Celebrity Bout: Portable Rejects Okocha’s Rematch

Controversial Nigerian street-pop artist, Habeeb Badmus, popularly known as  Portable, has rejected Nollywood actor, Charles Okocha’s call for a rematch refusing to hand over the belt.

Recall that Okocha was defeated by Portable in a Heritage Boxing Entertainment celebrity bout on Tuesday night at Landmark Beach, Oniru, near Victoria Island, Lagos.

Portable was declared the winner in a four-round boxing contest on boxing day.

Reacting to his defeat, Okocha described boxing bout as rigged, saying that Portable removed his boxing gloves in the third round, an action that should have led to immediate disqualification.

The two were engaged in an online feud over an alleged N40m rip-off.

Portable claimed that Okocha cheated him out of the money and only sent him a small amount.

Both celebrities have been at loggerheads threatening to beat eachother in videos that surfaced online before the boxing bout was organized on boxing day.

Ogun Gov Signs N703.02bn 2024 Budget Into Law

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, on Friday, signed the 2024 appropriation bill of N703.02 billion into law.

The governor while assenting to the bill said the budget would further enhance the development of the state and make it Nigeria’s infrastructure capital.

The governor spoke in his office in Abeokuta after signing the bill which was presented to him by Mr Olakunle Oluomo, the Speaker of the Ogun House of Assembly.

The budget tagged “Budget of Sustained Growth and Development,” was presented to the House on Nov. 30, by the governor.

According to the governor, the state had continued to grow in leaps and bounds in the last five years, noting that the budget was a testament to his administration’s commitment to irrevocable implementation of its vision.

“When we assumed office on May 29, 2019, we were committed to a vision to ensure that we create an enabling environment for investments and investors to thrive in Ogun State.

“We believe that it is very fundamental to the economic development of our state and the individual prosperity of our people.

“Today, we have a budget that has become law, that is more than twice our budget when we assumed office.

“Year after year, we have successfully implemented our budget to the tune of a minimum of 70 per cent,” he said.

PICTURES: Gov. Sanwo-Olu Pays Condolence Visit To Late Rotimi Akeredolu’s Family At Their Ibadan Residence On Friday, 29 December 2023

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu signing the condolence register of Ex-governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, during his visit to the family at their Ibadan residence, on Friday, 29 December 2023

 

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (left) condoling with widow of Ex-governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu during his visit to the family at their Ibadan residence, on Friday, 29 December 2023

 

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (second left) commiserating with the family of Ex-governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) during his visit to the family at their Ibadan residence, on Friday, 29 December 2023

Union Bank Reports 461% Growth In PBT In Q3, 2023

Union Bank Plc has announced a significant financial performance for the third quarter ending September 30, 2023. The bank reported a profit before tax (PBT) of N102.3 billion, reflecting an impressive growth of 461.1 percent compared to the PBT of N18.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2022. This notable achievement is attributed to a surge in gross earnings, which reached N309.1 billion, marking a 120 percent increase from N140.6 billion in 2022.

The financial highlights further showed a substantial rise in non-interest income, soaring to N144 billion from N28.3 billion in the same period of 2022, denoting an exceptional growth of 409 percent. Net operating income after impairments also experienced a remarkable upswing by 121 percent, reaching ₦168.7 billion, compared to N76.3 billion in 2022.

Operating expenses increased by 14.2 percent to ₦66.4 billion, attributable to factors such as the inflationary environment, elevated power costs, and non-discretionary regulatory expenses. Despite this, the bank demonstrated a robust performance with gross loans escalating by 38.1 percent to ₦1.38 trillion, and deposits witnessing a substantial 30 percent increase, reaching ₦1.93 trillion, a testament to the unwavering confidence of customers in the brand.

Commenting on the results, Mudassir Amray, Managing Director and CEO, expressed satisfaction with the strong financial results, citing a record-breaking revenue increase and impressive profitability figures. He attributed these achievements to the bank's strategic positioning of the balance sheet, effective liability generation, and the creation of responsible risk assets.

Amray emphasised that the growth in revenue and profitability exceeded expectations, underscoring the success of the wholesale banking strategy. Non-interest income saw a phenomenal surge of 409 percent, reaching ₦144 billion. The CEO highlighted the bank's customer-centric approach, robust product portfolio, and innovative channels as key contributors to the 30 percent growth in customer deposits.

The bank remains well-capitalized with a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 15.4 percent, and non-performing loans remain below the regulatory limit at 3.7 percent. Amray expressed optimism about the future, citing strong business fundamentals, a customer-centric approach, and a dedicated team that positions the bank to seize opportunities in the evolving market.

In addressing the merger of Union Bank of Nigeria and Titan Trust Bank, Amray indicated that the process is nearing completion, with all regulatory requirements being fulfilled. He believes that the merger will further strengthen the bank's position and financial performance.

 

He said: “We remain optimistic about the future and are confident in our ability to sustain momentum. Our strong business fundamentals, customer-centric approach, and dedicated team puts us in a solid position to seize the opportunities in this rapidly evolving market. On the merger of Union Bank of Nigeria and Titan Trust Bank, we are fast approaching the finalisation of the process and are fulfilling all the regulatory requirements. We believe that the merger will strengthen our position and financial performance.”

“Net operating income after impairments increased by 121 percent to ₦ 168.7 billion from ₦76.3 billion in September 2022 on the back of increased net revenue across our key business segments – corporate, retail and SME. Although our operating expenses increased by 14 percent to ₦66.4 billion compared to ₦58.1 billion in September 2023, we significantly improved our Cost to Income Ratio to 39.3 percent from 76.1 percent recorded in September 2022. This improvement was due to our effective management of costs, implementation of efficiency measures, optimisation opportunities, and strong revenue growth. The high inflationary environment, non-discretionary regulatory costs, and power costs mainly caused the increase in operating expenses.

