News

DMO Opens FG Savings Bond Subscription At 18.06%

Published

1 year ago

April 3, 2024

Editor

The Debt Management Office has opened subscriptions for two Federal Government’s savings bonds, each priced at N1,000 per unit at 17.06 and 18.046 per cent, respectively.

It disclosed this in a statement accessed on its website by PUNCH on Wednesday.

The DMO offered a two-year savings bond expected to mature on April 9, 2026, at 17.046 per cent per year.

This bond is designed for retail investors and offers guaranteed quarterly interest payments along with repayment of the principal at maturity.

The second is a three-year savings bond due to mature on April 9, 2027, at an interest rate of 18.046 per cent.

Similar to the two-year bond, this option also provides quarterly interest payments and principal repayment.

DMO is a government agency established to centrally coordinate the management of Nigeria’s debt.

Investor interest in the FGN Savings Bond has been on the rise, with a 19.3 per cent Year-on-year increase in subscription value, reaching N17.9bn by the end of December 2023, largely due to favorable interest rates.

These savings bonds, like all government securities, are backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government. They also qualify as securities under the Trustees Investment Act.

Additionally, they meet the criteria for tax exemption and are considered government securities according to the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act.

The bonds are listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited and serve as liquid assets for banks’ liquidity ratio calculations.

The subscription period for these bonds began on April 1, 2024, and it will close by April 5, 2024.

The settlement date is April 9, 2024, while the coupon payment dates are as follows: Quarterly – July 9, October 9, January 9, and April 9.

The DMO noted that “the minimum subscription is N5,000, with multiples of N1,000 thereafter, up to a maximum of N50 million. Interest is paid quarterly, and the principal is repaid as a bullet payment upon maturity.”

Earlier, DMO initiated the subscription process for two-year and three-year Federal Government of Nigeria bonds for March 2024 with an interest rate of up to 16.097 per cent.

This announcement was made in a statement on the DMO’s official website. The subscription period is set to last for five days, running from March 4 to March 8, 2024.

News

FG Shuts 22 Illegal Tertiary Institutions

Published

2 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The National Commission for Colleges of Education has uncovered and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education.

The discovery was made during a crackdown on illegal colleges of education in the country.

The development was revealed in the commission’s achievements, seen by our correspondent.

“The NCCE identified and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across the country.

“The NCCE conducted personnel audit, financial monitoring in all the 21 federal colleges of education,” the commission said.

President Bola Tinubu had recently urged the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education to weed out illegal higher institutions of learning in the country.

Speaking at the 14th convocation of the National Open University of Nigeria in Abuja, the President ordered the NUC, the NBTE, and other agencies to take decisive action against what he described as “certificate millers” undermining the credibility of the education sector.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, warned that the integrity of the academic system must not be compromised.

“At this juncture, it has become imperative to reiterate that this administration remains committed to strengthening the integration of all agencies involved in the administration of education to enhance efficiency and quality,” the President said.

He added, “The National Youth Service Corps, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education are working in alignment to improve the quality of education and ensure that cases of forgery and unrecognised institutions both within and outside the country have no place in our education ecosystem.”

News

EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show

Published

4 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has condemned the actions of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, who was recently spotted participating in a matchmaking programme on social media platforms hosted by popular entertainer Lege Miami.

The agency has ordered his immediate arrest for retaining official EFCC property, including an identity card, following his dismissal for certificate forgery.

The anti-graft agency, in a statement on its official X handle on Monday, said Folarin served as a driver at the EFCC’s Ibadan Zonal Directorate.

He was, however, dismissed after investigations confirmed he had forged his academic credentials.

It said, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, condemned in the strongest terms, the involvement of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, in a matchmaking programme running on Lege Miami social media platforms.”

“Folarin was recently dismissed from the Commission for certificate forgery. He was a driver at the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.”

The statement said EFCC Executive Chairma,n Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered Folarin to be arrested and emphasised that Folarin’s actions should not be associated with the commission.

“The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered his arrest for being in possession of some Commission’s properties, including an identity card, which he should have handed over upon being dismissed from the EFCC.

“The public is advised against associating Folarin’s post-dismissal conduct with the EFCC,” the statement concluded.

News

NERC Transfers Regulation Of Electricity Market To Bayelsa

Published

4 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has transferred regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State to the Bayelsa Electricity Regulatory Agency.

In a notice on its social media handles on Monday, the commission said this was in compliance with the amended 1999 Constitution and the Electricity Act 2023.

“In compliance with the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued an order to transfer regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State from the Commission to the Bayelsa State Electricity Regulatory Agency,” the commission said.

Recall that with the Electricity Act 2023, the commission retains the role as a central regulator with regulatory oversight on the interstate/international generation, transmission, supply, trading, and system operations.

The Act also mandates any state that intends to establish and regulate intrastate electricity markets to deliver a formal notification of its processes and requests NERC to transfer regulatory authority over electricity operations in the state to the state regulator.

The transfer order by NERC directed Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc to incorporate a subsidiary distribution company to assume responsibilities for intrastate supply and distribution of electricity in Bayelsa State from PHED.

PHED was also directed to complete the incorporation of PHED SubCo within 60 days from August 21, 2025.

“The subcompany shall apply for and obtain a licence for the intrastate supply and distribution of electricity from BYERA, among other directives,” the commission said.

It concluded that all transfers envisaged by the order shall be completed by February 20, 2026.

With this order, Bayelsa has joined states like Lagos, Imo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu, Niger, Edo, Oyo and Plateau, which have got the power to regulate electricity markets.

The state can now generate, transmit, and distribute electricity while issuing licences to investors within the value chain.