Economy
Fresh Oil Spill From Shell Nigeria Pollutes Okulu River
By Adedapo Adesanya
A fresh oil spill has occurred from a facility operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), polluting the Okulu River in the Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
It was disclosed that the oil spill became noticeable on Sunday, June 11, on the Okulu River, which runs through several communities in the local government area, including Akpajo, Aleto and Agbonchia, to mention only a few.
It has rendered about 300 registered fishermen unable to do their jobs.
Confirming the development, the chairman of Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, Mr Obarilomate Ollor, while inspecting the spill site, said preliminary observations showed that the spill was caused by equipment failure.
Mr Ollor, who accused Shell Nigeria of not showing concern so far over the development, called for calm among the affected communities while expressing optimism that the right steps will be taken to restore the environment.
“We have discussed on the phone with the people who are managers of the pipeline in Shell. They are yet to be here; however, whenever they come for a JIV (Joint Investigative Visit), the cause of the spills will be ascertained by them.
“We already know this (spill) is not sabotage, but let them come for a JIV and let’s look at it together and agree on what caused the spill,” he said.
“Our people are aggrieved, the youths are angry, especially those who would have gone fishing today, are all stranded, and they don’t have other jobs because they survive from fishing.
“All the business activities that go on around this river have been shut down because of the oil spill, so it’s a great loss and a bad day for Eleme people. I feel bad, but as a government, we are going to cooperate with the company because this was not pre-planned,” he added.
On its part, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) has cautioned against exposing the Ogoni environment to fresh oil spills, especially since HYPREP was already struggling to carry out the clean-up of oil-impacted sites in Ogoniland.
The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Mr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, who described the fresh oil spill as one too many, said: “We expected NOSDRA to have determined by now the cause of the spill and the volume through a JIV. If it’s established that the spill is from equipment failure, then Shell should move in quickly to contain the spill, remediate the area and compensate the affected communities.
“Since Shell is divesting from onshore, one would have thought that they would take steps to manage their pipelines which are now bursting like balloons as a resulting obsoleteness from multiple years of operation, without being replaced.
“Shell should ensure that further spills are not happening in the Ogoni area cause it is affecting the people, devastating the ecosystem and contributing to the already polluted environment, which HYPREP is trying to clean up,” he stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
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