Economy
Ajaokuta Steel: Akpoti Backs Bello as Rep Begin Probe Monday
By Ebireri Henry Ovie
A lawyer and social reformer, Barrister Natasha Akpoti, on Saturday expressed delight with the high degree of determination so far exhibited by Kogi State governor, Mr Yahaya Bello to move Ajaokuta Steel Company forward.
She also dismissed insinuations of being sponsored by some individuals in the country.
“As a governor, Yahaya Bello must be met daily with tons of ideas. Ajaokuta Kogi Nigeria Limited could have been one of those he ventured into based on recommendations best available to him at that moment in time. I hold no brief for him and I still believe that in the spirit of democracy, his government owes an explanation to the good people of Nigeria.
“However, while focusing ahead, it’s good to know Bello supports the call for TPE of Russia as technical partners and has openly appreciated the resilience of our advocacy. So I chose to hold His Excellency to his words,” she said.
Ms Akpoti, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja Saturday, disagreed with the thinking in some quarters that her recent friendship with Governor Bello was for her own selfish purposes.
“In the past months, there have been some relationships forged between the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello and myself. Clearly, we are collaborating towards an accelerated resuscitation of Ajaokuta Steel Company amongst others. This alliance will no way overturn or tamper with our code of ethics and societal ethos which has laid the foundation upon which we seek economic justice for Ajaokuta Steel Company and her captive mine – National Iron Ore Company, Itakpe both in Kogi State”.
According to her, the involvement of the Kogi State government in the alleged lopsided attempted acquisition of the steel complex via a vehicle registered as Ajaokuta Kogi Nigeria Limited as exposed during the March 1, 2018 presentation before the House of Representatives was all true.
“Whether such actions were taken with the full knowledge of Governor Yahaya Bello or not or in the best interest of the state and country or not shall be decided in the course of the House of Reps investigation which commences on Monday, June 4, 2018”
The leader of Ajaokuta/Itakpe Revival Movement provided what may well be an insight into the twists and turns in the journey to revive the steel company
“However, as every journey has a destination, so also before I embarked upon this Herculean task alongside millions of patriotic Nigerians; there was a destination at heart. This was unequivocally to pursue and influence good government decisions towards the judicious revival of Ajaokuta Steel Company and the steel sector in general.
“Without mincing words, we stood against its privatization and pressed for a Government to Government engagement between Russia and Nigeria in order to reengage the original builders TyazhPpromExport (TPE) directly as technical partners for a short term thereby cutting out the middle men/companies to help curb corruption and in turn, yield desired socio-economic benefit of the masses.
“Having set these goals, we embarked upon a journey we had absolute no control of its twists and turns. For three years, a lone voice became a movement of millions. Relationships were bruised, characters were smeared, lives threatened but most importantly patriotism grew as Nigerians from the North to South, East and West found a cause worth uniting and fighting for irrespective of religious and ethnic sentiments,” she said.
The legal practitioner explained that as the case of Ajaokuta Steel Company, there was no cause for alarm as the company was on a sure path of revival.
“On the brighter side, Ajaokuta Steel Company is on a sure path of revival because the much needed political will is being stimulated across the tiers of government.
“I, alongside the reputable Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), African Iron and Steel Association (AISA) and a host of other professional stakeholders are working with the National Assembly to create a set of laws to establish a responsive and protective ecosystem for the steel sector.
“We are also advocating for the establishments of a Steel Development Authority (just like we had in the 70s). The rationale behind this is to promote the separation of powers which are presently mumbled up in the Ministry of Solid minerals.
“In essence, the Steel Authority shall oversee the operations and productivity of the steel sector; while the ministry shall serve as regulators for pricing, policy formulations and others. With all the right collaborations being set in place, however late, I have no doubt the resuscitation of Ajaokuta’s steel complex for the good of Nigeria will be a dream come true”.
Ms Akpoti excitely told newsmen that she decided to forge a healthy alliance to promote an accelerated resuscitation of Ajaokuta Steel Company along agreed common grounds.
“From childhood, after the sudden demise of my father at the age of 49; I developed a great appreciation for the value of time being the most precious of resources. We can always make the money we lose, but never the time wasted.
“In addition, I am also one with great respect for authority especially in this part of the world where the pen is still mightier than the voices of the populace; so I had to apply reason to save time for the greater good of Ajaokuta and its delayed promises to Nigeria and her sinking economy.
“So after the expose of conspiracies on the floor of the National Assembly; wise elders counseled on the importance of managing time and authority. We as a movement had a choice to either spend the next moments agitating about the mistakes of the past or cutting our loses, call on the relevant parties together, especially the stakeholders in government and forge a healthy alliance to promote an accelerated resuscitation of Ajaokuta Steel company along agreed common grounds,” she added.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears consolidated their dominance on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday, inflicting an additional 0.09 per cent cut on the market.
At midweek, the market capitalisation of the domestic stock exchange went down by N73 billion to N124.754 trillion from the preceding day’s N124.827 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 114.32 points to 194,370.20 points from 194,484.52 points.
