Economy
Buhari to Grace International Commodities Conference in Abuja
By Dipo Olowookere
On March 16 and 17, 2020, stakeholders in the commodities market from within and outside Nigeria will gather at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja to brainstorm in issues in the space.
The event is being hosted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and it is to further deepen the capital market and have a vibrant commodities exchange.
The international conference on the Nigeria Commodities Market is themed Commodities Trading Ecosystem: Key to Diversifying Nigeria’s Economy and would be graced by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to acting Director General of SEC, Ms Mary Uduk, will bring together relevant stakeholders in the commodities ecosystem as well as relevant stakeholders from the international community to discuss issues pertaining to the commodities ecosystem in Nigeria including creating an enabling environment for players at all levels to interact, as well as push for high level developmental and legal supporting structures.
Ms Uduk said the commission is collaborating with relevant stakeholders to implement the 10-year capital market master plan and make Nigeria one of the world’s most liquid and Africa’s largest economy by 2025.
“One of the crucial initiatives of the plan was to develop a thriving commodities trading ecosystem and fully utilise the nation’s potentials.
“We believe that if we can develop a vibrant commodities trading ecosystem in Nigeria, we can substantially address lack of storage, poor pricing, non-standardisation and low contribution of foreign exchange affecting our commodities sub-sector,” she said.
“A vibrant commodities ecosystem would aid diversification from oil to non-oil sector and it would also boost the nation’s revenues and foreign exchange (forex) earnings,” she added.
The acting DG stated that the role of commodity exchanges was critical to economic growth, especially in the areas of price transparency and value addition to farmers, ensuring quality products for buyers and providing investment opportunities across the value chain.
Ms Uduk said Nigeria was still challenged in the area of transiting from an informal commodity trading system to one consummated on the platforms of commodity exchanges.
She said if the country pays adequate attention to agriculture, it would boost food security, enhance job creation and facilitate production of raw materials for agro-processing pointing out that the capital market must operate at optimum level, even as the implementation of its 10-year master plan remains a priority.
Special guests expected at the event include Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Niyi Adebayo; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Sabo Nanono; and Chairman Senate Committee on Capital Market, Mr Ibikunle Amosun.
Others are Chairman House Committee on Capital Market and other Institutions, Mr Ibrahim Babangida; Governor Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele; President Africa Development Bank, Mr Akinwumi Adesina; President Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Dr. Agnes Kalibata; Chairman Economic Advisory Council, Mr Doyin Salami; and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Bello Mohammed.
Recall that as part of its mandate to promote and enhance the development of Nigerian capital market, set up a Technical Committee on Commodities Trading Ecosystem in Nigeria to develop a roadmap towards achieving a thriving commodities trading ecosystem in Nigeria.
The Committee came up with a report which is currently in its implementation phase. As part of its recommendations, the committee proposed the hosting of an International conference.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has launched a locally developed portal to enhance trade transparency, efficiency, and compliance.
The portal, called B-Odogwu, will provide a unified system for stakeholders, including shippers, terminal operators, and traders, to access and manage their information system.
According to a statement, the Comptroller Kano/Jigawa Command, Dalhat Abubakar, unveiled the program in Kano on Tuesday and described it as a safer, faster, and indigenous-owned system designed by the NCS for easy transactions.
He said the introduction of the B-Odogwu system was a significant step towards achieving a single National entry window and promoting transparency in trade facilitation.
According to him, “The new system is designed to ensure reliability, transparency, and compliance in trade facilitation.”
Mr Abubakar, however, stressed that the NCS has demonstrated competence and dedication in transitioning from service providers to the new system.
He added that the key features and benefits of the B-Odogwu system include faster processing and reduced downtime, enhanced reliability, and transparency.
Other benefits are improved compliance and reduced lack of compliance, a single national entry window with a single data movement, and trade facilitation and transparency.
He disclosed that “The NCS has commenced training for terminal operators, shippers, traders, and licensed agents to ensure a smooth transition to the new system.”
He further stated that “Over 16,000 declarations have been made on the B-Odogwu system since its introduction in January 2025.”
By Dipo Olowookere
The much-awaited listing of shares of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited may happen soon as the state-owned oil agency has expressed its readiness to join the nation’s capital market.
At a consultative meeting with partners at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Thursday, the Chief Finance and Investor Relations Officer (CFIO) of the NNPC, Mr Olugbenga Oluwaniy, said the process of listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is at the final stage.
The NNPC is required to make its stocks available to members of the public based on the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The PIA provides for the NNPC Ltd to list its shares in the capital market in line with the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990.
This exercise should have happened, but it has been delayed, but with the latest information, the wait may soon be over.
Mr Oluwaniyi, via a statement today by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr Olufemi Soneye, disclosed that NNPC was currently engaging with prospective partners in an exercise tagged NNPC Ltd. IPO Beauty Parade in line with capital market regulations before the commencement of the Initial Public Offer (IPO).
According to the CFIO, the aim of the IPO Beauty Parade is to access potential partners and determine in what ways they could be of support to the company.
He listed the areas of partnership required to include Investor Relations, IPO Readiness Advisers, and Investment Bank Partners, noting that the organisation with the best offer in terms of project partnership would be selected for each of the three categories.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The pump price of petrol will likely increase in coming weeks as the landing cost of a litre of imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) into the country increased by N88 from N797 per litre last week to N885 per litre this week.
This informing is according to the latest data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) on Wednesday.
The association confirmed the rise in the landing cost in its daily energy bulletin released on Wednesday, arguing that price changes are inevitable in a deregulated market.
The new landing cost is N25 higher than the N860 per litre that end-user customers pay for Dangote petrol from MRS and other partners.
Similarly, the Dangote refinery’s ex-depot petrol price is N815 per litre, N70 lower than the new landing cost..
The landing cost fell from about N927 below Dangote’s ex-depot price, forcing the refinery to react with a price cut.
The development resulted in the loss of billions of Naira by marketers as they were made to sell petrol below their costs.
There are, however, indications that this may lead to increase in petrol prices in the coming weeks as a result of the disagreement between the Dangote refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited over the Naira-for-crude deal and the rise in the landing cost.
While announcing the suspension of the sale of the product in local currency last week, the Dangote Group said, “Dear valued customers, we wish to inform you that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in naira. This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars.
“To date, our sales of petroleum products in naira have exceeded the value of naira-denominated crude we have received. As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency.”
Immediately after the announcement, the cost of loading petrol at private depots in Lagos jumped to about N900/litre.
In a related development, seven vessels carrying imported PMS were expected to berth at seaports along the nation’s borders between March 17 and 23.
These vessels, carrying 115,000 metric tonnes, representing 154.22 million litres of PMS, brought in products through three seaports – Tincan port in Lagos, the Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, and the Calabar port – to improve fuel supply nationwide.
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