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 Minister of Steel, Mr Shuaibu Audu, says Nigeria is weighing measures to cut loses totalling $4 billion annually in foreign exchange (FX) to imported steel products.
He disclosed this during a press conference on Thursday to announce the maiden National Steel Summit coming up on July 15, 2025, assuring Nigerians that before the expiration of the first term of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the first section of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant should kickstart operation.
He stated that President Tinubu has been actively working to ensure the utilisation of the abundant raw steel materials in Nigeria and the emergence of a steel sector in the country.
Private players like Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, had initially planned to foray into steel manufacturing, but abandoned plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry after he said he was facing allegations of increased monopoly in Nigeria’s core sectors. He already has interests in food, energy, and cement sectors.
Mr Dangote earlier set his sights on the Nigerian steel market as a possible venture in the future after successful inputs in food, cement, and energy.
But last year, the billionaire businessman explained that the company’s board decided to avoid the steel industry to prevent accusations of attempting to monopolize it
“About doing a new business which we announced, that is the steel, our board has decided that we shouldn’t do the steel because if we do the steel business, we will be called all sorts of names like monopoly, and imports will be encouraged. So we don’t want to go into that,” he said during an interview at the Afreximbank Afro-Caribbean Trade & Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas, in June 2024.
Mr Dangote called on other Nigerians to invest in the industry to help boost the country’s economy.
Despite the local material wealth, 70 per cent of Nigeria’s yearly steel demand of around 10 million metric tonnes is imported.
Nigeria spends the $4 billion on steel imports annually despite having around 74 steel plants and fabricators across the country, according to the Ministry of Steel Development.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The market capitalisation of NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange crossed the N2 trillion milestone again on Thursday, July 10 after the bourse expanded by 0.62 per cent.
During the trading session, the value of all stocks on the NASD exchange went up by N12.4 billion to finish at N2.005 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.992 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 21.18 points to settle at 3,424.19 points, in contrast to the previous session’s 3,403.01 points.
The alternative stock exchange recorded four price gainers at the session and two price losers.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N3.64 to close at N63.89 per unit versus N60.25 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N1.17 to end at N32.44 per share versus N31.50 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc grew by 40 Kobo to N4.79 per unit from N4.39 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc chalked up 1 Kobo to quote at 35 Kobo per share compared with the 34 Kobo per share it ended a day earlier.
On the flip side, Afriland Properties Plc lost N1.67 to trade at N19.17 per unit compared with the N17.50 per unit it was sold at midweek, and UBN Property Plc depreciated by 1 Kobo to sell for N1.91 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.92 per share.
Yesterday, the volume of trades declined by 20.1 per cent to 3.08 million units from the 3.9 million units recorded a day earlier, but the value of transactions appreciated by 53.7 per cent to N25.1 million from N16.1 million, and the number of deals increased by 29.2 per cent to 31 deals from 24 deals.
Okitipupa Plc finished the session as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.8 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units sold for N4.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 42.0 million units worth N1.8 billion.
Impresit Bakolori Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 536.9 million units sold for N524.8 million, followed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million worth N4.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 270.7 million units sold for N486.0 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure was on the Nigerian Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday as it gave up 84 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to the US Dollar to close at N1,526.60/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,525.76/$1.
Similarly, it weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N3.14 to trade at N2,070.29/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N2,067.15/£1 and against the Euro, it lost N1.55 to settle at N1,783.26/€1 compared with the N1,781.71/€1 it was traded at midweek.
However, in the parallel market window, the Naira maintained stability against the greenback at the trading session, closing at N1,530/$1, the same rate it was exchanged a day earlier.
Despite its poor performance in the spot market, the Nigerian currency has endured intense pressure and it is projected to maintain relative stability within the range of N1,550 to N1,635 per Dollar for the rest of 2025, supported by improved investor confidence and planned external borrowings.
According to CardinalStone Research, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves will close the year at around $41 billion based on external loans worth $3.2 billion, which the Federal Government aims to secure in the second half of 2025 to meet fiscal obligations.
Additional capital inflows from portfolio investors are expected to continue coming, having recently supported the balance and pushed reserves above the $37.27 billion recorded at the end of June.
However, reserves have faced pressure due to sizeable debt repayments and ongoing interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to keep the Naira stable in the face of external shocks.
Meanwhile, the crypto market buzzed on Thursday, with Bitcoin (BTC) reaching new all-time highs after it gained 6.1 per cent to close at $118,196.20, triggering a splendid rally and causing Ethereum price to surpass the $3,000 psychological level.
This come as traders await over $5 billion in crypto options to expire on Friday for cues on market direction in the coming days.
Cardano (ADA) jumped by 12.9 per cent to $0.7010, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 10.2 per cent to $0.1995, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 8.1 per cent to $3,017.95, Ripple (XRP) grew by 7.3 per cent to $2.59, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 6.1 per cent to $96.13, Solana (SOL) added 5.3 per cent to close at $165.60, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 3.0 per cent to $692.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology5 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN