All Posts in "Day: April 12, 2021"

Ramadan: Sultan Tells Muslims To  Look Out For New Moon Today 

Sultan urges Muslims to look for new moon from Sunday - Vanguard News
Sa’ad Abubakar, the  Sultan of Sokoto, has asked Muslims to look out for the new moon — signalling the beginning of Ramadan — on Monday
The sultan said this in a statement by Sambo Junaidu, Wazirin Sokoto and chairman, advisory committee on religious affairs, on Sunday.
The Ramadan month is a time for reflection, contemplation, and celebration when Muslims around the world observe fasting for 29 or 30 days.
The Islamic calendar follows the phases of the moon, known as the lunar cycle, falling nearly 10 days earlier every year in the Gregorian calendar.
“Muslims are requested to start looking for the new moon of Ramadan on Monday and report its sighting to the nearest district or village head for onward communication to His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar CFR, mni, the Sultan of Sokoto,” the statement reads.
He prayed for the entire Muslim faithful, that Allah will help them in the discharge of the Ramadan duty.
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in News 0
Nigeria Exports Crude Oil,Natural Gas To US,Netherland,Others

Nigeria loses crude oil export destination to U.S. | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World NewsBusiness — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News
 Nigeria’s major export and import market in the fourth quarter of 2020 were India, Spain, the Netherlands, United States and China, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.
It disclosed this in its just released Commodity Price Indices and Terms of Trade Q4 2020.
The bureau stated that the major commodities exported from Nigeria to the five nations were crude oil and natural gas.
The NBS said, “The major export and import market of Nigeria in Q4 2020 were India, Spain, the Netherlands, United States and China.
“The major export to these countries were crude petroleum and natural gas. The major imports from the countries were motor spirits, used vehicles, motorcycles and antibiotics.”
The bureau stated that the all-commodity group import index increased by 0.13 per cent between October and December 2020.
“This was driven mainly by an increase in the prices of base metals and articles of base metals (one per cent), boilers, machinery and appliances; parts thereof (1.03 per cent), and products of the chemical and allied industries (0.75 per cent),” it stated.
The NBS, however, noted that the index was negatively affected by animal and vegetable fats and oils and other cleavage products.
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0
FG Promises  to Implement Report on $1bn Abandoned Oil Facility 

The federal government has received the report of the compensatory contracts and other incentives committee on the abandoned $1 billion Kaztec Engineering Limited (KEL) fabrication yard, located in Ilase village, Snake Island, Amuwo-Odofin Council, Lagos State.
Senator Magnus Abe, the Chairman of the Committee and Member of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who submitted the report to the Minister of State, Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva, in Abuja, described the assignment as sensitive.
 He explained that the federal government would not sit by and allow such humongous waste of resources on the project, stressing that aside the 3,000 jobs lost to the collapse of the facility, over $650 million had already been expended on the abandoned project.
 He noted  that the facility was to add over 19 million barrels to the national oil reserve before Addax Petroleum declared a force majeure on the project which has not been operational since 2015 due to contractual issues.
 The facility was designed to make it the first wholly indigenous engineering, procurement, fabrication, and offshore installation company to deliver complex offshore and onshore oil and gas projects until the operational challenges occurred.
 “This has been a very sensitive assignment. This committee was inaugurated 14 August last year and we sought an extension and we have finished our task, submitted our interim report. But we thought the public needed to know what is happening on this project.
“In keeping with that, we thought we needed a formal report. It is important that Nigerians realise what happened on this project. As we speak, this was a project that was to extract or add 19 million barrels to our existing reserves and would have been part of the daily national production.
 “After that project was ready and everything was in place, contracts had been awarded and close to $1 billion had been invested in it, addax petroleum called a force majeure on issues that were totally unrelated to this particular project at hand,” he lamented.
 He noted that the action put over 3,000 Nigerians out of work and wasted hard earned foreign currency that the country would have used for other things, adding that, “Nigerians will weep over what happened there,” when allowed to visit the site.
 He said  Nigerians ought to know the extent of damage that was done not only to the indigenous oil company, but to the economic interest of the country.
 He stated that not only were the workers there affected, but a lot of jobs that were supposed to be done in-country that would have been useful even in the execution of other projects, were still being done abroad.
 “As a result of that, the entire investment of the Nigerian company went to waste, more than, 3,000 laid off, ships were abandoned and the entire investment collapsed.
 “So, when the president got wind of it, he set up this committee to go and find out the way it could help revitalise that project so that it isn’t lost or wasted. This project should not be abandoned,” he explained.
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0
Edo 2020:Three  Lagos Boxers Cruise To Final

