Cloned Nigerian Anchor

Author: Chike Ozohili

  • HEDA writes NNPCL, seeks clarity on $3bn naira stabilisation loan 

    HEDA writes NNPCL, seeks clarity on $3bn naira stabilisation loan 

    The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has initiated a formal information request to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL). 

    According to Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, Olanrewaju Suraju, the request pertains to the recent acquisition of a $3 billion emergency crude oil repayment loan.

    HEDA Resource Centre is a preeminent non-profit organization devoted to championing transparency, accountability, and robust governance in Nigeria,

    He said, “This action is aligned with the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, 2011, underscoring HEDA’s unwavering dedication to ensuring judicious resource utilization and safeguarding the nation’s interests.”

    The obtained loan, secured from the African Export-Import Bank (AFRIEXIM), is intended to fortify the Naira and reinforce the foreign exchange market. Concurrently, HEDA acknowledges the potential merits of this endeavor while simultaneously expressing apprehensions about its possible implications for Nigeria’s economy, natural resources, and future prospects.

    Furthermore, the civil society group is keen to understand the specific oil grades or categories being utilized for the negotiation of the loan; the exchange rate to dollar being employed in the terms of the agreement for the crude oil repayment loan; and providing the quantity of oil that is being sold or used as collateral for this particular transaction.

    Manifesting its vigilant oversight role in managing public resources, HEDA through its Freedom of Information has presented a series of pertinent inquiries to NNPC, designed to elucidate the ramifications of the $3 billion crude oil repayment loan. The organization’s overarching objective is to acquire a comprehensive comprehension of the motivation behind the deal and its plausible effects on Nigeria’s economic landscape.

    “As champions of accountability, we firmly believe that these inquiries will serve to illuminate the rationale underpinning the recent loan agreement, along with its potential ramifications for our nation’s economic well-being and overall prosperity,” 

  • FG to redesign Lokoja-Ganaja-Ajaokuta Road

    FG to redesign Lokoja-Ganaja-Ajaokuta Road

    The Minister of Works, David Umahi has vowed to redesign the Lokoja-Ganaja-Ajaokuta Road in Kogi State.

    Umahi, who spoke during a courtesy call on the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello at the Government House, Lokoja on Tuesday night, also revealed plans for long-lasting, low-maintenance concrete roads and assured of swift progress on all federal road projects in the state.

    The minister had earlier on Tuesday inspected a bridge reconstruction at Gada-biu, the Abaji section of Abuja-Lokoja road, Koto-Karfe bridge, Murtala bridge, Lokoja-Ganaja-Ajaokuta Road, Lokoja-Okene Road, and Lokoja-Kabba Road.

    He disclosed that the federal government was considering concrete road construction innovation which he said it has low-maintenance cost and can last for over 50 years without maintenance.

    The minister also disclosed that concrete roads are cheaper in terms of construction cost and the guarantee of construction materials. 

    He, however, commended Governor Yahaya Bello’s commitment to the people of Kogi State and his administration’s accomplishments across education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

    The Minister expressed gratitude for the governor’s warm reception upon his appointment as Minister of Works and for his dedication to the betterment of Kogi State.

    In a remark, the Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, expressed deep appreciation for the minister’s proactive approach in inspecting deteriorating federal roads within the state, which according to him, demonstrated a significant dedication to resolving pressing infrastructure issues.

    Bello also expressed optimism regarding the Federal Government’s commitment to enhancing the country’s road infrastructure, and commended Umahi for his visit to the state.

    The governor highlighted the concern surrounding the condition of federal roads in Kogi State, emphasizing its strategic position as the connecting point between Northern and Southern Nigeria.

    He acknowledged the hardships faced by commuters, the negative impact on trade and the economy, and the strain on transportation systems. 

  • First Bank, ELOY Foundation empower over 1000 women MSMEs

    First Bank, ELOY Foundation empower over 1000 women MSMEs

    First Bank Nigeria Limited in partnership with the ELOY Awards Foundation has launched the 2023 Edition of the “Eloy Business Shower” designed and dedicated to encouraging, promoting and empowering businesses owned by women across Nigeria.

    The focus and aim of the awards are to expose women in business to important business skills, networking, and the Eloy Foundation Business Toolkit, which is a collection of business survival information. 

    This   will   further   be   executed   through   the First Bank’s FirstGem 9 percent Loan Scheme created for female owned MSMEs and the SME Connect Initiative. 

    The   Business   Shower   by   the   ELOY   Awards   Foundation   was   held   in   five states: Lagos, Delta, Anambra, Kano and Osun States from the 1st of July 2023 to the15th of   July   2023.     

    According   to   the Founder, ELOY   Awards Foundation, Tewa Onasanya “the ELOY Business Shower was held to support business owners to build sustainable businesses.

    This year at the second edition of the program, the company hosted 1087 women across the 5 states visited in Nigeria.   It   was   an   avenue   for   these   women   to   gain   access   to   entrepreneurial trainings from experienced businessmen and women, who armed them with tools and information to help them grow their businesses successfully”.

    The over 2300 women who registered for the program will also be invited to join the ELOY Foundation Network, a network that will continue to give them access to resources to help their businesses grow. 

