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Taliban takes complete control of Afghan north as residents hide indoors

Taliban fighters have taken complete control of captured territories in northern Afghanistan, tightening their grips on the provinces while residents hide in their homes amidst threats by pro-government forces to fight to the death to defend Mazar-i-Sharif, the biggest city in the north yet to fall to the armed group.

According to the Taliban media team, as at Tuesday morning, all but one of the northern provinces in the war-torn country were under its control and they will do everything possible to prevent government troops from further advancement.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, President Ashraf Ghani called on regional ‘strongmen’ to support his embattled government after a stunning string of Taliban victories as it was up to the forces to defend themselves.

In the town of Aibak, capital of Samangan province on the main road between Mazar-i-Sharif and the national capital, Kabul, Taliban fighters were consolidating their grip, moving into government buildings, as government security forces appeared to have withdrawn from the town, residents said, as they kept off the streets.

The only way is self-imposed house arrest or to find a way to leave for Kabul. But then, even Kabul is not a safe option anymore,” said Sher Mohamed Abbas, a provincial tax office, when asked about living conditions in the town.

Abbas said Taliban had arrived at his office and told workers to go home. He and other residents said they had not seen nor heard fighting on Tuesday.

Nestle S.A invested N3.69 billion into Nestle Nigeria to tighten its control at the Nigerian food and beverage company.

The capital investment increased the Switzerland-based holdings in Nestle Nigeria.

The company made three share purchases in March, with accumulated shares valued at N3.69 billion.
The most recent acquisition was the 562,796 shares purchased at N1374.92 per share on Friday, March 12, 2021.

This put the new capital invested in the Nigerian subsidiary by Nestle S.A at a total of N773.79 million, according to analysis of a filling sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Out of 836,141 shares traded on Nestle Nigeria at the trading floor, on Friday, Nestle S.A acquired 562,796 shares. This is one of many capital investment Nestle S.A have made into the local fast moving consumer goods.

In the first week of March, Nestle S.A purchased shares on two occasions. It acquired 2.16 million shares within two days. The first acquisition was on Tuesday, March 2, when it bought 1,980,370 shares of Nestle Nigeria worth N1,348.84 per share.

The company made another purchase on Wednesday, March 3, acquiring 186,277 shares at N1,349.74 per share. This brings the total number of shares bought to 2,166,647 at an aggregate price of N1,349 per share, a statement sent to investing public reported.

This means to strengthen its hold on Nestle Nigeria as a majority shareholder, Nestle S.A invested N2.92 billion in the Nigerian subsidiary, but Ripples Nigeria gathered the shares were bought at a cheap price when compared with the previous day share price on Nigerian bourse.

On Monday, March 1, Nestle share price was N1,450 before crashing on March 2, to settle at N1,350 per share, and traded flat till Thursday, March 4. Nestle S.A had bought most of the shares traded by Nestle Nigeria investors between March 2 and 3, 2021.

On March 2, Nestle Nigeria traded share volume was 2,023,973 shares (Nestle S.A; 1,980,370), while the next day, it was 229,087 (Nestle S.A; 186,277).

As of December 2020, Nestle S.A held 527.08 million shares in Nestle Nigeria, which represents 66.50 percent hold on the Nigerian subsidiary. This makes Nestle S.A the largest shareholder in the company.

Other shareholders in Nestle Nigeria are Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited with 6.28%. No other shareholder held 5% or more of the paid-up capital of the company as of December 31, 2020.

Aside from investing capital into Nestle Nigeria, the foreign shareholder will also receive a dividend payment of N29.72 billion from the subsidiary, the company’s financial statement for the period ended December 31, 2020, report.

The additional share purchase of Nestle Nigeria comes on the back of revenue growth in 2020 full year, with the company generating N287.08 billion to surpass the N284.03 billion grossed during the corresponding period of 2019.

Although, profit before tax declined to N60.63 billion in 2020 full year, below the N71.12 billion recorded during the same period in 2019. Also, profit after tax plunged to N39.21 billion during the period under review, failing to surpass the N45.68 billion reported for the 2019 full year.