Economy
Stop Herdsmen/Farmers Conflict to Avert Food Crisis—MPC Warns FG
By Dipo Olowookere
Members of the Monetary Police Committee (MPC) have expressed concerns over the incessant herdsmen/farmers crisis in the northern part of Nigeria.
The MPC members expressed their fear over this issue during the just-concluded MPC meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, while addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting on Tuesday, said if the issue was not quickly resolved by federal government, it could lead to serious hike in food prices in the country.
According to him, members of the MPC said the situation was capable of disrupting food supply chains in the country.
Benue and Taraba States have been the most affected in the killing of farmers by armed persons suspected to be herdsmen.
The crisis got into another level when the Benue State government signed the anti-grazing bill into law, which some of the cattle rearers were against.
Reading outcome of the MPC meeting to journalists on Tuesday, Mr Emefiele said the committee “reviewed the effects of the sustained monetary policy normalization in the US with implications for capital flow reversals, exchange rate and domestic price pressures, as well as other challenges to growth during the second half of 2018 and noted the sustained moderation in inflationary pressures, especially headline inflation, as well as stability in the foreign exchange market while expressing concern on the negative effects of incessant herdsmen-farmers crisis on food supply chains and food prices calling on the (central) bank to continue to build on the progress already made to sustain the moderation in inflation.”
He further said, “In analysing the economic report presented to the members, observations were made regarding the rise in prices of crude oil in 2017 and 2018, causing an increase in the monthly allocation to various levels of government thereby suggesting that the federal government may not be saving adequately for the future.
“The committee, therefore, advised the fiscal authority to build-up buffers, especially now that the price of crude oil is relatively high.”
According to the CBN chief, “The committee called for acceleration in the implementation of the 2018 budget of appropriation to further support fragile growth recovery alongside sustained implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to further stimulate output growth with concerns about the liquidity impact of the 2018 expansionary fiscal budget and increasing FAAC distribution, due to rising prices of crude oil as well as the build-up in election related spending.”
However, he said the committee “expressed satisfaction on its positive outlook particularly as the real GDP grew for the fourth consecutive quarter alongside increased Manufacturing and Non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Indices in the second quarter of 2018.”
Mr Emefiele said at the end of deliberations, the committee agreed to ”increase the flow of credit to the real economy to consolidate economic recovery, [while] the large corporations are encouraged to issue commercial paper to meet their credit needs and the Central Bank of Nigeria may, if need be, buy those instruments to complement the efforts of the DMBs.”
“Also, as an incentive to encourage deposit money banks to increase lending to the manufacturing and agriculture sectors for new projects and expansion (not for the refinancing of projects), a differentiated dynamic cash reserves requirement (CRR) regime would be implemented, to direct cheap long term bank credit at 9 per cent, with a minimum tenor of seven years and two years moratorium to employment elastic sectors of the Nigerian economy,” he said further.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day 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 traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
