First Bank too big for one person to own, says Emefiele – Newstrends
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First Bank too big for one person to own, says Emefiele

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3 years ago

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No one person can lay claim to ownership of a big bank such as the First Bank, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has clarified.

He also said the Securities and Exchange Commission would provide the final decision on the ownership structure of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of First Bank Plc.

The company’s majority stake recently became a subject of controversy among investors, following the announcement of a significant share acquisition by billionaire business mogul, Femi Otedola.

Emefiele, commenting for the first time on the controversy at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja, said that SEC as the capital market regulator would have the final decision on the ownership structure.

He said, “We have cleaned up the balance sheet of the bank. The NPL has dropped. People are now competing for the shares of First Bank.

“Should I quarrel that people are now competing for the shares of First Bank which six years ago was N2.00 and they were running away from it. The last time I looked at it, last weekend, it was N11. 55.

“I am happy that they are competing for the shares. But of course, we should all know that First bank is so big that no one person can say he owns First Bank.

“I have read the SEC clarifying the shareholding percentages and differences and indeed they are the people that are supposed to look at it.

“Our examiners were also opportune to look at it. I think we should take the SEC’s position because the SEC is the regulator of the capital market. We will take their position and they will give guidance on this subject.

“And of course as it affects the operation and the running of the bank we will ensure that the right things are done.”

On developments in the domestic economy, Emefiele said that the MPC noted the continued improvement in the Manufacturing Managers Index.

“This improvement indicated the gradual recovery of output growth   driven largely by increase in new   orders associated with   rising aggregate demands   and off-swing in business activities,” he said.

Emefiele noted that there were no major challenges of flooding this year and that as such he was optimistic of a bumper harvest.

A good harvest, he said, would further drive down the rate of inflation, given that the food basket has been a major driver of inflationary trends.

On forbearance, the CBN boss said that the institution expected all those who took bank loans should be able to start repayment next year, when the forbearance earlier announced would end.

He said, “At this time, we believe that global economy has opened up, lockdown have been lifted and of course, we know the casualties, the economic damages and the fatalities that were caused as a result of the lockdown, and I am so sure that not too many countries, if at all, will embark on a wholesome lockdown any longer, particularly because most countries are all administering vaccination that they think should assist in reducing the impact of the spreading   of the virus.

“So, we believe in Nigeria, businesses are back or companies are back to business, revenue has been improved and if revenue improves then, then you expect naturally that companies that took loans should be able to pay back their loans.

“So as a result, we do not see a likelihood of increase in NPL. Indeed, we have worked so hard to bring the NPL down from as high as about 9% to 10% about two years ago to the level it is today, which is about 5.3%.

“And we are gratified that we are aggressively working NPL down to the maximum threshold that has been set by the CBN.”

The CBN had, at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, last year, announced a one-year moratorium for loans that people, companies and businesses had taken from banks. It was later extended by another one year, early this year.

Emefiele announced the decision of the MPC to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 11. 5 per cent and the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR.

He added that the Cash Reserve Ratio, CRR, at 27.5 per cent and the 30 per cent Liquidity Ratio were equally maintained.

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Aviation

Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

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14 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

 

An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.

The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.

All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.

The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.

“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.

“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.

“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”

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NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

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14 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).

The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.

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He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.

He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.

On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.

 

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

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FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

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14 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country.

This is contained in a statement issued by Anthonia Eremah, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Thursday, in Abuja.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made his know at the unveiling of the 2024/2025 National Dry Season Farming in Calabar, Cross River State capital.

Kyari explained that with the re-introduction of the national dry season farming to boost year-round agricultural production, the loan would be handy and guarantee national food security in the country.

The minister said the initiative is under the National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.

He said the federal government had declared an emergency on food production to enable all Nigerians to get easy access to quality and nutritional food at affordable rates.

Kyari also said government wants to use the agricultural sector for national economic revival through increase in production of some staple food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava during both dry and wet season farming.

He added that 107,429 wheat farmers were supported under phase 1 of the 2023/2024 dry season, and 43,997 rice farmers under the second phase of the 2023/2024 dry season.

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The minister said recently, government supported 192,095 rice, maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean and cassava farmers under the 2024 wet season across the 37 States including the FCT.

He said Cross River was leading 16 other states in wheat production, adding that over 3000 wheat farmers have been listed to benefit from the support to grow the grain.

Kyari noted the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production.

He said it informed why the federal government is partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing the current 2024/2025 dry season farming.

“The 2024/2025 dry season farming, the project is targeted to support 250,000 wheat farmers across the wheat-producing states with subsidised agricultural inputs.

“This is to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of about 750,000 metric tonnes of wheat to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on importation of the product and also increase domestic consumption.

“Equally the programme will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 states, including FCT, with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tonnes,” he said.

 

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

(NAN)

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