₦airaland Forum

westbuoi:
what a shame....Polithievians, make una allow young brains see road oh...Tufiakwa, naija a country that took 58years to prepare for madness!! Earnestly sometimes feels like Nigeria is the country next to hell!!

God come to our help!!

Who leads your family when your father is still alive? You or your father?

collinsVP:
I thought there's a law that prohibits ex convicts from taking public office in Nigeria?

Very valid point!

flexyrule:
This is one of the metalities that has kept us backward as a country.

So because he is a party member, he should keep mum about party policies and decisions that aren't right?

So it is right for a party member to complain that his party wants to win election by scoring cheap political points?

Only a traitor can do that!

A sane party member will be happy that his party is trying to score political points,if any.

Sani should get his brain examined.

Activism is not insanity or stupidity.

There is no wrong time to do the right thing,when others could not do it!

If a politician does the right thing in 2015,is it not for political advantage against next election?

If he does the right thing in 2018,a year to the election,what difference does it make,other than destabilise and shame those who refused to do anything for 16 years?

GavelSlam:
Can't he name those that betrayed Abiola?

Matter of fact, why is he crying more than the bereaved?

He's neither an Abiola nor a Yoruba man.

I've never seen such evil people in my life.

You are in a political party but oppose everything they do and you do so publicly.

Why then are you in the party?

I tire oooo.....

The guy is an hypocrite.He is the one trying very hard to always score political points by opposing his own party,so that some fools could see him as their ''hero'''.

A real party man should be happy that his party is scoring political points.

Sani should leave APC for another party,if he wants to play opposition.

The guy stinks,him and Dino Melaye!

Can you imagine,Dino saying that Abiola is not a Nigerian because he is dead?


Lagos is working because except for constitutional or corruption issues,the lagos assembly members are 100% in support of the executives.

Except for constitutional or corruption issues,etc,opposition should be left for members of the opposition parties.

At best ,you keep quite and advice your party secretly.

His words: “The Five (5) gang leaders further confessed during investigation that they are political thugs under the name Youth Liberation Movement a.k.a “Good Boys” admitted and confessed to have been sponsored with firearms, money and operational vehicles by the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.

If this is true,It is criminal to equip someone with illegal firearms.

They could be jailed for this!

Where is the pregnancy na ?

it seems ops now bribe(or pay?) their way to front page

But how constitutional is the bill?

For example,Section 131 of the constitution:

131. A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if -
(a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth;
(b) he has attained the age of forty years;
(c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and
(d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

By the way,is 40years not very ideal for presidency?
Is there any need for this bill?

Paperwhite:
So is Buhari stepping down for the "not to young to run" or so intoxicated with power to keep saying the "youth are the leaders of tomorrow"

Its not all about the presidency.

Let the not too young start their political career from the local government.

Why not Adeyeye as Deputy?

The peak of insanity.


This can happen only in Ekiti,ironically,the state where we have a considerable level of literacy!

I just pray Ekiti people will by themselves bring back decency and decorum to governance.

All these national disgrace because of a bridge?

SMH

Doyin2:
OBJ is a certified egocentric saddist.

He frustrated the struggle for "June 12''-told the whole world that Abiola was not the messiah and later benefited from his demise by becoming the president.Thus he is a political nonentity in Ogun State.

Since the failure of his third term bid,he has been frustrating the second term bid of his successors.

By 2019,he would become a political nonentity in Nigeria.

Hmm.....

Very well captured!

dealslip:
It shows you were born in the 2000s. Abiola was the ITT Fela sang about.

You are actually the culprit!

The song included OBJ thus:

''...Like Obasanjo and Abiolaaaa ......ITT, International Thief Thief.......''

Forgotten?

From proceeds of legislative looting?

Trustgt:
What is happening to the Youth of this generation? they can read between the lines and some are full of mischievous gossip.

The president was responding jokingly to the request of the Women who visited him. They made a demand that the position of the VP should be ceded to a lady and some other demands, he said that, it is unfortunate that the VP is not here, but the Secretary to the FG is here and he will brief him, that his position is threatened.

