Category: Lead

The eight employees of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, kidnapped last week in Lagos have regained freedom, The Nation has learnt.

The victims were released on Sunday night at the Sangotedo area of Lagos State.

It was however unclear if ransom was paid for their freedom.

The oil workers were abducted around 6pm on Monday while on a private boat from Lagos Island to Lekki.

Read Also: Nine million vehicles have no insurance, says report

Their abductors were said to have whisked them into their boat, leaving behind the oil workers’ boat with their personal belongings.

Spokesman for the Lagos Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the release of the oil workers to The Nation on Monday morning.

Asked if any arrest was made, Hundeyin answered in the negative, declining further comments on the issue.

Details Shortly…

Arrowheads of Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s campaign group are squaring up for the Senate Leader position.

The National Assembly is resuming tomorrow to commence full legislative business and one of the things to be done by the Senate President is the announcement of the principal officers.

These are: Senate Leader, Deputy Leader, Senate Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip.

There were also Senate Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Chief Whip and Deputy Minority Chief Whip.

The positions are not contested for on the floor of the Senate. The occupants are fixed after consultations between the Senate Leadership and leaders of the ruling party and the minority parties.

Yesterday, Senators Ali Ndume (Borno South) and Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) are in the race for Senate Leader. Both of them confirmed their interest yesterday.

Ndume said: “I’m interested but I am not desperate to be the Senate Leader. I will leave everything to God.”

Bamidele said: “Very true, I am vying for the office with Sen. Ndume.” 

The battle is more intense for the minority leader where the G-5 group led by former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike is up to stop former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal.

Unlike the majority All Progressives Congress (APC) with 59 senators, the minority is split into six political parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 36, Labour Party (LP) with nine, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) with two, Social Democratic Party (SDP) two, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) one and Young Peoples Party (YPP).

While Ndume, who is a former Senate Leader, and a friend of Vice President Kashim Shettima, was mandated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the Akpabio campaign. Bamidele is a die-hard loyalist of the President. 

The scenario has put the President of the Senate, His Excellency Godswill Akpabio in dilemma. 

In the opposition camp, five Senators have been speculated as likely to be the Minority leader. 

They are: Tambuwal (Sokoto South), a former Speaker of the House of Reps, ex-Kebbi State Governor and former FCT Minister Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), former Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North), Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe (from Cross River North) and Mwadkwon Simon Davou (Plateau North)

The PDP caucus was split into two camps  with the former Presidential Candidate of the party, Alh. Atiku Abubakar and the G-5 governors, led by ex-Governor Nyesom Wike renewing their rivalry. 

The PDP caucus alleged that the G-5 group has become an annex of the APC. 

The Atiku group also claimed that the G-5 cannot produce the Minority Leader in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. 

Although the G-5 prefers Jarigbe, its plan B is  Davou to break the yoke of agitation from the North. 

Investigation revealed that the tight race for the Senate Leader may lead the upper chamber to change its tradition. 

A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “ Ndume was the DG of Akpabio’s campaign and Bamidele coordinated all covert strategies which made Akpabio to win. The situation has created a dilemma for the President of the Senate.” 

Another source said the intrigues may make the Senate to dump its tradition. 

The source added:” It has been an unwritten tradition that the DG of the campaign of a President of the Senate will be the Senate Leader. 

“During David Mark’s tenure, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba was the DG of his campaign and he became the Senate Leader. Ndume was the DG of Saraki’s camp and he became the Senate Leader in 2015 and when Sen. Yahaya led the campaign of Ahmad Lawan, he was chosen as the Senate Leader. 

“ The indices are changing because Sen. Bamidele is a strong contender for Senate Leader as a” godson” of the President. The adoption of campaign DG as a Senate Leader is not in our Standing Rules. “

In the opposition PDP, Atiku’s camp and the G5 group have been at each other’s throats. 

Another Senator said: “The G5 leaders have drawn the battle line with Atiku’s camp to stop Tambuwal from emerging as the Minority Leader.” 

• TinuBull rallies Nigeria to world’s top three

• Stock market hits 15-year high

Nigerian equities have amassed N4.35 trillion in net capital gains in the past five weeks.

The market report, now generally referred to as TinuBULL, followed a record-setting rally triggered by the investor-friendly stance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Official trading reports and global stock market indices at the weekend showed that Nigeria has jumped several steps over the past five weeks to become one of the world’s three best-performing markets.

