Economy
No Plans to Hike Petrol Price—NNPC
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that there is enough petroleum products in-country to provide for the needs of every Nigerian for a period of 36 days.
The agency, therefore, stressed that there was no plan to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, from its present N145 per litre.
It pointed that the recent increase in bridging allowance to transporters from N6.20 to N7.20 per litre will not lead to an increase in the pump price of the product.
Providing the clarification in Abuja on Wednesday, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) in charge of NNPC’s Downstream Operations, Mr Henry Ikem Obih, said there was no plan by government or any of its agencies to review the pump price of petrol above N145 per litre.
He explained that the rise in the bridging cost was achieved after an adjustment was made in the “lightering expenses” from N4 to N3 per litre and the difference transferred to compensate for the cost of bridging within the same template.
The bridging allowance refers to the cost element built into the products pricing template to ensure a uniform price of petrol across the country, while lightering expenses involve charges for moving products to depot area from mother vessels by light vessels due to the inability of the former to berth in shallow water depth.
“What happened, in simple language, is a rebalancing of the margins allowed and approved for stakeholders. So what the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) did was to take N1 from lightering expenses and add same to the bridging allowance. That is how we arrived at N7.20. Therefore, PMS remains at the ceiling of N145 per litre,” he said.
On the availability of product supply, the COO said as at today, the country had 1.3 billion litres of petrol which translated to an inventory of 36 days.
“What this means is that even if we stop importation or refining of petrol right now, we have enough products in-country to provide for the needs of every Nigerian for a period of 36 days,” he said.
Mr Obih noted that the supply availability was bolstered with the production of petrol from the three refineries located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.
“There is absolutely no risk of shortage in supply as we also continue to import to support the production from the refineries, we have informed the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to enforce the prevailing N145 per litre price regime and also ensure that every service station that has fuel is selling to the public,” he said.
The COO reiterated the readiness of the NNPC Management under the leadership of Dr Maikanti Baru to sustain the existing cordial relations between the NNPC and the leadership of the downstream industry unions and other stakeholders.
He said the DPR which is the regulatory arm of the industry had been alerted to sanction fuel station owners who engage in hoarding or charge consumers in excess of the approved pump price of petrol.
NNPC GMD, Dr Maikanti Baru had announced the review of the bridging allowance on Monday at a mediation meeting between the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, leading to suspension of a strike action embarked upon by members of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers.
In attendance at the resolution meeting were the NUPENG National President, Comrade Igwe Achese, who announced the suspension of the strike; the National President of PTD, Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, his NARTO counterpart, Alhaji Kassim Ibrahim Bataiya; and Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Downstream, Mr Joseph Akinlaja.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Stakeholders in the aquaculture subsector in Nigeria have been promised adequate support through favourable policies and financial inclusion.
This promise was made by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, during a high-level consultative meeting with fisheries cooperative groups in Abuja on Wednesday.
Participants informed the Minister some of the challenges affecting the fishing business in the country, including overfishing, environmental degradation, lack of access to affordable finance, post-harvest losses, inadequate cold storage infrastructure, poor transportation and market linkages, low youth involvement, multiple taxation by local government authorities, and the rising cost of imported fish feed.
They appealed to the federal government to support them to end Nigeria’s dependence on fish importation so as to transform the sector into a powerhouse of food security, employment, and export competitiveness.
In his remarks, Mr Oyetola said the government would look into the demands, noting that efforts are being made to support women and youth in the fishing sector with start-up grants and other empowerment initiatives.
“We will scale up domestic fish production, reduce dependency on imports, and reposition the sector for sustainable growth,” he said, adding that, “Increasing youth participation in aquaculture is not only vital for food production but also a strategic solution to reducing unemployment. We are committed to ensuring that young people and women are not left behind in this transformation.”
According to him, discussions are ongoing with the World Bank to secure financial support for fish farmers and that the ministry will be collaborating with the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) to ensure affordable and accessible insurance coverage for fish farmers across the country.
