Abuja, Nigeria becomes Uber's 400th city to launch

Today, Abuja becomes the 400th city to in Uber's growing global network. With the launch of Uber (www.Uber.com), an innovative technology platform, Abuja joins the list of smart transportation hubs in Africa. Following the success of Uber in many other cities, Uber is excited to launch its ride-sharing platform to the people of Abuja.

Uber Abuja

Uber's innovative platform connects drivers with riders in real time, at the touch of a button. Whether you're going to work or going out with friends, Uber provides an affordable, safe and reliable way to get across the city. Abuja is a place where entrepreneurs are born, it is a growing city in the heart of Nigeria. This is a reason why Uber loves Abuja - its people, energy, innovation and beauty really speak for itself.

Ebi Atawodi, General Manager for Uber Lagos said:

"We're really excited to be launch Uber in Abuja. Uber gives the people of Abuja an affordable, easy and flexible choice to move around the city safely and reliably.

"For those who don't know, Uber moves around millions of global citizens every day offering affordable and reliable rides at the touch of a button. By offering a friendly and reliable complement to existing transport options, we can help improve urban mobility in Abuja, reduce traffic congestion and the environmental impact of vehicles at the same time."

So what is Uber?

Uber helps people get a ride at the push of a button - there's no waiting on the street or walking through unfamiliar neighborhoods to find a bus. It's the most convenient way to get a safe, reliable and affordable ride.

Before Getting into the Car

• No more street hails or waiting outside to find a ride. You can start the Uber app from anywhere and wait safely for your car to arrive. That means no standing on the street to hail a cab or struggling to find the nearest bus stop late at night.
  
• Trips are no longer anonymous. When a driver accepts your request, you see his or her first name, photo, and license plate number. You can also check whether others have had a good experience with him or her. In addition, the driver can see your first name and rating. You can contact the driver--and vice versa-- through the app if there is any confusion around pick-up details.

During the Ride

• Share your ETA and location. You can easily share your ride details, including the specific route and estimated time of arrival, with friends or family for extra peace of mind. They'll receive a link where they can see in real time the name and photo of the driver, their vehicle, and where you are on the map until you arrive at your destination--and they can do all of this without having to download the Uber app themselves.

After the Ride

• Feedback and ratings after every trip. After every ride, you and your drivers need to rate each other and provide feedback. Our safety team reviews this information and investigates any issues.
• 24/7 Support. If something happens in a car, whether it's a traffic accident or altercation between you and your driver, our customer support staff are ready to respond to any issues 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Rapid Response. We have a dedicated Incident Response Team to answer any more urgent issues. If we receive a report that a driver or rider has acted dangerously or inappropriately, we suspend their account, preventing him or her from accessing the platform while we investigate.

Behind the Scenes

• Always on the map. Accountability is one of the things that makes riders feel safe in an Uber. We use GPS to keep a record of where a driver goes during the ride, allowing us to verify that the most efficient routes are being used, which creates accountability and a strong incentive for good behavior.
• Working with law enforcement. In cases where law enforcement provides us with valid legal process, we work to get them the facts, for example by providing trip logs. Again, transparency and accountability are at the heart of the Uber experience.
• Pre-screening drivers. All drivers must undergo a screening process before they can use the Uber app.

CBN raises benchmark interest rate to 12 pct

The Central bank of Nigeria has unexpectedly raised the benchmark interest rate from 11 to 12 percent on Tuesday.

Speaking at the end of its monetary policy committee on Tuesday in Abuja, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the bank also raised the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for commercial banks to 22.5 percent from 20 percent and it held the liquidity ratio at 30 percent.

Emefiele who added that the apex bank would keep the naira foreign exchange rate stable despite a sharp fall of the currency on the parallel market due to shortages of dollars, cited the state of the economy and rising inflation, which is above the central bank's target band of 6 to 9 percent.

The monetary policy rate was last adjusted in November 2015, when it was reduced from 13% to 11%.

