Economy
CPPE Forecasts 4.5% GDP Growth for Nigeria in 2026
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has forecast that Nigeria’s economy may grow as much as 4.5 per cent in 2026 following major gains in macroeconomic stability in 2025, which could pave way for stronger growth.
The chief executive of CPPE, Mr Muda Yusuf, disclosed this in a statement while presenting the organisation’s review of the economy in 2025 as well as its outlook for 2026.
He noted that the country recorded gains especially in exchange rate management inflation and business confidence this year, adding that 2025 provided a strong foundation of stability and with sustained reforms and improved security, 2026 could witness more robust growth and better living standards.
According to him, the most notable achievement in 2025 was the stability of the Naira which traded largely between N1,440 and N1,500 to the Dollar.
He said that this stability boosted business confidence, reduced imported inflation, and made pricing and investment planning more predictable.
He added that inflation also dropped sharply from 24.48 per cent in January, to about 14.45 per cent in November, strengthened by improved supply conditions and reduced logistics pressures.
According to him, prices of many food items and imported goods fell during the year, leading to improved consumer sentiment.
Mr Yusuf said that business confidence also strengthened throughout the year, adding that, many companies which recorded losses in 2024 returned to profitability in 2025.
On fiscal performance he said that federal government revenues fell short because of lower than expected oil prices and weak oil production.
He added that the 2025 budget was based on assumptions that did not materialise, including oil production of 2.06 million barrels per day, and an oil price of 75 dollars per barrel.
Mr Yusuf said that actual production averaged 1.66 million barrels, while prices hovered around $66. According to him, this led to a significant shortfall from the projected 41 trillion naira revenue target, and weakened capital expenditure performance.
He, however, disclosed that many states performed better, with stronger internally generated revenue, improved liquidity and better project execution.
Reviewing sectoral performances, he said that the service sector remained the strongest driver of growth, accounting for 53 per cent of GDP by the third quarter of the year.
“Telecommunications finance construction real estate and trade led the expansion,” he said
He said that the non oil sector grew by 3.91 per cent and contributed over 96 per cent of GDP.
According to him, manufacturing remained weak, contributing only 7.62 per cent to GDP and growing by 1.25 per cent due to power shortages high logistics costs unfair import competition and rising operating expenses.
Mr Yusuf noted that Agriculture recorded a modest recovery, growing by 3.79 per cent though insecurity while low productivity remained major obstacles.
Looking ahead, the CEO said that rhe outlook for 2026 is one of cautious optimism.
He projected a GDP growth of between 4 and 4.5 per cent, supported by lower inflation stronger consumer demand and possible monetary easing.
He said that services would continue to drive growth while capital markets could receive a major boost from a potential listing of the Dangote Refinery.
Meanwhile, he warned of risks factors, including; insecurity, oil price and production volatility, high operating costs, fiscal pressures, geopolitical tensions, and political uncertainties.
Mr Yusuf noted that growing resistance to tax reforms could also affect revenue projections.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The decline in the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.02 per cent on Wednesday, August 12.
The securities depository company suffered a N10.88 loss to close at N106.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N116.88 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation, for the third time this week, closed lower, losing N28.04 billion to finish at N2.720 trillion compared with the N2.748 trillion it ended a day earlier. The NASD Security Index (NSI) dropped 46.71 points to end at 4,532.03 points versus Tuesday’s 4,578.74 points.
Yesterday, there was a price gainer, which was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc. Its price increased by N13.50 to N170.00 per share from N156.50 per share.
The level of activity for the session waned on Wednesday, with the volume of securities down by 89.8 per cent to 150,340 units from the previous session’s 1.5 million units. The value of securities slumped by 55.9 per cent to N18.7 million from N42.3 million, and the number of deals depreciated by 37.3 per cent to 32 deals from Tuesday’s 51 deals.
At the close of business, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded 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 transacted for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 77.2 million units traded for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Foreign exchange (FX) pressure eased on the Naira on Wednesday. August 12, at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX). Its value appreciated against the United States Dollar by 0.17 per cent or N2.31 to close at N1,360.58/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,364.89/$1.
The Nigerian Naira also improved its value against the Pound Sterling at midweek at the official FX market by N1.62 to quote at N1,840.99, in contrast to Tuesday’s rate of N1,842.61/£1. It gained N3.49 against the Euro during the session to settle at N1,572.01/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,575.50/€1.
However, the Naira depreciated against the greenback yesterday at the GTBank forex counter by N3 to sell for N1,370/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,367/$1, and at the parallel market, it maintained stability at N1,395/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that interbank FX turnover rose sharply by 481 per cent to $168.758 million from $29.060 million due to an increase in banks’ activities as intermediaries for their customers.
The apex bank data indicated that the number of deals at the interbank FX market surged to 190 from 47 the previous day.
As for the digital currency market, benchmarked tokens were more positive in line with the US inflation report that eased nerves but failed to spark a broad crypto rally.
Headline inflation rose 0.1 per cent on the month and 3.4 per cent on the year, with the core measure that strips out food and energy up 0.2 per cent and easing to 2.5 per cent.
July inflation matched forecasts, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve can wait on further rate moves and prompting modest gains in gold, equities and some digital assets.
TRON (TRX) grew by 0.7 per cent to $0.3374, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 0.4 per cent to $612.84, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.3 per cent to $1,892.73, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.3 per cent to $76.37, and Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.2 per cent to sell at $63,768.51.
On the flip side, DOGE slipped by 1.6 per cent to $0.0705, Cardano (ADA) lost 1.1 per cent to end at $0.1844, and Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.7 per cent to $1.01, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited tumbled by 1.12 per cent on Wednesday as a result of selling pressure in three of the five key sectors of the bourse.
Yesterday, the insurance space rose by 0.71 per cent and the energy counter appreciated by 0.02 per cent. But these gains were erased by the three other sectors, with the consumer goods index down by 4.93 per cent, the industrial goods sector down by 0.42 per cent, and the banking segment down by 0.30 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) receded by 2,756.48 points to 243,967.09 points from 246,723.57 points, and the market capitalisation dropped by N1.762 trillion to close at N157.494 trillion compared with Tuesday’s N159.256 trillion.
The worst-performing stock for the day was BUA Foods, which lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N760.60. Unilever Nigeria shed 9.97 per cent to close at N131.40, John Holt depreciated by 9.90 per cent to N9.10, AVA Capital declined by 9.50 per cent to N8.10, and Austin Laz crashed by 8.81 per cent to N2.90.
The best-performing stock for the session was International Energy Insurance, which chalked up 10.00 per cent to quote at N4.40. Ecobank gained 9.93 per cent to settle at N71.40, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.77 per cent to N2.36, CWG grew by 9.74 per cent to N21.40, and Cornerstone Insurance improved by 6.80 per cent to N5.50.
Yesterday, 1.5 billion shares were sold for N20.9 billion in 39,085 deals compared with the 3.9 billion shares worth N32.4 billion exchanged in 45,608 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 61.54 per cent, 35.49 per cent, and 14.30 per cent, respectively.
On top of the activity chart was Fortis Global Insurance, with a turnover of 853.2 million units sold for N2.6 billion. Universal Insurance exchanged 251.8 million units worth N214.1 million, Chams transacted 40.0 million units valued at N181.0 million, First Holdco traded 28.3 million units worth N3.9 billion, and Access Holdings sold 25.4 million units valued at N702.4 million.
