Economy
Fix Electricity, Economy Will Grow—Dangote Tells FG
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Africa’s richest man and Nigerian billionaire businessman, Mr Aliko Dangote, has advised the Federal Government to concentrate on fixing the electricity problem in the country so as to spur economic growth.
Mr Dangote poor electricity supply in the country remains one of the problems hindering industrialisation in Nigeria.
The business mogul made this observation during the inauguration of the National Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council in Abuja this week by the Acting President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo.
According to Mr Dangote, government should remove the constraints hindering industrialisation such as power, transportation, inconsistencies in policies, and challenges in land acquisition and communal violence.
He said the council was a welcome development which if well utilised could ensure diversification of the economy.
At the ceremony, Mr Dangote was announced as the Vice-Chairman, Private Sector team of the council chaired by the Acting President.
The Acting President charged members of council to create the chance for Nigeria to be competitive in international trade.
Mr Osinbajo said the council’s duty was not just patriotic but one to enable Nigerians to create livelihoods for themselves.
“It is not just a patriotic duty but I believe that it is what will rescue and save our country and give our country a real chance to be competitive in global business and commerce.
“And to give our people a fair chance of being able to create livelihood for themselves, jobs and all of those things that will make for a nation of people who are happy and satisfied,” he said.
The Acting President observed that the council members represented the crème de la crème of industry and business in Nigeria as a group and working with the public sector.
According to him, if the council cannot get it right then it is unlikely that the country can never get it right.
He said the council was important because generally speaking the public sector was not known to be good in business and could not deliver on any industrialisation effort.
Mr Osinbajo said that everywhere the government drove industrialisation, it always ended up in stagnation.
“Even the most successful experiments ended up in stagnation because government simply does not make the best business men or women.
“Government simply is not motivated enough,” he said.
He said it was the entrepreneurs’ drive for profit that saved the industry adding that such drives were initially personal.
He said that many of the council members had come to a point where it was not just enough to be wealthy of successful especially in a country with enormous potential.
Mr Osinbajo added that even to make more profits the environment needed to improve.
“I am really excited that that we are starting something today which I strongly believe that if we do it right we have a chance to turn things around permanently in the country,” the Acting President said.
He acknowledged that the key thing was implementation adding that while the private sector had the smartest people in the world, the public sector had the technocrats and urged for the collaboration of both sectors to solve many of the problems confronting the industrial sector, including creating good industrial hubs and solving power problems.
He also urged the council to hold the government accountable and make the government to act more effectively.
“I think that what we have tried to do by creating this council is to be able to put policy to test and policy to examination.
“So that there is a process by which the private sector is able to contribute to policy implementation but more importantly also to developing those policies,” he said.
On his part, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Enelamah said the council represented what the government was working out in furtherance of the partnership between the public and private sector with respect to industrialisation.
He said he was confident that the council would provide the formula that would work and produce results.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The additional shares sold by Morison Industries Plc through private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The additional equities were brought to Customs Street last week, according to a circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai.
The company listed a total of 266,838,125 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N1.50 per unit, amounting to N400.3 million, Business Post reports.
The listing of these new stocks of Morison Industries has increased the fully paid-up shares of the organisation to 1,256,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 989,161,875 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that additional 266,838,125 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Morison Industries Plc were (on) Tuesday, January 13, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 266,838,125 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N1.50 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Morison Industries Plc have now increased from 989,161,875 to 1,256,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure disclosed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has projected a single-digit inflation rate for Nigeria at 9.84 per cent in its wider optimistic forecast for this year.
In its 12th National Economic Outlook and Its Implication for Businesses in 2026, the bankers group saw a better metric compared to those of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The CBN and the IMF respectively see Nigeria’s economy growing at 4.49 per cent and 4.2 per cent, and the inflation rate dropping to 14.45 per cent and 18 per cent while the foreign reserves rise to N45.78 billion and $43 billion respectively this year.
However, in the outlook presentation by Professor Biodun Adedipe, the CIBN projects a 4.51 per cent GDP growth rate and a 9.84 per cent inflation rate. It forecast the exchange rate stabilizing at N1,420/$1 and the foreign reserves hitting $50.8 billion.
Business Post reports that Professor Adedipe, corporate finance scholar and founder of B. Adedipe Associates Ltd, has been presenting the national economic outlook since 12 years ago, with the firm claiming to initiate the trend in Nigeria, before even the CBN and others caught on with it.
Last week, after a revised approach Nigeria’s headline inflation eased to 15.5 per cent year-on-year in December 2025, down from 17.33 per cent in the preceding month. On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 0.54 per cent in December, compared to 1.22 per cent in November.
Ahead of the data release, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had cautioned that the rebasing exercise could result in a temporary “artificial spike” in the December inflation figures.
Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, the statistician-general of the federation, said the adjustment in the reference period, known as the base year, would affect the headline number.
“This artificial spike is a result of the base effect of December 2024, which is equated to 100, following the rebasing exercise,” Mr Adeniran said.
By Dipo Olowookere
Eighty equities appreciated on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week compared with the 84 equities recorded in the previous week, as 17 equities depreciated versus 22 equities in the preceding week, while 50 equities remained unchanged versus 42 equities of the earlier week.
NCR Nigeria gained 60.79 per cent to finish at N128.55, SCOA Nigeria grew by 59.36 per cent to N14.90, Deap Capital expanded by 48.67 per cent to N4.46, Jaiz Bank soared by 45.73 per cent to N8.19, and Omatek surged by 38.28 per cent to N1.77.
At the other end, Ikeja Hotel lost 12.38 per cent to settle at N35.05, Austin Laz declined by 9.20 per cent to N3.75, Eterna crashed by 7.71 per cent to N32.30, Universal Insurance went down by 7.69 per cent to N1.20, and Eunisell retreated by 7.57 per cent to N156.95.
The bourse remained bullish in the week, with the All-Share Index (ASI) up by 2.36 per cent to 166,129.50, and the market capitalisation up by 2.48 per cent to N106.354 trillion.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher apart from the AFR Div Yield index, which depreciated by 0.15 per cent.
In the five-day trading week, investors traded 4.607 billion shares worth N130.636 billion in 263,439 deals, in contrast to the 4.164 billion shares valued at N94.026 billion transacted in 248,254 deals a week earlier.
Further analysis showed that financial stocks led the activity chart with 3.126 billion units worth N47.225 billion traded in 94,186 deals, contributing 67.84 per cent and 36.15 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services equities followed with 353.436 million units sold for N5.096 billion in 17,764 deals, while ICT shares exchanged 277.263 million equities valued at N18.009 billion in 28,525 deals.
Sovereign Trust Insurance, Access Holdings, and Linkage Assurance were the busiest stocks last week, trading 1.406 billion units valued at N9.735 billion in 11,732 deals, contributing 30.52 per cent and 7.45 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
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