Economy
N-Power: Beneficiaries To Undergo Physical Verification
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Federal Government has disclosed that the 200,000 unemployed Nigerian graduates selected in the first batch of the N-Power Volunteer Corps (NPVC) would undergo a physical verification before being deployed to their places of assignment.
The beneficiaries, according to the government, are expected to start work on Thursday, December 1, 2016 and would be paid N30,000 as salary for the next two years.
A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the Vice President, Mr Laolu Akande, it was revealed that over 90% of the beneficiaries were first verified using the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
Mr Akande, who referred to a BBC report last week regarding the testimonials of some of the selected Nigerian graduates, noted that “it is most gladdening that those who were selected are now telling the stories of how they have not been employed for years, but now grateful to the President for this initiative.”
Some of them, he added, expressed satisfaction, according to the BBC report now online, that even though they knew no one in government, they were selected for the paid volunteer job program, attesting to the transparency of the selection process.
He said all the states and the FCT through the focal persons they appointed have since received the list of the 200,000, and now working on deploying the beneficiaries to their places of assignment.
He also explained that by using the BVN which is one of the most viable means of identification in the country today, there is hardly any way anything fraudulent can sail through in the process.
“We are confident that the selection process, all the way through with BVN, and physical verification at the points of deployment in the states and the local government areas, are both transparent and impossible to abhor ghost beneficiaries, or any kind of fraud,” he asserted.
Already, Mr Akande disclosed that 93% of those selected have been screened through the BVN, with the commendable assistance of the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) and only authentic and verifiable beneficiaries will be paid the N30,000 monthly stipends starting December.
Responding to some allusions made in sections of the media about random searches conducted on social media platforms, the SSA dismissed them stating that such cannot be better than “biometric identification we have secured through the BVN.”
In any case, he continued, “besides the BVN, there is going to be physical verification, through an in-built component in our selection system that requires that information submitted online during the application would have to be authenticated at the point of deployment across the country, including verification of academic credentials and residence status.”
According to him, just as is normal when someone gets a job or even admission to school, he or she would proceed to present papers that have been submitted during application for verification.
“This is also going to be like that, so claims about some applicants claiming to be residents of states would be dealt with if it turns out such claims are false. If an applicant cannot supply proof of residence, the selection is terminated,” he remarked.
Besides, he explained that in a local government such as Abadam in Borno State, where there have been claims that non-residents applied and were selected, Mr Akande assured that there is no cause for alarm because such people would have to show up for verification on the spot.
He added that there was also a likelihood that a number of applicants may have inputted Abadam inadvertently considering that Abadam LGA is number one on the list of LGAs under the list as posted on the N-Power portal.
“There is a good chance,” he continued, “that some applicants may have failed to complete the forms online accurately.”
Such errors are being reviewed and anyone found not to be resident in the LGA would be removed and replaced using the waiting list of applicants, he assured.
Said he, “An important aspect of the application was that applicants were told in clear terms that any false information would be grounds for disqualification.”
On how the 200,000 first batch of the N-Power was selected, the SSA Media explained that the selection was not only fair and done transparently, but also with adequate care.
Firstly, 40% of those who applied for the N-Power Teach and Agric were selected, and 50% of those who applied for the Health category, all based on an assessment test.
Then to mitigate the adverse socio-economic circumstances in the North- East an additional 4800 applicants from the region were selected with Borno State getting 1200 and Adamawa, Yobe, Taraba 800 each and Bauchi and Gombe 600 each.
Also to bolster states with low application numbers, an additional 4208 was selected and shared between Bayelsa, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States.
The Federal Ministry of Agric also additionally allocated 6799 applicants in the Agric category to all states across specific crop, fish and livestock targets in order to support government’s self-sufficiency target in Agric produce, he explained.
Gender and disability factor were also key in the selection. 46% of those selected, Mr Akande disclosed, are females, while a total of 1126 were successful applicants with disabilities.
Mr Akande then assured that those not selected in the first batch are now in the waiting list until the subsequent batches when they would be considered again, since there are still 300,000 to be selected under this budget cycle.
On why the selection process was based on states of residence rather than states of origin, Akande simply noted that for example, over 42,000 Nigerians applied for the N-Power from Lagos but only 3568 of them originate from Lagos. “Would it then be tenable to say almost 40,000 Bona fide Nigerians who are applicants resident in Lagos should just forget it since they are resident but not origins of the Lagos State?
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to raise its oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May.
Eight members of OPEC+, comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, agreed to the increase in May quota at a virtual meeting on Sunday, OPEC+ said in a statement.
However, the rise will be in theory, as its key members are unable to raise production due to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has affected production.
The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil route, since the end of February and cut exports from some OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq. These are the only countries in the group which were able to significantly raise production even before the conflict began.
