Five things to know to start your Monday

Ministerial screening to start on Monday

Individuals nominated by President Bola Tinubu for confirmation by the upper federal legislative chambers will begin their screening today (Monday).

President Tinubu had on Thursday submitted 28 names of his prospective ministers to the leadership of the Senate as time to submit those names elapsed on that day.

Among the names on the list are former Governors Nyesom Wike from Rivers State, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State. Others are Dele Alake, Dele Ekun, and several technocrats and politicians cut across the six geopolitical zones.

The president promised to submit more names, as eleven states didn’t have names on that list.

Many comments on social media suggest that the nominees will get a clean pass when the screening starts today.

Read also: Dangote Refinery: Why Nigerians were ignored, 11,000 Indian workers hired

Dangote Cement pan-African sales volume up 11.6% in H1

Dangote Cement Plc has announced growth in its pan-African performance in its unaudited results for the first half of 2023.

Sales volume in the pan-African region surged by 11.6 percent, reaching 5.4 million metric tonnes compared to 4.9 million metric tonnes in the same period last year.

This growth is credited to strong demand, especially from Ethiopia, Senegal, Zambia, and the Congo.

As a result, pan-African revenues soared by 81.8 percent to N336.4 billion, contributing to the overall group revenue increase of 17.7 percent to N950.8 billion.

Recurring profit after tax showed significant growth at 37.4 percent, amounting to N292.2 billion, while profit after tax rose by 3.8 percent to N178.6 billion.

The company’s successful performance reflects its expanding presence and robust operations beyond Nigeria, the report said.

CAC completes stakeholder sensitisation on BOR in major cities

Rasheed Mahe, Head of Media, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) said that the agency has successfully completed the first leg of stakeholder sensitisation on the use of Beneficial Ownership Register (BOR).

Mahe, gave this revelation in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

“The journey to building Africa’s first BOR began seven years ago with Nigeria making a commitment to the world during the 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit.

“At the summit, Nigeria pledged, among other things, to open a publicly-available beneficial ownership register of corporate entities.

“The CAMA 2020 heralded a new beginning, as work on BOR began in earnest, scaling through extensive development and testing in line with global standards under the guidance, supervision and support of the World Bank, ” he said.

IPMAN lauds Polaris over Emadeb’s PMS import

Polaris Bank and Emadeb Energy Services Limited were lauded by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for their collaborative efforts, which resulted in the recent importation of 20,000 metric tonnes of premium motor spirit into the country.

Mike Osatuyi, the National Operations Controller of lPMAN, in a statement issued on Sunday, praised the partnership as not only groundbreaking, but much needed,  as it shattered the long-standing downstream sector monopoly in Nigeria.

Polaris Bank’s significant contribution of N13billion funding facilitated the seamless transportation of 27 million liters of petrol to the country.

Osatuyi added that this achievement marks a crucial milestone in the nation’s energy sector, offering promise for enhanced competition and improved availability of essential petroleum products.

Oil set to achieve its biggest monthly gains in over a year

Oil prices are expected to post their biggest monthly gains in over a year, hovering near three-month highs on Monday on expectations that Saudi Arabia will extend voluntary output cuts into September and tighten global supply.

Brent crude futures dipped 9 cents to $84.90 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $80.41 a barrel, down 17 cents.

The September Brent contract will expire later on Monday, while the more active October contract was at $84.23 a barrel, down 18 cents.

Both Brent and WTI are on track to close July with their biggest monthly gains since January 2022, gaining for a fifth straight week. Analysts expect Saudi Arabia to extend a voluntary oil output cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) for another month, including September.

The tightening of oil supplies globally and expectations of an end to U.S. interest rate hikes have supported prices.