Tribune?

That good for nothing mischief media .Just imagine the very ridiculous and misleading headline?

Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s agreement on recovery of assets and cash stashed away in UAE by Nigerians, takes off next month June. Also, the collaboration among heads of anti-corruption agencies in Commonwealth (Africa) countries will be stepped up as Nigeria hosts the 8th annual general meeting and conference for heads of anti-corruption agencies in Commonwealth Africa from today in Abuja.

President Buhari is expected to open the conference, with the theme: “Partnering towards assets recovery and return”.

Yesterday in Abu Dhabi, officials of the UAE and Nigeria exchanged instruments of ratification on judicial agreements signed between both governments in 2016.With the exchange of instruments, the agreement will now take effect from June 13.According to WAM Emirates news agency, the UAE and Nigeria signed the agreement regarding the apprehension of criminals, extraditing convicted persons, providing mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, as well as for legal and judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.

The ceremony for exchanging the instruments of ratification took place between Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Jarman, Assistant Minister for Human Rights and International Law at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Nigeria’s Ambassador to UAE Mohammed Dansanta Rimi, at the headquarters of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The UAE’s Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Justice, Abdul Rahman Murad Al Balushi, witnessed the ceremony during which the June 13 take-off date was confirmed.

Nigeria on January 19, 2016, signed six agreements with the UAE following a state visit by President Muhammadu Buhari. The pact includes Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, and Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters (the recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth).

The Federal Government had been collaborating with the UAE authorities on suspicious cash and assets allegedly owned by some Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs).

The agreements, which were signed by President Buhari are:

-Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement.

-Agreement on Trade Promotion and Protection

-Judicial Agreements on Extradition

-Transfer of Sentenced Persons

-Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters

-Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters (recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth)

The Federal Government has been trying to attach some suspected assets allegedly owned by some Nigerians or traced to them in UAE.The EFCC also has evidence of how some public office holders benefited from the London-Paris Club refund and how the cash was laundered in Dubai, UAE.

The financial intelligence sharing by the two countries has uncovered some cases involving ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke and some of her business associates.The assets allegedly identified with Diezani are marked as J5 Emirates Hills (30million Dirham) and E146 Emirates Hills valued at 44million Dirham.

Those allegedly traced to her assiociate Kola Aluko are: 4100 Le Reve Dubai Maria, Dubai; Unit 1402, PS 14th Floor located at Metro TECOM near Internet City Metro Station, Dubai; Unit 712, ES 7th Floor located at First Central, Off Sheikh Zayed, TECOM, Al-Barsha 3 Dubai and Unit 512, 5th Floor located at First Group Marina Hotels, Al-Seba Street, Plot 394-426, Dubai AE-AJ.

Sections 7 of 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004 mandate the agency to seize suspicious assets.Section 7 says: “The commission has power to (a) cause any investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes.

“(b) Cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.”

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Diamond-bnk.ceo_-690x500.png

Diamond Bank group has recorded an unprecedented loss of N9.011 billion for the year ended December 31, 2017, worsening its dwindling performance of a meager profit after tax of N3.498 billion in 2016.

Performance Highlights:

-Gross earnings of N189.622 billion, up from N184.056 billion posted in 2016.
-Net interest income fell from N96.543 billion in 2017, compared with N98.284 billion in 2016.
-Interest Expense increased to N47.04 billion (N31.27 billion in 2016).
-Net fee and commission income stood at N28.61 billion (N32.60 billion in 2016.)
-Net impairment stood at N56.830 billion in 2017, down marginally from N57.015 billion in 2016.
-Total expenses rose from N83.569 billion to N88.847 billion in 2017.
-Shareholder Funds stood at N223.31 billion( N226.71 billion in 20160).

However,the chief executive of the bank, Uzoma Dozie expressed optimism, saying that with the actions already taken, coupled with the pickup in economic activities, Diamond Bank would turn a profit this year.

