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Ex-NIMASA Boss Trial: ‘I was paid N905 Million for Unexecuted Project’ – Prosecution Witness

The fourth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency,  NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi and six others, testified at the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday.

The witness, Uche Obilor, who is the Managing Director of Ace Prothesis Limited, Seabulk Offshore Limited and Southern Offshore Limited, told the Court how his three companies were paid N905 million by the NIMASA for a contract he did not execute.

Led in an evidence by the counsel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo, the witness also disclosed that he was approached by the NIMASA’s Executive Director for Maritime Safety and Shipping Development, Captain Ezekiel Agaba, who was the second defendant in the case.

He told the court that it was the Captain, who told him that his companies had been awarded the contract to assist NIMASA meet the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code for 2014.

The witness further testified that shortly after the money was paid, he was told by the Captain to stay execution on the contract.

He was subsequently directed to transfer the money into different accounts until N54 million was left in the accounts.

The N54 million, he said, had since being transferred to the coffers of the Federal Government.

Under cross examination, the witness admitted to the court that though, he held several meetings with the second defendant, he never met the first defendant, Akpobolokemi, neither did he receive any instructions or discuss with him.

The witness also admitted that despite being given the job description for the contract, his company lacked the capacity to carry out some of the functions.

The defence sought to prove that this was the reason for the stay of execution he received from NIMASA.

The cross examination of the witness would however, continue at the next adjourned date of February 5.

The former NIMASA DG was arraigned before Justice Ibrahim Buba along with the three other defendants, Captain Ezekiel Agaba, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Juan and three companies, namely Blockz and Stonz Limited, Kenzo Logistics Limited and Al-Kenzo Logistic Limited.

In a 22-count charge filed against them by the EFCC, they were accused of converting a total of N2, 658,957,666 between December 23, 2013 and May 28 2015.

The defendants had all pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

4 Ecobank Staff Arrested for Diverting N2.7 Million from Customers’ Accounts

Three staff of Ecobank have been arrested after they allegedly skimmed N2.7 million off customers’ accounts with the bank.

The suspects – Adetunji Oluwatoyin, Obademi Oluwatosin and Ogunshina Olushola – worked at the Iyana Ipaja branch of the bank and were said to have connived to commit the alleged fraud between July 10 and 24, 2015. It is revealed that a whooping sum was diverted from some customers’ accounts to a private account through forging of their signatures to help with the transaction.

The bank wrote a petition to the police, leading to their arrest. According to police, Oluwatoyin already admitted to the crime. The suspects were arraigned at Tinubu Magistrate’s Court on three counts bordering on forgery and fraud by a police prosecutor, Inspector Nurudeen Thomas.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. K.B. Ayeye, admitted them to bail in the sum of N200,000 each with two sureties each in like sum and adjourned the case till February 22, 2016.

EU Partners Nigerian Government on Reliable Power Supply

The Federal Government and the European Union, German Government set out to promote the use of the International Standard (ISO 50001) for Energy Management System (EnMS) in Nigeria. Its implementation would lead to a minimum of 20% energy savings, through the reduction of greenhouse emissions and also assist in the fight against climate change.

According to the Head of Programme for the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), Ina Hommers, the EnMS constitute a proven method for sustainable energy efficiency and improved performance in industries across the world. Thus encouraging stakeholders to participate in the successful implementation of the ISO 50001.

However, the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics at the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Justice Eka, spoke of a coming legislation that would promote the use of energy efficient variants of refrigerators, air conditioners and other appliances.

“Incidentally, there exists an international standard that organizations use to reduce their energy consumption. That Standard is titled ISO 50001. It is an Energy Management System standard. What that standard does is that it gives the organization guidelines on what it needs to do to establish a management system that would enable it to continuously reduce its energy consumption.” he said.

He also added that the organisation should establish a policy of their energy consumption, set objectives and ascertain how much energy they want to reduce its usage.

MEDICAL & HEALTHCARE JOBS | Pfizer Nigeria Fresh Graduate and Exp. Job Recruitment 2016

Pfizer – Good health is vital to all of us, and finding sustainable solutions to the most pressing health care challenges of our world cannot wait. That’s why we at Pfizer are committed to applying science and our global resources to improve health and well-being at every stage of life. We strive to provide access to safe, effective and affordable medicines and related health care services to the people who need them.

