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Tag: lifts

  • NPA lifts suspension on shipping firms

    The management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) yesterday, lifted  the suspension order it placed last week, on four Shipping lines, which included the foreign giant, the Mearsk Line and the Cosco.

    Its Assistant General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr Issah Suwaid, said  the new directive was sequel to a review of the suspension order, in a bid to enable the affected firms acquire additional holding bays and end the gridlock on Apapa and Tin—Can Island ports roads.

    “The management ordered the restoration of services to the four shipping companies whose operations were suspended for their failure to comply with the directive of acquiring and operating holding bays for their containers.

    “However the affected shipping companies have now been given two weeks, beginning from Friday July 20th 2018 to comply with four conditions to ensure sustainable relationship.

    “Among the conditions are that the affected companies must increase the capacity of their Holding Bays ranging from 1,800 TEUs to 7,500 TEUS; that the affected companies will sign-off on the volume capacity of the Holding Bays verified at the end of the grace period and that at the expiration of the two weeks an inspection will be conducted to ascertain compliance and that the Authority warned, thereafter further sanctions will be applied on failure to meet the said conditions.

    “It would be recalled that a fortnight ago, shipping services of Maersk Line, Cosco Shipping, APS and Lansal were suspended by the NPA for their inability to upgrade their Holding Bays capacities,” he said.

    The suspension, Suwaid said, was for 10 days in the first instance. The two weeks period of grace granted to the four affected shipping companies, the image maker said, was sequel to a meeting the agency held with officials of the companies over the weekend.

    “The decision by the NPA to grant the period of grace was after due consideration of their presentations at the meeting and a subsequent joint inspection on their existing facilities.

    “A formal letter dated 20th July, 2018 informing the accepted companies of the review of the suspension order signed by the General Manager, Marine & Operations, Mr. Joshua Asanga on behalf of the Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, has since been despatched,” Suwaid he said.

  • IMF: Nigeria’s economic recovery lifts Africa’s outlook

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that economic growth in Nigeria due to rise in commodity prices will stimulate growth in other Sub-Saharan African economies.

    The IMF World Economic Outlook update released yesterday showed that Sub-Saharan Africa has Nigeria to praise for better economic growth prospects next year. The Fund saids the region’s economy will likely expand 3.8 per cent in 2019 as against  a 3.7 per cent prediction in April.

    The upgraded forecast “reflects improved prospects for Nigeria’s economy” and an increase in commodity prices. Gross domestic product in Nigeria will rise 2.3 per cent, it said, lifting its estimate from 1.9 per cent in April.

    Nigeria’s economy is recovering from the worst contraction in 25 years in 2016, which was caused by lower oil prices and output and shortages of foreign exchange to import raw materials. The IMF held its predictions for South Africa’s economy, saying it will expand 1.5 per cent this year and 1.7 per cent the next.

    “Despite the weaker-than-expected first-quarter out-turn in South Africa, the economy is expected to recover somewhat over the remainder of 2018 and into 2019 as confidence improvements associated with the new leadership are gradually reflected in strengthening private investment,” the fund said.

    South Africa, the continent’s most-industrialized economy, hasn’t grown at more than two per cent a year since 2013. GDP shrank the most in almost a decade in the first quarter as former President Jacob Zuma handed the reins to Cyril Ramaphosa. Zuma spent close to nine years in power, during which time the nation lost its investment-grade credit rating and policy uncertainty and unemployment increased. Nigeria and South Africa’s economies account for about half of the region’s GDP.

    Further analysis of the report showed that amid rising tensions over international trade, the broad global expansion that began roughly two years ago has plateaued and become less balanced.

  • Stock Exchange lifts suspension on Ikeja Hotel

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday lifted its one and a half years suspension on trading in the shares of Ikeja Hotel, paving the way for resumption of trading in the shares of the hospitality and tourism company.

    Ikeja Hotel’s share price rose by 4.49 per cent or 8.0 kobo to close at N1.86 per share during trading yesterday at the NSE.

    Head, Listings Regulation Department, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Godstime Iwenekhai, said the Quotations Committee of the National Council of the Exchange had on Friday May 11, 2018 approved the lifting of the full suspension.

