By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange suffered its fifth decline for this week on Friday after it closed lower by 0.09 per cent, with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 8.91 points to 3,639.10 points from 3,642.22 points and the market capitalisation declining by N1.86 billion to end N2.177 trillion compared with the previous day’s N2.179 trillion.

Yesterday, the bourse recorded three price losers led by NASD Plc, which crumbled by N4.00 to close at N55.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N59.00 per share, as FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by 68 Kobo to N66.23 per unit from Thursday’s closing price of N66.91 per unit, as Mass Telecom Innovation Plc lost 4 Kobo to end at 40 Kobo per share versus the preceding day’s 44 Kobo per share.

On the flip side, there were two price gainers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which added 21 Kobo to close at N40.81 per unit compared with the previous session’s N40.60 per share and UBN Property Plc, which improved by 10 Kobo to N2.09 per share from N1.99 per share.

During the session, the level of activity increased as the the volume of transactions surged by 255.7 per cent to 10.2 million units from 2.9 million units, the value of trades soared by 122.0 per cent to N189.5 million from N85.4 million, and the number of deals increased by 22.5 per cent to 49 deals from the previous day’s 40 deals.

When the bourse ended for the day, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 10.5 million units worth N427.7 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 893,553 units traded for N60.1 million, and MRS Oil Plc with 291,801 units valued at N58.3 million.

However, CSCS Plc took over as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 10.5 million units old for N427.7 million, as Geo-Fluids Plc slipped to second place with 7.7 million units worth N52.4 million, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc occupied the third spot with 6.2 million units transacted for N2.5 million.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws on the Allegations of Illegal Alterations on the Gazetted Tax Laws has released an interim report on its findings, accusing the executive arm of government of removing and inserting some items in the bills passed by the parliament.

The chairman of the 7-man panel, Mr Afam Victor Ogene, in the report released on Friday, said the laws were altered after they were transmitted to the executive by the National Assembly for assent by President Bola Tinubu.

Recall that a member of the green chamber of the parliament, Mr Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised an alarm on the discrepancies in the gazetted version and the one passed by the legislative arm of government.

The Minority Caucus of the House of Reps, headed by Mr Kingsley Chinda, in a statement on December 28, 2025, vowed to “unconditionally protect the independence of the legislature and our democracy.”

It then constituted the committee on January 2, 2026, to get to the roots of all the issues surrounding the scandal.

The next day, the lower chamber of the National Assembly, through its spokesman, Mr Akintunde Rotimi, released a statement announcing that the Speaker, Mr Abbas Tajudeen, had directed the release of the four tax reform Acts; The Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; The Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; The National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025, duly signed into law by the President, for public record, verification, and reference.

The statement further added that the Speaker has also ordered an internal verification and immediate public release of the Certified Acts to eliminate doubts, restore clarity, and protect the sanctity of the legislature.

In its report yesterday, the panel said it discovered some alterations in the gazetted version, noting that, “given the anomalies, illegalities, and impunity observed, which clearly undermine the National Assembly’s constitutional powers and democracy, the committee finds the current evidence sufficient to warrant a deeper investigation. This will ensure accountability for the affront against the legislature.”

“To achieve this, the committee respectfully requests an extension to conduct a more thorough examination of the matter,” it added.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market soared by almost 3 per cent on Friday after US President Donald Trump made new threats against Iran, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The price of the Brent crude futures went up by $1.82 or 2.8 per cent to $65.88 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.71 or 2.9 per cent to trade at $61.07 per barrel.

President Trump piled pressure on Iran through more sanctions on vessels that transport its oil and also said an American “armada” is heading towards the Middle East and that the US is monitoring Iran closely.

The US on Friday imposed sanctions on nine vessels and eight related firms involved in transporting Iranian oil and petroleum products.

Iran is OPEC’s fourth-biggest crude oil producer behind Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, producing about 3.2 million barrels per day.

It is also a major exporter to China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, which could face worries on top of higher prices for Venezuelan crude now that the US manages the exports of the South American nation.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on any country doing business with Iran in a bid to pressure the government in Tehran amid large-scale protests in the country.

The US President had pulled back from attacking Iran two weeks ago, despite promising “help is on its way”, but was also urged to hold back by the Gulf states, who warn that any action may destabilise the tense region.

However, the US is now sending “a lot of ships going that direction, just in case,” President Trump said as he returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Additional air defence systems are being deployed, most likely around US and Israeli airbases. The United Kingdom said it would send RAF Eurofighter Typhoon jets from 12 Squadron to Qatar, at its request.

The escalating pressure has caused concerns of oil supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Also boosting prices, Kazakhstan, an OPEC ally, has been struggling to resume output from one of the world’s largest oilfields. Chevron  said oil output at the Tengiz oilfield has yet to resume after Chevron-led operator Tengizchevroil announced a shutdown on Monday following a fire.

Market analysts at JP Morgan said on Friday that Tengiz, which accounts for nearly half of Kazakhstan’s production, could remain offline for the rest of the month and that Kazakhstan’s crude output is likely to average only 1 million to 1.1 million barrels per day in January, compared with a usual level of around 1.8 million barrels per day.