Economy
Lagos Airport Road: Fashola Fires Back at Ambode
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Some hours ago, Lagos State Government, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, accused the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing headed by his predecessor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, of frustrating efforts of his administration to carry out a “total reconstruction of the International Airport Road from Oshodi.
Miffed by remarks of his successor, who is also a member of his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Minister released a statement, replying the Governor’s allegations.
In the statement signed by Special Adviser to the Minister on Communications, Mr Hakeem Bello, Mr Fashola said the allegations were false.
He said the allegations of lack of cooperation from the Ministry and frustration of Lagos State Government development initiatives were also simply not true.
According to him, in 2016, he approved the use of the Federal Ministry of works yard at Oworonsoki for Lagos State Government to create a lay-by to ease traffic.
The Minister further said he also approved that Lagos State be granted the rights to manage the street lighting on the 3rd Mainland Bridge to support the security initiatives of the state, a request he said the previous Federal Government administration had denied Lagos State for years.
During the same year, the Minister said he supported the approval of the World Bank Loan of $200 million to Lagos State, again a request he disclosed that the previous administration had denied the state.
“As far as International Airport Road which is currently the ground for alleged ‘frustration’ is concerned, the correct position is that the Lagos State government presented a request for four roads that it would wish to take over,” he said.
The statement noted that, “This is consistent with the position being canvassed by the Minister for states who are interested to apply to take over roads that are within their states.”
Mr Fashola said the Ministry has presented the memorandum conveying the request of the Lagos State government to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) as was done with a similar request by the Kaduna State Government in 2016.
“Due to the fact that two of the roads also connect Ogun State, the FEC could not reach an immediate decision on them because it requested the input of the other state government affected.
“The Kaduna State government requested the Federal Government to transfer two roads within Kaduna Metropolis to the state in November 2015. Due process was followed and the request of the state government was approved in August 2016, a period of 10 months.
“Federal Executive Council Memorandum are debated and commented upon by all members and in cases of roads, surveys, maps and other material have to be provided to assist members understand the location and connectivity of the roads, (in this case Four roads), in order to assist how they vote on the Memorandum.
“As far as the Presidential Lodge is concerned, it is under the management of the Presidency and not the Ministry.
“After the approval by Mr President that the Presidential Lodge can be handed over to the state government, there was a directive to the Ministry to work out the modalities for handing over.
“The Ministry has prepared a vesting instrument to convey the transfer and all that is needed is a survey plan.
“The Presidential Lodge is a high security location and officials of the Ministry also require security clearance to enter in order to do any works.
“Access to the lodge is not under the control of the Ministry,” Mr Fashola said in the statement.
The statement said, “The motive behind this public accusations must therefore be scrutinized coming barely a week after the Governor spoke with the Minister on the outstanding requests of the state for several minutes and the Minister took time to explain the situation of things to the Governor. (The first telephone conversation the Governor has had with the Minister since May 29, 2015).
“If there is any lack of co-operation it is on the part of the state government that has refused to acknowledge let alone approving the Ministry’s request for land of the National Housing Programme in Lagos.
“The Ministry is not frustrated by this lack of response and remains optimistic that a response will come from Lagos State.”
“The Ministry remains committed to serving the Government and Good People of Lagos and will treat all their requests on Merit and in accordance with necessary due process as will be done to other States,” the Minister assured.
“As far as the refund of N51 billion is concerned this is not a new item. Almost all if not all states have these claims and the Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing has verified these claims. What is left is the process of raising the finance to pay the Debt owed to the States.
“Those who are familiar with the workings of Government will attest to the fact that it is an intricate sequence of processes, consultation and collaboration.
“Equating processes to a lack of co-operation is therefore akin to creating a storm in a tea cup,” the statement concluded.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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