Economy
NNPC, Kogi Target 84m Litres of Bio-fuel, Two Million Jobs
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of fuel-ethanol processing plant that would produce 84 million litres of bio-fuel per year has been sealed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Kogi State government.
Speaking during the signing of the MoU on Tuesday in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Maikanti Baru, said the project would yield a cane mill and a raw and refined Sugar Plant of 126,000 tonnes annually.
He stated that the Bagasse co-generation Plant would also generate 64 Megawatts of power, stressing that the plant would include a carbon dioxide recovery and bottling plant with capacity of 2,000 tonnes per year.
“The Sugarcane Feedstock Plantation would be on a 19,000 hectares and it would produce animal feeds of 63,000 tonnes per year,” the NNPC chief said
Mr Baru said NNPC was pleased to know of another opportunity in the Alape Staple Crop Processing Zone (SCPZ), in Kogi State which is a vast Agro Allied business opportunity that provides suitable agronomics for the cultivation of Sugarcane, Cassava and Oil Palm.
He stated that discussions had been held with the various parties and stakeholders on the Kogi Biofuels Project on the modality for the implementation, adding that Agreements had been reached on the first stage of the project, starting with the signing of an MoU.
Mr Baru said the signing of the MoU would lead to the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to steer the future activities of the proposed project, stressing that the project is central to the attainment of economic development on the basis of value-added investment portfolios, environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, wealth and job creation to reduce the poverty index, while balancing the ecosystem, and maintenance of national and global security.
GMD said the execution of the MoU was a milestone in the government’s determination to diversify the economy and at the same time compliment Nigeria’s effort in meeting with the growing energy demand.
He said, “NNPC is committed to implementing Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement aimed at combating global Climate Change, to which President Muhammadu Buhari signed, and deposited Nigeria’s ‘Instrument of Ratification’ to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in May 2017.”
The NNPC helmsman stated that the Renewable Energy Division of NNPC was created in line with Federal Government’s directive with the sole aim of Industrialising Agriculture in Nigeria through the commercial production of biofuels from selected energy crops as feedstock, while fostering the exploitation of other Renewable Energy Sources.
He added that the project would mitigate against the negative effect of climate change and earn Nigeria Carbon credits from Clean Development Mechanism Projects activities, serving as additional line of profitable business for NNPC, including food production and power generation.
Mr Baru noted that the project would lead to increased diversification of NNPC’s business portfolio and serve as a credible source of additional income for the corporation.
The GMD envisaged that the proposed NNPC Biofuels project in Kaba/Bunu, Kogi State would be an integrated feedstock plantation and process plants complex on a land mass of 20,000 hectares for sugarcane and or 15,000 hectares for cassava with potentials for further expansion.
He explained that NNPC had carried out seven bankable feasibility studies which include three (3) integrated sugarcane fuel ethanol projects in Benue, Kebbi and Gombe States, two integrated cassava fuel ethanol projects in Ondo and Anambra States and two integrated oil palm biodiesel projects in Rivers and Cross River States.
In his remarks, Kogi State Governor, Mr Yahaya Bello, said the MoU was another milestone in the history of the state, stressing that the project would take not fewer than two million citizens of the state out of the street.
He applauded President Muhammadu Buhari and the GMD, Mr Baru, for their doggedness to diversify the Nigerian economy, adding that the state was ready to provide all the needed support for the take-off of the project.
Highpoint of the ceremony was the signing of the agreement between the Governor and the GMD of NNPC.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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