Economy
Fuel Scarcity Will Soon Become History in Nigeria—NNPC
By Dipo Olowookere
Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Maikanti Baru, has assured citizens that the perennial fuel scarcity in the country would soon become “a thing of the past.”
Mr Baru gave this assurance while delivering a goodwill message during the ‘NNPC Day’ held at the 39th Kaduna International Trade Fair, in Kaduna on Wednesday.
He said the state-owned oil firm was committed to providing the necessary assistance for Nigeria to attain competitive edge in non-oil sectors of the economy.
“NNPC is suited to providing the enabling environment for the nation to optimise its commercial, industrial and agricultural potentials to attain competitive edge in these sectors. This is a commitment which we shall continue to abide by,” Mr Baru stated.
To further demonstrate NNPC’s commitment on this goal, Mr Baru explained that the corporation had set up the Renewable Energy Division which is focused on not only developing solar and other renewable energy sources but also on developing Biofuels that are heavily dependent on agricultural produce as feedstock.
According to him, the multiplayer effects of such ventures are enormous. These include reviving the nation’s agricultural sector, generating millions of jobs, contributing significantly to power generation, producing high volume of animal feed, starch and other by-products, in addition to the biofuels that will be blended to our Refineries’ petroleum products that will significantly reduce imports of petroleum products into the country.
Mr Baru, who spoke on the theme ‘NNPC and Promotion of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture for International Competitiveness,’ noted that to aid the course of focusing on industry, commerce and agriculture, Nigeria needed to begin with the end in mind by first undertaking a holistic policy actions towards rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure.
In this regard, the GMD observed that that key infrastructure sectors that were expected to be upgraded include electric power, transport, information and communication, roads, water and sanitation as well as rehabilitation of existing oil and gas pipeline facilities.
“It is my sincere belief that revitalising these critical infrastructures will emplace efficiency in the new focus areas of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture to buoy the national economy and enable the country’s entrepreneurs compete favourably with their peers across the globe,” he added.
The GMD also lauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic agenda which he said had saved the country from the vagaries of monoculture.
“Every Nigerian, individual or corporate, has the onerous responsibility to ensure this vision becomes a reality,” he maintained.
On the recent fuel supply issues witnessed in some cities across the country, Mr Baru said NNPC had, over the last few months, been engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure the challenge remains “a thing of the past.”
Mr Baru, who insisted that fuel scarcity was caused by greedy marketers, explained that the corporation had been collaborating with sister agencies towards addressing products profiteering, diversion, hoarding and smuggling.
Above all, he said, the corporation was working hard to get the nation’s refineries back to their optimal levels.
He listed some of the key stakeholders engaged by the corporation to include the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the Nigerian Security & Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Customs Service as well as Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Earlier in his speech, President of the Kaduna State Chamber of Commerce, Mines & Agriculture (KADCCIMA), Dr Farida Dankaka, said this year’s theme was chosen to complement the efforts of the Federal Government in promoting economic growth through commerce and industry.
Dankaka, who was represented by Mr Tijjani Musa, also commended the Federal Government on its economic diversification which has led to sufficiency in rice production, stressing that such effort should also be extended to other cash crops like cotton, groundnut, wheat, rubber, palm oil etc.
The Kaduna International Trade Fair is one of the most important events in the business calendar of KADCCIMA.
Alongside Lagos and Enugu, it is one of the three local trade fairs attended by the corporation not only to enlighten the public on its various services, but also to educate them on the safest way of handling its products.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 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 exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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