We are recruiting to fill the following positions below:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW JOB DETAILS AND APPLY

MANUFACTURING JOBS| Business & Insights Planning Manager at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world’s leading research based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. GSK employs over 97,000 employees in over 100 countries worldwide.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc is one of Africa’s largest consumer healthcare companies, producing leading brands such as Lucozade, Ribena and Panadol.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Business & Insights Planning Manager

Requisition ID: WD55770
Location: Lagos
Job type: Full time

Job Responsibilities
Details:

  • Gather and maintain highest organizational capability of consumer, customer and market insight to support commercial organization
  • Conduct integrated long-term macro-economical forecasts for the total pharmaceutical market, short-term forecasts and competitive business scenarios as input to corporate and marketing plans business and industry analysis to inform commercial decision-making.
  • Generate and report monthly company-wide dashboards with agreed KPIs
  • Continuously assess portfolio and market dynamics to identify potential gaps
  • Conduct regular  business developments opportunities identification
  • Implement a comprehensive, integrated and effective Cycle Grid for Pharma business:
    • Ensure that Information systems effectively support the planning process
    • Ensure development and refinement of actionable and meaningful customer and consumer segments (trade clusters), for the area
  • Recommend priority segments, objectives and approach
  • Ensure implementation of all marketing research & information common platforms and best practices
  • Participate in the definition of consumer pricing guidelines, providing market context and consumer requirements, and developing strategic scenarios (e.g., price sensitivity analysis )
  • Drive the development of new research methodologies and analytical techniques and generate innovative ideas on how to approach customer and consumer segments
  • Support HCPs/Account profiling segmentation.

Requirements

Basic Qualifications:

  • A good first degree
  • Strong market research experience – conducting, analysing and leading market research in FMCG or pharmaceutical industry up to senior manager level.
  • Minimum of 10 years related experience

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Relevant Master’s degree is desirable

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should APPLY

MEDIA JOBS | Social Media Specialists at iROKO Partners Limited

IROKO Partners Limited is a super fast growing start-up business. We are the fastest growing digital media company offering West African content globally. Our mission is to provide easier access and discovery of quality entertainment content to hundreds of millions of people on devices of their choice. We work across three continents and have offices in London, New York and Lagos.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Social Media Specialist

Location: Lagos

Responsibilities & Duties

  • Promote irokotv and its content to fans and prospective customers via social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in a conversion driven, and engaging way.
  • Create and maintain a social media editorial calendar and posting schedule.
  • Create, curate, and manage published content on social media platforms (images, video and text).
  • Monitor and listen to users on social media platforms.
  • Expand community and/or blogger outreach efforts.
  • Become an advocate for the company in social media spaces, engaging in dialogues and answering questions where appropriate.
  • Monitor trends in social media tools, applications, channels, design and strategy.
  • Identify and report threats and opportunities in user generated content.
  • Analyze campaigns and translate anecdotal or qualitative data into recommendations and plans for revising social media campaigns.
  • Willing to go the extra mile to ensure we deliver the best user experience.

Qualification

  • A good University Degree in Marketing Communications or Related Field.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should APPLY

TOURISM & HOSPITALITY JOBS | InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Graduate & Exp. Job Recruitment (5 Positions)

InterContinental Lagos is located on Victoria Island, in the centre of Lagos home to the majority of foreign embassies and multinational companies, making it the perfect residence for affluent business and diplomatic travellers. Built on an elevated terrain overlooking Lagos’s port and the city below, the 19 storey hotel offers uninterrupted, spectacular views of Lagos Skyline. InterContinental Lagos comprises of 352 well-appointed, elegantly decorated rooms and suites as well as a Club InterContinental floor.

What is your passion? Whether you’re into tennis, baking or karaoke, at IHG we’re interested in YOU. We employ people who apply the same amount of care and passion to their jobs as they do their hobbies – people who put our guests at the heart of everything they do. And we’re looking for more people like this to join our progressive & committed opening team at the InterContinental Lagos.

