each time their apps are downloaded and installed from outside Apple’s App Store.

The DMA’s provisions open the way for alternative app stores to give consumers more choices.

The commission said the new terms are a ‘condition to access some of the new features enabled by the DMA.

Rivals had criticized the fee, saying it would deter many existing free apps, which don’t pay any fees, from jumping ship,’ the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, said on social media.

‘We are concerned Apple´s new business model makes it too hard for app developers to operate as alternative marketplaces & reach their end users on iOS,’ Vestager added.

Apple Inc. said over the past several months, it ‘has made a number of changes to comply with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission.’

‘We are confident our plan complies with the law, and estimate more than 99% of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new business terms we created,’ the company said in a statement.

‘All developers doing business in the EU on the App Store have the opportunity to utilize the capabilities that we have introduced, including the ability to direct app users to the web to complete purchases at a very competitive rate.’

The company said it will ‘continue to listen and engage’ with the commission.

The share market value of Fidelity Bank Plc on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) dropped by N14.4 billion on Thursday amid the opening of an N127.1 billion rights issue and public offer.

At the close of trading, the bank’s stock, which opened at N10.85, lost 45k or 4.15 per cent to close at N10.40 per share, following sell pressure from investors.

Fidelity Bank earlier opened its shares offer for a rights issue and public offer through a combined subscription worth N127.1 billion to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recapitalisation directive.

The acceptance and application lists for the rights issue and public offer, which opened on June 20, will close on July 29.

Under the rights issue, 3.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each were offered in the ratio of one new ordinary share for every 10 ordinary shares held as of Jan. 5, 2024, at N9.25 per share, totalling N29.6 billion.

For the Public Offer, 10 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each were offered to the general investing public at N9.75 per share, totalling N97.5 billion.

However, Fidelity Bank sold 162.1 million shares worth N1.73 billion, compared to 1.1 billion shares valued at N11.3 billion traded in the previous session. Thus, its total market capitalisation on the Exchange stands at N332.93 billion.

Meanwhile, overall, the NGX stock market closed flat, as the market capitalisation, which opened at N56.478 trillion, gained 0.002 per cent or one billion Naira to close at N56.479 trillion.

The All-Share Index also advanced slightly by 0.002 per cent or two points to settle at 99,842.94, compared to 99,840.95 recorded on Wednesday.

As a result, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return rose to 33.53 per cent.

Gains in Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Unilever Nigeria, Guinness, Julius Berger, Transnational Corporation, and other advanced equities dragged the market performance up.

Market breadth also closed positive, with 35 gainers and 17 losers.

On the gainers’ table, Champion Breweries led 34 other advanced equities with a 9.88 per cent increase to close at N3.56 per share.

Transcorp Hotel led 16 other declined equities on the losers’ table with a 10 per cent decrease to close at N90 per share.

Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 53.64 per cent.

A total of 1.3 million shares valued at N25.33 billion were exchanged in 8,364 deals, compared to 1.38 billion shares valued at N16.48 billion traded in 9,899 deals posted previously.

FBN Holdings led the activity table in volume and value with 871.08 million shares worth N19.12 billion.

The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi has said the service recorded a daily all-time high revenue of N58.5bn on June 13, 2024.

Adeniyi disclosed this on Wednesday in a press conference to mark his one-year in office.

Upon Adeniyi’s appointment as CGC, the service’s revenue surged to N4.49 trillion compared to 2.58 trillion recorded the previous year.

According to him, the average monthly revenue collection of the service increased by 70.13 percent to reach N343 billion,
compared to the N202 billion.

He noted that in the first quarter of 2024, the service revenue collection rose by a substantial 122.35 percent.

Adeniyi attributed the revenue increase to its N15 billion recovery through the Revenue Review Performance Recovery and N2.79 billion recovered from the 90-day window for the regularisation of the documents of uncustomed vehicles and other initiatives.

“Notably, there was a substantial 122.35 percent rise in revenue collection during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in the previous year.

“It is also worthy to note that on June 13, 2024, NCS recorded a daily AII-Time-High of N 58.5 billion in revenue collection”, he stated.

FBN Holdings Plc has confirmed the appointment of Olusegun Alebiosu as substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd; one of its flagship subsidiaries.

Acting Company Secretary of the Holdings, Adewale Arogundade, made the announcement in a statement sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Wednesday in Lagos.

