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Category: Business

  • Court halts implementation of new electricity tariffs

    A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has stalled the implementation of new electricity tariffs from April, pending the determination of a motion challenging it.

    The new tariffs, which go into force from April, were announced by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) last week. NERC handed 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) the template for the new tariffs applicable in their regions..

    At the hearing of a suit by the Incorporated Trustees of Human Rights Foundation against 15 respondents in the electricity industry, Justice Muslim Hassan ordered the parties to maintain the status quo.

    The respondents are: NERC, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE); the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc; and the Minister of Power.

    Also joined as respondents are Abuja, Benin, Enugu, Ikeja, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Yola, Eko, Ibadan and Jos DisCo.

    In its suit, the NGO filed an ex parte motion praying the court to stop the new tariff from coming into effect.

    The applicant contended that “the implementation of the purported minor review of the Multi-Year Tariff Order would create “unquantifiable hardship and damages” on electricity consumers.

    “Consumers will be made to pay very high tariff, which has been increased by over 40 per cent across the board of which is currently being billed.”

    In an affidavit deposed to by Theodora Ubabunike, the human rights group said: “It will amount to a great injustice to impose arbitrary electricity tariff on Nigerian electricity consumers.

    “Nigerians will suffer monumental loss as many people will not be able to access power or access same at very high tariff. I know that Nigerians are entitled to access public amenities like electrical power.”

    In arguing the application on Monday, the applicant’s counsel, Anaje Chinedu, prayed for “an order of interim injunction restraining NERC from taking any step towards the implementation of the purported Minor Review of the Multi-Year Tariff Order 2015 and the Remittance Order 2019,” pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice .

    Justice Hassan declined to grant the ex parte application, but said “the status quo ante bellum shall be maintained by the parties in this suit pending the determination of the motion on notice.”

    He adjourned till January 20, 2020 for the hearing of the motion on notice.

  • Oil prices soar as Iran hits US Iraqi bases with missiles

    Oil rose sharply, with U.S. crude rising nearly $3, on Wednesday after the U.S. said its forces in Iraq were attacked by Iranian ballistic missiles, raising the prospect of a regional conflagration that could cut oil supplies.

    West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose nearly $3, or almost 5%, to $65.50 a barrel at around 0029 GMT. Brent crude was yet to trade after dropping nearly 1% on Tuesday.

    Iran has launched an attack on U.S.-led forces in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Tuesday, adding Tehran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian territory against at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S.-led coalition personnel.

    “We are working on initial battle damage assessments,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in statement, adding that the bases targeted were at Al-Asad air base and another in Erbil, Iraq.

    Iranian news agency Mehr said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had targeted the base. 

    Tehran has vowed retaliation for the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. air strike on Jan. 3.

    Sirens were heard and American helicopters were seen flying over Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province early on Wednesday, according to al Mayadeen TV.

  • Ecobank adopts CBN’s reduced bank charges

    Ecobank adopts CBN’s reduced bank charges

    Ecobank Nigeria has complied with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent directive on the reduction of bank charges.

    The bank commended the CBN for taking bold steps to further strengthen the financial inclusion drive in the country.

    In October 2019, Ecobank announced the elimination of session charges on its USSD platform – *326#, months prior to the new CBN directive. Customers using *326# for their transactions such as inter and intra bank funds transfers, bill payments, airtime top-up, balance enquiry etc. can do so at zero session fees.

    Further to the removal of the session charges, Patrick Akinwuntan, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, advocated stakeholder buy-in to make banking more affordable and accessible to all.

    He noted that lower charges would encourage the unbanked to adopt structured financial services, thereby driving financial inclusion and economic growth. Ecobank has been at the forefront of the campaign for inclusive, affordable banking. Anyone, regardless of their social class, can open the Ecobank Xpress Account with Zero Naira, from any phone type, simply by dialing *326#. The account opening process is fully “do it yourself” without any documentation or paperwork.

    The Managing Director, in his new year message to customers, stated that “Our removal of session charges on Ecobank *326# well ahead of the recent downward review of charges on digital transactions by the Central Bank of Nigeria further demonstrates our commitment to delivering more savings to our customers, making banking with Ecobank more delightful in the new year and beyond.”

