₦airaland Forum

By Bala Augie.

BUA Foods Plc, a firm that lists on “the exchange” NGX on January 5, 2022, has overtaken Nestle Nigeria to become the most profitable consumer goods firms in Africa's largest economy.

For instance, BUA foods posted net profit of N95.18 billion as at June 2023 as the profit surged by 142.21 percent.

That compares with the net income of N2.76 billion; Vitafoam, (N3.69 billion); Flour Mills of Nigeria, (N10.18 billion); PZ Cussons N15.35 billion); Dangote Sugar-March figure-(N12.80 billion), and Nascon, (N5.82 billion).

Firms such as Nestle Nigeria, recorded loss after tax of (-N49.98 billion); Cadbury, (-14.53 billion); Nigeria Breweries, (-N47.34 billion), and Guinness Nigeria, (-N18.16 billion) as they capitulated to foreign exchange losses brought on by the abrupt devaluation of the central bank.

BUA Foods’ shares have gained 108.15 percent so far this year, one of the best performers on the NGXASI index.

The managers of BUA Foods deserves a pat at the back for being proactive and averting a colossal damage to the company’s balance sheet and stock price.

Some analysts say the consumer goods giant sources most of its raw material locally, which makes it less susceptible to foreign exchange devaluation losses.

BUA Foods has five business divisions that are contributing to Group earnings: Sugar, Flour, Pasta, Rice, and edible oil. It has eight plants and the second largest Sugar refinery in Nigeria.

The company adopts a focus and market penetration strategy while keeping a tab on input. Aside from its raw material and foreign exchange sourcing dynamics, it deploys aggressive sales strategy to average  reduce cost per tone Middle-line cost optimisation as it uses Supply and delivery hedging on inputs and products.

As a result of cost controls and price adjustments, BUA Foods’ gross profit margin increased to 41.38 percent in June 2023 from 41.38 percent in June 2022.

Operating profit margin rose to 48.56 percent in June 2o23 from 27.11 percent the previous year.

Net profit margin moved to 27.74 percent in the period under review from 23.27 percent as at June 2022.

BUA Foods is effective in converting sales to cash as operating cash flow margin increased to 23.37 percent in the period under review from 12.68 percent the previous year.

Because of the company’s robust cash flow and strong balance sheet, its stock could be a safe haven as peer rivals' stocks will be beaten down on the back of poor earnings results.

With the Naira expected to continue its bad run till the first quarter of next year, companies with foreign exchange obligations will be booking huge foreign exchange losses that undermine earnings.

The naira was devalued in June 2023 (from 465 NGN/USD in May’23 to 752 NGN/USD in Jun’23).

It is glaring that the increase in transportation fares due to a spike in fuel price and the inevitable hike in utility bills means more issues for sector players who are the most vulnerable to macroeconomic shocks.

The NGXConsumer goods stocks has a year to date of 48.15 percent.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/bua-foods-overtakes-nestle-to-become-most-profitable-consumer-goods-firm/

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Lindsay Shiver and husband

Lindsay Shiver, a Georgia mother of three and former pageant queen has been arrested in the Bahamas for allegedly plotting to kill her estranged husband, a former Auburn University football player, according to reports.

Shiver, 36, was caught when Bahamian police stumbled on her alleged scheme to murder hubby Robert Shiver, 38, while they were investigating a different case, Bahamas Court News reported.

Two men, Terrance Bethel, 28 — identified by the outlet as Lindsay Shiver’s lover — and Faron Newbold, were also arrested in the alleged hit scheme.

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Loverboy Terrance Bethel

Local police unearthed texts that detailed the plot while they searched the phone of a suspected burglar at Grabber’s Bar and Grill in Great Guana Cay in the Bahamas earlier this month.

It wasn’t immediately known whether Shiver, Bethel or Newbold owned the phone.

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The couple share three sons together


Robert and Lindsay Shiver own a house in the Bahamas, near where she met her alleged lover Bethel, a source familiar with the case told the Thomasville Times-Enterprise.

Robert Shiver, who was a snapper for the Auburn Tigers from 2006 to 2008, had filed for divorce when he learned his wife...

https://moneycentral.com.ng/lifestyle/article/lindsay-shiver-and-lover-arrested-in-bahamas-for-plotting-to-kill-husband/

MTN Nigeria posted a surprise slide in profit as net foreign exchange losses soared as a result of the recent devaluation of the naira.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) collapsed all FX windows into investors & exporters (I&E) window on 14 June 2023 to allow for a free float of the national currency against the dollar and other global currencies.

MTN Nigeria finance charge was impacted by the devaluation of the Naira from N461.10/$1 in December 2022 to N756.08/$1 in June 2023 which followed the policy change.

The largest telecommunication firm in Nigeria saw net foreign exchange loss jump by 865% to N131.45 billion in the six months period to June 2023.

This pushed MTN Nigeria profit for the period down 29% to N128.5 billion from N181.9 billion in June 2022. Earning Per Share fell to N6.33 from N8.95.

For investors the stock could be under pressure over the next 6-months as the full impact net foreign exchange loss is expected to kick-in in the second half (H2) of 2023, according to Karl Olutokun Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria.

"The exchange rate is adjusted based on the reference rate at the end of the preceding quarter for some of the contracts and the average rate in the quarter for others," Toriola said.

On a slightly positive note revenues rose by 21.96% to N1.158 trillion, while operating profit increased by 19.66% to N421.5 billion.

MTN Nigeria has announced it will pay an Interim Dividend of N5.60 per ordinary share to be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Register as at the close of business on 16 August 2023.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/mtn-nigeria-profit-slumps-as-fx-loss-jumps-865/

European football's governing body UEFA has banned Italian Serie A side Juventus from this season's Europa Conference League for breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

UEFA has also fined Chelsea for breaching FFP rules as a result of "submitting incomplete financial information".

UEFA says the matter relates to transactions which took place between 2012 and 2019.

Juventus have been fined £17.14m, while Chelsea have been fined £8.57m.

The Italian club will only have to pay half of their fine if their financial records for the next three years comply with regulations, while Chelsea have already agreed to pay the settlement figure.

The Blues have spent around £600m on 19 new players since new owner Todd Boehly took charge of the club in May 2022, but their fine relates to a seven-year period while Roman Abramovich had control of the club.

UEFA said: "Following the club's sale in May 2022, the new ownership identified, and proactively reported to UEFA, instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting under the club's previous ownership."

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) must now notify UEFA of which club will replace Juventus in the third-tier European competition. It is likely to be Fiorentina, who were beaten by West Ham in last year's final, after they finished eighth in Serie A.

The case against Juventus follows a 718,000 euro (£620,000) fine as part of a settlement agreement with Italian football authorities over a case concerning payment of player salaries.

Juventus had also been docked 10 Serie A points last season following a hearing into the club's past transfer dealings.

They were initially handed a 15-point penalty in January but Italy's highest sporting court overturned that decision in April and ordered the case to be re-examined.

They would have finished fourth and qualified for next season's Champions League had they not been sanctioned.