Mr Arogundade said that the approval of the substantive appointment of Mr Alebiosu by the bank’s Board of Directors was subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The board of FBN Holdings on April 21 appointed Mr Alebiosu as the acting managing director/CEO of First Bank.

His appointment followed a sudden resignation of a former Managing Director/CEO of the bank, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, effective April 20, ahead of his official retirement.

Mr Arogundade said that the bank’s board also approved the appointment of Ini Ebong as the Deputy Managing Director of FirstBank, subject to the approval of the CBN.

The company secretary stated that First Bank further approved the appointment of Alao Olatunde-Olaifa as non-executive director of FirstBank, subject to the approval of the CBN.

Before his appointment, Mr Alebiosu was previously Executive Director, Chief Risk Officer and Executive Compliance Officer of the bank, from January 2022 until April 20, 2024.

He was, before then, the Group Executive/ Chief Risk Officer of the bank since 2016.

Mr Alebiosu brings to the executive management of First Bank over 28 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry with cross-functional exposure to credit risk management, financial planning and control.

He also has experience in credit and marketing, trade, corporate and commercial banking, agriculture financing, oil and gas, transportation, including aviation and shipping and project financing.

Prior to joining First Bank in 2016, Mr Alebiosu served as Chief Risk Officer at Coronation Merchant Bank Ltd., Chief Credit Risk Officer at African Development Bank Group and Group Head, Credit Policy, and Deputy Chief Credit Risk Officer at United Bank For Africa Plc.

Mr Alebiosu is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Government.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management, and also a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos.

Mr Alebiosu also obtained a master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

He is a member of various professional bodies namely: Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA), Associate, Nigeria Institute of Management (ANIM), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Member, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.

On his part, Mr Ebong, prior to his appointment, was the Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking of First Bank, from January 2022.

He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s treasurer from 2011 to 2016.

Mr Ebong brings to FirstBank over 20 years’ extensive banking experience, working through a wide variety of trading roles across most treasury products, asset and liability management, treasury sales and marketing, as well as treasury risk management.

Before joining FirstBank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited; the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital.

He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Business Head, and has passion for market development.

Also, Mr Alao-Olaifa has extensive experience cutting across the corporate finance spectrum, including capital raising, deal structuring, debt restructuring, acquisition planning, project financing and asset management.

He is currently the Group Chief Financial Officer/Strategy and Principal Investment at Leadway Holdings with responsibilities covering strategy, corporate finance and principal investment across the group and geographies.

He also sits on the Boards of C&I Leasing Plc and Leadway Pensure PFA.

Mr Alao-Olaifa had previously worked with Lionstone Group as an Associate, Investment Banking and Fidelity Bank Plc as an Assistant Manager in the Corporate Banking division, where he managed blue chip clients.

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the Africa regional manager of Binance Holdings Limited, Nadeem Anjarwalla, against the federal government.

In a short ruling on Wednesday, the judge dismissed the suit against the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for lack of diligent prosecution.

Justice Ekwo stated that on March 28, which was the date of the previous sitting in the matter, Anjarwalla’s counsel, Tonye Krukrubo, (SAN), had sought leave to withdraw his appearance in the matter, and the application was granted.

He said the matter was adjourned until Wednesday for mention but no lawyer appeared for the applicant (Anjarwalla).

Anjarwalla and his colleague, Tigran Gambaryan, had filed separate human rights enforcement suits, against the NSA and EFCC, seeking an order to release them from detention.

The two Crypto-exchange executives, in the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24, sued the ONSA and EFCC as 1st and 2nd respondents.

Kukrubo, whose appearance on Wednesday was solely for Gambaryan, moved a motion seeking to amend his client-originating process.

EFCC’s lawyer, Olarewanju Adeola, however, opposed the motion.

Justice Ekwo granted Krukrubo’s request to amend his application. He held that parties, by law, are entitled to amend their processes before judgment.

“I am minded to grant this amendment,” he said.

The court, however, fined Gambaryan, the sum of N50,000, to be paid to the EFCC, for joining issues in the matter.

Justice Ekwo held that the fine must be paid before the next adjourned date.

He fixed July 9, for the hearing of Gambaryan’s suit, following the hearing of the preliminary objection and the substantive matter.

The duo, in their fundamental rights enforcement suits in separate applications, sought a declaration that their detention and the seizure of their international travel passport contravened Section 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended).

They claimed the act amounted to a violation of their fundamental right to personal liberty as guaranteed by the constitution, among others.

Anjarwalla and Gambaryan, are both US citizens working for Binance, a crypto exchange platform.

