Economy
Retirement Savings Account Holders Grow by 96,346 in Q2
The total number of persons with Retirement Savings Account (RSA) in Nigeria increased by 96,346 to 7,589,936 workers under the contributory pension scheme as at the second quarter of 2017, compared with 7,493,590 registered in the first quarter of the year.
They country’s total working population stood at 69,470,901 as at the fourth quarter of 2016.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated this in its Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Membership Distribution for the second quarter 2017 (Q2 2017), posted on its website.
The RSA membership distribution as at Q2 of 2017 represented 10.93 per cent of the total working population.
This, the NBS stated was not surprising given the largely informal structure of the Nigerian labour force with about 50 per cent of the current workforce engaged in subsistence agriculture and informal trading.
Micro businesses, for example, accounts for over 90 per cent of total micro, small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria.
Further disaggregation of RSA membership revealed that of a total male working population of 36,363,042 only 5,391,887 or 14.83 per cent male workers registered under the pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 5,328,035 or 14.65 per cent registered male workers in Q1 2017.
Similarly, only 2,198,049 or 6.64 per cent out of a total female working population of 33,107,859 were registered under the scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 2,165,555 or 6.54 per cent registered female workers in Q1 2017.
Accordingly, out of the 7,589,936 RSA members, 71.04 per cent were men and 28.96 per cent were women compared to 71.10 per cent men and 28.90 per cent women in Q1 2017.
This was compared with the gender split of the working population which had 52.3 per cent men and 47.7 per cent women.
RSA membership was dominated by the Private sector. The federal level had 1,898,199 registered RSA members under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 of which 1,384,579 or 72.94 per cent were male and 513,620 or 27.06 per cent were female compared to 1,889,143 registered RSA members of which 1,378,382 or 72.96 per cent were male and 510,761 or 27.04 per cent were female in Q1 2017.
“This may indicate that there are a lot more male employees in the federal public service than female. At the state (including local government) level, 1,537,138 State public workers are registered under the national pension scheme with 863,605 or 56.18 per cent male and 673,533 or 43.82 per cent female as at Q2 2017 compared to 1,525,748 registered public workers of which 858,365 or 56.26 per cent were male and 667,383 or 43.74 per cent were female in Q1 2017.”
“This may indicate that the federal public service is larger than that of all 36 States combined and similar to the Federal service, men dominate with respect to number of employees,” it added.
According to the study, private firms had 4,154,599 registered RSA members under the pension scheme as at Q1 2017 of which 3,143,703 or 75.67 per cent were male and 1,010,896 or 24.33 per cent were female compared to 4,078,699 registered RSA members of which 3,091,288 or 75.79 per cent were male and 987,411 or 24.21 per cent were female in Q1 2017.
It showed that the highest number of registered working population came from the age bracket of 30-39yrs and closely followed by the working population within the age bracket of 40-49 years and 50-59years. This, it said was expected considering ages 2544 accounts for about 55 per cent of the total working population.
“However, the least number of registered working population came from above 65yrs and 60-65yrs age bracket.
“1,898,199 federal working population are registered under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 1,889,143 in Q1 2017.
“1,384,579 are male while 513,620 are female compared to 1,378,382 male and 510,761 female in Q1 2017.
“1,537,138 state working population are registered under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 1,525,748 in Q1 2017. 863,605 are male while 673,533 are female compared to 858,365 male and 667,383 female in Q1 2017,” it added.
According to the NBS report, 4,154,599 private firms’ working population were registered under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 4,078,699 in Q1 2017. Also, 3,143,703 were male while 1,010,896 were female compared to 3,091,288 male and 978,411 female in Q1 2017
In addition, 7,589,936 working population were registered under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 7,493,590 in Q1 2017. 5,391,887 are male while 2,198,049 are female compared to 5,328,035 male and 2,165,555 female in Q1 2017
Private firms’ working population dominated the membership distribution and closely followed by the federal and state working population.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 0.91 per cent growth was recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, May 22, after the share prices of four securities ended in green.
According to data, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc went up by N15.61 to N179.67 per share from N164.06 per share, Newrest Asl Plc grew by N6.11 to N67.26 per unit from N61.15 per unit, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 17 Kobo to N2.75 per share from N2.58 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc added 6 Kobo to sell at N25.50 per unit compared with the previous day’s N25.44 per unit.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation chalked up N23.22 billion to settle at N2.561 trillion versus Thursday’s N2.538 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 38.81 points to 4,281.28 points from 4,242.47 points.