In response to the charge, Juventus said they accept UEFA's decision and will not be lodging an appeal.

Club president Gianluca Ferrero said: "We regret the decision of the UEFA. We do not share the interpretation that has been given of our defence, and we remain firmly convinced of the legitimacy of our actions and the validity of our arguments.

"However, we have decided not to appeal this judgment.

"Lodging an appeal, possibly to other levels of judgement, with uncertain outcomes and timing, would increase the uncertainty with respect to our eventual participation in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League."

https://moneycentral.com.ng/sport/article/uefa-bans-juventus-from-europa-conference-league-for-breaching-ffp-rules/

Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group), Nigeria’s leading conglomerate with investments in Power, Hospitality and Energy sectors has announced reported its financial results for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2023, recording commendable growth across all its major indices.

The Group achieved an impressive revenue of N82.1 billion in H1 2023, compared to N62.9 billion in H1 2022, marking a substantial 31% growth year-on-year while operating income also grew by 46% to close at N29.9 billion as of June 2023, compared to N20.5 billion in June 2022.

The Group’s total revenue for the half year ended June 30, 2023, was N82.1 billion, compared to N62.9 billion in June 30 2022, signifying a 31% increase. Operating Income grew by 46% from N20.5 billion in June 2022 to N29.9 billion in June 2023.

Operating expenses for the period ended June 30, were N15.9 billion, an increase of 40% compared to N11.3 billion of the corresponding previous year.

In its financial report filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Transcorp reported an 39% growth in profit before tax to N18.5 billion in H1 2023, from N13.4 billion in H1 2022. Interest Cost declined by 9% to N6.6 billion in June 2023 from N6.1 billion in the same period under review.

Transcorp continues to maintain a strong balance sheet, with Total Assets rising to N495.3 billion, representing a 12% increase over the N442.7 billion recorded at the end of June 2022, due to the increase in Debt and equity securities (+61%) and Trade and Other Receivables (+40%) which cushioned the effect of the decline in Inventories (+68%).

Transcorp shareholders’ funds remained very strong at N176.3 billion up from N154.8 billion recorded in the same period in 2022, further reinforcing the company's commitment to delivering long-term value to its shareholders.

Commenting on the result, Transcorp’s President/Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. (Mrs) Owen D. Omogiafo OON, mentioned that the Group continues to sustain growth and improvement, showing resilience despite, a challenging operating environment, characterised by foreign exchange volatility, gas supply constraints, and rising inflation, amongst others.

She said, "The first-half financial results affirm our dedication to driving innovation and seizing opportunities for sustainable growth, positioning Transcorp as a trailblazer in the Nigerian business realm.

In spite, of the challenging environment, our power businesses (Transcorp Power Limited & Transafam Power Limited) have sustained revenue growth increase by 32% and 30% respectively while our hospitality continues to outperform across all indices.

"We remain focused on efficiency, cost leadership, and meeting market demand to consistently deliver profitability and value to all our shareholders," asserted Dr Omogiafo

Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group) is a publicly quoted Conglomerate with a shareholder base of approximately 300,000. The Group's diverse portfolio comprises strategic investments in the Power, Hospitality, and Energy sectors. Among its notable businesses are Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Transcorp Hotels Calabar, Transcorp Power, Transafam Power, and Transcorp Energy.

#Transcorp

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/transcorp-continues-to-deliver-strong-performance-as-h1-2023-financials-show-sustained-growth/

Guinness Nigeria has reported a massive N18.1 billion loss for the year ended June 2023 as higher finance costs as a result of naira devaluation wiped out its operating profit.

Guinness recorded unrealised foreign exchange losses of N45.95 billion for the period, as exchange difference on foreign currency surged.

Exchange difference on foreign currency letter of credits surged to N19.6 billion, while exchange difference on foreign currency intercompany loan increased by 3,986% to N8.05 billion from N197.4 million in the earlier period.

Guinness Nigeria's loss on re-measurement of other foreign currency balances also jumped 1,753% to N21.44 billion in the period, from N1.157 billion in June 2020.

A foreign exchange gain/loss occurs when a company buys and/or sells goods and services in a foreign currency, and that currency fluctuates relative to their home currency.

The difference in the value of the foreign currency, when converted to the local currency of the seller, is called the exchange rate. If the value of the home currency increases after the conversion, the seller of the goods will have made a foreign currency gain.

However, if the value of the home currency declines after the conversion, the seller will have incurred a foreign exchange loss.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/guinness-nigeria-reports-massive-n18-1bn-loss-on-naira-devaluation/

Nigerian Breweries Plc loss widened to N47.5 billion in the second quarter(Q2) of 2003 as the impact of foreign exchange (FX) volatility hit earnings.

The company had in the first quarter posted its first net loss in more than a decade.

Net revenues rose by 1.24% to N277.4 billion while gross profit fell 5.3 percent to N112.32 billion in the period under review as against N118.7 billion the previous year.

A massive N85.26 billion net loss on foreign exchange transactions led to loss after tax of N47.59 billion.

Consumer goods firms are struggling with volatility in the price of the global commodity market which balloons raw material cost, logistics problems, deteriorating disposable income, and foreign exchange illiquidity.

Nigerian Breweries stock has returned -2.44% year to date, underperforming the wider NGX all share index which is up 27.7% so far in 2023.

"The 2nd Quarter of 2023 was significantly impacted by various factors including the effect of fuel subsidy removal on consumers, naira devaluation and its effect on input cost, and mostly the revaluation of foreign exchange obligations. Together with the cash crunch which materially impacted the 1st quarter, the Company’s net loss was escalated," Nigerian Breweries said in a statement.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/nigerian-breweries-q2-loss-widens-to-n47-5bn-on-fx-transactions/

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…with page out of Carl Icahn’s playbook

…Transcorp investors seek meeting with Board over performance

BALA AUGIE

Billionaire investor Femi Otedola is shaping up to be the Carl Icahn of corporate Nigeria as he continues to take large stakes in companies that are struggling and, subsequently, turning them into cash cows that deliver value to shareholders.

In a Nigerian corporate culture where activist shareholders are non-existent, Otedola is blazing the trail and sounding a rousing wake-up call that business as usual is over for the companies he has taken significant stakes in.

Carl Icahn is an American financier and one of the richest men in the world who is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, USA.

Icahn is arguably the most famous activist investor of his time, if not all time. The billionaire investor has had his hands in a number of corporate moves over the years, with a number of notable successes.

He buys stakes in firms that he believes will appreciate via changes to corporate policy and he then pressures management to make changes that he believes will benefit shareholders.

What Are Activist Investors?

Activist investors are individuals or groups that purchase large amounts of shares in a public company in order to make a major impact on and changes to the company.

Some activist investors will also try to get a seat on the company’s board in order to achieve that goal. Typically, these investors target companies they believe to be mismanaged or ones that could be run more profitably. The goal is to fix the underlying issue to increase the company’s value and profit from the rise in its share price.

Otedola’s recent corporate interventions

Femi Otedola is a successful and astute investor and has been shaking up corporate Nigeria over a decade as he profits from takeovers and accumulation of shares to the benefit of shareholders.

