A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) acted within its powers under the CBN Act & particularly Section 53 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2004 when it intervened to save depositors funds in Bank PHB.

The Court held that documentary evidence available before it showed that Bank PHB had a non-performance loan of N475 billion with its liquidity ratio below 25% and held that the bank indeed showed a sign of a failing bank which was in dire need of capital and in contravention of the provisions of the Act.

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday read the riot act to officials of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), warning them to execute the privatisation programme on power to the letter or face sanctions.

He gave the warning at the end of the one-day Presidential Workshop entitled: "Dismantling barriers to achieving our power sector vision", held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The President said: "Whether the person is my mother or my uncle, I do not want to hear that somebody is from the President or vice-president. If you make mistakes, you are on your own and we will deal with you decisively".

LAGOS — Shell announced Friday a significant cut in its Nigerian oil production due to pipeline damage caused by theft, and warned that it might not meet contractual obligations as a result.

"The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) declared force majeure on outstanding cargoes of Bonny Light with effect from noon (1100 GMT) today, 4th May 2012," a statement said.

MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd has expressed surprise over the latest query it got from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over poor quality of services in Lagos Nigeria and its environs.

NCC had this week issued a query to MTN, to explain why it would not be sanctions for the unbearable poor quality of services in Lagos and its environs.

THE Federal government has pledged to diversify the petroleum sector, in order to ensure maximum benefit from petroleum resources for the overall good of the nation.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Pius Anyim Puis, who disclosed this in Lagos at the 2012 PUNUKA Attorney & Solicitors, with the theme: “Making a Petroleum based Economy an Engine for Growth: The Realities of the Resource Curse”, said the diversification will include refining petroleum products and other derivatives in the country.

The failure of the Nigerian Capital market to stage a rebound in line with other markets around the world has precipitated a consensus among stakeholders that the Central Bank has to be involved in efforts to revive the local bourse.

At the annual Capital Market Conference organised by BusinessDay, experts yesterday said the CBN and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria ( AMCON) have crucial roles to play as the apex bank’s monetary policies have great impact on the market. It was also canvassed that as was the case in the US, where the government intervened to save the Bank of America and AIG, the CBN should offer bail out measures for capital market operators.

The Bauchi State government says it is set to resuscitate cotton ginnery in the state to complement Federal Government’s effort at reviving the nation’s ailing textile industries.

Dr Dauda Abdullahi, the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Agriculture, disclosed this to newsmen during an advocacy visit to cotton farmers in Kirfi Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday.

Air travellers may be expected to pay more as oil marketers have again raised the price of aviation fuel, a key factor in airline business.

With the rise in pump price of the commodity, otherwise known as JET A1, from N170 to N195 per litre, airline operators are in a fix on what to do to break even as aviation fuel consumes about 60 percent of their revenue. The aviation fuel industry is deregulated.