Economy

Sallah: More Lagos Residents Rush Lake Rice

Published

9 years ago

29/08/2017

By Dipo Olowookere

More Lagos State residents on Tuesday besieged the centres designated by the state government for the sale of Lake Rice as part of activities marking the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

Last Thursday, the state commenced the sale of the rice with the 50kg bag sold for N12,000, 25kg for N6,000 and 10kg for N2500.

Aside the designated sale centres, the rice is now available for purchase at the secretariats of most of the 57 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

Speaking at the Agricultural Development Authority (ADA) in Agege, which serves as a depot and sale centre for Lake Rice, the Administrative Officer of Oto-Awori LCDA, Mr Semande Ayeni, said the rice would be available for sale at the council from Tuesday.

“We were here yesterday (Monday) to take delivery of the rice to be sold at our council and we will still come back to collect more once we exhaust the stock.

“The idea is that the Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, wants the people to get the rice in their areas without necessarily travelling far distance to buy it at the designated sale centres.

“I can assure the people of our LCDA that from today (Tuesday), the rice is available for sale at the council at the approved price. All they need to do is just come with their ATM card to buy the rice,” Mr Ayeni said.

Also speaking, Director of Agric and Community Services, Isolo LCDA, Mr Lekan Otukoya said he was at the Agege depot on behalf of the Council to pick up the bags of Lake Rice to be sold at the council.

“Yes, I can confirm that I am here to pick up Lake Rice to be sold at our Council from Tuesday. We have been assured by the authorities at the State level that once we exhaust this stock, we should come back to take more.

“The idea is that people should be able to buy at the Councils which are close to them and that is what we are going to do,” Mr Otukoya said.

Lake Rice is a product of agric partnership between Lagos and Kebbi States, and it is designed to encourage local rice production and ensure food security in the country.

Aside the agreement with Kebbi, the Lagos State Government is also working towards flooding the market with home grown rice, a development which made Governor Ambode to recently lead a delegation to Switzerland to acquire 32 metric tonnes per hour rice mill.

The mill, when operational within the next 12 months, will ensure availability of the item in the market and it will also facilitate the creation of about 200,000 jobs across the agriculture value chain, while it will also bring about the cultivation of 32,000 hectares of farm land to produce rice paddy, equating to an estimated 130million Kg of processed rice per year (an equivalent of 2.6milion 50kg bags of rice).

Besides, the state government has also commenced the process of upgrading the Rice Mill at Imota from 2.5 metric tonnes per hour production capacity to 16 metric tonnes per hour production capacity.

Also recently, Governor Ambode, as part of the Western Nigeria economic integration agenda, sealed a major partnership with South West States whereby they will cultivate rice and supply the Imota Mill.

Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,374/$ at NAFEX

Published

2 hours ago

01/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 3, further appreciated against the United States Dollar by N4.52 or 0.33 per cent to N1,374.94/$1 from N1,379.46/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency gained against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N3.34 during the session to close at N1,858.24/£1 compared to the previous rate of N1,861.58/£1, and against the Euro, it improved by N5.29 to sell at N1,607.58/€1 versus N1,612.87/€1.

At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian Naira gained N4 against the Dollar to settle at N1,384/$1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,389/$1, and at the parallel market, it improved by N5 to trade at N1,385/$1 compared with the N1,390/$1 it was transacted a day earlier.

Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with a buffer to support the Naira, continued their downward trend, declining to $48.36 billion as of April 29, 2026, according to data.

Market activity weakened sharply, with the NAFEM recording zero deals on Thursday, down from 393 deals on Wednesday. Total turnover in the official window also dropped from $802.44 million to zero, underscoring a severe liquidity squeeze.

Thursday’s price formation was driven entirely by the interbank segment, where turnover also fell significantly to $58.03 million from $249.91 million, suggesting that liquidity pressures extended across the broader FX market.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were up amid looming US inflation data, while high oil prices and rising bond yields weigh on risk assets.

The appreciation faces headwinds in the form of US March PCE inflation, which lands as oil prices keep pressure on risk assets, as well as reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which has kept energy markets fragile.

Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.8 per cent to trade at $0.1082, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated to $76,987.59, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.2 per cent to $2,276.11, Cardano (ADA) added 1.1 per cent to close at $0.2484, and Solana (SOL) soared by 1.1 per cent to $83.89.