Such investment strategies which often create wealth and employment are needed to bolster economic growth in a country where over 50 percent of the population of 200 million live on less than $1.98 a day.

As a leading shareholder activist, his efforts have unlocked billions of Naira of shareholder and bondholder value and have improved the competitiveness of Nigerian companies.

One of his most notable ventures was the takeover of struggling petroleum marketer, African Petroleum, (whose name was later changed to Forte Oil), from the government-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Of course, Forte Oil, whose name was changed to Ardova Plc later it sold its majority stake to Prudent Energy in 2018 is one of the largest downstream oil and gas firms in Nigeria with outlets across the country.

As at the time of sale, Ardova Plc had a market capitalisation of N22.20 billion as at April 18, 2022.

Without ingratiating magniloquence, the billionaire business is deep-witted, sagacious, and a visionary leader who understands that honesty and competence inspire trust. And that investors are allured by dividend paying stocks.

The Otedola lift

The Otedola lift occurs because Mr. Otedola is creating value for the shareholders of the companies in which he takes majority or sizable stake.

There was an upward movement in the share price of First Bank Holding Plc which Otedola bought into to become a majority stakeholder.

On October 23, 2021, the activist investor and his nominee, Calvados Global Services Limited acquired a total of 1,818, 551,625 units of shares from the Company’s issued share capital of 35,895,292791.

There has been significant improvement in the profitability and balance sheet of a lender since the last quarter of 2022. Hitherto, it had been reeling from deteriorating asset qualities and poor earnings.

The Bank’s return on average equity (ROAE), a measure of profitability and efficiency, increased to 13.70 percent as of March 2022 from 7.20 percent as of March 2021.

It is worthy to note that the lender is efficient at utilizing its operating resources to generate income as cost to income ratio reduced to 65 percent in the period under review from 73.50 percent as of March 2021.

Enhanced balance sheet strength supported by sustained asset quality improvements means Nonperforming Loans (NPLs) improved to 4.70 percent in the third quarter of 2022 from 6.10 as at Q3 2021. Interestingly, the 4.70 percent NPLs is below the regulatory requirement of 5 percent.

It is interesting to note that Femi Otedola made a foray into the power sector, through Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, a subsidiary of Forte Oil Plc, which acquired the Geregu power plant in 2013 and has invested $94 million in the power plant.

Last year, Geregu Power, the leading power generation company (Genco) in Nigeria, became the first Genco to be listed on the NGX Main Board, a listing segment for well-established companies with demonstrable records of accomplishments.

As part of its growth plans, Geregu Power Plc is bidding to acquire one of the National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs) being put up for sale by the Federal Government through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

“With the acquisition, we will run a combined cycle operation to ramp up capacity to 1,000 MW in 2 – 3 years,” Akinfemiwa, CEO, Geregu Power Plc, said.

Geregu plans to also take ownership of its feedstock (gas), so as to have a vertically integrated power production business, according to Akinfemiwa.

Otedola’s magic fingers needed to invigorate beleaguered Transcorp

Femi Otedola’s magic fingers which turns whatever he touches to gold are needed to transform beleaguered Transnational Corporation Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading conglomerates, into a market’s bellwether stock that magnifies the earnings of owners.

Since Otedola reportedly acquired 2.24 billion shares, equivalent to a 5.52% stake in Transcorp Plc with investment in hospitality, power, and oil and gas sectors, the market has been abuzz with excitement.

Over the weekend news broke that the chair of Lagos-listed Geregu Power Plc, Femi Otedola, has upped his interest in the conglomerate Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) to 6.3 per cent, two separate notifications seen by MoneyCentral show.

Sources tell MoneyCentral that Otedola’s total stake in Transcorp today is over 7% and he effectively is the largest shareholder of the entity.

However, the company is underperforming as financial performance disappoints, and if something urgent is not done, deteriorating earnings risk eroding shareholders’ value or leading to depressed stock price.

Such sharp earnings decline underpins the argument that chief executive officers (CEO) are overpaid and that their salaries are not compatible with shareholders’ return.

Transcorp earnings deteriorate in Q1

For the first three months through March 2023, Transcorp’s net income fell by 63.06 percent to N1.83 billion from a profit of N5.03 billion as at March 2021; and that was the first profit drop since 2015.

The drop in profit is largely due to a N2.45 billion foreign exchange loss on financing activities or borrowing and slow growth in revenue as revenue.

For instance, revenue from energy sent out-which make up 48.94 percent of total revenue- increased by a meagre 4.37 percent to N15.97 billion as at March 2022......

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/otedola-sends-wake-up-call-to-sleepy-nigeria-boardrooms/

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A disputed and shambolic electoral process, a nation divided along ethnic and religious lines, with disillusioned young people and the smallest popular vote since 1979, leaves the President elect of the APC , Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with a difficult mandate to govern Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest economy, and also the biggest by population.

Nigeria‘s Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday, declared the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the president-elect.

Tinubu got 36% of the vote, official results show. His main rival Atiku Abubakar polled 29%, and Labour’s Peter Obi 25%.

Their parties had earlier dismissed the poll as a sham, and demanded a rerun.

Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, was declared the president-elect after the 70-year-old polled 8.79 million votes to win the 2023 presidential election. It is the smallest popular vote by a winning candidate for Nigeria’s presidency since 1979.

Atiku Abubakar of the PDP was allocated 6,984,520 votes to come in second, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party finished the race with 6,101,533.

In the 1979 Nigerian presidential election Shehu Shagari’s, National Party of Nigeria (NPN) won with 5.68 million votes.

Four years later in 1983, Shagari won re-election with 12.08 million votes.

In the 1999 elections (the first in 16 years of disastrous military rule) Olusegun Obasanjo of the PDP was elected with 18.7 million votes, in 2003 Obasanjo was again reelected with 24.5 million votes.

In 2007 Shehu Musa Yaradua of the PDP was elected with 24.6 million votes. Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, a Vice President to Yaradua, who took over after his death, was elected President in 2011, with 22.5 million votes, almost twice the number of the second-place finisher, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari himself was then elected in 2015 under the banner of the APC, a coalition of opposition parties. The APC won 15,424,921 votes and Mr Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) gained 12,853,162 votes.

In 2019, Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) garnered 15.2m votes.

Progressively lower turnout

Nearly 90 million people were eligible to vote in Africa’s largest democracy, however turnout has been getting progressively lower.

In 2022, the turnout is approximately 21%, in the 2019, the election turnout was 35.6 percent, which compared with 44% in the 2015 presidential election.

Shambolic INEC

Opposition parties in Nigeria earlier called for the presidential election to be scrapped, describing it as a sham.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party said results had been manipulated, and they wanted a new election to be organised.

The opposition parties were critical of INEC and its handling of the electronic voting system.

“I demand that this sham of an election be cancelled and we call on Inec to conduct fresh elections within the window period provided by the electoral act,” said Julius Abure, chairman of the Labour Party.

A group of angry protesters denounced the electoral commission outside the national collation centre in the capital, Abuja.

