Economy
NCDMB Issues NCEC Guidance Notes to Ease Oil Contracts, Cut Production Costs
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it has issued the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate (NCEC) guidance notes to speed up oil and gas industry contracting processes, weed out firms lacking technical capacity to perform, and to reduce Nigeria’s cost of oil production.
The document forms part of concerted efforts to operationalize the Presidential Directives (PDs) on Local Content Requirements, which mandates NCDMB to take further steps to eliminate intermediaries in the contracting process, lacking demonstrable capacity.
Emphasising that one of the key requirements for participating in the Nigerian oil and gas industry contracting process is the possession of NCECs issued by the NCDMB, the document states that “Unmerited possession and/or misapplication of the NCECs during tendering/bid evaluations contribute to contracting delays and admittance of unqualified intermediaries into the contracting process”.
According to NCDMB, the goal of the new document is to “tackle cases of single and multiple NCEC applications not matched to capacities on ground, submission of fake/forged documents, under declaration of personnel, non-existent offices/equipment, and many other dubious applications.”
It will also enhance timely review and approval of applications from genuine service companies as the document provides all the requirements needed to complete credible application at first attempt.
The eight NCEC categories cover Manufacturing & Related Services (MS); Fabrication & Construction (FC); Construction & Moveable Equipment (EC); Services & Support (SS); Quality Control Inspection and Testing (QS); Non-Moveable Assets (DA); Procurement & Supplies (PS); and Consultancy Services (CS).
The document advised service companies to provide details of their specific service offering with sufficient supporting evidence while applying for any of the NCEC categories via the application portal. Providing further explanation, NCDMB stressed that it does not solicit or require any payment for the application, processing, or approval of NCEC or any of its certifications.
It added that “in line with the Presidential directive on Local Content compliance, NCDMB prohibits the use of agents/middlemen/third parties in raising/submission of NCEC application on behalf of service companies. Service Companies registered on the NOGIC-JQS are liable for any claims/documentations submitted in support of application for NCEC or any other NCDMB certifications using their assigned login in details.”
The document also indicated that companies and their subsidiaries or local partners cannot apply for or obtain NCEC as separate companies using the same facilities, equipment, assets, or documentation and NCEC is not transferable for use by another company.”
Continuing, the guidance notes enjoined service companies to only apply for NCECs based on their core service area, noting that spurious applications contribute to delays in the processing of genuine applications, warning that cases determined to constitute abuse of NCEC applications shall attract applicable sanctions.
The NCEC notes also indicated that companies applying for multiple NCECs must have the capacities in terms of assets, facilities, equipment and personnel to execute the scope of activities under the target NCEC categories, adding that NCDMB will carry out facility visits to ascertain the capacities and capabilities claimed by the company in all the multiple NCEC applications.
It stated further that NCECs are not granted in anticipation of establishment of local capacities but are approved based on functional equipment/assets with dedicated resources/utilities in place to operate or perform the services, hence applicants must be ready to demonstrate operability and availability of owned assets/equipment as may be required during facility visit by NCDMB team.
The document also listed services which do not require NCECs. They include GSM service providers, commercial airlines, educational institutes, legal advisory services, public relations and events management, government agencies, and CSR projects with community vendors.
Speaking on the guidance notes, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe enjoined oil and gas stakeholders to study the guidance notes while applying for NCECs, warning that submission of forged, altered, or falsified documents constitutes a criminal offence and will attract legal consequences as well as board’s administrative punishments.
He noted that NCDMB had set target timelines for the review and processing of NCEC applications, with the portal providing timestamp of all activities/interactions undertaken from the point of submission of application and all reviews by the board.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The deadline for filing individual annual income tax returns for residents of Lagos State has again been extended to April 21, 2026.
This information was revealed via a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mrs Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude, on Saturday.
The agency thanked some taxpayers for their continued compliance and commitment to the filing of their individual annual income tax returns, but charged those who have yet to file theirs to do so before the new deadline.
