Economy
Petrol Subsidy: NUC, TUC Clap For FG
By Adedapo Adesanya
The two prominent labour unions in the country, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have described the federal government’s decision to suspend the removal of petrol subsidy as the “best option” due to the current economic climate.
Mr Benson Upah, Head of Information of the NLC, while reacting to the suspension of the subsidy removal by the federal government yesterday, said the organisation was happy that the right step was being taken.
Business Post reported on Thursday that the National Economic Council (NEC) announced the halt of the removal of subsidy on petroleum products due to the wrong timing.
“Because the path they wanted to toe to the detriment of the ordinary Nigerians would have set the country on fire.
“There would have been an instantaneous reaction. Of course, we would have been glad to coordinate those reactions.
“But happily, they have begun to see the light. Our advice would be that they should take a lesson from the document we gave them on the so-called fuel subsidy removal.
“The answer cannot be far from domestic production,’’ he said.
He said the decision would enable all the corruption building into the system to be minimised.
Mr Upah, therefore, called on the federal government to fix the existing refineries or build new ones instead of importing refined petroleum products.
On his part, Mr Nuhu Toro, the Secretary General of TUC, said that the federal government’s decision to suspend fuel subsidy removal was a good move.
“Though it’s coming late, the federal government’s decision to suspend the move to remove fuel subsidy has alluded to the fact that such harsh economic policy ought to have been a product of social dialogue which was not done.
“We told Nigerians earlier on that the policy is ill-timed and is not acceptable. So it is good that the government has done a U-turn because the policy cannot be forced down our throat,” he said.
Mr Toro said it was good that the government had to rethink its decision on the removal of fuel subsidy.
He also added that refurbishing the existing refineries and production of petroleum products in our country is in the best interest of the country because of the huge advantages.
“First, it would create jobs, make the petroleum products available for consumption and probably reduce the price of the products. It will also guarantee foreign direct investment and make Nigeria a better place.
“We are confused that our refineries are not working, and we have asked over time why the refineries are not working.
“So there is a strong need for a deliberate effort by the incoming government to ensure that our refineries work.
“All the monies they claim goes to the process of deregulation can actually be utilised to make our refineries functional,’’ he said.
He added that the decision to revise that policy had further vindicated Nigerians as this was the right thing.
He, however, charged the incoming government that the instrumentality of social dialogue should be leveraged upon issues that affect the general project of Nigeria, adding that the voice and interest of Nigerians could be accommodated.
“Policies should not just be drafted overnight and pushed through people’s throats. Nigeria belongs to all of us.
“We are all critical stakeholders and must be part of decision-making and implementation body to ensure that our country moves forward,’’ he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented a budget proposal of N58.47 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year titled Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity to a joint session of the National Assembly, with capital recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure standing at 15.25 trillion, and the capital expenditure at N26.08 trillion, while the crude oil benchmark was pegged at $64.85 per barrel.
Business Post reports that the Brent crude grade currently trades around $60 per barrel. It is also expected to trade at that level or lower next year over worries about oil glut.
At the budget presentation today, Mr Tinubu said the expected total revenue for the year is N34.33 trillion, and the proposal is anchored on a crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the US Dollar.
In terms of sectoral allocation, defence and security took the lion’s share with N5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure at N3.56 trillion, education received N3.52 trillion, while health received N2.48 trillion.
Addressing the lawmakers, the President described the budget proposal as not “just accounting lines”.
“They are a statement of national priorities,” the president told the gathering. “We remain firmly committed to fiscal sustainability, debt transparency, and value‑for‑money spending.”
The presentation came at a time of heightened insecurity in parts of the country, with mass abductions and other crimes making headlines.
Outlining his government’s plan to address the challenge, President Tinubu reminded the gathering that security “remains the foundation of development”.
He said some of the measures in place to tame insecurity include the modernisation of the Armed Forces, intelligence‑driven policing and joint operations, border security, and technology‑enabled surveillance and community‑based peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
“We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes—because security spending must deliver security results,” the president said.
“To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies by boosting personnel and procuring cutting-edge platforms and other hardware,” he added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for the recapitalisation of the Nigerian pension industry has been extended by six months to June 2027 from December 2026.
This extension was approved by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the agency, which regulates the sector in the country.
Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, the Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, explained that the shift in deadline was to give operators more time to boost the capital base, dismissing speculations that the exercise had been suspended.
“The recapitalisation has not been suspended. We have communicated the requirements to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and we expect every operator to be compliant by June 2027. Anyone who is not compliant by then will lose their licence,” Ms Oloworaran told journalists.
She added that, “From a regulatory standpoint, our major challenge is ensuring compliance. We are working with ICPC, labour and the TUC to ensure employers remit pension contributions for their employees.”
The DG noted that engagements with industry operators indicated broad acceptance of the policy, with many PFAs already taking steps to raise additional capital or explore mergers and acquisitions.
“You may see some mergers and acquisitions in the industry, but what is clear is that the recapitalisation exercise is on track and the industry agrees with us,” she stated.
PenCom wants the PFAs to increase their capital base and has created three categories, with the first consists operators with Assets Under Management of N500 billion and above. They are expected to have a minimum capital of N20 billion and one per cent of AUM above N500 billion.
The second category has PFAs with AUM below N500 billion, which must have at least N20 billion as capital base.
The last segment comprises special-purpose PFAs such as NPF Pensions Limited, whose minimum capital was pegged at N30 billion, and the Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited, whose minimum capital was fixed at N20 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Thursday, December 18.
According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc led the losers’ group after it slipped by N2.87 to N36.78 per share from N39.65 per share, Golden Capital Plc depreciated by 77 Kobo to end at N6.98 per unit versus the previous day’s N7.77 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped 19 Kobo to sell at N60.00 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N60.19 per share.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation lost N16.81 billion to finish at N2.147 billion compared with the preceding session’s N2.164 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 24.76 points to 3,589.88 points from 3,614.64 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold increased by 49.3 per cent to 30.5 million units from 20.4 million units, the value of securities surged by 211.8 per cent to N225.1 million from N72.2 million, and the number of deals jumped by 33.3 per cent to 28 deals from 21 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value with a year-to-date sale of 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
Similarly, InfraCredit Plc ended as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units exchanged for N524.9 million.
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