Economy

AKK Gas Pipeline Project at 15% Completion

Published

5 years ago

16/12/2020

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline project is currently at 15 per cent completion.

This was disclosed by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari, at the inspection of the second leg of the project at Karogo community in Igabi Local Government Area, Kaduna State.

“The project is currently at about 15 per cent completion but what is important for us to know is that we are crossing the river Niger, what we call the Ndoni-Aboh river crossing in Rivers and Delta states that will deliver gas from the eastern part to the country into the western corridor.

“That means expanding gas supply into the help line and also making gas ready. We are happy that this project is going on and we will deliver it on course and schedule.

“We have all the assurances of government and particularly that this government is focused on delivering this project so that we clear the transnational gas pipeline which has eluded us.

“By completing the project and expanding the L2 lines and crossing the Ndoniabo River, we would have created a major gas trunk line for gas delivery to our domestic market,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zaniab Ahmed, assured full funding of the project for delivery at the targeted timeline.

She commended the NNPC and the contractors for the commitment and quality of the job done so far with the project.

“I have seen a very high level of work that has been done and the excellent quality, I can see the potential of what will happen to the cities that the project is passing.

“It is going to bring huge businesses and employ a lot of people, already the project is employing people at the level the work is done so far.

“This project is assured in terms of funding, we already secured a loan from China Export and Import Bank of $2.5 billion, the financing has been closed, all that is done now is disbursements for the contractors to continue doing their work,” she said.

The minister urged all stakeholders to continue to collaborate to ensure full delivery of the project at the targeted period.

On his part, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, said the project symbolises transformation and revolution for development.

“This project will create a corridor of opportunities for Nigeria and drive a lot of development. We just came back from Kano and have seen what gas is already doing, a lot of factories are coming up.

“A lot of factories closed down because of the high cost of energy and running on diesel was unsustainable but with this now, it will be cheaper and cleaner and a lot of businesses will spring up around here.

“It will be quite transformational and a lot of jobs will be created, I see a lot of opportunities growing from this project,” he said.

Business Post had reported that President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the 614km gas pipeline project in June and had promised completion within 24 months of project commencement in July 2020.

The AKK Gas Pipeline is a pipeline planned to transport natural gas from Ajaokuta, in Kogi State to Kano, in Kano State, through several states and urban centres, as part of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline.

Upon completion, the project will enable the injection of 2.2 billion standard cubit feet per day (bscf/d) of gas into the domestic market and facilitate additional power generation capacity of 3,600 megawatts.

Economy

Bears Tighten Grip on NGX With 0.46% Loss Amid Weak Investor Sentiment

Published

10 hours ago

16/08/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered a loss on Friday, the third consecutive day it was closing lower. It lost 0.46 per cent when trading activities ended yesterday.

The decline was triggered by heavy profit-taking in the insurance space, with its index depleting by 8.73 per cent and the consumer goods counter losing 0.32 per cent.

However, the banking index gained 0.56 per cent, and the energy industry appreciated by 0.05 per cent, while the commodity and the industrial goods indices closed flat.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) retracted by 671.81 points to 144,628.20 points from 145,300.01 points and the market capitalisation came down by N425 billion to N91.502 trillion from N91.927 trillion.

Investors transacted 1.4 billion equities worth N13.9 billion 32,065 deals compared with the 2.5 billion equities valued at N22.2 billion traded in 43,515 deals on Thursday, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 44.00 per cent, 37.39 per cent and 26.31 per cent, respectively.

Universal Insurance topped the activity log with 308.8 million shares valued at N371.1 million, AIICO Insurance sold 118.0 million equities worth N470.7 million, Mutual Benefits transacted 102.4 million stocks for N390.8 million, Veritas Kapital exchanged 70.4 million shares worth N160.0 million, and Sovereign Trust Insurance traded 62.2 million equities valued at N182.3 million.