Further, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.7 per cent to $0.3224, Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.4 per cent to $1.37, and Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.2 per cent to $616.67, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Customs Street Climbs 2.14% as BUA Cement, FTN Cocoa Top Gainers’ Log

Published

2 hours ago

01/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A further 2.14 per cent leap was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday, the last trading session of April 2026.

This was supported by strong buying pressure despite selling pressure in the consumer goods and insurance sectors, which lost 0.14 per cent and 0.07 per cent, respectively.

It was observed that the energy index went up by 4.78 per cent, the industrial goods space appreciated by 4.13 per cent, and the banking segment rose by 0.52 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 5,072.22 points to settle at 242,277.81 points versus the 237,205.59 points on Wednesday, and the market capitalisation jumped N3.266 trillion to N155.994 trillion from N152.728 trillion.

FTN Cocoa, BUA Cement, CAP, UAC Nigeria, and Zichis soared by 10.00 per cent each to quote at N5.50, N418.00, N145.20, N181.50, and N21.78, respectively.

On the flip side, Aluminium Extrusion lost 9.95 per cent to trade at N9.50, Royal Exchange declined by 9.93 per cent to N1.36, Legend Internet slipped by 9.32 per cent to N5.35, Austin Laz dropped 9.12 per cent to N3.39, and Neimeth went down by 7.26 per cent to N8.30.

Business Post reports that there were 46 price gainers and 41 price losers on Customs Street during the session, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

A total of 1.9 billion shares valued at N104.3 billion were traded in 92,353 deals yesterday compared with the 1.3 billion shares worth N69.1 billion transacted in 83,445 deals at midweek, indicating a surge in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.15 per cent, 50.94 per cent, and 10.68 per cent, respectively.

At the close of business, Access Holdings led the activity chart with 935.0 million units sold for N24.3 billion, Lasaco Assurance traded 90.2 million units valued at N175.2 million, UBA exchanged 89.0 million units worth N3.9 billion, Wema Bank transacted 68.4 million units worth N2.4 billion, and GTCO sold 54.7 million units valued at N7.4 billion.

Economy

Crude Oil Slips Below $115 After Hitting Four-Year High on US-Iran Fears

Published

2 hours ago

01/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil fell below $115 after hitting a four-year high of more than $126 a barrel earlier on Thursday on concerns the US-Iran war could disrupt the wider global economy.

Data showed that Brent crude futures lost $4.02 or 3.41 per cent to trade at $114.01 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gave up $1.81 or 1.69 per cent to trade at $105.07 per barrel.

According to market analysts, the drop in prices from intraday highs did not have an obvious catalyst and did not look related to a specific development, but reflected the heightened volatility in the market since the Iran war started.

Others noted the retreat in US Dollar strength on Thursday also put downward pressure on oil.

Japan’s Yen surged 3 per cent, the most in a day in over three years, on Thursday, following stark warnings from Japanese officials that intervention to prop up the currency, as well as action in other markets, including energy, could be imminent.

The jump in the Japanese currency puts the US currency down, on track for its biggest one-day drop against the Yen since last August.

US President Donald Trump is slated to receive a briefing on plans for a series of fresh military strikes on Iran to compel it to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Iran said it would respond with “long and painful strikes” on US ‌positions if ⁠the US renewed attacks, and also reasserted its control over the Strait of Hormuz.

This complicates US plans for a coalition to reopen the waterway, which accounts for about 20 per cent of crude and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) flows.

Since the US-Israeli attack on Iran began on February 28, the price of Brent and WTI has risen by around 90 per cent due to the effective closure of the strait.

The oil price gains risk a renewed spike in global inflation and higher pump prices across the world. Oil, gas, and their refined byproducts are critical for fuelling cars, trucks and planes, powering homes and industry and producing plastics and fertilisers.

President Trump called a ceasefire in ⁠the war earlier this month, but also imposed a US blockade on Iranian ports.

Talks to resolve the conflict, which has killed thousands and caused what the International Energy Agency (EIA) says is the world’s biggest oil disruption ever, have deadlocked.

Traders worry as the US insists on discussing Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons programme and Iran demands some control over the strait and reparations for damage from the war.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Tuesday it would exit the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after nearly 60 years as a member.