Economy
Nigeria Must Act Fast to Avert Serious Food Disaster—ICC Nigeria
The need for federal government of Nigeria and every other stakeholder to devise a means of feeding the nation now and in years to come so as to avert serious food disaster in the country has been emphasised by Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Nigeria, Mr Babatunde Savage.
Speaking at the 20th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the ICC Nigeria/Post-AGM Lecture held at Southern Sun Hotel, Ikoyi-Lagos on Thursday, Mr Savage, who is also the Regional Coordinator of the global body for Sub-Saharan Africa, further stressed that food security was very germane to the country’s situation because it forms a core plank upon which the economic recovery and growth plan of the incumbent administration is anchored.
With an average population growth of 2.6 percent between 2010 and 2019, the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) had recently disclosed that Nigeria now has a population of about 201 million. The UNFPA unveiled this estimate in its 2019 State of the World Population report.
The report said that Nigeria’s population grew by about 5 million people from 2018 when the country’s population was 195.9 million. “The country has witnessed a population growth from 54.7 million in 1969 to 105.4 million in 1994 and 201.0 million in 2019”, the UNFPA stated.
He warned that the fact that the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS), a transformational initiative by the President Muhammadu Buhari-administration is currently delivering on its set objectives and goals is not enough for us as a nation to relax.
According to him, the explosion expected in the population in the years to come; particularly if the degree of increase in food production in Nigeria does not commensurate with the trend must be envisaged and planned for now.
Corroborating the remarks made by the ICC Nigeria boss, the guest lecturer, Dr Victor Ajieroh, Senior Programmes Officer, Nutrition Nigeria, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, asserted that food systems are very important to his organization because the Foundation believes that all lives have equal value.
According to him, every efficient food system should be able to deliver high quality diet and affordable nutrition; be inclusive, efficient and sustainable; as well as be resilient, sustainable and be able to take shocks.
Mr Ajieroh explained that every high-quality diet should be able to eliminate hunger, reduce all forms of malnutrition and promote sound health. Anything short of this, he stated, is an indication that the food system quality is nothing to write home about.
He revealed that with his experience at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, many food systems globally are yet to produce high quality diets, an instance he said requires an urgent attention by all stakeholders.
His words: “Our food systems are not yet producing high quality diets, as one in every three people worldwide are currently malnourished.”
However, he acknowledged that the scenarios are not constant as the global and local food systems regularly change as a result of policy interventions from governments and businesses.
Mr Ajieroh stated that the required interventions in the food systems should not be treated as an exclusive responsibility of each government; rather he said all stakeholders should see it as an inclusive responsibility.
He specifically charged businesses to consider themselves as part of the problem the society is facing with regards to food supply as well as part of the solution to tackle the menace.
Meanwhile, Mr Savage also bemoaned the poor transportation infrastructure in Nigeria, as he stated that the efforts being made by the current administration has not yielded the desired result. He complained that over 50% of the federal and state roads across the country are still in poor conditions.
He stated that, “This scenario does not depict any level of seriousness expected if we must, as a country, achieve the earmarked goals of the Transformation Agenda.”
Concerning security of life and property, he commended the efforts of the Federal Government, particularly the Police and other security agencies towards reducing crime rates in the country.
However, Mr Savage said ICC Nigeria has observed that the country has continued to witness insecurity in diverse forms.
He said, “The business environment has remained hostile due to illegal touting activities by hoodlums, armed robbery, kidnapping activities, vandalisation of major oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta; Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, and banditry in the North West. We cannot continue this way, we need to ensure that peace prevails and become the order of the day to usher in economic prosperity in Nigeria.”
The post-AGM lecture of the ICC Nigeria, which was themed The Future of Food System, was part of the activities used to mark the regional programmes for the 100th anniversary of the ICC worldwide and the 20th anniversary of the re-organization of ICC Nigeria.
Other board members present at the event are: Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, Chairman Emeritus; Chef Raymond Ihyembe, Vice Chairman; Mrs Dorothy Ufot, Treasurer; Mr Segun Olugboyegun, Member and Mrs Olubunmi Osunkeye, Secretary General.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.
MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.
The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.
When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session 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 transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.
Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.
This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.
The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.
On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.
At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.
For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.
The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.
Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.
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