Economy
Osun Governor Presents 2019 Budget to Parliament
By Dipo Olowookere
Governor of Osun State, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, has presented a budget estimate of N152.7 billion to the state House of Assembly, lower than the N179.2 billion budgeted for the 2018 financial year.
Presenting the 2019 budget proposal to the parliament on Thursday, his first, Mr Oyetola said priority would be given to agriculture, healthcare and provision of water in the rural communities in the state.
According to him, the Budget of Hope is aimed at building on the giant strides of the immediate past administration Mr Rauf Aregbesola.
He said capital projects will take 65 percent of the total expenditure, amounting to N91.5 billion, while education has 11.36 percent, representing N10.4 billion.
Speaking on how his administration plans to generate the revenue for the year, Mr Oyetola said the state is expecting an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N36 billion at a minimum N3 billion per month of the projected total revenue of N150 billion, with the remaining coming from other sources including the Federation Account, grants, aids, investment and others.
The Governor said the era of payment of modulated salaries and allowances and other benefits was over, adding that workers and pensioners were now collecting their full salaries.
On education, he said, “We shall review the school curriculum to achieve value reorientation and to create a sense of worth belonging in our youths. Consequently, History shall be re-introduced in our secondary schools while Civic Education shall be expanded to incorporate the Omoluabi ethos.
“Focused-attention shall also be given to technical and vocational education to inculcate relevant skills for the youth to make them job creators rather than job seekers.
“Our Administration remains irrevocably committed to the joint ownership and co-funding of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso and the College of Health Sciences, Osogbo with the Oyo State Government.”
On healthcare, emphasis will be on Health insurance “to provide effective, quality and affordable services to all and sundry.”
The Health Insurance is a contributory scheme in which the government will pay three percent while the worker will contribute 1.5 percent.
There is also a plan to revitalise and equip 332 Primary Health Care (PHC) centres – one in each ward – and 57 secondary health care centres across the three senatorial districts.
The Ede Headworks water scheme is to be rehabilitated to enhance supply of portable water to at least 12 local government areas.
The Ilesa water project whose work restarted with the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari, is to get full attention.
“Given the committed leadership this administration is bringing to the table, and the unwavering following, we have been getting from the citizenry, the state of Osun is poised to set the pace in economic independence.
“We shall put strategic in place to further promote food security, employment and create wealth by investing heavily in agriculture, mining, infrastructure, commerce and industry, education and technology.
“We shall also introduce creative and prudent management of our resources, block leakages, and eliminate wastages. We will assemble the brightest of the best minds to drive our policies as we are committed to provide equitable opportunities and people-oriented governance.
“We are committed to consolidating on the various ongoing projects and programmes by delivering on the continuous investment in education, healthcare and social welfare, unwavering attention to security of lives and property, people-oriented and good governance system that founded on zero tolerance for corruption,” the Governor told the lawmakers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of fast food brands like Chicken Republic and PieXpress, has disclosed plans to pay 10 Kobo in interim dividend to new and existing shareholders for the 2026 financial year.
This was disclosed by the company in a notice to the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, where it trades its securities.
The notice indicated that the proposed interim dividend, which comes with no bonus, will be paid to those who hold the stocks of the company as of the qualification date for the dividend, which was Tuesday, March 24.
This means only those who hold the company’s shares as of the closing session will be eligible to receive the stipulated dividend payment.
The shareholders of the company will be credited with the 10 Kobo dividend on Tuesday, March 31.
The notice noted that the closure of the company’s register will be on Wednesday, March 25, through Friday, March 27, 2026, both days inclusive.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange dropped for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, March 18, by 0.39 per cent due to continued sell-offs.
In what would be the final trading session of the week due to public holidays on Thursday and Friday for Eid-el-Fitr, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) further dipped by 16.14 points to 4,114.75 points from 4,130.89 points, and the market capitalisation lost N9.66 billion to close at N2.461 trillion versus the previous day’s N2.471 trillion.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N10.32 to sell at N112.00 per share versus N122.32 per share, NASD Plc dropped N4.50 to finish at N41.50 per unit compared with the previous session’s N46.00 per unit, and Geo-Fluids decreased by 9 Kobo to N3.02 per share from N3.11 per share.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc improved by N2.23 to N24.57 per unit from N22.34 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc advanced by 90 Kobo to N76.33 per share from N75.43 per share, Food Concepts Plc rose by 24 Kobo to N3.30 per unit from N3.06 per unit, UBN Property Plc surged by 20 Kobo to N2.18 per share from N1.98 per share, Impresit Bakalori Plc jumped 16 Kobo to N1.83 per unit from N1.67 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc added 14 Kobo to trade at N1.89 per share versus N1.75 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities went up by 43,404.4 per cent to 400.8 million units from 921,265 units, the value of securities grew by 2,108.7 per cent to N1.2 billion from N54.7 million, and the number of deals soared by 23.7 per cent to 47 deals from 38 deals.
CSCS Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 38.7 million units valued at N2.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units exchanged for N1.2 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 6.4 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
Resourcery Plc finished the session as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, trailed by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 131.1 million units valued at N505.6 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) experienced a pullback of 0.69 per cent as a result of profit-taking by investors, with shares in the banking and energy sectors mostly affected.
Data harvested by Business Post showed that the energy index was down by 4.58 per cent during the session, and the banking space lost 2.14 per cent.
They brought down the All-Share Index (ASI) by 1,402.56 points to 201,156.85 points from 202,559.41 points and shrank the market capitalisation by N900 billion to N129.126 trillion from N130.026 trillion.
Customs Street ended in red at midweek despite three of the five key sectors finishing in green. The consumer goods counter expanded by 1.19 per cent, the industrial goods index improved by 0.46 per cent, and the insurance sector grew by 0.43 per cent.
Red Star Express declined by 9.98 per cent to N25.70, Aradel Holdings went down by 9.68 per cent to N1,210.30, Presco lost 9.30 per cent to trade at N1,701.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank crashed by 8.40 per cent to N4.80, and DAAR Communications dropped 7.50 per cent to end at N1.85.
On the flip side, Secure Electronic Technology gained 10.00 per cent to settle at N1.32, Guinness Nigeria rose by 9.92 per cent to N423.20, John Holt increased by 9.72 per cent to N11.85, Sovereign Trust Insurance surged by 9.57 per cent to N2.06, and Linkage Assurance chalked up 9.33 per cent to trade at N1.64.
Investor sentiment was weak yesterday after the bourse registered 33 price gainers and 38 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
Market participants bought and sold 6.1 billion stocks valued at N130.1 billion in 58,562 deals compared with the 1.8 billion stocks worth N88.1 billion traded in 62,654 deals on Tuesday, representing a shortfall in the number of deals by 6.53 per cent, and a spike in the trading volume and value by 238.89 per cent and 47.67 per cent apiece.
The most active equity on Wednesday was eTranzact with 5.2 billion units sold for N24.3 billion, Wema Bank exchanged 111.4 million units worth N3.1 billion, Coronation Insurance transacted 96.4 million units valued at N303.9 million, Dangote Cement traded 75.2 million units for N56.5 billion, and Access Holdings exchanged 61.5 million units valued at N1.6 billion.
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