LIRS had earlier moved the deadline from its statutory period of March 31, 2026, to April 14, 2026, but due to “the overwhelming response and to enhance taxpayer convenience, while maintaining the integrity and accuracy of submissions,” the date was moved forward to April 26.
The tax-collecting organisation said it “observed a significant increase in traffic on its eTax platform as more taxpayers endeavour to meet the filing deadline.”
“In view of this development, and to ensure that all taxpayers are provided with adequate opportunity to successfully complete their filings, LIRS hereby announces a further extension of the deadline, now set for April 21, 2026,” it stated.
The agency reiterated that all filings must be completed electronically via the LIRS eTax platform: https://etax.lirs.net, which remains the only approved channel for submission.
Taxpayers were reminded that the filing of annual income tax returns remains a statutory obligation and were encouraged to take advantage of this final extension to fulfil their civic responsibility.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was in green on Friday after it closed higher by 0.30 per cent as a result of sustained bargain hunting.
Customs Street was up yesterday after three of the five major sectors came under buying pressure, with the consumer goods index up by 1.64 per cent, the industrial goods space up by 1.12 per cent, and the banking counter up by 0.64 per cent.
Business Post observed that profit-taking brought down the insurance by 2.61 per cent, and weakened the energy sector by 0.01 per cent.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation increased by N707 billion to N131.166 trillion from N130.459 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) expanded by 1,097.86 points to 203,770.42 from 202,672.56 points.
Transactions by Nigerian stock investors shrank during the session, as 548.6 million shares worth N31.5 billion exchanged hands in 48,538 deals compared with the 652.9 million shares valued at N39.8 billion transacted in 51,101 deals a day earlier.
This implied that the trading volume went down by 15.98 per cent, the trading value depreciated by 20.85 per cent, and the number of deals crashed by 5.02 per cent.
Access Holdings finished the day as the busiest equity after selling 52.7 million units valued at N1.4 billion, Zenith Bank exchanged 47.8 million units worth N5.4 billion, UBA traded 38.9 million units for N1.8 billion, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 36.7 million units worth N35.5 million, and GTCO sold 34.9 million units valued at N4.6 billion.
The market breadth index was negative during the session with 20 price gainers and 38 price losers, indicating weak investor sentiment.
Trans Nationwide Express appreciated by 9.91 per cent to N3.77, International Breweries grew by 9.88 per cent to N13.35, Chams rose by 9.84 per cent to N3.35, Guinea Insurance improved by 9.38 per cent to N462.90, and Lafarge Africa gained 8.52 per cent to close at N233.20.
On the flip side, Omatek lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N2.07, Austin Laz declined by 9.93 per cent to N3.99, Coronation Insurance dipped by 9.88 per cent to N2.92, Zichis crashed by 9.58 per cent to N12.55, and Cornerstone Insurance retreated by 8.77 per cent to N5.20.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed the last trading session of the week in the southern territory after further losing 0.59 per cent on Friday, April 10.
This happened as three price decliners weakened the NASD market due to continued sell-offs. The bourse did not finish in green this week.
11 Plc lost N24.70 to close at N222.30 per share compared with the previous day’s N247.00 per share, MRS Oil dropped N1 to settle at N164.00 per unit versus Thursday’s N165.00 per unit, and Geo-Fluids decreased by 25 Kobo to N3.00 per share from N3.25 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation shrank by N13.79 billion to N2.315 trillion from N2.329 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 23.05 points to 3,870.45 points from 3,893.50 points.
Yesterday, there were two price gainers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which chalked up N1.07 to sell at N64.21 per unit versus N63.50 per share, and Impresit Bakalori Plc appreciated by 22 Kobo to N2.42 per share from N2.20 per share.
The volume of securities fell by 81.9 per cent to 188,593 units from 1.04 million units, the value of securities decreased by 36.3 per cent to N25.7 million from N40.4 million, and the number of deals remained unchanged at 26 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 57.6 million units exchanged for N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.6 million units worth N1.8 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units s0ld for N415.7 million and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded at N1.2 billion.
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