Economy
VIDEO: I’d Rather Die, Shutdown Erisco Foods Than Drop Case Again Chioma Okoli—Eric Umeofia
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The chief executive of Erisco Foods, Mr Eric Umeofia, has vowed to ensure a reviewer of one of his company’s products, Mrs Chioma Okoli, is sent to prison or pay for “tarnishing” the image of his firm.
The businessman said this in an interview with Arise Television, during a documentary on the ongoing brouhaha between his organisation and Mrs Okoli.
The woman had posted on her Facebook page about the sugar content in Erisco Tomato Mix and the company was not okay with her approach to the product review.
“I went to buy tin tomatoes yesterday that I will use to make stew, I didn’t see Gino and Sonia, so, I decided to buy this one.
“When I opened it, I decided to taste it, omo! Sugar is just too much! Haa, biko, let me know if you have used this tin tomato before because this is an ike gwuru situation!” she had posted.
Her review attracted comments and some days later, some officials of the Nigeria Police Force picked her up in the Ogudu area of Lagos State and transferred her to Abuja.
In an interview with Arise TV in September 2023, which was monitored by Business Post, Mr Umeofia said he would sue the reviewer for N5 billion because he suspects she was paid by a syndicate to bring his company, as “she is not a customer” of the brand.
“I will sue her for N5 billion if she does not comply with what we said,” the founder of Erisco Foods declared, noting that Mrs Okoli could not provide proof to back up her claims when asked to do so.
He admitted that “sugar is allowed [in the product]. It’s just like taking soft drinks and complaining about sugar. If you don’t like it, buy another. People should go to her comment section to see how she liked posts that condemned Erisco and abused those who castigated her for her bad review.”
In the latest chat with the news platform, he said, “This company was established before Chioma was born. Forty years ago, I was suffering to establish this company, and because of the rants, we will allow her to close our company down.
“I would rather close Erisco Foods down and fight for my reputation, my brand, my good name before I die. I am stubborn with my rights and arrogant with my rights; [I have] no apology for it. I don’t look for trouble, but if you come for trouble, I am waiting for you.
“She has ruined my company and it is seven years imprisonment and N7 million. So, why must you go [scot-free] because you are a pregnant woman?
“In the prison, there is a space where you can cater for a child, there is a place for nursing mothers. If you think you can bully me to drop my case, I am not dropping it; I would rather die than allow somebody to tarnish my image I worked 40 years to grow.”
Mrs Okoli is being represented by the foremost human rights lawyer, Mr Inibehe Effiong, who has been urged to make efforts to settle the case out of court.
I think it is important for me to respond to those who have been pressuring me to advise Chioma Okoli to beg or settle with the chief executive of Erisco Foods to bring closure to the lingering matter.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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