    The board and management of Ikeja Hotel had also on Friday May 18, 2018 provided a status update to the market during an interactive session on the underlying facts behind the restructuring of the company. The interim board of the company indicated that it has undertaken considerable resolutions of the challenges facing the company.

    Iwenekhai stated that the Securities and Exchange Commission (NSE) has been notified of the lifting of suspension, in line with extant rules at the capital market.

    The NSE had in November 2016 suspended trading on the shares of Ikeja Hotel Plc in response to the high-stake dispute in the Ibru family. The Ibrus own the majority shareholdings in the hospitality and tourism company.

    The full suspension on Ikeja Hotel implied no trading whatsoever in the shares of the company. Unlike technical suspension where trading can take place without price movement, full suspension disallows both trading and price movement.

    The Exchange noted that the full suspension was taken “to safeguard the investments of shareholders of Ikeja Hotel Plc following the continued dispute between the major shareholders which has negatively impacted on the company’s governance structure”.

    The NSE stated that it acted pursuant to the provisions of rule 15.45: suspension on trading of securities, rulebook of the Exchange, 2015. The suspension took effect on November 10, 2016.

    In May 2017, SEC dissolved the board of directors of Ikeja Hotels Plc and ordered a forensic investigation into the affairs of the hospitality and tourism company. The Commission appointed Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) as the interim chairman for the company.

    The apex capital market regulator said it took the decision to sack the board due to unresolved internal crisis involving some majority shareholders of Ikeja Hotels Plc, in apparent reference to the squabbles within the Ibru family, which holds the largest shareholdings in the company.

    In a statement announcing the dissolution, SEC described the dissolution as proactive measure in order not to allow the warring parties to take certain actions that would give them an advantage over one another.

    Ikeja Hotel, incorporated in 1972 and quoted on the NSE in 2007, controls a chain of hotels directly and through other subsidiaries and affiliates including Tourist Company of Nigeria (TCN) Plc and Capital Hotel Plc. Ikeja Hotel owns Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. TCN owns Federal Palace Hotel while Capital Hotel owns Abuja Sheraton Hotel. The Ibru family owns the single largest individual shareholding.

    SEC noted that it had, in a bid to forestall chaos in the company, in conjunction with other distinguished personalities had previously held various meetings with the existing board towards resolving the crises but the company continues to be plagued with unhealthy corporate governance practices in disregard with the code of corporate governance for public companies.

    According to the Commission, as a public company, it is paramount that the activities of the company are conducted within the confines of existing corporate governance regulations in the Nigerian capital market, to ensure the protection of minority shareholders and other investors.

  • IG’s wife Ndayako lifts POWA with skills acquisition

    IG’s wife Ndayako lifts POWA with skills acquisition

    Wife of the Inspector General of Police (IG) Princess Asmau Ndayako Idris has organised a free skill acquisition training for members of the Police Officers’ Wives Association ( POWA ) in Akure, the Ondo State capital; Alagbaka and Ilorin, Kwara State.

    The training was done in partnership with Helping Hands International (H2i).

    More than 200 serving policemen and POWA members were taken through the rudiments of make-up artistry, paint and Izal productions, bread baking, ankara dyeing/shoe/bag making, oil extraction, barbecue-making, among others. The paint produced was used to paint part of Police headquarters at Ilorin.

    Read Also: POWA shopping mall in benin razed by fire

    The occasion pulled personalities from various police formations, including wife of the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Evangelist Christiana Adeyanju.

    The Kwara State Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ronald Okon, who represented his boss Onuoha Chika; Police Area Commander, Okey and Managing Director of Helping Hands International (H2i) Emmanuel Obitex, were also in attendance.

    H2i Concepts is an international Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) which has been helping the Federal Government to empower the police force and youths by offering them opportunity to acquire additional skills.

  • CBN lifts forex market with $210m

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected $210 million into the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market.

    The forex injection is part of the apex bank’s desire to ensure the availability of forex and also meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market, the

    Figures obtained yesterday from the bank indicated that the CBN offered $100 million to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got $55 million.

