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Economy

Nigeria Loses $7bn Yearly to Inefficiency, Corruption at Ports

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Phenomenal Corruption

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria losses over $7 billion annually to inefficiency and corruption, a report by the Nigeria project of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) in collaboration with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has revealed.

The report said that illegal charges, rent-seeking and corrupt port officials and circumstances of excessive delay to import and export processes were some of the administrative bottlenecks responsible for such huge losses.

“In economic terms, the private sector and the Nigerian government lose as high as N600 billion annually as a result of administrative bottlenecks and delays at the port and terminals in Nigeria,” it stated.

In the report, challenges of port administration were said to remain a major issue as operators continue to face lingering challenges that include infrastructure gaps, regulatory inconsistencies, duplication of roles by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, high rate of infractions by MDAs, cumbersome cargo clearing processes, multiple taxations and poor state of the roads.

“These challenges, particularly cargo clearance processes and modal transportation have created circumstances of excessive delays to import/export processes, red tape, rent-seeking and corrupt demands, human and vehicular congestion in and around the ports and illegal charges leading to high of business operations.

“Estimates indicate that the economic cost of these inefficiencies to the Nigerian government and private sector is as high as $7 billion annually.

“Broken down, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce Industry, LCCI, further calculates these annual losses to amount to N600 billion in Customs revenues, $10 billion in non-oil export and some N2.5 trillion in corporate revenues, including a drop of 38-40 per cent in industrial capacity,” a part of the report disclosed.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Emmanuel Jime, said that the Nigerian ports have been classified as the worst in the world due to traffic congestion, safety and security concerns and logistics shortcomings that have plagued the ports.

Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of the Convention of Business Integrity, Mr Soji Apampa, the convener of the Port Users Conference themed Retooling the Maritime Sector for Stronger Economic Growth, said the that the focus of the MACN Nigeria project is to use the collective action to strengthen good governance, reduce corruption and improve the investment climate in the Maritime sector.

Mr Apampa said,” We achieve this by working with the industry to strengthen compliance with government regulation, stakeholder activism and public vigilance.”

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

UBN Property Sinks OTC Bourse by 0.48% at Midweek

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UBN Property

By Adedapo Adesanya

UBN Property Plc further sank the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in the red territory by 0.48 per cent on Wednesday, April 23.

The property investment company lost 7 Kobo of its share value to settle at N2.10 per unit compared with the preceding day’s price of N2.17 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse went down by N9.19 billion to N1.908 trillion from N1.917 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slumped by 105.70 points to 3,259.08 points from the previous session’s 3,274.78 points.

There was a 500.5 per cent rise in the volume of securities transacted in the midweek session to 1.05 million units from the 174,634 units traded in the previous trading day.

However, the value of transactions decreased by 9.1 per cent to N2.6 million from N2.86 million and the number of deals dropped by 31.3 per cent to 11 deals from 16 deals.

At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 71.2 million units valued at N24.2 million.

Okitipupa Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million valued at N4.9 billion, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with the sale of 14.8 million units for N572.0 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million.

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Economy

FG to Sell N1.2trn Bonds in Q2 2025

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FGN Retail Bonds

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Between April and June 2025, the federal government intends to sell bonds between N900 billion and N1.2 trillion to investors.

This information was revealed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in its Bond Issuance Calendar for Q2 2025

The sales will take place once in a month, precisely on April 28, May 26, and June 23, according to the data released by the DMO.

It was stated that the debt office will offer the debt instrument in two maturities, with N300 billion and N400 billion offered for sale at each auction.

In April and May, the DMO will reopen the 19.30 per cent FGN APR 2029 and 19.89 per cent FGN MAY 2033 bonds, and in June, it will introduce the FGN JAN 2030 and FGN JAN 2032 and five and seven-year, respectively.

In April, the APR 2029 bond will have a remaining tenor of four years, while the MAY 2033 bond will have six years and one month left.

By May, those terms shorten to three years and eleven months, and six years, respectively. Both bonds retain their original coupon rates of 19.30 per cent and 19.89 per cent.

The DMO has also released details for its April auction. The Federal Government plans to raise N350bn through the reopening of the APR 2029 and MAY 2033 bonds.

According to the circular, N200bn will be offered in the APR 2029 and N150bn in the MAY 2033. The auction will be held on Monday, April 28, with settlement on Wednesday, April 30.

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Economy

Naira Loses 35 Kobo Against Dollar at Official Market

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Official FX Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira marginally depleted against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, April 23.

During the session, it lost 35 Kobo or 0.02 per cent against the greenback to sell for N1,603.51/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,603.16/$1.

Also, in the same official FX market, the value of the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling yesterday by N17.31 to quote at N2,137.55/£1 versus Tuesday’s closing price of N2,120.24/£1 and tumbled against the Euro by N19.89 to close at N1,837.58/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,817.69/€1.

However, in the parallel market segment, the domestic currency appreciated against the Dollar during the trading day by N5 to trade at N1,605/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,610/$1.

The Nigerian Naira has been under pressure lately after a recent ease in concerns about the country’s FX reserves, which have been been dropping.

A look at the digital currency market showed that it was bearish at midweek due to profit-taking amid declining US Dollar index, which is largely tied to mixed signals out of the world’s largest economy.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he had no intention to fire US Federal Reserve Chair, Mr Jerome Powell, and that a deal with China (which is facing tariffs as high as 245 per cent on some items) would significantly reduce some of its levies.

The mixed signals and frequent tone shift are worrying traders, however, who continue to monitor comments for further cues on positioning, with market analysts noting that trade frictions, geopolitical jitters, and regulatory issues continue to cast long shadows on assets like crypto.

Dogecoin (DOGE) dipped by 4.9 per cent to sell at $0.1730, Ripple (XRP) fell by 3.9 per cent to $2.17, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 2.3 per cent to $82.23, and Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 2.2 per cent to $604.59.

In addition, Cardano (ADA) slumped by 1.9 per cent to $0.6837, Solana (SOL) also lost 1.9 per cent to close at $148.13. Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 1.3 per cent to $92,479.80, and Ethereum (ETH) crashed by 1.1 per cent to $1,770.12, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

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