Economy
Nigerians to Expect Increase in Prices of Rice in December—Olam
By Adedapo Adesanya
Tough times are on the horizon as one of the nation’s largest rice farms operated by Olam Nigeria has been affected by flooding in Nasarawa State.
Speaking on a programme on Arise TV, Mr Ade Adefeko, the vice-president of Olam Nigeria Limited, said the incident affected the company’s $20 million investment and about 25 per cent of Nigeria’s rice needs.
He said the situation would spike the prices of the commodity at the end of the year. Currently, a 50kg bag of rice sells between N37,000 and N39,000, depending on the brand.
“Well, what happened on October 2, I will tell you that 25 per cent of the crop for rice has been taken out. We should expect an increase in the prices of rice in December. Of course, that goes without saying because the entire crop has been lost,” he said.
Mr Adefeko described the situation as “very terrible”, adding that climate change is real despite all efforts put in place to prevent the damage.
“The entire team from the farm worked very hard to prevent the colossal damage that arose there from the dam broke the likes of the dam the dikes of the farm, and that affected us to a large extent we supply about 25 per cent of Nigeria’s rice needs, and that has been affected and have lost over $20 million,” he said.
The Olam deputy head said the farms were insured, but the damage scale was large.
“Of course, we are insured, But you can insure crops; you cannot replace crops. So, the crop has been insured, but you cannot be replaced. So you have to grow again. So, we are talking about 4400 hectares of farmland gone submerged due to climate change. So it’s very serious.
“Well, like I spoke to the fact that climate change is real. There’s not much you can do about the fact that climate change is real. We’ll continue to do what we have to do. I think NiMET had warned about the impending floods, I am sure you will notice what happened in Kogi as well.
“When they say it rains. It’s not really raining, it’s pouring. So it’s terrible.”
According to Mr Adefeko, Olam farm, located in Rukubi Doma LGA of Nasarawa state, was flooded after River Benue burst its banks and broke the dyke.
“Doma, where we are, is where we have the largest facility. We have the largest rice farm and mill on the continent. It is a $140 million investment, the national $20 million investment, which brought everything to $160 million.
“On our journey to the communities where we operate, it’s terrible. I mean, you need to come and see what is happening. We have over 57 kilometres of dikes surrounding the farms. The farm was built 12 kilometres by 7 kilometres, and 57 kilometres of dikes were meant to stop the flow from entering, but this was made after the 2012 major crisis.”
In another interview with Channels TV, the farm’s Chief Agronomist, Dr Umar Ismaila, said the incident will affect Nigeria’s food security.
The Flood Situation in Nigeria
Many parts of the country have witnessed heavy flooding in recent weeks, with Kogi, Nassarawa, Gombe, and Anambra affected badly. Human and material losses have risen as a result of the unusual rainfalls and the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in neighbouring Cameroon’s northern region.
The Nigeria Hydrological Services (NIHSA) blamed state and local governments for disregarding “adequate and timely warnings” and weather advisories issued by various Federal Government agencies.
In August, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NEMA) predicted that the prevailing weather pattern in Nigeria would cause above-normal rainfall in about 19 states between August and October this year.
It stated that above-normal rainfall conditions were expected over the northern states such as Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, much of Kebbi and Gombe, as well as northern Kaduna and Adamawa states, whereas normal to above-normal rainfall conditions were expected over most parts of the south-western states including Lagos, Ogun, Osun, much of Oyo, Ondo, parts of Ekiti, and Edo.
It advised states to intensify adaptation, mitigation, and response mechanisms to curb the impending danger
By Adedapo Adesanya
TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the divestment of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.
The Renaissance JV, formerly known as the SPDC JV, is an unincorporated joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (55 per cent), Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (30 per cent, operator), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (10 per cent) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria (5 per cent), which holds 18 licences in the Niger Delta.
In a statement by TotalEnergies on Wednesday, it was stated that under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil.
Production from these licences, it was said, represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in company’s share in 2025.
The agreement also stated that TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the three other licences of Renaissance JV which are producing mainly gas, namely OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77, while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licences, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply.
Business Post reports that the conclusion of the deal is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.
“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the sale of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.
“Under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil. Production from these licences represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in the company’s share in 2025.
“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the 3 other licenses of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly gas (OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77), while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licenses, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply. Closing is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals,” the statement reads in part.
The development is part of TotalEnergies’ strategies to dump more assets to lighten its books and debt.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The trading licence of Monument Securities and Finance Limited has been revoked by the regulatory arm of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc.
Known as NGX Regulations Limited (NGX Regco), the regulator said it took back the operating licence of the organisation after it shut down its operations.
The revocation of the licence was approved by Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC) at its meeting held on September 24, 2025, a notice from the signed by the Head of Market Regulations at the agency, Chinedu Akamaka, said.
“This is to formally notify all trading license holders that the board of NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) has approved the decision of the Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC)” in respect of Monument Securities and Finance Limited, a part of the disclosure stated.
Monument Securities and Finance Limited was earlier licensed to assist clients with the trading of stocks in the Nigerian capital market.
However, with the latest development, the firm is no longer authorised to perform this function.
Economy
NEITI Advocates Fiscal Discipline, Transparency as FG, States, LGs Get N6trn in Three Months
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has called for fiscal discipline and transparency as data showed that federal government, states, and local governments shared a whopping N6 trillion Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements in the third quarter of last year.
In its analysis of the FAAC Q3 2025 allocation, the body revealed that the federal government received N2.19 trillion, states received N1.97 trillion, and local governments received N1.45 trillion.
According to a statement by the Director of Communication and Stakeholders Management at NEITI, Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, the allocation indicated a historic rise in federation account receipts and distributions, explaining that year-on-year quarterly FAAC allocations in 2025 grew by 55.6 per cent compared with Q3 of 2024 while it more than doubling allocations over two years.
The report contained in the agency’s Quarterly Review noted that the N6 trillion included 13 per cent payments to derivative states. It also showed that statutory revenues accounted for 62 per cent of shared receipts, while Value Added Tax (VAT) was 34 per cent, and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and augmentation from non-oil excess revenue each accounted for 2 per cent, respectively.
The distribution to the 36 states comprised revenues from statutory sources, VAT, EMTL, and ecological funds. States also received additional N100 billion as augmentation from the non-oil excess revenue account.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr Sarkin Adar, called on the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) FAAC, the National Economic Council (NEC), the National Assembly, and state governments to act on the recommendations to strengthen transparency, accountability, and long-term fiscal sustainability.
“Though the Quarter 3 2025 FAAC results are encouraging, NEITI reiterates that the data presents an opportunity to the government to institutionalise prudent fiscal practices that will protect the gains that have been recorded so far in growing revenue and reduce vulnerability to commodity shocks.
“The Q3 2025 FAAC results are encouraging, but windfalls must be managed with discipline. Greater transparency, realistic budgeting, and stronger stabilisation mechanisms will ensure these resources deliver durable benefits for all Nigerians,” Mr Adar said.
NEITI urged the government at all levels to ensure the growth of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth and stabilisation capacity, by committing to regular transfers to the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund and other related stabilisation mechanisms in line with the fiscal responsibility frameworks.
It further advised governments at all levels to adopt realistic budget benchmarks by setting more conservative and achievable crude oil production and price assumptions in the budget to reduce implementation gaps, deficit, and debt metrics.
This, it said, is in addition to accelerating revenue diversification by prioritising reforms that would attract investments into the mining sector, expedite legislation to modernise the Mineral and Mining Act, support reforms in the downstream petroleum sector, as well as the full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to expand domestic refining and value addition.
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