Nigeria news review

Tribunal declares Jonathan winner of 2011 election – Vanguard

THE five-man Presidential Election Tribunal sitting as the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday unanimously upheld the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Vice-President Namadi Sambo, in the April 16 presidential election. Consequently, the panel, headed by Justice K.B Akaahs, dismissed the petition filed by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), praying it to cancel the April 16 presidential election and order a fresh one between its candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) and President Jonathan, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  for lacking in merit and substance. The tribunal held that going by the evidence before it, Jonathan and Sambo secured lawful votes cast in all the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

U.S. bank set to release $1.5b for Nigeria’s electricity reform - Guardian

Within a year from now, the $1.5 billion credit facility the U.S. Ex-Im Bank has offered Nigeria  will become available to fund reform in the electricity sector. The U.S. bank’s Regional Director for Africa, Rick Angioni, said in Washington DC that the first release of the funds “would hopefully be starting next year,” adding that “the release of the facility would be done case by case as the power projects come on stream.” The official told The Guardian in an interview that the bank was confident about Nigeria’s potential, because two years ago the bank’s president commissioned a five-year strategic plan on the global economic situation and discovered  that Nigeria was one of the nine countries with the most promising GDP and export potential for the U.S. In fact only Nigeria and South Africa featured on the list in Africa, according to Angioni, who added that “being the most populous in Africa, we believe there is no speaking of Africa, without Nigeria.” According to him, Nigeria has many entrepreneurs, who under a stable polity can make the nation economically robust with already 20% of U.S. exports in Africa ending up in the country.

Energia, Oando joint venture targets 10,000bpd in 2012 - Guardian

THE Energia/Oando Joint Venture, operator of Obodugwa/Obodeti marginal field in Oil Mining Licence (OML) 56 located in Emu-Ebendo community in Delta State, has unveiled its target for drilling of second and third wells in 2012. The target is expected to increase production level of the Joint Venture (JV) project to an average of 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).The company, which is currently producing an average of 1,750bdp from Obodugwa well-1 in Niger Delta, has been producing since December 2009, injecting through a cluster metering/injection hub stationed at Mid Western Injection facility in Umusadege.

NSE grants waivers to encourage new listings – Punch

The Nigerian Stock Exchange will be granting waivers to companies from the oil and gas and mining sectors that plan to list their shares. This is in an apparent bid to boost liquidity and encourage new firms to list their shares on the Daily Official List. The information, posted on the website of the NSE on Tuesday, noted that companies with large capital base were also to enjoy those waivers.The NSE in the draft of the proposed rules made said that mineral companies, comprising mining, oil and gas companies were exempted from fulfilling the requirements that a company seeking listing on the Mainboard must be in operation for at least three years. According to the information, the NSE is also exempting companies with market capitalisation in excess of N500bn from meeting the requirements for public float, which stipulates that the public shall hold a minimum of 20 per cent of each class of equity securities of the company.

NNPC, PPPRA overshot subsidy by N1.079trn in 9 months – Tribune

IT was revelations galore, on Tuesday, at the House of Representatives joint committees on Finance, Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Upstream) and Gas Resources investigating the alleged non-remittance of about N450 billion by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) between 2005 and 2008 to the Federation Account. The first salvo came from the chairman of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr Elias Mbam, who disclosed that both the NNPC and the oil marketers under the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had illegally deducted the sum of N1.079 trillion for fuel subsidy between January and September this year. Mr Mbam said that while the NNPC deducted N615.670 billion from January to September as against N81.720 billion payable to it as contained in the 2011 Appropriation Act with a difference of over N5333.950 billion, the PPPRA deducted the sum of N647.660 billion as against the approved N102.753 billion in the 2011 appropriation within the same period with a difference of over N544.907 billion.

