Wednesday 30 September 2015

Saraki Recieves Ministerial list

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has confirmed getting the ministerial list from President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a tweet on his handle @bukolasaraki, the Senate President wrote ” About an hour ago, I received the list of President’s Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees from the Chief of Staff to Mr. President, Abbah Kyari and the Special Adviser to Mr. President on National Assembly (Senate), Senator Ita Enang.”

Independence Promo: Bristish Airways slashes fares by 28 percent

British Airways said it has reduced its airfare by 28 per cent for Nigerian air travellers to mark the forthcoming 55th independence anniversary.
The airline stated that the discount fare was available for all its guests travelling from Nigeria to United Kingdom, European countries, United States of America, USA, and other select destinations across the world.
The airline hinted that the discount fare is available on its World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and the award-winning Club World cabins for outbound travel from Nigeria between Friday, September 18, 2015 and Sunday, November 29, 2015, adding that the selling period was from Friday, September 18, 2015 to Friday, September, 25, 2015.

Following a motion brought before the House of Representatives, members have elected to meet with President Buhari to resolve issues pertaining to the travails of Senate president Bukola Saraki. The House members are said to have mobilized, urging the Speaker Dogar

The Ikeja Distribution company disclosed that it has reduced the monthly fixed charge on consumers by 50 percent.The Managing Director, Mr Abiodun Ajifowobaje said a reduction proposal has been submitted to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission NERC for approval.According to him, Ikeja Electric has reduced the fixed charge of 50 per cent from customers bills by increasing the energy charge (KW/h).
He said: “Customer number and the percentage growth rate has been determined based on the anticipated outcome of the enumeration project currently in progress.
“Billed customer numbers would double in the next two to three years and will thereafter increase by about 3.5 per cent.”

Continued from last week.

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President Buhari has confirmed that he will be personally manning the petroleum ministry. His spokesman Femi Adesina confirmed this yesterday saying Buhari will be the minister of petroleum while a junior minister will take charge of the day to day affairs.

The former military ruler has vowed that corruption and the corrupt will have no place in his government and vetting of potential candidates has been seen as delaying his appointment of a senior ministerial team.

Buhari has made tackling the rot in the oil sector a priority, as he seeks to cut endemic graft and put the country's crippled, crude-dependent finances on a firmer footing. he is expected to release his ministerial list today.

GZ Industries expands into South Africa with $71 million factory

GZ Industries Ltd. of Nigeria plans to expand into South Africa with the construction of a 1 billion rand ($71 million) factory, becoming the second beverage-can maker after Nampak Ltd. to have operations in the country.

The company agreed to a partnership with local packaging maker Golden Era Group and will build a plant in Johannesburg with annual capacity of 1.2 billion cans, Agbara, Nigeria-based GZI said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.

The factory will start operations in the second quarter of next year and supply other southern African countries, Bloomberg reports.

“This partnership with Golden Era accelerates our access to new markets across southern Africa, and consolidates our ongoing expansion efforts,” GZI Chief Executive Officer Motti Goldmintz said in the statement. “Upon completion of the plant, GZI will have the capacity to manufacture in excess of 3.5 billion aluminum beverage cans every year.”

President Muhamadu Buhari has requested the Federal House of Representatives to approve the increase from $100 million to $300 million of the Diaspora Bond to be sourced from the International Capital market. He justified this saying “The huge amount of capital needed to abridge the infrastructural gap thereby supporting growth and development; the need to optimise the cost of issuance relative to the amount proposed to be raised, since the some costs, such as marketing expenses, fees to some transaction parties and the preparation of a prospectus will be the same, regardless of the amount issued; and the high interest being shown by the Nigerian Diaspora in the proposed bond.”

The largest Commercial paper programme by a non financial instituion has been launched by Nigerian Breweries Plc yesterday. The company established a N100 billion Commercial paper (CP) with a view to commencing on Thursday October 8 2015.
The signing ceremony to mark the establishment of the Programme was held at the head office of Nigerian Breweries, Iganmu, Lagos, and witnessed by representatives of the transaction advisors, including (Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and FBN Capital Limited, Banwo & Ighodalo as Legal Counsel, KPMG as Auditors to the Issuer.
Also in attendance were officials of the FMDQ OTC Exchange to witness the event.

