Economy

Emefiele Seeks Military Support to Revamp Textile Industry

Published

7 years ago

15/07/2019

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian textile industry is one of the industries which the country has great potential to exploit in order to boost and diversify the nation’s economy.

It is as such that the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, last Thursday, made it known during a meeting with the service chiefs and chief executives of uniformed services in Nigeria towards reviving the textile industry.

Acclaiming it as critical, the Governor remarked that it is the Buhari-administration’s intention to provide employment for Nigeria’s teeming population, with special emphasis on agricultural revolution.

Through the enforcement of the Executive Order 003 in support of local content in procurement by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the CBN Chief said this will help in addressing the pressure on Nigeria’s foreign reserves through demands for forex for the importation of textile and clothing materials.

He said at the meeting that with the involvement of the Cotton, Textile, and Garment (CTG) sector’s input, it will aid in the diversification and job creation as the sector has the capacity to create over two million jobs and transform the country’s rural economy.

Across the federal, state, and local levels, Mr Emefiele noted that the CTG sector will improve internal revenues, reduce import bill incurred annually on textile and apparel by $4 billion, and make Nigeria a global player in the industry.

He also said they were working towards a zero-importation plan ahead of 2020, pointing out that this cannot be achieved without understanding the factors that militate against the sector’s contribution to growth and development.

Noting that certain systematic challenges hold back the sector from contributing to the nation’s GDP, the nation’s chief banker said there were plans in place towards making the sector standard again like it was in the 1970’s and early 80’s when the nation was the top textile industry in Africa.

Mr Emefiele emphasised that the first step to achieving this goal has already been put in place, saying, “We flagged-off the 2019 Wet Season Cotton Input Distribution to 150,000 farmers in Katsina, Katsina State on May 6th, 2019 under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.”

With production ongoing across 23 States of Nigeria with more to come onboard in the next planting season, he added that, “We have also put in place necessary mechanisms to ensure use of high yielding varieties that will produce top quality fabrics and those that can compete in the international market.”

Calling for the co-operation of all stakeholders to contribute to the realization of the set national targets, the central bank Governor said that the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari is to ensure that all uniformed services and theatre wears in hospitals and medical facilities be sourced locally from the Nigerian CTG sector.

Already the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has been notified to enforce compliance among MDAs, he told the military top brass at the gathering.

Economy

Regency Alliance Urges Shareholders to Participate in N3.04bn Rights Issue

Published

8 hours ago

19/06/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The N3.04 billion rights issue of Regency Alliance Insurance Plc is expected to open on Monday, June 22, 2026, and close on Friday, July 3, 2026, with shareholders urged to participate.

The underwriting firm recently signed an agreement on the rights issue, with board members, management, issuing houses, legal advisers, stockbrokers, and other key stakeholders in attendance.

Regency Alliance is offering to shareholders 3,201,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at 95 Kobo per share on the basis of one new ordinary share for every five ordinary shares held.

The purpose of the fresh capital raise is to bolster the company’s solvency ratios, support business growth, and invest in digital infrastructure and new product development.

The insurance company noted that the rights issue provides an opportunity to existing shareholders to subscribe for additional shares in proportion to their current holdings, protecting them from dilution while enabling them to participate in the organisation’s future growth.

“This capital raise will give us the firepower to meet evolving risks, expand our reach, and deepen the promise we make to every policyholder; that Regency Alliance will be there when it matters most,” the acting chairman of Regency Alliance, Mr Wale Taiwo (SAN), stated.

“We are particularly encouraged by the unwavering support of our shareholders who have stood by the company through its growth journey. We urge all eligible shareholders to take advantage of this rights issue and fully exercise their rights.

“By doing so, they will not only protect their investment from dilution but also participate directly in the exciting growth opportunities that lie ahead for Regency Alliance Insurance,” he added.

Also commenting, the Managing Director of the firm, Mr Bode Oseni, said, “Regency Alliance has always prided itself on being agile, customer-focused xd, and financially sound. The proceeds from this rights issue will accelerate our digital transformation, enhance claims efficiency, and enable us to introduce innovative products tailored to SMEs, Gen Z, and other underserved segments across Nigerian and beyond. We are not merely raising capital; we are raising our ambition.”

“We remain optimistic that our shareholders will embrace this opportunity and demonstrate their confidence in the company’s future by taking up their rights. Together, we are building a strong and more competitive insurance institution,” he added.

Economy

Unlisted Securities Exchange Retreats After Okitipupa Price Decline

Published

8 hours ago

19/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil palm processing firm, Okitipupa Plc, and two other securities weakened by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.4 per cent on Thursday, June 18.

During the trading day, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to end at N280.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N300.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by 36 Kobo to finish at N37.00 per unit versus N37.36 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc depreciated by 23 Kobo to N86.34 per share from N86.57 per share.

As a result, the market capitalisation retreated by N10.39 billion to N2.609 trillion from N2.619 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slid by 17.36 points to 4,361.09 points from 4,378.45 points.

Business Post reports that the sole price gainer for the session was Afriland Properties Plc, which improved by 65 Kobo to N16.20 per unit from N15.55 per unit.

Yesterday, the volume of securities transacted by market participants shrank by 71.6 per cent to 792,835 units from Wednesday’s 2.8 million units, the value of securities fell by 61.8 per cent to N49.0 million from N128.3 million, while the number of deals went down by 39.4 per cent to 20 deals from 33 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 67.7 million units traded for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the day as 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.

Economy

Naira Falls to N1,363/$ at Official Market

Published

9 hours ago

19/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira free-fall against the US Dollar continued in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, June 18, losing 0.24 per cent or N3.23 to trade at N1,363.30/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,360.07/$1.

However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N19.12 to trade at N1,805.69/£1 versus midweek’s N1,824.81/£1, and gained N12.89 on the Euro to sell at N1,565.07/€1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,577.96/€1.

At the GTBank FX counter, the Naira lost N1 against the Dollar to trade at N1,373/$1 versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,372/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.

Tightness in FX liquidity continued to pressure the local currency, contributing to a decline in the official exchange rate due to rising demand for foreign payments.

Analysts also attribute the market liquidity dynamics to the lack of substantial Open Market Operation (OMO) bill positioning by foreign portfolio investors, who are key sources of hard currency inflows for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The apex bank’s daily FX report revealed that interbank FX turnover increased to $69.918 million across 85 interbank transactions, up from $54.293 million the previous day.

As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) traded below $63,000 after losing 1.7 per cent to close at $62,742.28 on Thursday, as risk assets sold off worldwide, erasing the gains it made earlier in the week on the back of the US-Iran peace deal.

The pressure came from a wider retreat in markets as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz returned to normal under the signed US-Iran deal and eased what had been a historic supply shock.

Attention now turns to talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, with Vice President JD Vance saying a 60-day clock to settle the deal’s details has started.

During the session, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.3 per cent to $68.68, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 2.7 per cent to $1.13, Cardano (ADA) slid 2.4 per cent to $0.1606, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 2.0 per cent to $576.11, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.9 per cent to $0.0826, and Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $1,696.74.

However, TRON (TRX) improved by 0.1 per cent to $0.3204, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.