Business

The Corporate Affairs Commission and some Point of Sale operators have agreed to protect customers’ interest.

The Registrar-General of CAC, Hussaini Magaji, said this when the operators visited him in his office in Abuja.

Mr Magaji said the operators agreed to a two-month timeline to register their agents and merchants with CAC.

According to him, this is in line with the legal requirements and the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He said, “The measure is to safeguard the businesses of Fintech customers and strengthen the economy. The action is equally backed by Section 863, Sub-section 1 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, (CAMA 2020), as well as the 2013 CBN guidelines on agent banking.’’

The registrar-general said that the deadline for the registration, which was agreed to be July 7, was aimed at providing protection for businesses in the country.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Communication Technology Development and Innovation, Peter Tokoni, restated the commitment of the government to boost the economy.

“We will ensure smooth facilitation of this process in line with the Renewed Hope Initiative of President Bola Tinubu-led administration,” Mr Tokoni said.

On their part, the Fintech operators reiterated their commitment to partner with CAC to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of the CBN directive.

They, however, urged for adequate sensitisation of the public to ensure smooth operations and to meet the desired goal.

The representatives of Opay, Momba; Palmpay Ltd.; Paystack; Fairmoney Microfinance Bank; Moniepoint, and Teasy pay were present at the event.

The highlight of the event was the signing of a document by the representatives to support the project.

The highlight of the event was the signing of a document by the representatives to support the project.

The federal government says that Nigeria will commence local manufacturing of vehicles before the end of this year.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this at the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers and the Nigerian Automative Manufacturers Association’s meeting in Abuja on Friday, May 3.

Uzoka-Anite said funds to grow the nation’s automotive industry have been made available to local manufacturers.

According to the minister, it was vital to source made-in-Nigeria vehicle materials locally.

She seized the occasion to inform all stakeholders, including manufacturers, dealers, regulatory bodies, and other players in the automobile ecosystem, to key into the Nigerian Automotive Development Policy, and start making the desired contribution to the nation’s economy.

The African Association of Automotive Manufacturers is an organisation dedicated to the industrialisation and development of the automotive sector across Africa.

The association works with governments to shape policies, attract investors, and support the economic potential of the continent, by promoting sustainable and affordable mobility solutions.

Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the association primarily serves the automotive industry, including manufacturers, investors, and policymakers.

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has increased the maximum coverage of all deposit-taking financial institutions across all levels.

Managing director of the NDIC, Hassan Bello, who made this announcement on Thursday in Abuja, said the coverage has increased the maximum deposit insurance coverage of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) from N500,000 to N5million, which would provide full coverage of 98.98 per cent of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20 per cent.

The MD said in terms of the value of deposit covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37 per cent compared with the current cover of 6.31 per cent of total value of deposits.

“For Microfinance bank, the maximum deposit insurance coverage was increased from N200,000 to N2 million would provide full coverage of 99.27 per cent of the total depositors compared with the current level of 98.76 per cent and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 34.43 per cent compared with 14.38 per cent of total value of deposit, currently covered.

“Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs): The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N2 million would provide full coverage of 99.34 per cent of the total depositors compared with the current 97.98 per cent and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 21.04 per cent compared with 10.77 per cent.

“Payment Service Banks (PSBs): The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N2 million would provide full coverage of 99.99 per cent of the total number of depositors and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 43.10 per cent of the total value deposits from the current cover of 40.60 per cent.

“Subscribers of Mobile Money Operators: The increase of the maximum Pass-through deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5 million per subscriber per MMO as the applicable coverage level for depositors of DMBs,” Bello stated.

The telecommunications companies operating in Nigeria notably Glo, MTN, Airtel and 9Mobile are asking the federal government to facilitate constructive dialogue in the industry.

According to the telcos, the current price control mechanism is not in tandem with the economic realities, thus seeking the government’s intervention in order to address pricing challenges.

The four telecommunications giants said they were the only ones that have not reviewed their prices which threaten the industry’s sustainability and possibly erodes investors’ confidence.

They made this known in a joint statement by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Thursday.