Vice President , Yemi osinbajo has said Nigerian electricity consumer will get up to 6,000 megawatts of electricity starting from the 1st quarter of 2016. He said this through his media aide Laolu Akande yesterday. Osinbajo was at Kaleta Guinea on Monday to witness the inauguration of a 240 megawatt hydro electric power plant in the country. The event was part of activities to mark Guinea's 57 th Independence anniversary on October 2.

Tuesday 29 September 2015

Start up Walker & Company raises $24 million in new funding

Walker & Company Brands Inc. founded by Tristan Walker which sells razors and shaving kits specially designed for people with coarse and curly hair, especially people of color, has raised $24 million in new funding. The company makes a single-blade razor, called Bevel, that its sells along with accessories. The company, along with the funding news, announced that it has signed a deal to sell its items in Target stores starting next year.
Institutional Venture Partners led the Series B round of funding that had participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Collaborative Fund, Daher Capital, Felicis Ventures, Google Ventures, Upfront Ventures, media executive Stuart Goldfarb, and Melo7 Tech Partners, the investment firm of NBA star Carmelo Anthony.

Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation pays N101.5 billion to failed bank depositors

Depositors of failed banks have been paid the sum of N101.5 billion by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation NDIC according to the Managing Director Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim yesterday. He said, the amount represented insured deposits which stood at N 6. 831 billion and uninsured deposits of N 94. 737 billion, as at the end of December last year.NDIC had paid out a cumulative sum of N6.831 billion insured deposits 528,277 depositors of 49 closed deposit money banks. The Corporation had paid a cumulative liquidation dividend of 94.737 billion to 250,592 un-insured depositors of 49 closed DMBs as at December 31st 2014.

The game of cards has commenced, following the response of the Nigerian police to Chief Falae's revelation about the ransom paid to secure his freedom.
The Nigerian Police force spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole has debunked the allegations by the Former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae that any ransom was paid to secure the release of the old man from his abductors. Falae earlier revealed that his family paid to secure his release from his abductors, and he was picked up in Owo after trekking several kilometres. Kolawole on the other hand, insists and denies knowledge of any payments, claimed to have been made saying "As a law enforcement agency guided by rule of law and personal ethics, we do not under any circumstance encourage the payment of ransom to kidnappers or other criminals as it is tantamount to rewarding crime and motivating other criminals to follow that path.”
“Our intelligence and operational teams comprising intelligence response team, a special anti-kidnapping unit, conventional and mobile policemen were deployed for rescue operation,” Kolawole said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has sought the assistance of the Federal House of Representatives in passing a $200 million world bank loan for Lagos State. The President’s request was conveyed in a letter to the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, read to members on the floor, soon after they resumed from a six-week annual break on Tuesday.

Foremost technocrat and boardroom Czar, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode, 82, is dead.
He died Tuesday morning at Gold Cross Hospital, Ikoyi Lagos at about 8:15am after a protracted illness.
Onosode was flown home yesterday from London.

‎Born Gamaliel Oforitsenere Onosode on 22nd May, 1933, in Sapele, Delta State, Mr. Onosode attended Government College, Ughelli, then known as Government Middle School, in 1947.
Five years later, he won multiple scholarships to study at the University of Ibadan (then known as University College Ibadan) where he graduated with a‎ Bachelors Degree in Classics in 1957.

The Ekiti State governor ,Ayodele Fayose has complained that the Federal government only paid N9.66 billion out of the N29 billion which was requested by the State.His Chief press secretary, Idowu Adelusi made the clarification in Ado-Ekiti saying that an application was made to pay August and September salaries. The 16 local governments also applied for N5.6 billion, but only got N991 million which the Central Bank of Nigeria later clarified that 14 other states are experiencing the same problem.

