Economy
13,548 Youths to Benefit from Lagos Agribusiness Project
By Adedapo Adesanya
Not less than 13,548 youths will benefit from the Lagos State Government collaborative project with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Africa Projects Development Centre (APDC) which will boost agriculture value chains in the state.
This disclosure was made by the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, at the opening ceremony of the Young Africa Works Agribusiness Internship Orientation Training at the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority, Oko-Oba, Agege on Monday.
She explained that the participants would be trained to build skills and secure fulfilling work opportunities within the agriculture value chains.
She said that the Young Africa Works Project of the IITA was a strategic approach to agribusiness training to arouse the interest of youths and teenagers in the agricultural space to enable them to make a decent living out of it.
“I am particularly delighted to be in your midst today on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Young Africa Works Agribusiness Internship Orientation Training being implemented by the IITA and the Africa Projects Development Centre (APDC) in partnership with the Lagos State government.
“I have been told that the Young Africa Works-IITA Project is an innovative approach to agribusiness training and start-up for Nigeria’s young people which is focused on improving the livelihoods of youths and teenagers.
“The training will impart in them the needed skills to do viable agribusiness within their communities.
“I have also been reliably informed that IITA seeks to provide skills to over 40,000 youths and enable 242,724 young women and men to secure dignified and fulfilling work in agricultural value chains in a five-stage model within a period of five years.
“Specifically, for Lagos State, a total of 13,548 youths including 3,120 secondary school students are expected to participate in this programme,” the commissioner said.
Ms Olusanya said that the state government was particularly interested in the partnership as it was in tune with the goal of recruiting more youth, teenagers and women into the agricultural space in order to replace the ageing farmers.
She said the partnership was also in tune with goals to increase food production, create employment opportunities, alleviate poverty, and boost income generation in the state.
The commissioner noted that programmes such as the Lagos Agripreneurship Programme (LAP), the Lagos Food Production Center, the Schools’ Agricultural Programme (SAP), the Summer School Programme, the World-Bank assisted FADAMA and APPEALS Projects had been carrying out series of trainings.
She said that such programmes had provided training especially for the youth and women to ensure increased food security in the state and reduce its level of dependence on other states for food.
“When we talk about food security, we are talking along the lines of production, linkages to the consumers, productivity required of our farming community such that they also see sustainability around what they do.
“They can be motivated to put in more investment within that space such that the financial sector will be able to support, and in the process, we will see a bigger and more holistic food system in the state and country at large.
“This training and capacity building programme is a step in the right direction and it is in line with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda where agriculture constitutes a major part of making Lagos a 21st Century economy.
“What we see is that we have a huge population of youthful people, most of whom are not gainfully employed and with the skill set deficiency required especially in a space like agriculture.
“With this initiative to train over 40,000 people in Lagos, Kano and Kaduna, specifically 13,548 in Lagos, we believe that we should be able to close the gap around the deficits we have in our food supply system,” she said.
The commissioner said that the initiatives of the state government had indeed provided different platforms for youth engagement through training, capacity building and empowerment in different agriculture value chains.
This, she said, was contributing to job creation, youth empowerment and poverty alleviation.
Ms Olusanya further commended the novel strategy being offered by the combined efforts of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)/Africa Projects Development Centre (APDC) to train the youths.
“The Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture is, therefore, delighted to be a part of this laudable programme as it is very much in line with our aims and objectives.
“You can be rest assured of the support of the Lagos State government at all times,” she said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed plans to list the entire Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The President made this known on Thursday while receiving a delegation of the NGX Group Plc at the State House, Abuja.
The team was led by the NGX Group chairman, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, and its chief executive, Mr Temi Popoola. The President was briefed on the capital market’s growth from about N30 trillion in 2023 to N160 trillion.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu said the planned listing of NNPC would form a key part of his administration’s ongoing economic reforms.
He described the move as part of broader reforms aimed at expanding investment opportunities for Nigerians and deepening the country’s capital market.
“One day, not just the arms and legs, the totality of it will be listed on the Nigerian Exchange,” he said.
The President also reaffirmed that his administration’s target of building a $1 trillion economy remained achievable, citing Nigeria’s population and human capital as major advantages.
“I can see the excitement in the room. All I can do is to celebrate you all today. When we took over, it was very challenging. I had to talk to myself and define my background to accept the assets and liabilities of my predecessor. I asked for the job, and I have to do it,” President Tinubu said.
Reflecting on the administration’s monetary reforms, the President praised the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso’s role in restoring confidence in the financial system.
