Economy

Lagos to Revive Abandoned Badagry Organic Farm

Published

6 years ago

09/08/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Lagos State government has moved to revamp the Badagry Organic Farm to ensure food security as part of efforts to boost agriculture and fishing in the commercial city.

This pivot followed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s special focus on Badagry, one of the five traditional divisions of the state where he initiated his pilot agriculture scheme – Lagos Food Production Park over the weekend.

The Governor took a tour of a 279-hectare Avia-Igborosun Organic Farm, which was acquired by the state government in 2012 for some commercial agricultural projects.

Mr Sanwo-Olu said the government was ready to revive the abandoned farmland for the take-off of the state’s food production park project.

The Governor disclosed that the state would be engaging the private sector to secure investment into the project, which, when completed, he said, would create thousands of direct jobs and improve the wellbeing of the residents.

He said, “I have been fully briefed about this project but I considered it necessary to personally embark on this journey to Badagry in order to take an assessment and see what exactly we need to do in terms of intervention.

“After taking a tour of the project site, what I observed is that the entire project looks more like a job that has not been completed. Therefore, we need to improve on the interventions to the Ministry of Agriculture.”

“With very minimal resources, we have seen what the Ministry has done to keep the project afloat. The government will raise the resources and turn around this project to the level it should be.

“We will need to deploy more resources to revive and scale up all the machinery and systems put already in place. We will complete the project and open it for commercial production,” he added.

The Governor said the revival of the Badagry Organic Farm and creation of more food production parks across the state were part of the strategy designed by his government to increase food security level from 20 per cent to 50 per cent, thereby raising Lagos’ food sufficiency.

He added that the project would give rise to similar agro-allied businesses that would open up Badagry’s economy for more growth, while also boosting its tourism business.

He said: “Lagos is a big state in terms of population, but we also can intervene in our food production value chain. What we are also trying to do with the revival of the project is that we want to produce various agricultural products we can consume internally in order to reduce our dependence on external food sources.

“The Food Production Park, which we are creating across the state, will be a trigger to other value-added agricultural production our citizens can provide.”

As part of the move to turn around the organic farm, Mr Sanwo-Olu promised a total rehabilitation of Igborosun Road that leads to the farm.

Some of the agricultural projects to be developed for commercial production in the farm include fishing, poultry, piggery, and agro-forestry, among others.

Mr Sanwo-Olu also inspected a 105-bed Mother and Child Care (MCC) recently completed by the state government in the premises of Badagry General Hospital. The MCC will be commissioned in September, the Governor noted.

During a tour of the hospital, he proposed expansion of the Accident and Emergency Department. The project, he said, will take off in the next nine months.

The Governor also stopped at Marina area of the Badagry town, where the state government will be building a modern jetty.

Mr Sanwo-Olu explained that this is part of his administration’s blueprint to promote waterways transportation across the state.

Economy

Tinubu Okays Extension of Ban on Raw Shea Nut Export by One Year

Published

6 hours ago

26/02/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The ban on the export of raw shea nuts from Nigeria has been extended by one year by President Bola Tinubu.

A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday disclosed that the ban is now till February 25, 2027.

It was emphasised that this decision underscores the administration’s commitment to advancing industrial development, strengthening domestic value addition, and supporting the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The ban aims to deepen processing capacity within Nigeria, enhance livelihoods in shea-producing communities, and promote the growth of Nigerian exports anchored on value-added products, the statement noted.

To further these objectives, President Tinubu has authorised the two Ministers of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Presidential Food Security Coordination Unit (PFSCU), to coordinate the implementation of a unified, evidence-based national framework that aligns industrialisation, trade, and investment priorities across the shea nut value chain.

He also approved the adoption of an export framework established by the Nigerian Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the withdrawal of all waivers allowing the direct export of raw shea nuts.

The President directed that any excess supply of raw shea nuts should be exported exclusively through the NCX framework, in accordance with the approved guidelines.

