Economy
Allow Gas Pass Through Your Pipelines—FG Begs Chevron, Others
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has appealed to partners in the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) project to allow transportation of third-party gas through their joint pipelines to increase supply to the plant.
This plea was made by Mr Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, while speaking with the new Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Sefano De Leo in Abuja.
According to a statement by his Senior Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Horatius Egua, NLNG is at present only able to produce at about 70 per cent of installed capacity and has been unable to operate at full capacity following the refusal of the joint partners – Shell, Chevron, as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and others, to allow third parties to transport gas through their pipelines to the NLNG Trains.
Mr Sylva cried that this has been causing the company’s inability to meet both domestic and international gas obligations.
He said if the NLNG partners relaxed their rules and allowed third parties to supply gas to the NLNG, the company would be able to provide gas to help ease European Union’s gas crisis.
“The issue we have with the existing NLNG Trains is that of insufficient gas supply. The partners are running out of gas and they are refusing third parties to supply gas to the Trains.
“The partners are insisting that they can only allow third-party supply gas to the plant only if they agree to supply at subsidised rates.
“These people, of course, want to make money and they cannot supply at subsidised rates and that’s why the NLNG Trains cannot produce at full capacity.
“The partners can afford to supply at subsidised rates because they are partners in the NLNG project, not the third parties.
“This is a very critical issue I want to discuss with the respective partners to see how we can resolve this problem so that we can increase the production capacity of the NLNG,” Mr Sylva said.
The Minister, who stressed the long-standing relations between Nigeria and Italy, also sought the cooperation of the Italian government in providing support for night helicopter rescue operations in the country.
He added that at the moment, helicopters cannot fly at night in Nigeria thus foreclosing any rescue operations at night.
He said: “For us, this is a very important matter. We want to develop a 24 hours economy. We want a situation where helicopters can fly 24 hours in Nigeria”.
In his response, De Leo stressed the importance of Nigeria in Africa and noted that as the continent’s most populous country, it would be difficult for anyone to ignore the country both on the political and economic front.
“At the moment, the EU wants to diversify its energy sources especially gas and Nigeria is very strategic to us. We have been long-standing friends and partners and one of the most important ones for that matter.
“So, we need to continue to dialogue on how things can be done properly. In Africa, no country is more strategic than Nigeria because of its population, economy and political position.
“So, we are happy to work with you,” he promised.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns in Lagos State has been extended by one week from February 1 to 7, 2026.
This information was revealed in a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mrs Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude.
In the statement issued over the weekend, the chairman of the tax collecting organisation, Mr Ayodele Subair, explained that the statutory deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns is January 31, every year, noting that the extension is intended to provide employers with additional time to complete and submit accurate tax returns.
According to him, employers must give priority to the timely filing of their annual returns, noting that compliance should be embedded as a routine business practice.
He also reiterated that electronic filing through the LIRS eTax platform remains the only approved method for submitting annual returns, as manual filings have been completely phased out. Employers are therefore required to file their returns exclusively through the LIRS eTax portal: https://etax.lirs.net.
Describing the platform as secure, user-friendly, and accessible 24/7, Mr Subair advised employers to ensure that the Tax ID (Tax Identification Number) of all employees is correctly captured in their submissions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Sunil Kumar Taldar, has disclosed that the company is still on track to list its mobile money business, Airtel Money, before the end of June 2026.
Recall that Business Post reported in March 2024 that the mobile network operator was considering selling the shares of Airtel Money to the public through the IPO vehicle in a transaction expected to raise about $4 billion.
The firm had been in talks with possible advisors for a planned listing of the shares from the initial public offer on a stock exchange with some options including London, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Europe.
However, so far no final decisions have been made regarding the timing, location, or scale of the IPO.
In September 2025, the telco reportedly picked Citigroup Incorporated as advisors for the planned IPO which will see Airtel Money become a standalone entity before it can attain the prestige of trading on a stock exchange.
Mr Taldar, noted that metrics continued to show improvements ahead of the listing with its customer base hitting 52 million, compared to around 44.6 million users it had as of June 2025.
He added that the subsidiary processed over $210 billion in a year, according to the company’s nine-month financial results released on Friday.
“Our push to enhance financial inclusion across the continent continues to gain momentum with our Mobile Money customer base expanding to 52 million, surpassing the 50 million milestone. Annualised total processed value of over $210 billion in Q3’26 underscores the depth of our merchants, agents, and partner ecosystem and remains a key player in driving improved access to financial services across Africa.
“We remain on track for the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026,” Mr Taldar said.
Estimating Airtel Money at $4 billion is higher than its valuation of $2.65 billion in 2021. In 2021, Airtel Money received significant investments, including $200 million from TPG Incorporated at a valuation of $2.65 billion and $100 million from Mastercard. Later that same year, an affiliate of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund also acquired an undisclosed stake in the unit.
The mobile money sector in Africa is expanding rapidly, driven by a young population increasingly adopting technology for financial services, making the continent a key market for fintech companies.
By Dipo Olowookere
A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.
A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.
It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.
Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.
In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.
Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.
Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.
Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.
Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.
The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
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