Economy
Capital Market Activity Should Align With National Economic Agenda—Kwairanga
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The chairman of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, has joined others to call for a unified action on capital formation.
At the 2025 Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) National Workshop held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he stressed the importance of aligning capital market activity with the broader national economic agenda.
Mr Kwairanga also underscored the market’s role in financing infrastructure, supporting enterprise, and attracting both local and foreign investment as Nigeria pursues sustainable growth.
This view was also shared by the chief executive of the exchange, Mr Temi Popoola, who urged stakeholders to align their efforts toward building a market capable of mobilizing long-term capital and advancing Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy aspiration.
He described the market’s recent resurgence as a direct outcome of deliberate reforms, improved macroeconomic signals, and technological advancements across market infrastructure.
While acknowledging the momentum, he stressed that sustaining progress would require coordinated action among industry players, regulators, and policymakers to strengthen industries, empower institutions, and deepen market structures.
“The capital market stands at a pivotal point in Nigeria’s economic journey and with deliberate reforms and a strong regulatory environment, we have an opportunity to position the market as a key enabler of long-term capital formation, one that supports industries, empowers institutions, and scales our economy to new heights,” he submitted.
Mr Popoola highlighted NGX Invest, a platform designed to simplify market access for investors and issuers, which has already facilitated over N2 trillion in primary market transactions.
This, he noted, reflects growing confidence in the market and demonstrates what can be achieved when industry players, regulators, and institutions work in concert.
“These achievements are testament to what is possible when market operators, professionals, and institutions pull in the same direction,” Mr Popoola remarked, adding that stockbrokers play an indispensable role in product innovation, investor education, and expanding access to the capital markets.
On his part, the chairman of the Council of CIS, Mr Oluropo Dada, affirmed the institute’s commitment to fostering professionalism and integrity within the capital market, noting that a resilient and ethical market is critical to sustaining investor confidence and deepening participation.
Also, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Emomotimi Agama, underscored the agency’s role in enabling capital formation as a core mandate of the market.
“Beyond investor protection and market development, our responsibility is to build a market where we can pool resources to power national growth. A $1 trillion economy may be a tall order, but with deliberate effort and the right structures, it is within reach,” Mr Agama stated, stressing that achieving this target will depend on collaborative effort across all segments of the financial market ecosystem.
On her part, the Minister of State for Finance, Ms Doris Anite, underscored the administration’s recognition of the capital market as a critical partner in financing national development.
“If we are to meet our ambitious targets, we must expand access to long-term capital, foster investor confidence, reinforce institutional frameworks, and above all, forge stronger linkages between capital markets and the real economy,” she stated, reaffirming the federal government’s commitment to working with stakeholders to streamline policies, deepen the fixed-income market, and expand access to green and impact finance instruments.
Representing Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Mr Tope Fasua, lauded the capital market’s recent performance, noting that the surge in market capitalization reflects renewed investor confidence and the early impact of bold reforms, calling on stakeholders to maintain momentum through innovation, policy advocacy, and ethical market conduct.
“The journey to a $1 trillion economy is ambitious, but it is achievable. It requires sustained commitment, collaborative effort, and a shared vision from all stakeholders, government, regulators, market operators, and investors,” Mr Fasua said.
The workshop served as a platform for aligning the perspectives of industry leaders, regulators, and policymakers on the need to strengthen Nigeria’s capital market as a cornerstone of economic expansion.
As the country pursues its ambition of achieving a $1 trillion economy, the collective resolve of stakeholders to deepen market capacity, foster professionalism, and promote innovation will be critical to ensuring that the capital market plays its rightful role in shaping the nation’s economic future.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
