Curator

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Chairman, Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria, ASHON, Chief Patrick Ezeagu, in this interview with Financial Vanguard, spoke on monetary and fiscal policies affecting the stock market, forth coming capital market summit and how government’s patronage,  among others can boost the Nigerian capital market   By Peter Egwuatu W HAT is really responsible for the recent rally in the Nigerian stock market? The Nigerian stock market was adversely affected by economic situation of the country in the last two years; but in recent time, we have started seeing some improvement. The rally in stock market is majorly attributed to the monetary policy changes, such as the Investors and  Exporters, I & E forex window, which allow investors to bring in their money at a well known market determined price. The Nigerian stock market is dominated by foreign investors and that has been the driver in recent time. So we would want the Central Bank of Nigeria, ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J STANDARDd Chartered Bank Limited has launched a campaign entitled,  “No.1 Bank: Power your Ambitions” to highlight its recent achievements and reiterate its commitment to the Africa and Middle East (AME) region. The ‘No.1 Bank’ campaign reiterates the bank’s top position across its diverse products and markets which include project finance, debt capital markets, wealth management, digital, private banking and Islamic banking. On the back of its “Here for Africa” campaign launched last year, the new campaign will showcase the bank’s heightened focus on the wider African and Middle East region, seeking to contribute to the region’s growth by growing its retail, corporate, institutional and commercial segments, while enhancing its digital capabilities. Selected recent awards backing Standard Chartered’s leading position include: Best Regional Consumer Digital Bank for Middle East & Africa 2016 for the fifth consecutive year on the global finance space...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J FIRST Bank of Nigeria Limited through its Sustainability initiative, FirstBank Sustainability Centre, in partnership with the Lagos Business School, is set to host a Sustainable Financial Strategy Workshop for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The workshop is designed to bring together NGOs and Funding Organizations, with the intention of enhancing NGOs understanding of implementing internal and external sustainable funding mechanism for the financial sustainability of their entire operations. The workshop which is also expected to attract aspiring NGOs, donor agencies and corporate foundations is also aimed at helping NGOs understand how to foster inclusive partnership with funding organizations as a strategic imperative for developing the external component of their sustainable financial strategy. Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications for FirstBank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, stated that “as a responsible corporate citizen, FirstBank would con...

