Category: Business

In the midst of failed negotiations and counterefforts by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has kept Nigerian students in public universities at home for four months, a human rights and accountability advocate, Hon. Obidike Chukwuebuka, has requested the Federal Government to send students back to school and improve the country’s educational system, saying that education makes the economy better.

In a statement, Obidike made it clear that the more education and accomplishments a person has, the better job opportunities they will have. “People who grew up poor but went to school have a good chance of changing their lives, which could help reduce the number of poor people in society. Education helps countries’ economies grow because it’s about learning things and being able to use them wisely in our own lives and in ways that help other people.

“In today’s world, education is very important. To be able to contribute to society, one needs to learn about culture, history, and other important things. Education doesn’t just teach people about (college) subjects; it also teaches them how to lead with their emotions and true values. People who are educated can easily tell the difference between right and wrong, which helps to lower the crime rate. Bad things are happening all over the world, and only good leaders can lead us in the right direction.

“Digital education helps people and groups all over the world get in touch with each other. There are no longer any borders. “Being able to talk to and share ideas with people from other countries and cultures broadens our horizons and helps us understand and appreciate each other,” Obidike said.

Since February, the Academic Union’s strike has made it hard for public universities to teach. The fact that several meetings have ended in failure shows that the government is not ready to get the students back into their classrooms.

“As a result, I’m asking the federal government to send kids back to school.”

Dr. Theo Okeke, a philanthropist from Nnewi, has built a one-kilometer road for his people in Umudim Nnewi, Anambra State.

The road was officially opened on Friday in the presence of the Obis of Umudim, Obi Bennett Okafor, Nnewichi, Obi George Onyekaba, and Uruagu, Obi Afam Obi, who were all representing His Royal Highness, Igwe Kenneth Orizu III.

Dr Okeke said it was his way of giving back to society during the commissioning of the road, which was tarred on both sides and had drainage systems on both sides.
Dr. Okeke said he had travelled to many countries and learned that individual contributions to community development could not be overstated because the government could not do it alone.

He remarked that he had seen similar good things in other places and resolved to provide his people with a good road network, not only for a smooth ride but also to prevent erosion from bad roads.

He stated that with individual and collective development efforts, the community would be a happy place to live in no time.

Dr. Okeke also stated that he was contributing to the development of his community in honour of his parents, whom he described as cheerful givers, and that he would always uphold his parents’ legacy.

“This is my hometown, where I was born and raised.” Through various empowerment programmes, I have been contributing my quota to development and upliftment of my people. I empower widows, and I have a scholarship programme for indigent students, among other things.
“My own idea of assisting people is to show them how to farm so that they can stand on their own two feet,” Dr. Okeke said.

Apart from road construction, Dr Okeke said the community was also facing a flood threat, which he said he had resolved, despite the fact that it had increased his initial budget.

The Dimuzo kindred road, he explained, was in danger of eroding. He stated that he had taken palliative measures and that he would like government officials at all levels to assist the community in achieving a checkmate and developing erosion control measures to complement the efforts already made.

The philanthropist slammed insecurity in Anambra and Nigeria in general, saying it was unfortunate that it had devolved to this point.

He expressed optimism that, with the right approach, it could still be overcome.

“I admire Governor Charles Soludos’ efforts. He is a man of great goodwill who genuinely cares about the State. He went on to say, “I call on all Anambra people to support him.”

Dr Okeke expressed disappointment that what Ndigbo expected was not what he saw unfolding in the 2023 Igbo presidential bid to produce a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari.

After many years on the sidelines, he wondered why an Igboman would not be given the chance to rule Nigeria.

Other attendees included Chief Atuenyi Maduka, the current president-general of Nzuko-Ora Nnewi (Nnewi Town Union); Chief Ugochukwu Udemezue, the immediate past president general; and Elder Soge Egbuna, the Nnewichi president general.

Despite the country’s dire circumstances, the stock market appears to have recently shown signs of life, with a year-to-date gain of 23.7 percent.

Despite the fact that this growth appears to defy practical explanation, many reasons have been offered for the market’s current positive outlook.

Apart from the fact that the market is riding high on the back of relatively strong corporate results at the end of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, analysts are inclined to believe that the economy’s inflationary spiral is the dramatic magic of the recent bullish market.
When it comes to analysing the market, there has developed a stoic demeanour. However, the current bullish market experience comes at a time when the Nigerian economy is in dire straits, despite a 3.1 percent growth rate in Q1 2022.

Food production is expected to decline due to fertiliser shortages due to the Russia/Ukraine war; Nigeria has also not fully recovered from the devastating impact of Covid-19; the growing insecurity that has hampered agricultural activities is taking a different toll on Nigeria’s food security; food inflation, according to NBS, stood at about 17.2 percent; an N6 trillion deficit is tugging at the country’s purse strings. This is despite the fact that headline inflation is still around 16.8%.

Worse, the country’s total direct remittances fell by $119.4 million (48 percent) to $130.12 million in January 2022 from $249.52 million in December 2021; FG aims to service a total debt stock of about N46.63 trillion with about 95 percent of its revenue. The most serious issue is the country’s political instability.

This frightening scenario is not conducive to equities market growth, as market participants are prone to being sluggish with their investments. However, in recent years, this has not been the case. Also posing a significant challenge is the country’s new borrowing limit, which has been raised from 25% to 40% of GDP. This was stated in the Medium Term Debt Strategy and continues to perplex many analysts, given that the country’s main source of revenue, crude oil prices, which have risen to $100 per barrel and above, are still fluctuating.

The World Bank, for one, has expressed concern that many countries will face recession as a result of recent head and tail winds caused by hyperinflation and the Russia/Ukraine conflict, which have harmed supply chains that have yet to recover from the devastating effects of Covid-19.

Almost everyone nowadays is aware that Nigeria and India are vying for the title of world poverty capital. The naira, which was valued at N220 per dollar on June 15, 2015, has depreciated by nearly 100% to N606 per dollar in June 2022.

Regardless of these factors, NGX has consistently been one of the best-performing global markets in recent years. For example, the stock market continued to be bullish, gaining 0.34 percent as the All Share Index and market capitalization rose from 52,917.76 points on May 12, 2022 to 53,098.46 points on May 13, 2022. Similarly, the market capitalization increased by 0.34 percent to N28,625 trillion.

Since the beginning of the year, the stock market has been relatively strong, with the All Share Index and market capitalization reaching new highs. The NGX All-Share Index rose 23.7 percent from 43,026.23 points on January 4, 2022 to 53,201.38 points on May 31, 2022, according to Business Hallmark research.

While the Nigerian stock market rallied in May 2022, owing to positive investor sentiment in the equities market, with the All-Share index gaining 6.75 percent to close the month at 52,990.23 basis points, up from 49,638.94 points the previous month, analysts believe the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent raising of Monetary Policy Rates (MPC) rates to 13% may slow down the equities bullish trend.

“The sharp rise in inflation across both advanced and emerging market economies has raised growing concerns among central banks,” CBN Governor Emefiele said at the MPC’s 285th meeting. “The progressive rise in inflation, driven by rising aggregate demands and wage growth, has put sustainable pressure on price levels,” he added.

“As a result, major central banks such as the Federal Reserve of the United States, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Canada have issued strong guidance of a gradual shift away from monetary policy accommodation to drive market interest rates, which may eventually impact capital flows away from emerging market economies.”

At a recent virtual session, Parthian Securities’ Head of Investment Research, Oluwaseun Dosunmu, predicted that the stock market would look up in the short to medium term this year.

“Every pre-election year, investors become wary and cautious about investing in the market,” Dosunmu said. This year, however, things have been moving in the opposite direction, and the market has performed admirably.

According to critical analysis, the market capitalisation fell -0.91% from N25.543 trillion in January 2022 to N25.311 trillion in February 2022. From February to May 2022, it increased by 12%, and from May to June 10, 2022, it increased by 0.39 percent.
BH recalls that during the same time period in 2008, the market remained bullish and investors smirked at the banks. The major indicators reached previously unheard-of heights.

On March 5, 2008, the market capitalization peaked at around $13.1 trillion, and the All Share Index reached a dizzying high of 66,551.84 basis points. The Nigerian Capital Market was thrown into a frenzy as most equities became bullish.

Traders, civil servants, farmers, and even students invested in the market, making it the toast of the Nigerian business community.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) became a hive of activity, with both investors and speculators scrambling to make a profit, according to many analysts. Some stocks increased by more than 100%, while others increased by 50% or more.

Mr. Chidi Ajaegbu, former President of ICAN and founder / Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Capital Markets, spoke to Business Hallmark and cautioned investors.

“Should I therefore advise investors to remain cautious in their investments?” It must be a prudent investment. If you ask me, you should diversify your investments; some of them should be in hard currency, and you should balance and manage your investments so that a shock in one sector does not deplete your net worth.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has raked in about N1.7 trillion from crude oil sales in the last 12 months.

This is even as Lagos State reportedly consumed about 149.33 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS) in two weeks, according to data released by NNPC Limited.

According to the Corporation’s monthly and financial report for August, the sum was earned from March 2020 to March 2021 after it lifted a total of 108 million barrels of crude oil within the year, at an average price of $43 per barrel.

A breakdown of the report showed that, in March 2020, the oil and gas firm lifted approximately 9, 490mn/b; 11, 437mn/b in April; 5, 113m/b in May; 6,274mb in June; and 8,546m/b in July.

In August, NNPC said, it lifted 8, 546mn/b; 8, 490mn/b in September; 10, 333mn/b in October; 9, 532mn/d in November; and 7, 539mn/b in December 2020.

In January 2021, it lifted 5, 542mn/b; 9, 397mn/b in February, and 7, 553mn/b in March 2021, making it a total of 108 million barrels for the period under review.

According to the NNPC, the crude was removed from the daily allocation for domestic use, resulting in an average daily volume of 243,650 barrels of oil.
Between March 2020 and December 2020, price changes went from $25/b in March to $17/b in April, $25/b in May, $40/b in June, $44/b in July, $55/b in August, $40/b in September, $40/b in October, $43/b in November, and $51/b in December 2020.

Crude oil was sold at $57/b in January 2021, $64/b in February, and $64/b in March 2021.

All barrels were processed under the Direct-Sales-Direct Purchase (DSDP) programme, according to NNPC, in order to meet domestic product supply requirements. No barrels were delivered to domestic refineries for processing.

During this time, the official exchange rate of the country was around N400 to the dollar.

NNPC said it earned approximately N71 billion in March, N69 billion in April, N46 billion in May, N90 billion in June, N136 billion in July, N170 billion in August, N130 billion in September, N158 billion in October, N156 billion in November, and N145 billion in December 2020, based on an average of N400 per dollar, various average monthly Brent costs, and monthly crude oil production figures as stated above.

In January 2021, the NNPC earned N124 billion, N230 billion in February, and N184 billion in March 2021.

Within the review period, NNPC Limited reported total revenue from sales of N1.7 trillion.

Meanwhile, the company announced that between May 16 and May 29, 2022, it distributed 966.58 million litres of gasoline across the country.

According to data, the states of Lagos, Kano, and Niger received the most funding.

According to the distribution details, 13 states with high demand received 72 percent of the products delivered, 11 medium demand states received 21% of the product allocation, and 12 states with low demand received the remaining 7% of the PMS allocation.

With 149.33 million litres of PMS distributed, Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial centre and the continent’s fifth largest economy, received the highest volume of PMS.

Lagos received 149.33 million litres, accounting for around 15.5 percent of the NNPC’s overall distribution to the federation.

Kano came in second with 86.19 million litres, followed by Niger, Oyo, Ogun, Delta, Zamfara, Edo, Adamawa, Kwara, Rivers, Kaduna, and Enugu, who were given 73.91 million, 59.05 million, 51.76 million, 45.86 million, 42.12 million, 34.66 million, 34.28 million, 31.25 million, 31.25 million, 26.07 million, and

Ondo received the least amount of PMS from the NNPC, with 9.6 million litres, followed by Kebbi (8.04 million), Kogi (7.74 million litres), Taraba (7.25 million), Bayelsa (6.2 million), and Nasarawa (5.54 million).

Yobe received 4.9 million litres, Ebonyi (4.9 million), Katsina (4.59 million), Ekiti (4.4 million), Sokoto (4.16 million), Bauchi (2.48 million), and Jigawa (1.1 million) received low volumes due to their usage patterns.