Fresh lease of life for Nigeria Commodity Exchange as BPE selects advisers

Activities at the Nigeria Commodity Exchange will soon take on fresh lease of life following the conclusion of the selection process for advisers on transactions at the exchange.

Mr. Vincent Akpotaire, ag. DG, BPE
Disclosing this to newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Dr. Vincent Akpotaire, Acting Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), said the move followed strategic equity investment by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) in the exchange as part of the government’s drive to grow the country’s non-oil exports.

Mrs. Zaheera Baba-Ari, Managing Director, Nigeria Commodity Exchange, said the initiative has the full backing of President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that farmers would have a better deal going forward as a result of the revitalisation of the Exchange,

Akpotaire said 13 firms of advisers were randomly selected from the database of key stakeholder agencies of government out of which three advisers who met the technical advisory requirements were selected to carry out a restructuring programme on the Nigeria Commodity Exchange.

He added that only six advisers indicated interest but Lead Capital Consortium came first, with a total score of 83.1 per cent at the end of the selection process. “PricewaterhouseCoopers came second with a total score of 61.4 per cent, while United Capital Consortium came third and scored 58.3 per cent,” he said.

The results would be subject to final approval by the National Council on Privatisation’s steering committee headed by Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Akpotaire said.

It is expected that the revitalized Nigeria Commodity Exchange would aid the much desired revamp of the economy, particularly as regards the non-oil sector. A robust commodity exchange, he said, would serve as a catalyst for enhancing the efficient marketing and distribution of agricultural commodities, as well as other produce.

 “A well-structured and revitalised NCX operation will create job opportunities among the market participants like produce inspectors, private warehouse operators and logistics managers, among others,” Akpotaire said.
He noted that at the moment, operators in Nigeria’s commodity market rip off farmers, as they dictate the amount they would pay for farm produce.



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