Nigerian Breweries Plc soars in bullish trading

The bullish run on the Nigerian equity market continued today with the NSE All- share index (ASI) recording its eighteenth daily gain in the last twenty sessions. The ASI reached its highest value since 6th June 2011 as it surged fully ahead in Q3-2012.
According to CSL analysts the ASI has advanced 19.80 per cent since the beginning of July as renewed investor interest trailed first half results.
Two out of every three stocks advanced in the general market as the non-financials anchored today’s rally. Nigerian Breweries, Cadbury and Ashaka Cement advanced strongly to lift the broad market index. The NSE Food and beverage index rallied 2.87 per cent on gains by Honey flour, Dangote flour, UTC and Cadbury.
A total of 546.83 million shares worth N1.82 billion were traded in 4,681 deals on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Although, the volume of trading dropped compared with Wednesday’s 904.16 million shares valued at N5.5 billion traded in 5,340 deals, the All-Share Index grew by 232.04 points or 0.91 per cent to close at 25,874.43 from 25,642.39.
Similarly the market capitalisation, which opened at N8.162 trillion, appreciated by N76 billion($470million) or 0.93 per cent to close at N8.238 trillion($51.49 billion).
Nigerian Breweries led the gainers’ chart with a gain of N8.50 to close at N145 per share.
New Gold followed, gaining N3 to close at N2, 703 per unit, while Okomu Oil rose by N1.50 to close at N36.50 per share.
Cadbury appreciated by N1.02 to close at N21.56 per share, while UACN grew by 75k to close at N42.75 per unit.
On the other hand, International Breweries led the losers’ table with a loss of N1.66 to close at N15.03 per share.
Arbico trailed with a loss of 51k to close at N9.88 per share, while Zenith Bank lost 29k to close at N16 per share.
Diamond Bank depreciated by 22k to close at N3.31 per share, while Skye Bank dropped 14k to close at N3.14.
The NSE banking index moved southwards as a result of the losses recorded by the banking stocks.
 BusinessNews

Kuku warns FG: “Niger Delta may boil again if…”

Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Office, Hon. Kingsley Kuku has warned that the
Niger Delta region would experience a turbulent time again if the government fails to change the face of the oil producing communities.

Kuku said this at the public presentation of his book, “Remaking The Niger Delta: Challenges and Opportunities” in Lagos on Friday.

He noted that it is only the continuous amnesty programme initiated by the late Yar’Adua that would sustain peace in the regionHe said: “Today, as we savour the benefits of the amnesty proclamation and its attendant derivatives after disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, the nation has gone ahead in terms of oil production quota from a disturbing 700,000 barrels per day in the pre-proclamation era to an enviable figure of almost 3 million barrels per day.
“Crucially, the post amnesty programme merely gives relevant agencies such as the multinational oil companies, states, local governments, NDDC as well as the Ministry of Niger Delta the rare opportunity to commence immediate developmental efforts in order to avoid future
agitations that may take an entirely different dimension.
“This is very crucial because, unlike before, when there were no trained employable technicians of Niger Delta origin, we now have eminently qualified ones, who can favourably compete with their counterparts all over the world,” he noted.
DailyPost

Abuja court rules former police boss, Ehindero, ‘must’ face corruption trial

Former Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero to face trial for allegedly embezzling money meant for the police force.