We are currently recruiting for the following vacant positions:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW JOB DETAILS AND APPLY

RETAIL JOBS | Merchandiser Associates at Jumia Nigeria

Jumia is the largest e-commerce mall in Africa with over 100,000 unique visitors a day, buying everything from Fashion to Phones.  Founded in 2012 in Nigeria, Jumia’s mission is to revolutionize the concept of shopping by providing customers with the best online shopping experience.

Jumia is part of Africa Internet Group, a leading global incubator of start-ups specialised in e-commerce. Africa Internet Group is Africa’s leading internet firm, with already over 3,000 employees in over 20 African countries and huge successes such as Jumia.com, Kaymu.com, Hellofood.com, Lamudi.com, Carmudi.com and Jovago.com. It is led by top talented leaders offering a great mix of local and international talents and is backed by MTN, Millicom and Rocket Internet.

Africa is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, offering excellent opportunities in a vibrant and booming environment. Its economic growth has enabled innovative businesses to flourish and this is where Africa Internet Group steps in.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Merchandiser Associate

Location: Nigeria
Department: Marketing
Job type: Full time

Job Descriptions

  • The Onsite Merchandizer Associate is responsible for the overall aspect and maintenance of the website and app.
  • He must be aware of his responsibility as a steward and the first link with our customers. His work is the showcase of our entire company.
  • You will report to the Onsite Merchandizer and Top Management. The position is based in our office in Lagos.
  • Your position as Onsite Merchandizer Associate entails:
  • Update and maintain the website on a daily basis to optimize revenues (incl. campaigns, banners, content, etc.),
  • Create and maintain static pages, as well as optimize according to performance,
  • Coordinate (incl. briefings) with designers to get best in class designs for campaign implementation,
  • Implement the weekly commercial plan and campaigns for main commercial events,
  • Provide business-oriented insight to the Onsite Merchandizer,
  • Optimize the website to improve performance,
  • Responsible for the quality of website content,
  • Implement new IT/technical features,

Profile Requirements

  • Well organized and with a good sense of anticipation,
  • Fast learner and initiative taker,
  • Rigorous in execution, strong attention to details,
  • Trustworthy and very independent with a strong ability to go further than the expectations,
  • Ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines,
  • Previous experience in online marketing, project management or IT,
  • Coding skills (HTML, CSS, Java) and Photoshop is a plus, at ease with website back-end tools,

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should APPLY

MANUFACTURING JOBS | Dangote Industries Limited Graduate Engineers Recruitment 2016

Dangote Industries Limited is one among the largest business conglomerates in Africa. having various manufacturing and service industries including Cement, Sugar, Packaging Materials. Steel. Fertiliser. Petroleum Refining. Petrochemicals, Gas processing. Salt. Vegetable Oil. Tomato Paste, Real Estate,Transportation, etc. A state of the art petroleum refinery (the world’s largest single train refinery) with an integrated petrochemical complex and an ultra-modem fertiliser complex with thelargest trains in the world. are under construction at lekki in Lagos State.

We are recruiting to fill the following vacant positions:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW JOB DETAILS AND APPLY

Stock Market Index Gains 0.03% on Renewed Bull Momentum

Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, received a boost on Tuesday, February 2 after renewed bull strength halted the lingering downward trajectory.

The All Share Index leaps marginally by 0.03% to close at 23,834.87 points on compared with the depreciation of 0.37% recorded on Monday, February 1. Year-to-date (YTD), the NSE ASI depreciated by 16.78%.

Likewise, the Market Capitalization soared by 0.03% to close at N8.20trn, compared with the depreciation of 0.37% recorded yesterday to close at N8.19trn.

The marginal appreciation recorded in the share prices of Dangote Cement, UBA, Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, PZ Cussons and Dangote Sugar were mainly responsible for the marginal gain recorded in the value of the Index.

The three most actively traded stocks were: UBA (123.03mn), Sterling Bank (50.10mn) and Zenith Bank (33.37mn). The most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (290.31mn), Consumer Goods (9.63mn) and Conglomerates (3.90mn).

The total value of stocks traded on the floors of The NSE today was N2.41bn, down by 52.67% from N5.10bn traded on Monday.

The total volume of stocks traded was 313.67mn in 3,451 deals.

 

FCMB Promotes the Benefits of Healthy Lifestyle to Employees through Health Week

 

This year’s Employee Health Week of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited began on Monday, February 1, 2016 with an assurance by the financial institution that it would continue to encourage and execute programmes that will promote healthy living for employees and their families. It will run till February 6, 2016.

