Economy
Nwokoma Charges Cardoso to Stop Political Interference in FX Market
By Dipo Olowookere
A professor of Financial Economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Mr Ndubisi Nwokoma, has tasked the nominee for the position of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, to stop political interference in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
The don gave this charge when he appeared as a guest on Arise TV’s breakfast programme, The Morning Show, on Monday, monitored by Business Post.
He said the suspended CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, allowed politicians to contribute to the crisis in the forex market today, saying he was not bold enough to say no to them.
According to Mr Nwokoma, the weakening of the Naira against the United States Dollar under the tenure of Mr Emefiele in eight years was worse, pointing out that having the Naira at about N200/$1 in 2015 and N950/$1 in 2023 is not acceptable and good for any economy.
“There are many questions about political interference in (the use of forex); where a particular big company will come and get a huge allocation of FX.
“The new CBN Governor must make sure such thing does not arise [again] because before Emefiele came on board, under (Charles) Soludo (the current Governor of Anambra State) and (Lamido) Sanusi, we had stability in the exchange rate.
“As of 2011 and 2012, we can say the exchange rate was like N150/$1, but when (Goodluck) Jonathan left office (as President of Nigeria in 2015), it was N197/$1; in the past eight years, we have had instability [in the forex market].
“In my view, there had been a lot of political interferences in the FX market; that is an area the new Governor will have to look at; minimise political interference, where people just come because they know somebody somewhere and get undue forex allocation, creating scarcity for those who genuinely forex.
“The exchange rate is a price tied to two factors; supply and demand. If the supply is shrinking because it is being cornered, then it can affect the rate. At the moment, we are talking about N940/$1 and N950/$1; it is unheard of, from N197/$1 or N200/$1 in 2015, over a period of eight years, that should never happen in any economy.
“There is no way that won’t affect the prices because of the imported input; Nigerians import a lot of things. The new CBN Governor will have to look into this,” Mr Nwokoma, who is also the Director of the Centre for Economic Policy Analysis and Research, stated.
Speaking on the competence of Mr Cardoso, Mr Nwokoma said the former Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos State is not a round peg in a round hole, noting that the role should have been given to someone with monetary policy experience and not someone with a fiscal background.
“If you take a look at the functions of the CBN, the first is to issue legal tender currency, the second is to maintain external reserves that will support the value of the currency, and the third is to maintain monetary and price stability.
“Cardoso has been a banker and a stockbroker; we should begin to look into having a former Deputy CBN Governor to head the central bank, like Tunde Lemo, though I am not speaking for him,” he said.
By Bon Peter
The Area 11 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Onne, Rivers State surpassed its 2024 annual revenue target by N16 billion.
This information was revealed to newsmen by the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Mr Mohammed Babandede, at a news conference last week.
He also disclosed that the command recently intercepted 12 containers of illicit drugs worth over N20.30 billion concealed in various items.
According to him, the content of the seized container included 1,721,100 bottles of 100ml cough syrup codeine, 510,000 tablets of 50mg Really Extra Diclofenac, 7,100,000 tablets of 225mg Royal apple Tramadol and Tramaking, 3,461 pieces of sanitary ware fittings used for concealment, 840 pieces of Chilly cutter used for concealment, and 153 cartons of TVS rubber.
“Our vigilant officers and men have successfully intercepted and seized an additional 12 containers (40 feet) of illicit medicine.
“This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to safeguarding public health, ensuring security of our nation and compliance with Nigeria’s import regulations. This also justifies our commitment to trade facilitation, transparency, effective and efficient service,” he said.
He said last year, the command received the support of different stakeholders, thanking them for working with the agency to achieve success.
“We appreciate the continued support and collaboration of all stakeholders, including the media, in amplifying our message and efforts to combat smuggling,” he said.
Mr Babandede stated that, “It is worth noting that the morale and dedication of our officers have been significantly bolstered by the Comptroller-General of Customs’ award, recognizing Area 2 Command as the Best Command in Anti-Smuggling Operations.
“This honour has further strengthened our resolve, and I assure you that we will not relent in performing our duties to protect the lives and well-being of Nigerians.”
The customs chief said earlier last year, the command was given a revenue target of N618 billion but as of December 31, 2024, it generated N634 billion, higher than the N321 billion recorded in 2023, promising to do more in 2025.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited appreciated by 0.39 per cent on Friday as the demand for local equities continued to increase.
During the final trading session of the week, the insurance maintained its upward trend with a growth of 7.81 per cent as the banking index appreciated by 1.08 per cent, the consumer goods sector rose by 0.52 per cent, and the industrial goods counter expanded by 0.33 per cent, while the energy space went down by 0.49 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) jumped by 406.19 points to 103,586.33 points from 103,180.14 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N248 billion to N63.166 trillion from N62.918 trillion.
The bourse recorded 67 appreciating shares and 11 depreciating shares, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Chams, Omatek, NCR Nigeria, Learn Africa, and Regency Alliance topped the gainers’ table after they gained 10.00 per cent each to finish at N2.31, 88 Kobo, N6.05, N4.95, and 88 Kobo, respectively.
On the flip side, TotalEnergies lost 9.74 per cent to trade at N630.00, CWG depreciated by 6.04 per cent to close at N7.00, Thomas Wyatt went down by 5.26 per cent to N1.80, ABC Transport crumbled by 4.07 per cent to N1.18, and UAC Nigeria shed 3.19 per cent to N31.90.
Yesterday, investors traded 709.3 million stocks valued at N8.2 billion in 13,593 deals compared with the 829.8 million stocks worth N5.7 billion transacted in 11,752 deals on Thursday, representing a slowdown in the trading volume by 14.52 per cent and a rise in the trading value and number of deals by 43.86 per cent and 15.67 per cent, respectively.
At the close of business, Chams topped the activity log with 58.1 million equities sold for N133.8 million, Veritas Kapital traded 55.1 million shares valued at N89.2 million, Abbey Mortgage Bank exchanged 50.1 million stocks for N165.5 million, AIICO Insurance transacted 39.7 million equities worth N68.3 million, and NPF Microfinance Bank sold 34.3 million stocks valued at N64.0 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its positive start to the year with a 0.08 per cent rise on Friday, January 3.
The market saw a gain of N840 million, with the value of the alternative bourse growing to N1.046 trillion from the N1.045 trillion it closed a day earlier as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) made an addition of 2.43 points to wrap the session at 3,052.34 points compared with 3,049.91 points recorded at the previous session.
The appreciation posted yesterday at the NASD OTC exchange was caused by two price gainers led by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc which jumped by 2 Kobo to end at 20 Kobo per share compared with the preceding session’s 18 Kobo per share and UBN Property Plc, which improved its value by 16 Kobo to close at N1.98 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price f N1.82 per unit.
The market posted a price loser, which was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc as it dropped 18 Kobo to finish at N39.76 share versus the previous day’s N39.94 per share.
There was an 856.6 per cent surge in the volume of securities traded in the session to 11.3 million units from the 1.2 million units traded in the preceding session.
Equally, there was a jump in the value of shares traded yesterday by 1,078.4 per cent to N56.8 million from the N4.8 million made previously, and the number of deals increased by 22.7 per cent to 27 deals from 22 deals.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.4 units worth N55.8 million, IGI Plc came next with 10.6 million units valued at N2.1 million, and 11 Plc was in third with 6,45 units sold for N1.4 million.
IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc came next with 1.4 million units valued at N55.8 million, and UBN Property Plc followed with 275,740 units worth N545,965.
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