Economy
Niger Governor Flies to Dubai to Woo Investors in Mining Sector
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State has opened discussions with global players in the mineral resources value-chain in the areas of financing, equipment and new technology.
A statement issued on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Jibrin Baba Ndace, disclosed that the Governor is using the Dubai Mining Conference and Exhibition holding at the Dubai World Trade Centre to engage with global industry players and experts.
The Governor, who said he led the state team to the event in order to personally engage with right partners, noted that mineral resources value-chain was a highly technical area that require interface with key global players.
“Our commitment to diversifying the state economy requires partnership on a global scale. We are taking advantage of Dubai Mining Conference and Exhibition to meet and open discussion with various players in the industry.
“We need to engage right partners that have technical know-how, industry knowledge and global reach.
“We have also listened to various presentations by other countries and industry experts on shared experiences, learnt lessons, best practices, emerging trends, legislative frameworks, occupational safety and environmental concerns,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Governor Sani Bello, who said developing the mineral resources value-chain requires commitment and painstaking efforts, disclosed that the administration was determined to deploying short, medium and long term strategy in the area.
“We are determined to engage with industry players differently. We are committed to deploy new strategies in maximizing huge potentials available in the state. We are mindful of environmental and safety concern prevalent in the sector,” he said.
Governor Sani Bello reiterated his commitment to developing the sector through collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steels Development revealed that Niger State was open and safe for investors.
“Within the last two years of this administration in the state, we have taken bold step to reposition the sector. We have established a new ministry of mineral resources specifically to focus on maximizing the state potentials in the area,” Mr Sani Bello said.
The Dubai Conference and Exhibition included presentations on news trends, emerging technologies and opportunities is the largest mining and quarrying conference and expo for the Middle East, Africa, Central Africa and South Asia and ‘an excellent forum for networking and industrial collaboration’.
On the Governor Abubakar Sani Bello team were Speaker, Niger State House of Assembly, Mr Ahmed Marafa Guni; Chairman, House Committee on Investment, Mr Umar Mohammed Nurudeen; Chief of Staff, Mr Mikhail Al-Amin Bmitosahi; Commissioner of Finance, Mr Ibrahim Balarabe; and Commissioner of Mineral Resources, Mr Mudi Mohammed.
Others included Managing Director of Zuma Mining Company, Mr Ismaila Ibrahim; Director Mining, Ministry of Minerals Resources, Mr Adamu Garba; and President, Miners Association Niger State, Mr Obed Kango.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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