The duo and their company are facing charges bordering on money laundering with the EFCC and tax evasion with the Federal Inland Revenue.

When they were first arrested, they were kept in the custody of the NSA, however, Anjarwalla, absconded from lawful custody on March 22, 2024, to Kenya.

Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has disclosed that various leakages in international border trade between Nigeria and Cameroon result in losses exceeding $15 million.

He lamented that the burgeoning trade at the Mfum International Border does not yield any meaningful revenues to the state tax net. He advised that the substantial trans-African trade through the border be closely monitored.

Otu spoke when he hosted a team from the World Bank in Calabar, the state capital.

The team was in Cross River State on a fact-finding mission to federal government agencies in the state, as well as to examine issues limiting trans-African free trade.

The Cross River State governor, Senator Bassey Otu, has called on the World Bank and other multilateral agencies to assist in bridging the socioeconomic gap between Africa and the rest of the world.

Otu described the team’s visit as timely, stating that it has become imperative to reduce the barriers inhibiting free trade, especially in the African region.

“My call to the World Bank is to strive to balance the world’s economy. We still have a lot of migrant pressure across the world. This is because the global economy is not stable. Once the economy is unbalanced, there is always going to be that pressure.

“It is time for things to be relaxed for other regions to grow at their own pace. International organizations like the World Bank and United Nations should make efforts to ensure that things are balanced.

“In Cross River, we have all it takes in terms of resources and productivity. But there is still some variance. You are coming at a more auspicious time when windows of economic development have to be open. We happen to be quite a blessed state with three corridors of wealth – water, land, and air.

“There is no excuse whatsoever for Cross River not to move up the socioeconomic ladder. Those times have passed. We want to truly move forward,” the governor enthusiastically stated.

He posited that the state is comparatively advantageous in the Gulf of Guinea, both in terms of proximity and cultural affinity, calling on investors to take advantage of the many opportunities for investment in the area.

“We are putting things in place to address such leaks for the benefit of the people and government of Cross River State.”

In his remarks, the World Bank team lead, Aleksandar Stojorov, thanked the governor for his support and cooperation, which enabled the delegation to visit the Mfum border in Etung Local Government Area and the Nigeria Ports Authority, Calabar.

He said the fact-finding mission will help his team in its engagement with the federal government of Nigeria’s Ministry of Trade and Investment as well as other related agencies, with the objective of making trans-African trade seamless and enhancing its export competitiveness for the overall benefit of the state and nation at large.

The President of the Calabar Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (CALCIMA), Mr. David Etim, also expressed his commitment to the success of the Ease of Doing Business initiative in Cross River State.

The World Bank has approved a $2.25 billion loan facility for Nigeria to back President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms despite the rising debt profile in the country.

Wale Edun, Minister of Finance disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Edun said the loan is to fund two critical economy projects, Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation (RESET) and NG Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms Programme-for-Results (ARMOR) with a proposed funding of $1.5 billion and $750 million respectively.

He noted that the loans are part of President Tinubu’s ongoing efforts to stabilize the economy, reposition it for sustained and inclusive growth, and provide urgent support to the poor and vulnerable.

“We have undertaken bold and necessary reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and put Nigeria on a path to sustainable and inclusive economic growth. We welcome the support of the RESET and ARMOR programs as we further consolidate and implement our policy reforms, consistent with accelerating investment and using public resources more sustainably to achieve our development goals,” Edun said in a statement released by the Ministry of Finance Thursday.

According to the statement, Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa said Nigeria’s comprehensive macro-fiscal reforms are placing the country on a new path that can stabilize the economy and lift people out of poverty.

“It is essential to maintain the momentum of these reforms and continue to provide support to the poor and vulnerable to mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. This financing package strengthens the World Bank’s strong partnership with Nigeria and supports efforts to rejuvenate the economy and expedite poverty reduction, serving as an example for Africa.”

Recall that the Minister of Finance, Edun announced intentions to get the loan at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in April.

The development comes as the total debt stock of Nigeria at the end of 2023 stood at N97.341 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office.

In Nigeria’s debt figure, foreign debt stood at which stood at N38.22 trillion, accounting for 39 percent of the total debt stocks as of the end of 2023.

Tinubu’s twin reform of fuel subsidy removal and Naira floating left Nigerians with the ripple effect of economic hardship.

Ram sellers in Zamfara State have cried out that they are facing low patronage ahead of the Sallah festivities.