Blood moon not diabolic, just science says National Space and Development Agency (NASDRA) Chief

The chief scientific officer , National Space and Development Agency (NASDRA) Dr Benjamin Ayetunji has called for Nigerian to remain calm. He spoke concerning the blood moon which occurred in the early hours of this morning urging Nigerians to "just watch and appreciate science". Explaining, he said that the lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the earth comes between the sun and the moon, with the earth casting it's shadow on the moon.

The Nigerian Telecommunication Industry has achieved a growth of 7.08 percent over the last six months as evidenced in the growth of teledensity. According to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) monthly subscriber /teledensity data, Nigeria had over 140.8 million active lines on operators networks and stood at 100.59 per cent in January. By July 2015, this had moved up to 107.67 representing an increase of 7.08 percent. Teledensity measures the percentage of a country's population with access to telephony services as determined by active subscriber base and its growth in current times show that mobile penetration is getting deeper.So what stage of the product life cycle are we in the Nigerian Telecommunications industry? Will it still experience rapid growth or decline? I would like to hear from you.

Obama and Putin clash over Syria at United Nations

United States of America and Russian Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin practically got in the boxing ring with gloves at the General Assembly of the United Nations. President Obama and Putin chastised each other over the handling of the Syrian crisis.Obama suggested that Putin's involvements in Syria and Ukraine was harmful to international order and risks greater global instability.
President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin clashed publicly Monday over their divergent positions on some of the world great crises, with Obama suggesting that Putin's involvement in Syria and Ukraine was harmful to international order and risks greater global instability."

The news of Donald Trump's fall may have been largely exaggerated by the media, following his defeat by Carly Fiorina former HP boss at the GOP debate in California. Most of the negative news was built around a single poll by CNN/ORC in the aftermath of the debate according to The Hill. The result showed a decline of 8 percent for Trump, even though he still led his closest rival by 9 points.

The risk of a domino effect, should the bond markets across the globe plummet has increased. This is following the high bond yields in markets, which have a lot of cash rich tech companies underwriting these corporate debts. The Office of Financial Research group, which was set up within the US Treasury department after the 2008 crisis to find out the causes of financial crisis using forensic tools, has already named the corporate debts one of it's biggest concern. However, the Feds have maintained rates following fears of an increase which seemed not too popular at the time. There were increasing fears this could aggravate the crisis in other parts of the world and push the global economy into another recession. A lot of investors who are profiting, even billionaire investor Carl Icahn, are concerned according to Time business.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has confirmed the death of 54 Nigerians in the deadly stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, during this year’s Hajj.

The Chairman of NAHCO, Alhaji Abdullahi Muktar Mohammed, made the confirmation on Monday morning (12:16 am) in Makkah.

According to him, 42 out of the 54 that died were from states pilgrims welfare board including two NAHCON officials, while others were among those on the pilgrimage by private tour operators.

Investigations into the cause of a boat mishap in Ikorodu which killed 5 people on Saturday has begun.The Lagos State Water Authority revealed that the accident was caused by a damaged steering cable and over speeding of the driver. The engine cable connected to the propeller cut off in motion, which led to a mechanical fault and made the captain lose control. A statement signed by the Managing Director of LASWA, Mrs Abisola Kamson, added that aside the mechanical fault, the captain of the boat was “possibly also speeding”, adding that he was being questioned by the Marine Police.

The Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode assured Lagosians over the holidays that he would continue to focus on infrastructural development. He explained the reason for his perceived inaction over the last few months. He said he used the first three months to set up an institutional framework, promising that Lagosian will begin to witness developments across the state.“I have no choice, I have to do it for all Lagosians, that’s what I am committed to do, I have said I am going to be selfless about service and that’s what I am going to do and you will see it. What I have done in the last three months is to set up the institutional framework and If you want to build a house, you have to lay the foundation, you will now see what I’ll be doing in the next three and half years, just watch and you would see it”, he said.