In a statement, FCMB explained that during the week, its employees will participate in various initiatives, in an effort to generate sustainability for a healthy lifestyle and initiate healthy activites on an ongoing basis.

Among the activities lined-up for the week is the setting-up of medical screening centres in 32 branches of the Bank across the country to check staff blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and Body Mass Index (BMI). In addition, there will be free mammogram tests for all interested FCMB female employees and the spouses of male colleagues. These would be carried out by a team of highly experienced medical personnel.

Also, the Bank, through the services of a professional nutritionist, has produced a healthy eating cookbook containing details of how to prepare healthy versions of popular Nigerian dishes.

The highpoints of this year’s FCMB Employee Health Week is a family fitness day event for employees of the Bank, their spouses and children, scheduled to hold at Onikan Stadium, Lagos on Saturday, February 6, 2016. The event will involve various sporting and other fun-filled fitness activities

Commenting on the significance of the Health Week, the Divisional Head, Human Resources and Strategy, Felicia Obozuwa, said:

‘’Employee Health is a key priority for us. The Health Week is one of our initiatives that has been instituted to promote a healthy lifestyle for our employees and their family members to ensure a healthy society’. We recognize the enormous efforts and contributions of our employees in the growth and achievements recorded over the years by the Bank. We are determined to build an organization that is impactful in the lives of our employees and other stakeholders to reinforce our core values of professionalism, sustainability, customer focus and excellence. Hence, we will continue to carry out programmes that will ensure that our employees get the best information, to ensure the best state health, which is in line with our ‘great place to work’ mission’’.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments. Having successfully transformed to a retail and commercial banking-led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself by delivering exceptional customer experience, while empowering its customers to achieve their aspirations.

Forte Oil Plc Posts N5.79billion Profit

Indigenous oil firm, Forte Oil Plc, has declared N5.794 billion profit after tax in its audited financial result for the year ended December 31, 2015.

The firm being the first to release its audited result for 2015, grew its profit after tax by 30 per cent from N4.57 billion in 2014, as its earning per share rose to N4.57.

Forte Oil’s revenue slumped by 26.7 per cent to N124.6 billion from N170.1 billion in 2014, which was due to drop in volumes in its fuels segment which dropped to N104 billion compared to N170 billion in 2014.

The company also declared a dividend per share of N3.45 which indicates a dividend yield of about 1.1 per cent.

Administrative and other expenses went up by 17 per cent to N13.72 billion from N11.73 billion in 2014, while cost of sales declined by 30 per cent from N151.66 billion to N106.26 billion in 2015.

Also, other income for the group rose a whopping of 190 per cent to N4 billion compared to N1.4 billion in 2014.

Commenting on the result, the group chief executive officer, Forte Oil, Akin Akinfemiwa, said: “The result is an indication that we are operating efficiently and are focused on our vision of being the foremost energy solutions provider.”

“We are very pleased with our audited results for 2015, which exhibits consistent and sustainable growth for both revenue and profits. This performance is an affirmation of the resilience of our businesses and a true test of our business transformation strategy despite the adverse impact of petroleum product scarcity experienced in the first quarter of the year,” he added.

Telecoms Firms Remit N600billion in Tax Payment Annually

Telecommunications firms on Tuesday, February 2, stated  that the N600 billion tax they pay could boost economic growth should states and local government desist from arbitrary imposition of taxes and levies on its facilities.

During a courtesy call on Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House, Abuja, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the umbrella body for all providers of telecom service in Nigeria, said the sector accounted for about 10 per cent of nominal GDP in 2014.

The sector accounted for over 30 per cent of the Nigerian Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) since deregulation in year 2001 and well up to half of our country’s FDI in between some years since 2001. It has also created over 20,000 direct jobs since liberalisation and 1.5 million indirect jobs.

Chairman of Alton, Gbenga Adebayo, who led the delegation said the easier access to basic communication services has transformed personal and business productivity and facilitated better government and security services delivery.

He added that ICT is also having a direct impact on the performance of Government at all levels.