Share Buy-Back: SEC Approves NSE Rules – Thisday

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the  rules  proposed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)  that would guide the share buy-back in the nation’s capital market. The Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema disclosed this  in Abuja  last Monday at forum to mark the 50 years of capital market regulation in Nigeria. Share buy-back is being pushed by the NSE as part of the efforts to deepen and enhance liquidity in the market. SEC had in 2008 introduced share-back in the nation capital market when the market down turn began. However, no company has taken advantage of the policy. In order to encourage companies to implement share-back whenever they deem it necessary, the NSE had to issue its own rules, which the apex regulator has approved. Onyema noted that all the plans by the new management of the Exchange to transform the Exchange were on course. He explained that already the segmentation of the Exchange’s sectors had been effected while more products would be introduced in due course. According to him, Exchange Traded Funds would be introduced into the market before the end of the current year, while options and futures would hit the market in 2013 and 2015 respectively.

AMCON Appoints EDs for Nationalised Banks – Thisday

The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has  announced the appointment of non- executive directors (EDs) for the three nationalised banks. A statement from the corporation made available to THISDAY, showed that a total of 27 nominees (nine for each bank) were appointed for the three banks. The three banks included Keystone Bank Limited, Mainstreet Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited. The commercial banks were created on August 5, following the demise of Bank PHB, Afribank and Spring Bank Bank, respectively. The regulators had explained that the operating licenses of the three erstwhile rescued banks were revoked as a result of their lack of capacity to beat the then recapitalisation deadline. Consequently, the three new banks (Keystone, Mainstreet and Enterprise) that were established then were purchased by AMCON, which now wholly owns the banks. For Keystone Bank, which has Mr. Moyo Ajekigbe as its chairman, Mr. Niyi Akenzua, Adolphus Ekpe, Charles Chidebe Umolu,Yakubu Shehu, Mustapha Ibrahim, Mr. Aminun-Kano,  Maria Olateju Phillips,  Yusufu  Pam and Jacob Olusegun Olusanya, were all proposed as non-executive directors. On the other hand, for Mainstreet Bank whose Chairman is Falalu Bello, the AMCON also recommended: Yabawa Wabi, Mohammed Gulani Shuaibu,  Professor Osita Ogbu, Joshua Ogunlowo,  Abdullahi Sarki Mahmoud , Shuaib Idris ,Shehu Saad, Chris Osiomha Itede   and Mr. Ayo Ajayi as non-executive directors. Similarly, for Enterprise Bank, whose Chairman is Mr. Emeka Onwuka, the AMCON proposed Sanusi Monguno, Ebenezer Foby, Asmau Sani Maikudi , Lamis Dikko , John Aderibigbe, Garba Imam, Ogala Osaka,  Ismaila Shuaibu , Ezikiel Gomos  as non-executive directors.

Guinness Moves to Improve Returns on Investment

Guinness Nigeria Plc has announced plans to undertake significant investment in the expansion of its operations and capacity in Nigeria in other to ensure sustained return on investment for its shareholders. Chairman of the company, Mr. Babatunde Savage, who made this known at the company’s pre-Annual General Meeting (AGM) press briefing held in Lagos yesterday, said the planned investment was a reflection of its confidence in the Nigerian economy and commitment to the country’s development. He reiterated the commitment of the company to adding value to the society especially in terms of contributing to the economic growth of the country. Savage explained that the company had continually made significant investment in the long term success and growth of its business, especially in capacity expansion projects. He assured that the capacity expansion projects would facilitate the extension of its products offering and improve efficiency. According to him, “in spite of the current economic conditions our faith in the Nigerian economy remains unshaken. We hope that the end of calendar year 2011 will mark the turning point in the recovery of the global economy. We expect the Nigerian economy to continue to grow and we are focused on ensuring that our company benefits from that development.” Speaking in the same vein, Managing Director of the Company, Mr. Devlin Hainsworth, said the company would be investing significantly in its brewing and packaging facilities. Investment in its brewing and packaging facilities, he explained, would help in bringing about a growth in its business and in increasing the availability of its products. He disclosed that the company would focus on improving its distribution channels, ensuring that its products were taken to the length and breadth of customers and to a large number of customers. He said that the successes recorded by its products over the years were brought about by an effective distribution system, which saw the products enjoying significant patronage.

