₦airaland Forum

Airtel's customer service representative, Jeremiah Mustapha, conspired with a fraudster, Nurudeen Salimu, to fraud one of Airtel Nigeria's subscribers of N2.2 million through the use of his phone number. Mustapha diverted messages, alerts and calls of the Airtel subscriber to the fraudster, to enable him impersonate the subscriber at the bank, and also disconnected the line from the network to hide their activities.

Salimu was said to have gone to the bank to act as the owner of the account in order for him to access and withdraw the N2.2 million. The actual owner of the account was identified as Kazeem Dele. His signature was forged to... https://allnews.ng/news/airtel-s-staff-steals-n2-2m-with-subscriber-s-phone-number

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Two months after AllNews projected more troubles for Guinness Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries and International Breweries in 2020, Guinness Nigeria becomes the first alcoholic company to admit that its earnings will be disappointing this year, so shareholders have to brace up as production and revenue continue to tank.

Guinness Nigeria made this known to prepare its shareholders ahead as its business has continued to struggle to survive the pummeling of the pandemic and measures adopted to curb the spread. In a statement seen by AllNews, and written to the Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the investing public, Guinness Nigeria said its on-trade segment was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 lockdown. This is believed to have led to a loss for the company that also struggled last year.
Guinness Losing Revenue To COVID-19 Measures.

Guinness stated that "The adverse impact of the sharp contraction in economic activities and the knock-on.... https://allnews.ng/news/how-guinness-is-suffering-revenue-loss-due-to-nigeria-s-covid-19-measures

The government has proposed an increase in fuel price that will now see Nigerians pay between N140.80 and N143.80 kobo per litre. The new fuel price was initiated by the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), the price regulator of the Nigerian oil industry.

The new price means fuel will no longer be sold at the previous price of N121.50 kobo. In a statement signed by the Abdulkadir Saidu, PPPRA executive secretary, and seen by AllNews, the regulator said, “Please recall the provision for the establishment of a monthly price band within which petroleum marketers are expected to sell PMS at the retail stations, based on the existing price regime”.

“After a review of the prevailing market fundamentals in the month of June and considering marketers’ realistic operating costs, as much as practicable, we wish to... https://allnews.ng/news/more-woes-for-nigerians-as-pppra-increases-fuel-price

The banking industry in Nigeria is very competitive from afar, but when a closer look is given to their financial statements, there are double figures running into millions separating the banks in Nigeria. In order for customers to know the five most profitable banks in Nigeria for last year, 2019, AllNews dug through the financials of these commercial banks.

Truth is, every bank has a slogan that will probably fool anyone into thinking they are the most profitable in the banking industry, but if you look beyond the marketing noise, it will be discovered that the true state of their profitability can be found in the financials, as the most profitable bank in 2019 is one of the quietest banks that hardly bombard account holders or the underbanked with call-to-action adverts.

The banks who spent the most on advertising & marketing were nowhere close to the top two most profitable banks. These shows there are less expensive methods in luring underbanked communities to trust the banks with their money and profit from it. Also, what was noted was that having the largest customer base doesn't translate or shoot a bank's profitability through the roof - as the case of Access Bank.

Five Most Profitable Banks In 2019

Zenith Bank

Zenith Bank topped the list of the most profitable banks last year after recording N208.843 billion in 12 months. This was the highest profit after tax in the banking industry as seen by AllNews. This shows a slight growth when compared to its profit after tax of the corresponding period, 2018 when Zenith Bank generated N193.424 billion within a year.

Meanwhile, Zenith Bank's profit... https://allnews.ng/news/five-most-profitable-nigerian-banks-in-2019

Advertising and Marketing is a crucial part of the banking industry. It is one of the instruments used by banks to poach each other's customers or clients and reach the unbanked population. In order to ensure they have the biggest exposure needed to switch loyalty, six banks spent billions of naira each in just three months on Advertising and Marketing - for some, the amount spent translates into higher revenue, for others, not so much.

