Economy
Experts Seek Urgent Action on Food Security Threat in West Africa
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Governments of the West African nations have been urged to quickly take actions that would address food security threat in the region.
According to a report titled ‘The Cost of Ocean Destruction,’ which was released to celebrate the World Fisheries Day, vessels arrested for illegally fishing in West African waters are still carrying on with business as usual.
The report, released by Greenpeace Africa, detailed how West African fishermen and communities continue to suffer from the consequences of overfishing and illegal fishing in this region and it provides specific recommendations for governments on how to solve the crisis.
Greenpeace appealed to West African governments as well as nations fishing in, or importing seafood from the region, to stand together to protect millions of Africans against the unceasing onslaught of industrial fishing fleets.
Greenpeace is also demanding that authorities provide follow-up information on fishing vessels and crews that were arrested during a joint patrol by Greenpeace and African fisheries inspectors last spring.
According to the project leader in Greenpeace Netherlands, Pavel Klinckhamers, “The current situation in West Africa is a result of decades of overfishing and inaction, but it is also a result of commitments from West African governments and foreign fishing nations, like China, South Korea and the EU, that were simply never translated into reality.
“Coastal communities are the ones paying the price and they cannot wait any longer. African states and foreign fishing nations in the region have to change course and put in place the policies that these communities need in order to survive.”
In only 20 days, Greenpeace and fisheries inspectors from Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Senegal came across 17 vessels contravening applicable rules, while 11 of these vessels were arrested for infractions which included involvement in illegal transshipment, fishing in breach of their license conditions, using illegal nets and shark finning.
However, only six months later, all 17 vessels are still licensed to fish in West African waters, and in most cases, local authorities are not responding to requests from Greenpeace to clarify what legal steps were taken after the arrests.
Chinese authorities have ordered provincial authorities to punish the captains of some of the Chinese vessels involved in infringements, while specific subsidies to their operations have also been cancelled.
The general lack of information on each case is symptomatic of the lack of transparency and accountability of governments when it comes to fisheries policies.
“West African countries keep signing new and opaque fishing agreements with foreign countries without putting in place the means to monitor their activities and sufficiently take the interests of local small-scale fishermen into account.
“This kind of practice has disastrous consequences for the marine environment, for local fishermen and hence for African communities as well,” Pavel Klinckhamers said.
One of the main fishing players in the region, China, is currently conducting a revision of its Provisions for the Administration of Distant Water Fishery.
The review will include new sanctions for IUU fishing, however It is still crucial to ensure transparency, effective implementation, and the strengthening and effective enforcement of punishment measures by coastal West African countries, when vessels break the law.
Also, a number of new fisheries agreements are currently in the making. Last month China signed long term fisheries agreements with Sierra Leone and Mauritania and the EU is working on a fisheries agreement with Guinea Bissau, since the current protocol will expire later this month.
According to unconfirmed information, Senegal and Russia are also holding conversations around reintroducing Russia’s industrial fishing fleet, that was kicked out of Senegal back in 2012.
“This is not a quick fix, and we need everyone involved in West African fisheries to cooperate. For African states in particular, they need to manage shared resources jointly and ensure priority is given to the labor intensive, small-scale sector. This sector which directly employs one million people and generates €3 billion annually. At the same time, we need foreign fishing nations to ensure their fleets do not undermine the sustainability of fisheries in the countries they operate in,“ Ibrahima Cisse, senior oceans campaign manager in Greenpeace Africa, said.
For more than 15 years, Greenpeace and other NGOs have warned against overexploitation of fish stocks in West African waters and its serious impacts on livelihoods, food security and employment for millions of people in this region. Also, we have outlined how substantial progress can be made through strong cooperation and harmonization of West African fisheries policies and legislation.
In fact, regional cooperation has been at the core of an already established mandate for West African countries of the Sub regional Fisheries Commission, SRFC, since 1985.
Still, very little has been done in reality to turn the tides for West African waters, and the situation out at sea in West Africa and the consequences on land, are alarming.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Finance has directed the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to suspend enforcement of disputed recapitalisation fees and a directive requiring NICON Insurance Limited and the Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation to transfer their entire fresh capital into an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The ministry also demanded a detailed response and legal justification from NAICOM over assessments of N305 million against NICON and N375 million against Nigeria Re as part of the ongoing insurance industry recapitalisation exercise.
The directive was contained in a letter dated August 6, 2026, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Finance, Mr Raymond Omachi, on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele.
