Economy
CBN Reassigns Pre-Shipment Agents for Non-oil Exports
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reassigned two pre-shipment inspection agents; Carmine Assayer and Cobalt International to inspect all non-oil exports emanating from northern and south-western parts of Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, Mr Ozoemena Nnaji, in a circular titled Notice of Re-assignment of Pre-Shipment Inspection Agents for Non-oil Exports on Thursday.
According to the CBN Director, Carmine Assayer has been re-assigned from the northern zone to serve as PIA for non-oil export for the south-west zone, comprising Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Ogun states.
On the other hand, Cobalt International was re-assigned from the south-west zone to the north-central, north-east and north-west zones handling states that fall under that zone.
The Pre-Shipment Inspection Agents (PIA) have also been charged to report all unwholesome activities or substandard exports to the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC).
According to the apex bank, PIAs are also expected to submit monthly, quarterly and annual statistical returns on export transactions to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), National Bureau of Statistics, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Nigeria Customs Service.
The guideline from the Ministry of Finance stipulates that any PIA that consistently fails for a period of three months to submit a monthly report on or before the 10th day of the subsequent month shall receive a query from the Ministry, while any PIA that fails to submit same for up to six consecutive months within the same year shall be deemed as non-performing and would have its contract terminated.
“On the other hand, if it is established that it is the fault of the shipping line/agent, it shall be reported to the Nigerian Shippers Council for appropriate sanction.
“Failure of any PIA to report attempts to export substandard goods should immediately result in a query, warning and subsequent suspension,” the guidelines explained.
PIAs are responsible for the inspection of all non-oil exports from the country, with the exemption of goods prohibited for exportation from Nigeria as contained in the annual Fiscal Policy guidelines.
This means the quality, quantity and price competitiveness of non-oil exports from Nigeria are done by them as well advising the fair value of the products exported and if satisfactory, issue a Clean Certificate of Inspection (CCI) in respect of such products.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
