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
Oil prices climbed about 2 per cent to a one-month high on Tuesday after the US reportedly reimposed a naval blockade on Iran, which will reduce oil flows from the region through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent futures rose by $1.43 or 1.7 per cent to settle at $84.73 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by $1.20 or 1.5 per cent to $79.34 a barrel.
Brent closed at its highest since June 12, and WTI at its highest since June 15. The closing price increase kept Brent in technically overbought territory for a second day in a row for the first time since March.
Before the Iran war, about 20 per cent of global oil supplies flowed through the strait.
US President Donald Trump stepped back from a proposal to charge a 20 per cent fee to guard the Strait of Hormuz as part of the conflict with Iran, saying he would instead seek investment deals with Gulf states.
US forces had carried out waves of attacks for the third night after Iran said it had closed the strait. President Trump on Monday reinstated a blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed the fee, but hours before the fee was to take effect, the American President said the strait was open to all shipping traffic except that of Iran.
The renewed attacks have fed doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month will lead to a permanent halt in the war that has disrupted global energy supplies and stoked inflation fears.
Data showed that US consumer inflation slowed more than expected in June as energy prices retreated, but financial markets still expect an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh on Tuesday vowed to “do my job” if challenged by President Trump, who has said he wants the US central bank to cut interest rates and boost economic growth.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US fell by 564,000 barrels in the week ending July 10. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 399,000 barrels.
Although commercial crude oil inventories excluding the SPR have been falling rapidly for three months now, shedding just over 60 million barrels over the last twelve weeks, US crude inventories are only down 9.2 million barrels so far this year. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its report later on Wednesday.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery has begun pricing fuel products for the local market in US Dollars amid crude supply challenges.
The company cited difficulties securing sufficient crude under the government’s Naira-for-crude programme and rising global oil prices as reasons for the development.
The Naira-for-crude programme, launched in October 2024, allowed domestic refiners to purchase crude in the local currency and reduced pressure on the foreign exchange market.
Mr Edwin Devakumar, the vice president of the Dangote Group, said the refinery had been absorbing a currency mismatch by selling products in Naira while sourcing crude in Dollars, but limited crude supply under the Naira-for-crude programme had undermined the arrangement’s viability.
Dangote has now set the ex-depot price of petrol at $0.779 per litre, diesel at $1.087 per litre and aviation fuel at $0.942 per litre, according to a pricing template circulated to marketers.
Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited increased Dangote’s allocation to seven cargoes in May from about five previously, the refiner has said it requires 13 to 15 cargoes a month and has been forced to import the remainder at international prices.
The decision could boost demand for Dollars among fuel marketers and make domestic fuel prices more sensitive to exchange-rate fluctuations.
Dangote Refinery is steadily ramping up operations toward full capacity after a gradual start since late 2023. In April alone, it received 21 separate crude cargoes, with all supplies coming from West Africa, mainly Nigerian crude grades, with one cargo from Cameroon; however, it boosted international cargoes in recent months.
The refinery has been broadening the range of crude grades it processes as part of its ambition to operate as a fully merchant refinery. In 2025, about 70 per cent of the refinery’s crude imports came from Nigeria, while 24 per cent originated from the United States.
Dangote plans to double the refinery’s processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by the end of 2028, a level that would enable it to process about 80 per cent of Nigeria’s recent crude oil production in a single day.
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.
