Economy
CBN Determined to Make Nigerian Economy Very Robust—Emefiele
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it is leading the drive towards diversifying the nation’s economy away from oil through its numerous interventions.
Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor of CBN, said this at the 33rd Seminar organised by CBN for the Finance Correspondents and Business Editors on Saturday in Lagos. The conference was held simultaneously in Lagos and Abuja and themed Policy Options for Economic Diversification: Thinking Outside the Crude Oil Box.
Mr Emefiele said the quest for building a robust economy had remained the major component of the monetary policy.
According to him, Nigeria has largely depended on the oil sector for revenue generation over the past four decades.
He, therefore, said there was a need to build a broad-based and well-diversified economy that would guarantee overall macroeconomic stability.
“The quest for building a more sophisticated economy and agricultural, micro, small, and medium enterprises, industrial and manufacturing concerns have become the major component of our monetary policy.
“Nigeria has largely depended on the oil sector for revenue generation over the past four decades, and the sustained decline in crude oil production has continued to negatively undermine the performance of the economy.
“Thus, there is the urgent need for a conscientious effort to diversify to other non-oil sectors,” Mr Emefiele said.
The CBN chief, represented by the Director of Corporate Communication Department, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, said the apex bank had supported non-oil sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, education, power and aviation, and other allied economic value chains.
He said Nigeria had become a rice exporting country as the bank’s flagship Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) had changed the long-standing dependence on imported rice.
He said the CBN had through its Agriculture Credit Scheme, supported commercial farmers in the country in different value chains including oil palm, cotton, and cocoa, among others.
He said the implementation of 44 items prohibited from foreign exchange for import had revealed that the bank’s continued support to the manufacturing sector and MSMEs was yielding great results.
He also said the apex bank’s health sector intervention was beginning to reduce healthcare tourism, which according to him, was helping to conserve the country’s foreign exchange and improve the well-being of Nigerians.
Similarly, Emefiele stated that the new 100 for 100 Policy on Production and Productivity, was beginning to yield quality results.
He also said the RT200 FX initiative designed to take advantage of Nigeria’s large domestic production to other regional markets, was targeted at increasing foreign exchange inflows to the economy and supporting exchange rate stability.
On digitalisation across all sectors, specifically in entrenching a resilient payments system, Emefiele said the bank had over the years established strategic initiatives and policies in the financial sector.
He named the strategies as the Payments System Vision 2020 (2007), National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2012 2018 ), Cash-less Policy (2012), Framework for Regulatory Sandbox Operations (2018 2021) Open Banking Initiative (2021), among others.
The apex bank governor said, as a result, the Nigerian payment ecosystem had witnessed tremendous improvements over the years.
He said, “To consolidate its efforts towards engendering a digital economy, the bank deployed the eNaira, Africa’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in preparation for the payment landscape if the future given the potential benefits that will accrue to a digital economy.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigerian businessman, Mr Aliko Dangote, has increased his investment in Ethiopia to over $4 billion from $2.5 billion.
During a high-profile visit hosted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the business mogul informed newsmen in Gode, in Ethiopia’s Somali region, that the expanded scope includes critical infrastructure such as a 110-kilometre pipeline, a 120MW power plant, a polypropylene packaging facility, and a two-million-tonne NPK blending plant, among other new components.
The richest man in Africa described Ethiopia as a key strategic destination for Dangote Group’s long-term investments.
“In total, our declared and signed investments in Ethiopia now exceed $4 billion. This makes Ethiopia the second-largest recipient of our investments in Africa, accounting for nearly nine per cent of our continental outlay between now and 2030,” he said.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to boosting food security across Africa through large-scale fertiliser investments, declaring that the continent has the capacity to feed itself and become a net exporter of agricultural products.
Speaking on the strategic importance of fertiliser in agricultural productivity, Mr Dangote noted that Africa’s food insecurity challenges are largely due to limited access to key inputs.
Africa holds immense agricultural potential, yet continues to grapple with food insecurity due to limited access to fertiliser. Through our investments, we are committed to reversing this trend by boosting productivity, empowering farmers, and advancing a sustainable path to food self-sufficiency,” he stated as he was accompanied to inspect the site of the proposed fertiliser plant, where construction activities are already underway.
He added that his organisation’s ambition, though bold, is achievable with sustained investment in fertiliser production and agricultural infrastructure.
“Africa has the capacity to feed itself and even export to the rest of the world. Our fertiliser investments across the continent are designed to unlock that potential and secure a prosperous future for our people,” Mr Dangote noted.
He further commended Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s leadership and vision for economic transformation, saying he is “driving development beyond expectations, but such progress requires strong private sector collaboration. We are proud to partner with Ethiopia to help build one of Africa’s most dynamic economies in the coming decade.”
In his remarks, Mr Ahmed described his guest as a trusted partner and commended the pace of work on the fertiliser project, which he said aligns with Ethiopia’s broader development priorities.
He emphasised that the project would significantly boost domestic fertiliser production, reduce dependence on imports, and provide critical support to millions of Ethiopian farmers.
According to the Prime Minister, the fertiliser plant will also create extensive employment opportunities, strengthen the industrial value chain, and reinforce Ethiopia’s position as an emerging agro-industrial hub in Africa.
“This type of large-scale investment demonstrates the power of strong collaboration between government and the private sector,” he said. “Expanding such partnerships will accelerate economic growth, attract further investment, and improve the livelihoods of our people.”
The Dangote fertiliser initiative is widely seen as a transformative step toward reshaping Africa’s agricultural landscape, with the potential to enhance productivity, reduce import dependence, and drive inclusive economic growth across the continent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.
During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.
Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.
As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.
During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 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 worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.
The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.
The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.
Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.
The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.
Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.
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