The trio of Linkage Assurance, International Energy Insurance, and Lasaco Assurance lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N2.43, N3.33, and N4.05 apiece, NEM Insurance depreciated by 9.97 per cent to N32.50, and Meyer crashed by 9.95 per cent to N16.75.

On the flip side, Mutual Benefits rose by 10.00 per cent to N3.85, Ikeja Hotel gained 9.95 per cent to finish at N22.65, Wema Bank appreciated by 9.90 per cent to N22.75, Deap Capital improved by 9.52 per cent to N1.61, and Tripple Gee increased by 8.32 per cent to N5.60.

With 39 price losers and 30 price gainers, the market breadth index of Customs Street ended negative on Friday, with weak investor sentiment.

Economy

OTC Exchange Falls 1.13%

Published

11 hours ago

16/08/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 1.13 per cent on Friday, August 15 after recording three price gainers and three price gainers.

During the trading day, the market capitalisation was down by N22.01 billion to N2.146 trillion from N2.171 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) depreciated by 36.79 points to 3,587.76 points, from the 3,628.67 points achieved a day earlier.

According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc crumbled by N4.86 to end at N43.82 per share versus the preceding day’s N48.68 per share, Okitipupa Plc plunged by N3.70 to finish at N233.30 per unit versus N237.00 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc dipped by 56 Kobo to close at N21.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N21.56 per share.

Conversely, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 77 Kobo to settle at N68.61 per unit compared with N67.84 per unit, Acorn Petroleum Plc appreciated by 11 Kobo to N1.30 per share from N1.11 per share, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc expanded by 5 Kobo to 57 Kobo per unit from the previous day’s 52 Kobo per unit.

The volume of trades declined by 87.1 per cent to 2.95 million units from 22.9 million units, the value of transactions depleted by 58.6 per cent to N15.4 million from N37.1 million, and the number of deals dropped by 34.9 per cent to 28 deals from 43 deals.

At the close of business, Okitipupa Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 158.6 million units worth N5.9 billion, followed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units valued at N4.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 44.0million units sold for N1.9 billion.

Also, IGI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units transacted for N379.6 million, trailed by Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units valued at N524.8 million, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units worth N4.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Firms to N1,532 at Official Market, N1,550/$1 at Black Market

Published

11 hours ago

16/08/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar in the black market segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday by N10 to trade at N1,550/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,560/$1.

In the same vein, it improved its value against the Dollar by N1.81 or 0.12 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window yesterday to close at N1,532.73/$1 compared with the N1,534.54/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.

However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by 50 Kobo to sell for N2,078.39/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N2,077.89/£1 and shed N2.87 against the Euro to quote at N1,791.36/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,788.49/€1.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued to back the Naira with sizeable forex sales with analysts expecting stability for the Naira, underpinned by robust FX liquidity and an efficient FX market,

“We expect sustained inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) due to existing carry trade opportunities and stronger market confidence,” analysts at Cordros Capital Limited said in a note.

Also, improving non-oil exports, as well as limited incentives for Naira hoarding and speculation, are expected to reinforce steady inflows from domestic sources.

July inflation also eased as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that headline inflation eased by 34 basis points to 21.88 per cent year-on-year in July from 22.22 per cent year on year.

On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices increased to 1.99 per cent versus 1.68 per cent on record in June. Food inflation increased by 77 basis points to 22.74 per cent in July from 21.97 per cent.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market further weakened as traders overlooked rising expectations for the US Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts in September coupled with surging exchange-traded funds (ETF) inflows and institutional adoption.

Market analysts noted that rising core inflation data and stretched valuations pose near-term risks, but institutional demand for crypto remains strong.

Solana (SOL) lost 4.7 per cent to sell at $187.75, Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.2 per cent to $4,446.58, Litecoin (LTC) slumped by 2.6 per cent to $118.60, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.6 per cent to $863.13, and Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 1.2 per cent to $117,602.17.

On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.1 per cent to $0.2328, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.9 per cent to $0.9571, and Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to $3.11, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.