The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that bank customers will start paying a maintenance fee on current account transactions.
CBN’s Financial Policy and Regulation Department Director Kelvin Amugo, in a circular released by the apex bank said that the new fee, a negotiable current account maintenance fee not exceeding N1 for ever N1 million, may be charged in respect of all customer-induced debit transactions.
Amugo, who said that the CBN was not oblivious of the impact of declining crude oil prices, operation of Treasury Single Account, and some other market turbulence on the viability and stability of the banking system, explained that the new fee was introduced in the interest of stability of the banking system.
The fee is coming weeks after the regulator struck out Commission on Transaction (COT) fee, which contributed significantly to lenders’ profitability.
Oil marketers in the country have said that the removal of subsidy on kerosene by the Federal Government will not guarantee the adequate supply of the product across the country, as the excessive demand for the product cannot be matched by the supply, and as such it will barely sell for N83 per litre.
The Federal Government halted the payment of subsidy on kerosene. The latest pricing template for House Hold Kerosene released by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) showed that instead of the regulated pump price of N50 per litre, the product will now sell for N83.
About three weeks ago, the government ended subsidy on petrol when it released the pricing template for Premium Motor Spirit.
Nigerians love android phones and Samsung is one of their favourite brands. The company has constantly launched an upgrade of their Galaxy S series and as expected, they are soon to roll out the latest upgrades for the series: Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge and Galaxy S7 Edge Plus variant for 2016 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 to be held in Barcelona come February.
People who are gadget freaks cannot wait for this new device to hit the markets. To help them prepare for the arrival of Samsung’s incoming flagship phone, Jovago.com has put together bits of information believed to be the most consistent of all theories surrounding the “S7” smartphone.
Release date
According to the news released online, the launch date is most possibly on the February 21, 2016. However, the company’s previous release dates are the truest indication of when the Galaxy S7 will be released. Aside from the S3, the Galaxy smartphones have all been launched in April – S4, April 11 , Saturday; S5, April 27; and Galaxy S6 Friday, April 10. Following the trend, there is high probability we will see the phone around April 8, or April 15.Unfortunately, Samsung is yet to confirm details.
New Features
As expected, the Samsung S7 will have new features including: a quad-core Snapdragon 820 at its heart, bringing with it Qualcomm’s new Kryo processor; the famous fast-charging USB-C that is taking the mobile world by storm; Google’s latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, which brings a host of upgrades including Android Pay, improved app permissions, standardized fingerprint support, battery life improvements and so much more.
Design
In terms of design, the Galaxy S7 should be aesthetically similar to the Galaxy S6. The Galaxy S7 is expected to have a 5.1 inch SUPER AMOLED 4K display and the Galaxy S7 edge, a 5.5 inch curved display, each with a slick design (7.9 mm) made of superior quality metal. Both these smartphone will also feature a pressure-sensitive display, similar to what Apple’s iPhone 6s series offers with its 3D-Touch screens.
Cost
While no one is exactly sure how it will mark up in stores until the official announcement, However, a good starting point would be a mark above the current sales price for the S6. It is no secret that the Samsung galaxy S series are high-end android phone and again smartphone pricing naturally increases over time anyway, so somewhere north of N180,000 for the S7 would not be a big surprise.
Generally, the Samsung Galaxy S7 will have the most advanced specification and features, as well as a powerful hardware.
Yoga may have originated from India but its potency has made it a global phenomenon such that even the United Nations declared June 21 of every year as the international day of Yoga.
What exactly is Yoga? It is a Hindu spiritual practice and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation according to Wikipedia.
In a fast lane city like Lagos, known for its notorious traffic, Yoga has become an important way for many Lagosians to relieve themselves of stress. Yoga classes are available in the majority of the gyms in Lagos and Jovago.com, Africa’s No 1 hotel booking portal lists four places to go for a zen moment in Lagos.
Chi’s Yoga
Venue: GQ Lagos, No 16 Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Former Queen’s Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.
Price: N2,500 (Wednesday and Saturday)
Chi’s yoga is one of the most popular Yoga hubs in Lagos. They offer classes in small group sessions and can help you reclaim your body’s natural rhythm with deft movements and meditation. Private classes are only available in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and Lekki. It is advisable to take your mat along.
Spa and Fitness is an all-around fitness center where you can also practice Yoga. With a serene ambiance, spa and fitness is a smooth and classy place to keep fit and through their Yoga classes you can be more present and unthreatened by the highs and low of experiences.
