By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Many Nigerians have continued to applaud the partnership between the Dangote Refinery and MRS Oil Nigeria that led to the slashing of the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, to N935 per litre.

The two energy firms recently sealed a deal for the sale of petrol from Dangote Refinery in Lagos at the retail stations of MRS Oil across the nation.

“Petrol is now being sold at N935 at MRS Filling Stations nationwide. If you find any station not following this price, please report it. Call 08009447853 or email: [email protected],” MRS Oil said in a statement.

“We call on all petrol station owners to join MRS Oil Nigeria Plc in improving the supply chain of our beloved country, ensuring product quality and availability in every corner of Nigeria for the benefit of all Nigerians,” it added.

Business Post reports that MRS Oil struck this deal with Dangote Refinery after the crude oil refiner brought down its ex-depot price from N970 to N899.50 per litre.

Checks showed that the new price had been implemented at all MRS Oil retail outlets nationwide.

In Lagos, commuters were seen queuing at MRS filling stations to purchase petrol. Many expressed their gratitude to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and MRS Oil and Gas, urging other marketers to support the indigenous refinery rather than import off-spec products into the country.

Mrs Ibukun Phillips, a commuter at the MRS station at Alapere on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway, could not hide her joy as her husband filled up their car.

“I am very happy today. This is a victory for Nigeria,” she said. “The price reduction is the best gift of the season. But beyond just the reduction, we are buying standard, eco-friendly petrol at a lower rate.

“My husband and I have decided we will only be using MRS from now on because we are confident in the quality of the product and supporting the economy,” she stated.

A commercial bus driver, Mr Adio Ajibade, described the price reduction as a great relief, especially during the festive season, saying, “The reduction is a great relief. It will reduce transportation costs and benefit Nigerians. God will continue to bless Aliko Dangote.”

A public affairs analyst and university lecturer, Dr Tunde Akanni, said the collaboration between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and MRS Oil represents a significant step towards improving the affordability, quality, and sustainability of petroleum products in Nigeria.

According to Dr Akanni, “This move will not only help ease the financial burden on Nigerians but also promote a more environmentally conscious approach to fuel consumption, benefitting both the economy and public health in the long term.”

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.37 per cent in the 51st trading week of 2024, with the Unlisted Security Index (USI) growing in the five-day trading week by 11.11 points to settle at 3,043.27 points, in contrast to the preceding week’s 3,032.16 points.

However, the market capitalisation of the bourse went down by N19.45 million to N1.043 trillion from the N1.062 trillion recorded in the preceding week, which was Week 50.

Business Post reports that there were price four gainers and three price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index.

The gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc with a price appreciation of 10 per cent to close at N32.72 per unit versus the previous week’s N29.74 per unit, UBN Property jumped by 5.00 per cent to end at N1.89 per unit compared with the preceding trading value of N1.8 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 2.3 per cent to sell at N43.84 per share versus the preceding week’s N42.85 per share, and Nipco Plc gained 2.1 per cent to quote at N150.10 per share against the former value of N147.00 per share.

On the flip side, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc depreciated by 5.6 per cent to close at 17 Kobo per unit versus 18 Kobo per unit, Afriland Properties Plc recorded a 1.9 per cent slide to end at N15.99 per share versus N16.30 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc lost 0.8 per cent to end at N3.88 per share against the N3.91 per share it was transacted a week earlier.

There was a 79.4 per cent slide in the volume of equities transacted in Week 51 to 2.29 million units from 11.12 million units in the previous week, the value of trades went up by 136.9 per cent to N89.8 million from N37.9 million, and the number of deals stood at 93 deals.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was the most active stock by value last week with N53.1 million, Nipco Plc recorded N30.1 million, Afriland Properties Plc posted N2.6 million, Geo-Fluids Plc traded N1.5 million, and 11 Plc achieved N0.96 million.

Also, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc was also the most traded stock by volume in the week with 1.22 million units, UBN Property Plc transacted 0.2 million units, and Afriland Plc traded 0.16 million units.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as computed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), expanded by 3.4 per cent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, with output reaching N20.115 trillion, different from the 3.19 per cent growth quoted in Q2 2024 from an output of N18.285 trillion, according to the latest Economic Report for the third quarter of 2024 released by the apex bank.