Most of the funds needed by companies in the small and medium scale category including value- chain businesses such as flour milling ,cassava to starch, sugarcane to sugar etc are sourced from the few developmental banks in Nigeria. These sectors could be a catalyst for growth and employment generation in Nigeria, provided the environment is conducive.However, commercial banks do not perceive them as good risks ,and they have ended up having to rely solely on the developmental banks. The President of Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, Mr. Frank Udeme Jacobs has advised that the recently established Developmental Bank of Nigeria, dedicated to Industrial development should be fast tracked.“Government also needs to recapitalize the Bank of Industry and should use it more effectively to ensure that the needed financing of industry is attained,” he further said.

Imperial Mortgage Bank and Lamudi have partnered to deliver affordable mortgage facilities in Nigeria. Lamudi is an online real estate shop where real estate is bought, sold and rented, While Imperial is a mortgage lender. Lamudi offers an online calculator which helps buyers to calculate their potential mortgage rates before applying for the mortgage. The calculator features every property on Lamudi and as a result all the user does is to imput the amount and tenor of the loan. The prevailing interest offered by Imperial mortgage will be applied to arrive at the periodic rental.

OCTOBER 1 is the multiple winner in South Africa

Hardwork and Perseverance will always lead to the promised land. This has been Kunle Afolayan's story. October 1, the blockbuster which he produced, clinched 3 awards at the African Movie Academy awards at Port Elizabeth South Africa. The movie won the best costume design, best Nigerian film and best actor in a leading role.The costume for the movie was done by Nigerian designer Deola Sagoe and the movie was largely financed by her father, Chief Ade-Ojo.

The Kano State government, in it's quest to plug all leakages and increase the income available to it, has discovered it is losing N18.1 million monthly to 1,830 ghost workers engaged by one of it's agencies. The Refuse management and sanitation board employed 2,490 casual workers to clean it's streets and 74 percent of that number is Fraud? Anyway, the State commissioner of information disclosed this yesterday and said this was presented to the State executive council by the committee carrying out investigations.

It has been alleged that rebels in Syria trained by the US have handed over American supplied vehicles and ammunition to a group linked to Al-Quaeda. They did this in exchange for a safe passage through an area controlled by the group.The pentagon said it is a big blow to a program plagued by problems since its inception.The rebels surrendered six pickups and ammunition to an "intermediary" for the al-Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front in Syria, the Pentagon said in a statement.

CHINA PLEDGES AID OF $12 BILLION TO POOR AFRICAN COUNTRIES

China has finally come of age, and has pledged $2 billion to poor countries as aid. Chinese President Li Jingpin said at a summit on development that the fund is the initial investment, which is to be followed by another $12 billion in UN defined least developed country fund, which are mostly in Africa by 2030. He also promised a debt relief for least developed countries.

Popular comedian Basketmouth, Bright Opocha is expanding his brand to a pan African audience, by partnering with Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN). Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director said"we are delighted to partner Basketmouth to create this compelling high quality TV special for Comedy Central. We are committed to raising the profile of Nigerian comics and comedy both at home ,and internationally and hope the partnership with Basketmouth will be the first of many such initiatives".

A 1.5 percent stake in Volkswagen owned by Suzuki is being taken up by Porsche Automobile Holdings SE, the German auto maker's biggest shareholder. This was announced today by Suzuki and Porsche without disclosing the price. Suzuki, which holds the stake in Volkswagen as a part of a failed partnership with the German auto maker, will transfer the shares to Porsche on Wednesday, the Japanese auto maker said in a statement.

If you were given an opportunity to meet Billionaire magnate Aliko Dangote for dinner today, and he asked you to outline a proposal to start a business, utilizing N10 million for the first six months at 0 percent cost , interest only repayable. N50 million there after for the following two years at 22 percent per annum. What sector of the Nigerian economy would be your preffered destination, and how would you go about it considering the current economic realities?