During the session, the price of Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was down by N3.13 to N71.07 per share from N74.20 per share.
The activity chart showed that the volume of securities transacted by the market participants decreased yesterday by 81.6 per cent to 590,339 units from the 3.2 million units recorded on Thursday, as the number of deals shrank by 28.6 per cent to 30 deals from the 42 deals recorded a day earlier, while the value of securities increased by 0.5 per cent to N95.3 million from the preceding session’s N94.8 million.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 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 61.2 million units traded for N4.1 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was GNI Plc, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange witnessed a decline in transactions on Friday despite closing higher by 0.22 per cent on the back of sustained bargain-hunting.
During the last trading session of the week, investors transacted 711.9 million equities valued at N29.1 billion in 62,386 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities worth N31.0 billion traded in 62,448 deals in the previous day, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 35.28 per cent, 6.13 per cent, and 0.10 per cent, respectively.
Fidelity Bank closed the day as the most active stock with the sale of 198.1 million units for N4.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 69.7 million units worth N1.8 billion, Mutual Benefits exchanged 42.7 million units valued at N197.4 million, Japaul transacted 33.9 million units worth N134.4 million, and Zenith Bank sold 24.4 million units valued at N3.2 billion.
Yesterday, the industrial goods index rose by 0.53 per cent, the consumer goods sector jumped 0.28 per cent, the banking industry improved by 0.25 per cent, and the energy counter soared by 0.18 per cent, while the insurance space shed 0.18 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 536.98 points to finish at 249,712.37 points compared with the previous day’s 249,175.39 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N344 billion to N160.077 trillion from N159.733 trillion.
Aluminium Extrusion and DAAR Communications expanded by 10.00 per cent each to sell for N9.90 and N2.09, respectively, RT Briscoe surged by 9.93 per cent to N14.06, Learn Africa increased by 9.79 per cent to N12.90, and Red Star Express advanced by 9.56 per cent to N34.95.
On the flip side, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.92 per cent to N5.72, Livestock Feeds dipped by 9.64 per cent to N8.90, The Initiates crashed by 8.65 per cent to N33.80, Ellah Lakes drowned by 8.64 per cent to N10.05, and Neimeth lost 6.36 per cent to trade at N10.30.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira weakened against the United States Dollar by N3.15 or 0.23 per cent to N1,375.46/$1 from N1,372.31/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, May 22.
It was also a similar situation for the domestic currency against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday, as it lost N9.46 to sell for N1,849.72/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,840.26/£1, and against the Euro, it depreciated by N6.26 to close at N1,597.04/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,590.78/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the Dollar during the session by N2 to trade at N1,381/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,379/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,390/$1.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited, in their weekly financial outlook, have projected the Naira will remain under soft pressure in near term due to continuous FX demand.
“Looking ahead, the Naira may remain under mild pressure in the near term due to persistent FX demand, though rising external reserves could help cushion volatility,” they noted.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this week reiterated that it would continue with its current policy direction to sustain the fight against inflation and stabilise the exchange rate.
This comes as the FX market has changed significantly under the ongoing reforms introduced by the apex bank, with increased market liquidity reducing the need for heavy intervention by the CBN. Its intervention currently accounts for only about 1.2 to 1.3 per cent of total market turnover in 2025, a development he said reflects the growing strength of the market.
Turnover has risen sharply from about $100 million in 2023 to roughly $550 million presently, with transactions occasionally climbing to as high as $1 billion in a single day.
A look at the cryptocurrency market showed that it was down on Friday as Mr Kevin Warsh was sworn in by President Donald Trump as the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, replacing Mr Jerome Powell, who will continue as a governor in the US central bank.
The appointment was made in the hope that he would lead the central bank to cut interest rates, but the Iran war has sent oil prices soaring and re-ignited what had been cooling inflation.
Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 5.5 per cent to $2,010.90, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 5.2 per cent to trade at $0.1001, Cardano (ADA) fell by 5.0 per cent to $0.2389, Solana (SOL) slipped by 4.9 per cent to $82.69, and Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 3.3 per cent to $74,950.02.
Further, Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.9 per cent to $1.32, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 2.6 per cent to $641.61, and TRON (TRX) shrank by 1.2 per cent to $0.3606, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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