    Expressing   her   delight   on   the   recently   concluded   ELOY Foundation Business Shower, Folake   Ani-Mumuney, First Bank’s Group Head, Marketing   &   Corporate Communications, said, “we commend Eloy  Foundation Awards for convening the second edition of its Eloy Business Shower which has impacted over 1000 female business entrepreneurs across the country.”

    “Female business owners that participated at the event in   the 5 cities –Lagos, Delta, Anambra, Kano and Osun States – are encouraged to take advantage of the teachings from the facilitators as these are essential to boosting their contribution to the economic activities in their host state, geopolitical zones and nation at large, whilst sustaining their businesses,” she concluded.

    Following the huge success of the event, Phase two of the event will begin soon, where  ELOY   Awards   Foundation   will   enrol   50   women   who   are   small   business owners onto the three month ELOY Foundation Sustainable Empowerment Program(SEP), these small business owners will be mentored for a period of three months and they  will  have access to  entrepreneurial trainings  every  month, mentorship, access   to   information   on   affordable   finance   and   10   of   these women considered for a grant to assist them on businesses.

  • BRICS Bank to lend in Brazilian, South African currencies

    BRICS Bank to lend in Brazilian, South African currencies

    The BRICS Development Bank has announced plans to begin lending in South African and Brazilian currencies in order to reduce reliance on the US dollar.

    The NDB was created in 2014, by the BRICS bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as a Global South-oriented alternative to the US-dominated World Bank, which is infamous for imposing neoliberal economic reforms on impoverished countries, which hinder their development.

    Vice President Kashim Shettima is currently representing President Bola Tinubu at the 15th BRICS summit in South Africa.

    The conference, which commenced in Johannesburg on August 22, will focus on issues of trade and investment facilitation, sustainable development, innovation, and global governance reform.

    Rousseff explained, “It is necessary to find ways to avoid foreign exchange risk and other issues, such as being dependent on a single currency, such as the US dollar”

    “The good news is that we are seeing many countries choosing to trade using their own currencies. China and Brazil, for instance, are agreeing to exchange with RMB (renminbi) and the Brazilian real”, she said.

    “At the NDB, we have committed to it in our strategy. For the period from 2022 to 2026, the NDB has to lend 30 per cent in local currencies, so 30 percent of our loan book will be financed in the currencies of our member countries”, Rousseff added.

    “That will be extremely important to help our countries avoid exchange rate risks and shortages in finance that hinder long-term investments”, the new NDB president stressed.

    She said the NDB would issue debt in rand for lending in South Africa and do “the same thing in Brazil with the real. We’re going to try to either do a currency swap or issue debt. And also in rupees.”

    Rousseff said lending in local currency would allow borrowers in member countries to avoid exchange rate risk and variations in US interest rates.

    She said the bank has also tried to distinguish itself from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by not setting lists of political conditions on loans.

    She also said the Shanghai-based lender was considering applications for membership from about 15 countries and was likely to approve the admission of four or five.

    Members of the NDB not only include the founders of the BRICS but also Bangladesh, the UAE, and Egypt. Uruguay is likewise in the process of joining, and many other countries have expressed interest.

    Argentina, Iran, and Algeria have formally applied to join the extended BRICS bloc, and according to the foreign minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, other nations that are interested “include Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Argentina, Mexico, and a number of African nations”.

  • Equity market sustains bullish run, gains N158bn

    Equity market sustains bullish run, gains N158bn

    Trading activities on the floor of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Tuesday sustained an upward trajectory as the market appreciated by N158 billion.

    The market capitalisation of listed equities increased by 0.44 per cent to N35.842 trillion from N35.684 trillion reported the previous day.

    The NGX All Share Index also appreciated 286.26 basis points to 65488.67 points from 65202.41 points traded on Monday.

    Investors’ attention during the day were directed towards shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), AccessCorp, and Fidelity Bank, ETI and others.

    An analysis of the investment showed that Cornerstones Insurance led gainers table with 9.84 per cent to N1.34 per unit, CWG followed with a gain of 9.74 per cent to close at N4.28 per unit, SCOA added 9.38 per cent to close at N1.40 per unit, ABC Transport increased by 8.33 per cent to close at N0.52 per unit. BUAFoods added 7.91 per cent to close at N165 per share.

    On the contrary, Nigerian Breweries, SUNU Assurance and Chellaram Plc recorded the highest loss during the day in percentage terms, declining by 10 per cent to close at N38.25, N0.72 and N3.96 per share respectively. John Holt trailed with a drop of 8.81 per cent to close at N1.45 per unit while Mutual Benefits dipped 6.82 per cent to close at N0.41 per share.

    The volume of trades increased by 61.864 million representing  26.71 per cent as investors traded 293.463 million shares valued at N4.122 billion in 5895 deals against 231.599 million shares worth N3.992 billion exchanged hands the previous day in 5494 deals.

    Transactions on the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) led market activities during the day with 41.441 million shares valued at N185.042 million, AccessCorp followed with account of 36.158 million shares worth N616.420 million, Fidelity Bank traded 32.105 million shares valued at N229.733 million, Omatek exchanged 15.006 million shares cost N4.293 million while Ecobank Transnational Corporate sold a total of 13.200 million shares valued at N208.479 million.

