Resuming from the 1 October Independence Day holiday, trading activities on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) declined by 0.33 per cent on Wednesday, driven by sell-offs in MTN Nigeria and Tier-one banks.

Specifically, the NGX market capitalisation, which opened at N56.635 trillion, lost N187 billion or 0.33 per cent to close at N56.448 trillion.

The All-Share Index also shed 0.33 per cent or 327 points to close at 98,232.39, against 98,558.79 reported on Monday.

Consequently, the All-Share Index Year-To-Date return fell by 331.3 per cent.

Losses in MTN Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Holding Company(GTCO), FBN Holdings, Access Corporation, Dangote Sugar, and Transnational Corporation, among other declined equities, were the primary drivers of the market’s downturn.

Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled lower, relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 92.43 per cent.

A total of 425.76 million shares valued at N8.45 billion were exchanged by investors in 11,954 deals, in contrast to 1.86 billon shares valued at N111.58 billion were exchanged in 10,583 deals posted previously.

Market breadth also closed negative with 32 losers and 26 gainers.

On the losers’ chart, Ellah Lakes led by 9.93 per cent to close at N3.99 per share, while International Breweries led the gainers’ chart by 9.98 per cent to close at N4.41 per share.

Meanwhile, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) led the activity chart in volume and value with 108.02 million shares worth N3.01 billion.

What is the Dollar to Naira Exchange rate at the black market also known as the parallel market (Aboki fx)?

See the black market Dollar to Naira exchange rate for 2nd October, below. You can swap your dollar for Naira at these rates.

How much is a dollar to naira today in the black market?

Dollar to naira exchange rate today black market (Aboki dollar rate):

The exchange rate for a dollar to naira at Lagos Parallel Market (Black Market) players buy a dollar for N1640 and sell at N1680 on Wednesday 2nd October 2024, according to sources at Bureau De Change (BDC).

Please note that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not recognize the parallel market (black market), as it has directed individuals who want to engage in Forex to approach their respective banks.

According to the Chainalysis Global Adoption Index, the West African nation ranked second overall, trading roughly $59 billion in cryptocurrency value between July 2023 and June 2024.

About 85% of transfers received in Nigeria are for less than $1 million, with smaller denomination retail and professional transactions being the main drivers of the country’s cryptocurrency activity.

Stablecoins have become an essential part of Sub-Saharan Africa’s crypto economy, making up about 43% of the region’s overall transaction volume, according to Chainalysis research. High inflation readings and the naira’s decline—which caused it to hit a record low in February 2024—are key factors driving the adoption of stablecoins in Nigeria.

Rob Downes, the Head of Digital Assets at ABSA Bank CIB, a significant African bank operating in 12 African nations, disclosed that stablecoin adoption in Africa has been significantly influenced by the widespread foreign exchange (FX) crisis. Chris Maurice, CEO and Co-Founder of Yellow Card, stated that businesses in about 70% of African nations face difficulties accessing the foreign exchange they require to run their operations. Stablecoins offer a welcome substitute in Nigeria, where the naira has suffered severe depreciation.

Maurice further highlighted, “The government and the banks don’t have money, and even if they did, they wouldn’t give it to you.”

“People are starting to see the real-world utility of cryptocurrency, especially in day-to-day transactions, which is a shift from the earlier view of crypto as just a get-rich-quick scheme,” said Moyo Sodipo, COO and Co-Founder of Busha, a cryptocurrency exchange with a presence in Nigeria.

Stablecoins are starting to take precedence over other cryptocurrencies for small to medium-sized transactions, indicating widespread adoption even though cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and altcoins still hold value and have received billions of dollars in investment. Stablecoins are becoming popular, and DeFi is experiencing significant growth in Nigeria.

Many Nigerians send money overseas using stablecoins because traditional remittance channels are expensive and inefficient. According to Sodipo, “Cross-border remittances are a major use case for stablecoins in Nigeria. It’s significantly quicker and less expensive.”