    Customers requiring foreign exchange for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, were also allocated the sum of $55 million.

    The bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department (CCD), Isaac Okorafor, confirmed the figures, adding that those who made bids in the wholesale window would receive value for the bids on Tuesday, February 06, 2018.

    Okorafor reassured the public that the Bank would continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market in line with its quest to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability. He added that the steps taken so far by the Bank in the management of forex had paid off, as reflected by reduction in the country’s import bills and accretion to its foreign reserves.

    Meanwhile, the naira continued its stability in the forex market, exchanging at an average of N360/$1 in the BDC segment of the market yesterday.

  • Lawmaker lifts orphanage

    Lawmaker lifts orphanage

    Leader of Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Legislative House Remy Shittu Remy, has donated items to So-Said Charity Home in Isolo, Lagos

    The items, including rice, notebooks, writing materials, liquid wash, beverages and foodstuff were presented to the home, comprising children, widows and the physically challenged, among others.

    Shittu Remy also gave 10 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms to pupils, who excelled in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in the council.

    He also unveiled Remy Shittu Foundation.

    According to him, the gesture was in fulfilment of his campaign promises to help the less privileged.

    “The UTME forms are my way to motivate young ones, ease their financial burden and contribute to the educational sector,” he said.

    According to him, the foundation would provide educational support to pupils and empower widows, physically challenged as well as the less privileged.

    So-Said Orphanage Administrator Mrs Roselyn Banks thanked Shitu Remy, described his gesture as fantastic, marvellous and prayer answered.

    “The Home is for vulnerable persons and we make our people to know that all hope is not lost. We have many challenges here and government cannot do it all, we need financial assistance to fix our compound which gets water lodged during the rainy season; we also need help for sewage,” she said.

  • NSE partially lifts suspension on Oando

    NSE partially lifts suspension on Oando

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) says it has partially lifted the suspension placed on shares belonging to Oando Plc.

    A notice endorsed by its  General Counsel/ Head of Regulation, Tinuade Awe, said shareholders can now trade their shares but the trading activity will not lead to a change in price.

    It reads: “Dealing members are referred to our market bulletins of Wednesday, October 18, 2017 (NSE/LARD/LRD/MB05/17/10/18) notifying them that effective Friday, October 20, 2017 and until further directive, the shares of Oando Plc (“Oando” or “the company”) will be placed on technical suspension; and that of Friday, October 20, 2017 (NSE/LARD/LRD/MB07/17/10/20) informing them that the shares of Oando were still on full suspension as the process of converting from full to technical suspension was yet to be completed.

    “Please be informed that effective today, Monday, October 23, 2017; the shares of Oando Plc have been placed on technical suspension. Thus, the shares will be available for trading but there will be no price movement while the technical suspension subsists.”

    The regulator had suspended the company’s shares last week following a request from the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

  • CBN lifts naira with $250m forex

    CBN lifts naira with $250m forex

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday boosted the naira’s value against other world currencies with its injection of another $250 million into various segments of the inter-bank foreign exchange market.

    Figures obtained from the CBN on Tuesday indicate that the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segment of the market received the highest intervention with a total of $100 million, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window received a boost of $80 million while the invisibles segment, comprising Business/Personal Travel Allowances, school tuition, medicals, etc. was allocated the sum of $70 million to meet the demands of customers.

    Confirming the figures, the Bank’s spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, noted with delight the recent Quarter 2, 2017 Report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which indicated that Nigeria has gotten out of recession and hinged part of this success to the regular intervention of the Bank in the forex market, to boost liquidity in the market, ensuring timely execution and settlement for eligible transactions and also make forex available to the real sector and industrial capacities, critical to the Nigerian economy.

    The spokesman also reminded the public of the Governor’s prediction few months ago that the Nigerian economy will be out of recession at the end of the third quarter, 2017, which is largely due to the monetary policy stance of the CBN. This has been confirmed by the NBS Report.

    It will be recalled that last week, the Naira was given a boost as the CBN injected $297m into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segment, raising the total intervention for the week to the sum of $547 million.

