Economy

CBN Seeks Private Sector’s Input in 5-Year Roadmap

Published

7 years ago

10/06/2019

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has held an interactive session with members of the private sector in the country so as to have their views on his five-year roadmap.

This month, Mr Emefiele commenced his second tenure of five years in office after he was reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

At the consultative round table held in Lagos last week and tagged Growing for Growth,’ participants shared with the chief banker how he and his team can help the economy grow faster and better.

Chairman of Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, said at the meeting that for Nigeria to witness economic growth, government must collaborate with the organised private sector.

He also said the electricity issue in the country must be resolved because no country can record any significant growth when industries are powered with generators.

In addition, Mr Dangote said banks must support the private sector by giving entrepreneurs easy access to consumer credit.

Others things he said must be done are increase house mortgages, increased focus on agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

“Government needs to have partnership with the private companies to access growth. It needs to encourage private sector investors, so that they do not rely on oil to pay salaries. That of oil should go into implementation for perfection of the economy.

“We the local investors should drive this country. No foreigner will invest in the country unless we locals do.

“The other thing that we need to look at is easy access to consumer credit. Consumer credit will help the government in fighting corruption.

“Also, another issue is smuggling. There is no country that can survive near the Republic of Benin because their main job is facilitating smuggling,” Mr Dangote said.

On his part, founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Atedo Peterside, listed high tax rates, among others, as harmful to the growth of young and start-ups businesses, exchange rate instability, high

inflationary rate, among others, as bottlenecks impeding growth in the economy.

Speaking at the event, the convener, Mr Emefiele, said the points highlighted by the businessmen would be looked into.

On the smuggling issue, which the CBN chief said was a sabotage to the nation’s economy, he said efforts would be made to punish those encouraging it.

According to him, the CBN would close bank accounts of any company or person caught in smuggling and dumping of banned products into the country.

“Smugglers and dumpers are the major sabotage to the country’s economic policies. Nigeria is very good at making brilliant economic policies but we have identified smugglers and dumpers as those who sabotage these policies and we have decided we will deal with them and the strategy we came up with is that we will not bother ourselves.

“There is an agency of the government that is responsible for border control but that if these people pass through this border control, we would use the instrumentality of being the regulator for the banking system, to make sure that we get the banks to provide all details about these smugglers and dumpers, to provide investigation and if they are found culpable in economic sabotage bordering on dumping and smuggling in Nigeria.

“We will not only block their accounts; we will close their accounts in all the Nigerian banks simultaneously. We will close the accounts of the owners of those companies and we will close the accounts of top management members of those companies because they know that their companies are involved in smuggling and they should not be supporting those keep and of things.”

On the reason for the round table discussion, Mr Emefiele said, “We are here today as part of the engagement that we have planned, preparatory to the CBN releasing another five-year vision and agenda for the next tenure of the Governor of CBN.

“As you can see, we have at this session private sector leaders like Aliko Dangote, people in telecommunications, people in manufacturing, people in the IT sector, people in the agricultural sector and banking sector. All of them are represented.

“Basically, what we are saying here is that we want to give them opportunity, I will use the word to vent their view about what they think the CBN, the monetary policy committee should be doing in the next five years to support the economy and indeed to support the growth of the economy.”

Economy

Customs Street Chalks up 0.12% on Santa Claus Rally

Published

34 minutes ago

25/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited witnessed Santa Claus rally on Wednesday after it closed higher by 0.12 per cent.

Strong demand for Nigerian stocks lifted the All-Share Index (ASI) by 185.70 points during the pre-Christmas trading session to 153,539.83 points from 153,354.13 points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation expanded at midweek by N118 billion to N97.890 trillion from the preceding day’s N97.772 trillion.

Investor sentiment on Customs Street remained bullish after closing with 36 appreciating equities and 22 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index.

Guinness Nigeria chalked up 9.98 per cent to trade at N318.60, Austin Laz improved by 9.97 per cent to N3.20, International Breweries expanded by 9.85 per cent to N14.50, Transcorp Hotels rose by 9.83 per cent to N170.90, and Aluminium Extrusion grew by 9.73 per cent to N16.35.

On the flip side, Legend Internet lost 9.26 per cent to close at N4.90, AXA Mansard shrank by 7.14 per cent to N13.00, Jaiz Bank declined by 5.45 per cent to N4.51, MTN Nigeria weakened by 5.21 per cent to N504.00, and NEM Insurance crashed by 4.74 per cent to N24.10.

