Economy
Esiet Promises Open-door Policy at Customs Eastern Marine Command
By Bon Peters
The new acting Comptroller of the Eastern Marine Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Esien Etim Esiet, a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, has promised to maintain an open-door policy with stakeholders, including licensed agents and partners.
He gave this assurance when he officially assumed leadership of the command on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, according to a statement issued by the command’s spokesman, Mr Joshua Iliya, a Deputy Superintendent of Customs (DSC), in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a proactive move to strengthen maritime security and trade facilitation, he immediately initiated an extensive tour of operational facilities and high-level engagements across the region, including Rivers (Abonnema and Onne Outstations), Akwa Ibom (Oron Outstation), and Cross River (Calabar Outstation) States.
During the visitations, Mr Esiet conducted rigorous inspections of equipment and personnel readiness, emphasising that the success of the command relied on a united front, adding that a “sustained synergy is our greatest weapon in combating smuggling and maritime crimes,” insisting that a united front was non-negotiable for national security.
On the inter-agency level to foster a one-service approach, DC Esiet held strategic meetings with the Customs Area Controllers of Port Harcourt II (Onne), the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone, and the Cross River/Calabar Free Trade Zone/Akwa Ibom Area Command.
To further reinforce maritime safety, he equally paid courtesy visits to top maritime security brass, including the Commander, NNS Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, the Commanding Officer, Navy Forward Operation Base (FOB), Ibaka, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, and the Cross River State Commissioner of Police.
On community and private sector partnership and in recognition of the vital role of grassroots support, DC Esiet visited monarchs in the region, underscoring commitment to maintaining deep-rooted ties with host communities, among others.
On fiscal policy compliance, he reiterated his administration’s resolve to strictly align with the policy direction of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, emphasising that his leadership would focus on streamlining maritime enforcement protocols, ensuring officers were motivated and equipped while maintaining an open-door policy with licensed agents and partners.
The Eastern Marine Command, which is a specialised wing of customs, is dedicated to patrolling the nation’s Eastern Waterways, preventing smuggling, and ensuring the security of maritime trade.
By Adedapo Adesanya
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc led two others to evict the bears from the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Wednesday, July 8.
According to data, the unlisted securities exchange rebounded by 6.84 per cent during the session, thanks to the gains recorded by FrieslandCampina, Food Concepts Plc, and Geo-Fluids Plc.
During the trading day, FrieslandCampina recouped N12.57 to trade at N151.98 per unit versus Tuesday’s closing price of N139.41 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 25 Kobo to N2.76 per share from N2.51 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc expanded by 18 Kobo to N2.55 per unit from N2.37 per unit.
As a result of these accumulations, the market capitalisation added N163.34 billion to close at N2.551 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.387 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) increased by 272.13 points to 4,250.20 points from 3,978.07 points.
The midweek trading data showed that the volume of securities dipped by 50.9 per cent to 158,933 units from 323,780 units, and the value of securities slipped by 31.9 per cent to N10.9 million from the preceding session’s N15.9 million, while the number of deals increased by 6.9 per cent to 31 deals from the previous session’s 29 deals.
When trading activities on the platform ended for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.7 million units transacted for N4.9 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 valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a bad day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, July 8, as its value further slipped against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, it lost N5 against the US Dollar during the session to trade at N1,400/$1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,395/$1, but closed flat at the GTBank forex counter at N1,381/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the domestic currency depreciated against the greenback yesterday by N3.32 or 0.24 per cent to N1,379.07/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s N1,375.75/$1.
But the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market at midweek by 93 Kobo to 1,840.64/£1 from N1,841.57/£1, and gained N1.31 on the Euro to sell at N1,561.38/€1 compared with Tuesday’s N1,562.69/€1.
The market was liquidity-heavy, but increased demand for foreign payments dragged the exchange rate at the official window,
Traders reported that interbank FX turnover spiked by about 399 per cent on the day to $208.094 million, from $41.736 million the previous day. Also, the number of deals in the interbank market increased sharply to 150 from 47 deals.
FX analysts maintained positive expectations on the Naira outlook in the second half of 2026 despite the absence of interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to support liquidity.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices rose as Bitcoin (BTC) held above $62,000, chalking up 0.3 per cent to sell at $$62,754.96, after the US military completed another round of strikes against Iran and both sides raised the prospect of closing the Strait of Hormuz.
The escalation reignited inflation concerns and pulled forward rate expectations. Markets are increasingly treating war-related shocks as interest-rate events, with BTC now tracking front-end Treasury yields more closely than traditional hedges like crude or gold.
Dogecoin (DOGE) improved its value by 1.2 per cent to $0.0728, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 1.1 per cent to $573.56, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1.09, TRON (TRX) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $0.3309, Solana (SOL) grew by 0.2 per cent to $78.34 and Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 0.1 per cent to $1,751.22.
However, Cardano (ADA) decreased by 0.1 per cent to $0.1690, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bullish run seen lately in the Nigerian equities market continued on Wednesday after it closed the session with a 2.27 per cent growth.
This was influenced by renewed interest in domestic stocks by investors, who are locking funds in some shares with sound fundamentals like Airtel Africa, Aradel Holdings, Dangote Cement, and others.
Data showed that Airtel Africa and Trans-Nationwide Express gained 10.00 per cent to sell for N5,801.40 and N2.97, respectively. Fidelity Bank appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N19.85, Thomas Wyatt advanced by 9.89 per cent to N3.00, and UPDC REIT improved by 9.47 per cent to N10.40.
Conversely, Haldane McCall lost 9.95 per cent to trade at N3.53, McNichols declined by 8.89 per cent to N6.15, Transcorp slid by 5.65 per cent to N40.05, CWG went down by 5.24 per cent to N19.00, and VFD Group crashed by 5.19 per cent to N28.12.
The market breadth index remained positive after the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended the day with 32 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks, indicating strong investor sentiment.
Business Post reports that the insurance sector was under pressure yesterday, resulting in a 0.20 per cent loss, which did not affect the outcome of the market.
The energy space gained 3.85 per cent, the industrial goods segment chalked up 1.89 per cent, the banking index rose by 1.07 per cent, and the consumer goods counter soared by 0.31 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) added 5,378.70 points to finish at 242,459.98 points compared with the previous day’s 237,083.28 points, and the market capitalisation went up by N3.450 trillion to N155.586 trillion from N152.136 trillion.
The busiest equity during the trading session was Lasaco Assurance, with a turnover of 56.6 million units valued at N104.8 million. Fidelity Bank traded 47.5 million units worth N911.9 million, Linkage Assurance transacted 33.9 million units for N51.2 million, Zenith Bank sold 32.0 million units valued at N3.4 billion, and Sterling Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units worth N233.3 million.
At the close of transactions, 518.4 million shares worth N22.8 billion exchanged hands in 48,495 deals versus the 493.7 million shares valued at N28.0 billion traded in 49,969 deals a day earlier. This implied that the trading volume was up by 5.00 per cent, the trading value was down by 18.57 per cent, and the number of deals decreased by 2.95 per cent.
