Economy
Group Accuses Okomu Oil of Using Fake RSPO Certification
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria-based company engaged in processing of oil palm, Okomu Oil Plc, has been accused of deceiving members of the public by falsely saying it has the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certificate.
RSPO certification is an assurance to the customer that the standard of palm oil production is sustainable.
Palm oil producers are certified through strict verification of the production process to the stringent RSPO Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Palm Oil Production by accredited Certifying Bodies, and can be withdrawn at any time in case of infringement of the rules and standards.
At a press briefing in Benin City, Edo State on Tuesday, a group known as the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth (ERA/FOEN) alleged that Okomu Oil Plc has not met the RSPO requirements and asked the firm to stop parading the certificate.
“Okomu Oil Plc, RSPO certification is a false solution because it does not address environmental and socio problems in a community. The oil firm should stop parading itself as having RSPO certified compliance.
“They are not meeting RSPO guidelines and standards yet they continued to enjoy the advertisement and putting this logo on their signpost. We called on them to remove the RSPO certification from their narrative forthwith,” the group told newsmen at the briefing.
According to the Executive Director of ERA/FOEN, Mr Godwin Uyi Ojo, who addressed the media, Okomu Oil Plc is not amongst the over 3,500 companies, who are worldwide members of RSPO.
He explained that the palm oil giant was not certified by RSPO, but pointed out that its mainstream shareholder firm, Socfin, which controls its major shares, is an RSPO member.
Recall that Okomu Oil Plc and other investors in the palm oil industry in the state last April presented and launched the Nigeria National Interpretation of Round table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to the public in Benin-City.
The communities are located in Ovia South-West, Ovia North-East, Uhunmwode and Owan West local government areas.
“On Socfin’s website there are some certifications Okomu Plc has in Nigeria, but are not directly linked to RSPO certification, covering its acclaimed 36,000 hectares plantation. Okomu Plc is not known to have formally applied to be a member.
“Okomu Oil Plc has no RSPO certification. Still, it publicly claims to uphold RSPO certification procedures in its operations, whereas this does not amount to direct RSPO membership. It does not also suggest the certification of its plantations and socio-economic gauges. Evidently, the company was part of RSPO meeting. The company is not certified by the RSPO.
“Okomu Oil palm company Plc asserts to have been given some certification in the category of International Organization for Standardization (ISO), through a bureau Veritas. Nevertheless, Okomu Plc’s certification status with the main Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), is vague, but the company is hesitant declaring its true standing,” he informed journalists.
Mr Ojo noted that the RSPO categorically state that there shall be no deforestation in areas of oil palm, whether new or expanding plantation, stressing that from Odiguette community in Ovia North-East, Igbobazuwa, Okomu communities in Ovia South-West to Sabo-Gida community in Owan West and Uhunmwode local government deforestation has taken massively.
He maintained that with the continued deforestation, Okomu Oil Plc cannot parade itself as having RSPO certificate.
He further admonished Okomu Oil Plc to stop all forms of oil palm plantation expansion that are detrimental to community farmlands, biodiversity hotspots and historical sites, settle all outstanding cases of compensation arising from destroyed crops and farmlands, halt environmental and rights violations and evictions of communities in its areas of operation and halt using any form of armed military personnel to molest and intimidate the people among.
Meanwhile, efforts by Business Post to reach out to the management of Okomu Oil Plc proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.
However, we promise to intensify our efforts to reach the company to have their reaction to this issue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.
This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.
The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.
Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.
The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.
Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.
Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.
The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.05 per cent loss was recorded by Customs Street on Monday, as sell-offs by market participants remained.
This was driven by the desire of investors to book profits, having witnessed a significant price appreciation on the stocks in their portfolios.
Yesterday, bargain-hunting in the banking space, which resulted in the sector closing 0.17 per cent higher, could not prevent the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited from going down.
Data showed that the consumer goods segment lost 0.26 per cent, the insurance counter depreciated by 0.20 per cent, the industrial goods index shed 0.09 per cent, and the energy industry retreated by 0.03 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) eased by 126.09 points to 250,204.83 points from 250,330.92 points, and the market capitalisation contracted by N81 billion to N160.363 trillion from N160.444 trillion.
NCR Nigeria and Zichis declined by 9.99 per cent each to sell for N161.20 and N26.49, respectively, Industrial and Medical Gases shrank by 9.93 per cent to N38.10, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 9.86 per cent to N2.65, and DAAR Communications slipped by 9.78 per cent to N2.03.
On the flip side, Oando gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N51.70, University Press also rose by 10.00 per cent to N5.50, Deap Capital soared by 9.96 per cent to N5.96, May and Baker expanded by 9.94 per cent to N52.00, and Trans-Nationwide Express grew by 9.92 per cent to N7.76.
Yesterday, 800.5 million equities worth N37.1 billion exchanged hands in 87,096 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities valued at N44.3 billion traded in 65,744 deals last Friday. This showed that the number of deals went up by 32.48 per cent, while the trading volume and value went down by 27.23 per cent and 16.25 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock on the first trading session of this week was UBA with a turnover of 65.0 million units worth N2.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 57.3 million units for N1.3 billion, Access Holdings sold 42.3 million units valued at N1.1 billion, DAAR Communications exchanged 36.7 million units for N81.8 million, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 36.6 million units worth N33.0 million.
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