An Abuja High Court judge has told former Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, that he has a case to answer and should face prosecution for allegedly embezzling N16 million, meant for the police, while he was in office.
The judge, Mudashiru Oniyangi, dismissed an application filed by Mr. Ehindero seeking to quash the charges against him.
The former police boss, in his application, had challenged the jurisdiction of the court.
Mr. Ehindero is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission, ICPC.
The commission says Mr. Ehindero, and a Commissioner of Police in charge of Budget at the Force Headquarters, John Obaniyi, connived to embezzle the funds.
While Mr. Ehindero has been retired from the police, Mr. Obaniyi has been suspended.
Both men had filed separate notices of preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the court as well as the leave granted the ICPC to file charges against them. They had prayed the court to quash the six-count charge preferred against them by the anti-graft agency.
Mr. Oniyangi dismissed their applications.
The embezzled funds
Bayelsa State Government donated N567 million to the Nigeria Police for the purchase of arms, ammunition and riot control equipment, during the tenure of Mr. Ehindero as police chief.
The money, the ICPC says, was deposited in a bank from which it yielded an interest of N16 million. Investigations by the commission revealed that the interest disappeared between Mr. Ehindero and Mr. Obaniyi.
After its investigations revealed that both men embezzled the money, the commission went ahead to file a six-count charge against the two men.
Not wanting to respond to the charges, the two men through their lawyers wanted the charges dismissed.
Delivering his ruling, Mr. Oniyangi held that the anti-graft agency had, by the proof of evidence before the court, successfully established a prima facie evidence against the accused to warrant their being put to trial.
“Prima facie evidence has been shown by the ICPC through the exhibits and statements of witness to proceed with trial,” he said.
Mr. Oniyangi also held that the ICPC is competent to prosecute the accused, adding that the ICPC Act 2000, under which the duo were charged, was a valid law. He said that the submission of Mr. Ehindero’s counsel, Mike Ozekhome, that the ICPC Act 2000 is a non existing law, is not tenable.
The judge held that the offences the suspects were charged with, were known to law, stressing that it is not correct to say the ICPC is charging the accused under non-existent law. He said the commission is empowered to prosecute offences which fall under the penal and criminal codes.
Mr. Oniyangi dismissed the objections and subsequently ordered that Mr. Ehindero and Mr. Obaniyi be arraigned.
We are not guilty
After the ruling, Mr. Oniyangi read the charges to the accused persons.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The judge refused to grant bail to Mr. Ehindero and Mr. Obaniyi on liberal terms as made in an oral application by their lawyer. He granted them bail in the sum of N10 million each and one surety in like sum.
Mr. Oniyangi ordered that the surety must swear to an affidavit of means. He also said the accused persons should be detained in prison if they failed to meet the bail conditions.
The accused face a seven-year jail term if found guilty.
The case has been adjourned to November 12 for accelerated hearing.
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No going back: Republic of Biafra will be declared in November, group insists

Even though DIM Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the man who gave birth to the idea and the struggle to secede and actualize the sovereignty of the Igbo nation, died almost a year ago, the Biafran dream, however, is not dead and buried with the late Ikemba, rather, it is very much alive and  set to gain fervor as a group known as the Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM) has restated its determination to go ahead with the November 5 declaration of a Republic of Biafra. It has also called on Igbos and politicians from the South East to forget about the 2015 presidential bid as it would no longer be necessary.

This development was disclosed to reporters in Enugu by Nweke M. Nweke, the National secretary of BZM who avowed that as long as the organizations is concerned, Ohanaeze members had not shown enough commitment to the interest of the Igbo ethnic nationality in Nigeria. He  observed that the apex cultural organization has failed to take one stand on the continued relegation of the Igbos in Nigeria and had also failed to unite the leaders in the zone  and therefore failed to facilitate the environment the people need to make a political progress.
He said: “They should drop this talk about the 2015 presidency and concentrate on how to reclaim our brothers and sisters in Rivers, Delta and Kogi states. This is important now because these people that were enticed into believing that they are not Igbos will not forgive us in future when the chips are down.”

The organization has earmarked November 5 for the re-declaration of the Sovereign State of Biafra. On this, Nweke said there is no going back.
He hinted that the leader of BZM, Ben Onwuka is currently   in the United States canvassing for support and would be back for the “epoch-making occasion.”
While in the US, the group’s leader aims to forge alliance with United States-based Biafra groups such as Biafra Foundation and Biafra Government in Exile (BGI) on the November 5 re-declaration.
The group also commended the maturity of the Nigerian security agencies for the way and manner they have so far related with them.
DailyPost

