Economy
FG’s Economy Recovery Plan Excites Private Sector
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Private sector operators on Monday said Federal Government’s engagement of key stakeholders in the development process of the national economy plan showed a genuine desire to rapidly grow the economy, but pointed out that diligent implementation was key to achieving the goal.
Captains of industry and heads of the various Chambers of Commerce and Industry across the country, who gathered in Abuja for the consultative forum, variously pointed out that past development plans were rendered useless by either lack of, or poor implementation.
They therefore advised that if the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (NERGP) being put together is to achieve the desired objective, deliberate structures must be put in place for diligent implementation, effective monitoring and thorough evaluation.
Acting President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, who presided over the session, assured that government is determined to put back the Nigerian economy on a sound footing through diligent implementation of the recovery and growth plan.
While acknowledging that there is suffering in the land occasioned by the current economic downturn, he pointed out that the years of deterioration and corruption cannot be remedied overnight.
Mr Osinbajo said that notwithstanding, it is the responsibility and duty of government to ensure that the economy is put back on a sound footing and the slide in economic fortunes arrested for the benefit of the people and the country.
In the short term, the acting President said government has intervened in several ways to mitigate the sufferings of the people, including giving bailouts to state governments to enable them pay salaries of workers.
Also assuring on government’s determination to diligently implement the Plan, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said major emphasis will be on implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Plan as government plans to set up a specially staffed Delivery Unit to drive implementation.
He said the Plan being discussed is a medium-term Plan, which is expected to drive Nigeria to a minimum GDP growth rate of 7% within the Plan period. “Our goal is to have an economy with low inflation, stable exchange rates, and a diversified and inclusive growth”.
He emphasized that the key to success lies in the seriousness of the execution aspect of the process, stating that the immediate execution priorities of the ERGP are Agriculture and food security; Energy (power and petroleum); Small Businesses and Industrialization and stabilizing the Macroeconomic Environment.
The Minister said the forum was in keeping with government’s promise to consult widely and harvest inputs from the relevant sectors and professionals to enrich the plan and make it all inclusive.
“We had a two day retreat at which we invited top economists, academia and some representatives of both the public and private sectors. We have held consultations with State Commissioners for Economic Planning and Budget and with State Governors at the National Economic Council.
“We have had sessions with international development partners and have also had briefing and consultation sessions with the National Assembly.
“This meeting with you forms part of the consultations we are holding before finalizing the plan,” he stated.
The specific objective of Monday’s forum with private sector operators was to review the context for Nigeria’s ERGP, share the Plan’s structure and discuss potential key initiatives and solicit feedback from them.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