AllNews dug through the financial statements of eleven Nigerian banks to discover which bank spent the largest budget on Advertising and Marketing and which banks spending reduced their spendings. Surprisingly, AllNews discovered an underdog in the banking industry led the highest spender, while the big names queued behind it in Q1 2020.

Top Six Banks With Highest Advertising & Marketing Budget In Q1 2020

AllNews discovered that only six banks spent over a billion naira on Advertising & Marketing in the first three months of 2020, while the remaining five banks' Advertising and Marketing budget stood at millions of naira.

Going through the financial statement of Fidelity Bank, it was revealed that the bank spent N2.6 billion on Advertising & Marketing in the first quarter of 2020. A significant rise when compared to.... https://allnews.ng/news/top-six-banks-that-spent-billions-on-advert-in-three-months

Outsourcing companies are fast becoming the norm in every industry. From the telecommunications industry to the manufacturing industry, and most importantly, the banking sector in Nigeria. Talents are becoming expensive, and banks are finding a way around the cost by partnering with outsourcing firms.

The banks are now depending largely on outsourcing companies to provide cheap labour, which has led to the increase in the number of contract staff by 41.7 per cent in two years - 2018 and 2019 - across Nigerian banks. The new romance between banks and outsourcing firms is fuelling the rise of modern slavery; more work, less pay.

Majority of the banks, including UBA, Access Bank, GTBank, Zenith Bank and many others are all culprits and... https://allnews.ng/news/modern-day-slavery-nigerian-banks-enslaving-workers-through-contract-work

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has suspended repayment of COVID-19 intervention loan for one-year while directing banks and other financial institutions to restructure their loan tenor and terms. The suspension, according to the CBN, was to help households and businesses mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on their finances.

The CBN placed moratorium on all repayments, stating that the suspension became effective March 1, 2020. This directive implies that banks and other financial institutions will.... https://allnews.ng/news/coronavirus-cbn-suspends-repayment-of-loans-for-one-year

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has stated that the misery of Nigerians will multiply in 2020, as the economy is heading for another recession - making it the third recession under President Muhammadu Buhari. She made this known while disclosing that Nigeria's economy will decline deeper than projected by international agencies.

Ahmed said Nigeria's economic growth might contract more than the projection made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and international credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings. According to Ahmed, the country's economy, which is the gross domestic product (GDP) could contract to as much as –8.94% in 2020.

She made this known after the National Economic Summit meeting in Abuja on Thursday. She, however, stated that the government is trying to avoid such a scenario and reduce the contraction to 0.59%. This is despite the federation account generating N940.91 billion from net oil and gas revenue while recording a shortfall of N125. 52 billion in Q1 2020.

Reason for the declining economy

Ahmed fault the impact of coronavirus on oil prices for the declining economy. Recall that oil prices had crashed in the global market due to the pandemic and also the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. In order to restore the oil price, OPEC and OPEC+ members have agreed to cut oil production, which will force price to climb.

So, according to Ahmed, Nigeria is suffering from the twin... https://allnews.ng/news/nigeria-heading-for-its-third-recession-under-president-buhari

Weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari called on bilateral and multilateral creditors to cancel the debt owed due to the impact of coronavirus on the economy in Africa, it has been revealed that China will not cancel or forgive the debt owed by Nigeria and other African countries.

The COVID-19 outbreak which started in Wuhan, China, has had an adverse effect on the global economy, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stating that Nigeria's economy will experience the worse this year and Fitch Ratings downgrading Nigeria's economic growth. The COVID-19 outbreak had made loan even more necessary for countries like Nigeria.

How much is Africa and Nigeria owing China?

The economic fallout of the coronavirus had pushed for the call that local and international bilateral and multilateral creditors offer debt relief for African countries. While China is considering the debt relief request, the Asian country will not be willing to cancel the $152 billion debt African countries owed it.