Yoga with Stacy
Venue: The Garden Pearls, 1 Vanni close off Universal road, Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja
Price: N1,500 (First and second Saturdays of every month)
Yoga with Stacy is the place to go for new Yoga beginners. Stacy will ultimately help you master the art of quieting your mind. It features Vinyasa flow yoga, Dance Cardio and meditation. It is 2 hours of brooding and musing with other ‘Yogis’.
Proflex Fitness Center
Venue: 20-24 Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The Vintasa flow Yoga is one of the most popular type of Yoga in Nigeria. It involves learning how to control your breathing through a series pose, movement and body sequencing. You can get all this exclusively at the Proflex fitness center. Interestingly, everyone can practice Yoga, regardless of their age or fitness level.
In preparations for the 2016 ABL season scheduled to tip off on Friday, March 4 2016, The Stallions have signed on three players who have played in different leagues across the globe.
The players are Kelechi Anuna, Hassan Adams and Akintunde Moses.
Kelechi has played for the Nigeria National team and with clubs in top leagues in Tunisia, Slovakia, Egypt, Venezuela and most recently Dominican Republic.
Kelechi is happy to be back in the country and excited about the opportunity to be a part of the league.
Hassan was drafted in the NBA in 2006 after playing his college basketball as an Arizona Wildcat in University of Arizona.
He has played with NBA clubs including New Jersey Nets (Now Brooklyn Nets) and Toronto Raptors. He has also played in Philippine (Rain or Shine Elasto Painters) and Singapore (Singapore Slingers).
He plans to bring this experience to bear as he joins Stallions.
US-based Akintunde Moses played with the El Shams Basketball Club. He played college basketball with the Three Rivers Community College and was at Mullen All-Star Basketball Camp.
He is a tenacious rebounder and finishes around the basket with authority. We should expect this from him as he joins the ABL.
The maiden season of the African Basketball League which was earlier scheduled for Sunday 31 January 2016 was postponed to allow the league management finalize agreement with all players and to ensure that all game centers are fully ready.
The first game will be held on March 4th,2016 at Landmark Event Center in Lagos.
The ABL is proudly supported by Cornerstone Insurance, Wakanow, Radisson Blu and Union Bank.
There are some LinkedIn profiles you will love to check but would rather not because if LinkedIn will immediately send an email notification to the individual whose profile you checked. While the notifications are a great idea for some others oppose it.
This feature has been a part of LinkedIn for a while now. Luckily, there are ways you can deactivate this email notification from getting to the profile owner. Jovago.com, Africa’s No 1 hotel booking portal outlines steps to take to remain anonymous when you view any LinkedIn profile.
You have two options
The first option
1a. Select privacy and setting on your LinkedIn account from the drop down menu.
1b. then scroll down to privacy control and choose ‘select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile’.
1c. You will find three available options – you can select either of the last two.
The second option
2. To do this, logout from your LinkedIn account and search for the person’s profile on Google or any other search engine of your choice. You will view the person’s profile without LinkedIn sending any email notification. However, the information you have access to will be limited.
There are reports of panic in the oil industry both in Nigeria and globally, as oil companies are expected to start disclosing their annual reports soon.
Those who have declared their 2015 results and forecast for 2016 have already indicated plans to reduce workforce in 2016 a priority.
Royal Dutch Shell last Wednesday said in its fourth quarter and full-year update it would, in 2016, sack employees globally, including those in their services in Nigeria.
The oil giant said it would cut 10,000 jobs in an effort to further reduce costs amid a severe slump in oil prices.
The United States multinational energy corporation, Chevron, had stated in October 2015 that it might eliminate up to 7,000 jobs, though the firm, which is the third-largest oil producer in Nigeria, did not say when or where in its global operations the jobs will be reduced.
The Manager, Public and Government Affairs, ExxonMobil Nigeria, Akin Fatunke, precisely disclosed that ExxonMobil laid off workers some time ago.
“The same thing is most likely going to happen. As I speak with you, about 104 workers had been laid off in the upstream. I won’t use the word sack, as they are smiling and very happy because they were paid handsomely and they are still our friends,” Fatunke said in a chat with reporters at an energy workshop.
Oil unions are already expressing concerns over the impending global sack in Chevron and Shell, among others, and had called on the federal government to stop companies from extending the planned sack to Nigeria.
The workers, under their umbrella union – the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), in a statement on Friday by the president, Igwe Achese, described the planned sack as alarming. NUPENG warned that it may be forced to embark on industrial action if the federal government fails to stop the companies from sending oil workers in Nigeria to the unemployment market.
