Business
Economic hardship: CAN urges Nigerians to persevere
The President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh, has urged Nigerians to persevere in the face of the current economic hardship in the country.
Okoh gave the charge, while fielding questions from newsmen on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the National Day of Prayer 2024 in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the interdenominational prayer with the theme, ‘In His Hands’, was organised by CAN to offer special prayers for the nation and its leadership in the face of its challenges.
The cleric urged Nigerians to continue to pray for policy makers and leaders at all levels for God to direct their hearts appropriately for the well-being of the citizens.
“By today’s prayer, the Lord will do something great, and the Lord will touch the hearts of those policymakers to enact policies that will touch the lives of the people positively.
“We are believing God and we are giving hope to our people, that we shall not die of this hunger.
“We shall survive it, this one too shall soon come to pass but we need to endure a little bit.
“And, we know that even at the point where we think that all our abilities have been exhausted and we have come to our wit’s end, that is when our God will come forth in form of power,” he said.
He advised the government to continue to be sensitive to the experiences of the people at this time, adding that the government would not also be happy if its citizens were suffering and experiencing hunger.
“No government will be happy and celebrating when his people are suffering and in hunger. It doesn’t give it a good name. And so, we know that the people in government are also feeling our pains.
“So, what I tell Nigerians is to continue to depend on God, as they do what is right.
“They must try at this time, as much as possible to remain accountable, to remain consistent in prayers, to remain transparent, and to remain persons of integrity,” he added.
The Guest Speaker, Prophet Isa El-Buba, urged Nigerians to seek God’s divine intervention through prayer as a path of national healing in these difficult times.
El-Buba emphasised the critical role of prayer and divine intervention in addressing the challenges faced by the nation, saying” the power to fix a nation comes from above through prayer.”
He noted that when leaders lacked the necessary wisdom, prayer could provide the insight needed to make righteous decisions and lead effectively.
According to him, prayer is not only the starting point but also the ultimate solution that can transform seemingly impossible situations.
He emphasised the crucial role of government in responding to the needs and voices of the people, by aligning their actions with the will of the populace.
“Leaders are seen as serving a higher purpose and guiding the nation towards positive change and healing.
“The only way our nation can be fixed is by divine intervention. We need the supernatural hand of God to rest on our leaders.
“We can see that when leaders are exhausted in terms of wisdom and knowledge, they need a supply of wisdom from above, and when wisdom comes, leadership begins to do what is right and proper.
“The message is that we prayed, and we asked God to release a new dimension of wisdom for our leaders to be able to lead the people right.
“When the head is alright, the whole body will be alright too,” he said.
The cleric urged President Bola Tinubu-led government to listen to the cry of the people as they were serving the interest of the people.
“The voice of the people is often said to be the voice of the Lord. When you listen to the heart of the people and respond to them by giving guidelines, the nation comes out from the challenges it is facing.” (NAN)
Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, says Nigeria will generate and distribute 8,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity before the end of President Bola Tinubu’s first term in 2027.
The minister spoke during a ministerial press briefing hosted by Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, on Thursday.
Adelabu explained that the Tinubu administration increased power generation by 1,700 megawatts in two years, whereas it previously took the country 35 years to achieve a 2,000 megawatt increase.
He assured that if the new trajectory is sustained, before the end of the Tinubu administration in 2027, the power ministry will generate and distribute 8,000 megawatts of power or more.
“In the country’s history of the power sector, let me thank our agencies, our operators, that this was achieved during our time,” Adelabu said.
“We have crossed the bar of 6,000 megawatts for the first time in the history of Nigeria’s power sector.
“That is not enough, this achievement was followed by a peak generation evacuation of 5,801.44 megawatts on 4th of March 2025, which also saw an impressive daily energy output, the highest ever, 128,370.75 megawatts per day on that very day.
“We’ve always been at 118,000 to 119,000 megawatts on a daily basis, but we achieved 128,000. That is the highest energy ever consumed in a day since the power sector came to being in Nigeria, and we are proud to achieve this.
“In summary, the average daily power generated and distributed in the first quarter of 2025 was 5,700 megawatts.
“Compared with what we met when we resumed office, average of 4,100 megawatts achieved in the third quarter of 2023, this indicate a growth of 1,600 megawatts, nearly 40% growth since we assumed office at the ministry.