According to one of the ram sellers, Alhaji Ishiaku Mande, the business is no longer booming as usual.

“I used to sell more than 20 rams per day but now, I hardly sell five in a day as buyers are lamenting over lack of money.

“Last year, the business was lucrative because people were buying rams,” he said.

Another ram seller, Mallam Lawali Ibrahim told newsmen in Gusau, the state capital, that the rate at which business is moving is very discouraging.

“This is the biggest Islamic celebration and Muslims are supposed to be happy,” he noted.

He further stated that many people now are thinking of how to put food on the table for the families, lamenting that many people cannot even provide a square meal in a day.

According to another ram seller, Muhammad Babangida, the situation has become so worrisome as the cost of living has gone beyond the reach of most Nigerians.

He said, “Nigerians are dying of hunger and starvation and the government is busy calling on the people to be singing new National Anthem. Is it not somebody that is well fed that can sing?”

One Alhaji Kabiru Damba said observed that the cost of ram has gone beyond the reach of the common man.

“The celebration is between me and Allah and not with anyone. Allah does not look at the money one spends in the celebration but Allah looks at man’s mind,” he said.

He blamed both the government for making people’s lives miserable due to high cost of living.

MultiChoice Nigeria says it will appeal Friday’s ruling of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal in Abuja, which awarded a N150 million fine against it for challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

The tribunal had fined MultiChoice Nigeria N150 million for disobeying its order.

The order had restrained the pay-TV company from increasing its monthly subscription pending the determination of the suit brought before it by an Abuja-based lawyer, Festus Onifade.

The tribunal also ordered the pay-TV company to provide its Nigerian customers a one-month free subscription to its DStv and GOtv packages.

In a statement, MultiChoice reacted by saying it disagreed with the ruling and would file an appeal against it.

The statement read in part: “MultiChoice Nigeria is aware of the recent ruling by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal regarding its jurisdiction to entertain a price regulation matter.

“We disagree with the ruling and will therefore file an appeal against the said ruling.

“As the matter is currently sub-judice, we are restrained from making further comments.”

The naira on Friday recorded a loss at the official market, trading at N1,483.99 to the dollar.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, which oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), revealed that the naira lost N2.50.

This represents a 0.16 per cent loss compared to the previous trading date on Thursday, trading at N1,481.49 to the dollar.

However, the volume of currency traded increased to $269.27 million on Friday, up from $213.31 million recorded on Thursday.

Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s (I&E) window, the naira traded between N1,507.00 and N1,399.00 against the dollar.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it has revoked the banking licence of Heritage Bank.

Ag. Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, said the revocation was done in accordance with its mandate to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria.

She said: “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in accordance with its mandate to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria and in exercise of its powers under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Act (BOFIA) 2020, hereby revokes the licence of Heritage Bank Plc with immediate effect.”

Ali added that this action has become necessary due to the bank’s breach of Section 12 (1) of BOFIA, 2020.

The apex bank added that the Board and Management of the bank have not been able to improve the bank’s financial performance, a situation which constitutes a threat to financial stability.

Ali’s noted that this followed a period during which the CBN engaged with the bank and prescribed various supervisory steps intended to stem the decline.

She stressed: “Regrettably, the bank has continued to suffer and has no reasonable prospects of recovery, thereby making the revocation of the license the next necessary step.

Consequently, the CBN has taken this action to strengthen public confidence in the banking system and ensure that the soundness of our financial system is not impaired.

“The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is hereby appointed as the Liquidator of the bank in accordance with Section 12 (2) of BOFIA, 2020.

“We wish to assure the public that the Nigerian financial system remains on a solid footing. The action we are taking today reflects our continued commitment to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and soundness of our financial system.”

Crude oil prices have dropped amid anxiety surrounding the Organization of Petroleum Countries meeting at the weekend.

Brent crude futures fell by $1.74, or 2.1 percent to settle at $81.86 a barrel.

Similarly, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by $1.32, or 1.7 percent, to $77.91 a barrel.

“The Weakness in gasoline markets have continued to drag down the rest of the oil complex,” Alex Hodes, oil analyst at brokerage StoneX on Thursday according to Reuters.

A further analysis showed that Oil investors are also cautious ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on June 2, 2024. Accordingly, the oil producers’ countries group will decide whether to extend, deepen or unwind supply cuts.

Soft fuel demand and rising global oil inventories may help convince OPEC+ producers, which include the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, including Russia, to maintain supply cuts when they meet on June 2, OPEC+ delegates and analysts say.