“Everything happening there is all lies, all lies, lies… they are cooking up results,” one man told the BBC.

Another group held a counter-protest, urging the electoral commission to “complete your job” and calling on “Nigerians to stand up for democracy.”

European Union observers said the electoral body’s poor planning and communication undermined trust in the process.

Many Nigerians had looked to the election to put the country back on track after eight years of rule by an ailing president, Muhammadu Buhari — a military dictator turned democrat. Mr. Buhari had reached his two-term limit and was not running for re-election.

“Everybody was expecting a free and fair election,” said Daniel Offor, a 21-year-old fashion stylist in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, who said he voted for an opposition candidate. “But it’s obviously been rigged. What happened last time is happening again,” he said, referring to previous elections that were tainted by allegations of vote rigging.

African Union observers noted “isolated incidents of violence.”

An observer mission from the Commonwealth led by the former South African president Thabo Mbeki said the election was largely peaceful, but Mr. Mbeki also said observers had recorded “incidences of election-related violence and insecurity, some of which regrettably resulted in the loss of life and postponement of elections in some polling units.”

The number of violent incidents in the run-up to the election was double that in previous years, while there were probably at least as many episodes on the day of the election as there were in the last vote in 2019, observers from the United States said.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/tinubus-mandate-marred-by-lowest-popular-vote-since-1979-rigging-allegations/

MTN Nigeria (MTNN) has been hit by scammers who managed to siphon over N10.5 billion ($22.8 million) from its Fintech subsidiary MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB) Limited.

“The losses were incurred from unauthorised transfers caused by a system glitch in MoMo PSB,” MTN Nigeria said in notes accompanying its Financial statements for 2022, seen by MoneyCentral.

MoMo PSB, MTN’s much hyped fintech subsidiary, which commenced commercial operations in May 2022, has struggled to make an impact with challenges such as its Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) interface being temporarily suspended, last year.

NIBSS owns infrastructure for handling inter-bank payments in order to remove potential bottlenecks associated with inter-bank funds transfer and settlement. It is owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all licensed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria.

MTNN has invested N16.4 billion in the MoMo PSB subsidiary as at year-end 2022.

The MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited (MoMo PSB) is licensed by CBN to facilitate high-volume lowvalue transactions in remittance services, micro-savings and withdrawal services in a secured technology-driven environment to further deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.

MTNN holds 80% of the voting shares while Axcani Limited holds 20% non- controlling interest.

In the third quarter of 2022, MTN said it moderated commercial activities and prioritised the enhancement of its control systems, apparently in response to the scam,

This resulted in pressure on its active base and transactions on its MoMo PSB network.

Deposits held for mobile money (MoMo) customers was N1.257 billion in December 2022, down by 28% from N1.745 billion in Q3 (Sept), 2022 and compared to N1.091 billion as at June 2022, data seen by MoneyCentral shows.

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The deposits held for MoMo customers are measured at their carrying amounts considering that these are either due or demandable at short notice. The corresponding assets are held as restricted cash.

Still MTNN is bullish about the future growth of MoMo PSB, despite the problems. Active MoMo wallets were approximately 2 million at year-end 2022, up from 1.8 million active MoMo wallets, recorded in Q3, but down from 2.4 million in Q2, 2022.

The Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) interface was also reopened in Q4, after being temporarily suspended to enhance control systems, starting with inbound transfers into customer wallets.

“We are in the final phase of onboarding deposit money banks. The outbound phase will be completed in Q1 2023, accelerating full commercial activities and the growth of active wallets,” Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN, said.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/scammers-steal-n10-5bn-from-mtn-nigerias-momo-psb/

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular to all Deposit Money Banks to limit the cash withdrawals by individuals in banks over the counter (OTC) to N100,000 a week or N20,000 a day will have unintended consequences of slowing ATM transactions to a crawl and crowding out banking halls, senior bankers told MoneyCentral.

The major culprit for this is the directive that only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into ATMs.

“Today average ATM transaction lasts 2 minutes per customer that could jump to as high as 10 minutes per person at the ATMs if the N200 note limit is not changed,” they said.

An example of this is that under the current regime someone withdrawing N20,000 of N1,000 notes, would need to wait for the ATM to sort just 20 bills (20 x N1,000), which usually would happen under 2 minutes from the time a bank customer slots in his ATM card.

Under the new rules however a customer withdrawing N20,000 of N200 notes, would need to wait for the ATM to sort 5 times more bills or 100 bills (100 x N200).

If N100 notes were loaded in the ATM machine, then 200 bills would need to be sorted before payment is made (200 bills x N100).

Complicating the matter is the fact that most ATMs usually have a limit to the number of Naira bills they pay at once. This means a customer withdrawing N20,000 of N200 naira bills may need to be paid twice for the same transaction (50 bills of N200 X 2), leading to further delays.

Banking sources tell MoneyCentral that this situation would be a setback for banks as most hitherto ATM customers would likely move into banking halls to avoid delays thereby defeating the purpose of the use of digital channels like ATMs.

“Given the short implementation timeline of 09 January, 2023 there would be a “mad rush” at banks and ATms for cash withdrawals ahead of the effective date and this may also cause undue cash scarcity, especially as banks have limited volume of the new notes at this time and nobody would want to stockpile the old notes,” he said.

“We will likely see value and volumes of ATM transactions drop sharply.”

Between January and August 2020, ATM transactions in Nigeria were worth 12 trillion Nigerian Naira.

Over the last years, the value of transactions increased steadily, as this figure amounted to 3,970 billion Naira in 2015. The overall number of transactions grew as well, adding up to some 840 million in 2019, according to CBN data.

Point of Sales (POS) merchants may however be the main immediate beneficiaries as they could charge a premium for cash withdrawals.

“POS merchants that currently charge N200 for a N20,000 cash withdrawal may hike their services to as high as N800 – N1,000 per N20,000 withdrawals, equivalent to a 5% charge, which is the same penalty the CBN told banks to charge,” the bankers said.

In India, which in 2016, enacted the radical decision to withdraw 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes low-income earners, and those dependent on ordinary cash bore the brunt of the policy....

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/10mins-per-transaction-why-cbn-cash-limits-will-cause-long-lines-at-atms-banking-halls/

https://moneycentral.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Emefiele.png

A mom of five brushed off her daughter’s advice to not get her eyeballs tattooed due to potential blindness — and now, she’s losing her vision.

Anaya Peterson, a law student, was in awe of Australian model Amber Luke, who tattooed her eyeballs a vivid blue and went blind for three weeks after. Despite Luke getting her vision back, it seems that 32-year-old Peterson might lose her sight for good.

“I was just going to get one [eye tattoo] at first, because I thought that if I go blind, at least I’ve got the other eye. I should have stuck with that,” Peterson told Kennedy News. “My daughter told me that I didn’t want to do that [the tattoo] asking, ‘What if you go blind?’ She wasn’t on board with it at all.”

Now she wishes she had listened to her wise 7-year-old. The Belfast, Northern Ireland-based woman was left hospitalized by the eyeball modification after a potential reaction to the ink, and now claims she is at risk for developing cataracts.

“I don’t have 20/20 vision anymore. From a distance, I can’t see features on faces,” she said. “If I didn’t have my eyeballs tattooed, I wouldn’t be having this problem. Even today I woke up with more floaters in my eyes. And that is dangerous.”

She’s “always going to have this problem,” since she can’t remove tattoo ink in her eyes.

But her harrowing tattoo tale didn’t have such a rocky beginning — for months after tattooing her right-eye blue in July 2020, she had no complications. Despite suffering from some dryness and headaches, she opted to tattoo her left eyeball purple in December of that year.

In August 2021, things took a turn for the worst. She woke up one day with incredibly swollen eyelids that looked like she had gone “five rounds with Mike Tyson.” As the symptoms worsened, she decided to check herself into the hospital, where doctors gave her intravenous medication for three days and biopsied her problematic eye.

“I just wanted to be at home watching [TV] to be honest. I can’t even put it into words. It wasn’t nice at all whatsoever,” she recalled. “It was traumatizing to go through. I just remember thinking, ‘I’m not doing that s – – t again, with the eye tattoo. I’m definitely not doing that s – – t again.’ “

https://moneycentral.com.ng/news-for-you/article/she-tattooed-her-eyeballs-purple-and-blue-now-she-is-going-blind/

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular to all Deposit Money Banks to limit the cash withdrawals by individuals in banks over the counter (OTC) to N100,000 a week, will constrain commercial activities and negatively impact mobile money operators, according to 3 analysts interviewed by MoneyCentral.

They all spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter.

“I believe this would further constrain commerce and inadvertently undermine economic activities in the informal sector, which is largely a cash-based economy,” one analyst said.

“Whilst there is a lot of merit in formalising the economy through a cashless policy, especially as it helps to enhance anti-money laundering and terrorist financing controls, there is need to put adequate measures in place to avert the immediate consequences on the people and the economy.”

Point of Sales (POS), and ATM withdrawals is set at a maximum of N20,000 a day for a total of N100,000 a week.

Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into ATMs, according to the CBN.

Withdrawals above these amounts will attract processing fees of 5% and 10% respectively. This is a fallout from the recent Naira redesign and cashless policy of the CBN.

“Given the short implementation timeline of 09 January, 2023 there would be a “mad rush” at banks and ATms for cash withdrawals ahead of the effective date and this may also cause undue cash scarcity, especially as banks have limited volume of the new notes at this time and nobody would want to stockpile the old notes,” he said.

The analysts said, banking penetration remains low and the electronic payment infrastructures are still relatively weak and require major investments to deepen penetration.

For instance, PoS failure rate is still high and whilst telephone penetration is high, Internet penetration is still relatively low.

“Unfortunately, the regulatory limit on mobile banking applications such as USSD is low for obvious security reasons and that is what is available to everyone, including those with features phones,” a second analyst said.

“Likewise, erratic network reception and weak resolution mechanisms for resolving transaction failures undermine the adoption of electronic banking at the informal sector.”

He added that most SMEs are hesitant at adopting electronic banking payments such as PoS due to the cost, which is an area the CBN needs to work with banks and other stakeholders such as switches.

“In addition, it is important to consider the low literacy and poverty level in the country in adopting an holistic cashless policy, as these do not only affect the ability of some clusters, especially those in the rural areas, to adopt cashless policy but also the nature of their transactions.”

For instance, there are some rural areas without network and these are farms and traditional markets where agricultural produce are being traded.

“It takes hours to get to the nearest bank and this policy unfortunately also limits the value of transactions that can be done through the mobile money agents, thus it would create significant constraint to trade and broader productive activities in the rural areas,” a third analyst added.

The policy would also undermine the viability of many mobile money agents, including those being powered by the Shared Agency for Network Infrastructure (SANEF) which was recently pioneered by the CBN and the Bankers Committee.

“Many of the operators and aggregations like Paga, Opay amongst others would struggle with this new regulation,” he said.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/cbns-n10000-cash-limit-to-constrain-commercial-activities-analysts/

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Tier-One Lender United Bank for Africa (UBA) saw its average interest rate charged on loans to customers rise to 28.5% per annum in the third quarter (Q3), of 2022, according to data from its financial statement analysed by MoneyCentral.

As the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) embarked on aggressive interest rate hikes to temper inflation, Tier-One banks have been quick to pass that along to borrowers.

UBA earned N217.78 billion as interest income from outstanding loans of N3.049 trillion in Q3, equivalent to an average of 7.1% for the quarter or 28.5% per annum.

This included term loans and overdrafts, the data showed.

That was up 16.4% from the N187.05 billion it earned from interest it charged on loans in Q3, 2021.

While customers were charged high interest rates by UBA of 28.5% on loans, the bank paid as little as 5.6% on average for its N7.028 trillion worth of deposits from customers, used to create the loans in the first place.

That made savers with the bank to earn way below the inflation rate of 21.09%.

With high inflation and high cost of borrowing Nigerian firms are largely unable to expand and grow job openings, leading to sluggish growth and high unemployment for what is still Africa’s largest economy.

“I had my goods stuck at the ports for more than 6-months earlier this year accumulating demurrage. My bank charged me close to 30% for the loans I used to partly finance the business. Once I cleared them I was unable to recoup my investment after paying the high interest on the loan plus customs,” a Lagos based dealer in heavy industrial machinery told MoneyCentral.

The major candidates running to be Nigeria’s President in 2023, have all fingered high interest rates as an economic challenge.

According to Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP):

“Within the first 100 days in office, I will create an Economic Stimulus Fund with an initial investment capacity of approximately US$10 billion to prioritize support to MSMEs across all the economic sectors, as they offer the greatest opportunities for achieving inclusive growth.”

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu the Presidential candidate of the APC in his manifesto promised to help manufacturers to:

“Create, and invent more of the goods and services we require. Nigeria shall be known as a nation of creators, not just of consumers.”

Peter Obi of the Labor Party (LP) in his manifesto released over the weekend says:

“We will prioritize the development of MSMEs through a boutique of incentives which include new structures, new capital access, new legislation to support small business growth and strategic centres of excellence for small businesses such as Enterprise Hubs, Business Incubators and MSME Industrial clusters across all the geopolitical zones.”

It remains to be seen if their policies can bring down high bank interest rates for the benefit of SME’s and industry.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/high-interest-rates-uba-charged-28-5-for-loans-in-q3-as-customers-groan/

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Yes. It seems there is a regulatory grey zone regarding these exchanges in Nigeria and even overseas.

The Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN) has appealed against the assault of AAX staff by angry Nigerians, following the suspension of Crypto withdrawals by the exchange, on November 12, which is sparking panic among Nigerian crypto investors exposed to the exchange.

“We appeal to and discourage any dissatisfied or angry user or investor from harassing or victimizing the AAX Country Manager (Nigeria), other local staff members, and AAX ambassadors nationwide. These persons are also facing the same situation as disgruntled users and investors are. At the time of writing this notice, we are aware that communication between these persons and AAX headquarters has been equally strained at this time. We therefore appeal for understanding and patience from all Nigerian AAX users,” SIBAN said in its statement.

Crypto exchange AAX which stands for Atom Asset Exchange, said on Nov 12 that it had suspended activity, citing a scheduled upgrade that had been delayed by turbulent markets.

“Withdrawals have been suspended to avoid fraud and exploitation,” the company said. “AAX will continue our best efforts to resume regular operations for all users within 7-10 days to ensure the utmost accuracy.”

The company, which launched in 2019 as the first crypto user of the London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) matching technology, said it had no financial exposure to FTX or its affiliates.

It stores a “substantial amount” of its assets in cold wallets and doesn’t lend out user funds to venture activities, it said.

However Cryptocurrency investors in AAX are searching for senior executives of the exchange in Hong Kong after its decision last month to halt withdrawals triggered a backlash among users, the FT reported today.

The search, conducted by thousands of users through multiple Telegram messaging groups, underscores the increasing desperation of investors in the unregulated industry.

According to AAX users, the exchange has since failed to process customer withdrawals, and staff told the Financial Times they had been disconnected from the company’s email systems.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s financial regulator, said the exchange did not fall under its purview, while the Securities and Futures Commission said it did not comment on individual cases. AAX is not one of the SFC’s few licensed virtual asset trading platforms.

Hong Kong is a crypto hub, housing offices of several groups, including Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange and his crypto trading company Alameda.

AAX vice-president Ben Caselin said on Twitter he resigned on November 28, citing a loss of trust in management. Caselin, one of the AAX executives users are searching for to recover their funds, told the FT he was unable to help.

After withdrawals were paused, AAX users set up Telegram groups to exchange information and posted leaked pictures of senior executives’ personal identity documents to try and establish their whereabouts.

“I started to notice there was something suspicious behind all this, so I did my own investigation,” said Mike Ong, a Singaporean financial executive who is part of the groups.

“In that period when they said they were doing maintenance, a lot of core management started to delete their online presence.”

SIBAN says AAX was registered in Nigeria as a corporate member of SiBAN (Global Digital Asset Exchange category) in April 2022 as AAX Atom Asset Exchange, a private company limited by shares, with address at Trident Chambers, PO 1388, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.

It has been over 10 days since the system upgrade announced by AAX on 12 November 2022.

“This has understandably caused serious suspicions, panic, and distrust amongst AAX users, particularly Nigerian users, the industry at large, and the general members of the public,” SIBAN said in its statement.

“Consequently, for many AAX users and the members of the public, the prolonged AAX
system upgrade till the time of writing this notice significantly raises more questions
than answers. And AAX, contrary to its promise to maintain a daily update of the
situation, has so far neglected or failed to maintain the trust and confidence of its
users.”

Read FULL SIBAN Letter Here https://siban.org.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Public-Notice_-AAX-Exchanges-Prolonged-Suspension-of-Withdrawals-User-Protection-and-Investor-Safety-in-the-Nigerian-Crypto-Market-signed-1.pdf

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/aax-executives-disappear-as-suspension-of-crypto-withdrawals-spark-panic-in-nigeria/

https://moneycentral.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/AAX-Nigeria.png

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), customer deposits saw a major drop in the nine-months period to September 2022, threatening to weigh on credit growth for the Tier-One lender.

Ecobank posted a 3.5% drop in customer deposits equivalent to N297.65 billion (compared to December 2021 levels), as it reported third-quarter earnings this week.

MoneyCentral data showed Ecobank was the only one out of the six biggest banks to post a drop in deposits in their third-quarter results.

Ecobank deposits from customers fell to N8.062 trillion in September 2022, compared to N8.360 trillion in December 2021.

By comparison, Zenith Bank grew its customer deposits to N8.042 trillion in September 2022, from N6.472 trillion in December 2021, (a 24.2% growth).

Access Holdings grew its customer deposits to N8.189 trillion in September 2022, from N6.954 trillion in December 2021, (a 17.7% growth).

FBN Holdings grew its customer deposits to N6.60 trillion in September 2022, from N5.849 trillion in December 2021, (a 12.8% growth).

United Bank for Africa (UBA) grew its customer deposits to N7.028 trillion in September 2022, from N6.369 trillion in December 2021, (a 10.3% growth).

Finally, of the big six, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), grew its customer deposits to N4.257 trillion in September 2022, from N4.012 trillion in December 2021. (a 6.1 % growth).

Analysts tell MoneyCentral that Ecobank would face deeper issues if its unable to mobilize deposits like other banks.

“If a bank doesn’t have enough deposits, slower loan growth might result, or the bank might have to take on debt to meet loan demand which would be far costlier to service than the interest paid on deposits,” one analyst said.

This is already showing up in their operations as Ecobank’s loan and advances to customers fell marginally to N4.030 trillion in the September 2022 period, from N4.061 trillion in December 2021.

[url]https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/ecobank-falling-customer-deposits-may-signal-deeper-issues/
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https://moneycentral.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Jeremy-Awori-Ecobank.png
Jeremy Awori Group Chief Executive Officer .ETI

Tradepunter2:
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Banks like attract higher deposits are likely to :

1. Have more branches, wider spread, more channels like ATMs

2. Have a stronger capital base and enjoy customer confidence. In essence, customers are literally voting with their money.

Domino’s Pizza has newly introduced jollof rice and roasted chicken as part of its menu for its Nigerian market.

Announcing the development via its Instagram page on Tuesday, Domino’s Nigeria stated that each pack of jollof rice would come with a roasted chicken.

The jollof rice and chicken would be sold at the starting rate of N1200 per pack.

This would be the first time that the leading pizzaiolo would be accommodating the provision of a meal since it was set up in Nigeria in 2012.

Amid the prevailing socio-economic hardship under the President Muhammadu Buhari regime, food providers are innovating ways to keep their businesses afloat.

Earlier in April, Chicken Republic introduced a package consisting of rice and egg with sauce at a pocket friendly price, helping millions of Nigerians to have access to food with just N500.

See some reactions below:

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/nigerians-react-as-dominos-pizza-adds-jollof-rice-to-its-menu/

https://moneycentral.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Dominos-Jollof-Rice.png

MoneyCentral has compiled the list of Top 10 Nigerian banks by customer deposits based on the third quarter, 2022 results as glimpsed from the stock exchange and our findings are interesting.

The biggest banks in Nigeria by total deposits are:

Access Bank Plc with N10.25 trillion.

The next biggest are:

Zenith Bank, N8.04 trillion
United Bank for Africa (UBA), N7.81 trillion
First Bank Holdings, N7.61 trillion
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), N4.39 trillion.

Leading the next tier are:

Fidelity Bank, N2.29 trillion,
Stanbic IBTC, N1.65 trillion,
Union Bank N1.53 trillion,
Sterling Bank N1.30 trillion,
Wema Bank N1.07 trillion.

The biggest lenders in Africa’s most populous nation collectively grew total deposits by 15.08 percent to N44.86 trillion in September 2022 from N38.98 trillion the previous year.

