Economy
Oil Suppliers Beg FG for Three-Month Forex Subsidy
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) cried to the federal government concerning the harsh working environment its members currently operate.
In a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the National President of the organisation, Mr Benneth Korie, stated that the high Dollar exchange rate against the Naira rate was killing businesses.
The group has, therefore, asked for foreign exchange (FX) palliatives for three months, saying it would want to be guaranteed FX supply within the period at the rate of N600/$1.
The oil marketers recalled that while they recently applauded the removal of fuel subsidy, they had equally warned and advised that the right steps be taken to cushion its effects for the survival of citizens and their businesses.
NOGASA raised concerns over the growing challenges of petroleum products procurement and distribution, especially with the attendant hardships resulting from increases in pump prices of petrol and diesel across the country.
“NOGASA is seriously worried that between now and December this year, in the absence of government urgent intervention, there will be increasing losses of lives, businesses and jobs.
“This will be accentuated by mass shutdown of filling stations and packing up of petroleum tankers, all due to unattainable high cost of importation, lifting, transportation and distribution of petroleum products,” Mr Korie stated.
He said the price of diesel has hit N1,000 per litre, pointing out that suppliers were at the receiving end of the development.
Similarly, Mr Korie noted that depot owners were terribly affected by the increasing cost of the exchange rate to the extent that many depots are practically deserted as their owners are unable to secure bank loans to fund their businesses due to high interest rates.
“Banks are not willing to guarantee funds release to stakeholders as a result of the difficulty, instability and galloping rates of foreign exchange and high cost of the Dollar.
“Many depots are presently dried up or out of stock, and there is no gainsaying this as it is evidently verifiable.
“Worst hit are filling stations whose owners find it extremely difficult to secure funds to procure products for their retail outlets and both the independent and major marketers are so terribly affected that as at today, filling stations are shutting down in great numbers on a daily basis.
“Also, dealers are going out of business with many more on the verge of bankruptcy because of their inability to secure funds to facilitate orders for their stations,” he added.
The body also stressed that government must urgently come to the aid of the industry as quickly as possible to save it from an impending colossal collapse which will in turn result in a more devastating blow to the economy at large.
“Indeed, the success of this government highly depends on the survival of the oil industry, whose critical stakeholders are presently most negatively affected.
“We wish to once again and most sincerely reiterate that the only realistic option out of this dire situation for now is for government to urgently consider to expedite the provision of ‘emergency palliative measures’ for marketers.
“This will be such that fuels can be imported at the rate of at least N600 per dollar for the next three months while waiting for the promised reactivation of our refineries.
“This will go a long way in cushioning the harsh effect of the high cost of importation and equally bring about reasonable reliefs to the business and cost of living generally,” he explained.
NOGASA lamented that the state of Nigeria’s roads continues to make a very strong statement against government’s responsibility for infrastructural provision and maintenance.
The organisation noted that petroleum products distribution is, and had been severely hampered by roads that are no longer motorable.
According to the association, this development was already a waiting threat to the laudable Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative of President Bola Tinubu.
“These conscious and practical solutions are therefore suggested to engage the local workforce to speedily refurbish and/or resuscitate bad roads across the country.
“This will also create thousands of jobs for jobless youths and other restive people in our communities, which will definitely be a plus for this administration,” NOGASA added.
These suggestions, it said, were highly important as effective products distribution requires effective provision and maintenance of roads network across the nation.
“Finally, government should do everything to ensure the removal of all things that have to do with challenges in the areas of importation as well as clearing in NIMASA, NPA, DPR and other agencies that are involved with dollar transactions for marketers.
“The bottlenecks are simply killing us. Our businesses are dying and the system is not helping us at all. An urgent action is highly required to save our industry from total collapse. A stitch in time saves nine!” the oil marketers said.
Business Post reports that the Naira had depreciated further selling at N775/$1 at the official market and around N990- N1,000/$1 at unregulated markets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced a comprehensive revision of minimum capital requirements for nearly all capital market operators, marking the most significant overhaul since 2015.
The changes, outlined in a circular issued on January 16, 2026, obtained from its website on Friday, replace the previous regime. Operators have been given until June 30, 2027, to comply.
The SEC stated that the reforms aim to strengthen market resilience, enhance investor protection, discourage undercapitalised operators, and align capital adequacy with the evolving risk profile of market activities.