Government lied on subsidy payments , indicted oil marketers claim

Ben Ezeamalu

Mamman Ali and Mahmud Tukur were indicted for fuel subsidy fraud

First batch of subsidy trial suspects deny collecting money from government.
The Federal Government lied about paying Petroleum Support Fund, PSF, amounting to N976.6 million to Fargo Petroleum and Gas limited, the owners of the company have said.
Oluwaseun Ogunbambo and Habila Theck, owners of Fargo, on Friday, said they were not partakers in the monumental fuel subsidy fraud.
The two men are among 17 suspected petrol subsidy fraudsters being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission.
The oil marketers told Adeniyi Onigbanjo, the presiding judge at the Lagos High Court in Ikeja, that they never received about N1 billion alleged to have been paid to their company for fuel that was never imported.
“From the information I have, our client has not collected this money. It’s still with the Federal Government,” Adebayo Adenipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and counsel to the defendants, said.
“I’m sure you know that he (the prosecution’s witness) didn’t confirm that our client has got that money, and we are waiting for someone who will say he has collected that money,” Mr. Adenipekun added.
Mr. Onigbanjo adjourned the trial to December 3rd, 4th, and 5th.
The testimony
At the subsidy trial, the first in an array of cases and personalities to be tried in the last quarter of this year, Wole Adamalekun of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, took to the dock.
Led in evidence by Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to the prosecution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Adamalekun explained the processes of importation of fuel from the registration at his agency to when the product berths at the ports.
About 13 agencies are involved in the entire process, according to Mr. Adamalekun.
He also said that each marketer is expected to submit about 45 documents for verification by the agency before getting the nod.
“The first step to be taken is for the marketer to apply to the PPPRA for permission to import,” Mr. Adamalekun, General Manager, Operations, at the agency, said.
“When this permit is granted, he goes to DPR (Department of Petroleum Resources) to obtain license for import. Then he goes to procure the product from the international market, from international suppliers, and then ships the product to Nigeria,” he added.
The general manager also told the court that officials of the agency are present when the products are shipped in, stored at a depot, and evacuated from the depot to various filling stations.
“The major document in computing subsidy is the shore tank certificate which is validated by PPPRA, DPR, Navy, auditors from the Federal Ministry of Finance, NPA (Nigeria Ports Authority), and independent inspectors appointed by us,” Mr. Adamalekun said.
“The auditors are also at the reception facility, they are to check what we have done. They are the final deciders on payment,” he said.
Mr. Adamalekun also said that he is unaware if the defendants have received the said subsidy payment.
‘Bailed’ but in prison
After the witness’ testimony, the defence counsel brought the attention of the judge to the fact that one of his clients, Mr. Theck, is still in custody despite being granted bail two months ago.
When the suspects were arraigned in July, the judge, who insisted Mr. Ogunbambo be in custody pending trial, granted bail to Mr. Theck and asked him to provide a chief executive of a blue chip company as surety among other conditions.
While Mr. Ogunbambo – denied bail for his penchant to assume multiple identities as well as jump bail while under investigation – proceeded to another judge to secure his bail, Mr. Theck had remained at Ikoyi Prisons.
“That is his right,” Mr. Adenipekun said of Mr. Ogunbambo’s release.
“When you are refused bail by a judge, you have the right to go to any other court and also apply.
“And circumstances can change. Our client spent some weeks in prison. When we presented the new facts and other circumstances to the new judge and she found that he was entitled to bail; it is nothing unusual,” he said.
Mr. Adenipekun told the judge, during Friday’s trial, that every other condition for Mr. Theck’s bail had been met except producing the company executive.
The presiding judge asked that a bail application to that effect be filed.
The application will be heard on September 28.
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CBN stops banks from lending to Otedola, Dantata, 417 others