The letter followed a July 27 petition by NICON and Nigeria Re over the implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2025. The companies challenged NAICOM’s demand for a one per cent capital injection fee, alongside processing and verification charges under the commission’s Minimum Capital Requirement Guidelines.
They also disputed a directive requiring existing insurance companies to transfer their entire recapitalisation funds into a CBN escrow account, arguing that Section 16(3) of NIIRA 2025 provides for a statutory deposit of only 10 per cent.
According to the Finance Ministry, NICON and Nigeria Re had injected N20 billion and N30 billion respectively into Mudaraba Term Deposit accounts with Lotus Bank, exceeding their adjusted capital requirements of N16 billion and N28 billion.
The companies also deposited N2.5 billion and N3.5 billion respectively with the CBN as statutory deposits and paid initial fees of N80 million and N75 million.
The ministry said the companies therefore considered themselves compliant with the July 31, 2026 recapitalisation deadline.
“Pending the determination of the petition, the Commission should suspend the enforcement of the contested processing fees, 1 per cent capital injection fee demands, and full-capital escrow transfer directives against NICON Insurance Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation,” the letter stated.
The ministry consequently asked NAICOM to explain the basis and legal justification for the disputed charges and escrow requirement.
The intervention comes amid the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen the capital base of insurance companies and reinsurers, improve their capacity to underwrite larger risks and enhance the sector’s contribution to economic development.
The dispute, however, has raised questions over the extent of NAICOM’s authority to impose additional fees and require existing insurers to place their entire recapitalisation funds in escrow.
The Finance Ministry’s letter did not disclose whether NAICOM had responded to the issues raised. It also referenced an alleged N500 million demand and an additional N180 million capitalisation charge in its subject, although the substantive section specifically put the disputed assessments at N305 million for NICON and N375 million for Nigeria Re.
For now, enforcement of the contested fees and full-capital escrow directive against the two state-owned insurers has been suspended pending NAICOM’s response and legal clarification.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four price decliners overpowered the two price gainers recorded at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, August 10, weakening it by 0.32 per cent at the close of transactions.
The advancers were led by Food Concepts Plc, which chalked up 25 Kobo to sell at N2.75 per unit versus the previous price of N2.50 per unit, and Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to 35 Kobo per share from 32 Kobo per share.
However, 11 Plc lost N24.75 to close at N222.75 per unit versus N247.50 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by N3.09 to N145.00 per share from N148.09 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went down by 5 Kobo to 50 Kobo per unit from 55 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc slid by 1 Kobo to N2.27 per share from N2.28 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation contracted by N8.94 billion to N2.798 trillion from the previous session’s N2.807 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) retreated by 14.9 points to 4,663.18 points from 4,678.08 points.
The trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged by investors rose by 108.9 per cent to 1.1 million units from 535,7560 units, and the value of securities jumped by 69.5 per cent to N10.2 million from N6.0 million, while the number of deals executed receded by 2.8 per cent to 35 deals from 36 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a positive note, appreciating against the US Dollar by N5.55 or 0.41 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, August 10, to N1,360.14/$1 from N1,365.69/$1.
The domestic currency also improved its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by 67 Kobo to sell at N1,838.50/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,839.17/£1, and gained N4.64 against the Euro to quote at N1,571.09/€1, in contrast to last Friday’s N1,575.73/€1.
However, the Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the black market and the GTBank forex counter on Monday at N1,400/$1 and N1,371/$1, respectively.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover fell by 46 per cent yesterday to $213.845 million from the $393.477 million recorded at the close of trading on Friday.
The decline came despite a sharp increase in the volume of foreign exchange transactions executed during the session, indicating weaker participation by high-ticket FX customers and other major market participants.
The lower turnover suggests reduced demand for FX among large-scale buyers, even as market makers continued to facilitate transactions through the NAFEM window, with the number of FX traded rising to 182 from 102.
In the cryptocurrency market, traders and investors took profit as broader markets’ focus shifted to rising bond yields, higher oil prices and upcoming US inflation data.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.2 per cent to $0.1873, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 2.6 per cent to $1,873.43, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 2.3 per cent to $1.01, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 1.8 per cent to $63,949.22, Solana (SOL) crashed by 1.3 per cent to $75.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) tumbled by 0.6 per cent to $599.49.
But TRON (TRX) gained 0.5 per cent to trade at $0.3314, and Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.0700, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
