Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Nigerian Stock Market Rally Softens on Cold Bargain Hunting The Nigerian stock market rally has slowed, with bear and bull trading actions amid the fourth-quarter 2026 earnings release. The market closed in the green, but the bearish tone was even stronger, according to trading data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange. The first trading session in February surged marginally as the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 1bps, bringing the year-to-date return to 6.3%. Market sentiment remained mixed, with PREMPAINTS and UNIVINSURE leading the gainers’ chart after advancing by 10.0% each, while OMATEK topped the losers’ chart with a 10.0% decline. Trading…

PDP Fixes National Convention for March 28, 29 in Abuja The Abdulrahman Mohammed-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has fixed March 28 and March 29 for the party’s national convention in Abuja. The party made this known in a communique issued at the end of the 105th meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) on Monday night. The communique was read by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Haruna Mohammed, at the end of the meeting, held at the official residence of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in Abuja. In the…

FAAC: FG, States, LGs Share N1.969 trn in December 2025 A total sum of N1.969 trillion, December 2025 federation account revenue has been shared to the Federal Government, states and the Local Government Councils (LGs). This is according to a communiqué from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) made available by Mr Bawa Mokwa, Director. Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. The revenue was shared at the January FAAC meeting. The communiqué said that the N1.969 trillion total distributable revenue comprised statutory revenue of N1.084 trillion, Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N846.507 billion, and…

Aradel, Stanbic Drive NGX Index Up Amid FirstHoldco Selloff The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded a thin gain at the beginning of the trading session due to positive price movement in Aradel Holdings, Stanbic IBTC and some lightweight insurance stocks. According to data obtained from the Lagos bourse, the market index gained a meagre 0.01% to settle at 165,384.63 points.  Hence, stock market capitalisation expanded by N11.5 billion to N106.2 trillion amidst earnings releases by listed companies. Price upticks in ARADEL (+5.10%) and STANBIC (+9.26%) marginally offset selloffs in FIRSTHOLDCO (-8.78%) and ETI (-8.33%). Overall market sentiment tilted bearish, with more…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted three OMO auctions last week, all of which attracted strong investor participation

The naira strengthened by about 3.6% against the U.S. dollar at the foreign exchange market in January 2025

Indonesia Lifts Ban on Elon Musk’s Grok Chatbot After Compliance Pledge Indonesia has lifted its ban on Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot, just weeks after restricting access due to concerns over sexualised images generated by the AI tool. The Indonesian government announced that it would conditionally allow Grok to resume services, pending strict supervision and compliance with local laws . The ban was imposed in January after Grok was used to create non-consensual, sexualized imagery, including images of women and minors. X Corp, the operator of Grok, submitted a written commitment to improve services and prevent abuse, which led to the…

Meta Accused of Enabling Child Exploitation in Mexico, Profiting from It Meta is set to face trial in New Mexico over allegations that it exposed children and teens to sexual exploitation on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and profited from it. The lawsuit, brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, claims that Meta allowed predators to access underage users, connected them with victims, and enabled real-world abuse and human trafficking. The trial, which starts Monday in Santa Fe District Court, is expected to last seven or eight weeks. Meta denies the allegations, stating that it has extensive…

Stabilize Farm Prices with Rules-Based Approach – CPPE The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has urged Nigeria to urgently adopt a clear, rules-based and market-friendly farm price stabilisation and farmer income protection framework. The CPPE founder, Dr Muda Yusuf, made the call in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos. Yusuf said the proposed framework must be transparent, fiscally sustainable and supportive of private enterprise participation. He said a stable agricultural market would protect farmers, strengthen food security, reduce inflationary pressures, expand rural employment and improve Nigeria’s overall economic resilience. According to him, the Federal Government’s recent…

Lagos Governor Pushes for Expanded World Bank Partnership Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu says Lagos State is ready to partner with the World Bank Group in energy, agriculture, tourism and human capital development. He said the state was open to deeper collaboration and investment partnerships to improve infrastructure and raise living standards across Lagos. Sanwo-Olu spoke on Sunday at Lagos House, Marina, while receiving a World Bank delegation led by Managing Director (Operations), Ms Anna Bjerde. The delegation also included the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Regional Vice President for Africa, Mr Ethiopia Tafara. The governor said Lagos remained committed to reforms that…