The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee has raised the benchmark interest rate to 26.25 percent.

This announcement was made by the CBN Governor, who also chairs the MPC, following the committee’s 295th meeting in Abuja.

In the March meeting, the benchmark rate was previously increased by 200 basis points, from 22.75 percent to 24.75 percent.

The committee has consistently adopted a hawkish policy this year to combat persistent inflation in Nigeria.

As of April, Nigeria’s inflation rate had surged to 33.69 percent.

While several analysts anticipated a rate hike, some suggested that the central bank might consider maintaining the current rate, given the month-on-month moderation in inflation growth.

Details later…………… 

President of the Pan-African Conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote has called for increased investments in the African continent to foster its rapid growth and development.

He made the call at the largest gathering of private sector leaders in Africa, the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.

According to Dangote, recent trends underscore Africa’s pivotal role as the future epicenter of global progress.

The business mogul cautioned against the continent’s overreliance on raw material exports, but advocating instead for strategic investments that will propel indigenous industries. He urged African nations to resist the urge to export raw materials but to nurture domestic manufacturing capabilities so as to reduce dependency on imported consumer goods.

He said, “Looking ahead, Africa holds the key to its greatness. I’m not merely investing money but dedicating my entire being to this cause. In Africa, possibilities are boundless. It is like a scratch card; you won’t know what is inside unless you scratch it.

“For some of us, despite the boom of the capital market in the US, we didn’t really participate, rather we invested in Africa.”

Over the past seven years, Dangote pointed out that he had channelled over $25 billion into bolstering Africa’s self-sufficiency in vital sectors such as fertilizers, petrochemicals, and refined products.

Notably, he said the monumental Dangote Refinery, boasting a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, stands poised to meet the burgeoning demand across West Africa, Central Africa, and South Africa.

“We have finished our refinery; it is quite big. We believe it is what Africa needs. If you look at the entire continent, there are only two countries that don’t import petroleum products, only Algeria and Libya but the rest import.

“We need to change that, so we don’t just produce raw materials but finished products and create jobs. One of the things we need to know as Africans is that when we produce raw material and export them while others dump finished products on our continent, what we are doing is that we are importing poverty while exporting jobs. We must change the narrative.

“We just commissioned in February. We are producing jet fuel and diesel. By next month, we will be producing gasoline but what that will do is that it will be able to take most of the African crudes that are being produced and be able to supply refined products not only in Nigeria because our capacity is too big for Nigeria.

“It will be able to supply in West Africa, Central Africa and South Africa. This is the first phase, we are going to the next phase by next year,” he said.

Expressing concern over Africa’s paradoxical export of raw materials juxtaposed with an influx of imported finished goods, Dangote underscored the urgent need to reverse this trend.

He lamented that exporting raw materials while importing finished goods perpetuated a vicious cycle of job loss and poverty.

Founded in 2012, the Africa CEO Forum, is a platform through which African decision-makers connect with each other continuously, as well as with international investors and institutions operating on the continent.

It has evolved into an organisation dedicated to facilitating business in Africa through the exchange of ideas and experiences.

. . . As Dangote Cement, Airtel, Seplat Top Awards

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) on Friday, 17th May held the maiden corporate reporting award.

Biztellers reports that the award recognizes the top 30 most capitalized companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) for the 2022 financial reporting year.

It was gathered that the awards underscored both organization’s shared commitment to fostering transparency, accountability, and international best practices within the private sector. Evaluation criteria included financial reporting, corporate governance, and sustainability reporting.

Dangote Cement secured the top position across all three categories, earning the Platinum award alongside the best-in-class award of excellence in corporate governance. Airtel clinched the gold award, securing the second position and the best-in-class award of excellence in financial reporting for the period under review.

Seplat Energy was honored with the Silver award while also receiving the best-in-class award for excellence in sustainability reporting.

President, ICAN, Dr. Innocent Okwuosa, commended NGX RegCo for ensuring better disclosures and reporting among listed companies.

He noted that corporate reporting had evolved over the years from the time that most of its content focuses on financial reporting to when there emerged the clamour for incorporation of social and environmental disclosures.

He emphasized the evolution of corporate reporting over time, highlighting the shift from a primary focus on financial reporting to the increasing request to incorporate social and environmental disclosures, noting that “the latter has evolved and have been differently propagated including but not limited to Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure and of late sustainability disclosures”.

Dr Okwuosa added that good corporate reporting must reflect the best elements in corporate governance, financial, and sustainability reporting, highlighting that the maiden edition is limited to NGX-30 companies for ease of administration and will be extended to all the listed companies in the future.

On his part, CEO, NGX RegCo, Olufemi Shobanjo, highlighted that “without a doubt, transparency is one of the key drivers of any economy. It ensures full disclosure of information by entities and that such information is easily accessible to members of the public to make informed decisions.

“Over the years, there has been an evolution in the type and quality of information demanded, driven by heightened expectations from investors, decision-makers, and society as a whole.”

He added that “while financial reports remain at the forefront of information required by stakeholders, the concept of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations has become an area of increasing interest to both public and private sector stakeholders”.

Shobanjo attributed this to the interplay between ESG and key issues such as sustainable development, corporate governance, climate change, stakeholder engagement, and community relations amongst a myriad of other issues.

“Stakeholders are beginning to demand more accountability, and companies are required to think beyond just profitability by expanding their scope to include the ethical impacts that their operations have on society or communities within which they operate,” he added.

He concluded that “as a self-regulatory organization, NGX Regulation remains committed to ensuring that the expectations of investors and other stakeholders regarding access to quality information are met.”