Economy
NNPC, Chinese Investors Plan 10 Biofuel Plants in Nigeria
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in China with Nigerian-Chinese consortia towards developing sustainable biofuels in the country.
In a ceremony held at the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing on the sidelines of the ongoing Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit Tuesday, two separate MoUs on the biofuels project development were signed between: NNPC and the OBAX-COMPLANT Consortium on one hand and NNPC and the CAPEGATE-NANNING Consortium on the other hand.
Speaking shortly after signing the dotted lines on behalf of the corporation, NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr Maikanti Baru, said the MoUs signing was aimed at implementing the Federal Government’s mandate on clean, alternative and renewable energy programmes, particularly automotive biofuels production nationwide.
“The aspiration for the exploitation of renewable fuel resources in Nigeria is to implement our nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement; part of which requires the blending of 10% by volume of fuel-ethanol in gasoline and 20% by volume of biodiesel in automotive gas oil (diesel) for use in the transportation sector,” Mr Baru stated.
He added that for a country like Nigeria with a daily consumption of over 65million litres of automotive fuels, it was easy to see that enormous volumes of fuel-ethanol and biodiesel would be needed to meet this obligation.
According to the GMD, meeting and sustaining the target requires strategic investment in more than ten (10) large biofuels complexes across the country.
Mr Baru, who noted that the execution of the two MoUs would help develop the first biofuel production complex in Nigeria, revealed that before the end of the year, the development of not less than three other complexes would commence in the country.
He said NNPC was poised to domesticating the alternative fuels production towards a thriving commercial Biofuels Industry which would not only create jobs and rural wealth for the populace but would also complement international efforts towards curbing global warming.
He described the renewable energy project as dear to the Muhammadu Buhari administration, saying that was why, shortly after assuming office as GMD, he made it one of the cardinal programmes of his corporate vision of 12 Business Focus Areas (BUFA).
Mr Baru said as part of NNPC’s expanded programme on providing renewable energy solutions, the corporation also plans to power all its retail outlets by means of Solar PV facilities, as well as develop grid and off-grid solar power as a business and contribution to the clean fuels initiative of the Federal Government.
While assuring the two consortia that Nigeria’s investment climate under President Buhari was transparent and conducive to willing Investors, Mr Baru charged them to commence the implementation of the biofuels projects without any further delay as preliminary studies on the programme show clear financial indices that are very encouraging for business growth.
The NNPC biofuels programme centres around sugarcane-fuel ethanol production; cassava-fuel ethanol production as well as oil palm-based biodiesel production.
While OBAX and CAPEGATE are two Nigerian companies, COMPLANT and NANNING are two reputable companies incorporated in China.
Speaking on behalf of the OBAX-COMPLANT Consortium, President of COMPLANT, Mr Gu Haitao, expressed delight over the MoU signing, saying he hope it “would culminate into helping NNPC achieve Nigeria’s renewable energy aspirations.”
Also responding on behalf of the CAPEGATE-NANNING Consortium, Chairman of the NANNING Board, Mr Qin Chun Lin, said they looked forward to a great partnership with the NNPC on biofuels production.
Earlier in his remarks, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Nigerian Embassy in China who supervised the MoUs signing, Ambassador Aliyu Bakori, said with over 185 million people, Nigeria remains a huge market for potential investors.
On her part, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Ms Yewande Sadiku, said the Commission’s doors would always be open to investors in need of relevant information towards investment in the country.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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