Economy
NNPC Rules Out Return of Subsidy on Diesel
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerians nursing the idea of the return of subsidy payment on Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), also known as diesel, may have to perish it as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has said such will not happen anytime soon.
Diesel was deregulated and in recent times, the price has continued to rise up to N850 per litre due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and this has pushed the prices of food items and others higher.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Downstream, alongside the CEO of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed and others, stated that the government cannot introduce subsidy on diesel due to a number of reasons, including the strain brought about by the scarcity of foreign exchange (forex) in the country.
The lawmakers had summoned stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to an investigative hearing over fuel scarcity and the rising cost of Premium Motor Spirit (also known as petrol), diesel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG also known as cooking gas) in the country.
“In our country today, we do not produce AGO and we regret that our refineries are not working,” he said. “Are we doing anything about it? Yes. I have heard the honourable members lamenting; yes, they (the refineries) are not working.
“This is the truth. I don’t want to bore you with why they are not working, but they are not working; I admit they are not working but we regret it. I will invite this committee at your convenience to join us to see how much work we have done to get them back to work, but they will not come back tomorrow.
“They will not! You cannot start it tomorrow. We regret this; we regret this situation, and we are doing everything possible. As a matter of fact, we have decided to do a quick fix for the Warri refinery. The reason is very simple: we don’t even want to go the long route of doing comprehensive turnaround maintenance because we are concerned.”
The NNPC boss disclosed that Saudi Arabia’s Aramco recently bought a large amount of AGO and stockpiled it. “We were very surprised that Saudi Arabia would do this.
“No one knows what will come tomorrow. No one can guarantee the security of supply. That is why people are resorting to self-help. People are preserving the excess volumes that they have,” he said.
Mr Kyari, however, decried that Nigeria imports almost every commodity “perhaps, maybe with the exception of food.” He added that while the country does not export, it cannot have foreign exchange.
As a result, he believes the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, might not be able to provide forex intervention.
“There is a limit to what he (Emefiele) can do because as long as we are not productive, the only way you can cover FX gap is for you to go and borrow FX, and no one is going to lend you money to put on a subsidy; it does not happen anywhere in the world. No bank will lend you FX to go and put it into consumption.
“When Nigerians living in the diaspora used to be a very great source of forex. They can no longer send back because many of them are out of employment. So, they can no longer send money even to their parents. So, you cannot have it in your banking system,” he stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria, through the Debt Management Office (DMO), has offered three bonds for subscription to interested investors to the tune of N450 billion.
The DMO, in its offer circular on Monday, said that the first offer was an April 2029 FGN bond, valued at N100 billion at an interest rate of 19.30 per cent per annum. (5-year re-opening).
It listed the second offer as a February 2031 FGN bond valued at N150 billion at an interest rate of 18.50 per cent per annum. (7-year re-opening) and the third offer (January 2035 FGN bond) valued at N200 billion.
The auction date is January 27, and the settlement date is January 29, the notice stated.
According to the DMO, the FGN bonds are offered at N1,000 per unit subject to a minimum subscription of N50 million, and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter.
“For re-openings of previously issued bonds, successful bidders will pay a price corresponding to the yield-to-maturity bid that clears the volume being auctioned, plus any accrued interest on the instrument.
“Interest is payable semi-annually, while bullet repayment (principal sum) is on the maturity date, ” the DMO said.
It said that the bonds were backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government, and were charged upon the general assets of Nigeria.
“They qualify as securities in which trustees can invest under the Trustee Investment Act.
“They qualify as government securities within the meaning of the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act for tax exemption for pension funds among others.
“They are listed on the Nigeria Exchange Limited, ” it said.
It said that they qualified as liquid assets for liquidity ratio calculations for banks,” the debt office added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigerians have been warned against putting their hard-earned money in Risevest (Victoria Island) Cooperative Multipurpose Society Limited and Stecs (Alausa) Multipurpose Cooperative Society, commonly known as Stecs, as they could lose their funds.
The capital market regulator in a circular in Abuja said investments in these entities, which it described as unregistered and unregulated, could expose investors to the risk of fraud and potential loss of investment.
