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 Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange started the new week on an upward trajectory after it closed higher by 0.52 per cent on Monday, May 4.
This raised the market capitalisation by N12.48 billion to N2.409 trillion from last Thursday’s N2.396 trillion, and moved the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) higher by 20.86 points to 4,026.64 points from 4,005.78 points.
The unlisted securities market gained weight yesterday despite recording two price gainers and two price losers.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N8.92 to sell at N98.14 per share versus N89.24 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.12 to N77.14 per unit from N76.02 per unit.
Conversely, NASD Plc lost N3.47 to sell at N31.23 per share compared with the previous price of N34.70 per share, and Food Concepts Plc declined by 26 Kobo to settle at N2.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous rate of N2.67 per unit.
During the session, the volume of securities traded by investors fell by 14.4 per cent to 751,518 units from 877,682 units, and the number of deals decreased by 44.1 per cent to 31 deals from 56 deals, while the value of securities climbed 32.8 per cent to N35.4 million from N26.7 million.
The most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis remained Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.2 million units transacted for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units sold for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week in the green territory in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday after it further appreciated against the US Dollar by N9.71 or 0.7 per cent to quote at N1,365.23/$1 compared with the previous session’s value of N1,374.94/$1.
The scenario was not different with the Pound Sterling at the same market window, where it gained N6.99 to sell for N1,851.25/£1 versus last Thursday’s closing price of N1,858.24/£1, and appreciated against the Euro by N8.62 to close at N1,607.58/€1, in contrast to the N1,612.87/€1 it was traded in the previous trading day.
Similarly, at the black market, the Naira improved its value against the greenback yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the previous rate of N1,385/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it closed flat at N1,384/$1.
The Nigerian Naira put up a good performance against the Dollar during the session due to sustained monetary tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a steady increase in foreign exchange inflows.
Specifically, stronger diaspora remittances, oil-related inflows, and a decline in speculative demand for the Dollar played pivotal roles in anchoring market expectations.
Sufficient FX liquidity has continued to keep the Naira stable. The local currency stayed strong despite an 83 per cent decline in CBN FX intervention in April to $150 million from $985 million in March.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were mixed as broader crypto markets were diverse and macro risks persisted, amid ongoing US-Iran tensions and steady central bank policy, with upcoming US earnings and jobs data seen as potential catalysts for further bitcoin volatility.
Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.3 per cent to sell at $80,889.94, Ethereum (ETH) jumped 0.3 per cent to $2,376.40, Cardano (ADA) increased by 0.2 per cent to $0.2529, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3399.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid 0.8 per cent to $0.1113, Ripple (XRP) went down by 0.5 per cent to $1.40, Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 0.4 per cent to $626.41, and Solana (SOL) shrank by 0.3 per cent to $84.60, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices jumped about 6 per cent on Monday as Iran stepped up attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ships in the Middle East over the past 24 hours, the most serious escalation since a US-Iran ceasefire came into force in early April.
This pushed the price of Brent futures higher by $6.27 or 5.8 per cent to $114.44 per barrel, and raised the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude by $4.48 or 4.4 per cent to $106.42 a barrel.
Iran hit several ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and set a UAE oil port ablaze, as President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the US Navy to free up shipping provoked the war’s biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared last month.
The UAE said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats on Monday evening as firefighters battled a blaze at a major oil industry zone.
The US military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Iran as it sought to thwart a new US naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. About 20 per cent of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the strait before the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy (IGRC) issued a map that it said was expanding the areas controlled by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of an incident involving a cargo vessel about 36 nautical miles north of Dubai. The UKMTO also reported a separate incident earlier in the day near the UAE.
Oil executives from the Gulf and global oil traders have said that even when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz reopens, it will take several weeks, if not months, for flows to normalise.
Separately, the energy minister in the UAE, which left the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last week, said the country owes it to its investment partners to produce what global oil markets require without restrictions, while cooperating with other crude producers.
OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, said they would raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June for seven members, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.
The seven members who met on Sunday were Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Oman. With the UAE leaving, OPEC+ includes 21 members, including Iran. However, in recent years, only the seven nations plus the UAE have been involved in monthly production decisions.
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