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Market Operators Call For Margin Loans’ Absorption

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14 years ago

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Some capital market operators on Thursday said the Federal Government’s intervention in the financial sector could only be effective if the contentious issue of margin loans was addressed.

Margin loans are loans taken by investors to buy stocks in the capital market. The loans are taken to take advantage of a prevailing situation to position themselves in the market.

Some of the loans have gone bad because of the crisis on the Nigerian Stock Exchange which has led to slide of stock prices.

The market operators said in separate interview in Lagos that the outstanding margin loans should be absorbed by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to ensure more liquidity in the market.

Alhaji Rasheed Yussuf, the Chairman of Association of Stock Broking Houses of Nigeria, suggested that the Federal Ministry of Finance should support AMCON to address the issue of margin loans.

He advised that government should consider margins loans as the non-performing loans of banks that were absorbed by AMCON.

He said that absorption of margins loans by AMCON would provide more liquidity to the market since prices of equities would never appreciate without adequate liquidity in the market.

Mr Oladipo Aina, the Chief Executive Officer of Signet Securities Ltd., said that the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange was affected by the de-listing of shares of some of the troubled banks.

Aina said that the capital market, being the barometer of the economy, needed government’s intervention.

He said that the operators would review their position papers for the Federal Government to accommodate opinions of other stakeholders on the way forward.

Aina said that the government’s intervention in the financial sector was only being felt in the banking sector and advised that the gesture should be extended to the capital market.

He said that investors’ expectations were high when AMCON was established..

Aina said that investors should be educated on the rudiments of the market, adding that investment in the capital market should be for long-term because of the domination by the equity sector.

He said that it would take the market a long time to get back to the boom of the pre-crisis era.

The Chief Executive Officer, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., Malam Garba Kurfi said that the impact of activities of AMCON in the financial sector had not been felt in the capital market as it had remained bearish.

“I do not see much impact of the bail-out in the market, except in the bonds market,” Kurfi said.

We recall that AMCON recently said it would stop absorbing banks’ bad loans from Oct. 31 and that by then it would have acquired N2.78 trillion face value of non-performing loans from 21 banks at the cost of N1.16 trillion.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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4 days ago

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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4 days ago

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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4 days ago

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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