Nigeria’s benchmark equities index peaked at a 15-year high in a sustained bullish run driven by an upsurge in demand from both domestic and foreign investors.

There is a consensus that the performance of the Nigerian stock market is directly related to the policy stance of the Tinubu Administration.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) stated that the market performance came on the back of “audacious macroeconomic reforms under the 34-day old administration”, noting that market operators were of the view that “the policies of the new administration under President Tinubu” had “led to the rise in the fortunes of investors”.

In barely a month, the Tinubu Administration has given effect to the stoppage of the 46-year-old fuel subsidy, abolished the multiple forex rates and instituted probes into major issues of public finance.

In his May 29 inaugural speech, described generally as market-friendly, Tinubu addressed general issues of security, economy, infrastructure and monetary outlook. 

The president also directly addressed investors’ concerns on multiple taxations, returns repatriation and foreign exchange (forex) among others.

“I have a message for our investors, local and foreign, our government shall review all their complaints about multiple taxations and various anti-investment inhibitions. 

“We shall ensure that investors and foreign businesses repatriate their hard-earned dividends and profits home,” Tinubu said, directly addressing the global investing public.

Benchmark equities indices at the NGX indicated an average return of 15.09 per cent more than three-quarters of the equities market’s six-month return of 18.96 per cent for the first half of 2023.

The aggregate market value of all quoted equities has risen by N4.35 trillion over the past five weeks, accounting for about 82 per cent of total net capital gains of N5.33 trillion in the first half of 2023. These underlined that the global top chart performance of the stock market was largely driven by the Tinubu-triggered rally.

The All Share Index (ASI) – the value-based common index that is widely regarded as the main benchmark for the Nigerian equities market, rode on the back of a week-on-week rally to close at the weekend at 60,968.27 points, its highest since 2008. 

The 60,000 index mark is regarded as a psychological milestone, a major testing point for a rally. The ASI had stood at 52,973.88 points on the eve of the May 29, 2023 swearing-in of the new president.

The aggregate market value of all quoted equities, which had stood at N28.845 trillion at the start of the Tinubu Administration, closed at N33.198 trillion, attaining a perfect correlation of 15.09 per cent with the ASI. The correlation between the ASI and market value validated that the increase in market value was driven mainly by share price appreciation or real capital gains as against increases due to the primary market’s changes in the number of listed shares and corporate revaluation among others.

The ASI and aggregate market value of quoted shares had opened in 2023 at 51,595.66 points and N28.103 trillion respectively.

A global year-to-date analysis that tracked major advanced, emerging and frontier markets at the weekend showed that Nigeria had climbed over the past five weeks to become the third best-performing market in the world, in terms of average return.

The report tracked 22 major global markets across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Asia and drew on data provided by Bloomberg and Afrinvest West Africa. 

With a year-to-date return of 18.96 per cent, Nigeria trailed Japan and Egypt, which posted a six-month average return of 27.2 per cent and 21.0 per cent respectively.

United States S & P 500 Index posted an average return of 15.8 per cent. United Kingdom’s FTSE All Share Index recorded a six-month return of 0.51 per cent. Germany’s Xetra Dax indicated an average return of 16.0 per cent. France’s CAC 40 Index posted an average gain of 14.3 per cent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose by 3.7 per cent while India’s BSE Sens appreciated by 6.4 per cent in the first half.

Trading reports at the NGX had shown early signs of a change in foreign investors’ attitudes to the Nigerian market.

The latest report on foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) indicated a significant improvement in foreign investors’ participation in the Nigerian investment market. Total FPI transactions rose by 338.72 per cent, driven by a significant 649.6 per cent increase in inflows.

The report, for the period, ended May 2023, showed that total FPIs increased from a record low of N8.47 billion in April 2023 to N37.16 billion in May 2023, its highest since June 2022. The total FPI in April was the lowest in recent years amidst anxieties over the political transition.

FPI inflow – the buy side of the transactions – jumped from a record low of N3.67 billion in April 2023 to N27.51 billion in May 2023, its highest since November 2021. FPI outflows – the sell side – recorded a slower increase of 101.04 per cent from N4.80 billion to N9.65 billion.

