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 Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.
MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.
The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.
When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth 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 valued at N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.
Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.
This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.
The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.
On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.
At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.
For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.
The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.
Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.
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