  • UBA plc announces four top appointments

    United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), on Monday, announced that Oliver Alawuba has been appointed as CEO of UBA Africa, overseeing the bank’s 20 African country operations, ex-Nigeria. He succeeds Victor Osadolor, who retires from the Group Board, after nine years of service working at UBA.

    UBA Africa serves over 19 million customers across the African continent, providing retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting edge products including the first ever banking chat bot in Africa, LEO.

    Alawuba has close to three decades of banking industry experience.

    He was once the CEO of UBA Ghana and rose to become Regional CEO, UBA Africa before returning to Nigeria to run UBA’s East Bank.
    Under his leadership, UBA’s Nigerian East Bank division became the fastest growing regional bank in the Group.

    The Board further appointed Senegalese national, Abdoul-Aziz Dia as Executive Director for Treasury and International Banking, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    Dia becomes the first non-Nigerian Group Executive Director of the Bank, bringing a wealth of multi geographical experience to the Group.

    He will be responsible for UBA’s global network of operations in New York, London and Paris, together with Group Treasury, where UBA offers a sophisticated suite of products to multinationals, international institutions and African clients.

    Chukwuma Nweke, currently the Executive Director Operations, was confirmed by the Board as the Group Executive Director, Retail and Payments, demonstrating the Group’s commitment to its retail offering. Chuks has close to three decades of banking experience spanning Banking Operations, Finance, Technology, Audit and Strategy.

    The Board also announced the appointment of Chiugo Ndubisi as Group Executive Director and the Group Chief Operating Officer, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
    Chiugo is a professional with almost three decades of banking experience that includes the role of Chief Finance Officer(CFO) and Executive Director on the board of a financial institution. His in-depth understanding of banking and finance industry dynamics will bring a lot of value to the Group Board of UBA.

    Group Chairman Tony O. Elumelu, said “These appointments emphasise the Group’s commitment to our pan-African and global network, our huge retail client base and our operational infrastructure. We are focused on improving our efficiency and further strengthening our pan-African mission, using the extraordinary pool of talent and experience available in the Group.”

    Elumelu thanked both the outgoing Deputy Managing Director/CEO, UBA Africa, Mr. Victor Osadolor, and the former Regional CEO for UBA in East and Southern Africa, Emeke Iweriebor, who just retired from the board, for their contributions to the Bank. “Victor and Emeke were key players during the merger of Standard Trust Bank and UBA and have been valuable contributors to the growth of the Bank. We wish them well”.

    The Board appointments underline UBA’s broader commitment to investing in the highest quality human capital. The Bank recently reformed its grade structure and technology teams, having reduced its grade structure from 16 to 12 levels, at the end of 2019. The Bank welcomed 3,000 new staff members in 2019 and promoted over 5,000 employees. UBA is the largest employer in the Nigerian banking sector, with a staff strength of close to 20,000 employees group wide.

  • Relocating abroad will not solve financial problems

    by Grace Agada

    When you live in a country like Nigeria where a lot of things are not working, you think that your finances will change when you relocate abroad. You think so because you link your financial problems with the conditions of the country. You assume that changing your location will solve your financial problems.

    Although this is common thinking, this thinking is inaccurate.

    Relocating abroad will not solve your financial problem. This is because financial problems are not caused by the conditions of the country you live in.

    If the external environment were responsible for making people rich or poor, everyone in Nigeria will be poor and all the people in developed countries will be rich. But this is not the case.

    We have people with legitimate wealth in Nigeria and some of your relations who travelled abroad are still struggling financially.

    This proves that the external environment has little to do with your current financial condition.

    Even if Nigeria becomes perfect tomorrow night, the condition of your finances will not change.

    If the electricity, our leadership, and the road become what it should be tomorrow, your bank balance will not increase. The Central Bank of Nigeria will not suddenly transfer some money into your account.

    Financial problem is a personal problem and not a country affair. When a country has a perfect external environment, it improves the living condition of the people and not their financial condition.

    The financial condition of a people can only improve when they increase their capacity to earn more income.

    Earning more income requires that a person develops certain abilities to solve problems.

    Solving problems means living in a place where problems exist. When you live in a country like Nigeria with many problems, you understand the pain of problems can relate to the average person and are better equipped to solve the problems.

    Solving problems means adding value. When you add value you expose yourself to wealth creation opportunities. It is these opportunities that will change your financial situation.

    To add value, you need certain abilities. There are three abilities you need: the first is the ability to produce; second is the ability to manage and the third is the ability to bounce back.

