Economy
NECA Slams Lottery Regulatory Agency over Closure of Nigerian Breweries
By Dipo Olowookere
The decision of National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to close offices and business premises of Nigerian Breweries Plc across the nation is not going down well with the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).
NECA described the move by the lottery regulatory agency led by Mr Lanre Gbajabiamila as shocking and embarrassing.
Organised businesses under the auspices of NECA had approached the courts in the case CA/A/207/2016, NECA & 1 or vs. AG Federation & 3 ors.
The case is currently at the Federal Court of Appeal and parties in the case had maintained status quo ante since 2016. This was in obedience to the court order which had restrained the NLRC and /or its Agents from imposing/further imposing its own interpretation of “promos” on NECA’s members and/or from further harassing, intimidating and/or sealing-up the offices of NECA’s members.
Speaking in Lagos, the Director General of NECA, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo, expressed shock that the new helmsman at the NLRC, Mr Lanre Gbajabiamila, will go all out to act in breach of the rule of law and utter contempt of court by shutting down the offices and business premises of Nigerian Breweries Plc in a case that is still before the Court of Appeal.
Mr Oshinowo noted that “since 2016 when the case was filed in court, the past leadership of the commission had exercised restraint and due respect for the law of the land”.
He decried the resort to jungle behaviour by the power drunk “public servant” in a civilized society where all hands are on deck to boost the ailing economy of the nation.
According to him, “It is unthinkable that a Public Servant will rashly shut down business premises of a multi-billion dollar investment without considering the dire implications on the economy”
The NECA boss called on the Presidency and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment to call Mr Gbajabiamila to order, saying his actions were not only illegal, unlawful and ultra vires the powers conferred on him, but working at cross purpose against the laudable efforts of the federal government in improving the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) in Nigeria.
“He should be called to order to avoid further damage to business and the fragile economy at large,” Mr Oshinowo said
It was disclosed that NECA’s call on the Presidency and the Minister was informed by government’s belief in fairness and justice, and its several unequivocally affirmation of its belief in enterprise rights and those of ordinary Nigerians. These are hallmarks of good governance which will shore up investors’ confidence in the economy”
Mr Oshinowo further hoped that “the Commission’s leadership will depart from its new ways and manner of carrying out its activities, which is totally at variance with Democratic Ethos”.
In the same vein, “Gbajabiamila should await the court’s interpretation on the definition of promos which we believe is not the same as lottery. This will enable the Commission operate within the limits guaranteed by law and also promote the survival of Enterprises in the country, who are the engine of growth in any economy.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.
According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.
These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.
The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.
According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.
According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.
The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.
Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.
It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.
For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
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