Closed banks: NDIC appoints 10 agent banks to collect depositors’ claims

The Nigeria Deposit insurance Corporation has called on depositors who lost their money in any closed banks to file their claims through the appointed 10 agent banks nationwide.
The Managing Director of the Corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, made the call on Wednesday in Kano at NDIC’s Special Day at the ongoing 37th Kano International Trade Fair.
According to Ibrahim, the appointed agent banks include First Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank and Wema Bank.
Others are Heritage Bank, Union Bank, Fidelity Bank, Skye Bank, Unity Bank and Diamond Bank.
Ibrahim said in addition, depositors could also file such claims in any of its Zonal Offices located across the country for the payment of such claims.
He said the corporation had also extended deposit insurance coverage to the subscribers of non-interest banking institutions under the Shari’ah compliant banking services to the maximum limit of N500, 000 per depositor.
In addition, Ibrahim said the corporation had developed framework on Pass-Through Deposit Insurance Scheme to protect subscribers of Mobile Money Operators with a maximum insured limit of N500,000 per

Lagos, GE pledge to boost economy through SMEs

Lagos State Government and General Electric (GE) on Tuesday, pledged to boost Nigeria’s economy through the development of necessary skills that will empower Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to drive growth in the country.
The SME sector is seen as the country’s engine of growth, in terms of development and industrialisation, wealth creation, poverty reduction and employment creation. Majority of Nigerian entrepreneurs are SME players, who employ at least 10 people and above.
Speaking at the launch of a hub, ‘Lagos Garage’ built by GE for advanced manufacturing-based innovation, strategy development, idea generation and collaboration, experts said desired growth in Africa, particularly Nigeria is only feasible through sustained effort towards empowering SMEs
The United States multinational conglomerate, GE operations span appliances, aviation, finance, energy, healthcare, ideas, intelligent platforms, lighting, oil and gas, power.
In Nigeria, GE’s interests are mostly in power and oil and gas, in which it has entered into many contractual agreements with the Federal and some state governments. However, the company is very secretive about its

USAID, Chi Farms partner to raise 4,000 tonnes of fish

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Chi Farms Limited have entered into a partnership to enhance capacity of small-scale farmers in the country and to add about 4,000 tonnes of catfish into the nation’s food basket yearly.
The partnership, which is part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative, aims to assist entrepreneurs to become successful catfish farmers.
Chi Farms, according to the project layout, will ensure supply of quality feed and catfish juveniles to the farmers by enhancing its feed milling and hatching capacities.
Executive Director, Chi Farms Ltd, Martin Middernacht, said that the partnership would add positively to the overall food security in Nigeria.

NNPC bid: We’ll ensure accountability – Baru

Dr Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said the bid for the sales and purchase of Nigerian crude oil grades will be transparent.
Baru said this in Abuja on Thursday when he declared the process open. ‎
According to him, the crude oil contract tenders‎ are to ensure transparency, enshrine accountability and conduct business in line with best global practices.
Baru said: “Today’s event marks yet another turning point in our quest to further enshrine transparency and accountability, two critical core values of our Corporation.
“Our focus as a national oil company is to enhance our production volumes, ensure the best value is realised through competitive marketing of our crude grades to international refineries and traders.
“In line with this aspiration, NNPC is collaborating with key stakeholders to improve on the overall security of our production sites and to ensure the safety of our environment.

Naira weakens to 470 on fresh dollar scarcity

The naira weakened to 470 on Thursday, from 465 on Wednesday, as fresh dollar scarcity hit the official and parallel foreign exchange markets.
The local currency had appreciated to around 450 after security agents carried out series of raids on Bureau De Change operators, who sold the greenback above the N400 stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Security agents have been raiding the offices of the BDC operators, ordering them to sell dollar at a lower rate in a bid to break the fall of the local currency.
However, the naira started recording losses gradually again as scarcity of the greenback weighed on the forex markets.
“The clampdown on the black market operators by security agents has negatively impacted dollar supply to the market,” one Bureau de changer operator told Reuters.
Economic and currency experts have said getting security agents after the BDC operators cannot get the

NSE ends eight-day loss, 19 stocks gain

Trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange ended on a positive note on Wednesday as 19 stocks recorded gains with market capitalisation appreciating by N20bn.
The NSE All-Share Index snapped its eight-day losing streak as most key sectors traded in positive territory.
A total of 165.725 million shares valued at N1.126bn exchanged hands in 2,484 deals.
The NSE market capitalisation rose to N8.784bn from N8.764bn, while the NSE ASI closed at 25,517 basis points from 25,461.34 basis points.
The financial services sector led gains after advances in Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc by 1.19 per cent, 1.18 per cent and 0.82 per cent, respectively.
The consumer goods and industrial goods sectors also closed higher following gains across PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Glaxo Smitkline Consumer Nigeria Plc, Nestle Nigeria Plc and Cap Plc by 4.90 per cent, 3.40

W’Bank budgets N12.2bn to clear Apapa gridlock

The World Bank is to support Nigeria’s maritime sector with N12.2bn ($40m) to help clear the traffic congestion that characterises most roads around the Nigerian Ports Authority in Apapa, Lagos, the Nigerian Shippers Council has said.
According to the NSC, the National Freight Information and Transport Hub, an arm of the World Bank, is working with the NPA on how the funds will be used to clear the trucks and tankers that cause heavy gridlock at Apapa, Orile, Tin Can Island and other areas around the Lagos port complex.
The Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr. Hassan Bello, told journalists in Abuja during a press briefing that the move was aimed at making the NPA more efficient, adding that it would also ensure that oil pipelines were used to transport petroleum products instead of tankers.
He said, “No matter how efficient the terminal is, if you don’t have the road to evacuate cargo, how will you move your goods out of the ports? So, there must be an intervention and in that regard, the NSC has

Recession: FG plans tax relief for manufacturers – Adeosun

The Federal Government, in a bid to ease the burden of the current economic recession on the manufacturing sector, is planning some form of tax relief for the sector.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, dropped the hint on Wednesday in Abuja while responding to questions from journalists at the end of the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting.
She said the tax relief was part of measures by the Federal Government to reduce the negative impact of the foreign exchange crisis on the sector.
Based on the Gross Domestic Product report for the third quarter released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the manufacturing sector’s growth rate was recorded at -2.93 per cent year-on-year.
This is lower by 1.02 percentage points than what was recorded in the second quarter of the year.
The report had blamed the decline in manufacturing activities to the continued drop in the naira to dollar exchange rate, which has made industrial inputs more expensive.