“This is very important to us. I came into office August 2023, and between July, August, and September, what we achieved was 4,100 generated, evacuated, transmitted, and distributed, and it’s always been like that. Even though there were spikes in the past, it would go up, it would come down.
“It was not sustainable, and it took the country about 40 years. In 1984, when Alhaji Rilwanu Lukman was the federal minister of power, we achieved 2,000 megawatts of power generation.
“We took this to 4,000, about 2016-2022, so it took the country between 35 to 40 years to achieve 2,000 incremental generation.
“But this administration, thanks to our Mr. President for his support, in one and a half years, we grew this from 4,100 to a peak generation of 5,800; 1,700 increase in one and a half years.
“What we are saying is that past administrations have their own positives, creation of the NIPPs, a lot of things that they achieved.
“If they have been adding at least 1,000 megawatts of power since 1999, we’d be talking about 26,000 megawatts, plus 4,000, that would be about 30,000 megawatts of power in Nigeria today, but we cannot keep dwelling in the past.
“It’s the way forward. Now that we have created the trajectory, if we sustain this trajectory, I can assure you that before the end of this administration in 2027, we should be able to generate and distribute nothing less than 8,000 megawatts of power.
“So, given that it took the country almost 40 years to achieve an incremental 2,000 megawatts average energy, we accomplished this.”
‘NATIONAL GRID STRONGER IN TINUBU’S ADMINISTRATION’
Adelabu explained that the national grid has been stronger in Tinubu’s administration, as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) strengthened the critical network by commissioning 61 new transformers.
“It is a huge grid to cover over 200 million people, and it’s been there for so long, and we know that the maintenance history has been poor, replacement history has been poor, expansion history has been poor,” the minister said.
“It is old, so collectively enabling our grid 8.7 gigawatt operational capacity, as of today, if we grow our generation to 8,700 megawatts, the grid can still carry it, thanks to the activities of the TCN and the FGN power company.
“Two years ago, once it gets to 5,000 megawatts, the grid collapses, then we have evacuated 5,800 megawatts successfully without the grid blinking, it was still stable, so we can transport 8,700 megawatts.
“To strengthen this critical network, TCN commissioned 61 new transformers, totalling 5,589 MVA in 2024. Followed by nine additional transformers in quarter one of 2025 across key locations in Lagos, Benin, Bauchi, Oshogbo, Kano and Kaduna, we have the list of the sites, I once mentioned that TCN had over 100 unfinished projects.
“In the 2025 appropriation, we already have N25 billion to support TCN to complete some of these projects and that will also improve power supply.
“Beyond TCN, we have the activities of the presidential power initiative, which is being executed by the FGN power company. The pilot phase delivered infrastructure across 13 locations, adding 700 megawatts to the national grid.
“We experience a number of grid disturbances towards the end of last year; but since January up till today, four months into the new year, we have not seen any major disturbance to the grid.
“I can assure you, we do everything possible to maintain and sustain the current scenario. If there’s any little disturbance, our turnaround time is being worked upon, within one to two hours, the grid will be up.”
Adelabu said another remarkable initiative is the progress made towards regionalising the national grid, adding that the eastern and western supergrid approvals currently in progress will revolutionise the national grid and reduce failures.
The minister added that Nigeria needs regionalisation of the national grid so that if there is a problem in one part of the country, it will not affect other parts.
… Reminds Public to always verify registration status
The Securities and Exchange Commission has stated that Crypto Bridge Exchange also known as CBEX was not granted registration by the Commission at any time to operate as a Digital Assets Exchange.
In a Circular dated April 17, 2025, the Commission stated that its attention has been drawn to recent media reports/publications on the activities of CBEX (Crypto Bridge Exchange). CBEX, which also operates under the corporate identity of ST Technologies International Ltd, Smart Treasure/Super Technology, has held itself out as a digital asset-trading platform, offering high returns to investors in Nigeria.
According to the SEC, “The Commission hereby clarifies that neither CBEX nor its affiliates were granted registration by the Commission at any time to operate as a Digital Assets Exchange, solicit investments from the public or perform any other function within the Nigerian capital market.
Preliminary investigations carried out by the Commission have revealed that CBEX engaged in promotional activities to create a false perception of legitimacy, in order to entice unsuspecting members of the public into investing monies, with the promise of implausibly high guaranteed returns within a short timeframe.
CBEX has failed to honour withdrawal requests from their subscribers and abruptly closed their physical offices, amid mounting complaints.