“We increased our market share and drove scale through a combination of technology and expansion of our services across additional platforms. For instance, we made additional inroads to the unbanked and underbanked populations with the support of our international partners. In addition, the rapid rollout of products and services for entrepreneurs, and small and medium business owners gained significant traction and is a trend that is set to continue.

According to him, at a macro level, the economic environment improved, albeit marginally. “Against this backdrop and Nigeria’s broader positive fundamentals, we disposed of some non-core assets to optimise the use of our resources and focus on the significant potential of our domestic market. By taking this action, Diamond Bank is better positioned to accelerate its growth, productivity and profitability in the short to medium term,” Dozie said.

“Although more work is to be done, particularly in relation to our oil and gas exposure, overall the quality of the loan book has improved. This will remain a key area of focus over the next 12 months. Looking ahead, I am optimistic that due to the actions we have taken as well as an improving economy, Diamond Bank will continue to make good progress and achieve greater profitability,” he concluded.

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng

I am very proud of El-Rufai,for allowing free and fair election,boosted by electronic voting,in a country where the ruling party usually wins all LG seats.

A very refined and upright politician .

NairaMaster1:
I remember during PDP days ( the corruptible) a minister will have to resign before vying for any political office.

But here is APC(the incorruptible). A minister contesting actively in office.

Buhari lacks conscience and integrity in reality.

68 LIKES FOR VERY IGNORANT AND STUPID COMMENTARY?NAIRALAND IS FULL OF INTELLECTUALLY DEFICIENT PEOPLE!

They fall for every thing

Whereas,the Deputy Governor of Ekiti,also contested ''actively in office.''

Anyway ,for your information only:



PUBLIC NOTICE (Publication Of Form CF 001)

Pursuant to the provisions of section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2006, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) hereby informs the public that it has commenced the publication of the personal particulars of candidates (Form CF 001) for the offices of President, Vice President, Governor, Deputy Governor, Members of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) as well as the State Assemblies and Chairmen and Councilors of the Area Councils.

The personal particulars are displayed in all the State and Local Government Offices of the Commission in the Constituencies of the candidates.

Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by any candidate is false or that the candidate is not qualified or is disqualified from contesting the elections should notify the Commission in writing within 7 (seven) days of this publication.

The public is further informed that the grounds for qualification for the offices specified in the Constitution (Section 65, 106, 131 & 177) are as follows:

(i) CITIZENSHIP: must be Nigerian citizens (by birth for the Executive Offices)

(ii) AGE: President/Vice President————————-40 years

Governor/Deputy Governor———————35 years

Senate——————————————35 years

House Of Representatives———————–30 years

House Of Assembly—————————–30 years

Chairman Of Area Council———————-30 years

Councillor Of Area Council——————— 25 years

(iii) EDUCATION: Up to School Certificate level or its equivalent.

(iv) PARTY: Must belong to the party sponsoring him.

While a person is disqualified if He/She:

(i) has declared allegiance to another country;

(ii) has been elected to the office of President or Governor office at any two

previous elections;

(iii) Adjudged to be a lunatic or declared to be of unsound mind;

(iv) (a) is under a sentence of death; or

(b) is under a sentence of imprisonment or fine for an offence involving dishonesty

or fraud;

(v) has in the last 10 years been convicted and sentenced for an offence

involving dishonesty;

(vi) has been found guilty of a contravention of the code of conduct;

(vii) is an undischarged bankrupt;

(viii) is employed in the public service and does not resign, withdraw or retire at least

30 days to the election;

(ix) is a member of a secret society;

(x) has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a judicial committee of inquiry or

an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal AND which indictment has

been accepted by the Federal or State Government;

(xi) has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National

In this month of May alone, the federal government of Nigeria has paid over N439 million to 18 whistleblowers that provided information on companies deliberately not meeting up with their tax obligations.

The FG also recovered about N13.9billion from tax evaders through the assistance of volunteers who provided tips on evading tax companies in the country.

The Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, made these revelations yesterday in Abuja, during a press briefing, after meeting with 10 World Bank directors, who are in the country to monitor the progress of the Bank’s supported projects in Nigeria.

She stated that the policy, which commenced in 2016, is now targeting not only those that embezzle money from the government coffers, but also non- regular taxpayers, as well as those who underpay their taxes.

Giving more insight into the progress made in the whistleblowing policy, Adeosun said government has received 8,373 communications, 1231 tips and 534 investigations since it started. She, however, disclosed that while 10 prosecutions were pursued, only four convictions have been recorded, explaining that government is getting more tips on the policy, as more companies are now paying their taxes through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), adding: “We are getting far more tips on tax evasion, which, of course, is a crime against all of us.”

She said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other tax authorities were doing a lot on enforcement of payment and the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) has helped in increasing the number of taxpayers captured in the tax base of the country. The minister also disclosed that government has concluded plans to deepen the whistleblowing policy in institutions, such as ministries, MDAs and parastatals.

The minister disclosed that the whistleblowing unit travelled to the United Kingdom (UK) to understudy how the policy works there, visiting institutions as the Commonwealth Office, Customs and others, even as their findings are to be applied within to deepen the policy in Nigeria.

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/

TonyeBarcanista:
He should quit APC and join hands with PDP for better Nigeria

You are a clown.

Better Nigeria that they could not give you in 16 years ,you want to displace APC in just less than 3 years?

I can tolerate 3 years of wobbling and fumbling of APC,it is a normal learning curve process for them,but definitely not 16 years of darkness and fuel importation.

Better Nigeria

A big clown!

The senate is inviting the IGP for the ''maltreatment'' of a senator that refused to honour police invitation.

Are the senators sinators clowns?

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/BDC.png

Seek an approval in principle for trading platforms
BDC operators in Nigeria, under the aegis of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), yesterday, launched a Forex currency information website, https://www.naijabdcs.com/.

The National Chairman, Aminu Gwadabe , said the decision to own a website was borne by the fact that many Nigerians and businesses have endured the publication of subjective news in the industry through sources that cannot be trusted. “It was on this premise that the ABCON decided to challenge the status quo with a superior idea and platform in the Naijabdcs.com, which is being launched today as a viable voice in financial and business news reporting.’’

“Interestingly, all Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-licensed BDCs in Nigeria have given the website their backing. I also want to thank the CBN for giving the website “no-objection” approval and for the support and patronage we expect from the regulator even as we implore it to look seriously into major challenges facing the BDC sector,” he said.

Other Challenges to be surmounted

The Bureau De Change operators have expressed over the many challenges that they have had to contend with, which they said, have inhibited their operations and in carrying out their daily legitimate activities.

The included excessive regulation, multiple exchange rate, abnormal bank charges, Value Added Tax (VAT), and Commission on Turnover (COT), the continued existence of parallel market operators, illegal International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs), porous international borders, complex documentation requirements and poor capacity/skills of operators.

The ABCON boss said they had complained about these hitches severally, which negatively impact on their efforts toward compliance to statutory and regulatory requirements. He said six units within the CBN are involved with BDC regulations, supervision, licensing, monitoring, and noting that these constitute multiple regulation of a unit of the financial sub-sector that is only involved as a small market player.

Quote: ’An operator is expected to render daily, monthly, quarterly, half yearly, and yearly returns to these various departments of the same corporate body, which is cumbersome, repetitive and time consuming for both the operator and the regulator. Still, they are under obligation to render the same returns to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), a development that has become heavy burden on the BDCs considering the little margin allowed on their transactions. ‘’

ABCON used the launching opportunity, to appeal to CBN to take urgent steps to review the rate at which the dollar is sold to BDCs in order to boost ongoing recovery of the Naira against dollar. He also implored CBN to grant ABCON an approval in principle for the proposed trading platforms, to enable it and technology partners the boost needed to kick-start the project. He likewise, sought an issuance of Letter of Consent to the proposed training institute by ABCON, as a boost to the management’s commitment to capacity building of BDC members and competence level in the sector.

