Economy
Dangote PMS Supply: Otedola Urges DAPPMAN to Change Business Model
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian businessman, Mr Femi Otedola, has shown support to his ally, Mr Aliko Dangote, amid his ongoing tussle with the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) over his new petroleum supply model.
In a statement issued on Sunday on recent developments in the downstream sector, Mr Otedola praised the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s entry into local fuel supply, describing it as a “historic leap for Nigeria’s energy independence and economic future.”
He further described the refinery’s operations as part of a broader transformation that is making Nigeria’s energy market more efficient and accountable, noting that the President Bola Tinubu administration has fully deregulate the downstream petroleum sector, stressing, “This singular act has broken the grip of entrenched interests and ushered in a new era of transparency, healthy competition, and customer-centric service delivery,”
He added that deregulation dismantled systems that encouraged subsidy fraud, product diversion, and smuggling, pointing out he founded the association in 2002 to give independent depot owners a platform to thrive, but argued that many are resisting inevitable change.
The business mogul warned that the old business model built around imports and Product Forwards/Payments from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) is crumbling now that local refining and supply have arrived.
“You can delay change, frustrate it, even sabotage it, but you can never stop it,” Mr Otedola said, urging members to adapt or exit while their assets still hold value.
He pointed out that Nigeria now reportedly has over 4 million metric tonnes of storage capacity, much of it idle, while the Dangote Refinery is supplying fuel locally.
Mr the son of a former Governor of Lagos State, Mr Michael Otedola, also questioned DAPPMAN’s demand that Dangote Refinery should pay N1.5 trillion, emphasising that these funds would simply be passed on to consumers and recalled past abuses under subsidy regimes, saying “over N2 trillion was siphoned through questionable claims” tied to depot licenses.
He also highlighted downstream benefits beyond fuel production, noting Dangote’s investments in logistics including the purchase of 10,000 new CNG eco-friendly trucks and dry cargo carriers.
Mr Otedola argued that these vehicles will reduce pollution, lower breakdowns, and unclog gridlock at major ports and terminals.
Drawing on his own depot and tanker-business experience, he suggested depot ownership no longer delivers the employment or returns some claim.
Mr Otedola counselled that rather than fight reform, DAPPMAN members should explore strategic options such as sell or repurpose depots, invest in last-mile retail (filling stations), restructure, or even combine resources to acquire and run existing refining capacity.
He held up the Folawiyo Group’s early exit from depots as a model of foresight, and warned that failure to adapt could lead to irrelevance or bankruptcy.
In closing, he proposed an unequivocal endorsement of Dangote’s role in the sector’s transformation.
“Aliko’s refinery is not the problem. It is the solution. Let’s move forward.
“Africans are proud of you. And yes, my dear brother Aliko, you can now go to Monaco and rest jejely like me. You’ve earned it,” he remarked.
Economy
Russia’s Lukoil Agrees to Sell International Assets in Nigeria, Others to Carlyle
By Adedapo Adesanya
US sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil, will sell its foreign assets, including those in Nigeria and five other countries, to the US investment firm, The Carlyle Group.
According to an announcement on Thursday, Lukoil reached an agreement with the US investment firm on the sale of Lukoil International GmbH, the holding company that owns the group’s non-Russian international assets.
These foreign assets include shares in oil fields and refineries across the globe, including in Iraq, Azerbaijan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nigeria, and Mexico.
The sale follows the US sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, “as a result of Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”
The Donald Trump administration in October 2025 had carried out the decision to put pressure on Russia’s state finances, adding the country’s two largest oil producers, Lukoil and Rosneft, to its blacklist of sanctioned entities. The US had initially given the oil firm one month to sell the holdings before gradually extending it as negotiations dragged on.
Lukoil had announced that same month that it would sell all of its international assets, initiating a formal process to receive bids from potential buyers.
After months of negotiations with potential buyers and one preliminary agreement with Gunvor blocked by the US Treasury, which described the trading group as “the Kremlin’s puppet”, it has now signed an agreement to sell Lukoil International GmbH to Carlyle.
Companies working with the sanctioned firms risk secondary sanctions that would deny them access to US banks, traders, transporters, and insurers.
The agreement is not exclusive and is subject to conditions such as the procurement of necessary regulatory approvals, including permission from the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for the transaction with Carlyle.