Edo 2020: Kogi Cruise to Quarter Final in Welterweight, Lightweight boxing event – THISAGE | Breaking News from Nigeria and Around the World
Three of the  four Lagos  pugilists are through to the final of boxing event at the ongoing National Sports Festival, NSF, tagged Edo 2020.
Oraekwe Blessing, in the sixty-nine kilogramme category , defeated Oben Blessing of Imo State, by a technical knock out, as the referee stopped contest in round three, in the semi final bout.
Fatimo Aromokola of Lagos State, who before her fight against Toyin Adejumola of Edo State, was scared of her opponent, regained her confidence immediately she got inside the ring as she displayed a pleasant skills to.the admiration of fans and the referees who scored four point as against Toyin who had a point.
Speaking on her victory, Aromokola, said she was pretty happy to have recorded an outstanding Victor against a tough and skillful boxer who many believed would disgraceher based on her exploit at the 2019 Morocco All Africa Games.
Aromokola, who won a gold medal at the 2018 National Sports Festival, held in Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, said her coach, Waheed Shobaloju, told her to always lauch an attack against Adejumola, a tactics, she explained worked for her, adding that she was ready to fight Toyin Adejumola at any major national fight based on the victory.
Olamide Mustapha of Lagos State lost to Alade Oluwatobi of Ekiti State, in the sixty kilogramme category.
But, Francis Gabriel, an established pugilist of many laurels, completed the number as he overwhelmed Kelvin Kpuluzu of Edo State by four points to one in an interesting bout which litted Oba Akenzua Cultural Center, Benin, Edo State.
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in Sports 0
 CAC Narrows Companies Registration To Three Hours

CAC says name reservation, business registration to now take 48 hours - NewsWireNGR
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has assured that companies registration would be completed within three hours before the end of 2021.
Garba Abubakar, the Registrar General of CAC, disclosed  this in Abuja at the weekend in a dinner organised in honour of Chief Ademola Seriki, Chairman CAC Governing Board and Nigerian Ambassador Designate to Kingdom of Spain.
He said companies registration can now be done from the comfort of home without physically visiting CAC offices.
He added : “You can now start and finish your companies registration and get your certificates without waiting for a courier company to deliver it.
“This is a phenomenal achievement because when we started last year, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic made the process slow and cumbersome.The Commission was forced to take painful decision. We had to suspend the physical registration of businesses.
“There was resistance from some of our customers who were apprehensive of this development.We expect that this achievement will make significant impact, because electronic registration has become a global system.Our next focus is to provide laptops to over 400 personnel so that wherever they may be, they will be working from there.
“We are hoping that this will be achieved before the end of this year.We intend to reduce the time for business registration for three hours. We believe, this will be achieved before the end of the year.We will continue to remain focused and deliver on our mandate. We will continue to reposition the Commission for greater efficient service delivery.”
Also speaking, the out-going Chairman of CAC Governing Board,  lamented that many companies in Nigeria do not pay their annual returns, adding that there was the need for companies to pay their annual returns to the government.
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in News 0
Senate Queries  FMBN Over Irregular Award Of N3bn Contract

Senate Queries FMBN over N3bn Irregular Contract AwardTHISDAYLIVE
The Senate has queried the  Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has landed in trouble over irregular award of N3 billion contract in four phases.
Querying the FMBN, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts headed by Senator Mathew Urhoghide, has, however, summoned the former Managing Director of FMBN, Mallam Gimba Yau Kumo, to appear it to explain the rational behind the irregular award of the contracts in question.
The summon by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, was sequel to the 2018 Auditor General Report.
The query reads: “Audit observed that a contract was awarded to a contractor in four phases at a total contract sum of N 3,045,391,531.97.
“Audit however observed that the second, third and fourth phases of the contract were above the approval thresholds of the Bank. It was also observed, from the examination of payment documents that the contractor was overpaid in the sum of N 118,717,892.72 that resulted from irregular addition of 5% Withholding Tax in the Bill of Quantity on each of the four phases of the contract.
“Audit further observed, from physical inspection of the site that a provision of N 80, 000,000.00 was made and paid for the implementation of ‘Unified Access and Attendance System’ but the device was not working according to specifications.
“A sum of N 644,040,000.00 was also provided in the Bill of Quantities for offshore training and other deliverables in the 3rd and 4th phases of the contract, but there was no evidence of execution, in contravention of Financial Regulations 70.”
Responding , the Managing Director of FMBN, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, explained that the contract was awarded in 2011 by the previous management.
He said: “The Contract was awarded by the previous Management in 2011 to design, build and implement a Mortgage Banking Business Process Solution workflow and infrastructure with the aim of creating an enterprise software that will integrate all the Bank’s processes.
“This Management after an assessment of the contractor’s performance of the contractor’s obligations on the contract, expressed dissatisfaction with the Service rendered by the contractor.
“Management, thereafter, severally engaged the contractor over all the issues surrounding the project which include amongst others the issue of overpayment of the sum of N118 million due to wrong addition of WHT to the contract award sum in all the four phases as well as  other payment to the contractor.
“A settlement agreement was thereafter entered into by FMBN and Messr Starter-Point  LTD on the mode of repayment of all outstanding due to the bank.
“Payment of the contract sum for phases three and four were made to the contract by the previous management based on the milestone achievement as specified in the contract agreement. Each payment was duly certified by the in-house consultant appointed by the bank for the project Messes. Comsoft Limited.
“Based on the contract specifications, the phase three modules were duly completed functional, however, off-shore training was not conducted for this phase.
“The settlement agreement between the bank and the vendor has also taken into consideration the payment made for the off-shore training that was not done by the vendor.
“No final payments were made by the bank on the phase four project.”
Senator Urhoghide, who was not satisfied with the presentation, ordered the former Managing Director to appear before the Panel and give further explanation.
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in Politics 0
NPA Donates To Tafawa Balewa Varsity