Elsewhere, the slump in oil prices has battered energy giants such as BP and Petrobras. Last week, UK oil firm, BP, reportedly said it would cut 4,000 jobs globally, 600 of which will be from its North Sea operations.
The news came as profits continue to suffer, leading to a big cutback in investment across the oil industry. BP said all the job losses would occur in its oil exploration and drilling business.
The minister of science and technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, has said the federal government will not rely on international agencies’ financial commitments to get the economy back on track.
Onu disclosed this on Monday after a World Bank delegation led by its Country Director for Nigeria, Mr Rachid Benmessaoud, paid him a working visit in his office in Abuja.
“We are not going to rely on any country or international agency to help develop our economy, this is something we as a people must do ourselves,” he said.
“For too long, Nigerians have been thinking that other nations and donor agencies will help the country develop its economy, but this has yet to take place.”
“We should rather take it as our responsibility, all the countries that have developed took it as their own responsibility to develop their economies themselves.”
The Nigerian government is making plans to retrieve controversial and one of Africa’s richest oil blocs from oil giants, Shell and Eni, Premium Times reported.
The report cites a recommendation by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
The online publication in the report said the oil companies will not only lose the block but also be fined billions of dollars for illegal activities should President Muhammadu Buhari approve the recommendations.
Global Witness, an independent organization investigating corruption in the extractive sectors, in a recent report said the deal is currently under investigation by authorities in the UK, Italy and Nigeria and there is a real chance the companies will lose their rights to the block, which is a critical plank in their strategy to replenish their reserves.
“In 2011, Shell and Eni paid $1.1bn for one of West Africa’s largest oil fields, situated off the coast of Nigeria. The payment was equivalent to 80% of Nigeria’s proposed 2015 health budget, but the money did not benefit the country’s citizens.
Instead it went to a company called Malabu Oil and Gas, which was secretly owned by the former oil minister who had granted his company rights to the oil field in 1998.
Like many others, this deal for a massive state asset was conducted behind closed doors, without the knowledge of the public or investors.” The report said.
Spokesman for the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe said he does not have any information on the latest development of the matter.
According to a new study report by Lancet, an estimated 313,700 infants died as stillborn across the country in 2015, ranking Nigeria second after India, with some 592,100 stillbirths.
It comes amidst efforts to reduce stillbirths to about 12 or less per 1,000 births by 2030.
The report noted that Nigeria’s second-place ranking for children dying before 28 weeks of pregnancy has remained the same since 2000, with only 1.3 deaths reduction annually since then.
By comparison, up to 240,000 infants died within their first 28 days of life last year, in addition to 58,100 women who died from pregnancy-related causes, according to the Lancet Series on Stillborn.
Programme manager, Society for Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON), Dr Segun Adeoye described the numbers unacceptably high.
He said the proposed Maternal, Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response will give “more precise and accurate data on why mothers and babies are dying.”
A total of 487 farmers from Plateau State benefited from the N98.9 million loan the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, released to entrepreneurs in the state in 2015.
CBN’s Branch Controller in Plateau State, Mathias Kurah, who made this known during the 2015 end-of-year dinner/award ceremony organised by the Bankers’ Forum in Jos, recently, stated that only one money depositing bank (MDB) and three micro-finance banks (MFBs) participated in the scheme.
Kurah said the loans were part of CBN’s efforts to develop agric financing which, he said, was centred on the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme.
“We are encouraging money depositing banks and micro-finance banks to fully avail themselves of the various opportunities put forward by the CBN in the state,” he said.
The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA has finally got ministerial relief from making further payments to the dockworkers.
This is coming after a decade of paying billions of naira as wages and allowances of un-ascertained number of tally clerks and on-board security engaged by Stevedoring companies on vessels berthing in the nation’s ports.
It was learnt that the relief came to the NPA as the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, during a meeting with representatives of the NPA, top ministry officials, port concessionaires, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and stevedoring companies formally approved NPA’s plan to terminate relationship with stevedoring contractors handling the tally clerks and on-board security.
This implies that a relief of over N900 million is paid to unverified 5,000 dockworkers annually.
The NPA had in November 2015, indicated that it would pull out from paying the wages of tally clerks as it was no longer in the business of managing the seaports.
Since port concession in 2006, the dockworkers have been in the habit of holding the NPA to ransom over the non-payment of their wages, embarking and threatening to embark on industrial action to cripple the activities of the ports.
Under the current port management model, the NPA maintains the landlord status, providing and maintaining common user seaport infrastructure, such as the channels, buoys and providing technical regulation, with port concessionaires in direct commercial management of the ports.
