Business

Govt Moves To Revive Few Moribund Ports

Published

3 years ago

January 21, 2022

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council are set to revive six moribund ports whose contracts were signed in 2006.

To commence the process, ICRC on Wednesday held a meeting with NSC, which is the owner of the projects, and the concessionaires, according to a statement.

The purpose of the meeting was to get the six inland container depots located in each of the geopolitical zones of Nigeria to become operational.

The statement quoted the commission’s acting Director-General, Mr. Mike Ohiani, as saying that when completed, these ICDs would bring the required benefit to the country Nigeria.

“We are not unaware that at the material time that the contracts were signed, ICRC as a commission had not been set up, so no proper outline business cases were done for the projects like we now do, but I want us to have a frank discussion so that we can chart a way forward,” he said.

The commission reminded the concessionaires and that NSC that by its Act, it is to take custody of all PPP contracts including the ones for the ICDs.

The states where the ports are located and the level of progress by the concessionaires were listed as Oyo State (10 per cent), Abia State (five per cent), Plateau State (29.7 per cent), Kano State (55 per cent), Katsina State (68 per cent) and Borno State (five per cent).

According to the statement, the concessionaires told the ICRC that the 16 years’ journey had been fraught with various challenges that had hampered any progress that could have been recorded.

It said the concessionaires complained of poor cooperation from state governments, which they said mostly delay in meeting their own part of the agreement, citing land provision as an example.

They said another major challenge was the lack of narrow gauge rail lines in and out of the dry ports, which they noted was important to make the operation of the ports efficient.

They added that access to funds also remained a major issue as banks and foreign investors made unreasonable demands for assets and bank bonds before the release of funds.

The concessionaires unanimously stressed the need for the ports being constructed to be given the status of port of origin and destination and also to be registered with the International Chamber of Commerce upon completion.

(PUNCH)

Business

Naira Rises In Parallel Market

Published

8 hours ago

July 15, 2025

Editor

The naira today appreciated to N1,545 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,550 per dollar last weekend.
Likewise, the Naira appreciated to N1,528.65 per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).

Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, showed that the exchange rate for the naira fell to N1,528.65 per dollar from N1,532 per dollar last week Friday, indicating N3.35 appreciation for the naira.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NFEM rate narrowed to N16.35 per dollar from N18 per dollar last weekend.

Business

SEC Raises Alarm Over Forsman & Bodenforms, Warns Investors

Published

8 hours ago

July 15, 2025

Editor

The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, yesterday, has warned the investing public over the activities of Forsman & Bodenforms Limited, saying the firm is not registered to operate in the capital market or to solicit for funds from the public.

The SEC, disclosed this on its website, stressing that its attention has been drawn to the activities of Forsman & Bodenforms Limited, which has been promoting its services in the social media.

The commission said: “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of Forsman & Bodenfors Ltd also known as F&B, which is paraded by its promoters as the Nigerian Branch of a Swedish advertising company bearing that name with obvious criminal intent. The promoters of this fraudulent Nigerian entity go about promising Nigerians automatic employment in the company as compensation for recruiting more members who are lured to pay various sums of money for various positions in the company.”

The commission noted that preliminary investigations reveal that Forsman & Bodenfors Ltd has been actively promoted on social media platforms and online forums, adding that its operations exhibit the typical indicators of a fraudulent (Ponzi) scheme.

“The Commission hereby informs the public that Forsman & Bodenfors Ltd is not registered by the Commission nor authorized to solicit funds from the public or to operate in any capacity in the Nigerian capital market.

“Accordingly, the public is advised to refrain from engaging with Forsman & Bodenfors Ltd or its representatives in respect of any business in the Nigerian capital market, as the potential risk of losing funds to the fraudulent promoters of the entity is very high.

“The investing public is further advised to verify the status of companies and entities offering investment opportunities on the Commission’s dedicated portal – http://www.sec.gov.ng/cmos, before transacting with them”.

Business

Naira Depreciates Against Dollar

Published

2 weeks ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

The Naira experienced a slight depreciation on Friday at the official market, trading at N1,528.56 to the dollar.

Data obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Naira lost N2.73.

This represents a 0.17 percent loss compared to the N1,525.82 recorded on Thursday.

The Naira, which opened the week on Monday with a gain of N9.52 against the dollar, held steady gains until Thursday.

On Wednesday, the local currency gained N3.42 against the dollar and received commendation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF, in its 2025 Article IV Consultation report on Nigeria, commended the CBN for its reforms to the foreign exchange market, which supported price discovery and liquidity.