EUROPE BOUND RUSSIAN GAS TO HIT $230

The European Commission has committed to financing Ukraine's natural gas purchases from Russia for it's current consumption in the coming winter months, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday.Ukraine needs to store gas and purchase current volumes for it's domestic needs to get past the winter period.
This is strategic to ensuring the safe passage of Russian gas to Europe, the Russian energy minister said after initialing a winter package gas delivery protocol. Gazprom Chief, Alexei Miller said that he does not rule out the emergence of possible problems with gas transit to Europe during the winter season, as Ukraine is set to buy only two million cubic meter of gas under initialled protocol that would be insufficient in case of a cold winter. He said ukraine has got the money $500 million and will begin to receive Russian gas.

Nigeria is committed to working with development partners to strengthen the mechanism for the implementation of the newly launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), President Buhari said in New York on Friday, at an event organised by the UN-AID.
He said Nigeria remained fully committed to all declarations and commitments made, at both continental and international levels towards the elimination of killer diseases and improved healthcare for the citizenry. Some of the major ones include the Action Framework on Roll – Back Malaria and the 2013 Abuja + 12 Declaration on the elimination of HIV and AIDs in Africa by 2030.

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been in a painful war with low cost shale producers for the last year over market share. It’s core Gulf members say they have resigned themselves to the idea that the U.S. shale industry’s high-tech flexibility means it will respond quickly when prices start rising again, making the United States the new swing producer in world oil, the role held for so long by Saudi Arabia.Experts say OPEC is looking for a longer-lasting impact on other high-cost production oil field plans, many in deep oceans, with bigger time scales, even if that means a period of cheap oil prices lasting for years.

The ongoing enrolment of Bank Verification Number BVN is experiencing apathy from banking customers, despite the extension given. Out of the 52 million active bank accounts in Nigeria, total BVN enrollment stood at 20 million, and only 14 million have been linked to BVN accounts says The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Another interesting trend the CBN said “also showed that after the initial rush between the end of June and July 2015, there has been a steady decline in new BVN enrolment figures for August and September, 2015. The emerging scenario therefore, strongly suggests that many bank account holders have continued to show apathy instead of taking advantage of the extension period.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it will begin it's deployment of drones this weekend towards the protection and eradication of pipeline vandalism in Nigeria. This replaces the online monitoring group with the Nigerian Army. The Group Managing Director, Dr Ibe Kaichukwu during a visit to the Kaduna Refinery said that staff of NNPC and officers of the Nigerian army connived with other influential members of society to sabotage the process.He called for constant redeployment of all depots staff, constantly changing personnel at strategic units as well as encouraging the military to all also do same.

SPACEX FOUNDER ELON MUSK OPENS EXPERIMENTAL PRIMARY SCHOOL

Tech Billionaire Elon Musk,has opened an experimental primary school in a California mansion he bought. The school called Adstral which means "to the stars"in Latin was set up because he was dissatisfied with the traditional school system based on grades. The school has 20 students, mainly his and employees of Spacex. He pulled his kids out of Mirman school, a very exclusive school for gifted children in Los Angeles which requires them to pass an IQ test. He explained that children had different capabilities at different times, some love maths, others English, music etc.

Pope Francis swept across Manhattan Friday from the center of global diplomacy to a worn classroom in East Harlem, challenging world leaders to protect the planet, warning against the dangers of fanaticism at the site where terrorists took thousands of lives and reaching out to those at the margins of society.

As he crisscrossed the city in his now-famous Fiat, he was greeted by adoring crowds lining heavily fortified streets, many having traveled far and waited hours for a chance to catch a glimpse of the pope.

ANTHONY MARTIAL'S AGENT CRITICISES ARSENE WENGER FOR NOT SIGNING MAN U STRIKER

Philippe Lamboley, the 19-year-old’s representative, believes that Wenger made a mistake when he passed up on Martial because he saw him as a winger rather than a centre forward.
"Anthony is a true modern centre-forward who can play a part,” Lamboley said. "I am surprised by the analysis of Arsene Wenger, who has apparently been following him since he was a teenager."