  • Force Majeure on Nigeria’s Forcados lifts market

    Supply outage from the Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) joint venture in the Forcados facility has positively affected the price of crude oil in the international market, it was learnt.

    Shell declared force majeure on oil liftings from the Forcados export terminal in Delta State owing to a leaking pipe, which resulted in shut-in of about 400,000 barrels of oil per day.

    The 48-inch diameter export pipeline, shut last month and planned to be reopened in April, is one of Nigeria’s biggest pipelines.

    The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its  Oil Market Report for this month, said the force majeure and outages around the Mediterranean and Turkey have helped to boost the market.

    It said: “Outages around the Mediterranean, with Turkey’s Ceyhan pipeline down, and in West Africa, with force majeure imposed on shipments of Nigeria’s Forcados until April, have helped boost North Sea prompt prices. Supply distribution in the North Sea itself has also helped.”

    The report also noted that after three months of sharp declines, crude oil futures recovered amid numerous positive factors that ignited speculations that oil markets would soon be balanced. This suggested that the 20-month sell-off could be hitting bottom, it added.

    While other grades were gaining, the United States’West Texas Intermediate (WTI), was impacted by crude stock-builds in the United States.

    Also what eased out sharp deterioration of the market recently, according to the report, is a proposal for a production freeze at January’s level by major oil exporters, and more news about an additional oil producer meeting in March, as well as further layoffs by service companies and related reports about a complete halt of fracking activities by some companies, all lent support to the market.

    Market sentiment was also helped by an eighth-straight weekly drop in the number of US rigs drilling for oil, project deferments in the US shale industry and job cuts that will slow production.

    Crude oil futures also rose after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated US crude production will decline this year and next, helping the market rebalance gradually. The EIA said utilities withdrew 48 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas from storage during the week ending 29 January. This was above the market expectation of a 40 bcf decrease; however it was significantly lower than the previous five-year average of 137 bcf for that week. Total working gas in storage stood at 2,536 bcf, or 45.6 per cent higher than at the same time the previous year and 35.6 per cent higher than the previous five-year average.

    Also disruptions to crude supplies in Europe and higher equity prices on Wall Street on the back of positive US economic data also supported oil. Crude futures also drew support from China’s move to boost its slowing economy, injecting an estimated $100 billion worth of long-term cash into the economy to cushion the pain from job layoffs and bankruptcies in industries plagued by overcapacity, the report said.

  • Coca-Cola lifts grassroots football in four Lagos communities

    Coca-Cola lifts grassroots football in four Lagos communities

    As part of its contribution to the growth of grassroots sport, Coca-Cola Nigeria through COPA Coca-Cola initiative has presented football training kits to four communities within Lagos State. They are Agege, Jakande Estate, Oworonsoki and Elegbata communities.

    Speaking at the presentation ceremony, which held recently at the Jakande Estate Pitch, Jakande Estate, Isolo, Marketing Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Patricia Jemibewon, said, “Nigeria’s passion for football is unrivalled anywhere else on the continent. Coca-Cola’s involvement in Nigerian football through COPA signifies a perfect harmony between platform and potentials. Through COPA Coca-Cola, young lovers of the game are inspired to live their dreams, while we at Coca-Cola help to create a new face for the sport in different communities.”

    She noted that COPA this year is divided into two phases namely; Everyday Football and the Tournament itself. “Through Everyday Football, Coca-Cola will elevate the everyday football experience of young Nigerians by providing 10 selected playing fields in major cities across the country with basic equipment and kits including Goal nets, Training bibs, Cones and Footballs. Community women in each of the communities will also be empowered with a kiosk and drinks to start their own retail business in the playing field.

    Today we are donating to Amoo Training Pitch in Agege, Jakande Estate Pitch in Isolo, Owonroshoki Playing Field and Orile/Sari Iganmu Sports Centre, Elegbata Playground. COPA Coca-Cola will also deliver what we have tagged a ‘Legacy Pitch’ to a community that will be transparently picked from a selection pool. What this means is that we will upgrade the key Football arena in the selected community into a mini- stadium,” she stated.