Yesterday, a total of 1.8 billion shares valued at N30.1 billion exchanged hands in 19,372 deals versus the 677.4 billion shares worth N20.8 billion traded in 27,589 deals in the previous session, implying a slump in the number of deals by 29.78 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 165.72 per cent and 44.71 per cent apiece.

Abbey Mortgage Bank was the most active equity for the day after it sold 1.1 billion units worth N7.1 billion, Sterling Holdings traded 127.1 million units valued at N895.9 million, Custodian Investment exchanged 115.0 million units for N4.5 billion, First Holdco transacted 40.9 million units valued at N2.2 billion, and Access Holdings traded 38.2 million units worth N783.3 million.

Economy

Yuletide: Rite Foods Reiterates Commitment to Quality, Innovation

Published

56 minutes ago

25/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigerian food and beverage company, Rite Foods Limited, has extended warm Yuletide greetings to Nigerians as families and communities worldwide come together to celebrate the Christmas season and usher in a new year filled with hope and renewed possibilities.

In a statement, Rite Foods encouraged consumers to savour these special occasions with its wide range of quality brands, including the 13 variants of Bigi Carbonated Soft Drinks, premium Bigi Table Water, Sosa Fruit Drink in its refreshing flavours, the Fearless Energy Drink, and its tasty sausage rolls — all produced in a world-class facility with modern technology and global best practices.

Speaking on the season, the Managing Director of Rite Foods Limited, Mr Seleem Adegunwa, said the company remains deeply committed to enriching the lives of consumers beyond refreshment. According to him, the Yuletide period underscores the values of generosity, unity, and gratitude, which resonate strongly with the company’s philosophy.

“Christmas is a season that reminds us of the importance of giving, togetherness, and gratitude. At Rite Foods, we are thankful for the continued trust of Nigerians in our brands. This season strengthens our resolve to consistently deliver quality products that bring joy to everyday moments while contributing positively to society,” Mr Adegunwa stated.

He noted that the company’s steady progress in brand acceptance, operational excellence, and responsible business practices reflects a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and responsiveness to consumer needs. These efforts, he said, have further strengthened Rite Foods’ position as a proudly Nigerian brand with growing relevance and impact across the country.

Mr Adegunwa reaffirmed that Rite Foods will continue to invest in research and development, efficient production processes, and initiatives that support communities, while maintaining quality standards across its product portfolio.

“As the year comes to a close, Rite Foods Limited wishes Nigerians a joyful Christmas celebration and a prosperous New Year filled with peace, progress, and shared success.”

Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,443/$1 at Official FX Market

Published

1 hour ago

25/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira closed the pre-Christmas trading day positive after it gained N6.61 or 0.46 per cent against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 24, trading at N1,443.38/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,449.99/$1.

Equally, the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N1.30 to close at N1,949.57/£1 versus Tuesday’s closing price of N1,956.03/£1 and gained N2.94 on the Euro to finish at N1,701.31/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,707.65/€1.

At the parallel market, the local currency maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,485/$1 and also traded flat at the GTBank forex counter at N1,465/$1.

Further support came as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) funded international payments with additional $150 million sales to banks and authorised dealers at the official window.

This helped eased pressure on the local currency, reflecting a steep increase in imports. Market participants saw a sequence of exchange rate swings amidst limited FX inflows.

Last week, the apex bank led the pack in terms of FX supply into the market as total inflows fell by about 50 per cent week on week from $1.46 billion in the previous week.

Foreign portfolio investors’ inflows ranked behind exporters and the CBN supply, but there was support from non-bank corporate Dollar volume.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it witnessed a slight recovery as tokens struggled to attract either risk-on enthusiasm or defensive flows.

The inertia follows a sharp reversal earlier in the quarter. A heavy selloff in October pulled Bitcoin and other coins down from record levels, leaving BTC roughly down by 30 per cent since that period and on track for its weakest quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2022. But on Wednesday, its value went up by 0.9 per cent to $87,727.35.

Further, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.7 per cent to $1.87, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 1.2 per cent to $0.3602, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.1 per cent to $0.1282, Litecoin (LTC) also increased by 1.1 per cent to $76.57, Solana (SOL) soared by 1.0 per cent to $122.31, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 0.6 per cent to $842.37, and Ethereum (ETH) added 0.3 per cent to finish at $2,938.83, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.