Economy
Nigeria Must Act Fast to Avert Serious Food Disaster—ICC Nigeria
The need for federal government of Nigeria and every other stakeholder to devise a means of feeding the nation now and in years to come so as to avert serious food disaster in the country has been emphasised by Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Nigeria, Mr Babatunde Savage.
Speaking at the 20th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the ICC Nigeria/Post-AGM Lecture held at Southern Sun Hotel, Ikoyi-Lagos on Thursday, Mr Savage, who is also the Regional Coordinator of the global body for Sub-Saharan Africa, further stressed that food security was very germane to the country’s situation because it forms a core plank upon which the economic recovery and growth plan of the incumbent administration is anchored.
With an average population growth of 2.6 percent between 2010 and 2019, the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) had recently disclosed that Nigeria now has a population of about 201 million. The UNFPA unveiled this estimate in its 2019 State of the World Population report.
The report said that Nigeria’s population grew by about 5 million people from 2018 when the country’s population was 195.9 million. “The country has witnessed a population growth from 54.7 million in 1969 to 105.4 million in 1994 and 201.0 million in 2019”, the UNFPA stated.
He warned that the fact that the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS), a transformational initiative by the President Muhammadu Buhari-administration is currently delivering on its set objectives and goals is not enough for us as a nation to relax.
According to him, the explosion expected in the population in the years to come; particularly if the degree of increase in food production in Nigeria does not commensurate with the trend must be envisaged and planned for now.
Corroborating the remarks made by the ICC Nigeria boss, the guest lecturer, Dr Victor Ajieroh, Senior Programmes Officer, Nutrition Nigeria, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, asserted that food systems are very important to his organization because the Foundation believes that all lives have equal value.
According to him, every efficient food system should be able to deliver high quality diet and affordable nutrition; be inclusive, efficient and sustainable; as well as be resilient, sustainable and be able to take shocks.
Mr Ajieroh explained that every high-quality diet should be able to eliminate hunger, reduce all forms of malnutrition and promote sound health. Anything short of this, he stated, is an indication that the food system quality is nothing to write home about.
He revealed that with his experience at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, many food systems globally are yet to produce high quality diets, an instance he said requires an urgent attention by all stakeholders.
His words: “Our food systems are not yet producing high quality diets, as one in every three people worldwide are currently malnourished.”
However, he acknowledged that the scenarios are not constant as the global and local food systems regularly change as a result of policy interventions from governments and businesses.
Mr Ajieroh stated that the required interventions in the food systems should not be treated as an exclusive responsibility of each government; rather he said all stakeholders should see it as an inclusive responsibility.
He specifically charged businesses to consider themselves as part of the problem the society is facing with regards to food supply as well as part of the solution to tackle the menace.
Meanwhile, Mr Savage also bemoaned the poor transportation infrastructure in Nigeria, as he stated that the efforts being made by the current administration has not yielded the desired result. He complained that over 50% of the federal and state roads across the country are still in poor conditions.
He stated that, “This scenario does not depict any level of seriousness expected if we must, as a country, achieve the earmarked goals of the Transformation Agenda.”
Concerning security of life and property, he commended the efforts of the Federal Government, particularly the Police and other security agencies towards reducing crime rates in the country.
However, Mr Savage said ICC Nigeria has observed that the country has continued to witness insecurity in diverse forms.
He said, “The business environment has remained hostile due to illegal touting activities by hoodlums, armed robbery, kidnapping activities, vandalisation of major oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta; Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, and banditry in the North West. We cannot continue this way, we need to ensure that peace prevails and become the order of the day to usher in economic prosperity in Nigeria.”
The post-AGM lecture of the ICC Nigeria, which was themed The Future of Food System, was part of the activities used to mark the regional programmes for the 100th anniversary of the ICC worldwide and the 20th anniversary of the re-organization of ICC Nigeria.
Other board members present at the event are: Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, Chairman Emeritus; Chef Raymond Ihyembe, Vice Chairman; Mrs Dorothy Ufot, Treasurer; Mr Segun Olugboyegun, Member and Mrs Olubunmi Osunkeye, Secretary General.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
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 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed 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.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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