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Economy

2Baba Seeks NSE Support for Agro-Allied Business

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2Baba NSE Good Cause Ambassador

By Adedapo Adesanya

Popular Nigerian musician, Innocent Idibia, otherwise known as 2Face or 2Baba, has veered into an agro-allied business.

The talented music act on Monday during a chat with the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, stated that he now has an agribusiness called Innobia Agro-Allied Limited.

According to him, the project is expected to drive agriculture and create a thousand jobs for youths in each of the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

He, therefore, called for the support of the exchange in actualising this laudable goal.

The singer is the Good Cause Ambassador of the NSE and he was hosted by the exchange today and given the honour to close the market by beating the closing gong, though digitally.

At the closing gong ceremony held on Instagram live chat this afternoon, the multiple award-winning music star used the opportunity to drive home the importance of collaboration and appreciated the NSE for using him to inform youths in the country on the message of social change.

“I am really grateful for the opportunity and would like to thank the Nigerian Stock Exchange. I would also like to call on Nigerians to join the movement,” he said.

In his remarks, Mr Onyema lauded the impact that the entertainment sector has played in driving social change, and in particular, 2Baba’s influence.

He said the vital member of the defunct Plantainshun Boiz has used his voice to raise awareness and mobilize support for the Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability initiatives of the bourse toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Nigeria.

“Since his appointment, 2Baba has been collaborating with NSE on its various CSR programmes such as the NSE Corporate Challenge, NSE Essay competition and more recently the Masks for All Nigerians campaign.

“The campaign aims at galvanizing individuals and companies towards donating 400 million masks for Nigerians especially low-income households.

“We are pleased to note that for 2Baba, music is more than making hit tracks which he has done since he hit the limelight over twenty years ago. It is also an instrument of driving change and impact within society.

“It was, therefore, not surprising that many organisations continue to desire to collaborate with him to bring about the desired social change,” he noted.

Mr Onyema further noted that the exchange has continued to thrive despite the limitations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, through its Business Continuity Plan established in March.

“We have remained supportive of issuers and have added close to N1 trillion of fresh capital since the activation of the Business Continuity Plan in March,” the NSE chief said.

He noted that, “Recently, we committed the sum of N100 Million to support the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. The sum of N60 million was donated to the Capital Market Support Committee for COVID-19 (CMSCC), led by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The balance of N40 Million was deployed to the Masks For All Nigeria campaign, which was launched to galvanize private organizations and individuals to provide 400 million face masks to Nigerians, especially the low-income households.

“We kicked off the campaign with a donation of over 100,000 face masks. I, therefore, use this opportunity to invite corporates and well-meaning individuals to join the campaign and donate masks via http://masksforallng.com.”

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

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four tax reform bills

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.

In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.

To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”

“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.

It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”

“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.

“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.

“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.

“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.

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Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

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MRS Oil voluntary delisting

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

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Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

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All-Share Index NGX

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.

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