Economy
Lagos Safe for Investments, Business Owners–Commissioner
By Dipo Olowookere
Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations in Lagos State, Mr Seye Oladejo, has assured business owners in the metropolis that their investments were in safe hands.
Mr Oladejo gave this assurance during the simulation exercise carried out by officials of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) alongside other emergency stakeholders code named ‘Operation Oko Jasosa’ at the early hours of Sunday, April 29, 2018, as a way of reassuring investors and entire residents of Lagos of the preparedness of the State emergency responders to swiftly respond to emergency situations in a very coordinated manner.
The Commissioner, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Jemilade Longe, disclosed that the exercise shows the capability of the various emergency responders in the state and should further convince Lagosians beyond mere promises that Lagos state government places high premium on protection of life and property.
He added that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, since inception of his tenure three years ago, made a commitment to deploy a sizable chunk of the resource of the state towards protecting Lagosians as well as foreigners residing in the state.
“Disasters and accidents are thing that you cannot predict but for our investors, what the state government is saying is that if for whatever reason there is an accident, they should be rest assured that we have skilled officials, the needed synergy and equipment to combat surmount such situations. The implication of this is that our people can now go to sleep without any fear because there is a government that cares for them,” the Commissioner stated.
Giving an overview of the operation, General Manager of LASEMA, Mr Tiamiyu Adeshina, explained that the main rationale behinde the entire simulation process was the display of synergy that exists among all those involved in attending to emergency situations.
He added that exercise was intended to sharpen synergy, foster collaboration, improve the level of preparedness and increase the response capability of relevant stakeholders in the management of multiple casualty incident especially along the 3rd Mainland Bridge known do such multiple accident cases.
“There is nothing to panic about, this simulation exercise is delibrately planned to prepare our men, that is all emergency responders for a situation like this.
“After this exercise now, LASEMA and other stakeholders involved in this simulation process will go back to the drawing board to reappraise our performances, evaluate the entire rescue operation and design a better way to handle this type of scenario whenever it happens.
“It is part of the proactive measures we decided to carry out so that we won’t start learning how to combat real accident scenes when very precious lives would be involved,” the General Manager averred.
He described the entire synergy among the responders as perfect, saying that the equipment and professional skills of the rescuers have been put to test and can successfully handle real-life situations similar to the simulated accident scene.
He reassured Lagosians that wherever they are and at whatever time of the day, LASEMA with the support of other relevant stakeholders will do all within their power to make sure that they are safe.
Mr Tiamiyu disclosed that the simulation exercise that was concluded within an hour on the 3rd Mainland Bridge was a result of meticulous paper work, planning and several round table meetings that lasted for over 4 months.
The General Manager urged residents of the state to always remember the free-toll emergency line of 767 and 112.
He said, “Dont leave anything to chance, take advantage of this free lines and activate the call immediately an emergency is perceived so that swift assistance can come and the degree of injuries or casualities will be very minimal.”
He said that throughout the period of the rescue operation there was adequate traffic traffic control on the bridge, live update on television stations where motorists and Lagosians at large were advised not to panic.
The nickname given to the rescue operation ‘Oko Jasosa’ derived its name from the vehicle that plunged into the Lagos lagoon from the simulated accident that involved a luxurious bus and five other vehicles.
The exercise involves men of the LASEMA Response Unit (LRU), Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) State Environmental Health and Monitoring Unit (SEHMU ), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps, Lagos State Waterway Authority (LASWA), Rapid Response Squard (RRS), Marine Police National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Nigerian Security & Civil Defence Corp and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed buying interest raised the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.33 per cent on Monday, with gains recorded in almost all the major sectors of the bourse at the close of transactions.
According to data harvested by Business Post, the insurance counter expanded by 0.62 per cent, the banking index grew by 0.59 per cent, the energy sector appreciated by 0.40 per cent, and the consumer goods space improved by 0.10 per cent, while the industrial goods segment closed flat.
When the closing gong was struck by 4 pm to signify the close of business on Customs Street, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 1,113.76 points to 243,707.07 points from 242,593.31 points, and the market capitalisation chalked up N714 billion to close at N156.308 trillion compared with the previous session’s N155.594 trillion.
