Thread by @ugodre

Good Evening.
Welcome to @Nairametrics Corporate News Roundup for the week ended August 11, 2019.

This thread is BTU by @BluechipTechNG

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Kindly retweet the first tweet of this thread so others on your timeline don't miss out.

Feel free to be a part of this thread by commenting, asking questions or being a part of the conversation.

We begin...

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Our first story comes from the banking space.

1. Following an application filed by the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service, an Akwa Ibom State High Court has ordered the closure of all Ecobank and Union Bank branches in the state.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The AKIRS has accused the banks of tax evasion, and the banks risk the branches being sold in 14 days.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 2. Ecobank has obtained an interim court injunction, restraining Rahamaniyya Oil and Gas from tampering with petroleum products in its tank farms.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The bank took the move in a bid to recover a N25.9 billion debt from the oil and gas firm. The funds in question were used to import petroleum products.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 3. Keystone Bank Limited has announced the appointment of three new Executive Directors.
They are Tijani Aliyu, Olaniran Olayinka and Lawal J. Ahmed.

The appointments are however subject to the approval of the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN).

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 4. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered that 693 masts be demolished.

Over 400 of the masts are reportedly unidentifiable or untraceable to any network operator in the country.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Several of the masts are owned by defunct network operators, Rainbownet, Reltel/Zoom and Starcomms.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Still on the NCC,
5. The commission has begun an audit of SIM registration databases of MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9Mobile, Ntel and other operators offering SIM-based services.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The audit is the second to be carried out by the Commission across all the mobile network providers since SIM registration was introduced in 2011.

Word on the street is that some operators are a bit apprehensive. Any fault pertaining to the exercise could lead to a heavy fine

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG MTN Nigeria in 2015 was fined N1 trillion in 2015 for failing to disconnect improperly registered subscribers.

After diplomatic intervention from its home country, the fine was reduced to N330 billion payable in tranches. The company was also mandated to list on the NSE.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 6. The NCC has issued an order to all telcos to bring down their Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services to no more than N4.89 per session.

The change will be effective from 1st September 2019.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The price floor for a 20-second USSD service is N1.63k, while the price cap has been set at N4.89k.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG This determination does not apply to the currently zero-rated USSD services such as customer service, balance enquiry, purchase of airtime and data services, etc. related to telecommunications services.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 7. The era of big fines at the commission still holds sway as the NCC has fined Airtel Nigeria N121 million for unilaterally disconnecting an interconnect carrier Exchange Telecommunications Limited.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Details were contained in the commission's Q1 2019 Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Report

The regulator said that the action contravened the provisions of the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations 2013 and Enforcement Processes Regulations, 2005.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Moving on to the financial services space.

8. United Capital Trustees Limited (a subsidiary of United Capital) has denied owing the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG In a letter dated Wednesday, July 31, 2019, AMCON had released the list of its debtors, in which United Capital (formerly UBA Trustees Limited) was mentioned to be among the promoters of Geometrics Power Limited. Geometric is reportedly one of the firms owing AMCON.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG UCTL maintained that the relationship it had with Geometrics Power Limited stemmed from a ‘Blind Trust’ set up by the Chairman of Geometrics, Prof. Bart O. Nnaji when he was appointed Federal Minister of Power.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG In order to avoid conflict of interests in his duty as a Minister, Nnaji had appointed UCTL and Austin Akpe (representing UCTL) to the board of Geometrics Power Limited.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The relationship was only for the period when Nnaji was Minster and it ceased immediately he resigned from the Executive Cabinet and returned to Geometrics Power Limited to resume its management and administration.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The Chairman of the company, however, failed to regularise or reconstitute the board by deleting the name of United Capital Trustees Limited (UTCL) and Mr Austin Akpe.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 9. Still, on AMCON, President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to an amendment of the AMCON act. The new law empowers the corporation to place any bank account or any other account comparable to a bank account of a debtor of an eligible financial institution under surveillance.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG In addition, AMCON can now obtain information in respect of any private account, together with all bank, financial and commercial records of any debtor of any eligible financial institution.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 10. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all financial institutions under its supervision to evaluate customers’ credit histories before issuing loans.
The apex bank made this known in its consumer protection guidelines on “Responsible Business Conduct.”

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The CBN further noted that the institution giving out loans must inform customers of debt recovery procedures in loan contracts.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 11. The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has said that there would be no borrowing option for insurance firms seeking to raise their capital base.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The Director of Policy and Regulation, NAICOM, Agboola Pius, who spoke at a seminar in Abuja, said the recapitalisation would be absolute paid-up share capital and distinct from solvency capital, capital fund, and capital base.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 12. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given MTN Nigeria, MultiChoice, Shoprite and other South African companies in Nigeria a 7-day ultimatum to stop their operations in the country, due to xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Abike Dabiri, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, however, advised NANS to exercise patience and not proceed with their clampdown on South Africans and their businesses.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Dabiri also disclosed that President Buhari and the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, were planning to meet over the attacks.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Moving over to the oil and gas space.

13. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will resume prospecting in the Chad Basin, Gongola and Benue Trough.

In order to surmount the security issues in the region, the corporation has requested the support of the military

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Mele Kyari made this known at a management visit to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, at his office in Abuja.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 14. Still sticking with the NNPC, the corporation intends to increase Nigeria’s crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels by the year 2025.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kolo Kyari, disclosed this at the opening of the 2019 annual conference and exhibition organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in Lagos.

To do this, the corporation plans to leverage technology.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG 15. A 6,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) capacity modular refinery being developed by AIPCC Energy Limited in Edo state will commence operations in October.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Technical Director of AIPCC, Tim Tian, said that the fabrication of the refinery had been completed in China and was awaiting inspection and the approval of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) before it would be shipped to Nigeria.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG In our last story of the day.

16. The Federal government is set to inaugurate a committee to review the revenue sharing formula for the three tiers of government in the coming week, due to the current economic reality in the country.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr. Elias Mbam, who disclosed this, also stated that the purpose of the review was to allow states and local governments have a bigger share of the “national cake.”

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Under the current revenue allocation formula, which was designed during the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the federal government gets 52.68%, while the states and local governments will receive 26.72% and 20.60% of the total amount respectively.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG Oil-producing states also share 13% as derivation revenue.

@Nairametrics @BluechipTechNG That's it for this week. Thanks to @BluechipTechNG for sponsoring this thread every week.
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