Economy
NNPC Targets $30b Revenue Rise for Nigeria
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Not less than $30 billion is expected to be added to the coffers of the Federal Government by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) within the next 10 years.
This assurance was given at the inauguration of the reconstituted NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee in Abuja on Monday by the Group Managing Director of the state-owned oil firm, Dr Maikanti Baru.
The NNPC boss said this amount would be raked has with the help of the four major investments recently embarked upon with key upstream joint venture partners.
The investments, which attracted a haul of close to $3.8 billion in foreign direct investments, would serve as vehicle to fast-track the prevailing post Cash-Call exit era.
The GMD listed the critical Joint Venture alternative financing upstream investments to include: the $1.2 billion multi-year drilling for 36 offshore/onshore oil wells under the NNPC/Chevron Nigeria Limited, codenamed project Cheetah and the NNPC/First E&P JV and Schlumberger tripartite $800 million alternative funding agreement for the development of the Anyalu and Madu fields in the Niger Delta.
Also listed are the agreements executed in London last week for the $1billon NNPC/SPDC JV Project Santolina and the NNPC/Chevron $780 million Project Falcon on Sonam, hitherto financed through JV Cash Call.
Mr Baru commended the NNPC finance and technical teams for being able to attract the much needed foreign investment at a period when it has become increasingly difficult to attract foreign credit facilities.
“These four projects alone are going to raise incremental revenues to Nigeria of over $30 billion over the life of the projects in less than 10 years. They will also serve as part of the vehicle for exiting JV Cash Calls.
“We have to pay our arrears of about $6billion that were incurred pre-2016 and we are also paying up a tranche of about $1billion 2016 arrears. We started in April 2017 with the payment of $400million and we will pay the balance before the anniversary of the first payment,” he said.
The GMD explained that the arrangement would allow the Corporation to subsequently operate from the production revenue less the first line charge to government which is the royalties and petroleum profit tax.
He said that whatever profit that accrues afterwards would be remitted to the government after deduction of production cost.
Drawing a correlation between the quest for revenue and the anti-corruption campaign, the GMD said members of staff must never allow corrupt practices to distract from the great task ahead.
The GMD traced NNPC’s involvement in the anti-corruption campaign to the year 2000 when the Federal Government directed all its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to establish in-house Anti-Corruption Committees.
“NNPC was the first to put one in place within a month, precisely in October 2000,” Mr Baru said.
He noted that since then, the NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee had consistently carried out its mission of eradicating corruption in NNPC through organizing sensitization campaigns, workshops, seminars and Federal Government publications on issues concerning corruption and economic crimes.
While thanking the former committee members that served at various times for a job well done, Dr Baru urged the new members to surpass the achievements of the past committees in line with the present administration’s anti-graft agenda.
He emphasized that with the prevailing global economic reality; the only survival strategy at a time like this was to change from old ways of doing business and embrace the best practice of transparency, accountability and honesty with integrity.
The new NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee is headed by Mr Mike Stanley Balami, a Group General Manager in the Finance and Account Directorate and a veteran anti-corruption crusader.
Mr Balami pledged the readiness of members of the committee to work in harmony towards achieving a corruption-free NNPC.
He urged all heads of Strategic Business Units and Corporate Services Units to reconstitute and inaugurate their Anti-Corruption units to work closely with the Corporate Anti-Corruption Committee to ensure a corruption-free NNPC.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has said there are no discrepancies in the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the gazetted versions made available to the public.
Last week, a member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, raised worries about the differences between its version and that gazetted by the presidency.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, Mr Oyedele claimed what has been circulating in the media was fake.
“Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we have what has not been gazetted. We don’t have what was passed,” he said.
“The official harmonised bills certified by the clerk, which the National Assembly sent to the President, we don’t have a copy to compare. Only the lawmakers can say authoritatively what we sent.
“It should be the House of Representatives or Senate version. It should be the harmonised version certified by the clerk. Even me, I cannot say that I have it. I only have what was presented to Mr President to sign.”