via Blogger http://ift.tt/2rlfCQm

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Chairman, Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria, ASHON, Chief Patrick Ezeagu, in this interview with Financial Vanguard, spoke on monetary and fiscal policies affecting the stock market, forth coming capital market summit and how government’s patronage,  among others can boost the Nigerian capital market   By Peter Egwuatu W HAT is really responsible for the recent rally in the Nigerian stock market? The Nigerian stock market was adversely affected by economic situation of the country in the last two years; but in recent time, we have started seeing some improvement. The rally in stock market is majorly attributed to the monetary policy changes, such as the Investors and  Exporters, I & E forex window, which allow investors to bring in their money at a well known market determined price. The Nigerian stock market is dominated by foreign investors and that has been the driver in recent time. So we would want the Central Bank of Nigeria, ...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J STANDARDd Chartered Bank Limited has launched a campaign entitled,  “No.1 Bank: Power your Ambitions” to highlight its recent achievements and reiterate its commitment to the Africa and Middle East (AME) region. The ‘No.1 Bank’ campaign reiterates the bank’s top position across its diverse products and markets which include project finance, debt capital markets, wealth management, digital, private banking and Islamic banking. On the back of its “Here for Africa” campaign launched last year, the new campaign will showcase the bank’s heightened focus on the wider African and Middle East region, seeking to contribute to the region’s growth by growing its retail, corporate, institutional and commercial segments, while enhancing its digital capabilities. Selected recent awards backing Standard Chartered’s leading position include: Best Regional Consumer Digital Bank for Middle East & Africa 2016 for the fifth consecutive year on the global finance space...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J FIRST Bank of Nigeria Limited through its Sustainability initiative, FirstBank Sustainability Centre, in partnership with the Lagos Business School, is set to host a Sustainable Financial Strategy Workshop for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The workshop is designed to bring together NGOs and Funding Organizations, with the intention of enhancing NGOs understanding of implementing internal and external sustainable funding mechanism for the financial sustainability of their entire operations. The workshop which is also expected to attract aspiring NGOs, donor agencies and corporate foundations is also aimed at helping NGOs understand how to foster inclusive partnership with funding organizations as a strategic imperative for developing the external component of their sustainable financial strategy. Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications for FirstBank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, stated that “as a responsible corporate citizen, FirstBank would con...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Favour Nnabugwu THE African Aviation Pool recorded a dip in gross premium income by 34.5 percent at the end of December 31, 2016 to US$741,172 from US$996,610 posted in 2015 due to fall in premium rates. The subscribed capacity of the pool as reported at the 2017 African Insurance Organisatin (AIO) conference in Kampala, Uganda, stood at $8,110,000 in 2016 against $7,960,000 posted in 2015 while compound annual premium growth rate was 25.59 percent over the period 2012 through to 2016. The pool’s membership currently stands at 53 while the structure of the Excess of Loss retrocession programme was maintained this year with Lloyd’s syndicate, Cathedral, as leader for first and second layers. The Pool’s bank balance as at December 31, 2016 stood at US$292 billion against US$277.4 billion recorded the previous year.  An emerging trend of gradual withdrawal of capital from the market is taking place as a number of underwriters are taking a much tougher stan...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Peter Egwuatu TOTAL Nigeria Plc has assured its shareholders of improved performance in 2017, as it re-strategises to consolidate in the downstream petroleum sector. Notwithstanding the economic down turn experienced in the financial year 2016, the company declared a total dividend of N5.8 billion, translating to N17.00 per share. Chairman of Total Nigeria Plc, Mr. Stanislas Mittelman, while addressing shareholders at the 39th Annual General Meeting, AGM, held in Lagos, weekend, said that the company will re-strategise operations and invest more in the downstream sector in order to continue to maintain the market leadership. According to him “2016 was a year of economic and social challenges. Despite these challenges, the company’s turnover increased by 40 per cent to N291 billion from N208 billion in 2015; profit after tax increased by 266 per cent to N14.8 billion from N4.05 billion in 2015; interest expense was N0.9 billion and 52 per cent lower than...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Abdulwahab Abdulah The Yoruba socio-cultural group, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), has sued for peace in the raging face-off between a coalition of Arewa youths issuing three months ultimatum ordering Igbo indigenes to vacate Northern Nigeria. In a statement signed by Founder and President of the OPC, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, said that considering the current travails Nigeria was going through, everyone owed it a duty not to complicate matters by opening new vistas of trouble. “What would happen should the Yoruba decide to issue this same ultimatum to Northerners living in the South-West? And what if the Igbo give a deadline to the Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba living in the South-East? And the Middle-Belters now decide they do not want to see the Hausa-Fulani and Igbo groups?” Fasehun wondered while the great Nationalist, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in his time wanted a united Africa, but his followers and disciples are now clamouring for a divided Nigeria. “Any c...

http://ift.tt/2sikKJN The government of Cross Rivers State has been urged to pay for the seven kilometre Goodluck Jonathan bypass in Calabar. The call became necessary as the bridge constructed in bypass and commissioned in February 2015 by former President Goodluck Jonathan was yet to be paid for. The bypass which stands as the best highway network in Cross Rivers State, has made the construction company to be affected by the unpaid work done. Sermatech Nigeria Limited, the contractor, has said on various platforms that the construction of the Goodluck Jonathan bypass has almost led to its total ruin. Sermatech a fully Nigerian company with decades of experience in the construction sector according to Cube Soft Limited, online PR of the company, the unpaid contract has led to incurred interest on loan from the bank, used for the procurement of the project. Cube soft in a statement noted that as of 2011, the then Margret Ekpo by-pass in Calabar, Cross Rivers State was nothing but...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Last year, when President Muhammadu Buhari extended the tenure of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin‎ for another year, it stood as a mark of the esteem he is held in the military and outside that almost all commended the president for the brilliant idea. It is also a projection of the integrity of the person of the CDS that under an institution that has highly qualified and well trained men and women‎, none objected but gave total support to the development. If it were in political circles, it would be said that the Ekiti born General has earned the votes and confidence of the people. But indeed he has going by the changes, transformation , high level training and re-orientation of the military he has been able to achieve within the period he has been in office. Within the two years Olonisakin has been in office, a lot of positive things has happened to the Nigerian military that has raised the image of the country . Countries tha...

