Economy
Tinubu Raises NNPC Contract Approval Threshold to $10m
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has raised the contract approval threshold for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to a minimum of $10 million or its equivalent in Naira.
In an executive order issued in Abuja, the President also directed that the approval period for every of the contract stages should not exceed 15 days.
The order also directed that the duration for third-party contracts awarded under the production sharing contract (PSC) or Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) be increased to five years from three years, with the option of an additional two years renewal, thereafter.
President Tinubu lamented that a comparative analysis of global oil and gas sector operations showed that the contracting cycle within Nigeria’s petroleum sector exceeds global industry standards by four to six times and was adversely affecting the country’s ability to attract potential investors.
He added that the federal government was committed to improving the investment climate and positioning Nigeria as the preferred investment destination for the petroleum sector in Africa.
Mr Tinubu explained that the directives were aimed at shortening the procedure for getting approval for contracts, facilitating businesses, enhancing the ease of doing business and reforming the contracting process in the Nigerian petroleum industry.
He stated that the directives would simplify and compress the contracting cycle to a period of not more than six months, in alignment with global industry practice; and raise the contract approval thresholds to account for the rate of inflation among others.
“The Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated (MOPI) shall ensure that this threshold will be reviewed and adjusted in line with the rate of consumer inflation as disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics every year.
“NNPCL and Nigerian Upstream Investment Management Services Limited (NUIMS) shall, in collaboration with the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and industry stakeholders, simplify the contract approval process and adopt a single level of approval by NUIMS and NCDMB at each contract stage including prequalification, technical, commercial and final approval stages.
“The NNPCL and NUIMS shall ensure that all approvals or consents required to be given by it for contracts and procurement for each contract stage under the terms of PSCs or JOAs are issued within 15 days from the date of submission of application by the relevant party to the PSC or JOA.
“The NNPCL and NUIMS shall communicate its decision to the applicant within the time-frame stipulated under subparagraph (2) of this paragraph.
“Where the NNPCL and NUIMS fail to communicate its decision within the aforementioned timeline, the approval or consent shall be deemed granted,” he said according to the directive.
The president also directed the NCDMB to ensure it reviews any Nigerian Content Plan (NCP) submitted to it within the 10 days stipulated in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, adding that where no response is communicated to the applying company, the NCP shall be deemed approved.
He also stated that any application for expatriate quota in the petroleum industry shall be directed by the NCDMB to the Ministry of Interior or any other relevant Ministry, Department or Agency (MDA) within 10 working days, provided all supporting documents are in place.
“Where any matter requires the approval, satisfaction or consent of the NCDMB and no timeline is provided under the NOGICD Act, the NCDMB shall communicate its decision on such matter within 15 days of receiving a request to that effect, failing which the NCDMB shall be deemed to have approved, satisfied or consented to such matter,” he added.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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