The FPI report, coordinated by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), included transactions from nearly all custodians and capital market operators and it is widely regarded as a credible measure of the FPI trend. The report uses two key indicators-inflow and outflow, to gauge foreign investors’ mood and participation in the equities market and the economy. While inflows and outflows indicate the direction of portfolio transactions, total FPI measures the momentum and level of participation.

When inflows outweigh outflows, it simply means foreign investors are buying more quoted equities than they are selling and when outflows outpace inflows, it implies that foreign investors are selling more of their investments than buying more investments. Thus the position of FPI surplus or deficit.

The NGX noted that the May 2023 performance was partly driven by the record-breaking bullish rally triggered by the May 29 inauguration of President Tinubu, widely considered as a pro-market administrator.

A comparative analysis of the first trading day after the inauguration of a new president since 1999 had shown only three positive marks, with the 5.22 per cent rally posted by the stock market on the first trading day after the inauguration of Tinubu, the highest the market has ever witnessed. First-day equity market response to the 1999 inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo was negative, with the market dropping by 0.07 per cent. 

The 2007 inauguration of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was almost flat, with a tilt towards positive. The 2011 inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan was greeted with a modest 0.14 per cent. The 2015 inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari was negative, with a first-day return of 0.77 per cent.

Afrinvest Securities said “economy reform optimism” bolstered the market performance, noting that “the rally in the market followed the promise of critical reforms by the President Bola Tinubu administration”.

Analysts at Arthur Steven Asset Management said the equities market’s bullish momentum was “because of the new administration which tends to affect the market positively”.

“The market reacted to the high expectation from the new administration as the government promised the investors easy repatriation of their investment and profit,” Arthur Steven Asset Management stated.

Customers deposited N8.9 trillion in the last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has said.

MPC member, Prof. Festus Adenikinju, said the deposit base represents a 21.4 per cent increase to about N44 trillion in total industry deposits between April 2022 and April 2023. 

Industry credit increased by N4.54 trillion or 17.40 per cent while gross credit has been on an upward trajectory within the same periods. 

Stress tests conducted on the industry show that it can weather the major risks and vulnerabilities in the system. 

Adenikinju said the gross external reserves stood at US$35.19 billion in April and could provide 6.46 months cover of import of goods and services or 8.88 months cover of import of goods. 

He said the financial soundness indicators are positive and showed that the banking system remains strong, sound, and resilient. 

“The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 12.8 per cent in April 2023, still within the prudential requirement of between 10 per cent – 15 per cent. 

“Non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio declined from 4.5 per cent in March 2023 to 4.4 per cent in April 2023. 

“Liquidity ratio (LR) rose to 45.3 per cent in April 2023, from 43.8 per cent in March 2023. This is above the minimum 30 per cent recommended by the prudential requirement,” he stated.

Adenikinju said both the Return on Equity (ROE) and Returns on Asset (ROA) increased between March 2023 and April 2023. 

“ROE rose from 21.6 per cent to 22.6 per cent; while ROA increased from 1.6 per cent to 1.7 per cent between March 2023 and April 2023, respectively,” he said.

CBN Deputy Governor, Mrs. Aisha Ahmad, said sustaining banking sector lending to critical sectors of the economy as monetary policy tightens to contain inflation remains paramount. 

She said that given the positive correlation of market lending rates to the Monetary Policy Rate, borrowing costs have risen, while growth in credit has slowed. 

She added: “Stress test results showed that industry solvency and liquidity positions could withstand mild to moderate shocks in the short to medium term. 

“Nonetheless, the sector must continue to build adequate capital buffers – ongoing implementation of the Basel III capital standards (which prescribes additional capital buffers) are relevant in this regard.”

Also, CBN Deputy Governor, Edward Adamu, said the short-term outlook for inflation and its major drivers remains unfriendly. 

“Although the pace of increase has subsided, year-on-year inflation could continue to rise according to in-house estimates. 

“To ensure that flattening is quickly achieved to pave the way for deceleration, the stance of monetary policy needs to be firmer.”

This, he said is against the backdrop of an uncertain outlook for fiscal policy, energy prices and wages in the rest of the year. 

Adamu said although much of the impact of the initial shocks to inflation may have dissipated, inflation expectation has remained significantly elevated. 

“This needs to change, and quickly so. I believe communication is key in this regard, but equally important is what the market can see the bank doing. 

“I am persuaded that policy must strive to rein in inflation expectation as a deserving complement to effective liquidity management,” he said.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday returned to Abuja from Lagos, 13 days after he left the nation’s capital to attend the Summit on New Global Financing Pact in Paris, the capital of France.

