Business
Nigerian Lenders Fund Agro-Industry With N4.68tr In 2018-2022
As the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the government of the 36 states and FCT continue to seek ways out of the current national food crises, a recent report shows that Nigeria’s commercial banks gave N4.68 trillion as loans to the country’s agricultural industry from 2018-2022.
Titled “Commercial Bank Lending to the Nigerian Agricultural Industry 2018-2022,” the report was published by an Abuja-based firm, Alford Conferences Limited, as part of its preparation towards its event called Nigerian Food Surplus Summit.
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On the report, the Chief Executive Officer of Alford Conferences, Frederick Apeji, stated, “We advocate that Nigeria’s commercial banking sector should seek creative ways to increase the share of its loan portfolio devoted to growing the country’s agricultural industry in the years ahead, beyond the 5.03% that it gave to the industry during the period under review. More importantly, we also advocate that the government of the 36 states and FCT should deliberately work more closely with these commercial banks in order to attract appropriate funding for bankable businesses and projects across the agricultural value chains in their respective domains.
“The total five-year bank lending of N4.68 trillion given to the agricultural industry compares favourably with the N8.18 trillion internally generated revenue (IGR) that was raised collectively in these past five years by the FCT and the 36 states. This IGR figure is tracked annually by Alford Conferences Limited. Another figure worthy of comparison is the N1.12 trillion Anchor Borrowers Fund established by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in November 2015 to support small holder farmers (SHF) throughout the country.”
The CEO highlighted that the report studied only banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate in Nigeria, and those who “had at least N1tr in loans and advances during the period under review (2018-2022)”.
According to Apeji, “We focused on those banks that hold the CBN license to operate either internationally or nationally to produce this report Amongst them (22 in all), we looked at the ones that had at least N1tr in loans and advances during the period under review (2018-2022), irrespective of how much they gave to the Nigerian agricultural industry. The 12 banks thus captured in this report are (in order of the size of their loan portfolio): Access Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, First City Monument Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Wema Bank Plc.”
Based on the report, Access Holdings was the biggest lender in Nigeria from January 1, 2018-December 31, 2022 (N17.386 trillion) and also the biggest lender to the country’s agricultural industry (N928.55 billion) during this period. Zenith Bank was the 2nd biggest lender in Nigeria (N14.278 trillion), and also the 2nd biggest lender to the country’s agricultural industry (N873.36 billion). FBN Holdings, the 3rd biggest lender in Nigeria with N12.411 trillion, however ranked 7th among the 12 banks in this report based on its total loans of N285.18 billion to the agriculture.
The report further indicated that Ecobank Nigeria gave the highest percentage of its total loans of N4.68 trillion to the agricultural industry. This stood at N574.69 billion, representing 12.28%. Sterling Bank and FCMB Group ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively in terms of their percentage commitment to supporting the Nigerian agricultural industry these past five years. Though small players in the banking industry, they gave 8.19% and 7.58% respectively to agriculture, historically the biggest employer of labour in this country. The three other banks that performed better than the industry average of 5.03% in agricultural lending during this period were Zenith Bank (6.12%), Access Holdings (5.4%) and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc (5.33%).
Established in April 2014, Alford Conferences Limited, the convener of the annual Nigeria Food Surplus Summit, is an event production company and a consulting firm that advises the Nigerian and African public sector on subnational revenue generation, agribusiness development, export promotion, strategic investment promotion, host country/host city marketing, pan-African trade, etc.
The forthcoming Nigeria Food Surplus Summit is a nationwide advocacy that seeks to help Nigeria to successfully feed itself and have a large surplus for export by strengthening the commercial farming, food processing, and agricultural machinery segments of the country’s agricultural industry. For decades, up till this present moment, the burden of feeding this country of over 220 million people has rested largely on the shoulders of its millions of smallholder farmers. The summit seeks to strongly complement this by deliberately promoting and boosting commercial farming, food processing, and the production of agricultural machinery on a large scale in each of the 36 states and FCT, partnering actively with their respective ministry of agriculture.
Business
CSOs Urge Further Reduction Of Pump Prices Of Petrol
Following the marginal reduction of the pump prices of premium motor spirit (PMS) by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Nigerian National Petrol Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), civil society groups have reacted by calling for further downward review.
Recall that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery had announced a partnership with MRS Oil and Gas to offer petrol at N935 per litre at retail outlets, while it reviewed the ex-depot price from N970 to N899.50 per litre.
The move, saw state oil major, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company peg its retail prices at N965/litre.
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However, the civil society groups are of the opinion that the price reduction, fall short of expectations.
According to the Chairman, Centre for Accountability and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, the reduced price of N935/litre was still expensive and unsatisfactory.
He pointed out that petrol was just one of the products coming out of crude and that both government and private business could still give out free petrol to citizens while making huge profits from the other products.
In his words, “Well, we believe that if NNPC and the private sector actually give out PMS for free, they will still not run their business at a loss, because the other derivatives of petroleum products can still serve them, and can still make them to break even. So, even at that N900 and something, it’s still expensive.
