Economy
Adamawa Cuts Taxes, Rents, Overhead Cost by 50%, Budget by 20%
By Dipo Olowookere
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has announced the decision of his administration to reduce the cost of rents for houses, commercial shops and business premises by 50 percent.
The Governor made this announcement on Monday during a state-wide broadcast on measures being taken by the his government to address the global coronavirus pandemic, which has infected 36 persons in Nigeria and has claimed a single life so far in the country.
Mr Fintiri said though Adamawa State was yet to record any case of COVID-19, efforts are being made to rev up the attention that is necessary to contain or prevent the spread of the pandemic by preparing an isolation ward, equipped with monitors, at the Yola Specialist Hospital.
He said in order to make the state’s economy remain strong, his administration has resolved to implement cost saving measures such as a review of the current budget by 20 percent, coupled with a reduction in overhead cost by 50 percent across board.
“To cushion the effect of the alarming economic challenge of COVID-19, (the state) government has agreed on a 50 percent reduction in the cost of house rent, commercial shops and business premises,” the Governor also announced during the broadcast.
Continuing, Mr Fintiri said, “Government is aware of the impact of the economic implication of the current meltdown on informal businesses where majority of citizens are involved and has graciously approved another 50 percent reduction in the taxes affecting this category.”
“However, government is mindful of the need to shore-up its earnings and will therefore, intensify effort on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in areas where there will be minimal effect on the public wellbeing,” he stressed.
“Fellow citizens, we all know that these measures are not going to be easy but they are necessary. Political correctness should not be the criteria for political expedience.
“There is no doubt that going by what is happening now, the financial inflow of the state government has been affected, but while adjusting to the prevailing reality, government will do its best to implement the agenda it has set out to achieve,” Governor Fintiri stated.
He used the occasion to announce the setting up of the Adamawa State COVID-19 Containment Committee headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Bashiru Ahmad. He said the team will have as members the Commissioner Health, Professor Abdullahi Isa; the Medical Director, Yola Specialist Hospital; Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre Yola; the Commissioners for Local Government; Environment; Information and Strategy; Livestock and Aquaculture Development; while the Director Public Health, Ministry of Health will serve as the Secretary.
“Its terms of reference include but not limited to coordinating the overall Medico-social response to COVID-19 pandemic paying attention to public sensitization and implementation of containment measures.
“The committee shall be responsible for regular briefings and updates on containment measures,” the Governor said.
He urged residents of the state to “pay attention to regular briefings by the state Commissioner for Health, to keep abreast with unfolding developments,” saying government realised that “ignorance and lack of information often aggravate cases of serious public health crisis like the case at hand.”
Mr Fintiri also appealed to religious leaders and traditional rulers in the state to help sensitise the people on ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus, especially by moderating their congregation to a maximum of 50 people, until further notice.
“All conventions, congresses, seminars and workshops that will warrant a gathering of more than 50 people at a time, are hereby banned till further notice.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all forms of social, religious, and cultural gatherings, that will attract more than 50 people, are also hereby banned,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of 11 Plc and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc helped flip the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange from a three-day losing streak to a 0.27 per cent gain on Thursday, August 13.
11 Plc, which used to be known as Mobil Nigeria, garnered N22.28 to close at N245.03 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N222.75 per unit, and CSCS Plc appreciated by N3.76 to N109.76 per share from N106.00 per share.
The gains offset the N10.00 loss recorded by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, closing at N160.00 per unit compared with N170.00 per unit it finished at midweek.
When the bourse closed for the day, the market capitalisation increased by N7.31 billion to N2.727 trillion from N2.720 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) went up by 12.17 points to 4,544.20 points from 4,532.03 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities exchanged by investors skyrocketed by 1,173.8 per cent to 1.9 million units from 150,340 units, the value of securities jumped by 1,029.5 per cent to N210.8 million from N18.7 million, and the number of deals soared by 6.3 per cent to 34 deals from 32 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 79.1 million units exchanged for N5.7 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, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira-US Dollar exchange rate remained unchanged in the black market segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday, August 13, at N1,395/$1.
