The Nation Newspaper

Tag: declares

  • LUTH declares patient ‘unknown’

    A woman has been declared an “unidentified patient” by the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba.

    According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the hospital, Mrs Hope Nwawolo, the light-complexioned woman of about 35 years old, was brought into the Accident and Emergency Centre of the hospital by a lady and some policemen, on the April 7 at about 10.20am.

    The patient, according to Mrs Nwawolo, was said to have been found unconscious in front of a company on Bode Thomas Road, Surulere, by the lady who promptly alerted the police.

    Mrs Nwawolo said the hospital’s management requests anyone looking for a female relation that fits the above description to visit the Accident and Emergency Centre of the hospital for identification.

  • Sterling Bank declares N5.4b dividend as profit rises to N9.3b

    The board of Sterling Bank Plc yesterday recommended distribution of N5.4 billion as cash dividends t shareholders as the bank continued to consolidate its growth and profitability.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Sterling Bank for the year ended December 31, 2013 released yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed considerable growths in gross earnings and profitability while the bank’s balance sheet was stronger.

    The report indicated that gross earnings rose by 33.1 per cent while pre and post tax profits grew by 24.1 per cent and 19 per cent. Basic earnings per share rose by 18.2 per cent from 52 kobo t0 44 kobo.

    A breakdown of the dividend recommendation indicates that shareholders would receive a dividend per share of 25 kobo, 25 per cent above 20 kobo distributed in the previous year.

    Gross earnings rode on the back of a 24 per cent and 31 per cent growth in non-interest income and interest income respectively to N91.6 billion in 2013 as against 68.86 billion in 2012. Non-interest income, which rose to N21.7 billion as against N15.3 billion in 2012 was largely due to a 139 per cent increase in trading income in addition to a 46 per cent increase in fees and commission; while Interest income rose to N70.0billion compared with N53.5 billion in 2012, driven by a 39 per cent increase in gross loans and advances to N328.7 billion.

    Profit before tax rose from N7.50 billion in 2012 to N9.31 billion in 2013 while profit after tax increased from N6.95 billion to N8.27 billion. As a demonstration of confidence in the bank, customer deposits rose 23 per cent to N570.5 billion as against N466.8 billion. This, according to the Bank, also reflects progress in the execution of its retail strategy

    Sterling Bank’s total assets including contingent liabilities increased by 28 per cent to N909.4 billion compared with N708.2 billion in 2012, while Shareholders’ funds grew by 36.1 per cent to N63.5 billion as against N46.6billion due to profit accretion and net proceeds of N12.1 billion from the rights Issue.

    The report also showed improvement in the asset quality of the bank as the proportion of gross loans to non-performing loan dropped to 2.1per cent in 2013 as against 3.8 per cent in 2012, notwithstanding a 40 per cent growth in loans and advances.

    Commenting on the results, managing director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola, said the performance in 2013 highlighted the underlying institutional strength citing the top-line and bottom-line growths.

    According to him, the results underlined the steadiness of the bank against the macroeconomic and regulatory challenges.

    He assured that the bank has been positioned to sustain the performance in the years ahead.

  • GlaxoSmithKline declares N1.24b dividend

    The board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (GSK) Plc has announced dividend recommendation of about N1.24 billion for the 2013 business year as investors await the full audited report and accounts of the healthcare company.

    An investors’ notice obtained by The Nation indicated that shareholders would receive a dividend per share of N1.30 for the immediate past year ended December 31, 2013. The dividend will be paid on June 12 subject to approval of the recommendation by the annual general meeting of the company on May 11. GSK is the first healthcare company to declare dividend.

    GlaxoSmithKline United Kingdom (UK), the core investors in GSK Nigeria had recently withdrew its bid to acquire additional shares from Nigerian shareholders to increase its controlling equity to 75 per cent following intense resistance from other investors.

    GSK UK was seeking to acquire 273.46 million ordinary shares out of the Nigerian shareholders’ holdings to add 28.58 per cent to push its post-acquisition holding to 75 per cent. It had retained a below-the-market price of N48 per share, in spite of substantial rally since the deal was first announced.

