Economy
Belarus Offers to Support Nigeria’s Agricultural Mechanization Drive
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The government of Belarus has offered to support the agricultural mechanization drive of Nigeria, promising to produce tractors that will fit the nation’s specifications.
This request was made by the Ambassador of Belarus to Nigeria, Mr Vyacheslav Bril, during a visit to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha.
The envoy said his country has a track record in agricultural mechanization, producing 60,000 tractors annually with different modifications, assuring that the federal government of the desire of the landlocked country in Eastern Europe to partner with Nigeria in the area of agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals, oil and gas, defence and security.
According to him, Belarus is ready to partner with Nigeria to provide the required expertise for sustainable development, noting that through its military-technical cooperation, Nigeria will receive the support of his government in securing modernized ammunitions.
He also assured the federal government that with their gains in the oil and gas industry, they would provide the necessary maintenance and upgrading of refineries to operate optimally.
Responding, Mr Mustapha thanked the diplomat for the visit, affirming Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening its bilateral ties with the Republic of Belarus in order to diversify its economy.
The SGF noted that Nigeria’s long-existing ties with Belarus in the area of trading have not improved and requested the Ambassador to explore means of improving trade relations so as to boost its volume of trade.
“To assure you that slowly but steadily, we will continue to build on this very strong relationship that we believe will be mutually beneficial to Nigeria as a trading partner with Belarus.
“We hope to see improvements in the same as the volume of trade between the two countries have not really increased in the dimension that we want to see over the last couple of years, but we believe that the way you’ve set to engage.
“I can see that since you presented your letters of credence, I think I can see that you’ve begun to engage ministers in cabinet, and you’ve been able to get some visits to Belarus from those ministers. that is the way to go,” Mr Mustapha said.
He commended the government of Belarus on the quality of their products which have received acceptability among Nigerians and promised to seek their support in turning the fortunes of the country’s agricultural drive.
The SGF informed the Ambassador of the federal government’s diversification drive and seeks partnership with the Belarusian government on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a way forward.
“I believe there are certain areas from which we can begin to partner. in the last two quarters, our digital economy and ICT have contributed immensely to our GDP, which is a clear indication that in as much as we are an oil-dependent country, but we can strongly drive the diversification drive in our economy particularly in the service sector.
“ICT stands out as an area we can partner as a nation. I hope you We have an opportunity with the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy (Mr Isa Pantami) so that you can discuss at length on how we can work together in a particular industry to see how, how you can help institutionalize our developmental efforts in that particular area,” he said.
Mr Mustapha also affirmed that the federal government would like the Belarusian government to partner with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development among others to build institutions that would impact and transfer knowledge on entrepreneurship to our teeming youths.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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