Volkswagen has named a new Ceo. His name is Mathias Merller and he was the former Ceo of Porshe. Speaking today, Mueller has pledged to win back the trust of customers.“My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group, by leaving no stone unturned and with maximum transparency, as well as drawing the right conclusions from the current situation,” he said.However, despite confirming that 5 million cars were affected instead of 11 million touted, the share price of the company still dipped.

The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Emmanuel Kaichukwu has said regaining the credibility of the Corporation is paramount. He has set in motion a transparency operation, which entails auditing the finances of the corporation in a timely fashion. He said the audited finances of the corporation would be made available to the public by also posting on the website regularly.

“Contracts will be made open to the public and we will choose the best module that works for us and that helps us save money.

Tiger Brands, owners of a majority stake in Dangote Flour Mills of Nigeria has announced that it's CEO Peter Matlare is leaving the company and a search for his replacement has begun. This is coming after presiding over declining profits and a write down in it's Nigerian unit.Matlare was Ceo for Seven years and presided over the acquisition of shares in Dangote of over $152 million and also oversaw the write down of half that value. The market has reacted favorably to the news, with the stock gaining 5.7 percent.

This is not a good time for Arik Airlines, Nigeria's no 1 carrier as it is faced with a myriad of troubles. For the second time in a week, the aviation unions have threatened to disrupt its activities. The trouble airline is said to be in dire need of a bail out, as it plans to cut hundreds of jobs due to its inability to meet its obligations, increased financial expenses, unfavorable foreign exchange, reputation damages arising from different in flight problems.

NAMPAK PLANS $100 MILLION GLASS-BOTTLE MANUFACTURING PLANT IN NIGERIA

Johannesburg based glass manufacturer Nampak has signed a memorandum of understanding with a local partner in Nigeria to invest $100 million in a new glass- bottle manufacturing plant in Nigeria.
The company announced it's agreement with partners to build glass-bottle manufacturing plants to take advantage of the growing demand for packaged consumer goods and bottled drinks in the two countries where a quarter of Africans live- Nigeria and Ethiopia. The company identified a site with access to natural gas and water, with a feasibility study underway said the Chief Executive officer Andre De Ruyter in an interview in Johannesburg last week.

The Bureau of Public Procurement(BPP) yesterday released it's bi-annual report stating that the Federal Government of Nigeria approved 90 contracts from January till Junes this year. They include contracts for the supply and installation of 753,002 electricity meters under the Presidential initiative to Nigerian costing N27.1 billion, 23 contracts for the provision of solid waste collection and construction of sewage facilities and management services to be executed by the Federal Capital Territory.

Ceo Mavin Records and Nigeria's most successful producer Michael Collins Ajereh aka Don Jazzy has been signed up by Johnnie Walker as it's brand Ambassador. Johnnie Walker, a premium Scotch Whisky from the stable of Diageo brands, has unveiled its largest-ever global marketing campaign tagged: Joy Will Take You Further. The campaign, according to the company is a global market acgtivation taking place in 50 countries simultaneously and is expected to reach 350 million consumers in the first week of it's launch.

Kelloggs announced last week it's plans for a $450 million joint venture with Toleram Group, Distributors of Indomie Noodles in Nigeria. It wants to develop breakfast foods and snacks for the West African market with a focus on Africa. Kelloggs said that rather than increase it's cereal offering, it would push lower end products to consumers in open air markets in Nigeria such as Lagos. This actually make sense as the Toleram Group is equipped with a strong distribution network of 450,000 touch points.

The National leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has emphasized education as a key weapon in fighting poverty. He said this yesterday at after the Eid-il -Kabir activities at the Dodan Barracks praying ground.He pointed out the training of youths, retraining of teachers to put education in the forefront of investment that is necessary for this country.“Every day we talk about the potential of this country but where are we, when one looks at a country like India, they don’t have oil but they were able to build an economy for themselves that is thriving today and creating employment for the youths.

Wednesday 30 September 2015

Tuesday 29 September 2015

Monday 28 September 2015

Sunday 27 September 2015

Saturday 26 September 2015

Friday 25 September 2015