News from Nigeria

News headlines

Naira weakens slightly vs US dollar as fx demand surges: The naira eased marginally against the US dollar on the interbank market on Monday after demand for forex outweighed supply at a central bank bi-weekly foreign exchange auction. The naira closed at N158.9 to the dollar on the interbank market, weaker than N158.6 per dollar on Friday's close. At the bi-weekly auction, demand surged to US$694m but the central bank sold only US$250m at N154.5 to the dollar. The regulator sold US$100m at N152.8 to the dollar at its last auction on Wednesday. (Source: Reuters)

Helios Towers plans Multi-links mobile sale: Helios Towers Ltd plans to sell the mobile phone business it inherited as part of an acquisition of Multilinks Telecommunications Ltd. Reports indicate that the company which bought Telkom South Africa’s stake in Multilinks for US$10m plans to sell its stake by the end of Q1 2012.  (Source: Businessday)

Fertiliser subsidy removal – FG plans N400bn support for farmers: The federal government (FG) has concluded plans to boost agricultural production in the country by setting up a N400bn (US$2.6bn) growth enhancement programme. The scheme which is expected to be in place for the next four years will cushion the impact of the planned removal of fertiliser subsidy in the sector. (Source: Punch)

Soldiers take over power stations nationwide: Armed soldiers yesterday took over most of the nation’s power stations, including Egbin Power Station, as Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers threatened to withdraw their services. The takeover appears to be connected with the controversy trailing reported due diligence being conducted on the power stations and installations by Dangote and 134 other power firms. (Source: Vanguard)