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/blog/2018/05/08/bureau-de-change-operators-launch-a-website/

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/David.Ogunbemi.png

Stakeholders and experts have expressed mixed feelings over the various policy pronouncements of the federal government in the last 12 months, especially as it concerns ease of doing business. And expectedly, the government seems to be convinced that it has performed commendably well thus far.

David Uzosike, the Reform Lead, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, with the mandate to lead, coordinate, research and identify the constraints to ease of doing business in Nigeria, in an interview said a lot have been achieved.

Quote: “If you’ve been following our communication, especially looking at our website, you’ll see all the reforms and impacts we have achieved from the Ease of Doing Business perspective. And when you talk about the Executive Orders specifically, we can say there has also been some traction in that area. While acknowledging that infrastructure gaps exist, a lot has also been done to make documentation process at the port seamless. ‘’

“Truth be told, a lot has changed. For instance, where you used to have 14 documents for inspection, it’s now eight and where you used to have all the agencies inside the ports, with each of them coming one after the other to inspect containers; it has changed. Now all the agents operate with one single wind’’.

But according to Chief Cyprian Arinze, a haulage contractor, the Executive Order if anything amount to putting the horse before the cart. “If the government takes care of the roads, we can achieve over 95% Ease of Doing Business. Without this, we will just be going round and round the circles.”

Chief Remi Ogungbemi, Chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO),argued that the Executive Order is far from a reality as basic infrastructure aimed at turning things around at the ports were still missing.

Quote:’’ To achieve the much hyped executive orders mandate, a deliberate measure is required to build truck terminals. I want to use this avenue to appeal to the concerned authorities to see what they can do because things are in terribly bad shape right now.”

Austin Okere, the Founder and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Ausso Leadership Academy, expressed worry that the Economic Recovery Growth Plan tough laudable, is already suffering from inertia associated with government policies.

Quote:“I think the problem we have is that we run election economics. Great men think about the next generation but politicians think about the next election. And insofar as the economy is about amassing enough money to maneuver or win the elections by all means, then another four years, we go back to the same square, then if a new government comes in, it starts exposing saying oh, look at the money that was amassed and they say it was for election and say, ok. The point is insofar as we continue to run election economics; we’ll be where we are. In an election year, a lot of time and resources are wasted. So we have only two productive years and if you’re not lucky, the new government comes and rollback everything that had been achieved.”

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Alibaba.com_.png

Alibaba.com, the Chinese e-commerce giant, on Friday, announced a massive 47 percent leap in net profit to $10.2billion (63.98 billion Yuan), for the financial year ended March 31,2018,boosted by a rise in smartphone and tablet transactions on its shopping platform.

The business, listed on New York Stock Exchange, added 98 million active consumers over the year ended March 31, to a total of 552 million using its e-commerce marketplaces.

Total revenue climbed 58 percent year-on-year to $39.12 billion ( 250.27 billion yuan), with revenue from cloud computing up 101 percent and digital media and entertainment up 33 percent.

For the fourth quarter, the company saw revenue soar a better than expected 61 percent year-on-year to $9.69 billion(62 billion yuan).

The group CEO Daniel Zhang stated thus: “Alibaba Group had an excellent quarter and fiscal year, driven by robust growth in our core commerce business and investments we have made over the past several years in longer-term growth initiatives,”

And according to the Chief financial officer, Maggie Wu:“Looking ahead to fiscal 2019, we expect overall revenue growth above 60 percent, reflecting our confidence in our core business as well as positive momentum in new businesses,”

Alibaba, which has made billionaire founder Jack Ma one of China’s richest men and a global e-commerce icon, has been on a roll, regularly beating revenue estimates.While the group has been diversifying its business, the overwhelming majority of revenue still comes from its online trading platforms, which continued to attract new customers in China where trends and shopping preferences can shift quickly.

Alibaba dominates 90 percent of the Chinese consumer-to-consumer market, courtesy of Taobao,whilst its Tmall platform controls half of the online transactions between professionals and individuals.