Adebayo said: “Your Excellency sir, despite the above progress made, it is of great concern that our sector is still operating below its potentials and faces fundamental network operations and expansion challenges related to build capacity and viable infrastructure to support broadband roll out.

“However, we are faced with a number of issues for which we require intervention of government at the highest level including multiple taxations on telecom operators.”

Ondo Govt Shuts Down MTN Facilities Over Alleged N458million Unpaid Taxes, Levy

The Ondo State government has shut down facilities of giant telecommunications firm, MTN, over alleged tax and levy evasion.

This is coming despite of MTN Nigeria denial of owing Ondo state government about N458 million in taxes and levies.

The telecoms firm states that the closure of its facilities by the state government will negatively impact the quality of service in the state and environs and affect millions of subscribers.

Some of the services that will be impacted are voice and data services, voice traffic across other operators and international traffic.

Others are enterprise data service to third-party clients (mostly banks and other corporate clients), which may in turn impact services such as ATMs, POS and others. This will lead to poor or total loss of network coverage for all MTN subscribers in Ondo.

MTN said the sealing of facilities means that service providers will not be able to carry out routine maintenance work or refuel the generators servicing the base transceiver stations (BTS’).

In addition, a major hub site for both fibre and microwave transmission which connects the North, South and East will be affected leading to loss of services in the whole of Ekiti State as well as parts of Edo and Niger States.

MTN corporate services executive, Amina Oyagbola said that since December 23, 2015, the eve of the national public holidays leading to the Eid El Maulud and Christmas celebrations, officials of the Ondo State government had proceeded to seal MTN’s BTS’ and other facilities in the state.

The closure followed an Ex-Parte court order taken against MTN regarding a tax claim of N458,585,783.12 allegedly owed the Ondo State Board of Internal Revenue Service (OSBIRS) in Pay As You Earn (PAYE); Withholding Tax (WHT); Development levy, Business Premises and Education Endowment taxes.

Oyagbola said MTN has fulfilled all its statutory obligations with respect to PAYE, withholding tax and development levy, amongst others, contrary to OSBIRS’ claim.

He said: “MTN has also provided all the relevant assistance through direct engagement, meetings and production of documentation (including third party contracts) which were availed to the Internal Revenue Board and its consultants.”

ABL Seals Multi- Million Naira Deal With Landmark

The African Basketball league, ABL, has sealed a major partnership deal with Nigeria’s number one event center, Landmark. The deal will see all 30 home games played in the first season in Nigeria at Landmark and all star weekend.

The league announced the new deal in a statement released by its Publicist, Tonia Odili.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of ABL, Ugo Udezue, “this is the first of its kind in the history of private sports in Africa, our goal is to provide a safe and socially conducive entertaining environment with basketball as the epicenter”. He further added that the ABL will ”unite Africans through sports”.

The African BasketBall League is set to tip off on March 4th  with six teams playing in four countries. The first game will see the Lagos Islanders playing away against Libreville Izobe of Gabon.

Six strong basketball clubs have already been confirmed for the debut season, Lagos Islanders, Stallions and Lagos Warriors are the Nigerian teams. The other Africa clubs that will participate in the league include Dakar Rapids from Senegal, Abidjan Ramblers from the Cote d’Ivoire and Izobe Basketball Club from Libreville, Gabon.

The ABL has built a multi-million naira infrastructure to raise the Landmark capacity to over four thousand seater in preparation for the season.

The games will be transmitted live on Trace TV and match updates on BeatFM, tickets can be purchased at select Union Bank Branches in Lagos.

The game schedule will be available on the website for daily updates and also on social media platforms.

The ABL is proudly supported by Union Bank, Wakanow, Cornerstone Insurance, Radisson Blu, BeatFM and ASKY Airline.

The official website for the ABL is http://www.ablafrica.com/.

You can follow ABL on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Overnight Lending Rates Surge to 3.4167%

Overnight rates which was 0.98 on Monday, February 1, leaped  to 3.4167 at the close of business on Tuesday, February 2.

However,naira remained static at N199.1 to the dollar at the interbank market since the beginning of 2016.

Last week, overnight lending rates had surged from one per cent on Monday to 9.2917 per cent by Wednesday before dropping to 1.0467 per cent by the close of business on Thursday.

Loner tenured lending rates had remained relatively stable.

