Economy
Eni’s Decision to Increase Investment in Nigeria Thrills Tinubu
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has commended the decision of an international energy company, Eni, to increase its investment in Nigeria, reiterating his vision of making the nation more globally competitive and an investment destination.
The President said that by exploring the possibilities of innovative thinking, strategic planning, new technology, and research into best practices, his administration’s reforms will reposition the nation’s economy.
Receiving a delegation from Eni led by the chief executive, Mr Claudio Descalzi, at the Presidential Villa, President Tinubu said the vision of his government remains to turn the country into an investment destination, with strategic thinking, planning, and implementation.
“Eni, we welcome your team again. Claudio, welcome back after many years. Nigeria has improved, and I am glad that you noted that we are making changes, not because of anything else but because of a very long-term vision of our investment strategy.
“We have seen conflicting strategies around the world, and we are determined to champion these changes or take ourselves ahead of those changes and make reforms a priority. We cannot grow today’s seed with yesterday’s belief system. We have to continuously be intellectually inquisitive and reform ourselves and our way of doing things.
“And we see the effect of your belief in our partnership, not for exploitation, but for investable development. Africa is not in a begging mode but in an accelerated mode to compete and take its place with the rest of the world,” the President stated.
Mr Tinubu also assured that the reforms would be sustained for the mutual benefit of investors and Nigerians, noting that, “I have seen the need for us to continue to be leaders in this reform and create opportunities for attracting investments because the basket is getting bigger, and the participants are getting larger and more resilient. The fossil fuel problem is there; science and technology are taking over.”
“We will still continue to assure you that we are going to be the global investment destination and I will encourage you, as one of the progressive leaders in the industry, on what our reforms have achieved.
“Please, put a timeline on that investment strategy. It will be a stimulant for the rest of the world when you put a timeline on it,” the President added.
He commended Eni’s confidence in the country for many years and for diversifying into other areas like agriculture, saying, “We are open; we are ready. We are working hard on infrastructural development and to make arable land available for planting, and we are ready to partner you in every aspect of that and in innovative research.”
On his part, Mr Descalzi said the energy company will invest more in the country, particularly in the agricultural sector.
“First of all, there are lots of reasons to thank you. The first is that after nine years, you allowed me to come back to your country. It is quite emotional, especially because you promoted a new era for Nigeria.
“You want us to attract investment, and I think that you are following the right track with your leadership. We want to come back and demonstrate that what somebody in Europe says about Nigeria, that everybody is leaving, is not true. We want to be the champion of this new era.
“We want to stay close to you; to learn and to help you in your endeavour and renew our efforts to create again a new Nigeria for everybody I think that we trust you, and we want everybody in Europe and different countries and everywhere to trust you and your leadership. You know that we work everywhere. And we can be a good ambassador of Nigeria, not just in Europe, but in other countries,” he stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The further reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from N865 to N835, effective from Wednesday, April 16, 2025, by Dangote Petroleum Refinery has been applauded by Nigerians.
The price slash was the second by the company in a week and it was in reaction to the decline in the price of crude oil in the global market due to the trade war between the United States and China.
In a statement yesterday by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Mr Anthony Chiejina, it was stated that key partners, including MRS, AP (Ardova), Heyden, Optima Energy, Hyde and Techno Oil, will sell petrol to customers at N890 per litre, down from N920 in Lagos, while in the other South-West states, the price will be N900 per litre versus the previous N930.
In addition, Nigerians living in the North-West and North-Central will get the high-quality Dangote petrol at N910 per litre compared with the former price of N940, and those in the South-East, South-South, and North-East will buy at N920 per litre, down from N950 per litre.
Dangote expressed hopes that this latest reduction in PMS prices would generate a positive ripple effect throughout various sectors of the economy, providing much-needed relief to consumers and contributing to broader economic growth, particularly during the Easter season.
It stated that the slash in price reaffirmed its “commitment to providing high-quality petrol at affordable rates, benefiting consumers across the nation. In addition, we are working collaboratively with our partners to ensure equitable reflection of this price reduction.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has consistently worked to reduce the prices of petrol and other refined petroleum products, ensuring the continued benefit of Nigerian consumers.
