Economy
NEPZA, Others to Remodel Free Trade Zones Operations
By Adedapo Adesanya
There are plans by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone Authority (OGFZA), as well as Nigeria Economic Zones Association (NEZA), and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to remodel the administration and management of the country’s Free Trade Zones (FTZ) to strengthen their impact on the economy.
These critical stakeholders agreed to remodel the operations when Mr Adesoji Adesugba MD/CEO of NEPZA, and his counterpart in OGFZA, Mr Tijjani Kaura, and Mr Toyin Elegbede, Executive-Secretary of NEZA, paid a working visit on the Acting Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi last Friday in Abuja.
Mr Adesugba had described Mr Adeniyi’s appointment as a boost for the industry, noting that the growth of the scheme was largely stunted due to years of uncooperative posture of the customs’ top leadership.
The NEPZA boss explained that it was incumbent on the customs to help the regulatory bodies drive the success of the free trade ecosystem by allowing seamless trade facilitation across the landscape.
“We are here to first felicitate with you on your appointment by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We are elated that this appointment came from within the service, and we pray that this culture is sustained.
“Since my appointment in 2020 as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, this is the first time that customs honoured our request for a courtesy visit. This evidenced how uncooperative the former leadership was toward the overall success of the scheme.
“We are all now in agreement that only a collaborative partnership among the key stakeholders can reposition the scheme to begin to have a significant impact in the economy and for global competitiveness,’’ the NEPZA chief executive said.
Mr Adesugba added that a Joint Committee comprising of members from NEPZA, OGFZA, NEZA and NCS was urgently required to address all the teething challenges affecting the smooth operation of the scheme.
Mr Kaura, on his part, explained that the regulatory bodies and all the free trade zones’ stakeholders were willing to establish a more cohesive and collaborative partnership with customs, adding that such a partnership had already been established between the two regulatory bodies and with all the free trade zones’ investors through NEZA.
The OGFZA boss further stated that the Joint Committee would be in the right position to deal with all the key issues that would be listed as the Terms of Reference (ToR).
“We want the customs leadership to understand that the Free Trade Zone is a unique economic landscape guided by both the Act of Parliament and Global Rules and Regulations. Any country that seeks to adopt it must also be prepared to accept these rules.
“We are happy that the service now has an individual who is a professional in Investment Promotion, Investors Relations & Services, as well as Trade Facilitations. We again thank His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for giving us such a complete professional, and it is indeed a new dawn for us,’’ Mr Kaura said.
The Acting Comptroller-General, expressed his delight on the visit, stating that the Free Trade Zones scheme could be used to realistically drive the nation’s economy.
Mr Adeniyi said that the suggestion for the setting up of a Joint Committee to remodel the processes and procedures to manage the various administrative engagements among key stakeholders was a novelty, adding that all hands must be on deck to salvage the country’s ailing economy through the scheme.
“I must, however, state that we should also study and re-evaluate our various Acts to see those areas of conflicts and overlapping functions and to assiduously work toward amending them.
The Executive Secretary of NEZA, however, explained that the Free Trade Zones’ Investors were confronted with a mirage of challenges that included intermittent disagreeable execution of duties by some customs officers, adding that the incentives that were the main attraction to zones must continually be allowed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange weakened by 0.22 per cent on Tuesday, April 28, with the market capitalisation down by N4.8 billion to N2.420 trillion from N2.425 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 9.01 points to 4,044.96 points from 4,053.97 points.
During the session, the price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N1.82 to N767.05 per share from N78.87 per share, while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N100.00 per unit from N98.10 per unit.
According to data, the value of trades increased by 265.7 per cent to N27.1 million from N7.4 million units, and the volume of transactions surged by 305.2 per cent to 1.3 million units from 319,831 units, while the number of deals decreased by 6.9 per cent to 27 deals from 29 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.8 million units exchanged for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also finished as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure is beginning to mount on the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market despite an oil windfall triggered by the Middle East crisis.
On Monday, April 27, the domestic currency further weakened against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N16.47 or 1.2 per cent to N1,380.71/$1 from the previous day’s N1,364.24/$1.
It was not different against the Pound Sterling in the same market window, as it lost N16.04 to trade at N1,863.76/£1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,847.72/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N12.72 to close at N1,615.01/€1 versus N1,602.29/€1.
The Naira also depreciated against the Dollar at the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,390/$1 compared with the previous price of N1,385, and at the GTBank forex counter, it further crashed by N9 to settle at N1,379/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,370/$1.
The continued decline of the Naira comes as traders increasingly seek other safe-haven currencies amid continued global disruptions.
The benefit awash in the global market is making foreign portfolio investors stay short in Nigerian markets. Despite this, the daily FX publication released showed that interbank turnover rose to $98.829 million across 78 deals, up from $76.65 million.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained cautious, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $77,216.66 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts say the supply overhang has finally dried up, and the sellers who were spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have already exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side.
Investors will await decisions made by central banks this week. The US Federal Reserve will announce its rate decision later on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) follows on Thursday.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 1.5 per cent to trade at $2,324.59, Dogecoin (DOGE) chalked up 1.4 per cent to sell for $0.1016, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $84.85, Cardano (ADA) grew by 0.5 per cent to $0.2483, and Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 0.2 per cent to $627.15.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3224, and Ripple (XRP) lost 0.03 per cent to sell at $1.39, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil was up by nearly 3 per cent on Tuesday as persistent worries about supply constraints from the closed Strait of Hormuz continued, with Brent futures for June rising by $3.03 or 2.8 per cent to $111.26 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures growing by $3.56 or 3.7 per cent to $99.93 a barrel.
An earlier round of negotiations between the United States and Iran collapsed last week after face-to-face talks failed.
Ship-tracking data showed significant disruptions in the region, with six Iranian oil tankers forced to turn back due to the US blockade, but some traffic is still moving.
Prices trimmed some of the advances after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the fourth-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it would exit the group on this Friday, May 1, 2026.
This dealt a blow to the oil-exporting group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia.
The UAE could quickly add between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day of output. However, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, analysts said that there’s nowhere for that supply to go.
The UAE joined OPEC in 1967, but tension with Saudi Arabia over production quotas has been building for years.
Under the OPEC+ deal, the country has been held to roughly 3 million barrels per day while sitting on capacity above 4 million. It has been pushing toward 5 million barrels per day by 2027, and that target is hard to achieve with quotas built around someone else’s view of the market.
The war in Yemen broke whatever was left of diplomatic patience.
President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal to end the war. The proposal would avoid addressing the nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.
The Idemitsu Maru, a Panama-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, and an LNG tanker managed by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) crossed the Strait on Tuesday, shipping data showed.
Vortexa data showed that the amount of crude oil held around the world on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose to 153.11 million barrels as of April 24.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.79 million barrels in the week ending April 24. The official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
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