Economy
Nigeria’s Diaspora Bond Gets Moody’s (P)B1 Rating

By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The proposed Diaspora Bond by Nigeria has received a provisional senior unsecured (P)B1 rating from Moody’s.
The rating was assigned to the bond on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 and was confirmed in a statement issued by the leading rating agency.
The (P)B1 rating on Nigeria’s proposed $300 million Diaspora Bond mirrors the Federal Government’s B1 (stable outlook) issuer rating, which reflects its current weak economic growth dampened by the low oil price environment.
According to the transaction documents available to Moody’s, the Notes under the proposed Diaspora Bond are direct, general, unconditional, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of the Federal Government of the Republic of Nigeria (the issuer) and will rank pari passu with all other unsecured external debt obligations of the issuer.
The proposed Notes are governed by New York Law and terms of the notes contain a negative pledge provision.
Nigeria’s economic growth and US dollar earnings are likely to gradually improve in 2017, supported by a recovery in oil production and oil prices, the rating firm said.
The current rebound in oil production trending towards 2 million barrels per day (mbpd) since the last quarter of 2016, if sustained, is providing relief to both economic growth and support the US Dollar supply in the economy, Moody’s added.
It noted that Nigeria’s economy is also likely to see further benefits arising from a more timely implementation of the 2017 budget and in particular a higher realisation of capital spending on infrastructure.
Although militant activity in the Niger Delta is set to wane following ongoing negotiation and the resumption of payments from the government, it will remain a latent threat to the expected recovery of the economy, Fitch submitted.
The agency stated that the existing scarcity of Dollars, worsened by the soft capital controls imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is likely to be persistent and therefore negatively affect important sectors of the economy such as services and manufacturing.
“We do not expect the current policy mix to significantly change over the short term but a gradual easing of restrictions is possible as foreign currency receipts improve with rising oil production,” Moody’s said.
It added that, “Nigeria’s issuer rating is constrained by the weakness of Nigeria’s institutional framework, especially in terms of the rule of law, government effectiveness and control of corruption, which has had a substantial impact economic growth and government fiscal strength.
“Additionally, Nigeria is exposed to political risks arising from both the conflict with Boko Haram and recurrent attacks on oil infrastructures in the Niger.”
Moody’s said positive pressure on Nigeria’s issuer rating will be exerted upon successful implementation of structural reforms by the Buhari administration, in particular with respect to public resource management and the broadening of the revenue base; strong improvement in institutional strength with respect to corruption, government effectiveness, and the rule of law; and the rebuilding of large financial buffers sufficient to shelter the economy against a prolonged period of oil price and production volatility.
Moody’s warned that Nigeria’s B1 issuer rating could be downgraded in case of failure to implement revenue reform that might lead to a further accumulation of debt; a greater-than-anticipated deterioration in the government’s balance sheet; material delay in implementing key structural reforms, especially in the oil sector, to maintain the level of oil production over the medium-term; and inability to stabilize oil production due to increased militancy in the Niger Delta.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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