By Elizabeth Adegbesan

The  Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,405 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,400 per dollar on Wednesday.

But the naira appreciated to N1,347.5 per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market,  NFEM.

Data  from the Central Bank of Nigeria,  CBN, showed that the indicative exchange rate for the naira fell to N1,347.5  per dollar from N1,351  per dollar on Wednesday,  indicating N3.5 appreciation for the naira.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel and official markets widened to N57.5 per dollar from N49 per dollar on Wednesday.

The interbank turnover at NFEM rose by 0.22 percent to N371.8 million yesterday from N370.98 million the previous day.

By Obas Esiedesa & Mariam Eko

The Federal Government (FG) has commissioned the upgraded transmission facilities in four major substations in Lagos, adding about 360 megawatts (MW) of transmission capacity to boost electricity supply across the state.

The projects at Ijora, Apapa Road, Alausa and Lekki substations are expected to strengthen bulk power delivery to residential, commercial and industrial consumers within the networks of Eko and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Companies.

Speaking during the commissioning of the projects, Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the investments were aimed at removing transmission bottlenecks and improving electricity reliability.

“These infrastructures have been here for over 25 years. What we are doing is commissioning new power transformers in Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki transmission substations. This is important as it will increase our wheeling capacity and also improve our delivery to end-users,” he said.

At Ijora, two new 100MVA transformers raised installed capacity from 90MVA to 230MVA, adding about 112MW, while the Apapa Road substation received two 60MVA transformers and modern gas-insulated switchgear, increasing capacity from 60MVA to 180MVA and adding about 96MW.

At Alausa, an existing 30MVA transformer was replaced with a 100MVA unit, raising total capacity from 135MVA to 205MVA and adding about 56MW. The additional capacity has increased power allocation to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company to 80MW.

At Lekki, TCN commissioned two by 60MVA transformers, one by 300MVA transformer and nine additional 33kV feeders. The intervention doubled transformation capacity at the 132/33kV level from 120MVA to 240MVA.

Tegbe said the Alausa intervention alone could serve about 70,000 households, representing approximately 180,000 people, while the Lekki project would benefit about 100,000 customers, representing an estimated 400,000 people.

TCN Managing Director, Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, said the projects were supported by the World Bank and JICA, with Shanghai Electric involved in execution.

By Kafayat kokumo 

Experts have called for reforms, increased investment, innovation and stronger collaboration among stakeholders to unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s poultry industry, to enhance food security, job creation and economic growth.

Speaking recently at the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter summit themed, “Flocking to Growth: Transforming Nigerian Poultry Industry through Innovation and Investment,” Prof. Olutayo Adeyemi said Nigeria’s poultry industry remains one of the country’s most strategic agricultural sectors, with the South-West serving as the hub of poultry production in West Africa.

Adeyemi said advances in poultry genetics have significantly improved productivity, stressing that researchers, farmers, regulators, investors and government must work together to drive the industry’s growth.

He identified precision feed milling, genetics and breeding, broiler production, processing, cold-chain logistics, standard abattoirs and value addition as critical areas requiring investment, lamenting Nigeria’s limited processing capacity.

In his paper presentation titled,”Sustainable Poultry Production: Best Practices, Climate Change and Waste Management,” Dr. Mobolaji Alabi said agriculture contributed 23.1 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of the year, while Nigeria’s estimated poultry population of 300 million birds remains insufficient to meet future demand.

He urged poultry farmers to adopt precision management by accurately measuring feed, medication and bird weight to improve productivity and reduce antimicrobial resistance.