Economy
Shettima: Dangote’s Investments Crucial to Nigeria’s Economic Future
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima, has called for the protection of investments made by Mr Aliko Dangote, noting that his empire is crucial to Nigeria’s economic future.
Speaking on Monday at the opening of the 2025 Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Mr Shettima described Mr Dangote as an institution and a pillar of Nigeria’s economic development and urged Nigerians to respect and protect the plethora of his investments, which spans footprints in cements, sugar, seasonings, fertilisers, petrochemicals, and energy.
The VP’s plea comes following the recent pressure faced by the businessmen from oil workers under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over the alleged sack of about 800 unionised employees at Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The union embarked on a strike, which was later suspended following the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Mr Shettima stressed that the $20 billion refinery, with its 650,000-barrel-per-day capacity, was a national asset vital to Nigeria’s growth and global competitiveness, noting that the industrialist deserves collective support for choosing to invest heavily in Nigeria rather than abroad.
“Aliko Dangote, he’s not an individual, he’s an institution, and he’s a leading light in Nigeria’s economic parliament. And how we treat this gentleman will determine how outsiders will judge us. If he had invested $10 billion in Microsoft, in Amazon, or in Google, he probably might be worth $70 to $80 billion by now.
“But he opted to invest in his country, and we owe it to future generations to jealously protect, promote, preserve, and protect the interests of this great Nigeria,” the former Governor of Borno State stated.
The Vice President also appealed to both labour unions and the organised private sector to show restraint and patriotism in resolving industrial disputes, warning that reckless actions could undermine national progress.
“I wish to call for caution, retrospection, and a deeper sense of patriotism from both labour and the organised private sector in defining and improving the relationship between labour and industry in the interest of maintaining our steadily improving economic fortunes. It’s not about holding the whole nation to ransom because of a minor labour dispute.
“Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN. Nigeria is greater than each and every one of us. I’m not coming to you as a partisan,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
Profit-takers pounced on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, weakening it by 0.09 per cent at the close of transactions.
Investors toned down on their hunger for Nigerian stocks during the last trading session of the week, with selling pressure mainly on the banking space, which shed 0.78 per cent.
The bourse crumbled despite the other sectors closing green, with the consumer goods up by 0.10 per cent, and the energy index up by 0.02 per cent, while the industrial index closed flat.
Livestock Feeds depreciated by 10.00 per cent to sell for N6.30, Learn Africa declined by 10.00 per cent to N8.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank also slipped by 10.00 per cent to N4.05, Deap Capital gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N9.39, and Industrial and Medical Gases lost 9.61 per cent to finish at N31.50.
On the flip side, Zichis appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N4.19, Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.94 per cent to quote at N9.40, RT Briscoe jumped by 9.93 per cent to N7.86, Haldane McCall grew by 9.90 per cent to N4.33, and Omatek increased by 9.87 per cent to N3.00.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive despite the poor outcome, recording 33 price gainers and 31 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.
The All-Share Index was down by 156.91 points during the session to 165,370.40 points from the 165,527.31 points achieved a day earlier, and the market capitalisation depleted by N184 billion to N106.153 trillion from N105.969 trillion.
Trading data showed that 687.4 million equities valued at N15.0 billion exchanged hands in 41,553 deals yesterday compared with the 691.4 million equities worth N15.4 billion traded in 38,665 deals on Thursday, implying a jump in the number of deals by 7.47 per cent, and a slip in the trading volume and value by 2.60 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock on Friday was Veritas Kapital with 80.5 million units worth N197.0 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 79.3 million units valued at N87.5 million, Deap capital transacted 33.3 million units for N340.5 million, Access Holdings sold 31.0 million units valued at N703.0 million, and Zenith Bank exchanged 30.6 million units worth N2.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.20 per cent on Friday, January 30, supported by the gains achieved by two securities on the platform.
During the session, Okitipupa Plc went up by N15.70 to finish at N234.60 per share versus the previous day’s N218.90 per share and Paintcomm Investment Plc expanded by 5 Kobo to close at N11.05 per unit compared with the previous day’s N11.00 per unit.
It was observed that yesterday, there were three price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which dropped 60 Kobo to sell at N5.75 per share versus N6.35 per share, Afriland Properties Plc declined by 35 Kobo to close at N13.65 per unit compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.00 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc depreciated by 3 Kobo to 66 Kobo per share from 69 Kobo per share.
At the close of business, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 7.34 points to 3,630.11 points from 3,622.77 points and the market capitalisation grew by N4.39 billion to N2.171 trillion from N2.167 trillion.
A total of 287,618 units of securities exchanged hands on Friday compared with the previous day’s 1.9 million units of securities, indicating a decline in the volume of trades by 85.6 per cent.
The value of transactions, according to data, was down by 77.2 per cent to N3.1 million from N13.4 million, but the number of deals increased by 31.3 per cent to 21 deals from 16 deals.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units exchanged for N623.0 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.6 million units traded for N108.5 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.
CSCS Plc also ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units sold for N623.0 million, followed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 10.1 million units worth N4.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N61.1 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira maintained its positive performance against the United States Dollar in the different segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday, January 30.
In the black market, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the greenback yesterday by N5 to sell for N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,470/$1, and at the GTBank forex desk, it gained N7 to close at N1,419/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,426/$1.
In the the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) segment, the local currency firmed up against the Dollar during the session by N10.44 or 0.75 per cent to trade at N1,386.55/$1 versus N1,396.99/$1.
Also, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market by N25.81 to end at N1,906.23/£1 compared to the N1,932.04/£1 quoted on Thursday, and gained N19.56 on the Euro to close at N1,652.22/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s closing price of N1,671.78/€1.
The Naira continues to pick form, boosted by stronger FX liquidity, enhanced price discovery at the NAFEX, and a gradual restoration of offshore investor confidence.
Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the capacity to defend the Naira and stabilise the foreign exchange market, have continued to grow steadily. According to data from the apex bank, gross external reserves rose to $46.17 billion as of January 29, 2026.
FX supply is further supported by strong oil-related inflows and resilient diaspora remittances, which continued to average around $5 billion per quarter, providing a stable and non-cyclical source of foreign exchange liquidity.
Market traders expect the Naira to remain fairly stable and could strengthen further with a bond auction in the coming week.
Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the CBN with the capacity to defend the naira and stabilise the foreign exchange market, have continued to grow steadily. According to CBN data, gross external reserves rose to $46.17 billion as of January 29, 2026.
In the cryptocurrency market, it further weakened as the US Dollar recovered from a four-year low decline.
Friday’s Dollar strength followed President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would pick former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to head the US central bank when Mr Jerome Powell’s term ends in May.
Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.9 per cent to $0.3118, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 2.1 per cent to $2,676.83, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.6 per cent to $1.72, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 0.9 per cent to sell for $0.1130, and Litecoin (LTC) slid by 0.1 per cent to $64.03.
However, Solana (SOL) added 2.0 per cent to close at $117.67, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 1.0 per cent to $83,416.99, and Binance Coin (BNB) gained 0.6 per cent to sell for $847.49, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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