    It is these three abilities that will make you earn more income.

    Your ability to produce is your ability to use certain raw materials to create products and services that can produce income.

    There is only one raw material you have as a human being. This raw material is all you need to create the wealth you want. This raw material is the idea raw material.

    Ideas are the only raw materials you need to create wealth in the world. But ideas in its raw state cannot make your rich. You need to add value to your ideas to make it valuable.

    To add value to your ideas, you need to master three skills. The first skill is thinking skills; that is your ability to use your thoughts to create and improve your ideas.

    The second skill is the creative skills; that is your ability to convert your ideas into valuable products and services.

    The third skill is marketing skills; that is your ability to exchange your products and services for cash.

    To earn more income from your ideas, you need to convert them from raw materials to valuable and profitable products.

    People with only natural ideas are poor people. Ideas will not make you rich. It is your ability to add high demand value to your ideas that will make you rich.

    The second ability you need is the ability to manage. The ability to manage is your ability to use financial resources in the most effective way that increases and preserves its value.

    Management is the effective, timely and correct use of financial resources. To manage money well, you need to master four other sub-abilities. The first is the ability to budget; that is your ability to have a progressive plan for your money.

    The second is your ability to save beyond average; that is your ability to keep more of the money you earn.

    The third is your ability to invest correctly; that is your ability to grow and preserve your savings through strategic goal-based investing.

    The fourth is your ability to manage debt; that is your ability to leave below your means.

    These four sub-abilities are what you need to manage money well and live a financially stable life.

    The third ability you need to add value is the ability to bounce back. That is your ability to quickly recover from financial setbacks and emergencies.

    Everyone goes through financial setbacks, but the degree of financial setbacks you suffer is dependent on the quality of your money management skills.

    A life full of emergencies is a life lacking in accurate financial planning.

    When financial setback happens, it is your ability to bounce back that will save you.

    To bounce back from financial setback you need to do three things. First, you need to anticipate setbacks. Second, you need to be financially prepared long before they (setbacks) occur. Third, you need to have a setback recovery plan.

    It is these three things that will increase your ability to bounce back.

    Bouncing back is the only way to continue moving forward with your financial goals. Your ability to produce, your ability to manage and your ability to bounce back are the three abilities you need to improve your financial situation at home or abroad.

    So what then can you do to develop these abilities?

    To develop these abilities and improve your finances, you need to work with a wealth adviser that can help you. The job of a wealth adviser is to help you paint a clear picture of the financial life you want to create.

    The adviser will help you understand the financial and non-financial cost and then create a 90 Days Transformation Plan that will begin to move you from where you are to where you want to be.

    No amount of praying, hoping and changing location will change your financial situation. Your financial situation will only change when you develop the right capacities.

    Grace Agada is a Senior Wealth Advisor and Author with extensive experience in wealth creation, wealth preservation and wealth transfer.

    Culled from The Punch .


  • UBA Recruits 4000 New Staff, Promotes Over 5,000 Staff members; increases Salaries Up to 170%

    Over 5,000 staff of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, started the new year with a lot of cheer as the bank yesterday announced its promotion to new grades as well as salary upgrades with immediate effect this January. 

    Those who are beneficiaries of this exercise will receive up to 170% increase in their salaries and benefits, whilst a good number have been moved to higher grade levels.

    In a carefully planned restructuring embarked upon by the bank in the last quarter of 2019, UBA has transformed its grading system and processes to become one of the most competitive within the industry. The bank crashed its grade levels to 12 levels from entry level to the top of the pyramid where previously it had been 16 levels. This means that staff will now find it much easier to attain top leadership management positions at UBA as their careers progress much faster.

    In a massive recruitment drive , over 4000 new staff members resumed in the  last week of December 2019 in Nigeria alone at the bank. UBA currently stands as the highest employer of labour amongst Nigerian banks with a staff strength of close to 20,000.

    UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka, who announced the bank’s new staff improvement initiatives to the excited employees , noted that UBA is continually seeking new ways to improve the fortunes of its staff as they are the backbone of the organisation .

