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
Crude production under the collective Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) fell in May to its lowest level in at least 37 years as the blockade of Iran by the United States and disruptions in the Persian Gulf, continued to limit output.
According to a Bloomberg survey released on Friday, output from the organisation’s 11 current members, including Nigeria, dropped by 1.22 million barrels per day to 16.33 million barrels per day last month.
Iran accounted for more than half of the decline. The data excludes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which departed the cartel last month after six decades of membership.
War between a US-Israeli alliance and Iran has reduced oil supplies from the Middle East, largely closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have been forced to cut crude production. Iranian shipments face additional pressure following a US blockade of its ports imposed in mid-April.
Iranian output fell by 710,000 barrels per day to a five-year low of 2.34 million barrels per day in May, the survey showed. Central Command reported that US forces have redirected 127 commercial vessels to enforce the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.
Kuwait recorded the second-largest decline last month, with production falling by 310,000 barrels per day to 490,000 barrels per day, less than one-fifth of pre-war levels. Saudi Arabia, the group’s leader, saw output decrease by 240,000 barrels per day to 6.57 million barrels per day.
The production reductions have not prevented OPEC and its allies from raising quotas over recent months, continuing a year-long process of restoring output halted several years ago.
This comes ahead of a meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday, June 7, where a sub-group of seven members is expected to increase targets by 188,000 barrels again in July. The session is one of four online meetings OPEC and its partners plan to hold that day.
Delegates indicated the alliance has plans for two additional monthly quota increases in August and September. UAE output rose by 300,000 barrels per day to 2.44 million barrels per day in May, according to the survey.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 2025 third quarter Budget Implementation Report from the Budget Office of the Federation has shown that the federal government exceeded the funds allocation for repayment of debts for the first nine months of the fiscal year by about 18 per cent.
In a report by Punch, the sum of N10.74 trillion was budgeted for debt servicing between January and September 2025, but the government used N12.63 trillion for the purpose, N1.90 trillion or 17.65 per cent more than the allocation for the year.
The funds were spent on domestic debts, foreign debts and sinking fund by the central government in nine months.
Business Post reports that for the whole year, the amount approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu for debt repayments was N14.31 trillion.
Looking at the nine-month figures, domestic debt service gulped N6.23 trillion, exceeding its N5.39 trillion provision, while foreign debt service was N6.30 trillion versus the budget provision of N5.06 trillion.
According to the report, the figures indicated that 67.2 per cent of the federal government’s retained revenue of N18.63 trillion was spent on debt service in the first nine months of 2025. When the sinking fund is included, debt-related payments consumed about 67.8 per cent of revenue.
It was also observed that aggregate federal government revenue underperformed the budget by N12.03 trillion or 39.24 per cent, as actual revenue of N18.63 trillion fell short of the N30.67 trillion projected for the first three quarters.
In the third quarter alone, the government generated N7.70 trillion versus the quarterly target of N10.22 trillion as a result of persistent oil revenue shortfalls, despite stronger non-oil collections.
The debt burden also crowded out capital spending, as total capital expenditure was N3.10 trillion in the first nine months compared with the N17.58 trillion budgeted for the period, indicating that actual debt-related payments were more than four times capital expenditure.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a loss of 1.13 per cent on Thursday, June 4, shrinking the market capitalisation by N30.03 billion to N2.630 trillion from N2.660 trillion on Wednesday.
Similarly, this brought down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 50.19 points to 4,396.08 points from the 4,446.27 points recorded a day earlier.
The loss was influenced by the overpowering of the bulls by the bears, after the bourse closed with two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slumped by N20.03 to sell at N190.38 per unit compared with midweek’s N210.41 per unit. Food Concepts Plc declined by 25 Kobo to trade at N2.50 per share versus the previous day’s N3.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc crumbled by 2 Kobo to end at N1.32 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.34 per unit.
For the gainers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N2.93 to close at N78.34 per share compared with the previous price of N75.41 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 80 Kobo to settle at N16.80 per unit versus N16.00 per unit.
There was a slip in the volume of transactions yesterday by 46.8 per cent to 280,714 units from 527,221 units, as the value of trades dropped 66.5 per cent to N21.8 million from the preceding session’s N64.2 million, and the number of deals fell by 8.7 per cent to 42 deals from 46 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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