“The Bank maintained a solid balance sheet position as Gross Loans grew strongly by 38.1 percent to ₦1.4 trillion compared to ₦.1.0 trillion in December 2022 and Customer deposits by 30 percent on the back of increased New-to-Bank customers, sales promotion, and product patronage. Given the unwavering confidence our customers have bestowed on us, we are confident of finishing the year strong. The Bank will continue to invest in technology to improve customer interactions across our channels and drive efficiency.”

Fidelity Scores Big In KPMG Customer Experience Survey

In what has been termed the crowning glory of a successful year, leading financial institution -Fidelity Bank Plc -has been recognized for its devotion to providing exceptional customer experience.

 

According to the recently issued KPMG 2023 West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey, the bank recorded a marked improvement in its service delivery to customers from 2022 figures; moving from 13th to 5th position in Retail, 13th to 5th position in SME and 10th to 5th position in Corporate customer segment rankings.

 

An excerpt from the foreword in the report reads, “In Nigeria, the cash crunch that characterised the banking landscape and wider economy triggered significant downtimes and deterioration of banking service levels. At the time, there were concerns about the potential long-term impact on trust in the industry and the implications for financial inclusion. However, our research does not suggest that this concern has not materialised to date. Instead, we observed a significant shift from ATMs to agency banking.”

 

It would be recalled that Fidelity Bank was celebrated by a broad section of Nigerians for ensuring its ATMs across the country were well stocked and available to meet customers and non-customers cash needs during the cash scarcity experienced in the country earlier in the year.

 

The news of the improvement in Fidelity Bank’s customer service rating comes to join a string of positive stories on the bank this year which demonstrate the management’s efficient use of resources. These include the reclassification of Fidelity Bank Plc stock from small price stock to medium price stock, its emergence as the best-performing bank share as of half year (June 30) and the company with the highest earnings per share on the NGX based on half year financial figures for the second year running amongst others.

With the public eagerly anticipating the launch of the bank’s public offer and rights issue, the Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe-led institution is no doubt well poised to sustain and even increase investor confidence in the 35year old institution well into the New Year and beyond.

 

The 2023 West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey report is available on the KPMG website.

Police Rescue Pregnant Woman From Kidnappers’ Den In Ogun

Ogun State Police Command says it has rescued a pregnant woman (name withheld), who was abducted at a community in Ijebu-Igbo, Ijebu-North Local Government Area of the state.

Men of the Police Command, alongside operatives of the Amotekun Corps, rescued the woman at about 11:05 pm on Monday, Christmas Day.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the development on Friday.

The Police spokesperson explained that some unknown gunmen had ambushed a couple in front of their house, kidnapping the pregnant wife and leaving the husband behind.

Odutola said, “The Divisional Police Officer in Ijebu-Igbo received a distress call about a suspected kidnapping incident.

“A team of policemen was dispatched to the scene, when they got to the scene, they saw the husband, but the wife had been kidnapped.”

Odutola quoted the husband as saying that, “while they were entering their house, six armed men from nowhere suddenly came out from the bush in front of their house and kidnapped the wife”.

She added that the DPO, his men, operatives of the So-Safe Corps, Amotekun Corps and others formed part of the rescue team.

“They searched through the bush for hours and were able to rescue the woman on Tuesday. The woman was taken to hospital for treatment.

“The Ogun State Command under the Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alamutu, will not relent until criminals are flushed out of Ogun, wherever they are,” Odutola added.

Ogun Assembly Passes N703bn Budget For 2024

Ogun State House of Assembly has passed the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N703 billion after reviewing the proposed spending by 18 ministries, departments, and agencies of government.The bill, tagged No 011/OG/2023, was presented to the assembly by the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, barely four weeks ago.

The governor presented a total of N703,028,013,431.64 as the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the state legislature, consisting of N415.656 billion for capital expenditure and N287.37 billion for recurrent expenditure.

After government agencies and departments appeared before the legislature’s House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, led by Musefiu Lamidi, the committee insisted that the proposed spending of 18 ministries, departments, and agencies be reviewed.

According to the committee’s report, the first schedule saw an upward review of the recurrent expenditures in the budget proposals of the state ministries of Industry, Trade, and Investments; Agriculture, Forestry, and Transportation; Community Development and Cooperatives; Rural Development; Culture and Tourism; Education, Science, and Technology; TRACE; and Waste Management Authority.

Others that had their recurrent expenditures reviewed upward are the Bureau of Lands and Survey and the State Planning and Development Permit Authority, amongst others.

The change led to a reduction in the total revenue target of the government, leading to a downward review from N210.248 billion to N198.748 billion, giving a reduction of N11.5 billion, while revenue from the excess crude was increased from N3.845 billion to N13.845 billion, resulting in an increment of N10bn.

The capital receipt was moved from N128.372 billion to N136.872 billion, giving an upward review of N8.5 billion.

The report also indicated an increment in the proposed expenditures under the second schedule for the Office of Auditors General (state and local) and Sustainable Development Goals.

Meanwhile, at the plenary, the Majority Leader of the House, Yusuf Sheriff, moved the motion for the third reading of the bill, seconded by the Minority Leader, Lukman Adeleye, and supported by the whole house through a voice vote.

After taking the third reading, the Speaker of the Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, directed that a clean copy of the appropriation bill be transmitted to the state governor for his assent.