For example, in February, the refinery reduced prices twice by N125. In addition, products such as diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) have also experienced significant price reductions due to the refinery’s sustained efforts.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered a 0.68 per cent loss on Wednesday as profit-taking in the banking space continued.
Data showed that the banking index went down by 4.67 per cent and the energy sector depreciated by 0.05 per cent.
The duo overpowered the gains recorded by the other sectors.
The insurance counter improved by 0.80 per cent, and the consumer goods sector appreciated by 0.34 per cent, while the industrial goods and commodity indices remained flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 708.14 points to 103,851.88 points from 104,560.02 points and the market capitalisation declined by N444 billion to N65.260 trillion from N65.704 trillion.
There were 25 price gainers and 20 price losers yesterday, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Industrial and Medical Gases lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N34.20, Guinea Insurance dropped 9.52 per cent to trade at 57 Kobo, UPDC REIT shed 8.20 per cent to close at N5.60, DAAR Communications depleted by 7.94 per cent to 58 Kobo, and C&I Leasing slumped by 7.89 per cent to N3.50.
On the flip side, Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.99 per cent to quote at N8.15, Sovereign Trust Insurance improved by 7.69 per cent to 98 Kobo, NGX Group rose by 7.30 per cent to N33.80, Fidelity Bank grew by 6.74 per cent to N18.20, and Deap Capital increased by 6.67 per cent to 96 Kobo.
During the session, 351.7 million stocks valued at N13.7 billion exchanged hands in 12,141 deals compared with the 368.8 million stocks worth N10.9 billion traded in 13,228 deals the preceding session, indicating a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 4.64 per cent and 8.22 per cent, respectively, and a rise in the trading value by 25.69 per cent.
Business Post reports that Access Holdings was the busiest equity at midweek with the sale of 68.2 million units valued at N1.5 billion, followed by GTCO with 36.8 million units for N2.2 billion.
Further, FCMB transacted 28.8 million units worth N261.9 million, UBA exchanged 26.4 million units valued at N830.9 million, and Chams traded 24.6 million units worth N53.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market was up by nearly 2 per cent on Wednesday due to concerns about global supplies after the United States issued new sanctions targeting Chinese importers of Iranian oil.
Brent crude futures grew by $1.18 or 1.8 per cent to $65.85 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures expanded by $1.14 or 1.9 per cent to $62.47 per barrel.
The US on Wednesday issued new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports, including against a China-based small independent refineries known as teapots as President Donald Trump seeks to ramp up pressure on Iran and drive Iranian oil exports down to zero.
It imposed sanctions on a China-based independent teapot refinery it accused of playing a role in purchasing more than $1 billion worth of Iranian crude oil.
It was the second small independent Chinese refinery hit with sanctions by the Trump administration so far.
The US has not in the past focused on Chinese teapot refiners in part because they have little exposure to the US financial system.
The country also issued additional sanctions on several companies and vessels it said were responsible for facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China as part of Iran’s shadow fleet, adding that it is committed to disrupting all actors providing support to Iran’s oil supply chain, which it claims the regime uses to support its terrorist proxies and partners.
Normally, China does not recognize US sanctions and is the largest importer of Iranian oil. China and Iran have built a trading system that uses mostly Chinese Yuan and a network of middlemen, avoiding the dollar and exposure to US regulators.
However, Chinese state-run oil firms have stopped buying Iranian crude, on concerns of running afoul of sanctions.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has received updated plans for Iraq, Kazakhstan and other countries to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above agreed quotas.
The latest plan requires seven nations – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Oman – to cut output by a further 369,000 barrels per day in monthly steps between now and June 2026, compared with an earlier plan running from March until next June, according to Reuters calculations.
Under the latest plan, monthly cuts will range from 196,000 barrels per day to 520,000 barrels per day from this month until June 2026, up from between 189,000 barrels per day and 435,000 barrels per day previously.
If successfully executed, the compensation plan would to a large extent offset a planned 411,000 barrels per day output increase being made by other members of OPEC+ in May.
US crude stockpiles rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, showing that crude inventories rose by 515,000 barrels to 442.9 million barrels in the week ended April 11.
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