Economy
Lagos Registers 400 Money Lenders, 10,000 Churches, Mosques
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In two years about 400 money lenders were registered by the Lagos State government, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Mr Anofiu Elegushi, has disclosed.
The Commissioner stated that this was done to coordinate activities of players in the money lending sector, saying it is also to protect residents of the metropolis.
“The ministry registers, profiles and monitors the viability of such companies in ensuring that while the money lenders are in business, the general public is also protected from scammers and people of questionable character, while also regulating activities of the companies,” he said.
He also said the collaboration with stakeholders in the sector has greatly assisted small scale business owners in Lagos to keep their petty businesses afloat without having to contend with high-interest rates of the big banks, adding that this activity has contributed to the micro-economic growth of businesses in the state.
Mr Elugushi, who was addressing newsmen at the Y2021 ministerial press briefing at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja over the weekend, said the ministry is presently in the process of imputing data of every worship centre located in the state on a centralised database to allow the state government have reliable data of churches, mosques and their locations with a view to carrying them along in state government policies.
He expressed hopes that the policy, because of the inherent effective resource allocation and efficient management, will bring about extended benefits to many more churches and mosques in the state, saying that at present, the website designed for the enumeration has over 10,000 details of both Muslim and Christian religious organisations across the state.
The Commissioner also reported on the state of religious harmony and peaceful coexistence of people belonging to the two major religions in the state.
“We pride ourselves in saying that what divides and creates security breach in other parts of the country are what unites us in Lagos, bearing in mind that the state has become a home to people from across Nigeria and beyond.
“I am happy to report to you gentlemen of the press that in the last two years, the State has enjoyed tremendous religious harmony and peaceful co-existence, through one of the critical functions of our Ministry which is facilitating, maintaining and enhancing harmonious relations among faith-based groups and organisations in the state,” he said.
Mr Elegushi added that the feat was achieved through regular, vigorous and consistent engagements and discussions with religious leaders in the state under the umbrella of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC).
While giving the accounts of stewardship of both Muslim and Christian pilgrims welfare boards, the Commissioner disclosed that the ministry went the extra length to partner with the Ministry of Health in ensuring a seamless vaccination exercise for all intending pilgrims.
“As part of measures to ensure a successful pilgrimage exercise, intending pilgrims were screened both administratively and medically.
“Over 2,500 intending pilgrims were vaccinated with the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine between Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28, 2021, by the Christian and Muslim pilgrims welfare boards in collaboration with the state Ministry of Health. This was in fulfilment of the requirements for gaining entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the performance hajj and Jerusalem pilgrimages,” he stated.
On the readiness for the Y2021 pilgrimage exercise by intending Christian pilgrims, Mr Elegushi informed that the permanent secretary in the Ministry led a six-man delegation to Jordan, ahead of the proposed May 2021 pilgrimage, to ascertain the preparedness of pilgrimage handlers and to also have a better and clearer view of historical sites in Jordan.
Also, the Commissioner said the ministry received 74 applications for naturalisation on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Home Affairs in two years. He said of these, 35 have been screened and recommended to the Federal Ministry of Interior for approval.
He explained that the Ministry is also in talks with foreign business owners, who intend to acquire Nigeria citizenship via naturalisation and/or special immigrant status, saying that with the ongoing engagement, Nigeria, especially Lagos State, stands to benefit foreign direct investment while the immigrant business owners also benefit by growing their businesses in one of the biggest markets in the world.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market firmed up by 1.13 per cent on Friday as appetite for Nigerian stocks remained strong.
Investors reacted well to the 2026 budget presentation of President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly yesterday, especially because of the more realistic crude oil benchmark of $64 per barrel compared with the ambitious $75 per barrel for 2025. This year, prices have been between $60 and $65 per barrel.
Business Post observed profit-taking in the commodity and energy sectors as they respectively shed 0.14 per cent and 0.03 per cent.
But, bargain-hunting in the others sustained the positive run, with the consumer goods index up by 3.82 per cent.
Further, the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.46 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.08 per cent, and the insurance industry gained 0.04 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,694.33 points to 152,057.38 points from 150,363.05 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N1.080 trillion to finish at N96.937 trillion compared with Thursday’s closing value of N95.857 trillion.
