Economy

N5trn Spent Yearly on Electricity by Firms Not Good for Economy—NACCIMA DG

Published

6 years ago

23/07/2019

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Director-General of the National Association of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, has said that the over N5 trillion spent annually by major businesses in the country to provide power is a big drain on resources.

Speaking in Lagos on Monday, the NACCIMA boss explained the negative effects of this menace on his members and the economy at large.

According to him, the huge sum is majorly expended on generators, maintenance and fuelling by private businesses. “We spend about $14 billion annually on generators, maintenance and fuelling in other to keep our business afloat.” Such large cost, he added, is a big drain on resources and maybe responsible for the dwindling fortunes of most businesses.

“Generally, the business environment in the country in the past 12 months was certainly not palatable, but things can be better. We have not gotten to where we are supposed to be, though we are heading towards where we can just say that things can be better. We need to look at an alternative source of power, such as cost of purchase, maintenance and fuelling of generating sets in the country for the purpose of electricity both for manufacturing and general consumption.”

Olukanni, who charged the federal government to address the power situation squarely, said the cost expended on power generation was unbearable. “If such amount is being dedicated to boosting business in the country and if the government gets the power the situation right, then businesses would boom and we will become more competitive, especially now that we have signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

“Common knowledge shows that the cost of power generation by individuals is outrageous. If you look at the number of generators owned by business outfits in the country, you will understand why most businesses are closing shop. Regrettably, the worst hit is the MSMEs. This problem is experienced in respective sectors where they operate,” he reiterated.

“The heart of the issue still remains the question of the power sector. Things have gone from bad to worse, so business owners still have to rely on providing their own power to do business.

This is not a good way to absolutely grow an economy, we have to find a way to sort this problem out and I sincerely hope that as part of the initiative for the current administration of Mr President would be to address the power outage in other to enhance the competitiveness of the Nigerian businessman.”

Olukanni noted that the executing power is top priority because business cannot thrive with the current power situation in the country.

Economy

Investors Gain N97bn from Local Equity Market

Published

10 minutes ago

05/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.

This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.

UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.

On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.

Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.

Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.

A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.

This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.

For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.

Economy

Naira Loses 18 Kobo Against Dollar at Official Market, N5 at Black Market

Published

39 minutes ago

05/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.

At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.

It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.

Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.

Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.

Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.

“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.

Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.

Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.

If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.

Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.

Economy

Fed Rate Cut Signal, Stalling Ukraine Peace Talks Raise Oil Prices

Published

55 minutes ago

05/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices were up on Thursday amid investors’ expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, while stalled Ukraine peace talks tempered expectations of a deal restoring Russian oil flows.

Brent crude gained 59 cents or 0.94 per cent to trade at $63.26 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude appreciated by 72 cents or 1.22 per cent to $59.67 per barrel.

The market ticked up on expectations that a US rate cut will support the world’s largest economy and oil demand, after data showed employment is slowing.

Markets are pricing in an 89 per cent chance of a cut when the Federal Reserve meets on December 9-10, significantly higher than rate-cut bets just a couple of weeks ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Support also came as the dollar edged lower for its 10th straight day of losses against a basket of major currencies, making crude cheaper for buyers using other currencies.

Analysts noted that escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela were also supporting prices on concerns of a drop in crude supplies from the South American country, which is a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

US President Donald Trump’s administration is ratcheting up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, signalling the possibility of a US invasion.

The perception that progress on a peace plan for Ukraine was stalling also supported prices, after President Trump’s representatives emerged from peace talks with the Kremlin with no resolution in sight.

Expectations of an end to the war had pressured prices lower, as traders anticipated a deal would allow Russian oil back into an already oversupplied global market..

Meanwhile, Ukraine continued its assault on Russia’s energy infrastructure as it hit the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia’s central Tambov region, the fifth attack on the pipeline that sends Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.

Kpler noted that Ukraine’s drone campaign against Russian refining infrastructure has affected production to down around 5 million barrels per day between September and November, a 335,000 barrels per day year-on-year decline, with gasoline (petrol) hit hardest and gasoil output also materially weaker.

US crude and fuel inventories rose last week as refining activity picked up, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 574,000 barrels to 427.5 million barrels in the week ended November 28, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for an 821,000-barrel draw.

Fitch Ratings on Thursday cut its 2025-2027 oil price assumptions to reflect market oversupply and production growth that is expected to outstrip demand.