Economy
Nigeria’s Content Board Shares $21m NCI Fund to Vendors
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Maikanti Kacalla Baru, led other industry leaders to commend the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for the numerous achievements recorded in the implementation of Nigerian Content in the oil and gas industry.
They spoke Tuesday at the 8th Practical Nigerian Content Workshop, organised by the NCDMB and CWC, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and pledged support to deepen the implementation of policies and initiatives that would increase in country value addition in the oil and gas sector.
According to Mr Kachikwu, the impact of Nigerian Content in the oil industry has stimulated other sectors like Information & Communication, Automobile, Construction and Power to adopt some of the templates in their policy formulations.
“We are also proud that some African countries like Kenya, Congo Brazzaville and Uganda as well as Gabon and Angola have come to Nigeria in the past for mentorship on Local Content initiatives,” he added.
The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Folashade Yemi, promised the commitment of the Federal Government to promoting robust private sector participation in the oil and gas sector and ensuring ease of doing business in the economy in general.
Also speaking, Mr Baru said NNPC was pleased to see the achievements of Local Content in various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
He noted that in “in 2010, the available in-country capacity for line pipes was 100,000 metric tonnes, just 10 percent of the annual industry demand of one million MT/annum.
“However, today, through the robust collaboration of NCDMB with NNPC and other stakeholders, the capacity of line pipes has been ramped up to 420,000MT/annum, representing 40 percent of industry demand.”
The GMD reaffirmed “NNPC’s commitment to compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Content Act, to increase in-country value addition and support job creation. We will also continue to encourage our partners to do the same.
“NNPC is fully committed to NCDMB’s agenda for the next ten years, to increase Nigerian Content in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry to 70 percent by 2017.”
Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, presented a scorecard of the Board’s performance in 2018, dwelling particularly on the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic roadmap.
On the $200 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) launched to provide funding support to local service companies, Mr Wabote stated that $21 million has been given out as loan to beneficiaries as at the end of October.
“In 2019, we intend to develop and launch our investment policy to further provide flexibility to our funding and investment interventions,” he said.
He also hinted that in 2019 the Board “plans to support the establishment of at least one more modular refinery and participate in the LPG value chain if the condition precedent are in place”
NCDMB had in 2018 taken 30 percent equity in the 5,000 barrels per day modular refinery in Ibigwe, Imo State and commenced the construction of oil and gas parks at Bayelsa and Cross River States.
On the provision of constant power to the parks, Mr Wabote said a thermal power plant was being constructed by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), which would also serve the oil and gas park in Bayelsa state while discussions are ongoing to source electricity from the NIPP station in Odukpani, Cross River State to supply the park situated close-by.
Other plans for 2019 include the finalization of the review of Offshore Rig Acquisition Strategy and posting of 20 trained marine personnel being trained by the Board, for their 1 year international sea time in fulfilment of the requirement for the Certificate of Competency (CoC).
The Executive Secretary also reported that the Board has commenced the forensic audit of remittances to the Nigerian Content Development Fund and fulfilled its promise to put in place 3rd party monitors to enhance compliance monitoring in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the industry.
He added that, “By 2019, we intend to deepen and widen the roll-out of third party monitoring service providers for effective monitoring of the 51 operating companies and close to 8,000 oil and gas service providers registered on our NOGIC-JQS. In addition, we will further expand our compliance and enforcement framework to cover marginal field operators, midstream and downstream sectors.”
He said the Board have established collaborative efforts with the Nigeria Customs Service, EFCC, NNPC, NAPIMS, Nigeria Immigration Service, FAAN, OGFZA, National Judicial Council and NIMASA and would sharpen those inter-agency collaborations going forward.
In his remarks, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon Seriake Dickson, commended the NCDMB for being a good corporate citizen in the state and expressed hope that the completion of the Board’s 17-storey headquarters would lead to more oil and gas deals being sealed in the state, so the citizenry would derive maximum benefits.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc will receive an interim dividend of N2 per share, the board of the organisation has said.
The cash reward was announced after the company released its financial statements for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2026.
The payment will be made on Friday, August 14, 2026, only to investors whose names appear on the Register of Members at the close of business on Friday, July 31, 2026.
A quick look at the financial performance of the firm in the first six months of this year showed that revenue improved by 22.22 per cent to N119.9 billion from the N98.1 billion achieved in the corresponding period of last year.
A rise in earnings also resulted in a 16.43 per cent surge in cost of sales, though this did not shrink the gross profit, which rose by 29.93 per cent to N54.7 billion from N42.1 billion. The operating profit stood at N24.4 billion in the period under review, higher than N18.8 billion in the same period of 2025, while the net finance income contracted by 9.43 per cent to N4.8 billion from N5.3 billion due to elevated borrowing costs.
Business Post reports that despite higher taxes paid in the first six months of 2026, the net profit grew by 8.33 per cent to N15.6 billion from N14.4 billion, enabling the board to pass on value to shareholders for their faith in the firm.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange opened the week with a 0.52 per cent rise on Monday, July 20, driven by renewed buying interest.
The volume of securities traded during the opening session surged by 6,663.3 per cent to 52.6 million units from the previous 777,002 units, and the value of securities rose by 200.9 per cent to N191.2 million from the preceding session’s N104.2 million, while the number of deals depreciated by 15.2 per cent to 28 deals compared to the preceding session’s 33 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion in trades, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the 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 transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
Yesterday, there were two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slid by 66 Kobo to end at N141.15 per unit versus last Friday’s N141.81 per unit, Food Concepts Plc lost 24 Kobo to close at N2.31 per share versus N2.55 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 17 Kobo to settle at N2.25 per unit compared with the previous closing price of N2.42 per unit.
Conversely, CSCS Plc chalked up N5.19 to close at N99.33 per share versus N94.14 per share, and Mass Telecoms Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to sell at 35 Kobo per unit from 32 Kobo per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N13.57 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.593 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 22.6 points to quote at 4,343.27 points, in contrast to the previous 4,320.67 points.
