Economy
Group Rejects Buhari’s Decision on Addax Oil Mining Licenses
By Adedapo Adesanya
A group known as the Oil Industry Indigenous Capacity Action Committee has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s order for the restoration of an earlier cancelled Oil Mining Licences (OMLs) 123, 124, 126 and 137 to Addax Petroleum.
The presidency had issued a statement to disclosed that President Buhari approved the restoration of the leases on the OMLs to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which had a production sharing contract deal with the Chinese government-owned establishment.
The decision had drawn criticisms from several quarters and it was argued that the action was not in line with the current administration’s rule of law, fairness and enabling a stable business environment for businesses.
In a statement, the Oil Industry Indigenous Capacity Action Committee said it was in support of the earlier decision of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to reallocate the four OMLs to another investor.
In the statement signed by Mr John Adakpabiri, the group said the government was correct to revoke the licences of Sinopec, which acquired the fields when it bought over the original owner, Addax Petroleum in 2009.
It noted that the fields, which have been operating at less than 20 per cent of their peak production since 2009, still hold tremendous potential in oil and gas and will benefit from the new consortium’s cognate experience in the industry.
The group noted that the “new consortium has committed to pay $340 million at the commencement of the PSC to the federal government, a much-needed sum in these hard times of tough government finance.”
“It will be recalled that in March, the DPR announced the revocation and reallocation, which it said was with the express approval of President Muhammadu Buhari. The fields were acquired by Addax Petroleum in 1998 under a PSC (Production Sharing Contract) between it and the NNPC for 20 years.
“The PSC was extended for a further four years, until 2022. Up until Addax was acquired by Sinopec in 2009, it fully funded and operated the development of the OMLs, with profit shared between Addax and NNPC and raised the output in these OMLs to about 130,000 bpd (barrels per day).
“In recent years, there have been no new investments in the assets, and by early this year, 2021, production had declined to 25,000 bpd. As a result, the revenue accruing to Government has significantly reduced. In addition, large gas resources in the assets remain undeveloped, and excess gas has been continuously flared to the atmosphere, contrary to the Government’s policy on gas flaring.
“The allocation of the fields is a refreshing vote of confidence in local firms in the Oil and Gas industry, where a lot of local players have proved their mettle and justified the confidence placed on them.
“The DPP deserves kudos for not only taking the timely decision to reallocate the assets but in making the choice of key local players in line with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (Local Content) Act designed to promote local Content in the industry.
“We want to commend President Muhammadu Buhari for not only agreeing to the new deal but for his statesmanship and gravitas which has made for discussions to enable a seamless transfer of ownership of the assets between Sinopec and the new owners. Mr President’s warm relationship with the Government and people of China is indeed a boon here,” the organisation stated.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) 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 traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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