SEC said Risevest and Stecs had not been authorised to carry out capital market operations in the country, and as such, investing in them was risky.
“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of Risevest (Victoria Island) Cooperative Multipurpose Society Limited, which is engaging in capital market activities by inviting the public to invest in its various investment schemes.
“The commission hereby notifies the public that Risevest (Victoria Island) Cooperative Multipurpose Society Limited and Stecs (Alausa) Multipurpose Cooperative Society are not registered to operate in any capacity in the Nigerian capital market. Similarly, the investment schemes promoted by them have not been authorized by the commission.
“Accordingly, the SEC advised the public to refrain from engaging with Risevest (Victoria Island) Cooperative Multipurpose Society Limited and Stecs (Alausa) Multipurpose Cooperative Society in respect of any business pertaining or relating to the Nigerian capital market,” the notice read.
In the same vein, the agency said, “Our attention has been drawn to Stecs (Alausa) Multipurpose Cooperative Society (popularly known as Stecs), which is engaging in capital market activities by inviting the public to invest in its Stecs Commodity Mudarabah Investment Series I.
“The commission hereby notifies the public that Stecs (Alausa) Multipurpose Cooperative Society is not registered to operate in any capacity in the Nigerian capital market. Similarly, the investment schemes promoted by the cooperative society have not been authorized by the commission.”
“Accordingly, the public is advised to refrain from engaging with Stecs (Alausa) Multipurpose Cooperative Society in respect of any business pertaining or relating to the Nigerian capital market.”
“The commission uses this medium to reiterate that transacting in the Nigerian capital market with unregistered and unregulated entities exposes investors to the risk of fraud and potential loss of investment.”
“The SEC remains committed to the protection of investors in the Nigerian capital market and is working diligently to combat the activities of illegal/unregistered entities.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange saw a 65.1 per cent boost in its market capitalisation in the fourth trading week of 2025, closing at N1.770 trillion compared with the N1.075 trillion it quoted in the preceding week (Week 3), as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 0.68 per cent or 21.29 points to 3,133.20 points from 3,111.91 points.
The sterling performance occurred amid a surge in the volume of transactions by 4,402.4 per cent to 425.3 million units from the 9.45 million units recorded in the previous week.
Equally, the total value of trades during the week jumped by 740.5 per cent to N410.5 million from the previous week’s N48.4 million, with these transactions carried out in 102 deals involving 16 stocks.
In the week, there were eight appreciating securities and four depreciating securities led by Impresit Bakolori Plc, which shed 9.5 per cent to end at 95 Kobo per share compared with N1.05 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc lost 6.8 per cent to close at N4.38 per unit versus N4.70 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc depreciated by 2.7 per cent to N38.58 per unit from N39.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc, which slid by 1.4 per cent to N1.84 per unit from N2.20 per unit.
On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc gained 33.1 per cent to trade at N52.69 per share against the former value of N39.55 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc expanded by 11.1 per cent to 40 Kobo per unit versus 36 Kobo per unit, Nipco Plc grew by 10 per cent to N165.11 per share from N150.10 per share, and Mixta Real Estate Plc rose by 9.7 per cent to N2.83 per unit from N2.58 per unit.
Further, Food Concepts Plc increased by 8.8 per cent to N1.74 per share from N1.60 per share, Access Bank jumped by 8.8 per cent to N19.30 per unit from N9.68 per unit, First Trust Microfinance Bank improved by 8.8 per cent to 39 Kobo per share from 37 Kobo per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc soared by 3.5 per cent to N24.00 per unit from N23.20 per unit.
The most traded stock for the week by value was Impresit Bakolori Plc with N386.5 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc recorded N8.5 million, IGI Plc traded N7.04 million, 11 Plc recorded N2.7 million, and Okitipupa Plc posted N1.7 million.
Also, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most traded stock by volume with 406.5 million units, IGI Plc transacted 17.5 million units, UBN Property Plc recorded 0.67 million, Mixta Real Estate Plc traded 0.27 million units, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc transacted 0.22 million units.
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