According to the statement signed by ALTON Chairman, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, and ATCON President, Mr Tony Emoekpere, there has not been a general service pricing framework upward in the past 11 years.

They attributed the non-increment to regulatory constraints despite the adverse economic hardship.

They said: “For a fully liberalised and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence.

“Despite the adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only industry yet to review its general service pricing framework upward in the last 11 years, primarily due to regulatory constraints.

“Government needs to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability.”

The telcos also expressed concerns on the worsening security challenges affecting the productivity of the services provided, urging the federal government erect measures to tackle the menace.

The Nigerian currency Naira on Tuesday depreciated at the official market, trading at N1,300.15 to the dollar yet again.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), revealed that the Naira lost N65.66.

This represents a 5.3 per cent loss when compared to the previous trading date on Monday, April 22, when it exchanged at N1,234.49 to a dollar.

This development is coming amidst promises by the Nigerian Government to stabilize the naira after several financial reforms.

More to come…

Dangote refinery will start supplying petrol in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Standard and Poor’s’ Global Commodities, S & P.

Kelly Norways, an African energy expert at the S&P, disclosed this in a podcast titled ‘Exploring West Africa’s oil product flows in a changing refining landscape’.

She said the Dangote refinery will significantly reduce energy imports across the West African sub-region, putting the figure for petrol as much as 290,000 barrels daily from 2024 to 2026.

“We are starting to see signs of activities, but all eyes are on when we’ll start to see gasoline production commence from that project. There is significant pressure from the Nigerian government for significant volume of that supply to be sent to the domestic market.

“When we see that start scale-up is still subject to debate. Dangote has recently been espousing some punchy timelines. They have most recently been saying that they are looking to produce gasoline by May. But in reality, our analysts expect that would be something like the fourth quarter of this year in a more realistic timeline,” he said.

The Dangote refinery was officially commissioned in May 2023 but has been unable to operate at full capacity. However, it began receiving crude oil around December and finally started distributing diesel to marketers in the local market in March.

Last week, the refinery announced the reduction in diesel price to N1,000 per litre from N1,600 per litre price.

Meanwhile, the Dangote refinery and oil marketers have hinted at the commencement of petrol sales next month.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the sales of foreign exchange (FX) to the bureau de change (BDC) operators at the rate of N1,101/$.

The CBN disclosed this in a circular, titled, ‘Sales of FX to Meet Retail Market Demand For Eligible Invisible Transactions’, dated April 8.

The circular was addressed to the president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON).

The development comes less than a month after the second announcement of sales.

More to follow…

Popular Nigerian comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY, and his wife, Mabel, have separated after 16 years of marriage.

The comedian confirmed the development in a post on his Instagram page on Sunday.

He said he had reached a stage where he could no longer entertain the public with “deep personal family issues.”

He wrote, “Many people believe that staying silent simply means that one is incapable of dealing with issues. Projecting a negative narrative against someone who is not struggling to defend himself doesn’t mean he is weak. Some of us are just logical enough to understand the difference between opinions, values, beliefs, and facts.

“The personality and ability that I possess simply confirm that I have reached that stage in my life where I can not be entertaining the public with deep personal family issues. They just might be too much to handle concerning the individuals involved. Not even when I have a grown-up daughter who has access to social media. Her mental health needs to be protected from seeing things she can not be proud of online.

“Yes! Without compromising my family, I have found myself doing some things that I am not proud of today. It is one thing to watch my friendship/marriage of 20 years slip off my hands, but it’s another thing for the parties involved to understand how to appropriate the blame in a space that is designed for most women to always play the victims and win. I can tell you for free that no one is completely innocent enough to cast stones.

“Presently, I am loving the way that lies about me in all these blogs are travelling faster than the truth. But my painful truth will eventually beat away all the lies.”

Also, in a post on her Instagram page on Sunday, Mabel said she had stopped reacting to disrespect.

She wrote, “Distance is my new response to disrespect. I don’t react, I don’t argue. I don’t dive into the drama. I just remove myself.”

Ayo and Mabel got married in November 2008, and they are blessed with two children.