Economy
Local Savings Can Help Reflate Economy—Finance Minister
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said the country’s economy can be reflated if local savings is encouraged.
The global economy is currently on a life support because of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced many countries to lockdown their economies.
Nigeria was not an exception as it only eased the lockdown early June after almost all economic activities were shut down for nearly three months in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Already, the fiscal authorities are looking ahead of post-COVID-19 era. It is believed that the virus will disrupt the ways things have been done in the past.
While speaking at the inauguration of the National Savings Strategy Working Group in Abuja at the weekend, the Minister canvased the need to mobilise local savings, saying it was capable of reflating the economy post COVID-19.
She tasked members of the group to develop easy instruments that are safe to be able to attract ordinary Nigerians to key into the strategy.
The terms of reference of the group include; To study the National Savings Strategy Paper and advise the federal government on the feasibility of the proposals or with recommended changes.
The team is also expected to advise on ways and means of mobilizing and channelling corporate and individual savings to accelerate domestic capital formation to support entrepreneurs and enterprise development in the urgent task of diversifying the economy and the deepening of the capital market;
The group is further expected to draft a National Working Paper that outlines a detailed roadmap on the implementation of the National Savings Scheme to be submitted for approval by the Federal Executive Council.
“Let us not forget the average Nigerian that wants to save and does not have huge sums, we need to develop easy instruments that are safe to be able to attract them. look at creating retail savings scheme to allow these Nigerians to save quickly by being able to enter and exit without unnecessary rigours.
“We need to mobilise local savings to reflate the economy, increase productivity by creating new enterprises and ensure that existing ones also thrive,” she said.
Mrs Ahmed commended the acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, her team and the members of the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council (CAMMIC) for their dedication and commitment to the implementation of the masterplan so far.
She expressed optimism that ongoing efforts to review the masterplan to align the assumptions and projections with current realities, would redefine the road map for stakeholder participation in the Nigerian capital market.
“My expectation when the review is concluded is that we would have a strategic document that provides a clear pathway that would enable the Nigeria’s capital market achieve the goal to be Africa’s deepest, most liquid and largest capital market contributing not only to Nigeria’s socio-economic development but also serve as a global financial hub offering opportunities to other parts of Africa,” she said.
In her remarks, Ms Uduk said the SEC launched a 10-year capital market masterplan in 2015, a market wide strategic blueprint that had the buy-in of all stakeholders, aimed at making the market deeper, vibrant and more effective.
Ms Uduk said the implementation of the initiatives in the 10-year plan will transform the Nigerian market, facilitate the diversification of the economy, encourage savings and create wealth.
“This will no doubt grow investors’ confidence, improve the depth and breadth of the market in terms of product offerings, engender market integrity, and contribute to the country’s economic growth.
“I am glad to report that we have taken up the initiatives outlined in the masterplan document in a systematic manner while engaging with the government, and other critical stakeholders to successfully implement key initiatives while driving the execution of others,” she stated.
Ms Uduk disclosed that the need to establish a National Savings Strategy was outlined in the masterplan as one of the key strategies to enhance capital formation by mobilizing domestic funds for investment to drive rapid economic growth.
She said it envisaged the deliberate provision of risk capital as venture capital and private equity that are naira based and more committed to the long-term prosperity of Nigeria, as well as create a buffer to the instability created by foreign investors.
“On July 16, 2016, CAMMIC set up a 7-man technical committee as a first step towards achieving that goal.
“The technical committee developed a 102-page, 7-chapter position paper which reviewed historical data and information on the Nigerian savings-investment culture, the Nigerian financial system, population and economy and the savings and investment strategies of select countries.
“The purpose of the position paper was to ascertain the need for a national savings strategy in Nigeria and make recommendations on an implementation strategy.
“The position paper forms the basis for the work expected to be carried out by the national working group being inaugurated today,” Ms Uduk added.
She, therefore, assured that SEC will provide the necessary support and every other assistance within its capacity to the national working group to ensure that their job is done in a timely and efficient manner.
Also speaking, Chairman of the team, Mr Fola Adeola, said savings is one of the fundamentals of highly developed economies and pledged the readiness of the group to help drive the Nigeria economy.
“This assignment is coming at a most difficult time as people are worried about the effect of COVID-19 on the economy, but if we get it right now, by the time we ease into good times, we will be better for it,” he added.
Recall that the capital market masterplan proposed the National Savings Strategy (NSS) as one of the key initiatives to drive capital formation and investment necessary to support entrepreneurs and enterprise development in the urgent task of diversifying the economy and deepening of the capital market.
To lift the equity markets, galvanize new start-ups and expand existing projects, there should be deliberate provision of Naira based risk capital.
In essence nurturing, growing and channelling domestic savings to fund the creation of new enterprises will result in rapid economic growth, diversification of the economy, acceleration in the rate of job creation and increasing the productivity and output of the Nigerian economy.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (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 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading salt makers in Nigeria, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, has set its eyes on some strategies aimed to deliver more value to shareholders.
The chief executive of the company, Mrs Aderemi Saka, said efforts are being made to surpass the performance of last year.
In the 2025 financial year, the organisation recorded a 27 per cent growth in revenue, while post-tax profit grew by over 100 per cent to N33.5 billion, with the earnings per share (EPS) expanding by 115 per cent to N12.41 from N5.77 Kobo in the previous year.
The impressive performance, attributed to a clear strategic vision, disciplined execution and sustained focus on cost-saving initiatives across production, logistics and fleet management, resulted in a 200 per cent increase in dividend payout to shareholders to N6 per share.
Mrs Saka, at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, said the strategic priorities for the coming year include deeper cost optimisation, expanded market penetration, strengthened energy diversification and sustainability initiatives, as well as accelerated digital transformation and process automation.
Earlier, the chairman of NASCON, Mr Olakunle Alake, informed shareholders that the achievements for last year were due to improved operational efficiency, strict cost management and the dedication of the company’s workforce.
“The operating environment in 2025 was characterised by economic volatility, persistent inflation and structural changes across key sectors. Yet, NASCON remained resilient and strategically focused, delivering outstanding value to shareholders,” Mr Alake said.
He noted that operational sustainability remains a core pillar of the organisation’s strategy, stressing that during the year, NASCON introduced Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks into its logistics fleet to reduce fuel costs and minimise exposure to diesel price volatility.
In addition, the company’s state-of-the-art salt refinery, its largest production facility, now runs entirely on natural gas, significantly boosting efficiency while reinforcing NASCON’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
A director in the organisation, Mrs Tonya Lawani, emphasised that the firm remains firmly committed to the principles that have driven its excellent performance, noting that NASCON approaches the new financial year from a position of strength, with further opportunities for growth and improvement.
Speaking on behalf of shareholders, Mr Faruk Umar expressed strong confidence in the company’s trajectory, citing NASCON’s rising share price, which recently crossed the N100 mark, and projecting further appreciation.
He commended the quality of the Board and management team, noting that strong leadership and recent executive appointments have positioned the entity to deliver even greater value to all stakeholders.
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