NPA donates ICT facility to ATBU, Bauchi – The Sun Nigeria
The Nigeria Ports Authority  (NPA),has  donated an Information, Communication Technology (ICT) center that has 40 computer units as well as an e-library to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi.
 Tukur Buba, the  Senior Procurement Officer of NPA, who made the donation and commissioned it on behalf of the company explained that the gesture was to help the remedial students improve their knowledge of ICT  as well as encourage other forms of academic researches for development.
 “Please and please, make a good use of these facilities so that our children unborn will come and use these facilities. The management of Nigerian Ports Authority is behind you, is eager and anxious to see your success in all your endeavours and they want these facilities to be used for the upliftment of education in this institution”.
 “I enjoin you once again to make good use of it, no vandalization, these days, people regard government properties as nobody’s properties but this time around, I want you to regard these properties as if they were you own personal properties because after you make use of them, your children and grandchildren will come and make use of it maybe even with a better technology” Tukur said
He then charged the students and other users of the facilities in the center to guard them against vandalization
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of ATBU, Professor Muhammed Abdulazeez, commended the NPA for coming to the rescue of the institution,adding that the gesture  will help the students reduce the search for physical books .
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in Maritime 0
Council Names  Hassan Balarebe , Bursar, Federal University Dutse

FUD | Dateline Nigeria
The Governing Council of   Federal University Dutse has approved the appointment of Malam Hassan Balarebe,  the former Ag.Bursar, as the second substantive Bursar of  Federal University Dutse
Alhaji Ahmed Alti,the  Chairman of the Governing Council,who announced the appointment, said Malam Balarebe emerged as the Bursar after a competitive process which  saw five short listed  candidates competing for the position.
Balarebe, who has spent 29 years serving in the Bursary  Department of Bayero University Kano and Federal University Dutse, has HND in Accounting,  Post graduate Professional Diploma in Accounting, Post graduate Diploma in Banking and Finance, Higher Professional Diploma in Computer Studies, Bsc in Accounting and a masters degree in Accounting and Financial Management  in addition to being a Certified National Accountant(CNA)
He joined the employ  of Federal University  Dutse  as the pioneer acting Bursar between July 2011 to July 2015,Deputy Bursar July 2015 to July 2020  and acting Bursar July 2020- April 10, 2021
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in Next Level 0
GTBank Posts N238.1bn Profit

GTBank posts N238.1bn profit before tax for 2020 - MediaTracnet Nigeria
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, has reported  a Profit before tax of N238.1billion  at the financial year ended December 31, 2020.
This represents   a growth of 2.8 per cent over N231.7 billion recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2019.
Besides, the  bank  continues to post the best metrics in the Nigerian Banking industry in terms of key Financial Ratios i.e. post-tax return on equity (ROAE) of 26.8 per cent, post-tax return on assets (ROAA) of 4.6 per cent, full impact capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 21.9 per cent and cost to income ratio of 38.2 per cent.
Meanwhile,the Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, have  endorsed the payment of a total dividend of three naira per share to shareholders for the financial year ended December 31, 2020.
At the Bank’s 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos at the weekend,shareholders of the company gave their nod  to  the proposed dividend.
The bank had proposed a final dividend of N2.70 per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders in addition to the interim dividend of 30k interim dividend earlier paid in June 2020.
 GTBank according to the results presented to and applauded by shareholders at the AGM, recorded an increase in all performance indicators despite the challenging operating environment that prevailed in 2020.
Speaking at the meeting, a shareholder, Mr Tunji Bamidele, commended the bank’s board and management for sustaining profit and dividend payment in spite of the harsh and challenging economy experienced in the year 2020 as a result of the pandemic that challenged the world.
Applauding the Managing Director’s leadership acumen and dexterity, Bamidele noted that the MD/CEO’s steering of the bank in the past 10 years has been a blessing to shareholders and the bank’s well-meaning stakeholders.
In his comments, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Segun Agbaje, noted that the year 2020 was  the most challenging year that the world has faced in decades and that in such unprecedented times, the bank has been at the forefront of safeguarding lives and livelihood across the communities where it operates.
“We continue to receive positive and goodwill messages for the role we played at the height of the pandemic; especially for putting together very timely, a 110-bed Isolation Centre, with an intensive care unit, in partnership with the Lagos State Government,” he said, citing the Bank’s Excellence in Leadership in Africa Award which was specially created by the renowned Euromoney Magazine to spotlight private institutions at the forefront of tackling the pandemic.
He  also spoke about GTBank’s solid performance in a very challenging year and his confidence in the organization’s ability to keep delivering for all its stakeholders. He said: “The strength, scale and liquidity of our balance sheet, coupled with the quality of our past decisions and the efficacy of our digital-first customer-centric strategy gave us the resilience and flexibility to navigate the economic shocks and market volatility that dominated the year.”
“Amidst the many challenges that persist, we remain ardent believers in Africa’s growth potential. Our world is increasingly digital, and we see it opening new and exciting opportunities for empowering people and uplifting our communities. With our commitment to deepening customer relationships and intense focus on delivering innovative financial solutions, we enter 2021 well-positioned”, he added.
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in Banking&Finance 0
Fossil Fuel Funding  Drops  In  2020 Amid COVID-19