Besides the disruptions affecting Gulf members, others, such as Russia, are unable to increase output due to Western sanctions and damage to infrastructure inflicted during the war with Ukraine. For Nigeria, even as Africa’s largest producer, it has not been able to keep production quotas steady.
The OPEC+ quota increase of 206,000 barrels per day represents less than 2 per cent of the supply disrupted by the Hormuz closure, but it signals readiness to raise output once the waterway reopens.
Also meeting on Sunday, a separate OPEC+ panel called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), expressed concern about attacks on energy assets, saying they were expensive and time-consuming to repair and so have an impact on supply.
May’s OPEC+ increase is the same as the eight members had agreed for April at their last meeting held on March 1, just as the war began to disrupt oil flows.
A month later, the largest oil supply disruption on record is estimated to have removed as many as 12 to 15 million barrels per day or up to 15 per cent of global supply.
The eight OPEC+ members have raised production quotas by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April 2025 through December 2025, before pausing increases for January to March 2026. The sub-group holds its next meeting on May 3.
Market analysts have warned that oil prices could hit $150 per barrel if the closure of the strait is prolonged and continues, due to damage to energy assets across the critical Middle East region.
As of the time of this report, Brent crude is trading at $108 per barrel, below the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude at $109 per barrel.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Workers at Seplat Energy will resume work after a strike action that impacted production was called off by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over the weekend, with the company issuing written commitments on pay rises.
Top employees began an indefinite strike last Friday as talks over a collective bargaining agreement and staff welfare issues broke down. The action came at a time when Nigeria is seeking to maximise production amid rising global oil prices.
According to Reuters, in an April 4 letter to the chief executive of Seplat Nigeria, Mr Roger Brown, PENGASSAN said it had directed members at the local energy firm to immediately suspend industrial action after negotiations resumed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. Other less-skilled workers are covered by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and did not partake in the strike with PENGASSAN.
The union said talks on a 2026 collective bargaining agreement would continue, with the aim of concluding outstanding issues by April 13. However, according to the publication, the union did not disclose more details about its financial demands.
“We can confirm that the union has suspended its notice of industrial action to allow negotiations to conclude on outstanding items within an agreed framework,” Seplat spokesperson, Mr Ogechukwu Udeagha, said, adding that “operations are recommencing at our various locations.”
Seplat Energy’s group production averaged 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, according to its latest audited results. That is the equivalent of around 7 per cent–9 per cent of Nigeria’s total liquids production.
The company expects output to rise to 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, making any sustained disruption particularly sensitive for Nigeria’s supply outlook. This comes as it seeks to scale production while remaining a major supplier of gas to Nigeria’s domestic power market.
With the company’s output expected to rise, any prolonged disruption would have significantly impacted Nigeria’s oil supply and fiscal outlook.
By Dipo Olowookere
The weekly turnover of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited shrank by 27.70 per cent or 1.094 billion equities, partly due to the inability of market participants to trade last Friday as a result of the Good Friday public holiday declared by the federal government.
In the week, investors bought and sold 2.856 billion equities worth N113.597 billion in 215,287 deals versus the 3.950 billion equities valued at N201.312 billion transacted in 359,642 deals in the preceding week.
The activity chart was led by the financial services industry with 1.811 billion shares valued at N61.901 billion in 86,818 deals, contributing 63.41 per cent and 54.49 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The services sector traded 299.895 million stocks worth N2.966 billion in 13,797 deals, and the ICT segment exchanged 183.233 million equities for N14.654 billion in 25,287 deals.
Wema Bank, Access Holdings, and Secure Electronic Technology accounted for 734.659 million shares worth N14.134 billion in 12,319 deals, contributing 25.72 per cent and 12.44 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
Data from the NGX said 29 stocks gained weight versus 47 stocks of the previous week, as 57 shares lost weight versus 45 shares in the preceding week, while 62 equities closed flat versus 56 equities a week earlier.
Multiverse led the gainers’ chart after it gained 20.66 per cent to trade at N20.15, UPDC REIT appreciated by 15.49 per cent to N8.20, International Energy Insurance chalked up 12.54 per cent to quote at N3.32, Austin Laz grew by 10.47 per cent to N4.43, and Unilever Nigeria rose by 10.00 per cent to N103.40.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology topped the losers’ table after it lost 21.54 per cent to close at N1.02, John Holt declined by 18.47 per cent to N15.45, May and Baker depreciated by 16.57 per cent to N35.00, Aluminium Extrusion moderated by 16.27 per cent to N10.55, and Legend Internet slipped by 16.00 per cent to N6.30.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 0.39 per cent to 201,698,89 points, and the market capitalisation rose by 0.65 per cent to N129.806 trillion.
In the same vein, all other indices finished higher apart from the main board, insurance, MERI Value, consumer goods, industrial goods and growth indices, which went down by 0.29 per cent, 4.25 per cent, 0.36 per cent, 1.74 per cent, 0.24 per cent, and 0.06 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.
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