Otedola

In a move aimed at strengthening financial stability and instilling discipline in the banking sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has barred banks in the country from extending further credit to 113 companies and 419 directors/shareholders, including those belonging to Mr. Femi Otedola, Alhaji Sayyu Dantata, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, former Power Minister, Prof. Bart Nnaji, Mrs Elizabeth Ebi and Dr. Wale Babalakin.
The CBN arrived at this decision as a result of the reluctance by the debtors to pay back their loans despite the purchase of the debts at an agreed price by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
In a new circular dated September 17, and obtained exclusively by THISDAY, the central bank stated that the restriction would apply to individuals, organisations, companies as well as principal shareholders and directors of companies where the outstanding value of loans purchased by AMCON amounted to N5 billion or above as at the day of purchase, without regard to the actual amount paid by AMCON.
The circular, which was signed by CBN’s Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs. A. O. Martins, stated that “it has become necessary to stop debtors who failed to repay their loans to banks and had these loans subsequently transferred to AMCON, from further enjoying credit facilities from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) until they fully repay agreed outstandings to AMCON.”
The circular, which was accompanied by a detailed list of the blacklisted debtors, showed that worst hit by the directive are Zenon Petroleum, owned by Otedola, which was indebted to banks to the tune of N192.4 billion; MRS Holdings Limited, which belongs to Dantata – N119.98 billion; Seawolf Limited – N98.32 billion; Arik Air Limited, belonging to Arumemi-Ikhide – N85.481 billion; NITEL Plc/M-Tel – N71.547 billion; and Capital Oil and Gas Limited, which belongs to Ifeanyi Ubah – N48.014 billion.
Others include Falcon Securities, whose Managing Director, Mr. Peter Ololo, was arraigned alongside several bank executives in 2009 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – N162.9 billion; Rockson Engineering Limited, owned by Arumemi-Ikhide – N60.475 billion; BGL Securities – N6.44 billion; Rahamaniyya Oil & Gas Limited – N46.38 billion; Bi-Courtney Limited – N20.214 billion; and Geometrics Engineering, owned by Nnaji – N19.76 billion.
The restriction also applies to: Aero Contractors Company, owned by the family of Olorogun Michael Ibru – N32.579 billion; Tinapa Business Resort – N18.509 billion; Nestoil Limited, belonging to oil and gas entrepreneur, Ernest Azudialu – N13.506 billion; Dorman Long Engineering – N9.667 billion; Ascott Offshore Nig. Ltd, belonging to former banker, Henry Imasekha and the Berkley Group – N64.728 billion; Gitto Constuzioni – N11.838 billion; and Dansa Foods – N14.880 billion, whose directors, Sani and Abdul Dangote, are the brothers of business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
Commercial banks were also directed not to grant further credit to Cross River and Zamfara States because of the failure of the Tinapa Business Resort and Accountant General, Ministry of Finance, Zamfara to pay back loans collected respectively.
The restriction, according to the central bank, came into effect from the date of the circular and shall remain “until full liquidation of agreed indebtedness to AMCON”.
For Zenon Petroleum whose initial debt of N192.423 billion was priced by AMCON at N140.999 billion, the memo showed that “negotiations are ongoing and with fairly clear roadmap”. It also revealed that MRS Holdings’ debt of N119.986 billion, acquired by AMCON at a price of N91.620 billion has been “restructured and is performing”.
Similarly, while the remark on Seawolf’s debt of N98.328 billion that AMCON priced at N88.496 billion was put at “negotiations ongoing,” it showed also that Arik Air’s debt of N85.481 billion which was acquired by AMCON at N62.970 billion has been “restored but there is a moratorium”.
It also showed that while Capital Oil and Gas’ N48.014 billion has been “restructured and awaiting performance,” Rockson’s debt of N60.475 billion, which was acquired by AMCON at N36.331 billion, is still “pending”.
To ensure compliance, the CBN warned that any bank that flouts the guidelines would be made to make an immediate provision of 100 per cent of total principal and interest outstanding in the account of the customer and related parties, in addition to whatever regulatory penalties the CBN may decide to impose.
BusinessNews

First Lady of Cross Rivers allegedly suffering from tapeworm infection

According to what National Enquirer Magazine reported, there’s this popular saying that, poverty doesn’t ever kill but riches do.
That’s exactly the situation with one of the wives of a Nigerian governor who`s presently biting her fingers for looking for comforter when she’s comfortably off.
It is a story of the First Lady of Cross Rivers State, Obioma Liyel-Imoke who’s said to be dying of an infection caused by tapeworm ingested in her system by some Indian specialists 2 years ago during one of her adventures to cut her size.
It would be recalled that, the wealthy woman who owns the popular ValueMart in Victoria Island, Lagos was a size 18 before her husband became the governor of Cross Rivers State and no sooner the handsome man was sworn in than the wife, Obioma began shopping for suitable specialist hospital abroad where she could burn excess fat and reduce her size drastically to allow her compete probably with girls in the range of 12-14.
She made a fantastic appearance when she walked majestically on stage in 2010 during her speech on the debut ceremony of the Calabar festival which was held in Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos, she was really looking dashing in a lovely size 14 gown, her cute and lovely physique was no doubt the subject of the day amongst society ladies in attendance as they were all marveled at the mystique behind her reduction from size 18 to 14.
She has since then dazzled in several events turning heads with her skin which is always festooned in expensive ornaments like diamond, gold and the likes coupled with top of the range designer wears, bags, wrist watches and what have you.
Two years down the line, we gathered reliably that Obioma allegedly began to emaciate, at first, she was enjoying it as she was even said to be preparing to shop for a smaller size before bubble burst recently.
Dependable sources who’re feeling her pulse have disclosed that, the woman is not finding it funny as she now suffers pain in her bone marrow and some of her joints, this was what eventually informed her decision to go back to the hospital in Indian where she heard the shocking news of her life.
According to inside sources, the doctors were said to have been so mad at Obioma for refusing to keep to instructions after her liposuction surgery in 2010. We were reliably informed that, she had been asked to come back in 3 months after the Tapeworm had been ingested into her system because the parasite was only meant to burn fat in her bowel for some months after which the treatment continues but the moment the wife of the Governor saw the wonder of the blade, she forgot to go back to complete her treatment.
We however tried to get in touch with the people we know at the Cross Rivers State Government House but the response we got is that the Governor has changed everybody on that beat and the new people are not on ground yet. Our source who’s very close to Mrs Liyel-Imoke has promised to keep informing us as events unfold.
 DailyPost