The CBN said despite persisting headwinds, this growth was driven mainly by the non-oil sector.

The report said inflation moderated during the quarter, reflecting the fall in the food component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket, and driven by the restrictive monetary policy stance.

Domestic crude oil production increased, following enhanced security measures around oil pipeline infrastructure in the Niger Delta region.

The growth of 3.46 per cent recorded in Q32024, represented the third consecutive expansion year-to-date surpassing the 3.19 per cent and 2.54 per cent recorded in Q2 2024 and the corresponding quarter of 2023, respectively.

“Growth was on account of continued efforts to improve the business environment, streamline cumbersome business processes and deepen the quality of business infrastructure,” the report seen by Business Post said.

The 24-month window period opened for the banking sector re-capitalisation (according to their license category and authorisation) supported the robust growth in the services sector, particularly, the finance and insurance sub-sector, the report explained.

The continued drive of the government to improve crude oil production to a target of 2 million barrels per day by year-end of 2024, helped the oil sector to maintain positive growth for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Thus, the oil sector grew by 5.17 per cent (year-on-year) in Q3 2024, compared with a growth of 10.15 per cent in the preceding quarter, and contributed 0.28 percentage points to the overall increase in the period under review.

The performance was slower than the preceding quarter, owing to a drop in prices of Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude in the international market, to $82.07 per barrel from $86.92 per barrel in Q22024.

However, with the increase in crude oil production from 1.27 million barrels per day in Q22024 to 1.33 million barrels per day in Q3 2024.

The non-oil sector growth accelerated to 3.37 per cent in Q32024 compared with a growth rate of 2.80 per cent in the preceding quarter, contributing 3.18 percentage points to total growth.

The expansion of the non-oil sector was driven by the performance of the financial & insurance, information & communication, crop production, trade, transportation & storage, and real estate sub-sectors.

Regarding sectoral performance, CBN said all the sectors, (agriculture, industry and services) grew in Q32024.

The Services sector expanded at the fastest pace by 5.19 per cent in Q32024, compared with 3.79 per cent in Q2 2024 and 3.99 per cent in Q32023, remaining the most dominant sector and accounting for 53.58 per cent of aggregate Gross Domestic Product.

Within the services sector, financial & insurance sub-sector grew by 30.83 per cent, compared with 28.79 and 28.21 per cent in the preceding and corresponding quarters of 2023, respectively. This performance was spurred by gains from the recapitalisation exercise that was announced by the CBN, according to the report.

Other factors such as profits from interest gains (following continued hikes in interest rates), consultancy fees, and ATM & transfer fees contributed to the growth of the sub-sector.

Also, given the financial sector’s ongoing digital transformation (including the significant growth of fintech companies, mobile banking, and digital payment systems), the information and communications subsector grew by 5.92 per cent (contributing 0.95 percentage points to GDP growth).

The performance of the ICT sub-sector was further boosted by the ongoing demand for digital services like e-commerce and data/internet services, which helped to grow economic activity in the other sub-sectors like trade and real estate 0.65 and 0.68 per cent, respectively.

The transport and storage sub-sector grew by 12.15 per cent, compared with contractions of 13.53 and 35.85 per cent in the preceding and corresponding quarters of 2023, respectively.

The growth was driven by the increase in road transport owing to improved security conditions and substitution from air transport (due to higher air fares). Also, sustained investments in road infrastructure, as well as investments in alternative sources of energy (CNG) for road transport contributed to the uptick in the sub-sector.

The agriculture sector grew modestly by 1.14 per cent, compared with 1.41 and 1.30 per cent in the preceding and corresponding quarters of 2023, respectively.

The growth was driven by the favourable weather conditions and increased harvests of some staples.

Crop production grew by 1.18 per cent, compared with1.65 per cent in Q22024, while the forestry and livestock sub-sectors grew by 2.23 and 1.03 per cent, respectively, compared with a growth of 2.77 per cent and a contraction of 1.71 per cent in Q22024.