Business
Staff Cooperative Posts N7.26m Profit
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Staff Multi-purpose Cooperative Society has posted a profit after-tax of N7.26 million out of a gross income of N9.01 million for the 2016/2017 financial years.
According to the co-operative financial audited statement for the year ended December 31, the figure represents a 213 per cent increase compared with N2.32 million net profit recorded in 2014/2015 financial years.
The cooperative President, Mr Livinus Ugochukwu, presented the figures during its Annual General Meeting last Friday in Abuja.
Ugochukwu said that N3.22 million was recorded as gross revenue and N869, 239 was the total expenditure in 2016, leaving a net profit of N2.35 million.
He said in 2017, the net profit stood at N4.91 million after a total expenditure of N875, 401, out of N5.79 million was realised as gross revenue that year.
He said that total share capital and savings for 2017 was N4.80 million and N72.76 million respectively, as against N3.51 million and N53 million in 2016.
Ugochukwu, who was re-elected for another one year, attributed the growth to “sustained and disciplined management’’, pledging to move the cooperative to greater heights.
The Chief Registrar of Co-operatives in the FCT, Hajiya Hassana Mohammed said the statement was a “true and fair view of the financial position of the co-operative” for the period.
Some members, including a Director, Mr Chukwudi Ekezie expressed satisfaction with the financial statement, lauding the leadership of the co-operative.
However, members raised eyebrows over a proposal by the Executive Committee to make statutory deductions totalling N2.25 million or 31 per cent of the profit.
One of the items covered by the deduction was payment of honorarium to six members of the committee for which N363, 427 or five per cent of the profit was set aside.
Some of the members argued that the amount was too much, calling for it to be reviewed downward to between two and three per cent.
Others also grumbled over a proposed distribution of N5.01 million, declared as dividends on the basis of 55 per cent for shares and 45 per cent for savings.
However, the proposals were later approved by members after much debate.
Our source reports that for the financial year 2018/2019, new officers to run the cooperative were elected.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.