NLNG Offers FG N60billion Fund for Bodo-Bonny Road Project

The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, Limited has offered N60 billion to partially fund the Bonny-Bodo Road, a road infrastructure project of the government.

The Managing Director of NLNG, Babs Omotowa, who explained that that the project will help improve the infrastructure in the Niger Delta when completed, added that the company’s N60 billion offer represents 50 per cent of the total project cost for the road.

Omotowa, who addressed the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs at a hearing in Abuja, Omotowa stated that the NLNG’s offer to provide 50 per cent of the funding for the road will be activated provided the partnership is accepted and matched by the federal government.

He noted that the road in question cuts through Ogoni, Okrika, Eleme and Andoni into Bonny, adding that the lives of thousands of Nigerians living in these communities will be improved when it is completed.

To this end, he then called on the government and relevant agencies, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which is in disagreement with it over the legality of a three per cent development levy, to partner with it in the road project.

The senate committee had invited the NLNG to clarify its reported refusal to remit to the NDDC, a three per cent development levy as contained in the NDDC Act, but Omotowa explained that the company’s position on its exemption from payment of the levy was based on an existing law- the NLNG Act of 2004, which granted such exemption to it.

He noted that the matter under reference was also the subject of a legal action filed against NLNG by the NDDC in 2005 in which the High Court, the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court had all ruled in favour of NLNG.

He said, “We have offered to the government that the road between Bodo to Bonny which has being outstanding since the 1970s, that we are willing to offer 50 per cent of the cost of the project to the government and that contribution is N60 billion and we think that these are the kind of projects that the NDDC can work with us,” Omotowa said.

Banks in Free Trade Zone To Be Exempted From Duties, Taxes

Banks operating in free trade zones in the country will be exempted from stamp duties on all its documents, withholding tax deductions on interest payable on deposits, dividends and royalties as well as corporate and capital gains taxes.

According to the Guidelines for Banking Operations in the Free Trade Zones in Nigeria just released by the Central Bank of Nigeria, banks operating in the zones will also enjoy the benefit of being exempted from import duties on furniture, office equipment and other facilities necessary for its operations as well as Value Added Tax.

The banks will also enjoy freedom to move funds in and out of the zone on all eligible transactions as well as “any other incentives as may be approved by the authority, from time to time” according to the guideline.

The CBN also set a minimum paid up capital of $10 million (about N2 billion) for any bank which want to operate in the free trade zone having paid a $20,000 license fee and received approval from the apex bank.

The free trade zone banks are however prohibited from sourcing foreign exchange from the official foreign exchange market of the country, insurance underwriting or opening an account for a customer in contravention of the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) principles.

FG to Save N12billion from Ministries, Departments and Agencies

The Federal Government plans to save N12 billion annually from the discounts it would receive from the large purchase of overhead items for Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Head of MDAs, Patience Oniha, who addressed reporters on the activities of the newly created Efficiency Unit of government in Abuja on Tuesday, February 2,  said by making electronic payments for overhead items instead of cash payments, government wants to enhance audit trails and be more transparent in its transactions.”

She said: “Ongoing reforms in the Federal Ministry of Finance is the overhaul of the internal controls within the MDAs. MDAs have auditors who are supposed to validate these items before payment is made to contractors.

“There have been significant weaknesses, so that is being overhauled entirely to make sure that what we are gaining from one side we don’t lose it on the other side. So those that will implement this have to be empowered so that they don’t lose sight. Infringements on procurement will not go free,” she added.

CBN To Pump Forex into Money Market as Intervention For Banks

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Tuesday, February 2, told commercial banks to fund their naira accounts to be able to participate in a currency intervention on the interbank market as it plans to pump foreign exchange in to the market.

Traders citing a message from the apex bank told Reuters that the CBN sold between $100 million and $150 million at its intervention last Thursday, but did not mention how much it will be selling on Thursday.

Although the value of the naira has remained static at N199.1 to the dollar at the interbank market since the beginning of the year, overnight rates which was 0.98 on Monday jumped to 3.4167 at the close of business yesterday.

Last week, overnight lending rates had risen from one per cent on Monday to 9.2917 per cent by Wednesday before dropping to 1.0467 per cent by the close of business on Thursday. Loner tenured lending rates had remained relatively stable.

 

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