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FG planning to introduce N350,000 tuition in varsities –ASUU

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ASUU denies suspending ongoing strike, urges public to help, make education better

…As Survey shows Nigeria loses N3.46tn annually to port inefficiency***

The Zonal Coordinator of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Ibadan Zone, Dr Ade Adejumo, on Tuesday alleged that the Federal Government was making attempt to make students of federal universities pay a minimum of N350,000 for tuition fee.

Adejumo said this while addressing members of the Correspondents Chapel, Ibadan. He said it was vital for ASUU to let the public know that there could be labour crisis in the federal universities in the country, adding that the proposal led to the breakdown of the 2017/2018 renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement.

He said, “The union is again constrained to draw the attention of Nigerian public to an impending labour crisis in the Nigerian universities as a result of the insensitivity of the Nigerian government to issues critical to the survival of the educational system in Nigeria.

“It is no longer news that the renegotiation, which the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, promised was going to last for only six weeks, has broken down. “The reason for this very unfortunate development will appal most Nigerians. First, the leader of the government team, who was supposed to be an arbiter between the parties, assumed an arrogant attitude that sought to foist a predetermined mindset of government on the union.

“The union was confronted with a situation where the government is bent on imposing tuition fees, beginning from N350,000, on students in the Nigerian public-owned tertiary institutions. On the question as to how the students will raise such money, the answer that government has is that it will establish an Education Bank, where students will access credit facilities and payback on completion of their studies.”

In the meantime, the Nigerian economy is losing an estimated annual revenue of N3.46tn as a result of the current crises of poor infrastructure, poor policy implementation and corruption at the ports, according to the result of a recent survey carried out by the members of the Organised Private Sector and the Centre for International Private Enterprise.

A breakdown of the losses show that N600bn is lost in Customs revenue, $10bn in non-oil exports and about N2.5tn in corporate earnings across the various sectors of the economy.

The report noted that due to the persistent traffic gridlock in the Apapa area, industrial capacity utilisation currently stood at 38 to 40 per cent, while 40 per cent of businesses located around the port communities had either relocated to other areas, scaled down operations or completely shut down.

According to the report, about 5,000 trucks seek access to Lagos ports on a daily basis along an access road designed to take only about 1,500 trucks daily.

Also, about 60 tank farms are located around the ports, most of which were located without recourse to the original design of the ports, traffic consideration or the volatility of the products in the tanks, it added.

This result in trucks spending more than one week sometimes to access the ports from Lagos mainland due to traffic gridlock, the report added.

“These developments have very huge adverse implications for job creation, tax revenue and real economic activities, with estimated downside effect of about three per cent on the country’s Gross Domestic Product,” the President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Babatunde Ruwase, noted during the unveiling of the report in Lagos on Tuesday.

He pointed out that the 2017 positioning of Nigeria as number 183 out of 185 countries in terms of trading across borders (a major indicator for measuring a country’s ports effectiveness) on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking did not reflect efforts of the present administration on repositioning the ports through series of interventions targeted at improving port efficiency.

“Operators and users of Nigerian ports are increasingly faced with bureaucratic red tape, limited access to the ports due to traffic congestion, constant delays, illegal charges, technical and security breakdown, leading to high cost of operations and competitiveness,” he added.

The LCCI president noted a worrisome level of deliberate resistance by some Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to implement enabling regulations, including the 2017 Presidential Executive Orders relating to the ports.

He said the report also noted that fights for supremacy, conflicts of interest and revenue ambitions that conflicted with trade facilitation objectives were common issues among the MDAs.

“The report underscored the fact that only 10 per cent of cargoes are cleared within the set timeline of 48 hours, while majority of the cargoes take between five to 14 days, and some take as long as 20 days; deliberate delays induced by MDA officials currently account for approximately 65 per cent and 80 per cent of import clearance and export processing time, respectively,” he said.

The LCCI sought swift intervention in terms of policy reforms, including the single window platform, the enforcement of the Executive Order, reduction in the number of MDAs and security formations at the ports, passing of enabling reforms by the National Assembly and upgrade of rail infrastructure, truck parks and pipeline for movement of wet cargoes, among others.

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Economy

NGX Market Capitalisation Gains N836bn

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Stock Market Gains N18bn; FTN Cocoa Processors, Prestige Assurance lead Losers’ Chart 

…Tantalizers, NASCON lead the losers’ chart 

The Nigerian Exchange Ltd.(NGX) market capitalisation, which opened at N57.697 trillion on Tuesday, gained N836 billion or 1.45 percent closing at N58.533 trillion.

Also, the All-Share Index rose by 1.45 percent or 1,480 points to close at 103,524.44, as against 102,044.84 recorded on Monday.

As a result, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return rose to 38.45 percent.

Interest in Telco heavyweight and Tier-one banks such as MTN Nigeria, UBA, Access Corporation, Guaranty Trust Holding Company(GTCO), and sustained interest in Transcorp Power(TransPower) kept the market in the green.

Market breadth closed positive with 35 gainers and 14 losers.

On the gainer’s chart, UBA led in percentage terms of 10 to close at N25.30, followed by MTN by 9.98 percent to close at N243.50 per share.

Julius Berger also gained 9.71 percent to close at N61, While Access Corporation rose by 9.51 percent to close at N22.45 per share.

Veritas Kapital Assurance went up by 9.38 percent to close at 70k per share.

Conversely, Tantalizers led the loser’s chart by 7.89 percent to close at 35k, and National Salt Company of Nigeria(NASCON) trailed by 6.77 percent to close at N53.70.

Morison Industries Plc shed 6.62 percent to close at N1.41, C&I Leasing lost 6.45 percent to close at N3.48, while Cutix Plc dropped 6.30 percent to close at N2.53 per share.

However, analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled lower, relative to the previous session.

The value of transactions was also down by 16.76 percent.

A total of 565.79 million shares valued at N14.23 billion were exchanged in 11,519 deals,  compared to 436.90 million shares valued at N17.09 billion exchanged in 11,344 deals traded on Monday.

On the activity chart, Transcorp led in volume with 170.72 million shares traded at a value of N3.13 billion, Access Corporation followed by 48.57 million shares valued at N1.06 billion.

GTCO sold 39.04 million shares worth N165.80 million, Jaiz Bank traded 36.78 million shares valued at N72.51 million and UBA transacted 31.96 million shares valued at N796.24 million

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Economy

SIFAX Group Appoints Basil Agboarumi As Executive Director

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SIFAX Group, one of the leading business conglomerates in Nigeria with investment in Maritime, Aviation, Oil & Gas, Haulage & Logistics, Financial Services, and Hospitality, has appointed Basil Agboarumi as its new Executive Director of corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Agboarumi recently completed his term as the Managing Director/CEO of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc. (SAHCO Plc.), one of the subsidiaries of SIFAX Group.

Agboarumi holds a National Diploma (OND) in Mass Communication from the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi and a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication from the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, a Master in Communications (MSc) from the Lagos State University and a Certificate in Creative Design & Digital Communications from the School of Media & Communications of the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos. He also holds a Management Certificate in Civil Aviation from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Basil Agboarumi, Executive Director, Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

After the privatization and subsequent takeover of SAHCOL by SIFAX Group in 2009, Agboarumi was appointed the Head of Corporate Communications to spearhead the re-branding of the new company. He was subsequently appointed the company’s Managing Director in 2018. Under his leadership, SAHCO Plc was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange while many airlines, both local and foreign, signed business deals with the company due to its excellent and cutting-edge services which include passenger handling, ramp handling, and cargo handling.

Agboarumi has over 25 years of professional in public relations, reputation management, brand development, media relations, business development, and government relations.

Speaking on the new appointment, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Chairman, SIFAX Group, said Agboarumi brings vast experience and records of achievements to his new role, adding that these qualities will help him succeed in the new role.

He said: “He demonstrated the capacity and ability to navigate different terrains as a leader during his time as the Managing Director of SAHCO. The COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after he took over the reins at SAHCO, but he was able to steer the ship of the company to profitability despite the uncertainties that characterised the global aviation business at the time. I am convinced the Group will benefit tremendously from his wealth of experience as he assumes this new role.”

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Economy

NGX All-Share Index Crosses 100,000 Mark

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Stock Market Gains N18bn; FTN Cocoa Processors, Prestige Assurance lead Losers’ Chart 

…Guinness Nigeria and FTN Cocoa Processors lead the losers’ table

The All-Share Index, one of the performance indices of the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.(NGX), on Thursday, crossed a 100,000 mark for the second time in the year.

Having crossed the mark on Jan. 24, and later dropped, the All-Share Index specifically added 0.75 percent or 744 points to settle at 100,335.3, compared to 99,591.64 posted on Wednesday.

Consequently, investors gained N420 billion or 0.75 percent, as the market capitalisation which opened at N56.310 trillion, closed at N56.730 trillion.

Also, the Year-To-Date (YTD)return rose to 33.19 percent.

Improved buy interest in the shares of Dangote Sugar, MTN Nigeria, Transcorp Power, Oando Plc, and Cornerstone, alongside other top gainers drove the equity market to a positive terrain.

Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 9.11 percent.

However, market breadth closed negative with 33 losers and 25 gainers.

On the gainers table, Dangote Sugar and MTN led in percentage terms of 10 percent each to close at N50.60 and N201.30 per share, respectively.

Transcorp Power followed closely by 9.99 percent to close at N351.30, while Juli Plc added 9.96 percent to close at N4.97 per share.

National Salt Company of Nigeria (NSCN) rose by 9.92 percent to close at N47.65 per share.

On the other hand, Guinness Nigeria and FTN Cocoa Processors led the losers’ table by 10 percent each to close at N45.90 and N1.53 per share, respectively.

Transcorp also lost 9.95 percent to close at N17.10, Ikeja Hotel shed 9.93 percent to close at N6.08, while Redstarex declined by 9.87 percent to close at N3.38 per share.

Stock Market Gains N18bn; FTN Cocoa Processors, Prestige Assurance lead Losers’ Chart 

A total of 554.72 million shares valued at N17.73 billion were exchanged in 9,708 deals, compared to 416.48 million shares valued at N19.51 billion exchanged in 9,338 deals.

On the activity table, Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) led both in volume and value with 301.36 million shares traded in value of  N5.65 billion.

Sterling Nigeria sold 33.32 million shares worth N150.78 million, while FBN Holdings traded 23.21 million shares valued at N773.91 million.

Also, United Bank of Africa (UBA) transacted 18.38 million shares worth N400.29 million and Zenith Bank sold 17.08 million shares valued at N583.93 million.

Reacting, a stockbroker with Premium Capital, Mr Victor Ibrahim, said that the improved performance of the equity market was due to renewed investors’ expectations from the current government’s policies.

Ibrahim stated in Lagos that investors were keying into the future benefits of the economy by boosting their investment in the equity market.

He said, “The stock market is a leading indicator of the Nigerian economy and as such, with government policies such as the free-flow economy, investors confidence in our market has been boosted.

“The artificial scarcity of dollars in order to underprice or devalue the Naira is also another indicator.

“This is because the price of stocks in the Nigerian equity market is cheaper for foreign investors and those local investors who have dollars in reserve.

“While the Nigerian economy may presently appear tough, investors are keying into the future opportunities in the current government’s policies with the belief in the capacity of President Bola Tinubu.”

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