The President had returned to Lagos last Tuesday to observe the Eid-el-Kabir festival in his home at Ikoyi.

In the course of attending the summit, he had held diplomatic meetings on the sidelines of the main event.

While he was in Paris, President Tinubu met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée; Swiss President Alain Berset at Palais Brongniart; Benin Republic President Patrice Talon; Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; and President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina.

He also met the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim), Prof. Benedict Oramah, and President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud–Basso.

President Tinubu left Paris for London, the United Kingdom (UK), on Saturday, June 24, on a private visit.

He also met with former President Muhammadu Buhari while in London.

Back in Lagos, apart from joining other Nigerians in celebrating the Eid-el-Kabir, the President also hosted the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo.

He landed at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja around 2:30 p.m.

• Illegal pilgrims invaded Nigerian tents in Mina, says Saudi agency
• NAHCON Chair blames Saudi govt for invasion

Six more Nigerians reported died during the five days of Hajj rites in Mina and Arafat, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said.

This increased the total number of pilgrims that died in this year’s Hajj to 13.

NAHCON’s Head of the Medical Mission, Dr. Usman Galadima, announced this during a stakeholders’ meeting in Makkah.

Galadima said two Nigerian women were delivered of babies during the five-day Hajj rites.

According to him, 93 emergency cases were attended to, including three cases of Chicken Pox.

Also, a Saudi Arabian agency in charge of Nigerian pilgrims yesterday attributed the shortage of tents provided for the nation’s pilgrims to the illegal pilgrims that invaded the tents before Nigerians arrived.

The Mutawif for pilgrims from African non-Arab countries in Makkah said the high number of illegal pilgrims that invaded the Nigerian tents in Mina and Arafat made them crowdy.

Its Chief Executive, Mr. Bador Bafakeeh, said the company checked all the number of pilgrims, which increased from 30 to 40 per cent than the agreed number.

Bafakeeh said: “The tents were customised with the number of pilgrims agreed on and we tried to maintain it with the food and all utility services we agreed on. Most of our video records show that there were many illegal pilgrims in different tents when we were sharing food. A lot of official reports had been written regarding all of these cases, from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (lesser hajj) and some government entities.”

The agency chief assured Nigerians that the company would look into all the issues raised by NAHCON and convene another meeting with the commission and other stakeholders to find a common ground.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan, decried the invasion of Mina and Arafat by those he called fake pilgrims, resulting in inadequate tents in Mina.

Hassan blamed the Saudi authority for allowing the illegal pilgrims to occupy Nigerian tents.

“We were not in a position to checkmate them. We do not have the security control because there was no way we could handle the issue. It is an embarrassment to us.

“There was no way we could check them. Only the appropriate authorities could do that,” he said.

The NAHCON boss complained that the same tent space used for the 2022 Hajj of about 43,000 pilgrims was also used for the 95,000 pilgrims who participated in this year’s hajj.

“In view of the inadequate tent space, many pilgrims who looked towards an enjoyable Hajj had to find themselves under the sun for days.

“And they had nowhere else to go but remain under the sun. Many didn’t know that the best we can do as Hajj mission is only to complain. We have no power or control over the issue.

“We were just helpless, and this is not a good one for the pilgrims who have looked forward to having an enjoyable Hajj,” he said.

Hassan said the food the company served Nigerians pilgrims was substandard while most of the meals had no Nigerian touch.

“This year, very many foods served to pilgrims were not eaten. Even when they came, they were very late. Some of our places were turned like a refuse dump. At times, some of our toilets lacked water,” he said.

To avoid a similar incident in future Hajj, the commission proposed that it should be allowed to handle feeding of pilgrims at Mina and Arafat to ensure that Nigerian pilgrims get value for their money.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo, Saudi Arabia

Six Nigerians were reported dead during the five days Hajj rites in Mina and Arafat, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said.

This brings to 13 the total number of pilgrims that died in this year’s Hajj.

NAHCON’s Head of the Medical Mission, Dr. Usman Galadima, made this known during an ongoing stakeholders’ meeting in Makkah.

Dr Galadima said two Nigerians delivered babies during the Five-Day Hajj rites.

According to him, 93 emergency cases were attended to which include three cases of Chicken Pox.

Details Shortly…