    Uzoka who spoke to the staff in a bank-wide live broadcast said, “As a leading financial institution, we do not take issues relating to our staff lightly.  We take great pride in being a listening bank that has the ears of our employees as they turn the wheels which make the organisation successful for our customers and shareholders. UBA recruits highly talented staff who perform at the best standards and deserve to be remunerated accordingly’

    Continuing, Uzoka said ‘ we have also taken steps to ensure that our bank remains at the top tier as it relates to talent pool. We want to train the best and we have crashed the grade structure to make it easier and faster for our employees to progress along their careers. With this new grade structure, it will be possible for a new graduate employed at UBA to rapidly chart their own careers and become GMD by the age of 36.”

  • NERC orders DisCos to increase tariff from Jan 1

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to increase their tariff effective from January 1, 2020.

    The NERC published the new tariffs for the different DisCos and categories of customers on its website via its order dated 31st December, 2019, which its chairman, Prof. James Momoh and Secretary Dafe Akpeneye issued in Abuja on Saturday.

    It was titled: “NERC in the matter of the December 2019 minor review Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) for Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc.”

    The commission said that this order supersedes “other orders issued on the subject matter, and shall take effect from 1st January 2020 and shall have effect on the issuance of a new Minor Review Order or an Extraordinary Tariff Review Order by the NERC.”

    It noted that the order has taken into consideration of the actual changes in relevant macroeconomic variables and available generation capacity as at October 2019 in updating the MYTO operating -2015 Tariff Order for 2019 in line with the provisions of the amended MYTO Methodology.

    It said that projections are made for the variables for Year 2020 and beyond based on the best available information .

    The commission however based adjustments in the tariff on the relevant data it obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) such as average monthly inflation rate of 11.3 per cent, exchange rate of N309.97.

    It also added that it obtained its data on inflation rate from the US rate of inflation , which projected 1.8 percent for the period of January to October 2019.

    Gas, which is one of the MYTO variables, according to the commission, its price has been $2.50/MMBTU and gas transportation $0.08/MMBTU.

    For the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) residential customers R3 that were paying N27.20 per unit are to now pay N47.09.

    The customers are now to pay N19.89 more per unit. It represents 236.75 per cent increase.

    The commercial customers C3 that paid N27.20 per unit in 2015 when the tariff was last adjusted and implement are now to pay N47.09 in 2020.

    For the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company Customers, the R3 category paying N26.50 per unit is to now pay N36.92 per unit.

    The customers are now to pay additional N10.02 per unit.

    This is an indication of 368.49 per cent increase. The commercial customers C3 that paid N24.63 per unit in 2015 are to now pay N38.14 per unit.

    The customers are to pay additional N13.51 per unit representing 282.30 percent .

    For the industrial customers of the IKEDC D3 that paid N25.82 per unit are now to pay N35.85 per unit.

    The difference is now the additional 10.03 per unit, representing an increase of 357.42 percent.

    Enugu Electricity Distribution Company residential (R3) customers that were paying N27.11 per unit in 2015 are to now pay N48.12 per unit.

    The customers are to pay additional N21.01 per unit, which indicates 229.03 percent.

    The tariff however insisted that “All DisCos are obligated to settle their market invoices in full as adjusted and netted off by the applicable tariff shortfall.

    “in the determination for compliance to the minimum remittance threshold in this Order, the commission shall consider verified receivables from MDAs for the settlement period and DisCos’ historical collection efficiency for MDAs.

    “The commission shall hold the TCN responsible for deviation from the economic dispatch Order that adversely impact on the base weighed average cost of the wholesale of the energy”

    “All FGN intervention from the financing plan of the PSRP for funding tariff shortfall shall be applied through NBET and the MO to ensure 100 percent settlement of invoices issued by market participants.

    “Under this framework, the minimum market remittance by AEDC is determined after deducting the revenue deficient arising from tariff shortfall from the aggregate NBET and MO market invoices. AEDC shall be availed the opportunity to earn its revenue requirement only upon fully meeting the following obligations and subject to efficient operations.”

    According to the order, the Federal Government’s updated Power Sector Recovery Program envisaged an immediate increase in end -user tariffs until 1st April 2020 and a transition to full cost reflectivity by end of 2021.

    In the interim, said the commission, Federal Government, has committed to fund the revenue gap arising from the difference between cost reflective tariffs determined by the commission and the actual end-user tariffs payable by customers.

    The NERC explained 100 percent settlement of MO invoice based on the tariffs applied by the MO in determining respective invoices prior to this order.

