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Abuja Business News

Nigeria’s Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to Assume Presidential Powers

Jan 14

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Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President of Nigeria

Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President of Nigeria

A Nigerian court yesterday cleared Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to continue performing the duties of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who has been out of the country for medical treatment since November, ThisDay reported.

While Jonathan can exercise presidential powers, he can’t assume the role of Acting President as Yar’Adua didn’t write to parliament ceding authority to him, said Dan Abutu, judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, according to the Lagos-based newspaper.

Attorney General and Justice Minister Michael Aondoakaa said the ruling removes any doubt that Jonathan can continue to operate on behalf of Yar’Adua, the newspaper reported.

Yar’Adua has been receiving treatment for a heart condition in Saudi Arabia since Nov. 23, prompting the opposition to talk of a power vacuum because he didn’t temporarily vest Jonathan with executive powers.

Read more on Nigeria

Source(s): This Day | Bloomberg News

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Nigeria Approves US Air Marshals on US-Bound Flights

Jan 13

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Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria

Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria

Nigeria will create anti-terror squads and deploy US air marshals on flights to the U.S. following last month’s failed attempt by a Nigerian national to bomb a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines aircraft.

A new bill to strengthen counter-terrorism measures in the West African country is awaiting approval by parliament, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan said in an e-mailed statement today from the capital, Abuja.

Following the Dec. 25 bombing attempt, for which Al-Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility, the U.S. included Nigeria among countries from which airline passengers will face special screening before boarding flights to American destinations. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old native of Nigeria, has been charged in the U.S. with trying to blowup the Northwest Airlines flight with 278 passengers on board as it landed in Detroit. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nigerian Stocks May Rise 43% This Year, CSL Stockbrokers Says

Jan 12

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Nigeria’s benchmark stock index may rise 43% this year as bank shares gain, CSL Stockbrokers Ltd. said in today.

The brokerage is “overweight” Nigerian equities and high- yielding bank deposits while it is “underweight” on government bonds and Treasury bills, it said.

Nigeria’s economy may expand 6.5% this year and 7% in 2011, CSL forecast.

About CSL Stockbrokers
CSL Stockbrokers Limited was officially licensed on November 4, 1977 by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to operate as a stockbrokerage business. CSLS is regarded as a pioneer in the stock broking industry in Nigerian and has a client base of over 300,000 investors spread among various tiers of government, corporate organizations, and individuals.

CSLS is the leading securities trading company in transaction amount and value for a significant proportion of all trades in the Nigerian stock market. The company is one of the most capitalized stockbroking firm in the country with a paid-up share capital of N75 million, which is well in excess of the SEC minimum capital requirements for broker/dealer firms. The company also has four offices in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Kano

Read more on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)

Source(s): Bloomberg News

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Layoffs for Christmas? Nigeria’s Banks to Sack 5,000 This Week; Massive Retrenchments Continue in the Nigerian Banking Sector

Dec 21

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LayoffsThere are strong indications that the on-going wind of massive job cuts in banks will blow unabated before the end of the year.

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune indicated that apart from the two banks that sacked over 4,000 workers over the weekend, four banks have also concluded plans to distribute sack letters today.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that two of the four banks fall in the category of those declared safe and sound by the recent special audit instituted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). Read the rest of this entry »

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Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Gives Dangote License to Generate Power

Nov 26

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Dangote GroupThe Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) awarded a generating license to Dangote Industry Power Ltd., a unit of Dangote Industries Ltd., Daily Trust reported, citing Immamudeen Talba, head of the NERC.

Dangote plans to generate 135 megawatts of electricity at the proposed plant out of which 46 megawatts will be consumed by its Obajana Cement plant in the central Nigerian state of Kogi. The remaining 89 megawatts will be sold to the national grid, Talba said, according to the Abuja-based newspaper.