According to the circular, “The revised framework applies to brokers, dealers, fund managers, issuing houses, fintech firms, digital asset operators, and market infrastructure providers.”
Some of the key highlights of the new reforms include increment of minimum capital for brokers from N200 million to N600 million while for dealers, it was raised to N1 billion from N100 million.
For broker-dealers, they are to get N2 billion instead of the previous N300 million, reflecting multi-role exposure across trading, execution, and margin lending.
The agency said fund and portfolio managers with assets above N20 billion must hold N5 billion, while mid-tier managers must maintain N2 billion with private equity and venture capital firms to have N500 million and N200 million, respectively.
There was also dynamic rule as firms managing assets above N100 billion must hold at least 10 per cent of assets under management as capital.
“Digital asset firms, previously in a regulatory grey area, are now fully covered: digital exchanges and custodians must maintain N2 billion each, while tokenisation platforms and intermediaries face thresholds of N500 million to N1 billion. Robo-advisers must hold N100 million.
“Other segments are also affected: issuing houses offering full underwriting services must hold N7 billion, advisory-only firms N2 billion, registrars N2.5 billion, trustees N2 billion, underwriters N5 billion, and individual investment advisers N10 million. Market infrastructure providers carry some of the highest obligations, with composite exchanges and central counterparties required to maintain N10 billion each, and clearinghouses N5 billion,” the SEC added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The founder and chief executive of Austin Laz and Company Plc, Mr Asimonye Austin Lazarus Azubuike, has sold off about 52.24 million shares of the organisation.
The stocks were offloaded in 11 tranches at an average price of N4.36 per unit, amounting to about N227.8 million.
The transactions occurred between December 2025 and January 2026, according to a notice filed by the company to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday.
Business Post reports that Austin Laz is known for producing ice block machines, aluminium roofing, thermoplastics coolers, PVC windows and doors, ice cream machines, and disposable plates.
The firm evolved from refrigeration sales to diverse manufacturing since its incorporation in 1982 in Benin City, Edo State, though facing recent operational halts.
According to the statement signed by company secretary, Ifeanyi Offor & Associates, Mr Azubuike first sold 1.5 million units of the equities at N2.42, and then offloaded 2.4 million units at N2.65, and 2.0 million units at N2.65.
In another tranche, he sold another 2.0 million units at a unit price of N2.91, and then 5.0 million units at N3.52, as well as about 4.5 million at N3.87 per share.
It was further disclosed that the owner of the company also sold 9.0 million shares at N4.25, and offloaded another 368,411 units at N4.66, then in another transaction sold about 6.9 million units at N4.67.
In the last two transactions he carried out, Mr Azubuike first traded 10.0 million units equities at N5.13, with the last being 8.5 million stocks sold at N5.64 per unit.
By Dipo Olowookere
ASO Savings and Loans Plc has been delisted from the daily official list of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
This action followed the revocation of the operating licence of the company by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2025.
In a circular on behalf of the NGX Regulation (NGX RegCo) by Ugochi Eke, it was disclosed that the effective date of the delisting is today, Friday, January 16, 2026.
Already, the company has been notified of this development, according to the notice obtained by Business Post.
Before ASO Savings lost its operating licence, it had failed to meet some post-listing requirements, a part of the disclosure from the NGX RegCo stated.
“The board of NGX Regulation Limited via its decision dated January 1, 2026, approved that the step below should be taken pursuant to the process for regulatory delisting of issuers.
“The board has approved the delisting of ASO Savings and Loans Plc from the Nigerian Exchange Limited’s daily official list effective January 16, 2026.
“ASO Savings is hereby notified of this enforcement action and is advised to direct any communication in respect of the foregoing to [email protected].
“NGX RegCo was engaging the listed entity, concerning its outstanding post-listing obligations. However, due to the revocation of the operating license of ASO Savings by its primary regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) effective December 16, 2025; NGX RegCo will delist the entity from the daily official list effective January 16, 2026.
“In view of the foregoing, NGX RegCo has proceeded with publishing the name of the Company in the national dailies.
“The company has been duly notified of this enforcement action, and this publication serves as notification to the investing public, particularly shareholders of the company and investors in the Nigerian capital market,” the statement read.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn