The directive by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to all telecommunications operators to block phone lines for subscribers whose SIMs are not associated with National Identity Numbers (NINs), will cost MTN Nigeria and Airtel a combined N516 billion in lost service revenues, MoneyCentral calculations from the Telco’s disclosures show.

MTN says it has complied with the directive and implemented the restrictions as communicated by the NCC, adding that about 47 million subscribers have submitted their NINs by 31 March 2022.

This represents approximately 67% of the Company’s subscriber base and 76% of service revenue as at Full Year 2021, according to MTN.

This means 33% of the Company’s existing subscriber base and 24% of service revenue will be lost to the restrictions equivalent to N397 billion, according to MoneyCentral calculations.

MTN Nigeria reported N1.65 trillion in service revenues in 2021.

Airtel for its part says it has collated NIN information for 73% of its active customer base which accounts for around 79% of its revenues from Nigeria.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/blocking-non-nin-linked-sims-to-cost-mtn-airtel-n516-bn-in-lost-revenues/

World football governing body, FIFA have slammed indefinite ban on Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja from hosting international matches, Moneycentral can report.

The ban on Wednesday came after irate Nigerian fans invaded the stadium on Tuesday following their nation’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar

On Tuesday, the newly renovated turf hosted the final leg of Nigeria vs Ghana World Cup play-off but the Ghanaians snatched the ticket from their host in a dramatic fashion through away goal rule.

Angry Nigerian fans invaded the pitch after a 1:1 draw against Ghana forcing players and officials to run for their life into the changing room.

FIFA medical officer Dr. Joseph Kabungo who had cardiac arrest on his way to the dressing room was rushed to hospital but he passed on

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/sport/article/fifa-bans-moshood-abiola-stadium-from-hosting-international-matches/

These are indeed unpleasant moments for Mr Isah Kantigi and his company, SoftTech IT Solutions and Services Ltd., a Nigerian information technology solutions company as they were suspended by the World Bank for alleged corrupt practices.

Kantigi who is the Managing Director IT Solutions and Services Ltd was involved in the National Social Safety Nets Project and was sanctioned for 60 months while his firm was sanctioned for 60 months.

This was contained in a statement titled ‘World Bank Group debars SoftTech IT Solutions and Services Ltd. and its managing director’, which was published on the bank’s website on Wednesday.

The statement read in part, “The World Bank Group today announced the 50-month debarment of SoftTech IT Solutions and Services Ltd., an information technology solutions company based in Nigeria, and the 60-month debarment of its managing director, in connection with corrupt practices as part of the National Social Safety Nets Project in Nigeria.

“The debarments make SoftTech and Mr Isah Kantigi, a Nigerian national, ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by the World Bank Group.”

The World Bank said the firm and the managing director were sanctioned for improper payments made to certain project officials.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/world-bank-sanctions-isah-kantigi-firm-for-bribery/

Russia and China say they are working to achieve “a multipolar, fair, and democratic world order.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is meeting, on Wednesday, with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, for the first time since Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine on February 24.

Unlike most Western nations, and some Asian countries, Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow and rejected calls to impose sanctions.

The neighboring countries will work to achieve “a multipolar, fair, and democratic world order,” Lavrov said after arriving in Tunxi, a city in China’s eastern inland Anhui Province, on Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted a photo of the two ministers greeting each other with an elbow bump.

Beijing has argued that economic restrictions disrupt world trade and will not resolve the conflict. Officials insist only dialogue and diplomacy can lead to peace.

TASS quoted Wang as saying that despite “new challenges” to the ties between the two nations, “the will of both sides to develop bilateral relations has become even stronger.”

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/russia-and-china-to-advance-fair-world-order-moscow/

Access Holdings (HoldCo) Plc will set up a payments, pensions and insurance business as subsidiaries to help lead its next growth phase.

“In some cases the subsidiaries will be licensed to operate outside Nigeria,” Herbert Wigwe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Holdings said at a briefing in Lagos yesterday.

“We will be growing these businesses organically and inorganically and our investments in them will be made using our retained earnings,” Wigwe said.

Access recently increased its equity stake in payments firm E-tranzact to 23.8 percent in a bid to play more aggressively in the fintech space. As at 31st December, the fair value of the Bank’s investment in E-tranzact was N3.16 billion

Access has grown rapidly over the past 20 years, going from a small corporate focused bank to becoming Nigeria’s largest bank by assets, achieved largely through acquisitions of Intercontinental and Diamond Bank.

Wigwe is not concerned about competing with the dominant players currently in the sectors the bank is targeting, citing Access Bank’s history of execution.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/access-holdings-sees-payments-pensions-insurance-leading-next-growth-phase/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized the government, the central bank, and Gazprombank to take the necessary steps to switch all payments for Russian natural gas from “unfriendly states” to ruble starting March 31.

The measure targets “member states of the EU and other countries that have introduced restrictions against citizens of the Russian Federation and Russian legal entities,” the mandate published on the Kremlin website reads.

Russia will stop shipping natural gas to countries refusing to settle payments in rubles, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

The decision, first announced last week, came as Russia’s oil trade has been left in disarray as importers put orders on hold due to the latest sanctions introduced against Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/russia-sets-ruble-gas-payment-deadline-at-march-31st/

Five years after being sworn in (on 17 March 2014) as the new Anambra State governor after the expiration of the Peter Obi second term Willie Maduaburochukwu Obiano had managed to reduce the poverty rate in the state to the lowest in all of the South East and 8th lowest among the 36 States of the Federation.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) poverty data for 2019 show that the lowest poverty rates were recorded mainly in the South and South-Western states, with Anambra clearly being an outlier.

While Anambra had a poverty rate of 14.8% according to the NBS data, the closest state in the South East was Imo which had a poverty rate of 28.9% and came in at No 15 on the list.

Anambra also outperformed major Nigerian oil producing states including Rivers (which recorded a poverty rate of 23.9%), Akwa Ibom (26.8%) and Bayelsa (22.6%).

The major reason for the low poverty rate is the ex-Governor’s major investments in the state’s physical and human infrastructure.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/obiano-left-anambra-much-better-than-he-met-it-data-shows/

AIICO Insurance Plc has retained the number 1 spot as the largest insurer by assets in Nigeria which has Africa’s largest population, but there are concerns that sector players do not have capacity to undertake big ticket risk.

AIICO’s total asset hit N221.94 billion as at December 2021, and that compares with AXA Mansard’s N104.46 billion; Mutual Benefit, N85.39 billion; Cornerstone Insurance, N48.58 billion; African Alliance, N43.88 billion; Coronation Insurance, N40.54 billion; NEM Insurance, N36.32 billion; Linkage Assurance, N34.85 billion; Lasaco, N23.70 billion; Niger Insurance, N21.66 billion; Prestige Assurance, N21.37 billion, and Sovereign Trust, N16.42 billion.

AIICO Insurance: FY Financial Overview

While AIICO Insurance made money by parking policyholders’ premiums in fixed income securities, a huge fair value loss on financial assets pressured the insurer’s return on equity.

Of course, insurance companies in Africa’s largest economy who had ridden out of the coronavirus pandemic are now beset by inflationary pressures, currency volatility, a low yield environment, and huge energy costs undermining profitability.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/insurance/article/aiico-insurance-remains-largest-listed-insurer-by-total-asset/

AIICO Insurance Plc has 31 outstanding cases in court that amounted to claims of N4 billion as at December 2021, according to data from the audited financial statements.

The company operates in the insurance industry and is subject to legal proceedings in the normal course of business.

The good tidings are that the Directors, having sought legal opinion, are of the view that insurer stands a good chance on those cases and hence do not foresee those cases having any material effect on the its results and financial position.

Some time ago, AIICO Insurance Plc filed a suit against Megamound Investment Limited and Indemnity Finance Limited (“the defendants”) for the recovery of its outstanding loan plus interest of N1.4 billion.

The insurer won the case and the court ordered that the defendant execute and deliver a property in respect of the 1.5 hectares of land at Lekki County Home Estate it had allocated to the claimant (AIICO) in 2007.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/aiico-insurance-exposed-to-n4bn-claims-due-to-31-outstanding-court-cases/

After a month of fighting that’s yielded limited territorial gains, the Russian military said it’s focusing efforts on taking full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region, potentially a sign it’s backing away from hopes of taking larger swathes of the country.

“Our forces will focus on the main thing – the complete liberation of Donbas,” Sergei Rudskoi, first deputy chief of the General Staff, said Friday, according to the Interfax news service.

Saying the operation is “successful,” Rudskoi claimed Russian troops have surrounded several major cities but deliberately didn’t seek to take them, instead aiming to pin Ukrainian troops down.

His comments were the most detailed official accounting of Russian military performance since the Feb. 24 invasion. Kyiv and its western allies have portrayed Moscow’s military drive as stalled by fierce Ukrainian resistance, as well as poor planning and logistics.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/russia-says-ukraine-operation-focused-on-donbas-interfax-says/

The surging diesel price in Nigeria is set to become worse as Russian oil refiners have started to cut back on refinery throughput, according to the chief executive of one of the world’s largest independent commodities trading houses, Gunvor.

“This is a global problem but for Europe it’s very hard because Europe is so short” of diesel, Gunvor CEO Torbjorn Tornqvist said at the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit as carried by Bloomberg.

Trade with Russian diesel is becoming scarcer because of buyers in Europe are steering clear of Russian shipments, awaiting further sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, or simply declining to purchase Russian energy to finance Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/energy/article/nigeria-diesel-prices-to-remain-high-as-russia-cuts-refinery-output/

The rivalry between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Black Stars of Ghana returns with an interesting twist; the team who wins in the playoff advances to the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Nigeria would take on their West African rivals Black Stars of Ghana for the first leg of their World Cup qualifying playoff on March 25. The in-pitch battle for supremacy will kick off by 8:30 pm Nigerian time at the 20,000 capacity Cape Coast Stadium.

In what is expected to be a tense football match, here are five talking points as Ghana-Nigeria brawl.

Read Also: Super Eagles assures Nigerians of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ticket

All eyes on Ademola Lookman

Ahead of the clash, 24-year-old Ademola Lookman has been invited to join the squad after receiving a clearance from FIFA to represent the Nigerian National Football Team. Lookman is a Leicester City winger who is on loan from RB Leipzig. Ademola will be joining the team for the first time when they face the Black Stars of Ghana.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/sport/article/qatar-2022-world-cup-playoffs-six-talking-points-as-nigeria-take-on-ghana/

Oil prices will jump to $300 a barrel if the West abandons Russian oil, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and former energy minister Alexander Novak said on Monday, adding that “some see it possibly reaching $500-a-Barrel oil.”

The warning comes as the EU plans to discuss placing an embargo on Russian crude as part of its fifth set of sanctions aimed at putting more pressure on Moscow to stop its military operation in Ukraine.

Novak added that if Western consumers stop buying Russian crude, the country will diversify its supplies and will find buyers elsewhere.

Oil prices have risen by nearly $4 a barrel on Monday, with global benchmark Brent exceeding $112 by midday GMT, on expectations that the European Union might join the United States in banning imports of Russian crude.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, meanwhile, has called such an embargo “unrealistic,” pointing out that EU countries still heavily depend on Russian oil and gas and cannot simply cut themselves off on short notice.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/moscow-warns-of-500-a-barrel-oil/

Days before Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last August, Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president, was “welcomed” to the United Arab Emirates. He was alleged to have taken with him $169m, from his country’s treasury.

Six months on, Khalid Payenda, once Ghani’s finance minister, is driving an Uber in Washington DC.

“If I complete 50 trips in the next two days, I receive a $95 bonus,” Payenda told the Washington Post, from behind the wheel of a Honda Accord.

The 40-year-old once oversaw a US-supported $6bn budget for Afghanistan. The Post reported that in one night earlier this week, he made “a little over $150 for six hours’ work, not counting his commute – a mediocre night”.

The Post recorded Payenda telling one passenger his move from Kabul to Washington had been “quite an adjustment”.

He also said he was grateful for the opportunity to be able to support his family but, “Right now, I don’t have any place. I don’t belong here and I don’t belong there. It’s a very empty feeling.”

Afghanistan faces a humanitarian and economic crisis, assets frozen and cut off from international aid that would require recognition of the Taliban government which replaced the US-supported regime.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/former-afghanistan-finance-minister-is-now-uber-driver-in-washington-dc/

There was an isolated fire incident which occurred at a diesel storage tank farm situated in the vicinity of the BUA Cement factory in Sokoto.

The incident occurred whilst routine maintenance work was ongoing on one of the storage tanks by a third-party contractor.

"Immediately the incident occurred, our emergency management and mitigation services were alerted and an swift response activated, which prevented any escalation of the incident or damage to our main plant and equipment. We are however able to confirm the regrettable loss of 3 workers of the third-party contractor, who were in the immediate area of the incident," BUA Cement said in a statement by Sada Suleiman
Assistant Director, Admin Services, sent to MoneyCentral.

"Whilst we are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the fire outbreak at the depot which had adequate safety and control mechanisms in place, members of the Federal Fire Service, State Fire Service, and our Fire department are working together to put the incident under total control."

BUA Cement said that operations at the plant and production which were shut down in the aftermath of the incident as a precautionary and preventive measure, have since resumed at the factory - which was unaffected by the incident.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/bua-cement-sokoto-diesel-depot-hit-by-fire-incident-no-damage-to-plant/

Russia said on Saturday that it had used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine’s western Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Russia’s Interfax news agency said it was the first time Russia had deployed the hypersonic Kinzhal system since it sent its troops into Ukraine on February 24.

Defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing that the underground depot hit by the Kinzhal system on Friday housed Ukrainian missiles and aircraft ammunition, according to a recording of the briefing shared by Russian news agencies.

Russia prides itself on its advanced weaponry, and President Vladimir Putin said in December that Russia was the global leader in hypersonic missiles, whose speed, maneuverability and altitude make them difficult to track and intercept.

Hypersonic weapons such as Russia’s 3M22 Zircon fly so fast and low — at speeds of up to Mach 6 and at a low atmospheric-ballistic trajectory — that they can penetrate traditional anti-missile defense systems.

The missile flies with an advanced fuel that the Russians say gives it a range of up to 1,000 kilometers. And it’s so fast that the air pressure in front of the weapon forms a plasma cloud as it moves, absorbing radio waves and making it practically invisible to active radar systems.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/russia-uses-hypersonic-missiles-in-strike-on-ukraine-establishes-no-fly-zone/

Foreign currency depreciation that led to robust foreign exchange gains buoyed Access Bank Nigeria Plc’s profit as the largest lender in Africa’s largest economy continues to surmount headwinds.

Its profit has been on the upswing since it acquired Diamond Bank in 2019, a strategic decision that ensures the lender increases its footprint across the continent and Europe.

For the year ended December 2021, Access Bank’s net income spiked by 51.41 percent to N160.21 billion in December 2021 from N106 billion as at December 2020.

Return on average equity (ROAE) increased to 17.80 percent in the period under review from 15.60 percent the previous year.

Analysts attribute the consistent growth in profit to gains on swap positions that led to foreign exchange gain of N101.17 billion.

The gains were largely on the part of the treasury bill swap position the Bank entered into. It benefited from currency depreciation, according to an industry expert who does not want his name mentioned for the reasons best known to him.

Read more: https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/swap-position-boosts-access-banks-profit-as-fx-gains-spike/

India may import from Russia around 15 million barrels of cheap crude oil in 2022, media reported.

On Tuesday, Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that New Delhi was negotiating with Russia the price and logistics of shipping discounted oil after Moscow was hit with a US ban on imports.

This will be on cost, insurance and freight (CIF) model, where the seller incurs the costs and pays the freight, including insurance charges.

Taking advantage of a Russian offer to sell its crude oil cheap and bear the cost of insurance and transportation, India may import as much as 2 million tonnes (mt), or roughly 15 million barrels of crude, from the sanctioned nation in 2022, Business Standard newspaper, reported.

According to the Business Standard newspaper, India will pay for the Russian oil either with rupees or with rubles.

This comes after reports that Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) bought 3 million barrels of Russian Urals from trader Vitol for May delivery.