However, the Minister, at the meeting, however, instructed the NPA to pay the affected stevedoring companies all outstanding money due to them in the next two weeks.
The bull stood its ground on resumption of trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE,on Monday, January 25, as the All Share Index gained 0.58 per cent to close at 23,963.64 points from 23,826.50 on Friday, January 22.
Similarly, market capitalisation also soraed from N N8.194 trillion to 8.242 trillion.
The market recorded 25 gainers today led by Guinness with a gain of N10.43 or 10.24 per cent to N112.28 followed by NAHCO with a gain of N0.34 or 9.55 per cent to close at N3.90 while Zenith Bank gained N0.88 or 7.79 per cent to close at N12.18 per share.
On the other hand, Berger Paint topped 16 stocks on the losers’ chart with N0.96 loss or 9.63 per cent to close at N9.01 followed by Learn Afrca that lost 0.07 or 8.43 per cent to close at N0.76 per share, and FBN Holdings that lost N0.23 or 5.11 per cent to close at N4.27 per share.
All together, a total of 215,183,967 shares worth N2.105 billion exchange hands in 3,853 deals.
Despite investors’ cautious moves, trading activities at the Nigerian stock market resumed on Monday, January 25 with sustained positive sentiments.
Key benchmark indices showed modest improvements as investors await the decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which started its two-day meeting on Monday and it is scheduled to conclude and make its monetary policy statements on today.
With 25 gainers to 15 losers, aggregate market value of all quoted equities improved by N48 billion from N8.194 trillion to close at N8.242 trillion.
The sustained uptrend helped to reduce the accumulated losses so far this year, reducing the negative average year-to-date return to -16.33 per cent.
Total turnover stood at 215.18 million shares worth N2.10 billion in 3,861 deals.
The shares of MTN jumped for the second consecutive time on Monday, January 25 at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
This rally came following news that its Nigerian operation has been given 60 days to seek an out of court settlement with the telecommunications regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
In yesterday’s trading, MTN shares advanced 2.65 per cent to Rand 126.25 as at 10h30 South African time.
Last Friday, MTN which derives 37 per cent of its revenues from MTN Nigeria had its shares jump as much as 9.3 per cent, the biggest gain since May 2009, before paring gains to 121.43 rand at 1:27 p.m.
Shares in MTN had dropped to a low of Rand 109.56, from a 52-week best level of R245, with its current market cap at Rand 227 billion, down from a best of aRand 450 billion. The group has lost Rand 80 per share over the past year – or 40 per cent of its value.
The renewed hope of a settlement with NCC had prompted stock buyers to place their trust on the shares.
At the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos last Friday, MTN Nigeria sought an for an out-of-court settlement in a suit filed by it challenging the power of the NCC to fine it N1.04 trillion for alleged breach of subscriber registration rules.
Following the request by MTN, the Presiding Judge subsequently adjourned the matter till March 18, this year, when the two parties are expected to come back with their mutually-agreed decision on the matter.
MTN in a statement issued from its headquarters in South Africa said “The judge adjourned the matter to 18 March 2016 in order to enable the parties to try and settle the matter. If the parties are unable to reach a settlement the matter will then proceed on that date.”
MTN said “Shareholders are therefore advised to exercise caution when dealing in the Company’s securities until a further announcement is made.” NCC fined MTN ₦1.04 trillion in October 2015 for not disconnecting unregistered SIMs on its network.
After negotiations with Nigerian authorities, the fine was reduced by 25 per cent to ₦780-billion. MTN then opted to take the matter to court in Lagos, thereby missing a 31 December deadline imposed by the Nigerian governmen
Following the recent drop in oil prices, non-OPEC producers have been urged to help clear the overhang of oil stocks in the market.
The secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC,Abdullah al-Badri on Monday, January 25, said OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers need to jointly tackle global stocks overhang to enable oil prices recover with investments in new fields, OPEC secretary-general.
Speaking at a conference in London, al-Badri said: “It is vital the market addresses the issue of the stock overhang. As you can see from previous cycles, once this overhang starts falling, then prices start to rise.”
“Given how this developed, it should be viewed as something OPEC and non-OPEC tackle together. Yes, OPEC provided some of the additional supply last year, but the majority of this has come from non-OPEC countries,” he noted.
He said it was crucial that major producers came up with a solution, as the market needed to see inventories come down to levels that would allow prices to recover and encourage investments.
He added:“The current environment is putting this future at risk. At current price levels, it is clear that not all of the necessary future investment is viable.”