    Chairman, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (GSK Nigeria) Plc, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, said GSK decided to step down the acquisition bid to consider appropriate amendments that will make the offer more acceptable to shareholders.

    Osunkeye said GSK UK and GSK Nigeria were ready to renegotiate everything and come up with a win-win transaction that would be beneficial to all stakeholders.

    According to him, the company will go back to the drawing board to work out a fair and persuasive deal that offers better price and remove element of compulsory purchase of shareholders’ holdings.

    “We withdrew in order to further consultations, we believe further consultations and arrangements are necessary before we come back,” Osunkeye said.

  • Shettima declares war on stalk houses

    Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima yesterday declared war on houses made of stalks and thatched roofs.

    He unveiled a programme aimed at replacing thousands of mud-like houses made of corn stalks, wheat stalks and milletstalks owned by villagers in different parts of the state.

    Tagged, the Borno State Stalk Houses Eradication Programme, Shettima launched the scheme yesterday with the commissioning of 22 modern houses allocated to 22 families at Mafa village, on the Maiduguri-Konduga/Bama Road in Jere Local Government Area.

    The 22 families have been living in the village in the last 50 years without water and electricity, until the governor sighted them a year ago while driving on the road.

    He pulled over, interacted with the villagers and ordered the building of detached units of two bed-rooms flat for each of the families.

    Speaking at the commissioning, Shettima said: “I am happy today that we are gathered to allocate houses to our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and children in a community that for nearly 50 years lived under the rain and the sun. They lived in neglect, they lived in submission to what they thought was their destiny; their world of extinction.

    “They never even thought for one day, that as humans, Nigerians and citizens of Borno State, they were entitled to shelter, water, healthcare and electricity, which are the most basic of human needs.

    “They are like all of us, they are humans, they are Nigerians, they are citizens of Borno; they deserve model shelter at no cost whatsoever, they deserve water, healthcare and liberty; they deserve to be treated with dignity.”

  • 2015: Pastor Adeboye declares 100 days fast

    2015: Pastor Adeboye declares 100 days fast

    The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, last Thursday declared a 100-day fast.

    It was learnt that the fasting period would enable the congregation across the world to pray, among others, on the next year’s general elections.

    A pastor of the church, who spoke in confidence, said: “The church is focusing on the peaceful conduct of the 2015 elections and for God to prevent trouble. We need to pray for Nigeria. The 2015 elections are just around the corner.

    “The General Overseer is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that members key into the development. All pastors have also met with the General Overseer in Lagos for further briefs.”

    It was also learnt that the pastors have taken the fasting period serious.

    Another pastor, who spoke in confidence, said members have been converging on the church’s branches to pray and break their fast.

  • AMCON declares N822b loss

    AMCON declares N822b loss

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has declared a loss of N822.9 billion for the year ended December 2012.

    AMCON’s Managing Director/CEO Mustafa Chike-Obi, who broke the news yesterday at a media briefing in Lagos, attributed the loss to provisions made for impaired assets and discount on bonds issued to finance its operations.

    The corporation’s total outstanding debt stands at N5.7 trillion, out of which N3.6 trillion is held as bond by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). About N1.7 trillion of the bonds would be redeemed by December 31, 2013.

    Chike-Obi said all holders of the bonds were expected by November 19, to indicate whether they would accept cash or Treasury-Bills in place of the bonds, on maturity. “The choice will be made on November 19 for bond holders to decide whether to take cash, or T-bills,” he said.

    The AMCON boss said the classification of the loss showed that the Corporation spent N544.8 billion to purchase non-performing loans (NPLs) from banks. The balance of N278.1 billion was used on recapitalisation of banks.

    Chike-Obi explained that the losses are expected to be defrayed through recoveries from its assets, with additional cover provided by the Banking Sector Resolution Cost Fund (Sinking Fund) provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and deposit money banks (DMBs). He put the value of the Sinking Fund warehoused at the CBN at over N500 billion.

    He said the three bridged banks–Mainstreet, Enterprise and Keystone–acquired and recapitalised by AMCON are worth N100 billion, adding that the initial plan was to conclude their sale by 2014, but the exercise could extend to 2015.

