By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it has issued the Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate (NCEC) guidance notes to speed up oil and gas industry contracting processes, weed out firms lacking technical capacity to perform, and to reduce Nigeria’s cost of oil production.

The document forms part of concerted efforts to operationalize the Presidential Directives (PDs) on Local Content Requirements, which mandates NCDMB to take further steps to eliminate intermediaries in the contracting process, lacking demonstrable capacity.

Emphasising that one of the key requirements for participating in the Nigerian oil and gas industry contracting process is the possession of NCECs issued by the NCDMB, the document states that “Unmerited possession and/or misapplication of the NCECs during tendering/bid evaluations contribute to contracting delays and admittance of unqualified intermediaries into the contracting process”.

According to NCDMB, the goal of the new document is to “tackle cases of single and multiple NCEC applications not matched to capacities on ground, submission of fake/forged documents, under declaration of personnel, non-existent offices/equipment, and many other dubious applications.”

It will also enhance timely review and approval of applications from genuine service companies as the document provides all the requirements needed to complete credible application at first attempt.

The eight NCEC categories cover Manufacturing & Related Services (MS); Fabrication & Construction (FC); Construction & Moveable Equipment (EC); Services & Support (SS); Quality Control Inspection and Testing (QS); Non-Moveable Assets (DA); Procurement & Supplies (PS); and Consultancy Services (CS).

The document advised service companies to provide details of their specific service offering with sufficient supporting evidence while applying for any of the NCEC categories via the application portal. Providing further explanation, NCDMB stressed that it does not solicit or require any payment for the application, processing, or approval of NCEC or any of its certifications.

It added that “in line with the Presidential directive on Local Content compliance, NCDMB prohibits the use of agents/middlemen/third parties in raising/submission of NCEC application on behalf of service companies. Service Companies registered on the NOGIC-JQS are liable for any claims/documentations submitted in support of application for NCEC or any other NCDMB certifications using their assigned login in details.”

The document also indicated that companies and their subsidiaries or local partners cannot apply for or obtain NCEC as separate companies using the same facilities, equipment, assets, or documentation and NCEC is not transferable for use by another company.”

Continuing, the guidance notes enjoined service companies to only apply for NCECs based on their core service area, noting that spurious applications contribute to delays in the processing of genuine applications, warning that cases determined to constitute abuse of NCEC applications shall attract applicable sanctions.

The NCEC notes also indicated that companies applying for multiple NCECs must have the capacities in terms of assets, facilities, equipment and personnel to execute the scope of activities under the target NCEC categories, adding that NCDMB will carry out facility visits to ascertain the capacities and capabilities claimed by the company in all the multiple NCEC applications.

It stated further that NCECs are not granted in anticipation of establishment of local capacities but are approved based on functional equipment/assets with dedicated resources/utilities in place to operate or perform the services, hence applicants must be ready to demonstrate operability and availability of owned assets/equipment as may be required during facility visit by NCDMB team.

The document also listed services which do not require NCECs. They include GSM service providers, commercial airlines, educational institutes, legal advisory services, public relations and events management, government agencies, and CSR projects with community vendors.

Speaking on the guidance notes, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe enjoined oil and gas stakeholders to study the guidance notes while applying for NCECs, warning that submission of forged, altered, or falsified documents constitutes a criminal offence and will attract legal consequences as well as board’s administrative punishments.

He noted that NCDMB had set target timelines for the review and processing of NCEC applications, with the portal providing timestamp of all activities/interactions undertaken from the point of submission of application and all reviews by the board.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Six price gainers lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 2.09 per cent on Monday, February 9, amid a surge in activity level.

According to data, the volume of securities significantly increased by 3,499.1 per cent to 13.3 million units from the 384,784 units recorded in the preceding trading session, as the value of securities soared by 518.0 per cent to N99.3 million from N16.1 million, and the number of deals moved up by 95.8 per cent to 47 deals from the preceding session’s 24 deals.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc ended the day as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 16.9 million units exchanged for N699.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 23.2 million units valued at N123.6 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.8 million units traded for N118.5 million.

However, Geo-Fluids Plc became the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 23.2 million units worth N123.6 million, as CSCS Plc was pushed down the pecking order as second with 16.9 million units transacted for N699.9 million, while Mass Telecom Innovation Plc sold 15.1 million units for N6.1 million.

The price gainers were led yesterday by Okitipupa Plc after it gained N17.00 to trade at N237.00 per share versus the previous price of N220.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N6.00 to sell at N66.00 per unit versus N60.00 per unit, and CSCS Plc grew by N5.35 to N58.85 per share from N53.50 per share.

Further, IPWA Plc appreciated by 23 Kobo to N2.59 per unit from N2.36 per unit, UBN Property Plc increased its value by 19 Kobo to N2.19 per share from N2.00 per share, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc advanced by 5 Kobo to 59 Kobo per unit from 54 Kobo per unit.

However, Nipco Plc lost N9.00 on Monday to close at N250.00 per share versus last Friday’s price of N259.00 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 22 Kobo to N4.08 per unit from N4.30 per unit.

At the close of business, the market capitalisation of the bourse was up by N46.2 billion to N2.253 trillion from N2.207 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) jumped 77.22 points to 3,766.94 points from 3,689.72 points.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The first trading of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended bullish for the Naira as it gained N11.93 or 0.87 per cent against the US Dollar on Monday, February 9, to trade at N1,354.26/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,366.19/$1.

It also appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N12.03 to settle at N1,845.72/£1 versus last Friday’s closing price of N1,857.75/£1, but depreciated against the Euro by 69 Kobo to quote at N1,613.19/€1, in contrast to the N1,612.52/€1 it was exchanged last Friday.

At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the Dollar yesterday by N4 to close at N1,379/$1 versus the previous rate of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was flat at N1,450/$1.

The fortification of the Nigerian currency in the currency market on Monday was driven by forex liquidity, strong oil receipts, and flows from foreign investors attracted by the high yields on the country’s debt market.

Speaking at a forum on Monday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, declared that the bank’s reforms have established economic stability, evidenced by a significant reduction in inflation and growing external reserves, which he stated stood at $49 billion as of February 5, 2026.

He also highlighted the stability of the FX market, noting that the CBN is now accumulating foreign exchange from the market to enhance sustainability.

“By that, I mean that we now allow the market to generally find its level; many times, the Central Bank itself goes in to buy foreign exchange. The premium between the official and parallel market rates has collapsed to under 2 per cent,” Mr Cardoso stated.

The CBN chief said the reforms of the monetary authority—anchored on disinflation, FX market normalisation, and financial-system resilience—are already strengthening real-sector confidence.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was in a recovery mode as investors took advantage of the drop in prices to add to their portfolios.

The pullback followed a turbulent few days in which Bitcoin (BTC) plunged to as low as $60,000 before rebounding. It rose 0.5 per cent on Monday to $70,415.57, as Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.9 per cent to trade at $2,116.42.

Further, Ripple (XRP) improved by 1.4 per cent to $1.44, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $54.66, Solana (SOL) grew by 0.5 per cent to $87.11, and Cardano (ADA) added 0.2 per cent to settle at $0.2704.

On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 0.6 per cent to $638.34, and Dogecoin (DOGE) weakened by 0.3 per cent to $0.0963, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.