But in a “new retail” strategy, Alibaba plans investments in distribution chains and also,to develop close links with traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers, notably the Hema supermarket chain.

The move echoes US online giant Amazon which has opened physical shops and last year acquired US chain Whole Foods Market.

“During the past year we also doubled down on technology development, cloud computing, logistics, digital entertainment and local services so that we are in a position to capture consumption growth in China and other emerging markets,” Zhang said.

In January Alibaba announced it would take a 33 percent stake in affiliated business Ant Financial, which operates the massively popular Alipay mobile payment application and credit scoring unit Sesame Credit, among other financial services businesses.Controlled by Ma, the firm had been held as a separate company but part of the Alibaba Group.



https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/nnpc.logo_.jpg

“about 35 expressions of interest for the establishment of modular refineries had been declared and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had issued licenses to 13 of them’’-GMD,NNPC
NNPC has reiterated that the December 2019 deadline, set to stop importation of petroleum products into the country remains sacrosanct.

The country had been the only OPEC member importing refined petroleum products, to meet about 45 million litres, estimated daily consumption. The amount of under recovery from premium motor spirit or petrol alone stood at over N1.4 trillion as of last month.

NNPC plans to overhaul the state owned refineries, to perform at 90 per cent capacity utilization, before the 2019 deadline.

Group Managing Director of the corporation, Maikanti Baru, who was special guest of honour at the Offshore Technology Conference 2018 Nigeria Oil Industry Award Dinner in Houston, Texas, United States, said the dream of transforming Nigeria from a net exporter of crude oil to a net exporter of petroleum products would in the months ahead become a reality.

According to him, the tendering exercises for companies interested in the rehabilitation programmes of the nation’s four refineries using a contractor-financing model, had  been completed and successful companies for the different projects would soon be announced.

Quote: “This model is expected to be a self-sustaining financial model with near zero reliance on the federal government funds. For smooth running and implementation, we are also changing the operating and commercial framework of the refineries to make them work efficiently and be commercially viable .The corporation and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources were also collaborating to encourage the establishment of modular refineries in the Niger Delta area to encourage job creation. He announced that, so far, about 35 expressions of interest for the establishment of modular refineries had been declared and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had issued licenses to 13 of them’’.

 https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Presco.png

The management of Presco Plc ,today released its unaudited first quarter(3 months ended March 31,2018) financials to the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

Performance Highlights:


-Revenue relatively declined by 8% ,from N7.17 billion in Q1,2017, to N6.59 billion in Q1,2018.

-Cost of Sales remained quite stable, despite decline in revenue, at N1.46 billion in Q1, 2018,comapred to N1.45 billion in 2017.Cost of Sales figure represents 22% of Revenue.

-Thus the company recorded Gross Profit of N5.13 billion (N5.72 billion, in Q1,2017) and an impressive gross profit margin of 78%.
Profit before Tax stood at N3.43 billion (N5.03 billion in Q1, 2017).

-The Total Asset of the company was N106.11 billion, as at Q1, 2018.

Presco is a fully-integrated agro-industrial establishment with oil palm plantations, palm oil mill, palm kernel crushing plant and vegetable oil refining and fractionation plant. It also has an olein and stearin packaging plant and a biogas plant to treat its palm oil mill effluent. It is the first of its kind in West Africa

The company specialises in the cultivation of oil palm and in the extraction, refining and fractionation of crude palm oil into finished products. It also supplies specialty fats and oils of outstanding quality to customer specifications and assures a reliability of supply of its products year round. This is made possible by the integrated nature of the company’s production process.

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/blog/2018/05/04/presco-plc-records-n6-59b-revenue-in-q1-2018/

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Naira.Yuan_.png

Nigeria and the People’s Republic of China have sealed a $2.5 billion (Renminbi ,RMB 16 billion) currency swap deal, executed through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Peoples Bank of China (PBoC)

The renminbi is the official currency of the People’s Republic of China. The yuan is the basic unit of the renminbi, but is also used to refer to the Chinese currency generally, especially in international contexts where “Chinese yuan” is widely used to refer to the renminbi. The distinction between the terms renminbi and yuan is similar to that between sterling and pound.