    He said there are over 10,000 bad loans under the AMCON’s management, adding that selling the three banks does not represent a major flank of the Corporation’s duty.

    “We will sell the banks. We have over 10,000 loans that we are pursuing. Selling the banks will not distract us from doing our job. Selling the banks is not the only thing we do and it is not occupying much of our time, and will not determine what the corporation does on daily basis, either now or in the future,” he said.

    Chike-Obi said AMCON is not following up on which company has bided for Enterprise Bank, adding that it is only the financial advisers that have such privilege information.

    “Nobody in AMCON knows who the bidders are. Nobody in AMCON knows how many the bidders are, or who will be shortlisted. It is only when they (the advisers –Citi Bank and Vetiva Capital) have looked at all of these people that they decide who and who are qualified,” he said.

    Chike-Obi said AMCON does not know how long it would take for the financial advisers to submit the list of qualified or shortlisted bidders, because such would depend on the number involved.

    “We don’t know how long it will take for the successful bidders to be known. If there are 100 people who are interested, it will take a longer time than if there were only five people. They have to look at everybody to know who they are, who are behind them, where they got their money from, and if they have the capacity to run a bank. We hope we will conclude it by the end of 2014, it may extend to 2015,” he said.

    He said everybody that is qualified in running a bank requires approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its requirement is that such persons must be fit and proper to run a bank.

  • KWSIEC declares PDP candidates winners of local govt poll

    The Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) yesterday declared all the chairmanship and councillorship candidates of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winners of last Saturday’s local government election in the state.

    In the 15 local governments, where elections took place, major opposition parties did not participate.

    Former Governor Bukola Saraki attributed PDP’s victory to the choice of the party’s candidates.

    Saraki, who is representing Kwara Central at the National Assembly, said: “What helped us is that we made sure that the candidates were grassroots-oriented. We tried to make it transparent and not based on ‘god-fatherism’ or interest support. We have told the candidates for chairmanship and councillorship positions that they must be grassroots-oriented.

    “We hear that some people get elected, even to pick up a phone and answer to the issues of the people, sometimes some do not do that.

    “We have told you that you do not owe anybody for your election or that special interest for anybody. You were voted by the people and so owe service delivery to everybody in your constituency. You should ensure that there is accessibility; you are there to serve the people and meet their needs.

    “We believe the winners have to look after the grassroots and ensure that they look at the development of the constituency. They have to ensure that health, education, infrastructure, hospitals and road drainages, empowerment programmes are done.”

    The party also cleared all the 181 councillorship seats in the election, adjudged by observers and security operatives as peaceful.

  • INEC declares PDP candidate winner of Delta Central poll

    INEC declares PDP candidate winner of Delta Central poll

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr. Emmanuel Aguariavwodo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the October 12 Delta Central by-election.

    The Returning Officer, Prof. John Arubayi, announced yesterday in Ughelli, Delta State that Aguariavwodo polled 263,024 votes to defeat eight other candidates.

    He said Mr. Otega Emerhor of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scored 29,077 votes to emerge second, while Mr. Ede Dafinone of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) followed with 29,055 votes.

    PDP won in all the eight local governments in the senatorial district.

    The INEC official described the conduct of the by-election as free and transparent and urged the political parties to accept the result in good faith.

    He hailed the parties and their agents for the peaceful conduct of the election.

    Voting started late in many of the voting centres, following the late arrival of electoral and voting materials. Consequently, the voting period was extended for hours.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Gesila Khan, described the election as peaceful despite the initial challenges.

    She said: “Normally, voting ought to have started at 12:30 pm, but because of the initial hiccups, it was not so. However, it ended peacefully.”

    The resident electoral commissioner said the initial challenges encountered were a normal occurrence.

    “There can never be a 100 per cent perfection in any election anywhere in the world,” she added.

    Police Commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba said the by-election was peaceful because his men were at the voting centres to maintain law and order.

    He earlier warned against violence during the poll, threatening to deal with any person found disrupting the election.

    Aduba also warned policemen to steer clear of politicians and government officials during the exercise, saying any violation of the order would be sanctioned.