A look at the sectoral performance showed that only the consumer goods index closed in green, gaining 1.19 per cent due to buying pressure.
However, sustained profit-taking weakened the insurance space by 3.79 per cent, the banking index slumped by 2.07 per cent, the energy counter went down by 0.24 per cent, and the industrial goods sector shrank by 0.22 per cent.
Business Post reports that 25 equities ended on the gainers’ chart, and 54 equities finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N10.35, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N6.75, SAHCO depreciated by 9.98 per cent to N139.35, Haldane McCall gave up 9.93 per cent to trade at N3.99, and Vitafoam Nigeria decreased by 9.93 per cent to N112.50.
Conversely, Jaiz Bank gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N14.03, Okomu Oil appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1,765.00, Trans-nationwide Express chalked up 9.77 per cent to close at N2.36, Fortis Global Insurance moved up by 9.72 per cent to 79 Kobo, and Champion Breweries rose by 5.39 per cent to N17.60.
Yesterday, 1.4 billion shares worth N46.2 billion were transacted in 70,222 deals compared with the 1.1 billion shares valued at N53.4 billion traded in 72,218 deals a day earlier, implying a rise in the trading volume by 27.27 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 13.48 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively.
Fortis Global Insurance ended the session as the busiest stock after trading 193.7 million units for N152.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 120.7 million units worth N11.1 billion, Japaul exchanged 114.8 million units valued at N407.0 million, Ellah Lakes sold 98.4 million units worth N999.2 million, and Access Holdings traded 63.1 million units valued at N1.7 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 74 Kobo or 0.05 per cent decline was recorded by the Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, February 25, trading at N1,356.11/$1 compared with the N1,355.37/$1 it was traded on Tuesday.
The Nigerian currency also further depreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session in the official market by N6.70 to settle at N1,834.96/£1 versus the preceding day’s rate of N1,828.26/£1, and against the Euro, it tumbled by N4.94 to quote at N1,598.59/€1 compared with the previous session’s N1,596.36/€1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira lost N6 against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk to close at N1,367/$1, in contrast to N1,361/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier, and in the parallel market, it traded flat at N1,365/$1.
The continuation of the decline of the local currency has been tied to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) buying US Dollars from the market to slow the rapid rise of the Naira.
The apex bank bought about $189.80 million to reduce excess Dollar supply and control how fast the Naira was gaining value.
The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the CBN on Tuesday reduced interest rates by 50 basis points to 26.50 per cent from 27 per cent after inflation eased in January 2026, a move analysts say is the best not to unsettle FX market, especially the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI_ inflows which have anchored much of the recent supply and weakened the recently restored monetary credibility.
“The 50bps move therefore provides a clear directional signal while still keeping overall monetary conditions restrictive, indicating the start of a shallow, data-dependent easing cycle rather than a radical shift to accommodative policy,” said Mr Kayode Akindele, CEO, Coronation Capital and Head, Coronation Research in an email.
As for the cryptocurrency market, benchmarked tokens rebounded in double digits, driven by bearish positioning and thin liquidity rather than by clear fundamental catalysts, with Cardano (ADA) growing by 16.2 per cent to $0.3015, and Solana (SOL) appreciating by 12.3 per cent to $88.66.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) surged 11.9 per cent to $2,076.66, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 11.5 per cent to $57.15, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 11.5 per cent to $0.1025, Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 7.6 per cent to $629.76, Ripple (XRP) jumped 7.2 per cent to $1.45, and Bitcoin (BTC) added 6.4 per cent to sell for $68,136.72, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled largely unchanged on Wednesday amid a build in American crude stockpile and the threat to oil supply from potential military conflict between the US and Iran.
Brent futures chalked up 8 cents to trade at $70.85 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures settled lost 21 cents to close at $65.42 per barrel.
Crude oil inventories in the US increased by 16 million barrels during the week ending February 20, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.
The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 435.8 million barrels according to government data, which is still 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.
The EIA’s data release follows figures by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories rose by a massive 11.4 million barrels in the period.
The market continued to weigh the possibility extended conflict could disrupt supplies from Iran, the third-biggest crude producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other countries in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump verbally attacked Iran, saying he would not allow a country he described as the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism to have a nuclear weapon.
This comes as US envoys are due to meet an Iranian delegation for a third round of talks on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland.
Reuters reported that OPEC+ is considering raising its oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April to end a three-month pause in production increases. This is as the group prepares for peak summer demand and tensions between the US and Iran boost prices.
Eight OPEC+ producers – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman – meet on March 1.
An increase of 137,000 barrels per day for April would be the same as those agreed for December, November and October last year.
In a separate development, Saudi Arabia has activated a plan for a short-term oil output and export surge in case a US strike on Iran disrupts flows from the Middle East, said two sources familiar with the Saudi plan.
Tariff uncertainty also further worried investors after President Trump’s temporary global tariff of 10 per cent took effect on Tuesday after the Supreme Court’s sweeping ruling last week. He later said the levy would be 15 per cent, but it was unclear when and if it would apply.
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