Mr Oyedele stated that he reached out to the House of Representatives Committee regarding a particular Section 41 (8), which states, “You have to pay a deposit of 20 per cent.”
He noted that the response given by the committee was that its members had not met on the issue.
“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in the draft gazette. Some people decided that they should write the report of the committee before the committee had met, and it had circulated everywhere.
“What is out there in the media did not come from the committee set up by the House of Representatives. I think we should allow them do the investigation,” Mr Oyedele added.
In June, President Bola Tinubu signed the four tax reform bills into law, marking what the government has described as the most significant overhaul of the country’s tax system in decades.
The tax reform laws, which faced stiff opposition from federal lawmakers from the northern part of the country before their passage, are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
The laws include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all operating under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.
By Dipo Olowookere
A total of 55 equities appreciated last week on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited versus the 49 equities recorded a week earlier.
However, 33 stocks closed lower compared with 41 stocks in the previous week, while 55 shares remained unchanged versus 57 shares of the preceding week.
Leading the advancers’ log was Aluminium Extrusion, which gained 59.35 per cent to close at N12.35, Mecure Industries rose by 44.93 per cent to N55.00, First Holdco appreciated by 42.93 per cent to N44.95, Guinness Nigeria improved by 33.01 per cent to N289.70, and NPF Microfinance Bank grew by 20.65 per cent to N3.74.
On the flip side, Living Trust Mortgage Bank lost 11.38 per cent to settle at N3.35, Japaul declined by 10.53 per cent to N2.38, International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.92 per cent to N2.27, FTN Cocoa depreciated by 9.80 per cent to N4.42, and Stanbic IBTC went down by 9.33 per cent to N95.20.
The buying interest in the week raised the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation by 1.76 per cent to 152,057.38 points and N96.937 trillion, respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of AFR Bank Value, and the energy indices, which fell by 1.38 per cent and 0.17 per cent apiece.
According to trading data, a total 9.849 billion shares worth N305.843 billion in 126,584 deals exchanged hands in the five-day trading week compared with the 4.373 billion shares valued at N97.783 billion traded in 110,736 deals a week earlier.
The financial services industry led the activity chart with 8.295 billion shares valued at N232.223 billion traded in 50,351 deals, contributing 84.22 per cent and 75.93 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The healthcare space followed with 517.443 million shares worth N3.472 billion in 2,979 deals, and the consumer goods counter transacted 392.765 million shares worth N12.664 billion in 18,438 deals.
The trio of Ecobank, First Holdco, and Access Holdings accounted for 6.424 billion shares worth N204.629 billion in 11,362 deals, contributing 65.23 per cent and 66.91 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has assured beneficiaries of the $50 million Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund to expect the first tranche of grants in the first quarter of 2026, following the completion of ongoing capacity-building and compliance processes.
The assurance was given during a Town Hall Meeting for WEIDE Fund beneficiaries held in Abuja over the weekend. The gathering provided an opportunity to review progress made since the launch of the initiative in August 2025.
The $50 million WEIDE Fund is a global initiative by the WTO and ITC to empower women-led businesses in developing countries, especially Nigeria, by providing training, finance, and market access for digital trade, helping them grow from small enterprises to global players through support like grants and mentorship, as seen in its launch phase benefiting 146 Nigerian women entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the event, the chief executive of NEPC, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, called on beneficiaries to maximize the opportunities provided by the programme, emphasizing the progress made and the milestones achieved since its launch.
Mrs Ayeni said the engagement was meant to review the programme’s achievements, identify areas for improvement, and strengthen support for the beneficiaries.
“So, it’s time for us to get together at the end of the year to see how far we’ve gone, how well we’ve done, and what we need to do to make it better and support them more effectively through the WEIDE Fund,” she said.
Mrs Ayeni highlighted the significant capacity-building activities conducted for the 146 selected women entrepreneurs, noting that top-tier coaches and trainers had been deployed immediately after the official launch by the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“These coaches are exceptional. They’ve trained our beneficiaries in financial literacy, bookkeeping, soft skills, leadership, succession planning, and digital tools so they can compete globally,” she said.
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