The Nation Newspaper

Tag: days

  • Warri Wolves players get two days off

    Warri Wolves players get two days off

    The Technical Adviser of Warri Wolves Solomon Ogbeide has given his players two days off to enable them enjoy the Easter holiday with their families.

    Ogbeide however warned that any player who fails to resume on Wednesday afternoon will be sanctioned.

    Coach Ogbeide said this is necessary to refresh them ahead of the must-win encounter against Nembe City FC next week.

    “I decided to give them at least two days off to enable them mix with their families. A player like Ike ThankGod has a new baby and he needs to visit them and see what is happening. Our next game is next week against Nembe City at home, so I have asked them to resume on Wednesday afternoon. But any player who fails to resume on time will have himself to blame.”

    Meanwhile, Super Eagles defender and club captain Azubuike Egwuekwe have appealed to the fans of the club to be patient as they are gradually finding their feet in the five-week-old league. Egwuekwe said they promised the governor a continental ticket at the end of the season and they must redeem their promise.

    “I want to beg our fans to be patient and support us with their prayers. We know what we promised the governor before the beginning of the league and by the grace of God, we shall get there.

    “The coaches are doing their best to correct the mistakes noticed in the few matches we have played. We believe them and are ready to play for them.

    “We have the boys that can do it so we are not afraid of any team provided the officiating is free and fair. So far, so good, the referees are doing well and we only pray they continue like this. It is good for their image too so that we can see them in CAF matches.”

  • ‘Market sheds N350b within eight days’

    The capital market lost N350billion within eight days as Market Capitalisation dropped from N10.82trillion on February 28 to N10.47trillion as at March 5, this year.

    The development was the outcome of drop in prices of certain blue-chip stocks, which affected market capitalisation and the All-Share Index.

    Speaking on the issue, the Managing Director, BGl Securities Limited, Mr Sunday Adebola, said the market performance decreased to 16.5 per cent from its previous level of 20.41 per cent in February. He said the problem was caused by fall in prices of major stocks in the consumer goods segment of the Exchange.

    He said: “There has been a drop in prices of Nestle, Nigerian Breweries, Cadbury and Guinness in recent times. Nestle has fallen from its unit price of N1000 to N800, ditto Nigerian Breweries, among others. These are highly-valued stocks, experiencing a slowdown in trading in recent times.

    “Also, oil and gas stocks have experienced drop in values. One of them is Forte Oil. Because these stocks are highly valued, they cause a slight setback in the market anytime there is untoward reactions on them,”

    He said the companies released results that gave a kind of dividend yields to investors, while at the same time, affected transactions. He said the stocks are over-valued, and therefore needed corrections to allign with their respective fair values.

    He said the banking sector still accounts for 21 per cent of the market, while oil and gas takes 22 per cent, as is reflected in the sectoral index. He however said banking stocks like Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), UBA, Sterling Bank, among others, are still under-valued.

    “The reason is because the values they are trading in the market are still below their intrinsic values. Despite this, confidence is returning to the market going by the interest shown by local and foreign investors,” he said.

    On market markers, Adebola said the appointed firms have boosted activities in the market, explaining that the major market indices have increased since last year when they were appointed to improve transactions.

    He said the market would recover fully, if the growth level that started last year is sustained.