Economy
MAN Laments Effect of Fuel Price Hike on Operations
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has lamented the difficulty in the operations of its members worsened by the recent fuel pump price increase.
Recall that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited reviewed the price of PMS from N580 per litre to N855 in Lagos and over N900 depending on the location to another across the country.
The MAN Southwest chairman, Mr Lanre Popoola, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Friday, noted how difficult it has been to operate manufacturing firms on full scale under the current economic hardship.
He said the group was already facing difficulties before the increase in the price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol.
Mr Popoola said it was unfortunate that amidst the increase and instability in the economy, the Federal Government expected the private sector to implement N70,000 new national minimum wage.
“Can we increase salary now? No. We are in a dilemma,” he said.
According to him, the sector has been plagued with economic challenges, such as inflation and the devaluation of naira amidst forex scarcity.
“The present hard situation in the country has been worsened by the fuel increase, and there is no respite in sight.
“It has been difficult to operate manufacturing industries on a full scale.
“ Even before the fuel increment, and now that the worst has happened, it has been difficult to operate under the economic hardship’’, he told NAN.
Despite this, Business Post reports that fuel queues remain across the country with supply issues remaining.
In a related development, the federal government has dismissed its involvement in the increase of prices of petrol across the country.
Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State (Oil) Petroleum Resources, on Thursday, said the federal government was not responsible for the recent while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting with Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
Mr Lokpobiri said the industry had been deregulated, and that the government was not fixing prices.
“This sector is deregulated. And we believe that with the availability of products, the price will find its level.
“What is important is that the product is available in the country; between now and the weekend, there will be availability of the product across the length and breadth of the country,” he said.
He said it was important to convey to Nigerians that the President was empathetic about what was going on in the country.
“He is concerned about the hardship of Nigerians, and that was why he directed the Vice President to call this meeting, for us to reflect on what is going on in the country.
“But, we believe that by the time the product is available across the country, the price itself will stabilise,” said the minister.
Mr Lokpobiri said Mr Shettima had summoned him along with Mr Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of NNPC and Mr Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, over the recent hike in the price of petrol.
Also, Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said regulatory efforts were geared toward stabilising the supply of petrol in the country, which he said would impact positively on the stability of price.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A minority equity stake in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited has been acquired by a Nigerian energy firm, Aradel Holdings Plc.
This deal came a few days after Chappal Energies purchased a 53.85 per cent equity stake in Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (ENEC).
Chappal Energies went into the deal with Equinor to take part in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.
Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, creating value for Nigerian society and various stakeholders.
As part of the deal, Chappal will assume the operatorship of OML 129, which includes several significant prospects and undeveloped discoveries (Nnwa, Bilah and Sehki).
The Nnwa discovery is part of the giant Nnwa-Doro field, a major gas resource with significant potential to deliver value for Nigeria.
In a separate transaction, on July 17, 2024, Chappal and Total Energies sealed an SPA for the acquisition by Chappal of 10 per cent of the SPDC JV.
The relevant parties to this transaction are working towards closing out this transaction and Ministerial Approval and NNPC consent to accede to the Joint Operating Agreement have been obtained.
“This acquisition is in line with diversifying our asset base, deepening our gas competencies and gaining access to offshore basins using low-risk approaches.
“We recognise the strategic role of gas in Nigeria’s energy future and are happy to expand our equity holding in this critical resource.
“We are committed to the cause of developing the significant value inherent in the assets, which will be extremely beneficial to the country.
“Aradel hopes to bring its proven execution competencies to bear in supporting Chappal’s development of these opportunities,” the chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.
As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.
But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.
The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.
During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.
However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.
Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.
Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.
Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837
Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.
XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.
Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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