Economy
Pension Funds no Longer Diverted to Private Pockets—PenCom DG
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Aisha Dahir-Umar, has assured workers and pensioners in the country that their funds are in safe hands, noting that they are not being diverted like in the past.
Ms Dahir-Umar, while speaking recently at the 2024 congress of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Abuja, stated that the N18 trillion pension assets are being invested mainly in low-risk assets.
The DG, who was represented at the event by the agency’s Head of Corporate Communication, Mr Ibrahim Buwai, emphasised that returns from such investments are automatically distributed back to the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holder after the allowable charges for the management and distribution of the pension funds.
She said persons under the scheme have nothing to fear about as the era of pension funds being diverted to private pockets was now a thing of the past.
“Nobody takes a penny, not PFAs (Pension Fund Administrators), not PenCom, nobody.
“All this money recovered was for RSA holders and it goes into RSA.
“What you can help us by way of employers is that it is not in their interests not to remit because it is cheaper to remit than not to remit,” the PenCom chief stated.
Ms Dahir-Umar averred that as a regulator, the primary responsibility of PenCom is to ensure that funds are safe, efficient, and effectively managed and that they are available to be paid as retirement benefits as and when due.
She also disclosed that the commission has recovered about N45.45 billion in unremitted contributions and penalties from employers between 2012 and 2023, revealing that N12.9 billion was recovered from the principal contributions and N12.5 billion from penalties.
The DG used the occasion to applaud FICAN for its reportage about the organisation and the industry, calling for more public enlightenment campaigns for those in the informal sector to embrace the scheme.
“Despite the challenges we face, we would still see how best we can deepen the partnership. I want to assure you that we are always available, if you have a mix-up or need clarification, let us know, it’s our primary duty to offer needed information,” she said.
“There is still a long way to go, but what we can do on our part is just to continue to enlighten people, to show them that the micro pension plan acknowledges their rate of participation,” she said, adding that “since the micro pension started, there are about 100,000 RSAs that have been opened and the contribution is just over N500 million.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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