Economy
FG Intensifies Efforts to Ensure Smooth Implementation of ESP Projects
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has promised to strengthen its collaboration with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure the smooth operation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) in planning, executing, and evaluating programs and projects aimed at enhancing socioeconomic well-being.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba, gave this assurance at a workshop held recently at the Custodian Hotel, Abuja.
According to a statement issued by the Senior Information Officer in the ministry, Mrs Olatunji Modupe Susan, the Minister said the government was interested in ensuring the success of ESP projects and programmes.
Mr Agba, represented by the Director of Economic Growth of the Ministry, Mrs Elizabeth Egharevba, stated that, “ESP was conceptualized by the present administration to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of global recession resulting from economic meltdown worldwide.”
“The pandemic led to massive loss of jobs, disruption in supply chains, low global oil prices due to low demand and low revenue generation for the country,” the Minister said at the workshop on the implementation of programs and projects under ESP.
Mr Agba pointed out that “the federal government invested N500 billion in the implementation of the ESP projects and programs from July 2020 and were completed towards the end of 2021.”
He noted that about 1.3 million jobs were saved through the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME) payroll support, 774,000 people were engaged in the public works program under the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), and 26,021 jobs were generated from construction/rehabilitation of Federal roads under the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
The Minister further stated that about 400 units of housing were constructed in Borno, Katsina, Edo, Zamfara, and Kano State to address the housing needs of displaced Nigerians, adding that 495 kilometres of rural roads were constructed to boost agricultural production by enabling timely access to markets by farmers and to prevent post-harvest losses, 129,000 crop farmers and 38,333 animal farmers were supported from the farm input support loan facility.
He emphasized that the country also improved its Biovaccine production and testing capacity through the acquisition of reagents and establishing the state of the art laboratories in the following institutions: The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Lagos; The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD).
In his remarks, Permanent Secretary Engr Nebeolisa Anako, represented by the Director of National Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr Zakari Lawal, said that “the objective of the meeting is to provide a platform for government to evaluate the performance of the project implementation and the impact on individuals and communities after their completion in 2021, urging participants to provide the evaluators with all the relevant information/data that will support in determining the impact of the projects on the beneficiaries.”
He further stated that the outcome of the exercise would help in addressing sustainability issues and guide the conceptualization and implementation of similar future projects and programs of government.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading 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 traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
