Economy
Ambode Woos Investors with 24-Hour Electricity by 2018
By Dipo Olowookere
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has assured investors and residents of the state that his administration will ensure 24-hour power supply by the end of 2018.
“As a government, we are strongly committed to power freedom; we want to free ourselves from darkness and we want to open up the sector for more investors,” Mr Ambode said this at an interactive session with members of the business community and informal sector last week.
The Governor expressed readiness of the state government to partner with any investor willing to key into his administration’s massive infrastructural renewal drive in critical sectors, saying such would be a win-win situation for the overall benefit of the people.
Mr Ambode said public private partnership was critical to accelerate development, and that the government is open to collaborate with interested investors.
For instance, Governor Ambode said the state government would be willing to partner with any investor interested in taking up the second phase of the Mile 2 to Seme Border ten-lane road project.
“At the moment, work is already ongoing from Eric More to Okokomaiko but we are willing to partner with any investor interested in taking up the construction of the second phase which is ten-lane road from Okokomaiko to Seme Border.
“If we are able to achieve that, it will open up and transform the western axis, especially Badagry forever, and the project will also complement the massive projects being undertaken in the axis,” the Governor said at the gathering.
Besides, Governor Ambode said plans were already at advanced stages to bring about constant power supply to all homes and businesses in the State by the end of 2018.
He said though the political geography of the country was affecting the visionary strategy to solve the power challenges being essentially in the control of the Federal Government, but the State Government had devised policies and strategies to short-circuit power generation, transmission and distribution to ensure constant power supply to the people of the State.
Likewise, the Governor said the state government is also in talks with electricity distribution companies operating in the State to see possibility of supplying 24/7 power to residents at a bit higher tariff than what currently obtains subject to agreement of all stakeholders, while government would be the guarantor of the people.
The Governor also revealed that the legal framework to prevent power theft and also legitimize the concept of power generation had already been sent to the State House of Assembly for approval.
“Presently, we have less than 1,000MW in Lagos and the fundamental issues remain with generation, transmission and then distribution. Who is transmitting? It is still owned primary by the Federal Government but in Lagos State, we have become creative and we have done Independent Power Project (IPP) before through which we were able to generate 47.5MW which was distributed short-circuiting transmission.
“So, if it works, does it look like a template we can now use to get power freedom or what we call power security? If we say we are the fifth largest economy in Africa and we are not in control of how power is generated in an economy that wants to move from fifth to third, then something is wrong. So, what we are saying is let’s find a way to short-circuit them within the ambit of the law.
“If the law allows you to have independent power and going through the regulatory commission then you are smart enough to do that. The only thing we have done is to get permission from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to create clusters of embedded power in our state and if we are able to do it, we become a test case for the rest of the economy,” he added.
On the collaboration with electricity distribution companies, Governor Ambode said the state government was willing to stand as the guarantor for the people to get 24/7 power supply.
“The idea is that look can we have a mid-point on how to get 24/7 power? The generator that people are using is extremely expensive and what we are saying is that can we work with all these stakeholders and push the tariff for example from N20 to maybe N40 but guarantee the people of 24/7 power? So, if I am able to do that and I get the confidence, I will just stand on behalf of Lagosians to say that the new tariff as agreed by all of us, if we can provide it for the people 24/7, they are likely to pay. In case they don’t pay, I get financially exposed.
“That is what we are trying to do; we become the guarantor on behalf of Lagosians and then if all those things work out, by this time next year, people will have constant power supply,” the Governor disclosed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
For the fourth consecutive trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher on Friday by 0.63 per cent on sustained renewed buying pressure.
Apart from the energy and industrial goods sectors which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory, according to data obtained from the bourse.
Business Post reports that the insurance index appreciated by 1.52 per cent, the banking space improved by 0.63 per cent, and the consumer goods counter expanded by 0.46 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 617.47 points to settle at 99,378.06 points compared with the preceding day’s 98,760.59 points and the market capitalisation went up by 375 billion to close at N60.242 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s closing value of N59.867 trillion.
The volume of transactions on Customs Street yesterday grew by 11.13 per cent to 544.2 million shares from the 489.7 million shares transacted a day earlier.
The value of transactions increased during the session by 49.30 per cent to N10.6 billion from N7.1 billion and the number of deals went up by 1.93 per cent to 8,464 deals from the 8,304 deals posted in the previous trading session.
The busiest equity for the trading day was Japaul with the sale of 71.7 million units valued at N158.0 million, eTranzact exchanged 70.7 million units worth N477.5 million, Tantalizers sold 57.3 million units for N101.2 million, FCMB traded 33.0 million units worth N297.3 million, and Universal Insurance transacted 27.1 million units valued at N9.6 million.
A total of 36 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 15 stocks finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Aradel Holdings, Ikeja Hotel and Caverton gained 10.00 per cent each to trade at N550.00, N8.80, and N1.98, respectively, as Africa Prudential rose by 9.87 per cent to N17.25 and Golden Guinea Breweries soared by 9.64 per cent to N8.64.
On the flip side, Austin Laz lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1.62, ABC Transport crashed by 8.00 per cent to N1.15, Royal Exchange slumped by 7.69 per cent to 60 Kobo, Secure Electronic Technology plunged by 5.26 per cent to 54 Kobo, and The Initiates crumbled by 4.26 per cent to N2.25.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil climbed by about 2 per cent on Friday on expectations that additional sanctions on Russia and Iran could tighten supplies and that lower interest rates in Europe and the US could boost fuel demand.
Brent futures went up by $1.08 or 1.5 per cent to settle at $74.49 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanded by $1.27 or 1.8 per cent to close at $71.29 per barrel.
European Union ambassadors agreed to impose a 15th package of sanctions on Russia this week over its war against Ukraine, targeting its shadow tanker fleet.
The sanctions would target vessels from third countries supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and add more individuals and entities to the sanctions list.
The sanctions package is likely to be formally adopted at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday and will target close to 30 entities, over 50 individuals and 45 tankers.
Also, the US is considering similar moves that might target some Russian oil exports, before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Britain, France and Germany told the United Nations Security Council they were ready if necessary to trigger a so-called “snap back” of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The move comes as Iran has suffered a series of strategic setbacks, including Israel’s assault on Tehran’s proxy militias Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the ouster of Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Meanwhile, data from China this week showed that crude imports in the world’s top importer grew annually in November for the first time in seven months.
There are expectations that China’s crude imports will remain elevated into early 2025 as refiners opt to lift more supply from top exporter Saudi Arabia, drawn by lower prices, while independent refiners rush to use their quota.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) increased its forecast for 2025 global oil demand growth to 1.1 million barrels per day from 990,000 barrels per day last month, citing China’s stimulus measures.
The Paris-based energy watchdog forecast an oil surplus for next year, when nations not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, OPEC+ group, are set to boost supply by about 1.5 million barrels per day, driven by Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Guyana and the US.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), an OPEC member, plans to reduce oil shipments early next year as OPEC+ seeks tighter discipline.
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