Economy
Senate Rejects Cement Liberalisation, Seeks Incentives for Local Producers
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has declined to advise the federal government to liberalise its current policies on cement production but rather called for more industrial incentives and industrial protections to boost production, reduce price and encourage more valuable producers in the country.
Rather than calling on the central government to lift restrictions placed on licenses, the upper chamber has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to offer concessionary loans and larger tax incentives for local players to enter into the cement industry.
The Senate also rejected a call to set up a committee to investigate anti-competitive practices by local cement producers; direct the cement industries in Nigeria to increase their production, and reduce the price of the commodity.
These followed a motion titled Need for liberalization of cement policy in Nigeria sponsored by Senator Ashiru Oyelola and co-sponsored by Senator Bima Enagi, Senator Oriolowo, Adelere, Senator Samuel Egwu, Senator Gaya Kabiru and Senator Nnachi Michael.
In the motion, the lawmakers noted that cement is considered of strategic importance to the development of infrastructures such as roads, bridges, drainages as well as in the construction of residential and public buildings.
The Senate argued that “cement is one of the few building materials in which Nigeria is self-sufficient. As of 2018, the installed capacity of cement producers was about 47.8 million metric tonnes (MMT) which is far above the estimated (2018) consumption of about 20.7 MMT. Yet, the prices of cement in Nigeria (N380) is about 240 per cent higher than the global average.”
It further said it was “cognizant that cement takes a large share of domestic expenditure, and the price of such commodity significantly impacts the government’s ability to provide much-needed infrastructural works required for the growth of our economy.”
The senate noted that the recent increase in the price of cement from N2,600 – N3,800 slowed down the amount of construction work being embarked upon thus negatively affecting labour engagement and almost collapsed the procurement plan of the governments in 2020 Appropriation Act.
The upper parliament noted that it was “mindful that the Nigerian cement market is oligopolistic in nature with three players (Dangote Cement (60.6 per cent); Lafarge Africa Plc (21.8 per cent) and BUA Group (17.6 per cent) largely dominating the scene, therefore, making it susceptible to price-fixing practices.”
The senate said it was “convinced that if the status quo persists, the negative consequences of high prices on the economy will outweigh the benefits of producing cement locally, noting that it was also “worried that the significant rise in cement prices in the country and the low purchasing power of Nigerians may result in substandard building constructions and non-completion of planned infrastructural works.”
According to the red chamber of the national assembly said it “strongly believes that there is an urgent need to encourage more local production of cement to satisfy the demands of Nigeria with a steady growth rate of approximately 3 per cent per annum; a housing deficit of 30 million units and less engagement of over 10.5 million workforces of the building and construction industry.”
The Senate said it believes that the unfavourable government policies such as the imposition of multiple taxes, erratic power supply, a government ban on importation in violation of ECOWAS Trade liberalization Scheme (ETLS), and subsequent lifting of importation in favour of few producers have negative implications on the growth of infrastructures.
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.
