Milost Global Inc. has ended talks to provide $1 billion to Nigeria’s Unity Bank Plc, saying it received threats that it will be run out of the country if the deal continues.

The New York-based private-equity firm had agreed to provide debt and equity on the understanding that Unity would delist in Nigeria to have its stock traded in the U.S., Milost said in an emailed statement on Monday.

The term sheet was signed and approved by the board of Unity, which needed the capital to strengthen its balance sheet and to expand, the firm said. It would ultimately have acquired 60 percent in the Lagos-based bank.

The board of directors of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has recommended distribution of N29.1 billion to shareholders as cash dividend for the 2017 business year. The dividend was part of the highlights of the audited report and accounts of the bank released at the weekend.

Ben Akabueze, Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, said yesterday that the Federal Government released about N2.45 trillion for capital projects from 2016 and 2017 budgets. Ben Akabueze Akabueze disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

About 23 power generation companies produced and supplied 2,666,906.88 megawatts of electricity worth N48.23bn in January 2018 but received only N6.1bn as payment, according to the latest report of Gencos performance. According to Punch, the document which was obtained from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in Abuja

The National Bureau of Statistics says Internally Generated Revenue at State level for 2017 was N931.23bn compared to N831.19bn recorded in 2016.

This indicates a growth of 12.03% year on year.

At half year of 2017, total revenue generated by states was put at N432.65bn as against N409.09bn in the half year of 2016.

Crude prices rose on Friday, hitting their highest since late January after the Saudi energy minister said OPEC and allied producers would need to keep coordinating supply cuts into 2019, and as concerns grew over the future of Iranian crude exports. According to Reuters, Brent crude futures jumped $1.54, or 2.2 percent, to settle at $70.45 a barrel. For the week, Brent was up about 6.4 percent, its strongest weekly rise since July.

Oil marketers and the Organised Private Sector [OPS] on Sunday, canvassed for two regulatory bodies to regulate the oil industry under the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill [PIGB] currently before the National Assembly.

The oil marketers disclosed this at a joint media briefing with the OPS in Lagos.

Mr. Obafemi Olawore, the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers [MOMAN] warned that an omnibus or humongous commission that will be empowered to regulate the entire petroleum sector, runs contrary to industry standards.

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday sustained its intervention in the foreign exchange market by injecting the sum of $339.89m into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales. The Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, noted that the continued intervention was in line with the pledge made by the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to sustain market liquidity in order to boost production and trade.

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is planning to set up locally-built refineries to increase the country’s refinery capacity. Vice-Chancellor of the school Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe revealed this at the 1st Annual General Meeting and 2nd Alumni Lecture of the UNILAG Faculty of Engineering Alumni Association.

The Federal Government is to launch the Nigerian Economic Diplomacy Initiative April 5, 2018 to facilitate global market access for Nigerian products. Spokesperson Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tiwatope Elias-Fatile, stated this in Abuja at a bi-weekly briefing on the activities of the Ministry.