FAAC: FG States, LGs share N345bn as February revenue

The Federal Ministry of Finance says  N345 billion was shared among the federal, states and local governments as revenue for February 2015.

Addressing newsmen  on the outcome of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting,  Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mahmoud Isa Dutse, said that the shared amount comprised the month’s statutory revenue of N270.5 billion.

Alhaji Dutse said also that the money shared included the N6.3 billion refunded to the federation by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Recall that N370.3 billion was shared to the three tiers of government as revenue for the month of January, showing an increase of N25.2 billion in revenue.

Nigerian bond yields rise after rate hike aimed at luring investors

Nigerian bond yields spiked across the curve on Wednesday after the central bank unexpectedly tightened monetary policy in an about-turn to curb inflation and attract foreign investors.

The central bank of Nigeria on Tuesday raised its benchmark rate to 12 percent from 11 percent, having cut rates only four months ago by 2 percentage points, and lifted the cash reserve ratio for commercial banks to 22.5 percent from 20 percent.

Yields on the benchmark 20-year bond rose 55 basis points (bps) to 12.7 percent while the 10-year yield climbed 45 bps to 12.65 percent. The yield on five-year paper, the most liquid maturity, gained 41 bps to 11.7 percent.

"The MPC has signalled a tightening and rates have gone up. Lenders can place their funds with the central bank at 7 percent so why buy treasury bills at lower yields?" one trader said.

On Tuesday, central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, said extra liquidity had not translated into more lending and cited inflation, at a 3-1/2-year high of 11.4 percent last month, and well above the central bank target of 6 percent to 9 percent.

Nigeria is going through its worst economic crisis for years due to a slump in crude prices which has weakened its naira currency and slashed government revenue. Oil exports account for about 70 percent of national income.

Banks were quoting 10 percent on the interbank overnight lending market, a jump from Tuesday's 4.8 percent before the central bank rate decision. There were no deals on Wednesday.

The stock market, which has the second-biggest weighting after Kuwait on the MSCI frontier market index, bucked two day of gains to shed 1.19 percent, as domestic funds switch to bonds, traders said.

Naira firms vs dollar in 1-mth forward as capital market indicators improve by 0.45%

Nigeria’s naira strengthened 1 percent against the dollar on Monday in the forward market after the country’s central bank raised interest rates by 100 basis points to 12 percent.

One-month dollar/naira forwards were bid at 205 after the rate rise compared to around 207 earlier

Meanwhile the market indices of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday appreciated further by 0.45 per cent amid price growth by some blue chips.

Naija247news reports that the All-Share Index improved by 117.37 points or 0.45 per cent to close at 26,020.32 against 25,902.95 recorded on Monday.

Similarly, the market capitalisation which opened at N8.910 trillion rose by N40 billion or 0.45 per cent to close at N8.950 trillion.

An analysis of the price movement chart indicated that Nestle led the gainers’ table, growing by N22 to close at N702 per share.

Nigerian Breweries came second with a gain of N5.20 to close at N109.20, while Guinness appreciated by N4.01 to close at N112 per share.

Unilever increased by N1.47 to close at N38.92, while UACN gained 47k to close at N20.95 per share.

Conversely, Seplat topped the laggards’ chart, dropping by N30 to close at N310 per share.

PZ trailed with a loss of N1.13 to close at N21.71 and National Salt Company of Nigeria shed 36k to close at N6.86 per share.

Zenith Bank dropped 29k to close at N12.90, while UAC Property declined by 25k to close at N4.85 per share.

Also, investors bought and sold 344.12 million shares valued at N2.46 billion achieved in 4,386 deals.

NAN reports that this was in contrast with 412.47 million shares worth N2.07 billion traded in 3,285 deals on Monday.

GT Bank was investor’s delight having accounted for 69.62 million shares worth N1.14 billion.

It was followed by Fidelity Bank with 53.32 million valued at N71.04 million, while UBA traded 32.64 million shares worth N121.14 million.

Zenith Bank sold 32.34 million shares valued at N424.99 million and Multitrex exchanged 30 million shares worth N15 million.