Author: Olu Anisere

Bill to Designate Kidnapping as Act of Terrorism Passes 2nd Reading The Senate on Wednesday passed for second reading a bill to designate kidnapping as an act of terrorism. The bill was sponsored by the Senate Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, and co-sponsored by 108 senators during plenary. The legislation is entitled: “A bill for an Act to Amend the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act to Designate Kidnapping, Hostage-Taking and Related Offences as Acts of Terrorism…To Prescribe Death Penalty for Such Offences Without Option of Fine or Alternative Sentence; And For Related Matters, 2025”. Leading the debate on the general principles…

DMO Opens Savings Bonds for Subscription The Debt Management Office (DMO), on behalf of the Federal Government, has offered two FGN savings bonds for subscription in the month of December. According to a statement by the DMO, the first offer is a two-year FGN savings bond due on Dec. 10, 2027, at 12.838 per cent interest rate per annum. The second offer is three-year FGN savings bond due in December 2028, at 13.839 per cent interest rate per annum. “Opening date is Dec.1, settlement date is Dec. 10, while coupon payment dates are March 10, June 10 and Dec. 10.…

Nigerian Exchange Launches Commercial Paper Listings The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has expanded its offerings with the introduction of commercial paper listings approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Commercial papers are short-term unsecured debt instruments issued by corporates to fund working capital and other obligations. Typically maturing within 270 days, these instruments are issued at a discount and redeemed at face value, offering a cost-effective alternative to bank loans. The Exchange said on Wednesday that the product window marked another milestone in its effort to broaden instruments available to issuers and investors. According to NGX, the framework will allow…

Nigeria, Angola, Egypt Yields Fall as African Eurobonds Rally African Eurobonds rallied as foreign portfolio investors’ (FPIs’) risk-off sentiment witnessed early in the week at the international market began to fade.  The market saw investors ramping up Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, and Egypt amidst expectations that the global oil prices would continue to stay above $60 per barrel in the global commodity market. Inflation in Ghana has dropped significantly since the beginning of the year, and Accra has axed interest rate by a whopping 10% in the currency year as the economy continues to improve. Nigeria’s reforms eased economic pressures, and…

FX Spread Widens as Naira Exchange Rates Diverge FX spread, or the gap between the informal and official currency exchange rates, widened to 1.70% on Tuesday as the naira moved in different directions. Market report revealed that the naira appreciated by ₦3.04 to ₦1,445.39/$ in the official market as the supply side remained strong against that pressure from the US dollar. On the other hand, the exchange rate weakened by ₦5.00 to close at ₦1,470.00/$ in the parallel market. As a result, the market spread widened to 1.70%, from 1.14%, though FX market confidence has significantly reduced speculative activities. Exchange…

NCDMB, BOI Sign $100m Nigerian Content Intervention Fund MoU The Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Bank of Industry (BoI) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the 100 million dollars Content Intervention Fund (NCIF) Equity Scheme. The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe, signed on behalf of the Board, while the Managing Director of BoI, Dr Olasupo Olusi, signed for the bank. Ogbe described the signing as a landmark development and milestone in local content financing. ‘’We have concluded arrangements to establish the 100 million dollars Equity Investment Scheme in partnership with…

Dangote Cement Gains 10% in Fresh Rally Dangote Cement Plc gained about 10% as investors increased positions in a fresh rally that lifted the share price to N588 in the Nigerian Exchange on Tuesday. The company successfully dodged bearish bullets thrown by investors that rotated out from their position following notice of new capital gains. The cement company increased as 713,127 units valued at N419 million were trading in the local bourse.  The cement company stock had been flattish at N534.60 before the first rally kicked in December in a broad-based market rally. A significant numbers of equities analysts find…

Kaduna Eyes N85bn IGR as State Deepens Tax Reforms The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) says the state is projecting an internally generated revenue of about N85 billion by the end of 2025, as it continues to strengthen a fair, transparent, and technology-driven tax administration system. The Executive Chairman of KADIRS, Mr Jerry Adams, said this in his address at the 2025 KADIRS Tax Dialogue held on Monday in Kaduna. The theme of the dialogue was ‘Transforming Tax Administration for the Future: Navigating the Procedural and Practice Shift Signaled by the Nigerian Tax Reform Act and Enhancing Compliance Into…

Naira Drops to N1,448 after FX Boosts The naira fell against the US dollar at the official window due to FX shortage amidst growing demand for foreign payments.  The local currency depreciated after $186.60 million was sold to banks last week to boost the supply side. Daily FX data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the naira lost about N2 per dollar, closing at N1448.4355 from N1446.7421 the previous close. FX spot rate touched an intraday high of N1452 per dollar on Monday, according to the updated FX report, reflecting there was pressure in the official…

OPEC+ Sets Nigeria’s Daily Oil Quota at 1.5 Mbpd for 2026 The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, have maintained Nigeria’s crude oil production quota at 1.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) until December 2026. The decision that reaffirmed a previous decision taken in late 2024 was announced after the 40th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held on Sunday. Members, during the meeting, agreed to retain overall production levels for countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC). In a separate statement, OPEC said eight countries within the wider OPEC+ alliance — Saudi Arabia,…