Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Plateau Assembly Wants End to Mandatory Yearly Textbooks The Plateau State House of Assembly, presided over by its Speaker, Daniel Nanlong, has called for an end to the compulsory yearly purchase of new textbooks imposed on parents by many primary and secondary schools in the state. The lawmakers’ resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Mr Joseph Bukar (APC/Shendam), who moved a motion during plenary on Tuesday in Jos. Bukar told his colleagues the practice imposed by many schools was a ripping-off for many struggling families. He said that the imposition largely denied children of low-income parents…

Wike Slams N5m Fine, 7.5% Property Charge on Land Defaulters FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has approved and imposed a N5m fine, payable within a period of 30 days, for allottees and land title holders who have contravened the Land Use Act in the FCT. Wike gave the approval after receiving a report from the Committee set up to address the abuse of the Land Use Act in the FCT, in his office, on Tuesday. He also assented to a 7.5 per cent charge on the Assessed Capital Value of properties converted without the knowledge or express permission of the FCT…

Bayelsa Seeks Stake in $3.5bn Brass Fertiliser, Petrochemical Project The Bayelsa Government has solicited for equity stake in the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company project about to beging on the Brass Island in the state. Gov. Douye Diri made the request on Tuesday when the management team of the company paid him a courtesy visit in Yenagoa. The Bayelsa governor said the state’s position became necessary due to the negative fallouts in excluding oil producing states and local governments from the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). He said that implementation of the PIA had been hampered in host communities due to…

Banking Index Slides as Tier-1 Banks Selloffs Persist The banking index slipped as sell pressures on tier -1 banks persisted, supported by latest profit taking activity in Wema Bank shares. Trading data from the Nigerian Exchange highlighted banking selloffs as drivers of negative performance posted on Tuesday, in additional to sell pressures on lightweight insurance companies. GTCO dominated market activity, leading the volumes and value chart with 32.61 million units worth N3.0 billion trading on the board today. Reflecting the broad-based weakness in investor sentiments, market breadth printed at 0.23x as the day’s session produced more losers (48) than gainers…

Tinubu’s Economic Strategy Pays Off as Nigeria Hits Revenue Target President Bola Tinubu has announced that Nigeria has achieved its 2025 revenue target ahead of schedule, with the country’s non-oil sector driving this success. Speaking at a meeting with founding members of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and The Buhari Organisation at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tinubu declared, “Nigeria is not borrowing. We have met our revenue target for the year, and we met it in August”. The President attributed the bulk of the revenue to non-oil earnings, emphasizing the significance of this development for long-term economic…

NGX Market Capitalisation Drops to N87trn The Nigerian stock market continued on a bearish trend on Tuesday, losing N623 billion. Market capitalisation dropped by N623 billion or 0.71 per cent, closing at N87.783 trillion when compared to N88.406 trillion recorded on Monday. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) dipped by 984.55 points or 0.71 per cent, reaching 138,737.64 from 139,722.19 recorded earlier. The negative trend was driven by sustained profit taking in stocks like AIICO Insurance, Prestige Assurance, Wema Bank, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, Ellah Lakes, and 44 other stocks. Also, the market breadth closed negative with 49 losers against 11 gainers.…

CBN Offers 26.44% Interest Rate on 84-Day OMO Bills The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allotted 84-day tenor OMO bills at the spot rate of 26.44%, details from an open market operation conducted on Tuesday revealed. The Apex Bank floated the auction as another bills set to expire this week, and this is expected to enhance excess liquidity level in the banking system. To manage the excess liquidity, and drive US dollar inflows from participating offshore investors, the authority floated N600 billion. The auction floated on Tuesday attracted strong demand with total subscriptions reaching N1.2 trillion. Ultimately, the apex bank…

Equity Investors Lose N596bn as GTCO, Lafarge Africa, Transcorp Fall Investors lost about N596 billion in the equity segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as sell pressure on large cap stocks plunged market capitalisation down by 67 basis points or 0.67%. Market capitalisation lost N595.80 billion to close at approximately N87.81 trillion, with bearish sentiments dominating trading activities. Lafarge Africa with trade Ticker: WAPCO (-9.9%) and TRANSCORP (-4.3%) drove the All-Share Index lower on Tuesday. The market also witnessed sell pressures on Cadbury Nigeria. Dangote Sugar Refinery and GTCO among others. The NGX All share index decreased by 0.67%, closing…

GCR Affirms Ogun State’s Ratings of BBB+ with Positive Outlook GCR Ratings has affirmed Ogun State Government of Nigeria’s national scale long-term and short-term issuer ratings of BBB+(NG) and A2(NG) respectively, with the outlook revised to positive from Stable. The firm stated that the ratings affirmation and the positive outlook on Ogun State Government reflect the strong income growth, which has translated to robust cash flows, improved leverage metrics and a sound liquidity position. GCR however said currency risk and elevated total debt remain ratings constraint for the state. “Ogun State remains a key contributor to Nigeria’s economy with a…

BPE to List DisCos, GenCo on Stock Market The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has announced plans to list two electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) and one Generation Company (GenCo) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). BPE Director-General, Mr Ayodeji Gbeleyi, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during a media briefing. He declined to name the companies for confidentiality reasons. Gbeleyi revealed that shareholder loan agreements had been executed for 10 of the 11 DisCos, with disbursements expected soon. He also said the planned privatisation of five GenCos was on hold due to exchange rate volatility…