Economy
Dangote Gives N500m to Kano Traders
By Dipo Olowookere
Months after a fire razed down a market in Kano State, renowned business mogul, Mr Aliko Dangote, has given the sum of N500 million to traders at the market.
When the incident happened few months ago, the businessman, through his Aliko Dangote Foundation, promised to donate N500 million to victims.
Redeeming this pledge, Mr Dangote said the gesture was to bring succour to over a thousand hitherto dejected traders affected by the Kano Market fire disasters.
He noted that the donation was in response to the appeal by the Kano state government for contributions from public spirited individuals and corporate organizations to help the fire victims come back to business.
No fewer than seven fire disasters have occurred in five major markets across the state within the past few months with no fewer than 1,400 shops and goods estimated at N28 billion gutted by the inferno.
It would be recalled that the state government had in the wake of the last disaster in February, which affected Singa market, set up a judicial commission of enquiry and an appeal committee headed by Mr Dangote and another businessman, Mr Usman Tofa, both indigenes of Kano to help raise funds to help the fire victims, most of whom lost everything they sell to the disaster.
Mr Dangote, after the inauguration of his committee pledged N500 million and assured the traders that his committee would work assiduously to garner funds to ameliorate the suffering of the traders.
Presenting the N500 million cheque on Monday afternoon in Kano, the CEO of Aliko Dangote Foundation, Mrs Zouera Youssoufou, explained that Africa’s richest man was deeply touched by the plight of the affected traders and that is why he has ensured that the money is available.
Re-echoing what Mr Dangote said earlier on his involvement in the provision of succour to the traders, Mrs Youssoufou stated that the Chairman of Dangote Group would also see other areas he would collaborate with the state to bring relief to the traders as quickly as possible.
She stated that Dangote Foundation has been identifying with various projects in the state and that the donation is just one of the many interventions of the Foundation in Kano state.
In his address of welcome at the ceremony, the State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Cooperative and Tourism, Mr Hammed Rabiu, commended Mr Dangote for the good gesture and said the state would be eternally grateful for the many helps he has rendered to the state in times of need.
“As you can see, with this physical donation, Alhaji Dangote did not just talk by promising assistance, he is walking the talk”, he stated.
Speaking on the donation, Governor Abdulahi Umar Ganduje, while thanking Mr Dangote for always rising to the occasion anytime the state calls, urged other Kano sons and daughters to emulate him and contribute to the growth of the state.
He said that the state government had also donated N500 million to the victims pointing out that a judicial commission was set up to probe the fire incidents and make recommendation and had since turned in its report which has been guiding the state in taking certain decisions to forestall future occurrence.
As part of the implementation of the recommendation of the Commission, Mr Ganduje stated that the government had commenced structural designs and road projects at Kantin Kwari market.
Also he disclosed that lock-up shops have been built for the traders as opposed to the former wooding stalls which are very combustible in the event of fire outbreak.
The Governor assured that every trader that suffered loss would be compensated as the Commission had already accessed the extent of damages and the actual loss suffered by each trader.
With the new development and strategy being out in place, Governor Ganduje said he hoped that the outbreak of fire in Kano markets will stop.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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