Economy
Bayelsa Assures Young Entrepreneurs Seed Capital
By Dipo Olowookere
The Bayelsa State Government has promised young people in the state interested in entrepreneurship more assistance.
State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said this support will come in form of investment friendly environment and seed capital to help grow their businesses.
Speaking at a workshop of a young businessman last week, the Commissioner said Governor Seriake Dickson was committed to supporting businesses in the state so as to boost the economy.
Few weeks ago, a 31-year old entrepreneur, Mr Amabebe Richard, had engaged the Commissioner during a live phone-in program on radio, calling for support to enable him and others expand their business, a development that prompted Mr Iworiso-Markson to visit Mr Richard to ascertain his claims.
Mr Iworiso-Markson, who was stunned to see how the young man uses sawdust to fabricate lamp holders and screeding of walls, said government, through the relevant agencies, will give him the opportunity to be more established and start exporting his product.
The Information Commissioner who was filled with excitement said Bayelsa has abundant talents who are ready to rule their world if given the opportunity and called on those who are engaged in crime to take a cue from the likes of Mr Richard and begin to be more useful.
“Skill acquisition and entrepreneurship are often acquired through mentorship or training but I am suprise that this is not the case for this young man. He didn’t have any formal or informal training on this. That shows the raw talent deposited in him.
“I am overwhelmed especially with the fact that he is a Bayelsan who hails from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. Personally I will patronize him and the Restoration Government of His Excellency will do everything to make sure going forward he succeeds in this his chosen field. We will not relent to provide the needed environment and funding for him and others.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on our young people who are engage in petty and violent crimes to desist. Everyone has a talent and if you discover yours, you will be the next big thing. Crime does not pay in anyway but with your talent be rest assured that you will never go hungry,” he said.
Mr Richard said he has been practising on achieving his passion which he successfully invented as well as other measures of moulding with saw dust apart from the popular way of creating only pile and Formica woods.
He said he has proven to the world by his innovative invention that saw dusts can be used to make fitting, wall brackets, Chandelier, lamp holders, plastering, flower vase, ceiling boards, doors and so on.
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.
