Business
GTCO Shareholders To Share N91.2bn Dividend For FY-2022
GTCO AGM Photo: Left -Right : Mrs. Cathy Echeozo, Non-Executive Director; Mr. Segun Agbaje, Group CEO and Mr. Erhi Obebeduo, Company Secretary all of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc at the Group’s 2nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos
The Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc have lauded the Board of Directors of the company for the consistent dividend payouts.
The shareholders made the commendation during the company’s second annual general meeting where they endorsed the payment of a total dividend of N91.236 billion, for the financial year ended December 31, 2022.
The Group proposed a final dividend of N2.80 per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders in addition to the interim dividend of 30 kobo paid in June. This brought the total dividend for the 2022 financial year to N3.10 per unit of ordinary share.
Timothy Adesiyan, the immediate past President of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association, spoke on behalf of shareholders.
He commended the GTCO management for the impressive 2022 financial performance acheived and the consistent dividend policy of the Group.
He also noted the the Group has contributed to the growth of the economy in its lending to Agriculture, SMEs, Real Sector, among others, saying this was seen in the award obtained by the Group in 2023.
GTCO Chairman, Hezekiah Oyinlola, said: “As I reflect on 2022, I recall the challenges we faced at every turn and the prospects that became significant milestones in our journey towards creating a robust yet agile institution.
“As we look across our burgeoning GTCO Universe, we take pride in the concrete outcomes of our diligent efforts and unyielding dedication towards expanding our influence and strengthening our position as a leading provider of financial services in Africa.
“In 2022, our ambition was crystal clear, and we set out to achieve it with unwavering focus. We completed the setup of our holding company and acquired full ownership of Investment One Pension Managers and Investment One Fund Managers, now named Guaranty Trust Pension Managers and Guaranty Trust Fund Managers, respectively.
“Our payment subsidiary, HabariPay Limited, also launched in 2022 and almost immediately introduced its flagship product Squad to the market with outstanding reviews.
“The highlight for me is that these newly created businesses – in payments, fund managers, and pensions ran successfully and were profit before tax positive by the end of the year.”
On his part, the Group Chief Executive Officer, GTCO, Segun Agbaje, said that in spite of the varying challenges and headwinds that weighed on growth in 2022, the Group delivered a decent performance posting a pre-tax profit of N214.2 billion, representing a dip of 3.0 per cent from N221.5 billion posted in 2022.
” PBT contribution from West Africa decreased from 21.0 per cent in December 2021 to 12.3 per cent in December 2022 due to the significant impairment sum of N35.6 billion recognised on the Ghanaian sovereign securities,” he said .
Business
Data Centers Attract $270bn Investments in 2025 — Unctad
France, the United States and the Republic of Korea led as host countries, while emerging markets such as Brazil, India, Thailand and Malaysia also attracted major projects.
Image credit : Unctad
UN Trade and Development has reported that out of $1.6 trillion global foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025, data centres attracted more than one fifth of global greenfield projects, with announced investment exceeding $270 billion.
In the report published this week on its website, Unctad, said that the demand for data centers investment was driven by AI infrastructure and digital networks.
The report reads:
” France, the United States and the Republic of Korea led as host countries, while emerging markets such as Brazil, India, Thailand and Malaysia also attracted major projects.
Similarly, the value of newly announced semiconductor projects rose by 35%.
By contrast, project numbers fell sharply by 25% in tariff-exposed, global value chain-intensive sectors.
Textiles, electronics and machinery were particularly affected.
While investment in technology-driven, capital-intensive projects lifts overall FDI figures, flows remain highly concentrated and generate limited spillovers.
Policies should aim to link digital infrastructure investment more closely to skills development, innovation systems and local value creation.
Business
Tony Elumelu Becomes Seplat Energy’s Non-Executive Director
Seplat Energy Plc has appointed Tony O. Elumelu, the renowned Nigerian businessman and chairman of Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa (UBA), as a Non-Executive Director on its board with effect from January 22, 2026.
The appointment comes shortly after Elumelu’s investment entities, Heirs Holdings Limited and Heirs Energies Limited, acquired a 20.07% stake in Seplat Energy from French oil company Maurel & Prom (M&P) in a December 2025 transaction valued at approximately $500 million.
The deal positioned Heirs as the company’s largest single shareholder.In a related board change, Seplat announced the resignation of Mr. Olivier Cleret De Langavant, who had represented M&P as a Non-Executive Director since January 2020.
Both the appointment and resignation were disclosed in a filing to the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
Elumelu brings deep expertise in energy, banking, power generation, and pan-African investments.
His entry to the board is widely seen as a strategic move to support Seplat’s long-term growth ambitions and further strengthen indigenous participation in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry.
The leadership transition underscores Seplat Energy’s evolving ownership structure and its continued focus on operational excellence and value creation in Africa’s energy sector.
Business
EFCC Directs Moniepoint to Tighten Regulatory Compliance and Strengthen KYC Processes
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has called on Moniepoint, a prominent Nigerian fintech platform, to improve its regulatory compliance standards and reinforce its Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede made the appeal during a recent meeting with Moniepoint’s leadership team. He highlighted the vital role that strong KYC processes play in detecting and preventing fraud, money laundering, and other illicit financial activities, while protecting the overall integrity of the financial system.
The chairman reportedly stressed that full adherence to existing regulations is mandatory for all fintech operators. He encouraged Moniepoint to exceed the baseline requirements set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by putting in place more rigorous internal controls and enhanced due diligence measures to ensure only legitimate customers access its services.
This directive is part of wider regulatory attention on Nigeria’s fintech industry. It follows previous enforcement actions, including the CBN’s imposition of ₦1 billion fines on Moniepoint and several other digital payment providers in 2024 for identified compliance gaps.
Those incidents also led to temporary restrictions on new customer onboarding for some platforms.
In response, Moniepoint has stated its commitment to further strengthening internal controls and upholding the highest standards of compliance in order to deliver secure and transparent financial services to its users.
The EFCC’s position reflects the Nigerian authorities’ continued efforts to tighten supervision of digital financial platforms amid growing concerns over financial crime and illicit flows in the sector.
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