Economy
Oil Rich S’South, Conflict Ridden N’East Attract $0 into Nigeria in Q2 2020
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s capital importation dropped 78 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of the year as $1.3 billion was received as FX inflow in the period under review.
However, out of this amount, it was observed that only four of the six geo-political zones of the country made contribution to the inflow, while two provided nothing.
Nigeria is divided into six geo-political zones; South-West, South-East, South-South, North-West, North East and North-Central.
In the Nigerian Capital Importation Q2 2020 report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently, only South-South and North East regions of the country did not attract external funds between April and June 2020.
In the report by the stats office, the decline in capital inflows of $1.3 billion in the second quarter of this was attributed to the effect of COVID-19 pandemic, which halted economic activities in most parts of the world.
In Q2 2020, none of the six states in the South-South region of Nigeria; Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers attracted any form of foreign capital into the country just like the six states in the North-Eastern territory; Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.
The South-South, otherwise known as the Niger Delta, is where crude oil, which brings in the lion share of the country’s foreign exchange is sourced from. Equally, three of the four government-owned refineries are located in the region but they have become unproductive and are shut down, according to the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Mele Kyari.
The North East is faced by conflicts imposed by the Boko Haram terrorists and bandits, with many inhabitants of the region displaced from their homes, making it difficult to attract any foreign investments or businesses.
If this analysis was to be done by states, only six out of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) attracted foreign investment into Africa’s largest economy in the period under review.
Two states in the South West raked in $1.14 billion led by Lagos State responsible for the chunk of $1.13 billion while its neighbour, Ogun State, recorded $11 million for the period. Meaning that states like Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti were blank in terms of FX inflows.
In the South-East, the NBS data showed that only Anambra made a contribution of $1.16 million in the period while counterpart states like Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo did not attract foreign investment.
In the North-Central, the input of the FCT ($145.30 million) and Niger State ($6.9 million) totalling $152.2 million was the investment that came from the region, while states such as Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, and Plateau had no foreign investment in the period under review, according to the stats office.
Kano was the only state located in North West region which brought capital importation to the country as it saw an investment of $130,000 while Kaduna, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Katsina had no inflow.
The NBS showed that the largest amount of capital importation by type in Q2 2020 was received through other investments, which accounted for 58.8 per cent ($761.03 million) of total capital imported during the quarter. Inflows from other investments declined by 42.8 per cent as against $1.33 billion received in the previous quarter and a further 48.6 per cent reduction compared to $1.48 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019.
The United Kingdom emerged as the biggest source of capital investment in Nigeria. In Q2 2020, investment from the UK amounted to $428.8 million, a decline of 85.3 per cent compared to $2.91 billion recorded in the previous quarter and 87.1 per cent compared to $3.33 billion in Q2 2019.
Other countries that accounted for the biggest share of capital inflows into Nigeria during the period were South Africa ($149.3 million), UAE ($145.2 million), Netherlands ($141.3 million) and Singapore (134.4 million).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