But at the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian currency gained N3 against the greenback during the session to settle at N1,367/$1, in contrast to Wednesday’s rate of N1,370/$1.
Similarly, the local currency further appreciated against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) yesterday by N2.93 or 0.22 per cent to trade at N1,357.65/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,360.58/$1.
Equally, the Nigerian Naira improved its value against the Pound Sterling at the official market by N6.94 to quote at N1,834.05, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,840.99/£1, and against the Euro, it firmed up by N5.01 to close at N1,567.00/€1 versus Wednesday’s N1,572.01/€1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that interbank FX transactions plunged by 53 per cent to $79.097 million from $168.758 million, as banks recorded a sharp cutback in customers’ US dollar demand, with the number of deals down to 98 from 190.
The apex bank announced the removal of restrictions preventing financial institutions that accessed its Standing Lending Facility (SLF) from participating in primary government securities transactions and FX.
Under a revised framework, institutions that accessed the CBN’s discount window will no longer lose access to the facility because of their participation in the NAFEM or primary auctions of government securities.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices fell as the expected US inflation report failed to push the asset beyond its established trading range.
The US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that headline inflation rose 0.1 per cent month over month in July and slowed to 3.4 per cent annually from 3.5 per cent in June. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2 per cent during the month and 2.5 per cent from a year earlier.
Cardano (ADA) lost 1.3 per cent to close at $0.1821, TRON (TRX) also shrank by 1.3 per cent to $0.3335, Solana (SOL) fell by 1.0 per cent to $75.60, Dogecoin (DOGE) also declined by 1.0 per cent to $0.06981, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 0.9 per cent to sell at $63,152.59, Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 0.8 per cent to $1,877.07, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.7 per cent to $608.42, and Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to $1.00, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
Weak investor sentiment further crumbled Nigeria’s stock exchange by 0.39 per cent on Thursday, as sell-offs persisted.
Data showed that all the major sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in the red, with the consumer goods index down by 1.22 per cent. The industrial goods space retreated by 0.75 per cent, the insurance segment depreciated by 0.55 per cent, the banking sector tumbled by 0.27 per cent, and the energy counter receded by 0.07 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 949.71 points to 243,017.38 points from 243,967.09 points, and the market capitalisation dipped by N613 billion to N156.881 trillion from N157.494 trillion.
Unilever Nigeria led the losers’ chart after it depleted by 9.97 per cent to N118.30, Chellarams dropped 9.66 per cent to close at N10.75, NDIF slumped by 9.55 per cent to N147.70, DAAR Communications crashed by 9.25 per cent to N1.57, and Cornerstone Insurance slipped by 9.09 per cent to N5.00.
On the flip side, International Energy Insurance topped the gainers’ log after it grew by 10.00 per cent to N4.84, John Holt expanded by 9.89 per cent to N10.00, Trans-Nationwide Express rose by 9.75 per cent to N2.59, SUNU Assurances gained 8.48 per cent to settle at N3.58, and NEM Insurance appreciated by 6.25 per cent to N34.00.
Business Post reports that there were 16 appreciating stocks and 41 depreciating stocks, representing a negative market breadth index.
Yesterday, 4.2 billion equities worth N50.7 billion were transacted in 41,454 deals versus the 1.5 billion equities valued at N20.9 billion that exchanged hands in 39,085 deals at midweek.
This indicated that the trading volume, value, and number of deals surged by 180.00 per cent, 142.58 per cent, and 6.06 per cent, respectively.
Cornerstone Insurance was the busiest equity on Thursday, with a turnover of 3.6 billion units valued at N18.4 billion, VFD Group exchanged 151.8 million units worth N1.9 billion, Chams sold 33.8 million units for N153.7 million, First Holdco transacted 28.3 million units worth N3.9 billion, and CMFC traded 24.6 million units valued at N78.2 million.