Top 10 Nigerian Banks attribute the growth in deposit to an excellent execution of retail strategy in the face of challenging operating environment, but they face stiff competition from Fintechs who are gradually cannibalizing on sales.

Revenues from Nigeria’s financial technology (fintech) sector are expected to grow by 12 per cent per year until 2025 backed by an influx of funding and increasingly supportive regulatory frameworks, according to a report published by McKinsey & Company.

The notable increase in deposits is amid a reduction in industry non-performing-loans (NPLs) as the results of stress test by the central banks shows resilience of lenders’ solvency and liquidity ratios in response to severe macroeconomic shocks.

“Banks must remain vigilant to proactively manage probable macro risks to the financial systems,’’ said Aishah Ahmad, deputy governor, financial systems stability directorate.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/quick-take/article/top-10-nigerian-banks-by-customer-deposits-september-2022/

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Aminu Umar-Sadiq, MD/CEO of the NSIA


Employees of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), who manage Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF) on average earned N46.6 million ($104,000) per annum in 2021, even as efficiency fell.

The NSIA boosted its staff strength by 21% to 57 people last year, while operating income per staff fell by 25% to N2.58 billion compared to 2020 levels, according to MoneyCentral calculations.

Income per employee is an efficiency ratio that measures the operating income of an organization divided by its current number of employees.

Staff costs as a percentage of operating income rose to 1.8% (from 1.3% in 2020), while they made up 53% of total operating expenses.

NSIA’s Return on average equity (ROAE), fell to 17.7% (24.7% in 2020), Return on average assets (ROAA) fell to 13.6% (21.3% in 2020), while return on average earning assets dropped to 33.2% (60.1% in 2020).

Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF) also under performed global peers in 2021 as its total comprehensive income fell by 8% to N146.9 billion, despite it being a year of rally in global equities, leading to outperformance by other SWFs.

Total comprehensive income for the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority or NSIA which manages Nigeria’s SWF was affected by a slide in interest income, gains on financial assets and net foreign exchange gains, compared to the year ago period, data seen by MoneyCentral shows.

An increase in costs such as investment management and custodian fees as well as depreciation and amortization costs also affected the bottom-line.

By comparison, Norway’s SWF returned 14.5% in 2021, driven by positive equity and real estate returns, Norges Bank said in March.

Aminu Umar-Sadiq, was appointed as the new MD/CEO of the NSIA in October, after the expiration of the tenure of the erstwhile MD, Mr. Uche Orji, whose tenure expired on the 30th of September, 2022 after serving two five-year terms, following his appointment on 2nd October, 2012.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/nsia-employees-salary-rose-to-n46-6m-per-annum-as-efficiency-fell/

Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) are among the top-10 Nigerian Banks by Profit in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022 as sector players benefit from the aggressive rate hikes by the central bank.

The nine months financial statement of companies glimpsed from the Nigerian Exchange Limited according to data gathered by MoneyCentral, shows :

1.Zenith Bank posted a net income of N174.33 billion.

2. Access Bank, N137 billion

3. GTCO, N130.48 billion

4. United Bank for Africa or UBA, N116.04 billion

5. FirstBank Holdings, N91.28 billion

6. Stanbic IBTC, N55.18 billion

7. Fidelity Bank, N34.95 billion

8. Union Bank, N18 billion

9. Sterling Bank, N13.40 billion

10. Wema Bank N8.17 billion

It appears the Russia and Ukraine war and a rally in crude oil prices that are forcing central banks to hike interest rates to tame rising inflation is a boon for lenders whose earnings are improving even amid a stock sell-off as investors are wary of uncertainties surrounding the 2023 elections and a myriad of challenges.

When interest rates are higher, banks make more money, by taking advantage of the difference between the interest banks pay to customers and the interest the bank can earn on loans and by investing.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank has raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 100bps to 16.50% from 15.50% while keeping other parameters constant- Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 32.50% and Liquidity ratio at 30.00%.

The largest banks in Africa’s largest economy collectively grew net income by 18.81 percent to N778.74 billion in September 2022 from N655.05 billion as at September 2021.

Their combined interest income was up by 29.19 percent to N2.42 trillion in September 2022 from N1.87 trillion as at September 2021.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Nigerian-banks-edited-new.png

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/zenith-access-gtco-are-nigerias-biggest-banks-by-profit-in-q3-2022/

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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has announced that President Muhammadu Buhari will unveil the new re-designed Naira notes tomorrow November 23, 2022.

Emefiele announced this at the press briefing following the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

In a bid to curb the rise in currency circulation outside bank vaults, the CBN with approval from President Buhari has announced a redesign of the N200, N500, N1000 currency.

He also said that existing Naira notes would cease to be regarded as legal tender by January 31, 2023.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/buhari-to-unveil-new-naira-notes-on-wednesday-emefiele/

Ojoma Yusuf, Yola

A diploma holder from the Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola, Muhammed Auwal Abubakar, was on Monday, remanded in prison custody for dressing as a lady in order to dupe men.

Muhammed the impersonator who is a Diploma holder in Business Management Education, was remanded in prison custody by the Chief Magistrate Court Girei presided by Martina Gregory.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Adamawa-Man.png


The defendant who gave his female name as Fadi, pleaded guilty after he was arraigned before the court by the Prosecutor, Inspector Wamkai Ngapuro.

Muhammed who hails from Tashan Sani in Yola South LGA, told the court that he is diploma holder, and that he dresses like a woman and follows ladies in order to exploit men of insatiable taste. It was gathered learnt that during their outings, the ladies usually give him between N500 to N1,500 depending on the money they realise on that day from their victims.

It was further gathered that anytime gullible men wanted to take her (him) out, the ladies who go out together with her (him) will lie to them that she is experiencing her menstrual circle.

He was apprehended on Saturday the 16th November, 2022 at Girei market while buying an erring where he was sighted by a man who suspected that he must be a male and not female.

The man was said to have raised an alarm which led to the arrest of the defendant who eventually confessed to the offence during interrogation.

After the defendant’s plea, the prosecutor, Inspector Wamkai, applied that he should be tried summarily under section 351 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.

Having pleaded guilty to the offence which according to the prosecution contravened section 269 of the penal code law, 2018, the defendant was remanded in prison until 5th December, 2022.

When asked what he has been doing with money he obtains from the duped. He told newsmen that he usually spends the money on getting food to eat and also getting cosmetics to look good.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/moneycentral-north/article/man-poses-as-lady-to-dupe-men-in-adamawa/

Qatar has been accused of bribing Ecuador players to lose their FIFA World Cup 2022 opener, scheduled for Sunday in Al Khor.

The FIFA World Cup 2022 is finally here, with hosts Qatar set to face Ecuador in the opener on Sunday, at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

The hosts have had to get past countless controversies to reach this point. Some of the accusations revolve around Qatar paying bribes to win their World Cup bid and also allegations of human rights abuse for their migrant workers.

Now the Arab country finds itself caught in another fresh scandal, just a day before their World Cup opener.

