BUA Cement Plc has reported a sharp increase in profitability for the first half of 2026, with profit before tax (PBT) rising by 79% to N384.44 billion, up from N214.80 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. The cement manufacturer disclosed the performance in its unaudited H1 2026 financial results, highlighting a strong earnings trajectory amid continued growth in the company’s operations. Profit after tax also climbed to N324.88 billion during the six months, compared with N180.90 billion recorded in H1 2025, while earnings per share increased from N5.34 to N9.59. The latest results reinforce BUA Cement’s strong profitability…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
Members of the minority caucus in the House of Representatives on Thursday staged a walkout during plenary in protest against the procedure adopted by the lawmakers to pass the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police in Nigeria. The walkout, led by the Minority Leader, Fred Agbedi, came after the House approved the bill despite objections from opposition lawmakers, who alleged breaches of the 1999 Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House. The minority caucus said it was not opposed to the establishment of state police but rejected what it described as a disregard for due process in…
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has begun registration for candidates seeking admission into the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and non‑technological agricultural programmes after the Federal Government waived the UTME requirement for those courses. The announcement was contained in a statement on Thursday signed by JAMB’s Acting Director of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr. Fabian Benjamin. The board said it has put in place a structured admission process to ensure only qualified candidates are admitted under the new policy, preserving programme quality despite the removal of the UTME. “The Federal Government has waived the requirement for candidates seeking…
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has commenced a nationwide enforcement operation to remove alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and polyethene terephthalate (PET) bottles with a capacity of less than 200 millilitres from circulation. The exercise, conducted across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, aims to enforce the Federal Government’s ban on the production, importation, distribution, and sale of prohibited alcoholic products. NAFDAC said the operation follows the closure of manufacturing facilities found to have violated the ban, with enforcement teams deployed to markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and other distribution channels to identify and seize…
The Senate has confirmed the appointment of Lamido Yuguda as Chairman of the Board of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). Yuguda’s confirmation followed a nomination by President Bola Tinubu, who forwarded his name to the Senate on July 9, 2026, in line with the provisions of the AMCON Act. The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions had earlier screened Yuguda and cleared him for the position. During the screening, lawmakers described the nominee as eminently qualified, noting his previous experience and appointments to key positions in Nigeria’s financial sector. The committee subsequently allowed him to…
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE (DPRP) has completed a private equity placement that raised approximately $2.5 billion in new equity, in what the company described as a landmark transaction. The capital raise is believed to be Africa’s largest publicly disclosed primary equity private placement and marks the first equity funding round involving external investors beyond the company’s legacy shareholder base. According to a statement issued by the company, the transaction reflects strong investor confidence in the refinery’s long-term growth strategy, operational performance and prospects as a major energy and industrial enterprise. The proceeds will be used to support the…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that the country’s broad money supply (M3) rose to ₦133.25 trillion in June 2026, up from ₦129.21 trillion in May. This represents a month-on-month increase of ₦4.04 trillion (3.11%), even as the apex bank maintained its benchmark interest rate at 26.5% during the 305th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held May 19–20. The latest money and credit statistics, released Wednesday, also show that M2—comprising narrow money (M1), quasi-money, demand deposits, and currency outside banks—increased to ₦133.24 trillion in June from ₦129.20 trillion the previous month. Year-on-year, the money supply grew by ₦16…
Latest monetary data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have shown that credit extended to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026, up from N81.04 trillion recorded in May. The latest data also come amid a broader expansion in money supply, with Nigeria’s broad money supply rising to N133.25 trillion in June from N129.21 trillion in May. The increase represents a month-on-month rise of about N2.22 trillion, or 2.74 per cent, signalling stronger lending activity to businesses and other private-sector borrowers despite the prevailing tight monetary policy environment. On a year-on-year basis, private-sector credit increased by…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has attributed the apparent scarcity of N100 and N200 banknotes to the growing adoption of digital payment channels and the declining purchasing power of lower-denomination naira notes. Cardoso clarified on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking to journalists after the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), stressing that the affected denominations remain legal tender and have not been withdrawn from circulation. He urged Nigerians to continue accepting the notes, saying the CBN had not announced the withdrawal of any naira denomination. According to the governor, the reduced circulation of lower-value…
The Nigerian naira strengthened against the British pound on Wednesday, extending recent gains as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) maintained a hawkish monetary policy stance aimed at containing inflation and supporting stability in the foreign exchange market. The pound was quoted at about ₦1,849 per £1, compared with ₦1,855 recorded in the previous trading session, indicating a modest appreciation by the naira against the British currency. The latest movement comes after the naira had weakened against the pound in mid-July, when the sterling traded around ₦1,855 in the official foreign exchange market. Market watchers attributed the latest improvement partly…