Oil prices plunged three per cent on Monday, January 25, as Iraq announced record-high oil production, feeding into a heavily over-supplied market.
Iraq’s oil ministry said oil output had hit a record high in December. Its fields in the central and southern regions produced as much as 4.13 million barrels a day, the government said.
The oversupply has wiped out much of the gains made in one of the biggest-ever daily rallies last week.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 83 cents at $31.35 a barrel at 1247 GMT, losing 2.6 per cent from its closing price on Friday, when Brent surged 10 per cent. U.S. crude traded 85 cents lower at $31.34 a barrel. A senior Iraqi oil official said the country might raise output even further this year.
“The news that Iraq has probably hit another record builds on the oversupply sentiment,” said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam.
“The oversupply will keep markets depressed and prices low, and on the other hand short positions are in excessive territory.”
The closing of large amounts of short positions had caused a huge rally on Friday that was largely undone again on Monday, creating huge volatility in the oil market.
The International Air Transport Association, IATA, last weekend, presented its International Operational Safety Audit, IOSA, certificate to indigenous carrier, FirstNation Airways.
The certificate was presented to the airline’s Director of Flight Operations, Chimara Imediegwu by IATA’s Area Manager, South West Africa, Samson Fatokun in Lagos.
The IOSA programme is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.
“Created by IATA in 2003, IOSA uses internationally recognised quality audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner.
“Successful companies are included in the IOSA registry for a period of two years following an audit carried out by an organisation accredited by IATA,” Imediegwu said.
Imediegwu noted that with the presentation, FirstNation Airways has now joined Arik Air and Aero Contractors as the only IOSA certified airlines operating in Nigeria.
Imediegwu said the process of certification began in January 2014 when the airline received a request to enroll for the programme.
He said this was in line with the Abuja Declaration of 2012 that all African airlines should complete their IOSA certification by December 2015 towards enhancing air safety in the continent.
The Republic of Korea has marked down N2.4 billion ($4.5million) on capacity building for e-government in Nigeria.
The money, which is to be spread between 2013 and 2018, is expected to help develop the country’s e-government master plan, training centre and capacity development programme.
The project is being implemented by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
Already, 71 persons have participated in four previous exercises while seven people are undergoing a masters degree programme on e-government at KOOKMIN University, Korea.
Minister of Communications Technology, Adebayo Shittu, said e-government is important to strengthen transparency and accountability in government.
The Minister, who spoke during the opening ceremony of the second in-country capacity development programme with Project for capacity building of e-government in Nigeria as its theme, noted that since the world and the people have gone digital, it has become imperative for governance to also go digital.
He said for governance to connect with the people, its services must also be digital, adding that governance in the 21st century cannot be analogue.
He said: “The ministry sees the overall purpose and rationale of the Nigeria e-government project as imperative to strengthen transparency and accountability in government and, therewith, upscale efficiency and excellence in public service and public service administration
Following the relentless plunge in oil prices and increasing production output, Nigeria, a key member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, has requested an emergency meeting to discuss steps to possibly cut down oil production and prop up oil prices.
However, Nigeria’s call has been opposed by Iran, another key member of the cartel which claimed that the time is not yet ripe for such an intervention.
Minister of state for petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu, made the call for an OPEC emergency while speaking at a panel session at the ongoing World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, adding Nigeria’s voice to those of OPEC members, such as Venezuela, that are requesting an emergency meeting of the oil-producing nations to address the current oil crisis.
Speaking at the session, Kachikwu stated that with the oil industry in its current state, the members of the OPEC, which produce about one-third of the world’s oil, needed to do something proactive soon.
He said:“There is a lot of energy around trying to meet earlier. Obviously, some of that is a panic reaction. Do we just sit back and watch? Or do we put more efforts in talking to countries, like Russia, to try to get some consensus of what we need to be doing?”
However, Iran disagreed as the country’s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, stated that the organisation currently has little intention of making a drastic change.
“There should be an intention to make a firm decision in such a meeting; otherwise, the meeting will have negative impacts on world oil markets. The important thing is that there must be an intention for change, but we have not yet received such a signal,” the oil minister said, according to Reuters.
Following the crash of oil price from an average of $114 a barrel in 2014 to less than $30 a barrel presently, Nigeria’s economy, as well as those of many other oil-dependent countries, has had an economic depreciation.
Some OPEC members such as Venezuela had called for emergency meeting but others such as Saudi Arabia, said to have an eye on the happenings in Iran as regards oil production, is yet to make a categorical statement on the matter.