Obajana Cement Plant, Kogi State, Nigeria

Obajana Cement Plant, Kogi State, Nigeria

The regulator has granted 29 licenses to companies to produce power in a bid to boost generation in Nigeria to 6,000 megawatts by the end of this year and 10,000 megawatts by 2011, the newspaper said.

Read more news on Nigeria

Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) | Dangote Group

Source(s): Bloomberg News

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USA-Nigeria Direct Flight: Arik Air Launches Services between Lagos and New York JFK

Nov 23

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Arik AirArik Air has announced that it would commence flights between Lagos and New York (JFK) beginning on Sunday, 29 November 2009.

The new route will be Arik Air’s third international service outside of the West Africa region, following the commencement of daily flights to London Heathrow in December 2008 and to Johannesburg, South Africa, in June 2009.

The new Lagos – New York (JFK) service will operate three times a week with outbound flights departing Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, while inbound flights will depart New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (Terminal 4) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

In announcing the new international service, Arik Air’s Managing Director, Mr. Jason Holt said: “Arik Air’s new non-stop flights between Lagos and New York will be the airline’s first transatlantic service. They will also be the first direct flights between Nigeria and the United States to be operated by a Nigerian airline in the last decade. This is of great historical significance for Nigeria and a source of great pride for Arik Air.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Africa’s Largest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Mall to Be Built in Abuja, Nigeria

Oct 23

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The Computerize Nigeria Project (CNP) will launch the biggest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Mall in Africa, in Abuja, in the first quarter of 2010.

This ambitious project, which commenced last year and is nearing completion, is designed to sustain the promotion of digital knowledge democracy as an ingredient in structuring Nigeria as a knowledge-driven nation.

The Abuja ICT Mall will place Africa on the digital map of the world, following the trail blazed by Mecer of South Africa and Zinox of Nigeria. Read the rest of this entry »

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Audit Will Affect Two Banks

Oct 2

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Central Bank of NigeriaTwo Nigerian banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will be affected by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest audit of lenders, said Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, the Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Okereke-Onyiuke, who addressed brokers on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos, the commercial capital, did not name the banks. The audit report by the Abuja-based central bank will be announced later today or tomorrow, she said, without specifying how the lenders would be affected.

“Only two of our quoted banks will be involved, but there will not be too much controversy,” she said.

On Aug. 14, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fired the chief executive officers of Afribank Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Oceanic Bank Plc, Finbank Plc and Union Bank Plc and injected NGN420 billion (USD2.8 billion) into the banks to keep them afloat after an audit of 10 lenders showed the five banks faced collapse because of mounting bad debts.

ThisDay, a Lagos-based newspaper, reported today that the Central Bank of Nigeria may dismiss the CEOs of at least two more banks amid a liquidity crisis in the banking industry. The heads of Bank PHB Plc and Spring Bank Plc may be sacked, the newspaper said, without saying where it got the information. Read the rest of this entry »

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Transcorp Nigeria Loses Bid to Stop Resale of NITEL

Sep 17

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Transcorp NigeriaA Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday refused the request by Transcorp to stop the resale of 51% of NITEL and its mobile arm, M-Tel. Transcorp had initially acquired the shares, but the government revoked the sale amid allegations of mismanagement of the incumbent telco.

Defendants in the suit filed by Transcorp are the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Federal Attorney General, National Council on privatization (NCP), Finance Ministry, and seven members of the interim board of NITEL. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nigerian Economic Growth Accelerates on Agriculture

Aug 31

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AgricultureEconomic growth in Nigeria, which vies with Angola as Africa’s biggest oil producer, accelerated in the second quarter as agricultural production increased, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said.

Gross domestic product expanded 5.13% in the three months through June, compared with 4.85% in the previous quarter, the Abuja-based Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said in a statement on its Web site today.

Agriculture, which makes up 44% of total economic output in the country, contributed 2.4 percentage points to the growth rate, the CBN said. Read the rest of this entry »

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