Month: September 2019

Nigerian seafarers earn 61% less than foreign counterparts

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      Nigerian seafarers have rejected the newly approved Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) wages after realising that they were earning 61.5 per cent less than their foreign counterparts. The new wage was approved by the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) but it is far below international standard.     The newly signed CBA centred on the welfare of the seafarers and implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006.     Finding revealed that the new wage approved last July by the International Transport  Federation (ITF)/ International Labour Organisation (ILO)…

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EFCC hunts for multi-million dollars oil deal infraction culprits

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        The anti-granft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has begun a manhunt for culprits of multi-million dollars oil contracts’ infractions.     Already, forensic audit commissioned by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB)  has indicated over 15 oil firms of non-remittance of statutory funds into the government’s covers.   Considered this as a breach of contract, the board, checks showed, handed over the audit to the EFCC for “necessary action.”     A correspondence exchanged between the EFCC and NCDMB, sighted by this…

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Nigerians spend N38bn on mobile SMS in 12 months

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     Despite the threat of Over the Top (OTT) services, Whatsapp, Facebook, etc, mobile network operators in Nigeria realised approximately N38 billion from short message service (SMS) in 2018.     This indicated that Nigerians still pay for text messages amidst availability of different data-based free messaging platforms.     Industry data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that the telcos recorded 9.5 billion outgoing SMS in the 12 months period. Based on the fixed cost of N4 per SMS, the operators pocketed N38 billion from the…

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Apere: Review tier-based arrangement for micro-insurance

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    Following the National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM) decision to recapitalise the insurance sector, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Achor Actuarial Services Limited, Pius Apere, has advised the commission to also a review the classification arrangement being adopted for the micro-insurance segment of the sector.   This, he said, would prevent conventional insurers, who are likely to downscale to micro-level from not taking advantage of the market because of their size against beginners.   Apere, who gave the advice at the 4th National Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) National Conference…

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Regulator lifts trading suspension on Deap Capital

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  The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has lifted trading suspension placed on the shares of Deap Capital Management and Trust Plc.   It suspended trading on the company’s shares for violating post-listing requirements.   The exchange had notified the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the investment community of the suspension and those of five other firms over default in filing their accounts as at when due.   The management of the exchange in a statement at the weekend said: “We refer to our Market Bulletin dated 1 November 2018, with…

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H1: Access Bank reports N74bn post-merger profit

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  .Declares 25k interim dividend Access Bank Group’s audited H1 results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday showed gross earnings of N324.4 billion, up 28 per cent from N253.0 billion in the corresponding period of 2018. According to a statement from the bank, the growth in gross earnings was driven by 46 per cent increase in interest income on the back of continued growth in the bank’s core business and 22 per cent non-interest income underlined by strong recoveries.   The bank delivered a profit before tax of…

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 ‘Q2 slowdown, mixed oil markets signal economic warnings to Nigeria’

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  Another recent escalation in the trade dispute between the US and China has punished crude oil prices and set off warning signals for oil-producing countries like Nigeria, FXTM Research Analyst, Mr. Lukman Otunuga, has said.   Otunuga in a report obtained by New Telegraph also said Nigeria’s GDP slowed down to 1.94 per cent in the second quarter from 2.1 per cent in the first quarter, following the trend seen in several economies such as Germany and the UK.   “It is becoming quite clear that as long as oil…

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Flooding: Forestalling farmers’ battle with annual losses

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  As the raining gradually gets to its peak with attendant disasters from flooding, stakeholders in agric and insurance sectors are expected to step up efforts to minimise losses that are peculiar to the season. Sunday Ojeme reports     Last year, some agric sector stakeholders in the country lamented the grave losses by farmers to attacks on various crops and livestock attacks.   Although they put the estimated loss from livestocks alone at over N20 billion annually, efforts to stem the tide appear not to be enough as agric…

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CBN to ABCON: Play greater role in BDC sub-sector

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  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) to play a stronger role in the sub-sector by embracing effective self-regulation.   Speaking during the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) Mutual Evaluation Exercise Sensitisation workshop for South West Bureaux de Change (BDCs) in Lagos, CBN Deputy Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Mustafa Haruna, said there was need for BDCs to ensure compliance with extant Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws  and  regulations  to  mitigate  the  risks  and vulnerabilities in…

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NSE ends first week of September bearish

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  Trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed the first trading week of September on the downside as the NSE All-Share Index and market capitalisation both depreciated by 1.38 per cent to close last week at 27,146.57 and N13.207 trillion respectively.   Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of NSE Banking, NSE Pension, NSE Insurance, NSE-AFR Bank Value, NSE AFR Div Yield, NSE MERI Value, and NSE Industrial Goods Indices, which appreciated by 0.20 per cent, 0.84 per cent, 0.83 per cent,…

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