Economy
Nigeria to Leverage IATF 2027 to Deepen Africa-Wide Trade, Investment—Oduwole
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria will position the Intra-African Trade Fair 2027 (IATF 2027) as a major catalyst for accelerating trade and investment across the continent under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole, while speaking at the IATF 2027 Hosting Signing Ceremony in Lagos on Monday.
Representing President Bola Tinubu at the landmark event, she noted that preparations for the 2027 Trade Fair came as Nigeria marked more than five years since the commencement of AfCFTA implementation, adding that the country became the first AfCFTA state to complete its five-year implementation review in 2025, in line with obligations under the agreement.
Setting some expected benchmarks for the event, Mrs Oduwole noted that the event would witness strong performances, with over 100,000 physical and virtual attendees projected to take part in the trade fair, and will top that of the 2025 edition.
The fourth edition of the fair (IATF 2025) was held in Algiers, Algeria, from September 4 to September 10, 2025, and recorded $48.3 billion in trade and investment deals.
“We’re expecting to host over 100,000 physical and virtual guests. We’re expecting to have over $50 billion worth of deals from IATF 2027.
“The IATF has made connections with the Caribbean and the diaspora, and we are positioning Nigeria to lead economically in this renaissance,” she stated.
Mrs Oduwole noted that in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Angle, the fair will provide an important instrument for advancing economic cooperation, boosting intra-African trade and fostering shared prosperity across the continent.
She described the trade fair as a major platform for advancing the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a unified African market.
The Minister added that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) is leading the coordination efforts for the event, working with agencies such as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and other stakeholders to ensure successful delivery.
Also speaking at the event, Nigeria’s former president and Chairperson of the IATF Advisory Council, Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, said the hosting of the fifth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair 2027 in Lagos represents a major milestone for the country and the continent’s drive toward deeper economic integration.
Mr Obasanjo noted that the agreement formally grants the country the right to stage the trade fair, which is scheduled to take place from November 5 to November 11, 2027, in Lagos.
“The signing of this host agreement marks a momentous milestone for Nigeria and for the continent. Bringing IATF2027 to Lagos is historically significant, as this city hosted the Lagos Plan of Action adopted in 1980, which championed Africa’s industrialisation and economic self-sufficiency. We have to work hard to keep moving towards the Africa we want. I am confident that IATF 2027 will surpass all previous editions in both scope and impact as we advance our shared goal for a unified African marketplace under the AfCFTA,” he remarked.
Also speaking at the event, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Mr George Elombi, expressed confidence that hosting IATF 2027 in Lagos, Nigeria.
He noted that the trade fair has generated an average of $40 billion in deals across its previous four editions.
Mr Elombi said such success stories demonstrate the transformative power of the trade fair in creating partnerships, driving innovation, and improving Africa’s global economic image.
“Nigeria’s vibrant entrepreneurial spirit gives us confidence that IATF2027 in Lagos will be a remarkable event that strengthens trade and investment across the continent. The trade fair is about building a strong pan-African single market and expanding intra-African trade beyond the levels we see today,” he said.
As the host, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the event would be a defining time for Africa to take its rightful place in the comity of nations, assuring that Lagos State would put every necessary thing in place to ensure the event would be the best IATF to be hosted in Africa.
Business Post reports that while the fair will hold next year, Lagos will also play host to Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), scheduled for November 5-8, 2026
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was down by 2.48 per cent on Friday, June 19, with the Unlisted Security Index shedding 108.36 points to close at 4,252.73 points compared with the previous day’s 4,361.09 points.
During the trading day, the market capitalisation of the OTC securities exchange dropped 2.18 per cent or N67.29 billion to settle at N2.552 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s N2.609 trillion.
The alternative stock market was in the red yesterday after finishing with three price losers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N8.57 to trade at N77.77 per share versus the preceding day’s N86.34. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N8.19 to quote at N170.00 per unit compared with the previous session’s N178.19 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc crashed by 26 Kobo to end at N2.51 per share versus N2.77 per share.
