Economy
TSA: Nigeria Saves N540bn Yearly in Interest Payments—FG
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has said it has saved at least N540 billion annually in interest payments at N45 billion per month since the treasury single account (TSA) was implemented.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, which speaking in Abuja on Monday, said this TSA policy has brought huge benefits to the country, allowing the government to have more funds to meet some critical needs of the nation.
“On the monetary policy side, we have better control over money supply and, therefore, able to rein in inflation and undue pressure on the Naira.
“Our foreign reserve position has also recorded appreciable improvement through the consolidation of the federal government foreign currency earnings under the TSA,” the Minister said during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on TSA with the Republic of The Gambia in Abuja.
She noted that because of the TSA, Nigeria could now easily determine its aggregate cash balance which is critical for managing public finances at a time of acute fiscal constraints.
The MoU with The Gambia was signed to put the West African nation through with running a single account for government revenue collection system.
In May 2019, the country’s representatives were in Nigeria to understudy the police based on the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
After the one-week tour, The Gambia requested for technical co-operation with Nigeria to support its own transition to TSA.
At the event this week in Abuja, Mrs Ahmed said the co-operation seeks to avail the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of The Gambia of the vast knowledge, experience and technical expertise that Nigeria has gained in the past 15 years of implementing TSA in particular and other public financial management (PFM) reforms, in general.
“By so doing, The Gambia is properly guided as it implements its own TSA. The co-operation will enable The Gambia to leverage on the experience of Nigeria to build on our strengths while avoiding our mistakes,” she said, expressing the country’s happiness to “support The Gambia in their bid to implement TSA and other PFM reforms.”
“We are also open to supporting other African countries who may want to build on our experience and significant progress in TSA implementation. It is our belief that African countries are better off learning from each other and supporting each other because of our shared culture and history,” the Minister added.
“To start with, as with all governance reforms, you need strong political support to deal with the heavy lifting that comes with PFM reforms. Do not embark on this journey if you are not confident that you have the buy-in of your topmost political leadership.
“It is the most potent antidote against the several headwinds that will try to undermine and derail your reform effort,” Mrs Ahmed advised The Gambia.
Advising further, she said: “Next in line is to assemble the right team of competent and committed reformers with in-depth knowledge of PFM. Upon that team will rest the responsibility of translating policy into action and by so doing, ensuring that your TSA expectations are met. There are more factors at play. You need, for instance, the financial resources and an enabling environment to drive reforms.
“The importance of the synergy between the fiscal and monetary authorities, she also said, cannot be over-emphasised. Equally important, according to her, is the co-operation of other stakeholders: the parliament; the ministries, departments and agencies of government; the banks and service providers.
“Above all, the general public, on whose behalf government exists and manages public funds, must be convinced that TSA and other reforms are being implemented in their interest and for the good of the country. “As is the case in Nigeria, when you have their support, they will take it upon themselves to be against forces of resistance and any attempt at derailing the reforms.”
Responding, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance of The Gambia, Ms Ada Gaye, expressed her country’s happiness to be in Nigeria to sign the MoU, saying that the … tour has helped them to understand the workings of the TSA.
“The Gambia wants to efficiently manage its funds; the fragmentation of accounting systems in The Gambia is huge. It is, therefore, noteworthy for The Gambia to adopt TSA. Though … is still … We are going to create the needed sensitisation to help the people of The Gambia understand the process. Nigeria is the big brother while The Gambia is the small brother. We are happy to cement this brotherly love.”
Economy
MRS Oil, FrieslandCampina Wamco Shrink NASD Index by 0.68%
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.
Economy
NGX Index Rebounds 0.15% on Renewed Interest in Financial Stocks
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.
Economy
Naira Depreciates to N1,362/$1 at Official Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.
For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.
The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.
Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.
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