Economy
Nigeria Must Ensure Stable Power Supply for Economic Growth—Adesina
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government has been advised to address its power supply crisis if it intends to revamp the struggling economy.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, said this over the weekend during his lecture on Building a Global Nigeria to mark the 90th birthday anniversary of Nigeria’s fomeYakubu Gowon in Abuja.
He lamented that his country of origin loses about $29 billion annually due to a lack of reliable power supply, amounting to a 5.8 per cent loss in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), noting that the major challenge facing Nigeria’s manufacturing industries was the high cost and unreliability of electricity supply.
The AfDB boss said that load shedding and the inconsistent availability of electricity had resulted in high and uncompetitive manufacturing costs.
According to him, most Nigerian manufacturing companies are providing their energy with a high dependence on generators, diesel and heavy fuel oil.
“It has been estimated by the IMF that Nigeria loses about $29 billion annually, that is 5.8 per cent of its GDP, due to a lack of reliable power supply.
“The report also indicates that Nigerians spend $14 billion yearly on generators and fuel. There is no other way to say it, lack of electricity is killing Nigerian industries,” he said.
He quoted the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) as saying industries spent N93.1 billion on alternative energy in 2018.
“Today, no business can survive in Nigeria without generators. Nigeria has gas and crude oil in abundance, which can be vital means of generating electricity, yet, 86 million people live daily without electricity.
“Today, Nigeria is the number one country in the world in terms of the total number of people without electricity,” he said.
Mr Adesina said that it was a situation that called for the government’s attention so as to boost the country’s economy.
He said that to achieve a global Nigeria, the country must have universal access to electricity.
Highlighting AfDB‘s contributions, Mr Adesina said that the bank had invested massively in the power sector to support the implementation of Nigeria’s Power Sector Recovery Programme by providing 200 million dollars for the Nigeria Electrification Project.
“To support Nigeria and other African countries, the AfDB invests massively in the continent’s power sector.
“This is through the provision of 200 million dollars for the Nigeria Electrification Project, which is designed to fill the country’s electricity access gap.
“We have also invested $210 million in the Nigeria Transmission Project to strengthen the grid power evacuation and regional interconnection,” Mr Adesina said.
According to him, a major component of AfDB’s energy strategy is the launch of the Desert to Power initiative, a $20 billion initiative to provide electricity.
He said that the initiative would provide electricity for 250 million people across 11 countries of the Sahel, including Northern Nigeria.
He said that it was expected that Desert to Power would create the world’s largest solar zone.
“This initiative will draw lessons from successful projects already financed by the bank, including the Noor Ouarzazate solar PV power project in Morocco and the Ben Ban solar project in Egypt.
“The President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga and I made the decision that the two institutions will work together to connect 300 million Africans, including Nigerians, to electricity by 2030,” Mr Adesina said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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