Economy
Activities of Taraba APC Faction Remain Illegal—Group
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A group called APC Youths Renaissance has disclosed that activities of a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State remain illegal, describing the statement issued by the faction as not only libellous, but also deceptive, asking aspirants on the platform to disregard the ongoing pre-screening exercises faction.
APC Youth Renaissance said it would have ordinarily “ignored the ranting of the illegal association as usual, but because their latest show of shame has the capacity of making Nigerians to believe that our great party is one that disregards court orders as well as the rule of law, we decided to set the records straight as well as letting Tarabans and Nigerians know that the proscribed political association in the state led by Ibrahim Elsuldi remains proscribed and illegal organisation as far as APC and the Nigerian law is concerned.”
It stressed that, “For the sake of clarity, let it be noted that a Federal High Court recently granted an order restraining Ibrahim Elsuldi from parading himself as Chairman of APC in Taraba State as well as restraining him from taking over the party office in the state.
“We believe that the position of the court is very simple for anybody to understand without further interpretation!
“We therefore wonder why the illegal organisation led by Mr. Elsuldi would jump the gun by asking aspirants who duly purchased nomination and expression of interest forms on the platform of our great party to ignore and disregard the ongoing screening exercises duly approved and contained in the schedule and timetable of activities released by the national secretariat of our party as guidelines for activities leading to primary elections.
“It is also worthy to state here categorically that the national secretariat of the party approved and endorsed; that screening of all aspirants who purchased forms for various elective positions in the party is to hold from September 15 to September 18, 2018 across the country.
“Therefore, we wonder what gave the proscribed organisation the temerity and the impetus to make the libelous and contemptuous public statement capable of lowering the estimation of our great party before the right thinking members of the public.
“There is no doubt that the illegal association has breached the constitution of our great party which says that no member or group within the party should indulge in any act capable of bringing the party to public odium.
“Therefore, we ask all aspirants who bought nomination and expression of interest forms of our party in Taraba State to ignore the misleading statement credited to the illegal organisation in the state.
“While we warn the illegal association in the state to desist from taking further contemptuous action or making libelous statement against our great party, we advise aspirants in Taraba State to submit themselves to the Alhaji Abdulmumni Vaki led State Working Committee of the party for screening, the statement said by National Secretary of the group, Mr Collins Edwin, said.
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.