This aligns with the larger pattern that Sub-Saharan Africa is leading the world in DeFi adoption. Nigeria is at the forefront of this trend, having received over $30 billion in value from DeFi services in the past year.

Dollar-pegged stablecoins like Tether and USDC have grown in popularity, especially in countries battling unstable national currencies and restricted access to hard currency, allowing people and companies to store value, make international payments easier, and promote cross-border trade.

Important to this momentum has been the central bank’s decision to lift its ban on banks working with cryptocurrency companies, which was announced in December 2023. “A lot of opportunities for collaboration and more seamless transactions have arisen since the banking ban was lifted,” Sodipo said.

The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched the Accelerated Regulation Incubation Program (ARIP) in June 2024. Under this program, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) must register and undergo an evaluation process to receive full approval.

The sector is optimistic about ARIP, according to Sodipo, because it represents a move away from uncertainty and a path toward clearer regulations.

Nairametric

Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, has secured a $200 million financing facility with the African Export-Import Bank to support the growth of the country’s creative industries.

Ms Musawa disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

The minister said this partnership with the African Export-Import Bank was a crucial component of the Destination 2030 vision and one of the ministry’s ambitious goals for the creative economy.

Ms Musawa urged investors, development partners, and global collaborators “to join us in creating two million jobs and contributing $100 billion to the national GDP.”

Afreximbank president Benedict Oramah, who also announced the partnership in New York, stated that the $200 million facility would support the ministry’s new initiatives for sustainable economic growth.

He emphasised the importance of investing in the creative industry and positioning Africa as a global cultural leader.

“The bank has deployed the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme to enhance Africa’s share of global trade in creatives and cultural products. Enhancing Africa’s share of global trade would be by offering tailored financial solutions, facilitating technical capacity building, and opening avenues for market access for creative entrepreneurs.

“It is for this reason that we are pleased to be working with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy to put in place a financing facility in an amount of $200 million. This facility will be used to support new laudable initiatives in support of the creative and cultural industries.

“We are impressed by the commitment and passion of the Ministry and its alignment with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) creatives’ strategy. We hope that we can work together to entrench this fully and use it to support the industry in a way that boosts pan-African cross-country partnerships,” Mr Oramah said.

The ‘Destination 2030’ initiative aims to establish Nigeria as a global soft power leader by 2030, with clear key performance indicators set by President Bola Tinubu.

As of 2024, the ministry reported a 36 per cent increase in Nigeria’s cultural influence alongside an 18 per cent increase in the Brand Perception Index.

Petroleum marketers have raised an alarm that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, portal used for the purchase of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) has been shut down against dealers, making it impossible to apply for the commodity.

The spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

According to him, marketers have more than 2,000 pending tickets for the purchasing of 45,000 liters of petrol.

He hinted that the situation may lead to another round of fuel scarcity nationwide.

“I can’t confirm the price now because the portal is still shut down.

“We have more than 2,000 tickets for 45,000 liters (of petrol). That is 45,000 multiplied by 2,000, you can now know the number of million liters it will be. This is just an estimate, you know I don’t work with NNPCL and I don’t know what is on their system,” Ukadike stated.

He added that a 45,000-litre truckload of PMS is around N39.5 million, making N79 billion when multiplied by 2,000.

Reacting to the development, the spokesperson of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye admitted that the state-owned firm has a significant backlog to address.

He said that the portal closure was intended to prevent the company from holding marketers’ funds for an extended period.

Soneye assured that the portal would soon be reopened; however, he failed to state the date when it would happen.

“We have a significant backlog to address. The closure is intended to prevent us from holding marketers’ funds for an extended period,” Soneye had explained.

“It will be reopened once the backlog has been sufficiently reduced. We are working to address it as soon as possible,” he stated.

The development comes as Nigerians struggle with high energy costs.

Recall that NNPCL in September 2024 announced a fresh price increase for petrol nationwide after lifting the product from Dangote Refinery.

Nigerians currently buy petrol between N950 and N1,100 per liter nationwide.

As the country marks 64 years of independence, stakeholders said, one of the most glaring failures of the post-colonial governance of the country, is the tragic collapse of the local shipping industry.

The Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), bequeathed to the country by the colonial rulers as a robust national shipping carrier, one of the stakeholders who spoke with The Nation in a separate interview, Dr Bolaji Akinola said, once stood as a symbol of pride, sovereignty and economic promise.

He however, ,lamented that, “within just two and a half decades after independence, the NNSL was thoroughly mismanaged and run aground, becoming a reflection of the broader dysfunction that has plagued our maritime sector”.

At the time of independence in 1960, Akiola said: “Nigeria inherited a fleet of ships that were not only operational but positioned to support our emerging economy. The NNSL was a testament to the vision of building a self-sufficient maritime power capable of transporting goods and commodities both in and out of our bustling seaports.

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But 64 years later, the maritime expert said: “We find ourselves in a pitiful state, where no Nigerian shipping company owns even a single vessel among the over 5,000 ships that call at our ports annually.”

These ships, owned by foreign interests, dominate our waters, enriching their nations while we sit idly by, exporting oil, gas, and agricultural produce, and importing manufactured goods without a stake in the process.

This collapse, he said, is not due to a lack of potential or resources, but rather a systematic and pervasive failure of leadership and vision. “The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), created with the primary mandate of promoting indigenous shipping, has failed spectacularly in this regard. Established to regulate and nurture the growth of local shipping companies, NIMASA has instead become a bureaucratic entity more interested in revenue collection than in fostering the growth of indigenous maritime capacity. The sad reality is that despite NIMASA’s vast resources and regulatory power, Nigeria’s presence in the global shipping industry remains negligible,” he said.

Worse still, Akiola said the Federal Government’s approach to the development of indigenous shipping has been nothing short of lackadaisical. Successive administrations have paid lip service to the need for a vibrant national shipping industry, but their actions have demonstrated a complete disregard for the sector’s strategic importance. The national shipping line was allowed to decay, with successive governments failing to invest in its revival or even establish policies that could encourage the growth of indigenous companies capable of competing in the international shipping arena.

The creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy by the present administration, Akiola said was seen by many as a step in the right direction. “Yet, almost a year after its formation, there has been little to no improvement in the state of indigenous shipping. The ministry has yet to make any significant strides toward addressing the core issues plaguing the sector, including lack of infrastructure, access to capital, and policy support. The Nigerian government seems content to allow foreign-owned vessels to dominate our waters, extracting profit from our resources while we remain passive spectators.

“The negative impact of this failure is far-reaching. Without a strong national shipping carrier, Nigeria is at the mercy of foreign shipping companies, paying exorbitant rates for the transportation of our goods. This erodes our trade balance, weakens our economic independence, and limits job creation in a sector that could employ tens of thousands of Nigerians. Moreover, the absence of a robust maritime industry stifles our ability to leverage the blue economy, a sector that could potentially contribute billions to our GDP if properly harnessed,” Akiola said

As the country reflects on this tragic decline, other stakeholders asked for the way forward?

“First, the government must get serious about developing indigenous shipping. This requires more than the creation of ministries and agencies; it demands a focused, strategic plan that includes investment in shipbuilding infrastructure, access to credit for Nigerian ship owners, and policy frameworks that promote local participation in international trade. NIMASA must be refocused to fulfill its original mandate, not as a revenue-generating agency but as a true promoter of Nigerian shipping interests.

“We must also recognise the strategic importance of having our own national shipping carriers. It is inconceivable that a country with the economic potential of Nigeria remains without its own fleet of vessels. Participation in the movement of international trade is not just about economic gain—it is about sovereignty, security, and our standing in the global maritime community, a maritime lawyer, Bayo Adesegun said.

Another maritime lawyer, Dr Dipo Alaska said the time for complacency is over, adding that the Federal Government must act now to revive the dream of an indigenous shipping industry. “Our future prosperity depends on it. Failure to do so will only deepen Nigeria’s reliance on foreign powers, continuing the cycle of dependency and lost opportunities that have plagued our maritime sector for far too long.”