Economy
Manufactured Goods Imports into Nigeria Drop 5.1%
By Sodeinde Temidayo David
The value of manufactured goods imports into Nigeria in the second quarter of 2021 depreciated by 5.1 per cent to N4.3 trillion, though it accounted for 61.86 per cent of the total imports of N7.0 trillion in the period under review.
Data analysed by Business Post from the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week showed that used vehicles were mainly imported from the United States and Italy worth N33.8 billion and N5.7 billion respectively.
Also, during the quarter, machines for reception, conversion and transmission were imported from China, Sweden and Hong Kong in values worth N118.7 billion, N9.0 billion and 5.2 billion, while motorcycles worth N32.7 billion and N61.8 billion were imported from China and India.
It was further discovered that Herbicides worth N81.2 billion were imported from China, while polypropylene worth N35.8 billion, N15.5 billion and N9.5 billion came into the country from South Africa, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
Between April and June 2021, the stats office said the value of raw material imported into the country increased by 25.6 per cent compared to Q1 2021 and 47.3 per cent compared to Q2 2020, while imported agricultural products increased by 3.5 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis and rose by 56.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
In a similar trend, there was a 21.4 per cent increase in the value of solid minerals imports compared to Q1 2021 and 68.3 per cent year-on-year, while other oil products imports rose by 13.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year by 218.5 per cent, with the value of energy goods imports decreasing by 94.6 per cent in Q2, 2021 against the worth recorded in Q1,2021 and 88.7 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020.
The NBS said the total value of imports in the period under consideration rose year-on-year by 67.5 per cent as the chunk of the country’s trade came from imports, accounting for 57.8 per cent.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, trade grew by 1.5 per cent, driven further by the opening of the Nigerian borders after the pandemic and as foreign relationships continued to stabilize.
Breaking down the value of imports by the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), it was revealed that machinery and transport equipment was responsible for the major increase in import value as it accounted for N2.5 trillion or 35.9 per cent of total import trade.
This was followed by chemicals and related products at N1.3 trillion or 18.3 per cent, as well as mineral fuel at N1.1 trillion or 15.98 per cent.
Also, imported food and live animals recorded N951.28 billion or 13.7 per cent, while manufactured goods accounted for N640.5 billion or 9.2 per cent.
In terms of the imports trading partners, the majority of the goods imported during the quarter was from China with a value of N2.1 trillion or 29.9 per cent, followed by India at N570.01 billion or 8.20 per cent, the Netherlands at N557.2billion or 8.02 per cent, and the United States at N526.92 billion or 7.58 per cent.
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.
