Economy
Community Contractors to Get Content Fund at 5%—NCDMB
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr Simbi Wabote, has assured community contractors in the oil and gas industry that they will only pay five percent interest rate when they access the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund).
Mr Wabote disclosed that the concession for community contractors was in line with the board’s Community Content Guideline and provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
According to him, the intent is to promote the participation of genuine community contractors in oil and gas projects and integration of communities in the industry value chain as part of the strategy to grow the local economy and promote peace and tranquillity in the communities.
Speaking at an interactive session organised by the board recently in Abuja for civil societies organisations (CSOs), the Executive Secretary noted that such contractors execute small scale projects and would not pay the same interest rate like conventional oil and gas service companies.
He promised that disbursement of the Content Fund to oil and gas companies will start this year. The loan will be disbursed directly to qualifying companies by the Bank of Industry (BOI) and repaid within five years at eight percent interest rate.
The NCI Fund, he explained will cater for manufacturing, project financing and equipment purchase. A key consideration for granting loan for a project is the impact it would make, he clarified.
On the board’s plan to establish a Nigerian Content Bank, Mr Wabote said the financial institution will ultimately manage the utilisation of the fund.
“Within the next four years, we will have established the Bank and established a good governance process. We will have key stakeholders, including the civil society as part of the Advisory Board to guard against misapplication,” he stated.
Acknowledging the positive roles played by civil society organisations in the society, the Executive Secretary said the Board will work with Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to develop a sustainable model that will guide the participation of CSOs in Nigerian Content implementation.
In his goodwill message, the Director of Communications at NEITI, Dr Ogbonnaya Orji described the Board’s engagement with civil society organisations as confirmation of its disposition to openness, integrity and corporate governance.
He noted that CSOs could assist the Board to push the boundaries of implementation and carry out advocacy campaigns.
Mr Orji described the Board’s plan to establish Nigerian Content Bank as a novel idea that should be realized.
He further advised the Board to educate Nigerians sufficiently on the operations of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF), sanction companies that fail to remit one percent value of their contracts to the NCDF and give incentives to those that comply.
Several civil society groups like Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Democratic Action Group, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Centre for Policy among others participated in the event.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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