    The by-election followed the death of Senator Pius Ewherido of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) on June 30.

  • Ondo declares seven- day mourning

    Ondo declares seven- day mourning

    Ondo State Government yesterday declared a seven-day mourning, beginning from today, in honour of the late former Governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Agagu.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Mr. Eni Akinsola, chief press secretary to the governor, in Akure.

    It said Governor Olusegun Mimiko had ordered that condolence registers be opened at the Governor’s Office, Lagos and the Abuja Liaison Offices as well as in the 18 local government areas.

    The statement added that Mimiko urged indigenes and residents to remember the Agagu family in their prayers.

    Dr. Mimiko has promised a befitting funeral for the late Agagu, who died on Friday at 65. He returned to the country on Thursday after a trip to the United States of America.

    Mimiko paid a condolence visit to the Agagu family in Ikoyi, Lagos, yesterday.

    He said the late Agagu deserved a befitting funeral, adding that the state government would reciprocate his contributions to the development of the state when he was the governor, by footing the funeral.

    Paying tributes to his predecessor, Governor Mimiko said: “He was a colossus in all areas of his endeavour. He ruled the academic world and political life. In social life, he was a man to be reckoned with.

    “Nobody can ignore him in areas of his endeavour. He had unusual capacity for hard work whether in academics or politics. His achievements cannot be quantified in dollars or pounds sterling. He was a family man, who impacted positively in his siblings.

    “For us in Ondo State, the death of Dr. Agagu is a big loss. He was a great man and he deserved every honour on his death. We will miss him for a long time to come.”

    Mimiko was accompanied by his wife, Kemi, Chairman of Labour Party in Ondo State, Prince Gabriel Adewale, Commissioner for the Environment and Mineral Resources, Mr. Sola Ebisemi, among others.

    A former chaplain to Dr. Agagu, Venerable Sam Odubena, prayed for the widow, the children and the entire Agagu family. He prayed the Lord to give them the strength to bear the death of their father.

    Ebisemi described Agagu as a statesman and an intellectual, who left behind good legacies worthy of emulation. He said he was an achiever and a pace- setter.

    Said he: “The death of Agagu has created a big vacuum for us in the old Okitipupa Province and Ondo State as well. The best tribute we can pay him is to continue from where he stopped.”

    Prominent Nigerians, who paid condolence visit to the Agagu family yesterday included business mogul Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Senator Bode Olajumoke, Oba Otudeko and Chief Niyi Adebayo.

    In the condolence register, Dangote wrote: “May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.” Senator Olajumoke wrote: “Quite devastating and shocking to hear of the sudden death of Segun. God knows best and as Christians, we cannot query Him. May Segun’s soul rest in perfect peace.”

    Adebayo prayed: “May the soul of my dear egbon rest in perfect peace.”

  • Trader bags 21 years for N4.2m fraud

    A Lagos High Court, Ikeja on Thursday, sentenced a trader, Aruna Adeshina, to a 21-year imprisonment for defrauding his clients of N4.2 million.

    The court, presided over by Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, handed down the sentence after the defendant pleaded guilty to the three-count charge of obtaining money by false pretences preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The judge sentenced him to seven-year imprisonment on each of the counts.

    Counsel to the EFCC, Mrs Bunmi Bosede, had alleged that Adeshina, in January 2008, collected various sums of money from the trio of Joy Fomah, Henry Fomah and Bakare Adeyinka.

    Bosede said that the defendant obtained the money under the pretext of supplying the victims with various quantities of used batteries and magnesium cast.

    According to her, the trader failed to supply the products after collecting the money, a development that prompted his clients to petition the EFCC.

    She said the offence contravened Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act No. 14, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2006.

    The defendant was first arraigned on September 16, 2008 when he pleaded not guilty to the charge. But on April 29, this year, he pleaded guilty.

    In his judgement, yesterday, Justice Onigbanjo said the sentences would run concurrently, starting from June 1,2010.

    He also ordered that Adeshina’s two landed property in the Alagbado area of the state, which was initially seized by the EFCC, should be forfeited to his victims as restitution.