Economy
50% of Micro Businesses Owned by Nigerians under 35—Osinbajo
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria’s Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, has said almost 50 per cent of micro-businesses in the country are owned by people under the age of 35.
Mr Osinbajo made this disclosure on Monday when he virtually launched the 2021 Bank of Industry (BOI) SME Academy, organised in conjunction with Procter & Gamble (P&G).
He described the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector as the bedrock of the nation’s economy, noting that this is why the federal government is paying a special focus on the industry.
“This administration is determined to support small businesses because we know that this is the way of growth and prosperity for our people and that support is now even more necessary in the wake of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Vice President said.
According to him, the impact of the global health crisis on businesses in the country spurred the federal government to come up with the MSME Survival Fund scheme.
He said the initiative, which is under the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), is designed to support vulnerable MSMEs in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the sector.
Tracks under the Survival Fund include the payroll support, artisan and transport support grants, formalisation support (free CAC business names’ registration), guaranteed offtake stimulus scheme and the general MSME grants, he said.
Mr Osinbajo stated that the government put all these in place because it wanted to assist the youths as “almost 50 per cent of micro-businesses are owned by young people – Nigerians under the age of 35 – so it is encouraging to note that young Nigerians made up 82 per cent of payroll support scheme recipients and have reported that for the first time in a long time, Nigerian MSMEs are satisfied with the transparent and seamless implementation of a federal government scheme.”
Buttressing his point on acceptance of the scheme by Nigerians, the Vice President said when the registration portal first opened for 6 weeks, “we received 463,000 applications, but once the implementation of the scheme began and the portal reopened within one week, we received 892,000 applications.”
He assured that the government will continue to support the sector as it is very convincing that “MSMEs truly are the engines of growth in our economy.”
Mr Osinbajo noted that MSMEs “contribute 48 per cent of national Gross Domestic Products (GDP), account for 96 per cent of all businesses and 84 per cent of employment.”
“Also, there are about 17.4 million MSMEs in the country, accounting for 50 per cent of our industrial jobs and nearly 90 per cent of the jobs in our manufacturing sector,” he added.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited has revealed that the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) remains at N1,275 per litre.
Earlier on Wednesday, there were reports that the company increased its ex‑depot price by N75, some hours after renewed hostilities in the Middle East.
On Monday evening, it was reported that Iran fired missiles at its neighbours in the Gulf region after the United States seized two Iranian-linked vessels on the Strait of Hormuz.
These actions briefly raised the price of crude oil on the global market to over $115 per barrel, but it quickly eased to almost $100 per barrel on Wednesday.
Shortly after it was reported that Dangote Refinery had pushed its PMS gantry price to N1,350 per litre, the price was reversed.
Confirming this in a statement made available to Business Post, Dangote Refinery said it is sustaining its current prices to reaffirm “its commitment to supporting stability in the domestic energy market and cushioning the wider economy against external shocks.”
“By absorbing prevailing cost pressures, the refinery continues to help moderate inflationary risks, promote energy affordability, and ensure uninterrupted supply amid ongoing global uncertainties,” another part of the statement read.
The private refiner “reaffirmed its dedication to the steady supply of high‑quality petroleum products to the Nigerian market, while supporting national objectives of price stability and energy security.”
It urged the public “to rely solely on official statements from Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited for accurate and up‑to‑date information on its operations and pricing.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Dangote Refinery has reversed a N75 ex-depot price increase of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the private crude oil refinery raised the price of the product to N1,350 per litre, but this was quickly reversed to N1,275 per litre.
The company had carried out a second increment in less than two weeks, amid renewed attacks in the Middle East, though the crude oil price went down on Tuesday to $109 per barrel.
According to a report by pricing platform Petroleumprice.ng, the upward price adjustment was suspended shortly after it was raised, restoring the previous pricing structure at the loading gantry and easing immediate concerns among downstream marketers.
Industry operators say the move has helped calm nerves across the market, where traders had already begun repositioning on expectations of a higher pricing cycle.
Before the previous price hike, the gantry price was N1,200 per litre, but the organisation pushed it higher by N75.
As of the time of filing this report, Business Post observed that Brent crude futures were traded at $101.00 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were sold for $93.01 per barrel.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.85 per cent on Tuesday, May 5, with the market capitalisation growing by N20.52 billion to N2.429 trillion from N2.409 trillion, and the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) advancing by 34.30 points to 4,060.94 points from 4,026.64 points.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, the parent company of popular milk brands like Peak Milk and Three Crowns, appreciated by N8.72 to N106.90 per share from N98.14 per share, NASD Plc increased its value by N6.13 to N37.36 per unit from N31.23 per unit, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc gained 35 Kobo to close at N3.82 per share versus N3.47 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc jumped by 10 Kobo to N3.10 per unit versus N3.00 per unit.
However, the price of Food Concepts Plc, which has the popular Chicken Republic under its belt, lost 5 Kobo during the session to trade at N2.36 per share versus N2.41 per share.
The volume of securities traded fell by 9.5 per cent to 679,768 units from 751,518 units, and the value of securities dropped 12.6 per cent to N30.9 million from N35.4 million, while the number of deals surged by 41.9 per cent to 44 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.3 million units traded for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units valued at N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units exchanged for N1.2 billion.
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