http://ift.tt/2rl2Ilo Edith Unuigbe Petralon Energy has announced the appointment of Edith Unuigbe as a non-executive director to the board of directors of Petralon Energy Limited. Edith Unuigbe joins Petralon’s board after an illustrious 20-year career at Nigeria LNG (NLNG), where she was General Counsel and Company Secretary, a role she had for 10 years. Before assuming the role of General Counsel in 2006, she was the Company Secretary and Legal Adviser for 7 years and the Head of its Legal and Commercial unit before that. Ms Unuigbe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. She attended INSEAD Business School’s International Executive Programme, in France in 2009, as well as Harvard University’s Women’s Leadership Forum, in 2011 and earned a certificate from the Wharton Business School Advanced Management Programme, Pennsylvania, in 2012. She will be joi...

http://ift.tt/2rtiEGK Some beneficiaries of the school feeding programme The Federal Government (FG) has released N3.77 billion for the feeding of 1,287,270 school children in nine states under the HomeGrown School Feeding Programme. This is was announced on Sunday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President, Mr Laolu Akande. He said the benefiting states, comprising Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Delta and Abia, received various sums in tranches. He also said that 14,574 cooks were engaged in the communities where the schools were located. According to Akande, the money is paid directly from the FG’s coffers to the cooks, with a slight variation in Osun State where some of the food items, such as eggs, were bought centrally by an aggregator. He added that the federal government intended to feed no fewer than three million pupils in 2017 under the feeding Programme, an aspect of the Social Investment Programme (SIP) of the Buhari presidency....

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Boko Haram gunmen killed eight members of a civilian militia force on Sunday, hiding in trees and opening fire as they waited for troops to go on a joint dawn offensive, their colleagues told AFP. The members of the civilian joint task force (CJTF) were waiting for soldiers at Kayamla village, in the Konduga area of Borno state, northeast Nigeria, when the attack happened. “We lost eight comrades in an ambush by Boko Haram gunmen at about 5:30 am (0430 GMT),” said CJTF member Ibrahim Liman in the state capital Maiduguri, which is 10 kilometres (six miles) away. “The vigilantes had gone to Kaymala as an advance party that was to be joined later by troops to launch an attack on Boko Haram enclave. “Unknown to them, Boko Haram terrorists, who by all indications had prior knowledge of the offensive, ambushed them by climbing into the trees. “They opened fire on the team as soon as they pulled over.” Liman’s account was supported by another militia member, Musa A...

via Blogger http://ift.tt/2ss0lSy

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Tare Youdeowei LAGOS —Founder Zaria Mimano Foundation, Zaria Aba Mimano, yesterday, in Lagos, reiterated the need for Nigeria’s health sector to have, not only a facelift, but a complete overhaul, in the interest of the country.    “An economy is only as strong as the health of its people. The thing is; the health and  economic performance of a people are interlinked. Healthier countries have wealthier economies. And the truth is that poverty, mainly through infant malnourishment and mortality, adversely affects life expectancy.” Proffering a solution, Mimano, who is the founder of Aba Oil, said:  “Investment in health should be the priority of every responsible government, agreeably there are challenges like ageing population, growing prevalence of chronic illnesses and high cost of vital health technologies, but what is the use of anything if the population cannot get basic health care. Quality health care should not be the preserve of t...