Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Oil Market Faces Pressure, Brent Price Hovers at $70 Oil prices have steadily declined throughout the week, driven by geopolitical tensions, OPEC+ supply adjustments, and growing concerns over a global economic slowdown fueled by US trade policies. The international benchmark Brent crude traded at $70.47 per barrel, down by around 3.4% from last week’s closing price of $72.96 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the American benchmark, traded at $67.23 per barrel at the same time on Friday, down about 3.6% from last Friday’s closing price of $69.77 per barrel. The tariffs announced by the US on Tuesday have fueled…

Nigeria Restates Commitment to Deepening Cooperation with Ghana The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, has affirmed Nigeria’s commitment to deepening cooperation with Ghana in areas of mutual interest, including trade, education, security and regional integration. A statement on Thursday by Kimiebi Ebienfa, Acting-spokesperson of the ministry, quoted Tuggar as making the affirmation in a congratulatory message on the occasion of the 68th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Ghana. The letter was addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana, Samuel Ablakwa. The minister said that as Ghana mark 68-years of…

Nigerian Exchange Sheds N152bn as MTNN, Transcorp Slump The Nigerian Exchange, NGX, shed about N152 billion from its opening market capitalisation on Friday as investors dumped MTN Nigeria, Transcorp, due to negative sentiment. The Nigerian equity market closed the week in negative territory, bringing the year-to-date return to 3.51%. NGX key performance market indicators fell by 0.23% on the last trading day. The local bourse downturn was primarily driven by profit-taking in some medium- and large-scale stocks amidst downbeat sentiment. The Nigerian Exchange All Share Index decreased by 1,282.79 basis points today, representing a drop of 1.19% to close at…

Dangote Group Pays N402.3B Tax To Nigerian Government in 2024 The Pan African Conglomerate Dangote Industries Limited, (Dangote Group), and its subsidiaries has disclosed that it paid over N402 billion in taxes in 2024, making it the highest taxpayer in the country. Dangote’s Chief Branding and Communication Officer, Anthony Chiejina, declared during a meeting with some senior media executives who visited him in his Lagos Office that Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and its subsidiaries, namely, Dangote Cement, NASCON, Dangote Packaging Limited among others, remitted a total of N402.319billion for the out-gone year as taxes as responsible business enterprises. Recall that…

Manchester United Draw 1-1 at Sociedad, Alkmaar Edge Tottenham Hotspur Manchester United took the lead through Joshua Zirkzee but were held to a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday. Tottenham Hotspur however suffered a 1-0 defeat at AZ Alkmaar. Manchester United had the only real chance of the first half against Sociedad when Bruno Fernandes had a goalbound shot blocked and Zirkzee’s follow-up effort was saved. Alejandro Garnacho hit a shot into the side netting but 12 minutes into the second half he pulled a pass back to the…

Interbank Rates Rise as OMO Bills Debit Drags Liquidity Interbank rates rose as the financial system liquidity was dragged by the settlement of the latest round of OMO bills auction offer, sold to banks and foreign investors. With the liquidity slowed, money market rates adjusted negatively. The short-term benchmark rates climbed sharply, and analysts think pressure will persist this week. Hence, the Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) declined across most tenors, except for the overnight rate, which rose by 0.17% to 26.96%. Data from the FMDQ platform revealed that the open repo increased by 164 basis points to settle at…

The Lagos State Government (LASG) has officially released the 2025 Land Use Charge (LUC) bill with 15 percent discount for early payment. A statement signed by the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Abayomi Oluyomi, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to continuous world-class infrastructure and service delivery to residents.

Court Orders Final Forfeiture of $1.4m Linked to Emefiele A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of another $1.4 million linked to a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. Justice Olayinka Faji in his ruling on Thursday, agreed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that the sum was proceeds of unlawful activities and must be forfeited to the Federal Government. Through its counsel, Bilkisu Bahari-Bala, the EFCC had told the court that the sum of $1,426,175.14 was found in the account of Donatone Limited at Titan Trust Bank (Account…

Transcorp, Guinness Nigeria Drive Intraday Rally in Equities Market The equities market is trading positive for the first time since the beginning of the week on renewed buying interest in Transcorp, Guinness Nigeria Plc, and some banking names. The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) all-share index (ASI) climbed as a result, albeit moderately, as bear and bull traders stayed side by side in the equities market at noon. In the absence of significant sell pressures, stockbrokers told MarketForces Africa that the Nigerian bourse could reverse downhill trading on Thursday amidst an ongoing 2024 earnings festival and dividend declaration. At midday, the NGX…

Oil Prices Rebound from 3-Year Low on Tariff Exemption Oil prices rebounded slightly on Thursday in the global commodities market after hitting a 3-year low as the U.S. eased tensions with tariff exemptions on cars from Canada and Mexico under mutual agreement. Brent crude increased by 0.47%, trading at $69.65 per barrel, up from $69.32 at the close of the previous session. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate increased by 0.48%, settling at $66.54 per barrel, compared to its prior session close of $66.22. Sentiment remains negative in the oil market, with ICE Brent falling close to 2.5% yesterday. It…