Economy
I Fully Agree Oil Has Been a Curse to Nigeria—Moghalu
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Kingsley Moghalu, has said oil has been a curse to Nigeria.
He said this in reaction to the discovery of oil in the northern part of the country.
On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi, and he said the country attracted $3 billion investment in fossil energy from the project at a time when the oil and gas sector was becoming less attractive.
“It is, therefore, to the credit of this administration that at a time when there is near zero appetites for investment in fossil energy, coupled with the location challenges, we are able to attract investment of over $3 billion to this project,” Mr Buhari said.
The Kolmani Integrated Development Project is a fully integrated in-situ development project comprising upstream production, oil refining, power generation and fertilizer.
The Kolmani River field has huge commercial deposits of hydrocarbons, which the President said is “over one billion barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion cubic feet of gas.”
But Mr Moghalu, who contested to be the President of Nigeria in 2019 under the Young Progressives Party (YPP), believes that the country has not gained anything meaningful from being an oil-producing nation.
Nigeria is one of the leading producers of crude oil in Africa. Most of the foreign exchange (FX) earnings come from the sale of the commodity. However, oil theft and corruption have subjected its citizens to abject poverty, with the government resorting to borrowing to fund its budgets.
“I fully agree with those who say oil has been a curse to Nigeria. Many of them question the ultimate value of the reported Kolmani oil find in Northern Nigeria.
“But I am also practical enough to know three things. First, some countries like Saudi Arabia, Gulf States, and Norway were smart enough to use oil to build their economies but diversified into other means of wealth creation and also built-up savings (reserves/Sovereign Wealth Funds) for the rainy day that have served them well.
“Secondly, the real secret of the wealth of nations does NOT lie in natural resources. It lies in economic complexity – the ability to prioritize technological innovation and use it to manufacture complex products that are value-added and competitively produced and then exported to dominate the world trading system. Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland and many other of the world’s wealthiest countries have NOTHING of value under their soil but have used this principle to create wealth for their citizens. That’s why they are rich, but we in Nigeria and most other African countries, with our so-called blessing of natural resources, are in a poverty trap.
“We in fact have the resource curse. 70% of the world’s strategic minerals are in Africa, but the continent’s share of world trade is just 3% in 2022.
“The third thing I am practical enough to know is that, as Nigeria is currently led and configured, the dominant mentality of its political leadership is still fixated on natural resources and resource rents. They simply do not share in, & do not care, about the secret of the wealth of nations.
“Their minds still haven’t evolved to that knowledge or, more accurately, the political will to de-emphasize natural resource thinking and shift to real wealth creation,” the respected economist said in a series of tweets via his verified Twitter handle, @MoghaluKingsley.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent futures climbed $1.06 or 1.3 per cent to $83.55 a barrel on Friday amid ongoing uncertainty about the negotiations in progress that determine control of and reopening of the key shipping artery of the Strait of Hormuz.
In the same vein, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures finished at $78.18 a barrel after it chalked up 89 cents or 1.15 per cent.
Iran is reviewing a bill to ban American and Israeli vessels from the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passed before the war began at the end of February.
Market analysts noted that while this week’s signals on a potential deal have sent a roller-coaster ride in market sentiment, the market remains in the dark as to what needs to happen for the agreement to be clinched.
Part of the question being asked is whether the Iran-Oman agreement would allow a US-flagged vessel to transit the Strait of Hormuz or allow a vessel headed for an American port to go through.
Shipping through Hormuz remains heavily constrained as Middle East oil production is still well below pre-war levels while attacks on commercial vessels have continued even as negotiators discuss possible arrangements for the waterway.
Some also said that this week’s developments have signalled that hostilities between Iran and the US are not yet over. This is because the proposed deal is not easily workable because of sanctions and restrictive insurance clauses on any payments by the US government.
Iran is seeking fees of between 5 per cent and 7 per cent of the price of cargoes from ships using the strait, while Oman is discussing fees of about 3 per cent, while the Donald Trump administration wants no fees at all.
Citi has raised its third-quarter Brent crude forecast to $80 per barrel from $75 as the war drags on and repeated attempts at a deal fail to restore normal oil flows through the strait.