“We are also in talks with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to replicate the successful aquaculture model at the Oyan Dam in other parts of the country,” he added, pointing to integrated planning and inter-ministerial cooperation as key pillars of the strategy.
“This meeting is not the end — it is the beginning of a sustained and transformative dialogue,” the Minister assured.
The meeting, convened by the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, brought together leaders and members of major fisheries and aquaculture associations, including the Fisheries Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (FCFN), Tilapia Aquaculture Developers Association of Nigeria (TADAN), Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN), Women in Fish Farming and Aquaculture, and the Practicing Farmers Association of Nigeria.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First HoldCo Plc are currently being on high demand at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after information got out that serial entrepreneur, Mr Femi Otedola, is now in control of about 40 per cent of the financial services provider.
On Wednesday, the company was the busiest equity on Customs Street, selling 10.5 billion units valued at N324.5 billion.
The off-market block trading was executed through negotiated deals as the transactions were privately arranged between parties and then reported to the bourse.
It was learned that 17 separate deals took place involving First Securities Ltd as the buyer with CardinalStone Securities Limited, Meristem Stockbrokers Limited, Renaissance Capital (Rencap) Securities Limited, Regency Asset Management Limited, United Capital Securities Limited, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, and First Securities Limited also as sellers in some deals.
According to reports, the former chairman of First HoldCo, Mr Oba Otudeko, gave up more than 20 per cent of his stake in the organisation to his rival, Mr Otedola, who increased his shareholding from 15 per cent to 40 per cent, putting him in almost total control of the firm, which operates the flagship First Bank of Nigeria Limited.
It was gathered that Mr Otedola bought the 5 per cent equity stake belonging to another long term shareholder; the Hassan-Odukales, after voluntarily quitting the company.
Business Post observed that on Thursday, investors are jostling to take position in the company because of the latest acquisitions by Mr Otedola, who they believe could bring stability to the fold.
At the time of filing this report at midday trading, shares of FirstHoldCo were up by 9.94 per cent to N35.40 per unit from the N32.20 per unit they closed at midweek.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that its 301st Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
The MPC meeting, which will be held at the MPC Meeting Room located within the CBN Headquarters in Abuja, is one to watch as inflation eased again last month.
At the last meeting in May, which coincided with the 300th session, the team retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.50 per cent, the second consecutive hold in 2025.
This second pause in rates came after six consecutive hikes recorded in 2024
The CBN also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +500/-100 basis points, the Cash Reserve Ratio of Deposit Money Banks at 50.00 per cent, and that of Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, while keeping the Liquidity Ratio unchanged at 30.00 per cent.
The MPC based the decision on improvements in macroeconomic indicators at the time.
Now, analysts say the MPC may consider cutting interest rates since inflation has slowed for yet another month in June 2025.
On Wednesday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate moderated for the third consecutive month to 22.22 per cent in June 2025 from 22.97 per cent in May 2025. It was 23.71 per cent in April 2025, down from 24.23 per cent in the prior month.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the bureau, the year-on-year figure reflects a 0.75 percentage point decline from the previous month and a significant 11.97 percentage point drop when compared to June 2024, which recorded an inflation rate of 34.19 per cent.
The food inflation rate stood at 21.97 per cent year-on-year in June, a sharp drop from 40.87 per cent recorded in June 2024. This significant fall is attributed largely to the base year effect.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation rose to 3.25 per cent in June, up from 2.19 per cent in May, driven by price increases in staples such as tomatoes, pepper, dried green peas, crayfish, shrimps, meat, plantain flour, and ground pepper.
The decision next week will hinge on the ability of the county to navigate economic challenges including inflationary pressures, foreign exchange volatility, and the global economic outlook.
Despite these, many quarters including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have lauded reforms introduced by the federal government aimed at boosting local production and reducing demand for forex, noting that such moves would help dampen inflationary pass-through.
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