Economy
NGX Offers Lagos Robust Platform to Fund Strategic Initiatives
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has made its robust trading platform available to the Lagos State government to fund strategic initiatives.
The Chief Executive Officer of the exchange, Mr Temi Popoola, while speaking during a meeting with the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the government can take advantage of the different options to raise funds for its projects and programme.
When Governor Sanwo-Olu assumed office in 2019, he unveiled a six-strategic development agenda christened THEMES, an acronym for Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism and Governance and Security.
At the meeting with the Governor on Thursday, Mr Popoola expressed confidence that the capital market, especially the NGX, can be a vital tool for achieving these goals of the current administration.
“At NGX, we are eager to reaffirm our commitment to collaborating with Lagos State Government on its infrastructure development drive through our robust platform available to fund strategic objectives.
“This is particularly important to us given the critical position Lagos state occupies as the Centre of Excellence and the major economic hub in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
“NGX has always been a strong collaborator through which the state accesses long-term developmental funding from the capital market evidenced by the N224.54 billion Lagos State Bonds listed on NGX, cumulatively the largest subnational bond listed on the NGX platform.
“We, therefore, look forward to exploring more opportunities especially in infrastructure financing, environmental and climate bonds, and capacity building,” the NGX chief stated.
In his remarks, Mr Sanwo-Olu thanked the NGX and its board for the visit, assuring that the government will explore capital raising via the exchange to fund infrastructure projects through equities, green, Sukuk, and blue bonds.
He further expressed confidence in the opportunities available in the capital market and indicated an interest in deepening synergies between the state and the bourse.
Capital market stakeholders continue to look forward to outcomes from the series of strategic engagements NGX has facilitated with key players across the public and private sectors, which are geared towards the development of the capital market and the Nigerian economy at large.
It was learned that the NGX board members present at the meeting yesterday were Mr Kamarudeen Oladosu, Mr Seyi Osunkeye and Mr Yomi Adeyemi.
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.
