Economy
God Has Used Dangote to Liberate Nigeria—Domestic Crude Oil Sales C’tee
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop (OSS) for the sale of crude and refined products in Naira initiative has described the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos as a symbol of industrial revolution, driving Nigeria’s economic emancipation.
The team, during a visit to the oil facility on Tuesday, said God has used the president of the Dangote Group, Mr Aliko Dangote, to liberate Nigeria.
The coordinator of the group, Mrs Maureen Ogbonna, said Dangote Refinery is a breath of fresh air, impacting virtually every sector of the economy.
“This refinery touches all our lives. There’s scarcely any sector unaffected. From pharmaceuticals to construction, food to plastics, this project is transformational. God has used the President of the Dangote Group to liberate Nigeria. I see this as the beginning of an industrial revolution,” she said.
She expressed the commitment of the committee to eliminating regulatory, operational and logistical barriers that hinder the smooth supply and sale of domestic crude oil and refined products in naira in line with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of achieving full domestic sufficiency in petroleum products and positioning Nigeria as a major global exporter.
Reflecting on the scale and sophistication of the facility, Mrs Ogbonna, who had visited during construction and more recently alongside the leadership of the Nigerian Ports Authority, expressed continued awe at its execution.
“It is truly mind blowing that one man could envision and execute such a project. As we toured the refinery, we thought we had seen everything until we reached the laboratory. That lab alone is an institution. I don’t know of any institution in Nigeria or even globally that boasts such a laboratory for petrochemical,” she said.
Applauding the engineering feat, she urged Mr Dangote to remain focused and undeterred by detractors, emphasising that the project is a global achievement, not a personal enterprise.
“We feel truly honoured to have been warmly received by the President of the Dangote Group and his team. My advice to him is: do not be discouraged by critics. He was never self centred. Despite the obstacles, he was driven by a vision for Nigeria’s future, reaching far beyond Africa,” she added.
In his remarks, Mr Dangote applauded the technical committee for its role in supporting the implementation of President Tinubu’s laudable Naira-for-Crude initiative. He commended the positive impact of the naira-for-crude swap deal on the Nigerian economy, noting that it has led to a reduction in petroleum product prices, eased pressure on the dollar, and ensured the stability of the local currency, among others.
However, he noted that due to a shortage of domestic crude oil, the refinery has increasingly relied on imports from the United States to meet its needs in recent months.
Mr Dangote stressed the importance of bold investment in strategic sectors as a key to industrialisation, revealing that building the refinery required extensive infrastructure development, including a world-class, self-sufficient marine facility capable of accommodating the largest vessels globally, assuring the delegation of the refinery’s commitment to national development.
Designed to process a wide range of crude types including African and Middle Eastern grades as well as US Light Tight Oil, the refinery has the capacity to meet one hundred per cent of Nigeria’s domestic demand for petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation jet fuel, with a surplus available for export.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.
According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.
These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.
The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.
According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.
According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.
The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.
Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.
It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.
For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
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