- Perform or be sacked, Tinubu warns new NNPCL board members
BY FESTUS OKOROMADU, ABUJA
The Nigerian bourse commenced the week on a positive territory as the market closed higher by 15.68 basis points. Consequently, the market benchmark index recorded mild gains of 0.02 percent to close at 72,404.91 points as investors cherry picked on stocks with attractive prices on Monday.
As a result, the local bourse’s year-to-date gain climbed to 41.28 percent, while market capitalization gained N8.58 billion to close at N39.62 trillion.
The shares of INFINITY, JOHN HOLT, TRANSCOHOT, SCOA and FTNCOCA appreciated by 9.93 percent, 9.87 percent, 9.38 percent, 8.62 percent and 7.53 percent, respectively, to drive the gains on Monday.
Performance across sub-sector gauges was mildly bullish, as three of the five indices tracked closed in the green zone: the NGX Banking, NGX Oil/Gas and NGX Industrial Goods indexes rose by 0.07 percent, 0.09 percent, and 0.03 percent, respectively. On the flip side, the NGX Insurance and NGX Consumer Goods indexes nosedived by 1.30 percent and 0.09 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, market activity was varied, with total deals and volume increasing by 12.12 percent, and 5.57 percent to 6,745 deals and 324.25 million units, respectively while the total traded value for the day declined by 33.03 percent to N4.40 billion.
At the close of the trading session, MBENEFIT emerged as the most actively traded stock in terms of volume with 42.08 million shares worth N20.36 million changing hands in 47 deals, while UBA was the most traded in terms of value, amounting to N689.91 million.
Perform or be sacked, Tinubu warns new NNPCL board members
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, asked members of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to immediately get to work, warning that non-performance will not be tolerated.
Tinubu also warned that conduct suggesting a sense of entitlement will not be tolerated, and that the board could be dissolved over non-performance without prior notice to members.
“But you could be suddenly dissolved if there is no sustained excellence in performance,” Tinubu said when he inaugurated the Board of the NNPCL at the State House, Abuja.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed this in a statement he signed Monday.
Tinubu promised to optimise Nigeria’s security architecture to improve the performance of the board.
“The challenge is corporate governance. Yes, we will improve the security situation. We are working very hard.
“Sincerely, the Chief Executive Office, Kyari, is doing very well, and doing all that I know.
“It is my honour to inaugurate this Board, which has people of great integrity. I am honoured that we are doing this. I recognise all of you,’’ he said.
Tinubu said the board must prioritise corporate social responsibility for the Niger Delta people, considering the devastating effects of oil exploration and exploitation on the environment.
He said, “Niger Delta must be seen as the goose that lays the golden egg, and we must treat that region with the deserved respect and care.
“It is not asking for too much to ensure quality and constant water supply, schools, medical facilities, and roads. It is not about us. It is about the well-being of the entire country and the lifeblood of the nation.
“We should care more about the environment. We will do more for security to minimise stealing and vandalism.”
The President directed that more attention should be given to gas as Nigeria transitions to cleaner energy, saying, “We need to show that we are committed to the welfare of our country.”
He added, “Take a look at the Petroleum Industry Act, and know what the pitfalls are. The Cabinet members and Board should decide what we can do differently for production increase, profitability, and governance. It is in your hands. I will work with you.”
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Board, Pius Akinyelure, commended the President for the removal of petrol subsidy, noting that the nation would have drowned in debt, but for his decisiveness.
“Our focus is to increase production. We must address the problem of stealing and pipeline vandalization in the Niger Delta. We are aware of the efforts in the past, but we will do more,’’ he said.
