Economy
Nigeria to Ask OPEC for 25% Hike in Crude Oil Production Quota
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is hoping to approach the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise the country’s crude oil production quota by 25 per cent.
Nigeria, an OPEC laggard, has not been able to hike output in recent years and has been limited to a quota of 1.5 million barrels per day.
However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said that this may soon changed on the back of expectations that output will be raised soon.
The national oil company is also targeting 2 million barrels per day from 2027, with plans to be included in the upcoming talks over updated country capacities, the chief executive of NNPC, Mr Bashir Bayo Ojulari, said in a report by Argus Media.
Nigeria’s current crude quota is 1.5 million barrels per day, but Mr Ojulari said current production is slightly below that at around 1.4 million barrels per day.
He noted that including around 250,000 barrels per day of condensate, that takes current oil output to around 1.65 million barrels per day, just shy of the country’s oil production capacity. OPEC calculations exempt condensates.
Argus estimated Nigeria’s crude output at just shy of 1.6 million bpd in May, the latest month for which estimates are available, although that figure includes production of Nigerian light sweet Agbami, which Nigeria itself classifies as condensate, the report said.
By 2027, NNPC is targeting a capacity of around 2.4 million barrels per day, and production of 2 million barrels per day, Mr Ojulari said. Of this production, around 1.7 million barrels per day will be crude and the 300,000 barrels per day balance, condensate, Argus reported.
And within three years, the company is aiming for production of 3 million barrels per day, comprising crude output of 2.5 million barrels per day and condensate production of 500,000 barrels per day. Capacity will be around 3.5 million barrels per day, it added.
Nigeria’s plans come as the OPEC+ group embarks on a new campaign to update and refresh each member country’s maximum sustainable production capacity, which would then be used to determine new production baselines, or quotas, for members from which output targets for 2027 will be calculated.
“We believe that with the increased demand being created in-country, we are now in a better position to also seek from OPEC to increase our production quota,” Mr Ojulari said.
He also said Nigeria recently commissioned the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery while 500,000 barrels per day of modular refining capacity are at “different stages of progress.”
“So, you can imagine, over the next two years, we will be talking of (additional) refining capacity of around 1 million bpd of just Nigerian local consumption,” Argus quoted Mr Ojulari as saying.
Mr Ojulari said he will be lobbying for a 25 per cent increase in the production quota by 2027, and remains hopeful that this time Nigeria’s request will be granted.
“What I want to have by 2027 is 2 million barrels per day; that is what we will be asking,” he said. “What the outcome of that conversation will be will depend on how successful we are in our discussions and interactions. But that is what we are gunning for,” he said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns in Lagos State has been extended by one week from February 1 to 7, 2026.
This information was revealed in a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mrs Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude.
In the statement issued over the weekend, the chairman of the tax collecting organisation, Mr Ayodele Subair, explained that the statutory deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns is January 31, every year, noting that the extension is intended to provide employers with additional time to complete and submit accurate tax returns.
According to him, employers must give priority to the timely filing of their annual returns, noting that compliance should be embedded as a routine business practice.
He also reiterated that electronic filing through the LIRS eTax platform remains the only approved method for submitting annual returns, as manual filings have been completely phased out. Employers are therefore required to file their returns exclusively through the LIRS eTax portal: https://etax.lirs.net.
Describing the platform as secure, user-friendly, and accessible 24/7, Mr Subair advised employers to ensure that the Tax ID (Tax Identification Number) of all employees is correctly captured in their submissions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Sunil Kumar Taldar, has disclosed that the company is still on track to list its mobile money business, Airtel Money, before the end of June 2026.
Recall that Business Post reported in March 2024 that the mobile network operator was considering selling the shares of Airtel Money to the public through the IPO vehicle in a transaction expected to raise about $4 billion.
The firm had been in talks with possible advisors for a planned listing of the shares from the initial public offer on a stock exchange with some options including London, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Europe.
However, so far no final decisions have been made regarding the timing, location, or scale of the IPO.
In September 2025, the telco reportedly picked Citigroup Incorporated as advisors for the planned IPO which will see Airtel Money become a standalone entity before it can attain the prestige of trading on a stock exchange.
Mr Taldar, noted that metrics continued to show improvements ahead of the listing with its customer base hitting 52 million, compared to around 44.6 million users it had as of June 2025.
He added that the subsidiary processed over $210 billion in a year, according to the company’s nine-month financial results released on Friday.
“Our push to enhance financial inclusion across the continent continues to gain momentum with our Mobile Money customer base expanding to 52 million, surpassing the 50 million milestone. Annualised total processed value of over $210 billion in Q3’26 underscores the depth of our merchants, agents, and partner ecosystem and remains a key player in driving improved access to financial services across Africa.
“We remain on track for the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026,” Mr Taldar said.
Estimating Airtel Money at $4 billion is higher than its valuation of $2.65 billion in 2021. In 2021, Airtel Money received significant investments, including $200 million from TPG Incorporated at a valuation of $2.65 billion and $100 million from Mastercard. Later that same year, an affiliate of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund also acquired an undisclosed stake in the unit.
The mobile money sector in Africa is expanding rapidly, driven by a young population increasingly adopting technology for financial services, making the continent a key market for fintech companies.
By Dipo Olowookere
A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.
A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.
It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.
Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.
In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.
Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.
Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.
Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.
Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.
The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
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