Economy
NGX Further Gives up 0.38% as Failed Coup Rumour Unsettles Investors
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited failed to print its first gain this week as it further crashed by 0.38 per cent on Thursday.
A look at the data showed that investors are treading cautiously as more information is beginning to emerge on the alleged botched coup.
It was reported that 16 military officers were arrested for attempting to remove President Bola Tinubu from office. The military quickly refuted this, saying the persons apprehended were not plotting a coup.
Yesterday, a reputable news platform, Premium Times, published the names of officers believed to have been involved in the alleged act, which is termed treasonable. There were also reports of a military raid on the residence of a relative to a former Governor of Bayelsa State.
These developments, coupled with the silence of the government on the matter, unsettled traders, who are liquidating their shares to be safe. This is already taking its toll on the stock market, which is becoming weaker by the day because of panic sell-offs.
Apart from the banking space, which gained 0.06 per cent yesterday, every other key sector of Customs Street was in red at the close of transactions.
The insurance counter gave up 1.27 per cent, the consumer goods industry depreciated by 1.23 per cent, the commodity index lost 0.52 per cent, the energy sector shrank y 0.32 per cent and the industrial goods landscape fell by 0.25 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) retreated by 584.32 points to 153,676.66 points from 154,260.98 points and the market capitalisation moderated by N371 billion to N97.543 trillion from N97.914 trillion.
A total of 795.9 million stocks valued at N35.1 billion exchanged hands in 28,944 deals during the session compared with the 452.9 million stocks worth N14.8 billion traded in 27,654 deals at midweek, showing an uptick in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 75.73 per cent, 137.16 per cent, and 4.67 per cent, respectively.
Wema Bank was the busiest equity at the session with 305.7 million units sold for N5.7 billion, as GTCO transacted 97.9 million units worth N8.7 billion, Aso Savings traded 75.4 million units valued at N70.9 million, Chams exchanged 24.6 million units worth N87.0 million, and AIICO Insurance traded 16.2 million units valued at N64.2 million.
Business Post reports that 20 shares were on the gainers’ log on Thursday and 39 shares ended on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
The trio of Cadbury, Chams, and International Breweries depleted by 10.00 per cent each to sell for N62.55, N3.51, and N12.60 apiece, as Learn Africa lost 9.92 per cent to settle at N5.90, and NAHCO shed 9.49 per cent to close at N113.00.
On the flip side, Oando grew by 9.99 per cent to N46.80, Aso Savings expanded by 9.30 per cent to 94 Kobo, AIICO Insurance chalked up 5.26 per cent to quote at N4.00, May and Baker increased by 5.00 per cent to N17.85, and Deap Capital surged by 4.97 per cent to N1.90.
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.