    The commission said that effectively, this order places a freeze on the tariffs of TCN and administrative charges until April 2020 at the rates applied in generating MO invoices for the period of January -October 2019.

    NERC insisted that full settlement of 42 percent of NBET’s monthly invoices being the minimum remittance threshold prescribed in this order.

  • Investors Gain N13bn on First Trading Day of 2020

    Investors Gain N13bn on First Trading Day of 2020

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) started the year 2020 on a positive note after it appreciated by 0.10 percent on the first trading day of the decade on Thursday.

    From observations, the local bourse was looking like it would kick off the year on a wrong foot, but stocks in the insurance space came to the rescue, closing as the only sub-sector of the exchange that ended strong by appreciating by 0.97 percent.

    The energy sector lost 5.01 percent, industrial index depreciated by percent, banking index declined by 0.39 percent, while the consumer goods sector lost 0.10 percent.

    The All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated during the session by 25.72 points to close at 26,867.79 points against 26,842.07 points in the last session, while the market capitalisation increased by N13 billion to N12.971 trillion from N12.958 trillion.

    Seplat was the heaviest price loser, going down by N65.70 to finish at N592.10 per share, while Lafarge Africa depreciated by N1.50 to end at N13.80 per unit. Unilever Nigeria lost N1.30 to settle at N20.70 per share, Stanbic IBTC declined by N1 to close at N40 per share, while GlaxoSmithKline fell by 60 kobo to settle at N5.50 per share.

    On the gainers’ chart, MTN Nigeria was the biggest price riser, appreciating by N4 to close at N109 per unit, while Dangote Sugar gained 40 kobo to settle at N14 per share.

    FBN Holdings rose by 35 kobo to finish at N6.50 per share, Vitafoam increased its share value by 30 kobo to close at N4.70 per unit, while UAC Nigeria also appreciated by 30 kobo to end at N8.90 per share.

    Despite the market closing bullish on Thursday, the level of activity was poor as the volume of traded equities went down by 74.93 percent to 264.1 million from 1.1 billion, while the value of stocks exchanged by investors reduced by 4.82 percent to N5.2 billion from N5.5 billion.

    FBN Holdings was the most active stock, trading 60.3 million units worth N384.0 million, while Access Bank trailed with 33.5 million shares valued at N335.6 million.

    Zenith Bank exchanged 30.9 million equities worth N578.2 million, UBA transacted 28.2 million shares valued at N202.6 million, while GTBank traded 18.9 million shares for N553.4 million.

  • Sylva hints on fresh date for final passage of PIB

    Sylva hints on fresh date for final passage of PIB

    Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, says review of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is at an advanced stage and full passage of the bill is expected mid 2020.

    Sylva made the announcement on Wednesday, in a statement to mark the new year which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    The minister, while reviewing the performance of the petroleum ministry, described 2019 as a very busy and prosperous year for the ministry and its agencies.

    According to him, the ministry’s achievements included Amendment of the Deep Offshore (and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contact) Act, and signing of Final Investment Decision on the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 project.

    He said others were the discovery of crude oil in the Upper Benue Trough and the hosting of the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation and the emergence of Nigeria’s Dr Omar Ibrahim as its Secretary General

    ” We thank every Nigerian, all our key stakeholders, heads of agencies of the ministry: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Department of Petroleum Resources, Petroleum Technology Development Fund and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.

    “Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board, Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority and the Petroleum Training Institute) and every member of staff, for all the support.

    “We look forward to delivering on all our aspirations as we remain committed and focused in the New Year,” Sylva added.

  • First Bank clears air on staff’s involvement in foiled robbery at Abuja branch

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited has released a Corporate Statement regarding the alleged role of a staff of one its Abuja branches where a five-man gang of armed robbers had invaded and were promptly rounded up and arrested by a combined team of policemen and soldiers.

    Below is the statement signed and made available by Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications of the bank.

    ”We are aware that a customer service executive assigned to us by one of our vendors is helping the police with their investigations into the attempted robbery that happened last week in one of our branches in Abuja.

    We remain grateful that none of our staff or customers lost their lives during the incident.

    We will, however, refrain from commenting further at this time until the relevant authorities conclude their investigations and we urge all to cooperate fully to enable seamless investigations.

    As a responsible organisation that has built trust on the pillar of security and safety for over 125 years, continuous improvement involves taking learnings even from unfortunate situations to further strengthen our security protocols.”