The bank still expects the conflict to be resolved, but the five-month war has lasted longer than Citi anticipated and kept more geopolitical risk in crude prices. Citi left its fourth-quarter Brent forecast unchanged at $70 per barrel and still sees the benchmark averaging $65 in 2027.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian businessman and chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Aliko Dangote, has unveiled plans for a new phase of investments and acquisitions as the conglomerate pushes towards its target of generating $100 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
Mr Dangote disclosed this while receiving a delegation of senior executives from global investment banking and financial services firm Goldman Sachs, led by co-chief executive of Goldman Sachs International and Global Co-Head of Investment Banking, Mr Anthony Gutman, during a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and Dangote Fertiliser Limited complex in Lagos.
Speaking after the visit, Mr Dangote said the refinery and associated industrial facilities underscore the transformative impact of long-term investment in Africa, stressing that the group’s ambitions extend beyond its current strategic plan.
“No matter how we try to explain what we have built, you cannot fully appreciate it until you see it. But this is only the beginning. We need to look beyond 2030.
“The next phase of our journey will include new investments and acquisitions as we continue to scale the business,” he said.
He added that detailed internal modelling had reinforced management’s confidence that the Group’s target of generating $100 billion in annual revenue by 2030 was achievable.
According to him, the projections were based on conservative assumptions and had strengthened the company’s conviction to pursue an even more ambitious long-term growth strategy.
Mr Dangote also revealed that the strong participation of employees in the refinery’s recent private placement reflected growing internal confidence in the company’s long-term strategy and future prospects.
The Goldman Sachs delegation, after an extensive tour of the 700,000 barrels-per-day refinery, described the project as an extraordinary achievement.
“It is extraordinary what Mr Dangote and the whole organisation have achieved. The ambition, the scale of the project, the quality of the project and the culture of the people is very impressive,” the executives said.
According to a statement issued by Dangote Group on Friday, the delegation was led by Mr Anthony Gutman and included Mr Adib N. Zouein, Co-Head of EMEA Emerging Markets Regional Sales and Head of the Middle East and North Africa region for Global Banking & Markets Public; Mr Ryad Yousuf, Global Head of FICC Sales Strats and Structuring; and Mr Jimi Adesanya, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Sales (excluding South Africa).
The visitors were received by Dangote; Group Vice President, Oil & Gas, Mr Devakumar Edwin; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, Mr David Bird; Group Executive Director, Oil & Gas, Ms Fatima Aliko Dangote; Chief of Staff to the President/CEO, Ibrahim Dikko; Group Chief Branding and Communication Officer, Mr Anthony Chiejina; Group Chief Economist, Mr Hassan Mahmud; Group Chief Strategy Officer, Mr Aliyu Suleiman; and Head of Administration, Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, Mr Musa Bala, among other senior executives.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate Public Accounts Committee has heard that Nigeria spent N1.16 trillion on fuel subsidy in 2021, while N1.20 trillion was deducted from federation crude oil sales proceeds during the same period.
The disclosure came from the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr Mohammed Bello Shehu, during the committee’s ongoing investigation into the 2021 to 2023 Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) audit reports on the oil and gas sector.
According to the commission, crude and petroleum product losses cost N16.2 billion, pipeline repairs accounted for N22.05 billion, while strategic stock holding attracted N6.75 billion.
The revelations come against the backdrop of Nigeria’s long-running fuel subsidy regime, which successive governments maintained to keep the pump price of petrol artificially low despite mounting fiscal pressures.
Over the years, subsidy payments consumed trillions of Naira, significantly reducing revenues available to the three tiers of government and contributing to widening budget deficits.
The issue reached a turning point in May 2023 when President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy during his inauguration speech, declaring that “fuel subsidy is gone.” The decision followed years of concerns over the rising cost of the programme, allegations of fraud, and repeated recommendations by fiscal authorities and international financial institutions that the subsidy had become unsustainable.
The removal triggered a sharp increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), leading to higher transportation and living costs across the country. In response, the federal government introduced a series of palliative measures, including cash transfers, support for mass transit, and wage-related interventions, while arguing that savings from the subsidy would be redirected to infrastructure, education, healthcare, and other critical sectors of the economy.
The commission also argued that the current method of calculating the 13 per cent derivation fund undermines the constitutional intention of the policy.
Meanwhile, the committee stood down the Niger Delta Development Commission’s presentation until next Wednesday to allow lawmakers review its submission.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of the Auditor-General of the Federation, warning that he must appear before lawmakers next Tuesday or face compulsory appearance through the constitutional powers of the National Assembly.