China is the largest bilateral creditor in Africa, having started to focus on the continent from 2000 till 2018. China also accounts for 10% of Nigeria's $27.6 billion external debt stock. Nigeria owes China about $3.1 billion Recall that the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, had stated in February that due to the lack of interest from the World Bank and the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) to offer Nigeria loan during the recession, the Federal Government approached China for a $17 billion loans.

Nigeria had sought the $17 billion loan from China in order to balance its loan of $29.96 billion which was still around $22.8 billion at the time.

Why China won't cancel the debt

While reacting to the likely position of China, the Head of China Africa.... https://allnews.ng/news/here-s-why-china-will-not-forgive-nigeria-other-african-countries-debt

The impact of women in the development of a nation can't be overemphasised, not with words or actions. Women have grown rapidly from being perceived as a weaker vessel to being a corporate leader and an economy influencer.

The world has outlived the days when women are considered inferior to men. Today, our generation is a living witness to the fact that what a man can do, a woman is equal to the task, and probably do better; and the world is better off because of this balance in productivity.

Women have taken the bull by the horn, crushed through concrete walls, to become employers of labour and... https://allnews.ng/news/meet-the-small-business-female-owners-leading-the-made-in-nigeria-fight

Are you a student, self-employed, small business owner or just another individual in need of emergency funds to pay your rent, school fees or to expand your business, but unable to obtain a loan due to collateral requirements of banks? Don't give up yet, there are other ways to secure loan of five to seven figures without collateral.

Getting a loan has become increasingly necessary, and luckily, obtaining a loan is no longer rocket science as banks made the world believe. Apart from not needing collateral and....

Polaris Bank has reacted to calls and text messages allegedly emanating from the lender to its customers informing them that their accounts have been restricted by the bank. Polaris Bank in a statement seen by AllNews stated that scammers were behind the calls and text messages.

The calls and text messages had informed customers of Polaris Bank that their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other personal information were needed as their account had been restricted. It was revealed that the claims of restriction on bank account of customers were.... https://allnews.ng/news/fraud-polaris-bank-reacts-as-scammers-target-customers

The former Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, has stated that the oil and gas industry has its disadvantages as it distracts Nigerians who are looking for quick oil money. He said the COVID-19 impact on the oil industry has given Nigeria time to refocus as there's a need to get people back to the farm.

According to Kachikwu, Agriculture should be one of the focal points of Nigeria and President Muhammad Buhari is already investing in the agriculture sector. He made this known while addressing the level of impact coronavirus has on the oil industry. Kachikwu stated that the long duration before the eradication of COVID-19 gives the country more time to refocus its attention.

"What this does for us, if we use the time well, is that it will help us intensely refocus our attention to other sectors apart from the petroleum sector, and invest massively in mechanized agriculture, services, tourism, etc. The oil and gas sector has its disadvantages too. It is creating a lot of pollution, shutting down a lot of farms and sometimes distracting young people from careers, because everyone wants a quick oil return.

"Agriculture should be one of the focal points of this country because we have massive landmass. President Buhari has intensely refocused Government investment attention on agriculture and infrastructure. We need to get people back to farms. We need to.... https://allnews.ng/news/nigerians-need-to-start-farming-and-not-be-distracted-by-oil-money-ex-petroleum-minister-kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has revealed that the construction phase of Train 7 project will now commence after the engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the project was finally awarded by the Nigerian LNG Limited (NLNG) to two Asian companies and an Italian firm.

The NLNG awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contracts to SCD JV Consortium; a firm comprising Saipem of Italy, Japan’s Chiyoda and Daewoo of South Korea, a statement seen by Allnews disclosed. Although, NLNG had issued a Letter of Intent for the EPC contracts to SCD JV Consortium in September 2019, the new development was announced on Wednesday during a Webinar.

Why the Train 7 project matter

The Train 7 project is expected to increase the production capacity of NLNG, which is jointly owned by the Federal Government, represented by the NNPC and three international oil companies; Shell, Total and Eni. The ownership of NLNG is splitted into; NNPC owns 49 per cent, Shell accounts for 25.6 per cent, Total owns 15 per cent and Eni has 10.4 per cent.

