Economy
Naira Crumbles to N465/$1 at Black Market, BDC
By Adedapo Adesanya
Trading activities at the midweek of the foreign exchange (forex) market in Nigeria saw the Naira finishing weaker against the US Dollar at both the black market and the Bureau De Change (BDC) segments.
At the black market, Business Post gathered that the local currency closed at N465/$1 after losing N5 from the previous value of N460/$1.
But against the Pound, it appreciated by N5 to settle at N595/£1 versus N600/£1 of Tuesday and depreciated by N5 against the Euro to close at N540/€1 in contrast to N535/€1.
At the BDC window, the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the weekly FX sales has not helped the local currency as expected.
About $200 million has been released to members of the Association of the Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) to support the Naira but going by data of yesterday’s trading, the domestic currency lost N3 against the greenback on Wednesday in Lagos to sell for N463/$1 compared with the previous session’s rate of N469/$1.
However, the Nigerian currency gained N3 against its British counterpart to close at N595/£1 in contrast to the previously traded rate of N598/£1 while against the Euro, it lost N9 to N544/€1 from N535/€1.
At the Abuja BDC market, the local currency crumbled by N5 against the American currency to trade at N465/$1 as against N460/$1. On the Pound, the local currency fell by N7 to end the day at N610/£1 versus N603/£1 and declined by N9 on the Euro to quote at N545/€1 in contrast to N534/€1 it traded on Tuesday.
In Port Harcourt, the domestic currency fell by N4.50 against the Dollar to trade at N464.50/$1 compared with N460/$1 while it closed flat against the Pound at N595/£1 and depreciated by N10 on the Euro to N545/€1 from N535/€1.
At the Kano BDC market, the Naira lost N21 against the US Dollar to trade at N461/$1 versus N440/$1 and went down by N20 each on the Pound and the Euro to settle at N605/£1 versus N585/£1 and N535/€1 versus N515/€1 respectively.
A look at the interbank segment of the FX market yesterday showed that the Naira to Dollar exchange rate remained unchanged at N379/$1.
Despite an increase in demand for the greenback at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on Wednesday, the Naira traded flat against the Dollar at N386/$1.
The turnover for the day at the market window was $282.23 million, $226.52 million or 406.6 per cent higher than the $55.71 million recorded on Tuesday.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, 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 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed 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.
