Economy

Lagos to Produce 234,000MT of Fish in 2021

Published

6 years ago

03/12/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Lagos State Government said it will increase fish production by at least 60,000 metric tonnes next year to bridge the huge deficit in the sector and meet the state’s demand for fish.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said this at a news conference on Thursday in Lagos to unveil the forthcoming Lagos Seafood Festival scheduled for December 13 at Muri Okunola Park, Lagos.

Ms Olusanya said that the state was currently producing about 174,000 metric tonnes of fish annually, while the current demand stood at over 400,000 metric tonnes, hence the need to address the huge deficit of over 226,000 metric tonnes.

She said that the additional 60,000 metric tonnes of fish would include both fingerlings and table size production to what already exists in Lagos.

“The target in terms of production currently is to increase our production in the post-COVID-19 economy.

“The demand for fish in Lagos is well over 400,000 metric tons and what we are producing as a state is roughly at about 174,000 metric tons, so there is a huge deficit of about 226,000 metric tons.

“In terms of the target, we just ended our five-year master plan roadmap strategy document which will be unveiled by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the plan is to cover the deficit by a certain percentage.

“Already, the Lagos Aquaculture Centre for Excellence (LACE), which was mentioned during Mr Governor’s budget reading, states that for the project alone, we should be adding over 60,000 metric tonnes of fish, both fingerlings and table size production to what exists already in Lagos.

“Outside of what we want to do with our fisher-folks in terms of them increasing production and aquaculture producers as well in terms of the support, we will like to give to them and create additional farm estates.

“We should be able to increase our fish production by at least 50,000 to 60,000 metric tonnes in the year 2021,” she said.

“For the LACE alone, it should be over 60,000 metric tons; that is obviously over a two to three-year period for the project to fully come to life. Within the first year, we should be able to get 20,000 metric tonnes.

“From our fishermen and those in the aquaculture subsector, we should be able to get a minimum of 40,000 metric tonnes extra. So, we are looking towards an additional 60,000 metric tonnes for 2021 and subsequent years,” she said.

The Commissioner also said that the state had commenced the registration of fishermen in the five divisions of the state to capture the youths, adding that the target was to register over 10,000 in the process.

“As we speak, we have partnered with some Private Financial Institutions and right now registrations are ongoing in some fishing locations in the five divisions of the state such as Ikorodu, Epe, Badagry, Lagos Island and Ikeja.

“Presently, the private financial institution is registering youths in Ikeja, we are concentrating on the youth because they will take over from the ageing fisher-folks who don’t have records and details that we can trace back to them in terms of capturing and empowerment,” Ms Olusanya noted.

She further said the 2020 edition of the seafood festival would focus on the need to harness the seafood potentials of the state in a post-COVID-19 economy.

“Lagos State is a cosmopolitan city that is synonymous with seafood production. This fact is reinforced by the depiction of fishing in the state’s Coat of Arms.

“This activity is an old-time preoccupation of Lagosians, especially those living around the coastal, estuaries and riverine areas of the state.

“A total of 8,844 registered fishermen in 164 Fishermen Cooperative Societies live in 325 fishing communities across the state, while 3,600 fish farmers and 26,500 processors have been identified in the value chain.

“The state is also home to 60 per cent of the nation’s commercial activities mixed with fashion and entertainment.

“The Lagos seafood festival provides the nexus for the celebration of the state’s aquacultural heritage in an atmosphere of commerce and entertainment,” the Commissioner noted.

Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

Published

22 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

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.

Economy

Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%

Published

23 hours ago

27/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

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.

Economy

Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1

Published

23 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

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.