It was learnt that the Train 7 project will.... https://allnews.ng/news/nlng-finally-awards-train-7-project-contracts-to-foreign-firms-names-of-companies-revealed

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has revealed that the Federal Government will have to borrow more from domestic and foreign creditors in order to fund the 2020 budget which has been cut by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ahmed said the 2020 budget has a deficit of N5.3 trillion, and the gap will be filled with foreign and domestic loans. She made this known after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the reduction of the budget expenses from N10.59 trillion to N10.52 trillion. This was done after Ahmed submitted the 2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

FG had also reduced the oil benchmark to $25 from.... https://allnews.ng/news/fg-to-depend-on-domestic-and-foreign-creditors-to-fund-2020-budget-fin-minister

The Co-Founder of Helium Health, Adegoke Olubusi, has reacted to the $10 million the Lagos-based Startup secured last week. Helium Health had secured the fund at a period PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said tech startups in Nigeria will find it difficult to secure investment.

Speaking on the $10 million investment secured from a funding round, Olubusi said the fund can help the healthcare firm to grow in a million ways. According to him, the fund will accelerate the growth of Helium Health in Nigeria and Ghana. It will also enable the startup expand into new market across African countries.

Investors who participated in the funding round

The electronic medical records providers received funding from a Dubai-based firm, Global Ventures and Asia Africa Investment & Consulting (AAIC), which led the investment round. China's Tencent also took part in the funding round. The funding round proves that deals could still be sealed by Nigerian tech startups despite the disruption of COVID-19.

Allnews had reported that PwC stated in its report that accessing capital would be difficult at this period for tech companies, although, PwC identified tech startups operating in the.... https://allnews.ng/news/helium-health-co-founder-reacts-as-lagos-based-startup-secures-10m-in-most-challenging-era

Subscribers of Airtel Nigeria spent $435 million on data subscription in the year ended March 31, 2020, Airtel's financial result for the period under review has disclosed. The amount was a significant growth when compared to the corresponding period of 2019, increasing by 68.1%.

Airtel Nigeria disclosed that its data revenue increased from $259 million in the corresponding period of 2019, to $435 million in the year ended March 31, 2020. The network provider also recorded growth in its voice revenue, after Nigerians splashed $850 million on calls compared to the $740 million recorded last year within the same period.

The growth in call revenue represented 15.1% increase. Meanwhile, Airtel Nigeria made a whopping $1.3 billion in.... https://allnews.ng/news/airtel-subscribers-spent-435-million-on-data-850-million-on-calls-in-three-months

Before Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria, Olayinka Rafiu, an Uber driver, used to earn between N15,000 to N20,000 daily, but since the end of February when Nigeria recorded its first COVID-19 case, Rafiu has been struggling to make a living. And Uber, Bolt and other car-hailing firms operating in Nigeria are not willing to throw him and other platform-drivers a lifeline; except they get infected with COVID-19.

The Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria had started on a small scale, but since mid-March, the confirmed cases have risen to 4787 (as at press time) within the country. So the car-hailing market is on a beam scale, as the COVID-19 case increases in Nigeria, the demand for car-hailing services drops, even after the lockdown has been lifted.

From his usual twenty daily trips, Rafiu says he now accounts for one trip after roaming Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub. This is the result of the COVID-19 pandemic which has kept Lagosians indoors and cost many their source of income.

Now, coupled with the restriction on movements and curfew in revenue-driven routes; Lagos and Abuja - both of which have recorded 1990 cases and 360 cases respectively - these drivers have joined.... https://allnews.ng/news/how-uber-bolt-abandon-nigerian-drivers-tie-financial-aid-to-coronavirus-infection

9mobile continues to lose subscribers month after month, with its most recent being the over 900,000 subscribers it lost in the space of a month. This means that the telecommunication company has now lost subscribers for eleven months straight, as the network provider continues to struggle while MTN Nigeria loses more subscribers to rivals, Globacom and Airtel.

