NNPC, Navy Move to Stem Oil Theft

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel on Wednesday as investors focused their attention on an upcoming OPEC+ output policy meeting and looked past a jump in crude stockpiles in the United States. Brent crude futures were up by $1.01 or 1.2 per cent to $82.69 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.16 or 1.5 per cent to close at $77.57 a barrel. Prices were lifted by a media report that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, was considering

By Aduragbemi Omiyale President Bola Tinubu has said the 2024 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was designed to achieve macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, greater access to social security, poverty reduction and enhanced human capital development. According to him, if these goals are achieved, the standard of living of Nigerians will improve and the citizens will enjoy the dividends of democracy. While presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bills to the parliament yesterday, the President said this was why he christened the budget proposal as the Budget of Renewed Hope. Mr Tinubu told the

By Adedapo Adesanya Equinor and Chappal Energies have entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron. Speaking on the deal, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, Ms Nina Koch, said Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years, noting that, “This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira started the first trading session in the last month of 2023 on a negative note after it depreciated against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), which is the official FX window, by 11.4 per cent or N94.87 on Friday, December 1, closing at N927.19/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N832.32/$1. The December rush for forex contributed to the weakening of the domestic currency in the spot market yesterday, as the supply of foreign currency could not meet what customers needed. Data showed that the value of FX transactions recorded

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mr Gbolahan Oki, has been suspended indefinitely by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The suspension of Mr Oki followed the collapse of a 21-storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State, on Monday, November 1, 2021, killing more than six persons, with some workers still trapped under the rubbles. In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, on Tuesday, it was stated that the Governor has ordered the setting up an independent panel to probe the unfortunate incident. According

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, intends to close the world’s tech talent shortage by almost a quarter with Nigerian workers. He said this would be achieved through the federal government’s plan to train 3 million technical talents over the next four years. The initiative could help achieve President Bola Tinubu’s goal of creating a million tech jobs in the first two years of his administration. “I believe, based on data that LinkedIn has projected, Nigeria can fill about 23 per cent of the current global shortage in technology talents,” Mr Tijani

By Dipo Olowookere A day has been set aside by the Federal Ministry Environment in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Finance and Debt Management Office to meet with investors and capital markets operators in Lagos for the first ever Green Bonds Conference. This is part of efforts by the Federal Government to make Nigeria become a green economy. The day for this event is Thursday, February 24, 2017 and it will take place at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) headquarters. The theme for the summit is ‘Green Bonds: Investing in Nigeria’s Sustainable Development.’ The keynote address is expected to be

By Omoshola Deji As the four year mandate Nigerians offered President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) approaches half time, mix reactions are trailing the performance of his administration and the efficiency of his appointees. The robust pre-election crusade that the change agenda would transform Nigeria from wilderness to paradise leaves many wondering why Nigerians should still be drowning in poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment. The Buhari apologists opine that the stern hardship is the aftereffect of the treasury looting and mismanagement by the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Oppositely, the Jonathan fanatics and opposition parties orates that PMB is incompetent and his cabinet lacks the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria’s Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, has announced his resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Saraki left the APC on Tuesday night, stating that he was left with no other option after making efforts to resolve issues he had with some key members of the party. In a statement issued today, the Senate President said he exited the party after due consultations with stakeholders from his state, Kwara State. Mr Saraki said he was returning to the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he left about four years ago. “I wish to

By Adedapo Adesanya Football legend, Lionel Messi, has bid goodbye to Barcelona, where he has played his entire career in an emotional press conference on Sunday observed by Business Post. The 34-year-old Argentinian superstar, six times a Ballon d’Or winner, has been out of contract since the end of June, but the Catalonian club could keep him on its paycheck due to financial troubles. Speculations have shown that the Copa America winner could be on his way to France with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) widely expected to try to entice him to the Parc des Princes. A teary Messi said, “This

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has been given a revenue target of N3.019 trillion by the Senate for the year 2022 as it approved the N369.04 billion budget for the agency in the year under review. The target was set by the upper chamber of the National Assembly on Wednesday after the consideration of a report by the Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs headed by Mr Francis Alimikhena. According to the lawmaker, out of the N3.019 trillion revenue target, the NCS is expected to rake in N1,693,157,559,312.00 from import duty; N161,695,617,629.00 from excise duty, with N3,717,140,635.00

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria may need an extra six years to meet its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Kristalina Georgieva, has said. Speaking on Tuesday during a meeting with the United Nations (UN) High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the IMF chief said the delay would come from the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, which struck in 2020. She pointed out that one of the goals, eradication of poverty, was worsening as a result of the global health crisis, lamenting that, “For the first time in 20 years, the unthinkable