Economy
Nigeria is Broke—Amaechi
By Dipo Olowookere
The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has said Nigeria is presently battling with a financial crisis and would not be able to carry out its obligations unless it borrows money.
Speaking during a live television show last Friday and monitored by The Nation, the former Governor of Rivers State said the federal government was forced to seek financial help elsewhere in order to build infrastructure for the benefits of Nigerians.
Mr Amaechi was reacting to the public outcry on the $500 million loan the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari obtained from China.
The National Assembly had raised an alarm over a sovereign immunity clause in the $500 million loan, saying that China was given the approval to take over the country’s assets if Nigeria defaults in the payment of the credit facility.
But the Minister warned that “if the outcry is too much, then we will stop collecting loans, and when we stop, there will be no development.”
According to him, “Before we came, there was money, but now, we don’t have money. It is just that we are on oath not to reveal the government’s confidential matter. If not, I can say as the former chairman of the governors’ forum, what was in the purse.”
Mr Amaechi explained that the clause in the loan deal being talked about was the normal thing in every agreement, but stressed that plans have already been mapped out on the repayment.
“They are there in every loan signed and the borrowers want to know that the country they are giving money will be able to pay back.
“It is a commercial agreement between Nigeria and China. Let us not look at the legal issues right now. The first issue is that the Ministry of Transportation does not take loans. Anything about loans has to be done by the Ministry of Finance, so I could not have signed a loan because it is not my jurisdiction.
“What I signed is what they call commercial contract between the federal government and CCECC as the contractor, and the contract between Nigeria and China is usually signed by the ministry of finance on behalf of Nigeria.
“Whether it is the Ministry of Finance that signed it or the Ministry of Transportation, the issue is that there is nothing of such that will not warrant an agreement, and that agreement must contain some terms, and one of those terms in this agreement is not that we are signing away the sovereignty of the country. What we do is to give a sovereign guarantee.
“What it means is that if tomorrow I am not able to pay back the loan and you come to collect the item we agreed upon, I cannot waive my immunity and say that you cannot touch the assets, because we are a sovereign country. The terms say if we are not able to pay, we should not stop them from taking back those items that will make them recover their fund.
“The clause is a standard one whether it is America or Britain we sign an agreement with because the countries want to know if they can recover their money.
“What the clause does is to say to you that I expect you to pay the money according to the terms agreed, and if you don’t pay, don’t waive your immunity on me when I come to collect back the guarantee that you put forward. That is all,” he explained.
The Minister said $96 million has been paid out of the $500 million loan for the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor, assuring that the projects being constructed with the funds would be used to repay the loan.
“The Ministry of Finance [does] the repayment and they are meeting the requirement,” he said.
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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