Economy
Nigeria to Boost Trade With New Marine, Blue Economy Policy
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has unveiled a new National Marine and Blue Economy policy, designed to cut logistics costs, boost trade competitiveness, and attract private sector investment into the transport and maritime sectors.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, disclosed this at the 2025 Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN) Annual Summit on Wednesday in Lagos.
Mr Oyetola, represented by the Director, Maritime Services, Department of Marine and Blue Economy, Mrs Mercy Ilori, explained that the policy would provide a framework for seamless intermodal integration across road, rail, barge and pipeline channels, adding that it is aimed at transforming Nigeria into a logistics hub for West and Central Africa.
“By lowering the cost of doing business, improving turnaround times and creating an enabling environment for private capital, we are positioning Nigeria as a preferred logistics destination in Africa,” Mr Oyetola said.
He highlighted key interventions already underway to include the operationalisation of the Lagos–Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail line.
The Minister said that the rail line was to enable port cargo evacuation, expansion of barge operations at Lagos and Onne ports and the completion of the Apapa–Oshodi Expressway.
He included the commissioning of the 27 kilometers Lekki Port Access Road as another intervention.
Mr Oyetola also identified the development of inland dry ports in Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano and Funtua, to ease pressure on seaports and support regional economies and stressed that the success of the reforms depended on collaboration among shipping lines, terminal operators, freight forwarders, investors and regulators.
He added that Nigeria must adopt digital, green and climate-resilient logistics solutions, to remain globally competitive.
Also speaking, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali, stated that government had recently approved the National Land Transport Policy after decades of futile struggle.
Mr Alkali, represented by Mr Kayode Opeifa, Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), said that the policy would undoubtedly serve as a veritable tool to facilitate all developments in the land transport sub-sector.
The minister appreciated President Bola Tinubu for spearheading the National Transport Sector Reform project through laudable policies, initiatives and commitments.
He said these commitments would aid the actualising of the Renewed Hope Agenda, by making public transportation efficient, effective, safe, secure, integrated and affordable.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 1.60 per cent on Tuesday, July 28, as investors booked profit from some of the best-performing stocks in the last trading sessions.
Investor sentiment was weak yesterday, after the bourse finished with three price losers and two price gainers.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria lost N14.80 during the session to sell for N135.00 per unit compared with the previous session’s N149.80 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slid by N3.72 to sell at N89.91 per share versus N93.63 per share, and MRS Oil Plc declined by 50 Kobo to N148.00 per unit from N148.50 per unit.
On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N9.57 to quote at N257.57 per share versus Monday’s price of N248.00 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by 89 Kobo to N19.90 per unit from N19.01 per unit.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N41.69 billion to N2.564 trillion from N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) dipped by 69.45 points to 4,273.15 points from 4,342.60 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 1,000.7 per cent to 6.7 million units from 604,565 units, the value of securities soared by 337.3 per cent to N85.8 million from the preceding session’s N19.6 million, and the number of deals rose by 54.6 per cent to 51 deals from 33 deals.
On a year-to-date basis, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 75.9 million units exchanged for N5.4 billion.
GNI Plc was also the traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N3.32 or 0.24 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, July 28, to exchange at N1,365.53/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,362.21/$1.
Equally, the local currency went south against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N2.38 to close at N1,816.43/£1 versus Monday’s closing price of N1,814.05/£1, and against the Euro, it depleted by N2.69 to trade at N1,552.88/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,550.19/€1.
However, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar at the GTbank FX desk by N2 during the session to sell for N1,370/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,372/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.
The country’s external reserves declined after the FX injections by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the currency market last week.
Interbank FX turnover rose sharply on the day to $102.954 million on Tuesday, reflecting a 160 per cent surge from $39.587 million recorded during the previous trading session.
Driving the huge US Dollar volume turnover on Tuesday, the apex bank reported that the number of FX deals at the interbank market advanced to 121 from 55.
In the cryptocurrency market, coins were largely insulated despite recent tech stock routs, which suggests its tight correlation with AI-linked equities may be weakening, even as regulatory uncertainty and upcoming Federal Reserve and economic data loom over markets.
There is uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve rate decision due on Wednesday, as most observers expect the bank to keep rates unchanged, while some expect a hike in borrowing costs.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 4.5 per cent to $0.1639, Ripple (XRP) grew by 2.6 per cent to $1.08, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 1.7 per cent to $1,917.05, Bitcoin (BTC) got a 1.4 per cent lift to sell at $64,374.04, and Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $570.27.
Further, Solana (SOL) improved by 0.8 per cent to $73.93, Dogecoin (DOGE) climbed higher by 0.6 per cent to $0.0707, and TRON (TRX) advanced by 0.3 per cent to $0.3255, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed buying pressure revived the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.50 per cent on Tuesday, reversing the previous day’s loss.
Interest in Nigerian equities slightly rose during the trading day, with the volume of transactions up by 6.10 per cent to 676.9 million units from the preceding session’s 638.0 million units.
However, the value of trades slumped by 36.36 per cent to N36.4 billion from N57.2 billion, and the number of deals decreased by 22.22 per cent to 55,412 deals from Monday’s 71,240 deals.
Access Holdings led the activity chart yesterday, with a turnover of 87.5 million shares worth N2.4 billion. FCMB traded 68.7 million stocks valued at N810.6 million, Chams sold 31.0 million equities for N148.8 million, United Capital transacted 29.7 million shares valued at N537.5 million, and Zenith Bank traded 26.5 million stocks worth N3.4 billion.
On Tuesday, there were 36 price gainers and 23 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Lasaco Assurance led the advancers’ chart after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to trade at N2.20, Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1.66, Trans-Nationwide Express also gained 9.93 per cent to quote at N3.10, Sunu Assurances rose by 9.88 per cent to N3.56, and CMFC grew by 9.86 per cent to N3.79.
The laggards’ group was led by Meyer, which shrank by 9.97 per cent to N16.70. Mecure slipped by 9.94 per cent to N56.20, ABC Transport crumbled by 9.93 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing crashed by 8.66 per cent to N5.80, and Haldane McCall dipped by 8.21 per cent to N3.02.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 745.81 points to 247,984.55 points from 247,238.74 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N482 billion to N159.993 trillion from N159.511 trillion.