“Dangote has kind of mooted the idea that it could drop to as low as N650. And if he has mulled this, then it means that it is the state, it is the NNPC that will have been the clog in the wheel of such progress. And you know also that we expected that fuel prices, especially PMS prices, will drop below N200 when Dangote was expected to come on stream.
“So, it’s unfortunate that we are still talking about over N900 and they want us to jump up and rejoice for that. That is not satisfactory. They should just let us see the breakdown of their production cost and why it’s still there. I mean, there are countries like Libya under Gaddafi that gave out PMS for free and they didn’t run anything at any loss. So, I believe that it can still go further down.”
On his part, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Ibrahim Rafsanjani, commended the reduction of fuel prices by the NNPC and Dangote, but said the government could still reduce the price.
“Dangote’s own is about N899 or something like that. Well first and foremost, we are happy that there is a little reduction in the prices. But also based on analysis and based on facts and evidences, we believe that it is possible for the Nigerian government to further reduce the prices.
“Because if a private company can reduce the price and it still makes profit, we wonder why government-owned enterprises cannot really pity its citizens,” he said.
Business
Non-Oil Sector Fuels Nigeria’s Q3 2024 GDP Growth, Says CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a significant growth in the country’s economy, with a 3.46% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2024.
This marks the third consecutive quarter of expansion, up from 3.19% in Q2 2024 and 2.54% in Q3 2023.
According to the newly published Q3 economic report, Nigeria’s GDP output rose to ₦20.115 trillion, reflecting a notable improvement from ₦18.285 trillion in the previous quarter.
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The CBN attributed this growth primarily to the performance of the non-oil sector, which grew by 3.37% compared to 2.80% in Q2 2024.
The report highlighted transportation, crop production, and other sub-sectors such as financial & insurance services, information & communication, trade, and real estate as major contributors to the expansion.
The non-oil sector accounted for 3.18 percentage points of the total growth rate.
“The expansion of the non-oil sector was driven by the performance of the financial & insurance, information & communication, crop production, trade, transportation & storage, and real estate sub-sectors,” the report stated.
Despite the economic growth, challenges persist. Inflation, particularly in food prices, remains a significant concern, standing at 39.93% as of November 2024.
Rising food and energy costs have also impacted transportation expenses, with intercity bus fares increasing by 20.23% year-on-year to ₦7,117.17 in July 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Furthermore, the cost of petroleum, now exceeding ₦1,000 per litre, has driven up logistics and transportation expenses, adding pressure to households and businesses alike.
The CBN acknowledged these challenges, noting that the growth was achieved despite headwinds such as high inflation and rising operational costs.
Enhanced security measures in the Niger Delta have boosted domestic crude oil production, while restrictive monetary policies have helped moderate inflation in some areas.
“The growth recorded in the country is a result of continued efforts to improve the business environment, streamline cumbersome business processes, and deepen the quality of business infrastructure,” the CBN noted.
However, the report comes amid concerns over businesses exiting Nigeria due to persistent economic challenges.
Business
CSR: Asharami Synergy Donates Furniture To Gaskiya Junior School
Asharami Synergy, a leading downstream energy solutions provider, has demonstrated its commitment to community development and education by donating essential furniture to Gaskiya Junior School in Ijora, Lagos, Nigeria.
Biztellers reports that the social responsibility initiative was executed in collaboration with Sahara Group Foundation – the social impact vehicle of global energy conglomerate, Sahara Group.
It was gathered that the initiative is part of Asharami Synergy’s ongoing efforts to support education in communities.
The donation includes classroom desks and chairs for the JSS1 classes.
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CEO of Asharami Synergy, Nomnso Dike, said the project will create a more comfortable and functional learning environment and enhance student performance.
“We are delighted at the opportunity to support the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education. It has been a privilege to collaborate with the management and students of Gaskiya Junior School to deliver this project, and we look forward to future opportunities to enhance academic performance in this historic institution,” Dike said.
According to him, Asharami Synergy’s education-focused social impact initiatives have benefitted over 10,000 individuals. They focus on building capacity and providing the resources necessary to help students learn and grow sustainably.
“Education is the foundation of a brighter future, and at Asharami Synergy, we believe that every child deserves a learning environment that inspires and empowers them” he noted, adding, “This donation is not just about providing furniture; it’s a reminder to the students that their dreams are valid, and we are committed to helping them achieve their goals.”
Vice Principal Academic of Gaskiya Junior School, Sola Oladokun, commended Asharami Synergy for the donation, noting that it would inspire students to perform better with “increased concentration and fewer distractions”.
“These desks and chairs are a game-changer for our students. It’s heartwarming to see their excitement, and as teachers, we are equally thrilled because this will make teaching and learning more effective. We are incredibly grateful to Asharami Synergy and Sahara Group Foundation for this thoughtful intervention,” she added.
Two representatives of the students, Akin Moses and Chukwudi Gift, at the event said the donation would increase their “desire to dream bigger and concentrate better during lessons”.
Also speaking at the commissioning, COO at Asharami Synergy, Adekanmi Adesola, said, “What started as an opportunity to support the communities that host our operations has now come full circle. This donation directly impacts the lives of these students, and we are proud to bring smiles to the faces of the students and teachers.”