Economy
Senate Vows To Probe Nigeria’s Economic Crisis
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has revealed steps to be taken by the red chamber of the National Assembly to tackle economic crisis in Nigeria immediately they resume from recess next week.
Mr Saraki, while addressing newsmen on Monday in Kwara State, stated that the time for identifying the cause of the economic recession and those responsible was over and that all political leaders should start working together to find a solution.
He said upon resumption, the Senate would call everyone involved in the management of the economy to address the Nigerian people through the parliament on the steps being taken to get the country out of the mess.
According to the Senate President, they will interrogate what happened to the measures aimed at cushioning the effect of the recession built into the 2016 budget and why they have not been implemented.
Mr Saraki reiterated his call for a broader and bolder economic plan with input from both legislative and executive arms of government, the private sector, professional groups.
All the groups, he said, must work together to put in place interventions that will create more jobs, strengthen the Naira, bring more investment into the country, and diversify the economy.
He said the Senate will respond to the economic crisis with a number of measures which include getting managers of the economy to give account to the people, making tough recommendations to the President on needed changes, formulating necessary legislative framework for economic recovery and wide consultations across the private sector.
Mr Saraki, who served as a Special Assistant to the President on Budget Matters during the Obasanjo administration and Chairman of Governors Forum said, “We are going to have an exhaustive and comprehensive debate on fixing the country’s economy when we resume next week. We understand the pains that Nigerians are feeling and we do not take this for granted.
“Additionally, the Senate intends to invite everybody involved in the management of the economy to address the Nigerian people through the parliament on the steps that are being taken to get us out of this mess. We fully intend to hold all those involved in the economic management of the country accountable – However, we will do so in a manner that is transparent and there will be no cover-up. We will make tough recommendations as necessary.”
Continuing, the Senate President stressed that, “We need to know why the promises of external borrowing has not materialised, why devaluation has not helped to strengthen the Naira, why inflow of foreign currency has continued to dry up and interest rate is still very high.
“Doing this will help us to understand where we are, so that we can determine where exactly we want to go from here.
“In every crisis, there is always an opportunity for positive reforms, in this regard, in order to solve this crisis, all hands must be on deck. Ideas should be sourced from all quarters. All arms of government, people of different political beliefs, from all socio-economic backgrounds and every part of Nigeria must work together at this time.”
He said all political leaders should be worried about the suffering that the ordinary people are going through and that it is necessary for leaders to further empathise with the people. He commended the people for their perseverance and understanding.
While calling on the people to exercise patience and know that political leaders are genuinely concerned about their plight, Mr Saraki said: “The positive attitude demonstrated by our people during the Eid-el-Kabir festival gave me hope that we in the leadership of the country should move swiftly to tackle this economic crisis. We have no option and this we must do without delay. I commend and praise our people for their perseverance and understanding.”
Mr Saraki also appealed to newsmen and women around the country to play a more positive role in reporting on issues that are important to the development of the country, highlighting that the fourth estate has to work harder to inform the public based on facts.
“I want to use this opportunity to advise those politicians who specialise in causing division between the executive and legislature for their personal benefit to know that this is not the right time for them to ply their trade. We need all arms and levels of government to work together with the people because we are in an economic emergency and all hands must be on deck”, he said.
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By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited recorded a 3.11 per cent week-on-week loss last week as a result of the decline suffered by 65 equities. In the preceding week, the bourse ended with 51 price decliners.
In the five-day trading week, 23 equities appreciated compared with 34 equities a week earlier, while 58 equities remained unchanged versus 61 equities in the preceding week.
Business Post reports there was no room for the bulls in the week, as all other indices closed in red, except for the sovereign bond, which finished flat.
ABC Transport lost 24.73 per cent to trade at N6.21, University Press shrank by 17.07 per cent to N5.10, Eterna crashed by 12.92 per cent to N30.00, John Holt slipped by 12.09 per cent to N14.90, and First Holdco decreased by 11.43 per cent to N62.00.
On the flip side, International Energy Insurance gained 60.62 per cent to sell for N7.26, Abbey Mortgage Bank expanded by 47.24 per cent to N9.35, Tripple Gee grew by 9.80 per cent to N4.37, Ikeja Hotel increased by 9.45 per cent to N44.00, and RT Briscoe soared by 8.86 per cent to N14.86.
At the close of business, market participants traded 3.966 billion shares worth N175.659 billion in 343,587 deals, in contrast to the 2.398 billion shares valued at N111.480 billion transacted in 241,313 deals a week earlier, which had only three trading sessions due to the Sallah holiday.
The financial services industry led the activity chart with 2.690 billion stocks sold for N69.975 billion in 134,882 deals, contributing 67.83 per cent and 39.84 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The services sector exchanged 323.601 million shares worth N6.443 billion in 25,906 deals, and the ICT segment traded 176.039 million equities valued at N27.892 billion in 40,837 deals.
Access Holdings, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and Sterling Holdco accounted for 1.290 billion units worth N17.560 billion in 17,768 deals, contributing 32.53 per cent and 10.00 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.
MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.
The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.
When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.
Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.
This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.
The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.
On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.
At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.
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