G20 commits $151B to fossil fuels in COVID-19 packages
Fossil fuel financing fell by 9% in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic halted demand and production,report said.
It also said overall bank funding of the fossil fuel industry in 2020 remained higher than in 2016, the year after the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change was signed, according to a new report from a group of environmental advocacy organizations.
In 2020, 60 of the world’s largest commercial and investment banks financed $750.73 billion to the fossil fuel industry, down from $823.68 billion in 2019, but above $709.23 billion in 2016.
Investors and regulators have grown increasingly concerned about long-term climate risks, fearing that if industries like coal and gas become obsolete, financial institutions will be left with stranded assets. As a result, lenders have been adopting policies to phase out fossil fuel funding and to bring their lending into line with the Paris agreement, which aims to limit warming at the end of this century to well below 2 degrees C measured against preindustrial levels, with signatories agreeing to strive for a 1.5-degree C goal.
“The overall fossil fuel financing trend of the last five years is still heading definitively in the wrong direction, reinforcing the need for banks to establish policies that lock in the fossil fuel financing declines of 2020, lest they snap back to business-as-usual in 2021,” the report said.
The sponsors of the report — the Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance and the Sierra Club — advocate the complete elimination of funding for fossil fuel projects. The figures come from Bloomberg Finance, energy research consultancy Rystad Energy, and Urgewald, a German environmental nongovernmental organization.
U.S. companies ranked as the largest lenders to fossil fuel projects, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. providing the highest amount of funding between 2016 and 2020. But the bank’s overall fossil fuel financing fell 20% from 2019 to 2020. In October 2020, JPMorgan announced plans to bring its financing into line with the goals of the Paris agreement, which aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The bank’s fossil fuel financing stood at $51.30 billion in 2020, down from $64.04 billion in 2019 and $63.73 billion in 2016.
Citigroup Inc. provided the second-highest amount of funding to fossil fuels over the five-year stretch. While its lending decreased to $48.39 billion in 2020 from $52.50 billion, it was still higher than the $42.64 billion provided in 2016. At the beginning of March, the bank committed to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will publish an initial net-zero emissions plan within the next year.
Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. took third and fourth position, respectively. Wells Fargo also announced plans in March to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, while Bank of America in February outlined initial steps to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its financing, operations and supply chain activities before 2050.
However, the environmental groups said that net-zero commitments are “inadequate” and should be “met with great skepticism unless they are accompanied by 2021 action on coal, oil, and gas.”
Among European lenders, Barclays PLC was ranked as the biggest financer of fossil fuels, while France’s BNP Paribas SA was the 10th-largest. The report noted that French peers Société Générale SA and Crédit Agricole SA had also increased their fossil fuel financing.
French banks are generally regarded as among the leading European lenders in tackling climate change, helped in part by France’s policies on climate change. The country passed a law in 2015 designed to make the financial sector and publicly traded companies more accountable for sustainability. For example, France requires asset managers to report how they account for climate change when making investment decisions. Publicly traded companies must include climate change risks in their financial reporting.
The report also scored banks on their policies, and French banks had among the strongest — BNP Paribas for restricting unconventional oil and gas, and Crédit Agricole for phasing out coal financing. Italy’s UniCredit SpA had the strongest fossil fuel polices overall, the report concluded. Unicredit plans to phase out coal sector financing totally by 2028.
Online Editor by — April 12, 2021 in Energy 0