Russia has faced harsh sanctions imposed by the Western nations over its decision to launch a military operation in Ukraine.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/energy/article/india-may-import-about-15mln-barrels-of-crude-oil-from-russia-in-2022-reports/?utm_source=Moneycentral&utm_campaign=2f700358a2-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5307a788df-2f700358a2-167158268

Russian President Vladimir Putin has opined that the latest rounds of unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and its allies over the Kremlin’s military campaign in Ukraine, mark the end of an era.

According to Putin, from now on the West will be losing its “global dominance” both politically and economically.

Speaking on Wednesday, the Russian head of state proclaimed that the “myth of the Western welfare state, of the so-called golden billion, is crumbling.”

Moreover, it is the “whole planet that is having to pay the price for the West’s ambitions, and its attempts to retain its vanishing dominance at any cost,” Putin said.

The president predicted food shortages across the world as Western sanctions against Russia are adversely affecting the entire global economy.

Touching on the decision by several Western powers to freeze Russia’s central bank assets, Putin claimed that this would only serve to irreparably undermine trust in those nations, and make other countries think twice before placing their reserves in the care of those countries.

According to him, nearly half of Moscow’s assets were “simply stolen” by the West.

Read more:
https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/putin-wests-global-political-and-economic-dominance-has-ended/?utm_source=Moneycentral&utm_campaign=2f700358a2-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5307a788df-2f700358a2-167158268

Military might varies wildly across the globe, with dozens of countries having no military whatsoever.

As the Russian- Ukraine war rages MoneyCentral brings you Global Firepower’s comprehensive 2022 military strength ranking, which measures military power based on 50 individual factors, including weapon numbers and diversity, natural resources, manpower and financial stability.

A perfect score on this index is 0.00.

20. Saudi Arabia, Score: 0.2966

Saudi Arabia has a full score of 0.2966. The total manpower of the Saudi military is 505,000 people, 480,000 of which are in active service.

Saudi Arabia has 1,062 tanks and a military budget of $48.5 billion.

19. Spain, Score: 0.2901



Spain has a total military personnel of 216,000, more than half (125,000) of which are in active service.

The European country has more tanks than Australia at 327, but a lower budget of $12.08 billion.

18. Israel, Score: 0.2621



Israel citizens are conscripted into mandatory service once they turn 18. Citizens have to serve three years in the military if they are men and two years if they are women.

Israel’s full score on this index is 0.2621. The country has a total of 643,000 military personnel, with 170,000 of those being in active service. It has a budget of $16.6 billion.

17. Australia, Score: 0.2377

Australia has 80,000 military personnel, 60,000 of which are active. However, it does boast 59 tanks and a budget of $42.7 billion.

16. Germany, Score: 0.2322

With a full score of 0.2322, Germany comes in at number 16 on this list. With 215,000 military personnel, and 185,000 of them active, Germany might not have the most boots on the ground.

However, it makes up for it with its budget, which is $57.4 billion. In addition to that, it has 244 tanks at its disposal.

15. Indonesia, Score: 0.2251



Indonesia has a full score of 0.2251, scoring a lot higher than the previous countries on this list.

This is due, in part, to its manpower; Indonesia has 1.08 million people in its military, 400,000 of which are active. The nation has 332 tanks and a budget of $9.2 billion.

14. Iran, Score: 0.2104



As Iran has a full score of 0.2104, coming in slightly above Indonesia. Iran has a mandatory military service of two years.

It has a total of 1,925,000 people in its military, 525,000 of which were active. It has 3,709 tanks, and a budget of $14.1 billion.

13. Turkey, Score: 0.1961

As Turkey has a full score of 0.1961 it just beats Iran to number 13 on this list.

It has 895,000 people in its military, with 355,000 active personnel. Turkey has 3,045 tanks and a budget of $17.3 billion.

12. Egypt, Score: 0.1869

Egypt has a full score of 0.1869 and has a lot of manpower with 1,330,000 personnel in its military. A total of 450,000 of these are active.

Egypt has 3,735 tanks and a budget of $10 billion.

Read more:

https://moneycentral.com.ng/exclusive/article/the-20-most-powerful-military-forces-in-the-world/