“My capable partner in one of the thinking and reasoning days was Yemi Cardoso, whom I put at CBN. We were in the negative with monetary policy and the reserve. We had N30 trillion printed, and there were liabilities. I thank you very much, Yemi Cardoso,” he said.
President Tinubu said the performance of the stock market reflected broader improvements in the Nigerian economy.
“If the stock market is doing well, then we are doing well. We can teach this in classrooms to our undergraduates. If they can be in the classroom without the harrowing feeling of how to pay and what to pay, then we can build a nation of success and prosperity. My assurance to you is that I won’t stop reading, thinking and supporting you,” he said.
The President also reiterated his belief in private sector-led investments, recalling his longstanding support for the Dangote Refinery project.
“If we can push the private sector to invest in the economy wisely, then we will grow. It is one reason why I backed Aliko Dangote even before I became President. God bless the soul of Muhammadu Buhari. We discussed how we can support the private sector to go into the refinery business,” he added.
On his part, NGX Group CEO Temi Popoola told the President that the total value of listed equities had increased from nearly N30 trillion when the administration assumed office in 2023 to about N160 trillion, with projections to reach N230 trillion before the end of the year.
“The picture today is that when you took office in 2023, the total value of stocks listed in Nigeria was just shy of N30 trillion. Today, Mr President, that figure is N160 trillion. By the end of this year, with the listings we are seeing in our market, we expect that figure to rise to N230 trillion,” Popoola said.
He added that the Nigerian All-Share Index had risen from 52,000 points to 244,000 points, while the reforms had created an estimated 500,000 to 900,000 new millionaires, attributing the market’s performance to the administration’s reforms and expressing confidence that Nigeria could attain a $1 trillion economy before 2030.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange surged by 2.05 per cent on Thursday, August 6, amid fresh buying interest after a lukewarm preceding session.
The market capitalisation gained N56.21 billion to close at N2,795 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) rose by 93.63 points to end at 4,657.59 points against Wednesday’s 4,563.96 points.
During the trading day, there were five price gainers and two price losers, led by Okitipupa Plc, which depreciated by N28.00 to settle at N252.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N280.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc, which fell by 5 Kobo to close at N1.25 per unit versus midweek’s N1.30 per unit.
On the flip side, 11 Plc gained N22.5o to sell at N247.50 per share versus N225.00 per share, MRS Oil Plc grew by N12.00 to N132.00 per unit from N120.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N9.94 to end at N129.74 per share versus N119.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by N4.09 to N148.09 per unit from N144.00 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc expanded by 5 Kobo to 55 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities skyrocketed by 360,690.4 per cent to 2.9 million units from 802 units on Wednesday, the value of securities surged by 47,518.0 per cent to N99.2 million from N208,240, and the number of deals increased by 300 per cent to 62 deals from two deals a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 77.0 million units sold for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended as the most traded stock by on a volume year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further slipped against the United States Dollar by N2.33 or 0.17 per cent to N1,364.88/$1 from N1,362.55/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, August 6.
In the same vein, the domestic currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market by 71 Kobo yesterday to trade at N1,838.09/£1, in contrast to Wednesday’s value of N1,837.38/£1, but against the Euro, it gained 45 Kobo to close at N1,574.80/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,575.25/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira improved its value against the US Dollar by N4 on Thursday to quote at N1,369/$1 versus midweek”s rate of N1,373/$1, but at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.
The NAFEM interbank FX turnover jumped to $98.804 million on Thursday, up by more than 31 per cent from $75.357 million the previous day.
Similarly, the number of deals at the NFEM interbank increased to 106 from 82, confirming higher US Dollar flows at the official FX market.
Traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market will help ease demand pressure.
In the cryptocurrency market, major cryptocurrencies were mostly down as the Senate delayed a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September.
The bill, which would set out which U.S. regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass, and it is unclear whether it currently has 50. Several Republican senators have said publicly they oppose it, and Democrats want stricter rules preventing President Donald Trump from profiting from crypto while in office.
Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.5 per cent to $1.02, Solana (SOL) depleted by 1.5 per cent to $72.86, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.4 per cent to $587.41, Dogecoin (DOGE) tumbled by 0.9 per cent to $0.0692, Bitcoin (BTC) decreased by 0.6 per cent to $64,344.69, and Ethereum (ETH) tumbled by 0.3 per cent to $1,902.03.
However, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 7.7 per cent to $0.2025, and TRON (TRX) rose by 0.3 per cent to $0.3267, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