Additionally, he directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide access to a dedicated NESS Support Window to enable the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to pilot a Livelihood Finance Mechanism to strengthen production and processing capacity.

Shea nuts, the oil-rich fruits from the shea tree common in the Savanna belt of Nigeria, are the raw material for shea butter, renowned for its moisturising, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The extracted butter is a principal ingredient in cosmetics for skin and hair, as well as in edible cooking oil. The Federal Government encourages processing shea nuts into butter locally, as butter fetches between 10 and 20 times the price of the raw nuts.

The federal government said it remains committed to policies that promote inclusive growth, local manufacturing and position Nigeria as a competitive participant in global agricultural value chains.

Economy

NASD Bourse Rebounds as Unlisted Security Index Rises 1.27%

Published

6 hours ago

26/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange expanded for the first session this week by 1.27 per cent on Wednesday, February 25.

This lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) above 4,000 points, with a 50.45-point addition to close at 4,025.25 points compared with the previous day’s 3,974.80 points, as the market capitalisation added N30.19 billion to close at N2.408 trillion versus Tuesday’s N2.378 trillion.

At the trading session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N5.00 to trade at N100.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N95.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N4.18 to sell at N70.00 per unit versus N65.82 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 14 Kobo to trade at N1.59 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.45 per share.

However, the share price of Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 27 Kobo at midweek to close at N3.27 per unit, in contrast to the N3.30 per unit it was transacted a day earlier.

At the midweek session, the volume of securities went down by 25.3 per cent to 8.7 million units from 11.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 92.5 per cent to N80.7 million from N1.2 billion, and the number of deals slipped by 33.3 per cent to 32 deals from the preceding session’s 48 deals.

At the close of business, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 34.1 million units exchanged for N2.0 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units traded for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units valued at N478.0 million.

Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units valued at N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units sold for N478.0 million, and CSCS Plc with 34.1 million units worth N2.0 billion.

Economy

Investors Lose N73bn as Bears Tighten Grip on Stock Exchange

Published

7 hours ago

26/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears consolidated their dominance on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday, inflicting an additional 0.09 per cent cut on the market.

At midweek, the market capitalisation of the domestic stock exchange went down by N73 billion to N124.754 trillion from the preceding day’s N124.827 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 114.32 points to 194,370.20 points from 194,484.52 points.

A look at the sectoral performance showed that only the consumer goods index closed in green, gaining 1.19 per cent due to buying pressure.

However, sustained profit-taking weakened the insurance space by 3.79 per cent, the banking index slumped by 2.07 per cent, the energy counter went down by 0.24 per cent, and the industrial goods sector shrank by 0.22 per cent.

Business Post reports that 25 equities ended on the gainers’ chart, and 54 equities finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.

RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N10.35, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N6.75, SAHCO depreciated by 9.98 per cent to N139.35, Haldane McCall gave up 9.93 per cent to trade at N3.99, and Vitafoam Nigeria decreased by 9.93 per cent to N112.50.

Conversely, Jaiz Bank gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N14.03, Okomu Oil appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1,765.00, Trans-nationwide Express chalked up 9.77 per cent to close at N2.36, Fortis Global Insurance moved up by 9.72 per cent to 79 Kobo, and Champion Breweries rose by 5.39 per cent to N17.60.

Yesterday, 1.4 billion shares worth N46.2 billion were transacted in 70,222 deals compared with the 1.1 billion shares valued at N53.4 billion traded in 72,218 deals a day earlier, implying a rise in the trading volume by 27.27 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 13.48 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively.

Fortis Global Insurance ended the session as the busiest stock after trading 193.7 million units for N152.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 120.7 million units worth N11.1 billion, Japaul exchanged 114.8 million units valued at N407.0 million, Ellah Lakes sold 98.4 million units worth N999.2 million, and Access Holdings traded 63.1 million units valued at N1.7 billion.