News Reports

Nigerian stocks accelerated at their swiftest pace so far this year on Tuesday as the main equity index rose by 5.2 per cent and the value of shares appreciated by over N1.5 trillion.

Analysts say the jump was helped by positive sentiments that followed new policy directions by the new administration in the country.

Investors warmed to President Bola Tinubu’s planned economic reforms, particularly his resolve to scrap costly fuel subsidies and unify Nigeria’s multiple exchange rates, with transaction volume increasing by 133 per cent and turnover more than doubling.

Nigeria’s dollar bonds accelerated on Monday, a day after newly inaugurated President Bola Tinubu vowed to harmonise the country’s multiple interest rates.

Mr Tinubu promises to take key monetary policy decisions in order to draw investors and end fuel subsidies which have eroded the government’s revenues for years.

Eurobonds, which have 2047 as their maturity, had risen 3.9 per cent to 67.1 cents on the dollar as of 12:30 p.m. in London, according to Bloomberg. Those due in 2049 added 3.4 per cent, while debts maturing in 2051 climbed 4 per cent.

NASCON Allied Industries Plc, makers of Dangote Salt and Seasoning, has confirmed the appointment of Thabo Mabe as its substantive managing director, the company said Tuesday.

The board of directors of the salt manufacturer disclosed in a statement that it arrived at the decision at a meeting on 26 May.

Mr Mabe has been functioning in an acting capacity as the managing director of the company since 12 February, succeeding Paul Farrer, who resigned a month earlier.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on Tuesday said it will ensure that filling stations sell petroleum products in compliance with the law to prevent hardship on Nigerians.

The commission made this known Tuesday in a statement signed by Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer.

Nigerians have had difficulty getting petrol at filling stations since Monday after President Bola Tinubu announced government’s plan to put an end to the subsidy regime.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has cautioned Nigerians not to panic over subsidy removal, saying it has enough petroleum products to meet the country’s demand.

The NMDPRA said this in a statement on Tuesday by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Kimchi Apollo.

The statement was issued against the backdrop of the government’s declaration that it will put an end to the fuel subsidy regime.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) says the decision to remove subsidy on petrol, popularly called fuel, by President Bola Tinubu is a welcome development.

The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, made this known at the NNPC Ltd. Towers in Abuja while briefing journalists late Monday night after the pronouncement by the president.

Fuel queues returned to Nigerian cities Monday as many motorists scrambled to get petroleum products hours after President Bola Tinubu announced that the government will put an end to the fuel subsidy regime.

Mr Tinubu on Monday in his inaugural address at Eagle Square, Abuja, declared that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy regime as it was not sustainable.

President Bola Tinubu, who on Monday was sworn in as Nigeria’s president, has said his administration is aiming to expand the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by “not less than 6 per cent”.

The president also unveiled a plan to harmonise the nation’s multiple exchange rates as part of the broad plan to transform Africa’s largest economy.

The average price of refilling a five-kilogramme cylinder of cooking gas rose by 22.15 per cent year on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

The bureau said this in its “Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) Price Watch” for April 2023 released on Friday.

The NBS said the average retail price for refilling a 5 kg cylinder of cooking gas increased by 0.69 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,610.48 recorded in March 2023 to N4,642.27 in April 2023.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said it has issued seven new regulations aimed at providing a regulatory environment that assures efficiency, predictability, clarity and effectiveness to the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

NUPRC Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.