Business Post reports that there were also three price gainers during the session, led by Golden Capital Plc, which chalked up 67 Kobo to sell at N13.67 per unit versus N13.00 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc gained 65 Kobo to trade at N16.85 per share compared with the previous price of N16.20 per share, and MRS Oil added 3 Kobo to close at N142.23 per unit versus N142.00 per unit.
The volume of trades was up by 20.3 per cent on Friday to 954,106 units from 792,835 units, and the number of deals increased by 75 per cent to 35 deals from 20 deals, while the value of transactions went down by 12.9 per cent to N42.7 million from N49.0 million.
The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 67.8 million units exchanged for N4.7 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed 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 local stock exchange remained in the red on Friday after it further depreciated by 0.62 per cent due to panic sell-offs in some bellwether equities.
NAHCO lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N148.50, Royal Exchange depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N1.53, GTCO slumped by 9.97 per cent to N115.55, First Holdco dropped 9.84 per cent to quote at N55.00, and Neimeth slipped by 9.60 per cent to N28.12.
On the flip side, Deap Capital increased by 9.89 per cent to N4.89, RT Briscoe expanded by 9.62 per cent to N13.10, International Energy Insurance advanced by 7.43 per cent to N5.06, Jaiz Bank gained 7.14 per cent to sell for N9.00, and Living Trust Mortgage Bank rose by 5.26 per cent to N4.00.
During the session, the energy index chalked up 2.35 per cent, but this was not enough to lift the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm to signify the close of trading activities.
This was because the banking sector lost 4.41 per cent, the insurance counter shed 1.52 per cent, the industrial goods space declined by 0.71 per cent, and the consumer goods segment tumbled by 0.13 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,463.45 points to 235,941.27 points from 237,404.92 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by M939 billion to N151.327 trillion from N152.266 trillion.
The activity chart was topped by Access Holdings, which posted a turnover of 65.0 million shares valued at N1.5 billion. Zenith Bank sold 35.2 million stocks worth N3.9 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 28.4 million equities for N217.8 million, UBA transacted 16.3 million shares valued at N650.7 million, and GTCO traded 14.0 million stocks worth N1.8 billion.
In all, investors transacted 440.4 million equities for N24.7 billion in 50,273 deals, in contrast to the 691.6 million equities valued at N116.9 billion traded in 50,025 deals on Thursday, implying an uptick in the number of deals by 0.50 per cent, and a decrease in the trading volume and value by 36.32 per cent and 78.87 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira again depreciated against the United States Dollar by N7.16 or 0.53 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 19, to N1,370.46/$1 from the previous day’s N1,363.30/$1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency lost N9.07 against the Pound Sterling at the official market yesterday to trade at N1,814.76/£1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,805.69/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N6.43 to settle at N1,571.50/€1 versus N1,565.07/€1.
Also, the Naira weakened against the greenback in the black market during the session by N5 to sell for N1,390/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,385/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it shed N3 to close at N1,376/$1 versus N1,373/$1.
The official market’s FX liquidity has been facing pressure over the last three trading sessions, contributing to a decline in the official exchange rate due to rising demand for foreign payments.
FX reserves rose to $51.03 billion, the highest level since January 20, 2009, according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The figure also represents the highest since the beginning of the year and under the administration of the current Governor of CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso.
The latest figure underscores the steady strengthening of Nigeria’s external buffers, which continues to reinforce investor confidence in the Nigerian economy and support exchange rate stability.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was mixed, with Bitcoin (BTC) up by 0.8 per cent to $63,225.80 after trading activity was relatively subdued due to a US federal holiday, as the absence of stock and bond market activity led to quieter conditions across crypto markets, even though digital assets continue to trade around the clock.
Further, TRON (TRX) also gained 0.8 per cent to sell at $0.3230, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.5 per cent to $579.84, and Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to $1,704.23.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.9 per cent to $1.13, Cardano (ADA) shed 0.8 per cent to trade at $0.1611, Solana (SOL) fell by 0.1 per cent to $69.23, and Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 0.1 per cent to $0.0831, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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