Carlyle said that the agreement “has been structured to be fully compliant” with US Treasury policies and that it was “conditional upon Carlyle’s due diligence and regulatory approvals”.
Prior to the Carlyle news, other US oil and gas supermajors Chevron and ExxonMobil, and International Holding Company (IHC) of Abu Dhabi expressed interest to the US Treasury to potentially acquire Lukoil’s international assets.
The sale would further dent Russian economy which has been struggling because of its war in Ukraine and Western sanctions have increased inflation and slowed economic growth. In 2025, the country’s oil and gas revenues, which make up about a quarter of government income and help fund the war, fell to their lowest level in five years.
Economy
Eyesan Assures Investors of Transparency, Merit in Oil Licensing Bid
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assured investors of a transparent, merit-based and competitive process for Nigeria’s 2025 oil and gas licensing round.
Mrs Eyesan, gave the assurance on Wednesday while speaking at a Pre-Bid Webinar organised by the commission, noting that only applicants with strong technical, financial credentials, professionalism and credible plans would proceed to the critical stage of the bidding process.
The NUPRC in December 1, 2025 inaugurated Nigeria’s 2025 Licensing Bid Round, offering 50 oil and gas blocks across frontier, onshore, shallow water, and deepwater terrains for potential investors.
The basins included Niger Delta basin, with 35 blocks, Benin (Frontier) with three blocks, Anambra (Frontier), with four blocks, Benue (Frontier), with four blocks and Chad (Frontier) with four blocks on offer.
Mrs Eyesan explained that the licensing process would follow five stages: Registration and pre-qualification, data acquisition, technical bid submission, evaluation, and a commercial bid conference, with only bidders that meet strong technical and financial criteria progressing.
The NUPRC executive said the 2025 Licensing Round represented a deliberate effort by Nigeria to reposition its upstream petroleum sector for long-term investment, transparency, and value creation, amid increasing global competition for capital.
She said that energy security and supply resilience had become key global economic and geopolitical priorities, while investment capital was increasingly selective and disciplined.
“Our national priority is clear: to attract capital, grow reserves, and improve production in a responsible and sustainable manner.
“A structured and transparent licensing round is essential to achieving these objectives.
“The NUPRC is legally mandated to conduct licensing rounds in a periodic, open, transparent, and fully competitive manner and the entire 2025 process will be governed strictly by published rules,” she said.
The official further revealed that, with the approval of President Bola Tinubu, signature bonuses for the 2025 round have been set within a range designed to lower entry barriers and prioritise technical capability, credible work programmes, financial strength, and speed to production.
She emphasised that the bid process will fully comply with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and remain open to public and institutional scrutiny through the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and other oversight agencies.
Economy
Afriland Properties, Three Others Weaken NASD Exchange by 0.06%
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four price losers weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, January 28.
The decliners were led by Afriland Properties Plc, which lost N1.53 to close at N14.50 per share compared with the previous day’s N16.03 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc dropped 50 Kobo to end at N6.35 per unit versus Tuesday’s price of N6.85 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by 35 Kobo to N40.15 per share from N40.50 per share, and Food Concepts Plc decreased by 28 Kobo to sell at N2.72 per unit versus N3.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse went down by N1.3 billion to N2.173 trillion from the N2.174 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) fell by 2.17 points to 3,632.56 points from Tuesday’s 3,634.73 points.
In the midst of the profit-taking, some securities witnessed bargain-hunting, with Nipco Plc gaining N22.00 to close at N242.00 per share versus N220.00 per share of the previous session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by N4.00 to N68.00 per unit from N64.00 per unit, and Acorn Petroleum Plc added 8 Kobo to finish at N1.38 per share versus N1.30 per share.
At midweek, the volume of securities transacted by the market participants surged by 259.9 per cent to 4.7 million units from 1.3 million units, but the value of securities went down by 8.6 per cent to N52.4 million from N57.3 million and the number of deals shrank by 15.8 per cent to 32 deals from 38 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 15.3 million units exchanged for N622.4 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.6 million units valued at N108.4 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units worth N60.3 million.
CSCS Plc was also the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 15.3 million units sold for N622.4 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units exchanged for N60.3 million, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 8.4 million units traded for N3.4 million.
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