With the signing of the pact, Nigeria has emerged the third African country to have such an agreement with China. CBN spokesperson, Okorafor, said the feat was a culmination of over two years of painstaking negotiations by both central banks.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, led officials of the apex Nigerian bank in brokering the deal while PBoC Governor, Dr. Yi Gang, led Chinese team at the official signing ceremony in Beijing, China, on April 27, 2018.

Benefits:


1. The transaction is aimed at providing adequate local currency liquidity to Nigerian and Chinese industrialists and other businesses, thereby reducing the difficulties encountered in the search for third currencies.

2. The agreement is purely an exchange of currencies which will make it easier for Chinese manufacturers seeking to buy raw materials from Nigeria to obtain enough Naira from banks in China to pay for their imports from Nigeria.

3. The deal will protect Nigerian business people from the harsh effects of third currency fluctuations.

4. The agreement would provide Naira liquidity to Chinese businesses and provide RMB liquidity to Nigerian businesses, thereby improving the speed, convenience and volume of transactions between the two countries.

5. It will also assist both countries in their foreign exchange reserves management, enhance financial stability and promote broader economic cooperation.

6. It will now be easier for most Nigerian manufacturers, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and cottage industries in manufacturing and export businesses to import raw materials, spare parts and simple machinery to undertake their businesses by taking advantage of available RMB liquidity from Nigerian banks without being exposed to the difficulties of seeking other scarce foreign currencies.

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Terrorism-Financing.png

According to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Economic report, majority of the commercial banks in Nigeria fail to meet a number of compliance requirements specified by it, to prevent and track corruption plus terrorism financing.

It was learnt that many banks failed to conduct enhanced due diligence, a major compliance requirement on some high-risk customers. Besides, the collation and reporting of foreign currency transactions and suspicious transactions were not fully automated in some banks.

The CBN report showed that the apex bank conducted an anti-money laundering/combating terrorism financing compliance examination of 25 reporting banks.

The examination was guided by the statutory provisions of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended), the CBN’s AML/CFT Regulations, 2013 and recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force.

However, the examination showed a number of gaps in customer due diligence and anti-money laundering reporting software among others.

The report also showed that the first of the bi-annual review of the foreign exchange activities of 25 banks (21 commercial and four merchant banks) was conducted in April, last year, to ascertain the level of compliance with extant foreign exchange laws and regulations.

The review covered foreign exchange operations for the period, October 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. According to the CBN, major infractions observed included non-compliance with regulations, such as the concessionary rates specifically provided for utilisation of funds sourced from the Secondary Market Intervention Sales foreign exchange window; and non-issuance of certificates of capital importation to beneficiaries within the allowable time of 24 hours post receipt of funds.

Dangers of terrorism financing in Nigeria and West Africa

The Strategic Plan 2016 to 2020, of the Inter-governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa, stated that some of the funds that support the violent extremism being experienced in some parts of the region either originate from West Africa or traverse it.

It said the escalation of terrorist acts being committed by Boko Haram, Ansar Dine, Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), has attracted regional and global concern.

In September 2015, Amnesty International (AI) reported that from January 2015, Boko Haram had killed more than 3,500 civilians across four countries (Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad and Niger).

The AI report said: “The resilience of the terrorist networks suggests that they have been innovative in sustaining themselves, using various methods and techniques to raise, move and utilize funds in order to carry out terrorist activities. Smuggling of goods has been found to be central to the financing of terrorist activities.”

The Inter-governmental Action Group recognises that anti-money laundering/combating terrorism measures are always implemented in an environment where other priorities compete for the attention and resources of authorities; therefore, harnessing and mobilizing resources coupled with efficient utilization of such resources is critical.

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/blog/2018/05/03/how-nigerian-banks-facilitate-corruption-and-terrorism-financing/