The SEC emphasised that pursuant to the provisions of Section 196 of the Investments and Securities Act 2025, the Commission would collaborate with relevant law enforcement agencies to take appropriate enforcement action against the CBEX, its affiliates and promoters.
“The Commission uses this medium to remind the public to REFRAIN from investing in or dealing with any entity offering unrealistic returns or employing similar recruitment-based investment models. Prospective investors are advised to VERIFY the registration status of investment platforms via the Commission’s dedicated portal: www.sec.gov.ng/cmos before transacting with them”, the SEC added.
SEC Director General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, had recently said the Commission is launching a more forceful and coordinated enforcement regime against unregistered and illegal “phony” investment schemes, otherwise known as Ponzi schemes.
Agama said with the newly enacted Investments and Securities Act, 2025 (ISA 2025), the Commission now has enhanced powers to prosecute Ponzi schemes and their promoters.
He said investigations were ongoing on CBEX, adding that promoters of the failed scheme will not go scot-free.
Agama said the new law has given the Commission more powers and blocked loopholes in emerging areas of virtual and digital assets.
“The ISA 2025 has given the Commission the legal backing to provide clarity, ensure investor protection, and enhance market confidence, especially in new and previously unregulated segments such as digital asset exchanges and online foreign exchange platforms,” Agama said.
He said that while the apex capital market regulator would continue to support innovations in finance and investments, the Commission would maintain strict oversight in line with its enhanced investor’s protection mandate.
“We welcome innovation, but it must occur within a regulated environment that protects investors and maintains the integrity of our market,” Agama said.
He recalled that SEC had even with the limited scope of the repealed Act maintained extensive surveillance and was able to shut down a number of Ponzi schemes, with some of the promoters like Fahmzi Interbiz jailed for defrauding Nigerians.
According to him, with the ISA 2025 that gives the Commission more powers to deal with issues, the Commission will ensure that promoters of such schemes are not allowed to operate.
The Nigerian Exchange reversed previous gains on Wednesday, April 16, as investors lost N445bn following a widespread decline in banking stocks, especially Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Zenith Bank.
At the close of trading, the All-Share Index dropped by 708.14 points, representing a 0.68 per cent decline, to settle at 103,851.88 points. This downward movement also dragged the overall market capitalisation from N65.7 tn to N65.3 tn, reflecting a N445 bn loss in value.
The decline in the market was primarily driven by sharp sell-offs in top-tier banks. Guaranty Trust Holding Company recorded the worst performance on the losers’ chart with an 11.94 per cent drop to close at N59.00 per share. Zenith Bank followed closely with an 11.65 per cent dip to close at N44.00 per share. Other laggards included Industrial and Medical Gases, which fell by 10 per cent, Guinea Insurance, which dropped by 9.52 per cent, and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust, which declined by 8.2 per cent.
Despite the bearish outing, 124 listed equities participated in the day’s trading, out of which 24 recorded gains while 21 posted losses. Abbey Mortgage Bank led the gainers’ chart with a 9.99 per cent increase to close at N8.15 per share. It was trailed by Sovereign Trust Insurance with a gain of 7.69 per cent, the Nigerian Exchange Group rose by 7.3 per cent, and Deap Capital Management and Trust appreciated by 6.67 per cent.
Market activity also showed mixed sentiments. A total of 351.66m shares valued at N13.71bn were exchanged in 12,141 deals. Compared to the previous trading day, this represented a five per cent decline in trading volume, a 26 per cent increase in turnover, and an eight per cent drop in the number of deals.
Access Holdings led in terms of volume with 68.2m shares traded, followed by GTCO with 36.8m shares, FCMB Group with 28.8m shares, and United Bank for Africa with 26.4m shares.
On the performance of key indices, the NGX Top 30 Index fell by 0.72 per cent. The NGX Oil and Gas Index slipped by 0.05 per cent, while the NGX Industrial Index was marginally flat. However, some indices posted gains: the NGX Insurance Index advanced by 0.8 per cent, the NGX Consumer Goods Index rose by 0.34 per cent, and the NGX Pension Index edged up by 0.09 per cent.
In terms of broader market performance, the NGX has recorded a one-week loss of 0.32 per cent and a four-week loss of 1.84 per cent, although it retains a modest year-to-date gain of 0.9 per cent.
On Tuesday, the Nigerian equities market rebounded, with investors recording a gain of N19bn, pushing the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange to N65.7tn at the close of trading.