This led to the total number of its telephone service subscribers to drop to 12.2 million from 13.1 million as the network provider continues to struggle. The last time 9mobile increased its telephone service subscriber base was March 2019, when it recorded 16.8 million subscribers, The current figure, 12.2 million, was for February 2020, declining from January's 13.1 million.

While 9mobile lost subscribers in between January and February, Airtel and Glo were.... https://allnews.ng/news/9mobile-loses-over-900-000-subscribers-in-one-month

Maggi Hotel and Tambari Theatre Art (Night Club) have both been shutdown in Lagos for contravening the lockdown directive for business. The hotel and night club had continued to operate despite the state government ordering such businesses should remain closed amidst the Coronavirus outbreak.

Aside from contravening the directive of the state government, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Solomon Bonu, accused both the hotel and nightclub for immoral activities. He said legal action will be taken against the owners of the two facilities.

Allnews had reported that while the lockdown was lifted partially, with some businesses allowed to operate, relaxation spot, including hotel, nightclub, social club, cinema, bars and other entertainment spot were directed to remain closed amidst the pandemic. Speaking on the crackdown of the hotel and nightclub, Bonu said, “Apart from the fact that these facilities open for normal operations in defiance to the government’s directive, it was also discovered that there is a.... https://allnews.ng/news/lagos-state-shutdown-hotel-nightclub-to-crackdown-on-more-relaxation-spots

The beer industry in Nigeria continued from its unfortunate performance of Q4 2019, with the three market leaders, International Breweries, Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria suffering a nosedive, as their gross profit recorded a significant drop in the first quarter of 2020, while revenue of the first and third largest market shareholders also declined.

In the early period of this year, the top brewery companies in Nigeria had just survived the pummeling of Buharinomics (President Buhari's policies) and the hostile business environment experienced in Nigeria last year. They had dusted their hat with hope of capping a better performance this year - but little did the brewery companies know they were moving from frying pan to fire in 2020 Q1.

“The profit margin has reduced significantly. The overall pricing on alcohol has declined over the last four years. The inflationary trend has moved from 11 per cent to 12 per cent. There has been an increase in... https://allnews.ng/news/nigerian-breweries-guinness-international-breweries-move-from-frying-pan-to-fire-in-q1-2020

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ignored President Muhammadu Buhari's request for an outright cancellation of debt, opting for another option as IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva reveals plan to protect African countries whose economy has been adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Allnews had reported that President Buhari urged international financial institutions to cancel debt obligations considering the impact of COVID-19 on countries, but while disclosing the plans of IMF for affected countries, Georgieva said IMF is.... https://allnews.ng/news/debt-cancellation-imf-ignores-president-buhari-s-request-reveals-plan-for-african-countries

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ignored President Muhammadu Buhari's request for an outright cancellation of debt, opting for another option as IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva reveals plan to protect African countries whose economy has been adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Allnews had reported that President Buhari urged international financial institutions to cancel debt obligations considering the impact of COVID-19 on countries. But while disclosing the plans of IMF for affected countries, Georgieva said IMF is.... https://allnews.ng/news/debt-cancellation-imf-ignores-president-buhari-s-request-reveals-plan-for-african-countries

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has stated that Nigeria still has difficult days ahead as the country's economy will get worse this year.

Georgieva made this known while revealing the impact COVID-19 will have on Nigeria's economy and factors that contributed to the economic downturn.

Georgieva said while COVID-19 has spread less in Nigeria, the country is still experiencing the adverse effect of the coronavirus due to some measures the government took and external factors as well, "Very seriously, Nigeria is being hit by the economic fallout of the pandemic. It is hit because of.... https://allnews.ng/news/difficult-days-ahead-as-imf-chief-reveals-what-covid-19-will-do-to-nigeria-s-economy

Michael Daramola, the Executive Director of International Breweries - the maker of Trophy Lager - has resigned from the company. His resignation coincided with the period International Breweries’ Q1 2020 gross profit recorded a decline compared to its corresponding period of 2019.

