Economy
No Going Back On Diversification Of Economy—Buhari Tells US
***Vows To Institutionalize Anti-Corruption War
The United States of America (USA) has been assured by President Muhammadu Buhari to deepen and institutionalized the anti-corruption crusade in the country. This, according to the President, will make the crusade last beyond the life of the current administration.
Mr Buhari made this disclosure when he received the US Secretary of State, Mr John Kerry, at an audience in State House, Abuja, on Tuesday.
The President declared that, “We will insist on the standards we’re establishing. We are laying down administrative and financial instructions in the public service that must be obeyed. Any breach will no longer be acceptable.”
“We will retrain our staff, so that they understand the new orientation. And those who run foul of these rules will be prosecuted, no matter who is involved. But we will be fair, just and act according to the rule of law.
“Anyone perceived corrupt is innocent till we can prove it. We will work very hard to establish documentation for successful prosecution, and those in positions of trust will sit up.”
President Buhari appreciated the intervention of the U.S before the 2015 polls, demanding free and fair elections in Nigeria, saying, “America did not do it because of what it stands to benefit from us. You did it for the Nigerian people. It tells so much what the U.S stands for in the world.”
On the Boko Haram insurgency, President Buhari thanked the US for both hard and soft military help. “The training and intelligence that we could not muster ourselves, we received. The training has made Boko Haram less of a threat to Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region, while the military hardware has given our troops added confidence.”
President Buhari said though militancy in the Niger Delta has impacted negatively on the economy and affected the positive intentions of international and local investors, government was showing restraint not to use real force, “except when constrained to do so.”
On the economy, the President assured that the focus of his administration is on the diversification of the economy having learnt our lessons from years of over dependence on oil.
In his remarks, Mr Kerry commended the courage of President Buhari in fighting corruption, saying: “We applaud what you are doing. Corruption creates a ready-made playing field for recruiting extremists. You inherited a big problem, and we will support you in any way we can. We will work with you very closely. We don’t want to interfere, but will offer opportunities as you require.”
The American Secretary of State also pledged to assist in tackling the humanitarian challenges in the North-east, adding that his country would get the UK, France, and others “to augment the support.”
“Nigeria is priority for us. We won’t miss the opportunity to work together, because you are making significant progress,” Mr Kerry said.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note, as it rallied by 0.08 per cent on Friday.
This was buoyed by strong investor sentiment due to renewed buying pressure, which left 35 stocks on the gainers’ chart, as 33 stocks ended on the losers’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index.
According to data, Eterna gained 10.00 per cent to close at N42.35, Union Dicon appreciated by 9.70 per cent to N16.40, John Holt grew by 9.25 per cent to N9.45, Tantalizers rose by 8.41 per cent to N4.64, and Fidson expanded by 7.27 per cent to N88.50.
Conversely, RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N12.06, SCOA Nigeria retreated by 9.96 per cent to N34.35, ABC Transport receded by 9.96 per cent to N6.25, Mecure crashed by 9.96 per cent to N61.50, and Berger Paints declined by 9.93 per cent to N66.65.
Business Post observed that the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.20 per cent yesterday, while the energy index improved by 0.19 per cent.
However, the insurance counter fell by 0.61 per cent, the consumer goods segment shed 0.56 per cent, and the banking industry depreciated by 0.11 per cent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 161.00 points on Friday to 196,968.15 points from 196,807.15 points on Thursday, while the market capitalisation went down by N119 billion to N126.437 trillion from N126.318 trillion.
A total of 586.2 million units of shares worth N30.6 billion were transacted in 62,699 deals during the trading day versus the 634.0 million shares valued at N29.1 billion traded in 66,286 deals a day earlier, showing a jump in the trading value by 5.16 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 7.54 per cent and 5.41 per cent, respectively.
The activity chart was led by First Holdco with 43.9 million units worth N2.3 billion, Access Holdings exchange 43.2 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 40.0 million units for N3.7 billion, GTCO sold 38.9 million units worth N4.6 billion, and Jaiz Bank traded 31.5 million units valued at N323.4 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went up by 0.22 per cent on Friday, March 6, as a result of the rise in the share prices of five securities on the platform.
During the session, the market capitalisation of the bourse added N5.60 billion to close at N2.519 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.513 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 9.35 points to 4,256.41 points from 4,256.41 points.
The five price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which gained N29.02 to close at N319.25 per unit versus Thursday’s closing value of N290.23 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.19 to N81.35 per share from N80.16 per share, Nipco Plc increased by N1.00 to N285.00 per unit from N284.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 72 Kobo to N125.20 per share from N124.48 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 19 Kobo to N2.17 per unit from N1.98 per unit.
On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to settle at N230.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N250.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by N5.21 to N51.00 per unit from N56.21 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.11 per share.
The volume of securities traded by market participants went down by 10.6 per cent yesterday to 3.4 million units from 3.8 million units, and the value of securities dropped 85.3 per cent to close at N62.4 million versus N423.3 million, while the number of deals jumped 4.8 per cent to 44 deals from 42 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 37.2 million units valued at N2.3 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N506.8 million.
Resourcery Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units traded for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 123.1 million units transacted for N481.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 37.2 million units worth N2.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For another week, the Naira closed without recording a gain against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), as FX demand pressure continues to mount.
On Friday, the country’s legal tender further depreciated against the greenback by N5.82 or 0.42 per cent to trade at N1,393.26/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,387.45/$1.
Also, the local currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market segment yesterday by N7.61 to close at N1,859.99/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,852.38/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N1.58 to settle at N1,611.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,609.86/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the same vein, the Naira declined against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk by N12 during the session to quote at N1,410/$1 versus the previous session’s rate of N1,398/$1, and at the parallel market, it lost N10 to sell for N1,415/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,405/$1.
The domestic currency continued its decline despite $300 million in FX intervention sales to banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), indicating that the rising demand for foreign payments is outpacing supply. However, worries have heightened as the Naira is entering a threshold that has not previously created panic.
In the international market, the US Dollar held broadly steady and saw its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets. This creates pressure on other currencies.
This also affected the cryptocurrency market. As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the US Dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1,975.54, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $84.08, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 4.3 per cent to sell for $67,725.27, Cardano (ADA) slumped 4.2 per cent to $0.2527, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.4 per cent to $53.55.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.2 per cent to $0.0906, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.9 per cent to $626.32, and Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.6 per cent to $1.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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