Economy
NEITI Recovers N7.43bn Debt From Oil, Gas Firms
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has announced the recovery of N7.43 trillion (approximately $4.85 billion) from outstanding payments owed by oil and gas companies, following its industry-wide financial disclosures.
The recovery is part of the total $8.26 billion identified in NEITI’s 2021 oil and gas audit report.
This was disclosed by NEITI’s Executive Secretary, Mr Orji Orji, while speaking during a press briefing in Abuja over the weekend, noting that the recoveries demonstrate the agency’s commitment to transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive sector.
The NEITI chief noted that while significant progress has been made in recovering funds, unresolved financial liabilities remain a major concern.
“So far, over $4.85 billion was recovered from the disclosures of $8.26 billion (made by NEITI in its 2021 oil and gas report. In the 2023 industry reports released in September 2024, NEITI disclosed liabilities of $6.175 billion and N66.378 billion, showing a significant decline from the liabilities of 2021 reports, yet worrisome because of the need for government to find resources to fund its 2025 budget,” Mr Orji stated.
He decried that despite NEITI’s efforts to ensure financial accountability in the oil and gas sector, several companies have continued to default on payments.
He called on relevant government bodies, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), to take stronger enforcement actions against defaulters and adopt more stringent measures to prevent future revenue leakages.
“Analyses of how these liabilities, when paid, could support the federal government’s domestic revenue mobilization reveals that the liabilities, when converted at N1,500 to one dollar, would amount to N9.33 trillion.
“The sum is more than the federal government’s total budget for health, education, agriculture and food security, which totaled N8.73 trillion. Further analyses show that the sum is also more than the total budget for national security at N6.11 trillion, health at N2.48 trillion and social welfare of N724 billion all put together. The liabilities can also knock off about 72 per cent of the federal government’s budget deficit of N13 trillion for 2025.”
He called on relevant agencies responsible for collecting these revenues to do what is needed and support our governments at all levels to provide the much-needed infrastructure for our citizens,” he stated.
Mr Orji further disclosed plans to broaden the initiative’s industry-wide reports to include dedicated sections on divestments, forward sales of oil and gas assets, and environmental remediation.
This move, he noted, is aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability in the extractive sector.
He stated that while the agency’s current Beneficial Ownership data is up-to-date as of 2023, more work is needed to deepen engagements and public disclosures on companies acquiring divested assets.
Mr Orji highlighted challenges such as institutional constraints, funding limitations, and resistance to change.
He called for collective efforts from the media, civil society, and stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria’s oil, gas, and mining revenues are managed prudently for the benefit of all citizens.
“Transparency is not just a policy; it is a responsibility. NEITI remains steadfast in ensuring that Nigeria’s extractive revenues are accounted for and utilized effectively,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 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 worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
