Economy

National Assembly to Pass PIB Within Three Weeks

Published

5 years ago

09/06/2021

By Adedapo Adesanya

Within the next three weeks, the much-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will be passed by the National Assembly, the Senate President, Mr Ahmad Lawan, has assured.

Mr Lawan, who doubles as Chairman of the National Assembly, gave this assurance at the opening session of the 2021 Nigeria International Petroleum Summit in Abuja.

The federal lawmakers assured stakeholders in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria that the two chambers of the parliament were currently concluding work on the bill.

“In our legislative agenda for 2019-2023 in the 9th Assembly, we decided that we must have a better way. We found out that neither the solo effort of the executive nor the solo effort of the legislature could deliver the PIB in the past.

“We now have a better cooperative approach where the National Assembly will work with the administration to conceive the bill through very rigorous consultations and at the end of the day we narrowed down our differences and areas of potential conflict,” Mr Lawan said.

“I think we have been able to achieve that significantly. The speed and commitment the National Assembly has shown in working on the PIB and reaching where we today show that we have chosen the right path.

“As I speak, our joint committee of both Senate and the House on the PIB are about to conclude writing the report which will be submitted to both chambers of the National Assembly. Our expectation is that we will pass the PIB within this month of June by the grace of God,” he added.

The Senate President said lawmakers wanted to be very fair in listening to everyone in order to adequately address the concerns of stakeholders pertaining to the bill.

On his part, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, said the PIB as presently conceived, was not intended to drive anyone out of business.

He said, “We are expected to encourage businesses whether foreign, local or community-based. But as competing interests try to elbow each other out, it is the role of the National Assembly to look for a balancing act.

“This is bearing in mind that the most important interest for us is our national interest.”

Mr Gbajabiamila noted that the National Assembly would uphold national interest while considering other competing interests so as to strike a very delicate balance in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

He assured operators in the sector that the parliament would work towards the passage of a bill that would meet the greater expectation of the industry.

This is a change in tone as Mr Gbajabiamila had earlier promised in January that the bill would be passed in April 2021.

Business Post reports that the PIB has been long coming in the last 20 years, but due to contending and vested interests, nothing meaningful has been achieved.

Economy

NASD OTC Exchange Closes Lower for Fifth Consecutive Day

Published

6 hours ago

24/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

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.

Economy

Naira Value Improves to N1,421/$1 at Official Market

Published

6 hours ago

24/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by 44 Kobo or 0.03 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 24 to sell for N1,421.63/$1 compared with the N1,422.07/$1 it was traded on Thursday.

This was buoyed by increased FX inflows from exporters as well as sustained Dollar volume from non-bank corporate, individual and other sources.

However, the Naira lost N15.61 against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday to quote at N1,924.17/£1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,908.56/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N3.60 to finish at N1,669.56/€1 versus the N1,665.96/€1 it was exchanged a day earlier.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency traded flat against its American counterpart at N1,430/$1, and also maintained stability against the greenback at the parallel market segment during the session at N1,485/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market took a hit as slowdown occurred, explained by large holders taking profits.

The market had seen a short lived boost after Japanese intervention sent the Yen surging against the US Dollar, a move some saw as a necessary step toward resuming a bull market in crypto.

However, investors took profit with Dogecoin (DOGE) down by 0.8 per cent to $0.1240, and Cardano (ADA) down by 0.7 per cent to $0.3585.

Further, Solana (SOL) dropped 0.6 per cent to sell at $126.89, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to $68.42, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 0.1 per cent to $890.13.

But, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.4 per cent to $1.91, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.3 per cent to $2,953.72, and Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.1 per cent to $89,477.58, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

House of Reps Minority Caucus Identifies Alterations in Gazetted Tax Laws

Published

6 hours ago

24/01/2026

Modupe Gbadeyanka

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.