Economy

Nigeria’s Response to Oil Spills Poor—NNRC

Published

5 years ago

14/09/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC) has disclosed that Nigeria is currently suffering from poor response to oil spill and lack of capacity of government’s agencies to tackle environmental issues.

The NNRC said this in a presentation by its Program Coordinator, Ms Tengi George-Ikoli, at a webinar titled Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) Amendment Bill: Reducing environmental degradation through improved oil spill response.

According to Ms George-Ikoli, NOSDRA, the agency set up to address some of the grave consequences of oil exploitation, which is also mandated to respond to oil spills, was currently hampered by an almost debilitating lack of capacity.

She further stated that there is currently poor response to oil spills because of NOSDRA’s lack of capacity, adding, however, that the capacity gaps in NOSDRA were not due to a lack of expertise but lack of funding and punitive powers.

Ms George-Ikoli lamented that oil exploitation had always presented a huge negative impact on the ecosystem of the Niger Delta region, giving rise to intense land degradation, rapid agricultural decline, fisheries depletion, rampant and destructive oil spillages, continuous gas flaring and toxic water contamination among others.

This, she added, had negatively affected the health, environment and livelihoods of the Niger Delta people.

In her words, “Oil exploitation is now ongoing in the Lagos-Badagry region and now we have discoveries in the Northern part of Nigeria. All over Nigeria, oil exploitation grows, but we must note that as the benefits grow, the resultant negative externalities grow as well.

“The oil age like the coal age and the stone age will at some point set. States that contributed to the coal age in Nigeria are now left to their devices with the shift to oil. What happens to the Niger Delta region with the shift towards alternative energy sources or to other regions in Nigeria where oil is being exploited? The Niger Delta will be left with its diminished livelihoods, health and environment.

“This is no longer theoretical, as we saw with the COVID-19 health crisis that swept the globe. The Niger Delta concerns were not as high on the priority list. This is the reality that the Niger Delta will face with the zero oil scenario.

“In April 2010, the entire world watched in awe as the 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico after an explosion on BP’s Deep-water Horizon drilling rig unfolded. The seriousness of the issue was underlined with the numerous visits of the former United States President, Barack Obama and Congressmen to the spill sites.

“In less than two months after the spill, the American government was able to extract a huge sum of $20 billion from the spiller to mitigate the immediate impact of the spill on the environment.

“However, there were spirited efforts to clean the environment and stronger indications that the $20 billion may only be a preliminary appeasement. What would be and what has been the computation of the penalties for similar spills in Nigeria? Will NOSDRA be able to address similar large scale spills effectively?”

She further called for the speedy passage and assent to the reviewed NOSDRA amendment bill, stating that the bill would ensure that NOSDRA was well equipped to tackle all tiers of oil spillages in the Nigerian environment in line with global best practices.

“As we seek to understand the NOSDRA Amendment bill, President concerns, the address of those concerns, we will encourage the government to collaboratively resolve any outstanding issues to ensure the interests of the Niger Delta people and all other exploited regions are protected,” Ms George-Ikoli appealed.

On his part, Mr Sam Kabari, a Lecturer in Environmental Management and Pollution Control, Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, stated that the country needed a NOSDRA which functions as an environmental regulator in the issuance of guidelines and standards and able to address all manner of spills, noting that at the moment, NOSDRA can only detect oil spills but cannot respond.

He further stated that at present, NOSDRA lacked powers to respond to Tier 3 spills, which is between 250 barrels onshore and 2,500 barrels offshore; was dependent on oil companies for logistics, among others.

Mr Kabari said: “As a nation completely dependent on oil and gas, we need an environmental management umpire. The current regulatory framework restricts NOSDRA from achieving that function. The NOSDRA Amendment Bill will empower NOSDRA to respond to all manners of spills within Nigeria. We have to empower NOSDRA now, or live with pollution even after oil.”

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

1 hour ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

2 hours ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.

Economy

Naira Firms up to N1,449 Per Dollar at Official Market

Published

2 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira rallied against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 23 by N6.57 or 0.45 per cent to N1,449.99/$1 from the previous day’s N1,456.56/$1.

The domestic currency also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N1.30 to sell for N1,956.03/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,957.33/£1 and gained N2.94 on the Euro to close at N1,707.65/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s closing price of N1,710.59/€1.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by N5 at the GTBank FX counter to sell for N1,465/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,470/$1 but remained unchanged at N1,485/$1 in the black market window.

Sentiment in the FX market continued to improve with market operators attributing the appreciation to increased supply in the official market, supported by sustained interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the impact of recent reforms.

Improved liquidity from exporters and foreign portfolio investors has also contributed to easing pressure on the local currency, helping to stabilise trading conditions during the festivities.

Analysts noted that the Naira’s performance has helped narrow the spread between the official and parallel market rates, a development seen as supportive of investor confidence and business planning. This relative stability has reduced short-term volatility risks and encouraged more orderly price discovery in the FX market.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was down yesterday as analysts suggest tax-loss harvesting and low liquidity are contributing to the action in crypto as the year ends. That means investors selling their underwater positions to realize losses, lowering their tax liabilities.

Some analysts remain cautiously optimistic about a potential rally, though significant recovery is not expected until liquidity returns in January.

Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled by 3.1 per cent to $0.1281, Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.9 per cent to $121.92, Cardano (ADA) fell by 2.7 per cent to $0.3582, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 2.2 per cent to $2,926.25, and Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 2.1 per cent to $1.85.

Further, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 2.0 per cent to sell for $838.21, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.4 per cent to $86,933.97, and Litecoin (LTC) went down by 0.2 per cent to $76.33, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded at $1.00 apiece.