Economy
Importation of Adulterated Adire Fabric Worries Ogun Govt
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Ogun State government has expressed worry over the inflow of adulterated Adire fabric into the country, especially from China.
The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Ogun State, Mr Fagbayi Oluwasesan, speaking during the annual Ecobank Adire Lagos Experience in Lagos, said the government has taken steps to address the issue.
According to him, the fake fabric poses a major threat to the local Adire industry, noting that, “The Ogun State House of Assembly has commenced steps, through our ministry, to curb the excesses or inflow of Chinese adulterated fabric.”
“The fabric is synonymous with Ogun state. We are the custodians of Adire. It is an indigenous textile from Ogun State and we have to protect it. That’s why we are happy with Ecobank for what they’re doing today, assisting us to showcase what God has given to us, protecting it, and also telling the world that this is what is good for us to be using as fabric,” he stated.
“First and foremost, we don’t need to address it as Adire Chinese. It is never Adire because it is a print on its own that doesn’t pass through the process of how the fabric is made. The original fabric is made manually, and it passes through nine stages before it is made,” the Commissioner added.
On his part, Ecobank Nigeria restated its commitment to ensuring that Nigeria’s Adire industry leverages the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The Executive Director for Commercial Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Kola Adeleke, said the bank was committed to helping businesses exhibiting at the fair to explore opportunities available through the Africa trade pact.
“After the program, these 100 merchants, we are going to continue partnering with them. We are going to support them to build capacity. We are going to even use the opportunity for them to improve the quality of whatever they are producing for export purposes. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that Adire becomes like an African brand with global acclaim.
“This is very unique for us as an organization because it will help to grow our nation’s economy as we see the export potential there.
“We are going to profile all these merchants on the Ecobank single market trade hub and then position them so that they will be able to export their products to other countries in Africa and beyond,” he said.
Mr Adeleke noted that the Adire Lagos exhibition was part of the efforts of the bank to support and project the creative industry in the country, adding that as part of a Pan African bank which operates in 33 countries of Africa, Ecobank Nigeria will always look out to support various productive initiatives and the Adire exhibition fits into this goal.
“We are working on that and a committee has been set up with the approval of the Governor that they should go to the market, you know, look at what we can do and come up with a law, probably, though we may not have the capacity to ban it outrightly.
“We’re also taking it up with the National Assembly; the Representative Abeokuta South Federal Constituency has also raised a Bill at the National Assembly that has passed its second reading now.
“By the time that is done probably we will have the backing of the federal government in banning this adulterated fabric out rightly,” the banker said.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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