A total of 34 shares ended on the advancers’ chart, while 24 were on the laggards’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Austin Laz gained 10.00 per cent to close at N2.42, Union Dicon also jumped 10.00 per cent to N6.60, Tantalizers increased by 9.80 per cent to N2.69, Aluminium Extrusion improved by 9.78 per cent to N12.35, and Champion Breweries grew by 9.71 per cent to N16.95.
Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance dipped by 7.42 per cent to N3.87, Royal Exchange lost 6.84 per cent to trade at N1.77, Omatek slipped by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, Eunisell depreciated by 5.88 per cent to N80.00, and Eterna dropped 5.63 per cent to close at N28.50.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.5 billion units worth N21.8 billion in 25,667 deals compared with the 839.8 million units sold for N32.8 billion in 23,211 deals in the preceding session, showing a surge in the trading volume by 76.61 per cent, an uptick in the number of deals by 10.58 per cent, and a shrink in the trading value by 33.54 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three stocks stretched the bearish run of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.21 per cent on Friday, December 19, with the market capitalisation giving up N26.01 billion to close at N2.121 billion compared with the N2.147 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropping 43.47 points to 3,546.41 points from 3,589.88 points.
The trio of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, and NASD Plc overpowered the gains printed by four other securities.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N6.00 to sell at N54.00 per unit versus N60.00 per unit, NASD Plc shrank by N3.50 to N58.50 per share from N55.00 per share, and CSCS Plc depleted by N2.91 to N33.87 per unit from N36.78 per unit.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc gained N1.01 to close at N13.00 per share versus N11.99 per share, Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 70 Kobo to N7.68 per unit from N6.98 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc added 39 Kobo to sell at N5.50 per share versus N5.11 per share, and IPWA Plc rose by 8 Kobo to 85 Kobo per unit from 77 Kobo per unit.
During the trading day, market participants traded 1.9 million securities versus the previous day’s 30.5 million securities showing a decline of 49.3 per cent. The value of trades went down by 64.3 per cent to N80.3 million from N225.1 million, but the number of deals jumped by 32.1 per cent to 37 deals from 28 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc finished the session as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was still InfraCredit Plc with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira at the two major foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday as it suffered a heavy loss against the United States Dollar at the close of transactions.
In the black market segment, the Naira weakened against its American counterpart yesterday by N10 to quote at N1,485/$1, in contrast to the N1,475/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank forex counter, it depreciated by N2 to settle at N1,467/$1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,465/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) window, which is also the official market, the nation’s legal tender crashed against the greenback by N6.65 or 0.46 per cent to close at N1,464.49/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,457.84/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency tumbled against the Euro in the spot market by N2.25 to sell for N1,714.63/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,712.38/€1, but appreciated against the Pound Sterling by 73 Kobo to finish at N1,957.30/£1 compared with the N1,958.03/£1 it was traded in the preceding session.
The market continues to face seasonal pressure even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is still conducting FX intervention sales, which have significantly reduced but not remove pressure from the Naira. Also, there seems to be reduced supply from exporters, foreign portfolio investors and non-bank corporate inflows.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the government’s N58.47 trillion budget plan aimed at consolidating economic reforms and boosting growth.
The budget is based on a projected crude oil price of $64.85 a barrel and includes a target oil output of 1.84 million barrels a day. It also projects an exchange rate of N1,400 to the Dollar.
President Tinubu said inflation had plunged to an annual rate of 14.45 per cent in November from 24.23 per cent in March, while foreign reserves had surged to a seven-year high of $47 billion.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was dominated by the bulls but it continues to face increased pressure after million in liquidations in previous session over accelerating declines, with Dogecoin (DOGE) recovering 4.2 per cent to trade at $0.1309.
Further, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 3.9 per cent to $1.90, Cardano (ADA) rose by 3.5 per cent to $0.3728, Solana (SOL) jumped by 3.4 per cent to $126.23, Ethereum (ETH) climbed by 2.9 per cent to $2,982.42, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 2.0 per cent to sell for $853.06, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 1.7 per cent to $88,281.21, and Litecoin (LTC) soared by 1.2 per cent to $76.50, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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