Investors Trade N97bn FGN Bonds – Thisday

Investors staked N97.301 billion on Federal Government Bonds at the Over-the Counter (OTC) market last week, showing a marginal increase of  2.1 per cent above the N95.343 billion invested   in the bonds the previous week.

The N97.301 billion was staked on 117.35 million units of the  FGN bonds, while the N95.343 billion was invested in 113.56 million units the previous week. According to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),  the most active bond in volume terms was  the 10 per cent FGN Bond 2030 (7th FGN Bond July 2030 Series 3) with a traded volume of 37.2 million units valued at N28.082 billion in 287 deals. This was followed by the 5.5 per cent FGN February 2013(7th FGN BOND 2013 Series 1) with a traded volume of 27.4 million units valued at N25.503 billion in 92 deals. Out of the 27 FGN Bonds listed on the NSE, 12 were traded last week. Secondary trading the FGN Bonds has been one of the factors affecting the patronage of the government securities. However, the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said recently that the Exchange would  collaborate with the Debt Management Office (DMO) in building a robust retail trading platform for bond  as part of efforts to make the bond market more attractive.

Banks cash in AMCON bonds at CBN to boost liquidity – Businessday

Banks  that received the Asset Management  Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) bonds, in exchange for their non- performing loans, are beginning to discount the zero- coupon bonds for cash, at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This follows the  recent decision of the Monetary Policy Committee ( MPC) to soak liquidity from the economy  by hiking rates. At the last MPC meeting, MPR was raised from 8  to 12 percent, Cash Reserve Ratio(CRR) was increased from 4 to 8 percent, while the net open position was reduced from 5 to 1 percent. The result was a reduction of funds available to banks to trade, in the foreign exchange market. Following the MPC action, demand for foreign exchange has reduced substantially, leading to  relative stability in the foreign exchange market. The decision has also led to a spike in money market rates. Available data showed that 7-day NIBOR closed last week, at 16.83 percent, a 79 basis points increase from the previous week’s figure of 16.04 percent, while the 90-day NIBOR closed the week at 17.96 percent, a 58 basis points increase from the previous week’s figure o f 17.38percent. The high cost of fund has compelled banks to look for alternative sources of funding. Analysts say that  with the crisis in the equities market, the length of time it takes to raise funds from the bond market, and the high cost of accessing such funds, due to the rise in interest rates, banks are now approaching the apex bank to sell the AMCON bond at a discount, a development that became necessary because the AMCON bond in the banks’ balance sheets,  are not  backed by cash.

Nigeria, global markets in turmoil over Greek referendum – Businessday

Financial markets across the globe suffered another bout of turmoil on Tuesday due to the renewed political uncertainty and the risk that long suffering Greeks may reject the bailout. The shock announcement that Greece will hold a referendum on a new European Union bailout deal for the debt-ridden country, threw efforts to resolve the euro zone’s debt crisis into fresh doubt. The Nigerian equities market was not insulated from this global shock, as evidenced in its performance indices yesterday. Looking at the implications for Nigeria , John Ogar, CEO, GTB Securities, told BusinessDay that in a globalised world, with markets more integrated than ever, Nigeria cannot be impervious to the Euro-zone crisis (especially the recent events in Greece ).

Nigerian capital market safe for investments – Businessday

Arunma Oteh, Director- General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is encouraging local and foreign investors to commit their funds to Nigeria ’s rebounding capital market and reassuring them of  the safety of their investments. “It is absolutely safe to invest in the Nigerian capital market. We are building a market that is the first choice for capital sourcing by business and government, a market that is safe and profitable to both retail and institutional investors,” Oteh said. “We are pursuing this goal by continually raising the standards of our regulatory environment, revitalising our enforcement programmes, introducing new products, enhancing our processes with cutting-edge technology and investing in new strategies for investor education,” she told participants at the Commission’s Investment Forum organised to commemorate 50 years of capital market regulation in Nigeria, in Abuja.

Oteh said SEC, under her watch, had embarked on a series of reforms in the capital market and assured that the Commission as a regulator, was poised to build a capital market that is the first port of call for investors, whether local or international.