According to Amjad Taha, an expert in strategic political affairs and regional director of the British center in Saudi Arabia, Qatar allegedly bribed eight Ecuadorian players 7.4 million dollars to lose the opener.

He stated that his sources were insiders from the Qatar and Ecuador camps, and also urged the world to fight FIFA corruption.

Taking to Twitter, he tweeted: Exclusive: Qatar bribed eight Ecuadorian players $7.4 million to lose the opener(1-0 ⚽️ 2nd half). Five Qatari and #Ecadour insiders confirmed this. We hope it's false. We hope sharing this will affect the outcome. The world should oppose FIFA corruption.

Since the allegation, neither Qatar nor FIFA has revealed a statement. The country also found themselves in controversy after banning beer in stadiums.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/sport/article/scandal-erupts-in-world-cup-as-qatar-accused-of-bribing-ecuador-players-7-4-million-to-lose-opener/

Former US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account has been reinstated on the platform.

The account, which Twitter banned following the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, was restored after Twitter CEO and new owner Elon Musk posted a poll on Twitter on Friday night asking the platform’s users if Trump should be reinstated.

“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Musk tweeted Saturday night. “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Latin for “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

The final poll results on Saturday night showed 51.8% in favor and 48.2% opposed. The poll included 15 million votes.

The much-anticipated decision from the new owner sets the stage for the former president’s return to the social media platform where he was previously its most influential, if controversial user.

With almost 90 million followers, his tweets often moved the markets, set the news cycle and drove the agenda in Washington.

Trump has previously said he would remain on his platform, Truth Social, instead of rejoining Twitter, but a change in his approach could hold major political implications.

The former president announced this month that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, aiming to become only the second commander in chief ever elected to two nonconsecutive terms.

Asked on Saturday what he thought of Musk purchasing Twitter and his own future on the platform, Trump praised Musk but questioned whether the site would survive its current crises.

“They have a lot of problems,” Trump said in Las Vegas at the Republican Jewish Coalition meeting. “You see what’s going on. It may make it, it may not make it.”

Still, Trump said...

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/elon-musk-restores-donald-trumps-twitter-account/

Petrol prices in Ghana are on a tear, reaching multi-year highs of $1.282 per lite, equivalent to N910 per litre in Nigerian Naira. Nigerian petrol prices are relatively cheaper, selling at N175 per litre in Lagos.

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC), has predicted that the prices of petroleum products could see another increase in the next pricing window, which commences on November 16, 2022.

According to COPEC, the depreciation of the Ghana cedi, coupled with other international market developments and forces, will be a major contributory factor for the upward review of prices.

Currently, petrol and diesel are selling at GH¢18 and GH¢23.49 per litre respectively at various pumps across the country, with commercial drivers and the general public lamenting the impact on the general cost of living.

Earlier in November, over 1,000 protesters marched through Ghana’s capital Accra , calling for the resignation of President Nana Akufo-Addo amid an economic crisis that has hammered the cedi currency and seen fuel and food costs spiral to record levels.

The president sought to reassure Ghanaians that the authorities would get the country’s finances back on track after consumer inflation topped 37% in September, a 21-year peak despite aggressive policy tightening.

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, which should come on stream next year could help lower fuel costs...

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/ghana-petrol-prices-hit-n910-per-litre/

Nigerian banks have issued updates about changes regarding foreign exchange (FX) requests by Nigerian students wishing to study abroad.

Going forward, a minimum of 60 days is required in processing school fees, following the submission of Form A documents at the branch. This is subject to a maximum of $15,000 per semester, with a limit of 2 semesters per session.

Application for Upkeep requires a minimum of 60 days for processing, and is subject to a maximum of $3,000 (or its equivalent in other currencies) per Semester (limited to 2 semesters per session).

Evidence of payment of school fees for the current session will be required.

“Kindly ensure that all PTA/BTA applications along with the approved Form A are submitted at the branch, exactly 14 days before your proposed travel date. Sales are limited to two quarters a year,” banks said.

Applications for Form A (School fees, Student Upkeep, PTA/BTA) must be processed on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Trade Monitoring System (TRMS) Platform. This must be in line with Regulatory Requirements.

Requests will be processed and disbursed subject to the availability of FX.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/students-limited-to-15000-per-semester-have-60-days-to-process-school-fees-cbn/

England’s 26-strong World Cup squad has been announced today as Gareth Southgate revealed who made the cut. So far, a number of teams have announced their squads, including Brazil, Germany and France.

With their Group B opener coming just 11 days after the squad is named, at a tournament that has been unceremoniously wedged into the middle of the season, the England manager has sprung a few surprises.

Full England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford ( Everton ), Nick Pope (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsdale ( Arsenal)

Defenders: Harry Maguire (Man Utd), John Stones (Man City), Kyle Walker (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Trent Alexander-Arnold ( Liverpool) , Eric Dier ( Tottenham ), Conor Coady (Everton), Ben White (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Declan Rice (West Ham ), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount ( Chelsea ), Kalvin Phillips (Man City), James Maddison ( Leicester ), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea)

Attackers: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Phil Foden (Man City), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jack Grealish (Man City), Callum Wilson (Newcastle)

Marcus Rashford has not kicked a ball for England since missing his spot-kick at the Euro 2020 final but a recent resurgence in form under Erik ten Hag has seen him force his way back in.

James Maddison’s fine form at Leicester has led to clamour for the attacking midfielder to be selected, while striker Callum Wilson has caught the eye at Newcastle and each of them have done enough to earn a place.

Elsewhere, a few have already been told that they ...

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Nurses across the UK will strike this winter for the first time in the history of their 106-year-old trade union.

As the Royal College of Nursing revealed on Wednesday, members at the majority of National Health Service employers have supported the industrial action “in their fight for fair pay and safe staffing.”

“Industrial action is expected to begin before the end of this year, with more detailed plans and timelines announced shortly,” the trade union said.

The walkout will not affect emergency services or intensive care units but is expected to impact routine medical appointments.

The nurses are campaigning for a pay rise of 5% above retail inflation, which exceeds 12% amid a cost-of-living and energy crisis that has been exacerbated by sanctions on Russia and the decrease in Russian energy supplies to Europe.

According to an estimate by The Guardian, the average annual salary for nurses of £35,680 ($40,600) in real terms is £3,000 ($3,400) less than a decade ago, due to inflation.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay expressed his disappointment over the planned strike. He took to Twitter to offer a reminder that the government has given “over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 ($1,600) this year on top of a 3% rise last year.”

“But union demands for a 17.6% pay settlement are around three times what millions of people outside the public sector will typically receive and simply aren’t reasonable or affordable,” Barclay emphasized.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, who was criticized earlier this year for sporting a £10,000 ($11,400) Rolex watch, added fuel to the bitter dispute.

Commenting on reports that some nurses are being forced to use food banks, Keegan told Sky News that such a thing normally happens when something breaks down, “either a relationship or boiler or anything.” She added that she doesn’t see “any point” in a strike by nurses.

Unions responded furiously to these remarks.

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