Daramola, through various capacities, worked at International Breweries for 15 years. Before his resignation, he was responsible for proposing strategy and for making and implementing operational decision.

Daramola's resignation from his position was effective from March 31, 2020, the same period International Breweries’ gross profit dropped. The breweries company which accounts for the second-largest market share of Nigeria’s brewery industry, recorded N6.1 billion in.... https://allnews.ng/news/international-breweries-executive-director-resigns-as-company-gross-profit-drops

FCMB has reacted to the suspected COVID-19 incident that occurred at the bank’s branch at Onipanu, Lagos State. The bank explained the circumstances that led to one of its customers collapsing while trying to withdraw at the ATM (Automated Teller Machine).

COVID-19 outbreak across the world and Nigeria has increased anxiety as regards health conditions, and any symptoms related to the virus causes panic among people.

This is why other customers at the FCMB Onipanu branch took to their heels after the man collapsed. It was learnt that prior to the incident, the customer had... https://allnews.ng/news/fcmb-speaks-on-suspected-covid-19-incident-at-one-of-its-branches

A week after receiving $3.4 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), President Muhammadu Buhari has requested that international financial institutions should waive debt obligations of Nigeria, others.

President Buhari said considering the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, the debt obligations of member states should be cancelled to assist nations struggling with the economic impact of the COVID-19.

He made this request during a virtual summit with other heads of states from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The movement comprises of 120 developing world states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It is the largest grouping of states globally after the United Nations.

During the summit titled "United Against COVID-19 Pandemic", President Buhari called for an “outright debt cancellation,” stating that https://allnews.ng/news/president-buhari-requests-for-cancellation-of-debt-obligation-as-nigeria-eyes-more-loan

Chaos occurred today at the FCMB branch at Onipanu, Lagos, after a customer developed some symptoms of COVID-19.

The unknown customer was said to be using the ATM (Automated Teller Machine) when he began to find it difficult to breathe, then collapsed in front of the ATM.

This caused other customers to scamper for safety as they suspected it could be COVID-19 symptoms. The customer had collapsed at the ATM outside the bank. According to a video shared on social media platform, by a Twitter user, security officials at FCMB were seen lifting the customer into the bank premises.

The incident occurred the first day banks in Nigeria began to open their branches to the public. When the customer's temperature was checked, it was high, leading to a https://allnews.ng/news/chaos-at-fcmb-branch-after-customer-develops-covid-19-symptoms-collapse-while-using-atm

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the likes of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Access Bank and Polaris Bank have issued guidelines for customers to follow if they intend to enter the banking hall.

Going by the guidelines seen by Allnews, gaining access into banks would no longer be as it used to be before the coronavirus outbreak.

Guidelines that customers must comply with

Bank operation is resuming gradually, with customers storming their premises to make various transactions. But customers won’t be allowed into their branches or banking hall if the following guidelines are ignored. The guidelines listed are.... https://allnews.ng/news/gtbank-access-bank-others-release-guidelines-customers-must-follow-to-enter-their-banks

Nigerians spent N74 billion purchasing MTN Nigeria's data within three months, the financial statement recently released by the network provider disclosed. This was a significant growth compared to the N46.4 billion Nigerians spent on MTN's data between January to March last year.

Also, MTN Nigeria recorded growth in its Voice revenue, posting N194 billion for the three months period ended March 31, 2020. This is a climb when compared to the corresponding period in 2019 when the network provider grossed N182.4 billion. The growth in MTN's data and voice revenue for Q1 2020, could have been.... https://allnews.ng/news/mtn-nigerians-spent-n74bn-on-data-in-three-months

The International Monetary Fund is set to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration's request to obtain $3.4 billion.

Allnews discovered that the investigation will give IMF access to CBN's external audit reports, In a Letter of Intent the IMF received from Nigeria, it was revealed that.... https://allnews.ng/news/imf-to-investigate-cbn-over-3-4-billion-loan-to-fg