Interest in Nigerian stocks yesterday resulted in a rise in the activity level, with the trading volume soaring by 17.86 per cent to 717.2 million units from 608.5 million units. The trading value advanced by 77.19 per cent to N56.7 billion from N32.0 billion, and the number of deals surged by 36.22 per cent to 73,321 deals from 53,826 deals.
FCMB was the busiest stock during the trading day, with a turnover of 152.3 million units worth N1.8 billion, Premier Paints exchanged 61.0 million units valued at N135.3 million, Dangote Cement traded 34.7 million units for N29.7 billion, The Initiates sold 32.8 million units worth N1.0 billion, and Jaiz Bank transacted 32.6 million units valued at N293.3 million.
Yesterday, the market breadth index was positive after the exchange closed with 37 price gainers and 28 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.
International Energy Insurance gained 9.92 per cent to settle at N7.98, the Initiates added 9.91 per cent to its share price to quote at N32.15, ABC Transport garnered 9.68 per cent to trade at N6.80, Abbey Mortgage Bank grew by 9.63 per cent to close at N10.25, and Linkage Assurance soared by 9.36 per cent to N1.87.
On the flip side, Fidson Healthcare gave up 10.00 per cent to finish at N122.85, Academy Press crashed by 9.70 per cent to N7.45, RT Briscoe depreciated by 9.43 per cent to N13.45, SUNU Assurances tumbled by 9.37 per cent to N4.06, and Learn Africa decreased by 8.70 per cent to N10.50.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a marginal 0.05 per cent drop on Monday, June 8, depleting the market capitalisation by N1.27 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.607 trillion, and cutting the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 2.12 points to 4,356.20 points from the previous 4,358.32 points.
The contraction witnessed during the session was triggered by a price loser, which overpowered that gains recorded by two securities on the trading platform.
Data indicated that MRS Oil Plc lost N6 at the close of business to settle at N165.00 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N171.00 per share.
Conversely, Lighthouse Financial Services Plc added 9 Kobo to sell at N1.03 per unit versus 94 Kobo per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by 8 Kobo to N78.48 per share from N78.40 per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors yesterday soared by 51.9 per cent to 213,188 units from 140,345 units, and the value of securities increased by 12.6 per cent to N20.2 million from N17.9 million, while the number of deals executed fell by 7.4 per cent to 25 deals from 27 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.8 million units exchanged for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also remained as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the new trading week on a negative note on Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) and the black market.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar by N5 to sell for N1,380/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,375/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it shed N1 to trade at N1,373/$1 versus N1,372/$1.
At the official market, it lost 63 Kobo or 0.05 per cent against the Dollar during the session to close at N1,362.84/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N1,362.21/$1.
However, the Nigerian Naira gained N2.30 against the Pound Sterling at the spot market yesterday, quoting at N1,821.29/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,823.59/£1, and improved against the Euro by 23 Kobo to settle at N1,574.35/€1 versus N1,574.58/€1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank forex turnover increased to $92.248 million across 90 deals, from $73.565 million last Friday.
On the policy front, participants believed that the application of the fourth edition of the Foreign Exchange Manual of the central bank, which introduces updated guidelines for foreign exchange transactions and tightening compliance requirements for authorised dealers and market participants, will enhance market flexibility and ease previous restrictions.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market snapped from recent declines, jolted by Strategy’s purchase of 1,550 Bitcoin for approximately $101 million, increasing its total holdings to 845,256 BTC. The company raised $181 million through common stock sales, using the proceeds to fund the bitcoin purchase and increase its cash reserves to $1 billion, pushing the price of the coin higher by 3.2 per cent to $63,731.69.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 8.4 per cent to $0.1738, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 5.2 per cent to $1,711.54, Solana (SOL) expanded by 5.1 per cent to $67.82, and Ripple (XRP) improved by 4.9 per cent to $1.18.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 4.3 per cent to $0.0873, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 2.7 per cent to $609.50, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.7 per cent to $0.3274, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $0.9997 and $0.9998, respectively.
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