Economy
DisCos Reduce Number of Estimated Billing Customers by 16.3%
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that the number of Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) customers in Nigeria increased by 1.4 per cent from 10.37 million in 2020 to 10.51 million in 2021.
The report, Nigeria Electricity Report 2021, focuses on energy billed, revenue generated, and customers by DISCOS under the reviewed period.
The report said the number of metered customers rose by 36.2 per cent from 3.51 million in 2020 to 4.77 million in 2021, causing the number of estimated billing customers to decrease by 16.3 per cent from 6.86 million in 2020 to 5.74 million in 2021.
It was disclosed that in total, the value of electricity billed in 2021 grew by 5.9 per cent from 22,042.28 Gigawatts (Gwh) in 2020 to 23,360.59 (Gwh) in 2021, while the total revenue collected by the discos stood at N761.17 billion, 44.5 per cent higher than the N526.77 billion achieved in 2020.
A breakdown showed that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) recorded the highest number of metered customers in 2021 at 701,781, while Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) recorded the least with 65,098.
In terms of electricity supplied, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) recorded the highest in 2021 with 4,088.62 Gwh, while YEDC recorded the lowest at 422.00 Gwh.
Similarly, the highest revenue collected was by IKEDC with 155,012.01 million while the least collection was recorded in YEDC with 9,804.00m million.
More than 83 million Nigerians do not have access to grid electricity. This represents 43 per cent of the country’s population and makes Nigeria the country with the largest energy access deficit in the world.
The lack of reliable power is a significant constraint for citizens and businesses, resulting on annual economic losses estimated at N10.1 trillion, which is equivalent to about 2 per cent of GDP.
According to the now-discontinued World Bank Doing Business report for 2020, Nigeria ranked 171 out of 190 countries in getting electricity and electricity access is seen as one of the major constraints for the private sector.
To assist in mitigating this, the World Bank approved $500 million to support the government of Nigeria in improving its electricity distribution sector last year.
According to the global lender, the project will help boost electricity access by improving the performance of the DisCos through a large-scale metering programme.
In addition, the World Bank said financial support would be provided to private distribution companies only on achievement of results in terms of access connections, improved financial management and network expansion.
Economy
Xenergi in Talks to Acquire 51% Stake in Premier Paints
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
Economy
Naira Trades Flat Across FX Market Windows as CBN Moves to Ease Pressure
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
Economy
Stock Investors’ Portfolios Swell N14bn as Index Rises 0.01%
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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