Economy
Nigeria, 4 Others Ban ‘Dirty’ Fuels From Europe
By Dipo Olowookere
Five West African countries, including Nigeria, have decided to ban ‘dirty’ fuels from Europe, which are believed to contain higher sulphur levels.
This comes in response to concerns over vehicle emissions and in an effort to bring safer, cleaner air to more than 250 million people in the region, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said.
According to UNEP, last week, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire introduced strict standards that will ensure cleaner, low sulphur diesel fuels, and better emissions standards, thus effectively cutting off Europe’s West African market.
Earlier this year, a report by the non-governmental organization Public Eye exposed how European trading companies are exploiting weak regulatory standards in West African countries, thus allowing fuels with sulphur levels that are up to 300 times higher than those permitted in Europe.
“West Africa is sending a strong message that it is no longer accepting dirty fuels from Europe,” said Mr Erik Solheim, head of UNEP. “Their decision to set strict new standards for cleaner, safer fuels and advanced vehicle emissions standards shows they are placing the health of their people first.”
He hailed the move as an example for other countries, noting that air pollution kills millions annually.
“We need to ensure that all countries urgently introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles to help reduce the shocking statistics,” stated Mr Solheim.
In addition to new fuel standards, the group of West African countries has agreed to upgrade their own public and private refineries to meet the same higher standards by 2020.
UN Environment has been working with countries in West Africa to develop policies and standards that will stop the import of fuels with dangerously high levels of sulphur, as well as to introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles. Reducing such emissions around the world is essential to ensure levels of urban air pollution and climate emissions come down.
Combining low-sulphur fuels with advanced vehicle standards can lead to as much as a 90 per cent reduction in harmful emissions.
According to Nigeria’s Environment Minister, Mrs Amina Mohamed, “for 20 years, Nigeria has not been able to address the vehicle pollution crisis due to the poor fuels we have been importing. Today we are taking a huge leap forward: limiting sulphur in fuels from 3,000 parts per million to 50 parts per million. This will result in major air quality benefits in our cities and will allow us to set modern vehicle standards.”
Mrs Mohamed will meet with Lilianne Ploumen, Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, in Hague, in order to take stock of the progress being made to improve the quality of fuels that have been exported from Dutch ports to countries in West Africa, as The Netherlands produces many of the exported dirty fuels.
“The recent report from the NGO Public Eye made abundantly clear that coordinated action is needed to stop the practice of exporting dirty fuels to West Africa. I am very pleased West African governments quickly decided to introduce standards that will help accessing European standard quality fuels. Their people deserve cleaner air, better health, and a cleaner environment. I commend UN Environment for their excellent work,” announced Minister Ploumen.
UNEP hosts the Secretariat of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV), a global public-private partnership that supports a shift to cleaner fuels and vehicles worldwide. When PCFV began its work in 2005, not a single low or middle income country used low sulphur fuels. Today, 23 countries have made that shift. Another 40 are on their way to doing the same.
In addition, UNEP is hosting the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, which recently adopted a global strategy for moving the world to clean, low-sulphur fuels and advanced emissions standards. Experts estimate that this measure will save an annual 100,000 premature deaths by 2030.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.13 per cent on Wednesday, April 29, after its share price shrank by N5.06 to N71.99 per unit from N77.05 per unit.
As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went below the 4,000 mark after it lost 45.73 points to 3,999.23 points from 4,044.96 points. The market capitalisation declined by N27.36 billion during the session to N2.392 trillion from N2.420 trillion.
Midweek trading data showed that the volume of transactions slid by 76.2 per cent to 308,698 units from 1.3 million units, and the value of trades decreased by 7.1 per cent to N25.2 million from N27.1 million units, while the number of deals rose by 3.7 per cent to 28 deals from 27 deals.
At the close of business, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.9 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also finished as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was able to tame the pressure building at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, April 29, after it gained N1.25 or 0.1 per cent against the United States Dollar to close at N1,379.46/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,380.71/$1.
Also, the outcome was the same against the Pound Sterling in the same window, as it added N2.18 to trade at N1,861.58/£1 versus Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,863.76/£1, and against the Euro, it appreciated by N2.14 to settle at N1,612.87/€1 versus N1,615.01/€1.
However, the Naira depreciated further against the Dollar at the GTBank forex counter by N10 to quote at N1,389/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,379/$1, and at the parallel market, it maintained stability yesterday at N1,390/$1.
The improvement witnessed across official market points to NFEM interbank turnover increasing sharply on Wednesday, with data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showing $249.905 million in transactions among institutions across 180 deals.
This indicates improved market liquidity and greater market confidence, leading to tighter bid-ask spreads across all foreign exchange deals.
Market analysts noted that improved liquidity and growing investor confidence now allow the market to function more independently.
Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) and major benchmarked cryptocurrencies fell as Brent crude surged to a four-year intraday high on renewed fears of US military escalation against Iran.
The jump in oil prices reflects a growing war premium tied to the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz and expectations that hypersonic US weapons could be deployed in the region.
Analysts say BTC is unlikely to break above $80,000 unless Middle East tensions ease. Its value shrank by 1.5 per cent to $75,931.00.
In addition, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 3.2 per cent to $2,254.51, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to $83.11, Ripple (XRP) lost 1.6 per cent to sell at $1.37, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped by 1.5 per cent to $616.58, and Cardano (ADA) dropped by 1.4 per cent to $0.2463.
But Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.9 per cent to $0.1062 and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.5 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied by 3.77 per cent on Wednesday on the back of sustained bargain-hunting in equities with sound fundamentals.
The growth reported by Nigerian stocks at midweek raised the year-to-date return above 50 per cent, precisely at 52.43 per cent.
According to data, only the insurance sector ended in red after it shed 1.01 per cent at the close of business.
The industrial goods index appreciated by 6.14 per cent, the energy segment grew by 4.54 per cent, the banking counter expanded by 1.92 per cent, and the consumer goods industry rose by 1.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 8,465.40 points to 237,205.59 points from 228,740.19 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N5.450 trillion to N152.728 trillion from N147.278 trillion.
The quartet of UAC Nigeria, Zichis, CAP, and Airtel Africa gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N165.00, N19.80, N132.00, and N3,021.30, respectively, and Jaiz Bank surged by 9.99 per cent to N8.81.
On the flip side, the duo of John Holt and Cadbury Nigeria lost 10.00 per cent each to trade at N12.60 and N66.15, respectively, as eTranzact shed 9.97 per cent to close at N15.80, Morison Industries slipped by 9.92 per cent to N10.62, and Haldane McCall shrank by 9.74 per cent to N3.43.
The busiest stock for the day was Access Holdings with 281.3 million units worth N7.3 billion, UBA transacted 160.6 million units valued at N7.0 billion, Lasaco Assurance traded 78.6 million units for N153.6 million, Wema Bank sold 65.7 million units worth N2.3 billion, and Morison Industries exchanged 65.0 million units valued at N690.3 million.
At the close of trades, investors bought and sold 1.3 billion equities for N69.1 billion in 83,445 deals versus the 908.0 million units worth N68.2 billion in 72,886 deals on Tuesday.
This showed that the trading volume, value, and number of deals increased yesterday by 43.17 per cent, 1.32 per cent, and 14.49 per cent, respectively.
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