Economy
Nigeria Open for Agribusiness—Ogbeh Tells Indian Investors
By Dipo Olowookere
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh, has urged Indian investors to consider coming to Nigeria for investment opportunities with a promise that they will not regret taking the decision.
Mr Ogbeh made this call while speaking during his tour to the Asian nation to explore new partnerships on agricultural development between Nigeria and India.
While at the Jute Mills Association of India, the Minister declared that Nigeria was open for Agribusiness, with incentives for investors, noting that with the Africa’s largest economy’s increased He discussed collaborations for Nigeria’s large scale cultivation of Jute and Kenaf; and the adoption of jute bags for packaging agricultural produce in line with food safety standards and global best practices.
He, therefore, invited the Indian Jute Mills to seize the huge opportunity in the Nigerian market; and invest in jute bag manufacturing in Nigeria.
The Minister emphasized that non-biodegradable packaging material such as polypropylene is not safe for our food and the environment, advocating the use of jute packaging which are carbon neutral and biodegradable.
Mr Ogbeh described India’s resilience in developing its agricultural sector especially the giant strides recorded in its dairy sector as an inspiration to Nigeria, adding that If India could do it, Nigeria can do it too.
During his visit, the Minister was taken to the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, which has for decades driven the development of India’s dairy sector, using latest techniques of animal husbandry to empower 3.5 million dairy farmers in 18,000 villages through the Amul milk brand.
He was later taken on a guided tour of Amul Milk Factory, India’s largest dairy production factory and Asia’s largest milk producer.
Mr Ogbeh also undertook a tour of the Gujarat Industrial Development Area where he looked at technology transfer in small-scale processing machines designed for smallholder farmers such as semi-automated cashew shelling machines.
His tour of Gujarat Industrial Development Area of small scale cashew projects and India’s largest milk processing factory was part of an understudy of India’s Agric co-operative models ahead of the implementation of the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise – LIFE programme, which aims to empower rural youth and women in Nigeria.
In Calcutta, the Minister visited Wellington Jute Mill, the first Jute mill in Asia established by James Finlay & Co in 1873 and now owned by Ai Champdany Industries Ltd. At full capacity, the mill produces 120 Metric tons per day and employs 3,000 workers. The Minister described the age-long expertise of the factory as an invaluable experience from which Nigeria can learn and gain a lot.
A delegation of the National Seeds Corporation of India also held a meeting with the Minister in New Delhi as he wrapped up his official visit to India. Partnering with Nigeria’s National Seeds Council to developed improved seed varieties for increased agricultural productivity was top on the agenda.
Business Post gathered that when the Minister arrived India, he was received by the Indian Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Mr Radha Mohan Singh; the Nigerian High Commissioner to India, Mr Chris Eze; and some Agribusiness investors in New Delhi.
Mr Singh described Nigeria as India’s largest trading partner in Africa and disclosed that in 2015, India had announced concessional loans of $10 billion to African countries.
He added that recently, India increased training slots under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation – ITEC Programme covering short-term training programmes in agriculture and allied sectors from 200 slots to 310 slots annually to Nigeria.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.
The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.
At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.
According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.
It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.
The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.
The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.
As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.
Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.
Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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