  • Don’t connect unmetered customers, NERC tells DisCos

    Don’t connect unmetered customers, NERC tells DisCos

    *Says only 5.3m electricity consumers metered

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has cautioned Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to refrain from connecting new customers who have not been allocated meters.

    According to the information which was disclosed in a statement via its X (Twitter) handle, the commission cited the 2023 Electricity Act which “mandates it to ensure DisCos provide quality service to customers.

    The Commission also emphasised that all new electricity connections must be done strictly based on metering before connection.

    “All new electricity connections must be done strictly based on metering before connection.

    “That is, no new customer should be connected by a DisCos without a meter first being installed at the premises.”

    The commission has for some time, battled numerous complaints about estimated billing as well as default in supplying meters by DisCos from customers.

    The commission has for some time, battled numerous complaints about estimated billing as well as default in supplying meters by DisCos from customers.

    According to NERC’s customer enumeration data, as of March 2023, 7 million customers were unmetered. Data from the Commission further revealed that about 3 million meters were outdated and due for replacement.

    The regulators’ first quarter 2023 report showed that there were 12.3 million registered customers, and just 43.3% (5.3 million) of them were metered.

    The remaining 56.69% of customers, about 7 million, are unmetered and are served via estimated billing which is a major issue for the Commission. To resolve the crisis surrounding the meter issues, NERC came up with an idea – Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation – CAPMI.

    CAPMI was created to solve the slow pace of customer metering by the DisCos, as well as resolve the complaints received from customers dissatisfied with the current estimated billing practices.

    With CAPMI, customers were allowed to pay the cost of the meter into a dedicated account jointly managed by the DisCos and the meter Vendors/Installers.

    The allocated meters would be installed within 45 days by a NERC accredited Vendor/Installer once the payment was confirmed.

  • UK Police slams bribery charges on Diezani

    UK Police slams bribery charges on Diezani

    The British police have charged former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke with bribery offences.

    According to Reuters, the UK police on Tuesday said they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.

    Reuters said charges against her also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.  

    The 63-year-old ex-minister served during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, from 2010 to 2015. She was the president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

    Speaking about the charges, Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) International Corruption Unit, said, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.

    “These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.”

    The NCA said Alison-Madueke was accused of benefiting from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.

  • FG to leverage Nigerian Electricity Act to boost power supply –Adelabu

    FG to leverage Nigerian Electricity Act to boost power supply –Adelabu


    The new Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu has assured that the federal government will empower Nigerians through stable and accessible power.

    The minister, who gave the assurance when he assumed office on Monday in Abuja stressed that every home, industry, school, and business will benefit from the government’s efforts.


    To achieve the feat, Adelabu said the ministry will leverage the Nigerian Electricity Act of 2023 to boost the power supply in the country.

    The Nigerian Electricity Act, 2023 provides a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for the operation of a fully privatized, cost and service-reflective tariff contract.


    The Act also provides a rule-based competitive electricity market in Nigeria and repeals the following Acts: Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005.

    According to the minister, the ministry will diligently provide optimal solutions for Nigeria’s power needs across the nation.

    He said the task was not merely a requirement, but an expectation from both the President and the Nigerian populace who had endured years of power challenges.

    “This responsibility weighs heavily upon us, and it is with conviction, divine guidance, and the support of President Tinubu, the National Assembly, government agencies, and Nigerians that I pledge my commitment to achieve success in the power sector.

    “Recognising that there are numerous deserving and qualified Nigerians for this role, I am truly humbled that the President has entrusted me with this vital task, as we collectively envision the growth and prosperity of our nation,” he said.

  • Regularise your tax positions or face sanctions, FIRS warns shippers

    Regularise your tax positions or face sanctions, FIRS warns shippers

    The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has mandated all shipping companies operating in Nigeria’s territorial waters to regularize their outstanding tax return before 31st December 2023.

    The service disclosed this in a public statement made available to the public and signed by its Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami.

    FIRS noted the order is the sequel to two previous seculars of June and December 2021 wherein it provided the basis of taxation of international shipping lines and also called on them to regularize their tax affairs with the service within three months.

    The circular also stated that the FIRS had observed that many international shipping lines operating in the country had not been complying with the nation’s extant tax laws.

    “The circular provides the basis of taxation for all international shipping lines in Nigeria and the public notice requested all international shipping lines to regularise their tax affairs with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) within three months of the date of that publication”

    “Consequently, the Service hereby requests all international shipping companies operating in Nigerian territorial waters in whatever capacity (containerized, bulk cargo, fishing trawlers, crude oil and natural gas lifting vessels, dredging, survey, floating, production, storage, and offloading, etc.) to immediately regularise their tax positions.”

    The service noted that it is collaborating with relevant security agencies to prosecute defaulting shipping agencies after December 2023.

    The statement reads, “The Service is collaborating with relevant government regulatory and security agencies in the maritime sector to commence enforcement action on defaulting shipping companies after the expiration of the grace period of December 31, 2023”