General
NNPC Gets Approval to Revamp 21 Roads With N621.2bn Tax Liabilities
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to deploy some of its tax liabilities to 21 road projects across the six geo-political zones following the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, after Wednesday’s virtual FEC meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the NNPC tax deployment would not be a one-off payment but periodic and gave the projected commitment to the road projects as N621.2 billion.
The Minister said that the roads would cover a total distance of 1,804.6 kilometres, stating that there was an Executive Order 7, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, allowing private sector operators to identify infrastructure such as roads for which they would deploy in advance the taxes that they should have paid.
“You recall that I had briefed you here about the use of that policy by the Dangote Group on the Obajana to Kabba and Apapa to Oworonshoki.
“Earlier this year, there were five other roads, the Kaduna Western Bye-pass, the Lekki Port Road, the road from Sagamu through Papalanto and a couple of others like that.
“So, today we have another player; we have other interested players who are showing interest but we haven’t concluded.
“But we have another player who has shown interest and committed to deploying taxes and it is the NNPC.
“So, NNPC has identified 21 roads that it wants to deploy some of its tax liabilities to,’’ he said.
The Minister said that the instructive thing about the initiative was that it would help the government to achieve many things, including Ministerial Mandates Three and Four, which were discussed at the recent retreat.
He said that the Ministerial Mandate Three was energy sufficiency in electric power and petroleum energy distribution across the country.
According to him, the petroleum energy distribution is being impacted positively and negatively by the transport infrastructure, which is the Ministerial Mandate Four.
“So, NNPC has sought and the council has approved today that NNPC deploys tax resources to 21 routes covering a total distance of 180.6km across the six geopolitical zones.
“Out of those 21 roads, nine are in the North-Central, particularly Niger State; and the reason is that Niger State is a major storage centre for NNPC,” he said.
He said that NNPC’s gesture would facilitate petroleum distribution across the country as Niger experiences gridlock every year.
Mr Fashola said that the Niger governor had been complaining that his roads were being damaged by trucks.
He said that drivers, after damaging the roads with their overloaded trucks, would turn round to protest against the damage they had caused.
“So, they are nine like that in the North-Central; three in the North-East, two in the North-West, two in the South-East, three routes- the entire Odukpani-Itu-Ikot-Ekpene road in lots one, two and three now, fully covered.
“Then, in the South-West, you have the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the Agbara junction, and you also have Ibadan to Ilorin, the Oyo-Ogbomosho section.
“In the South-East, you have the Aba-Ikot-Ekpene in Abia and Akwa Ibom; so that is a major link; then you have Umuahia-Ikwuano-Ikot-Ekpene road again and so on so forth.
“So, in the North-West, it is Gadar Zaima-Zuru-Ganji road and also Zaria- Funtua-Gusau to Sokoto Road.
“In the North-East, it is the Cham-Numan, Bali-Serti and Gombe-Biu Roads.
“The road impacted in the North-Central, include Ilorin-Jeda-Mokwa-Bokani sections one and two; Suleja-Minna sections one and two.
“Bida-Lambata Agaie-katcha-Baro road and Mokwa-Makera-Tagina-Kaduna border in Niger State, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina road, and Bida-Minna road-all in Niger State; as I said, a total of 21 roads.”
The Minister said that the move by the NNPC would resolve the financing problems regarding the execution of the road projects.
He said, for instance, that the Aba-Iko-Ekpene road had an estimate of about N30.3 billion in it while the provision in the budget was N200 million.
“If you look at the Suleja-Minna road, Section 2, it has N25.76 billion to complete it; the provision in the budget this year, is just N100 million.
“So, with these interventions, all those roads will be fully funded; you don’t have budgetary challenges and financing challenges anymore.
“So, the council approved this as strategic funding for this road network.’’
Mr Fashola said that another memorandum related to the road was also presented to the council, with regard to a section of the Calabar-Ikom-Ogoja Road, the section linking Akpet Central.
He said there was a problem with the steel-reinforced drains on the road.
“Those drains were put there about 42 years ago and 86 of them have failed.
“We need to replace them now with concrete ring drains to allow water to flow; otherwise, the retention of water badly impacts the road.
“As a result of that, we had to revise the scope of works from rehabilitation to construction in order to remove all the old steel drains that are corroded and replace them with concrete drains, over 75 km of the road network.
“That required an augmentation of the contract by an additional sum of N12 billion; that memo was approved,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has issued a data protection compliance circular to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to promote public trust through data-driven governance.
The compliance directive is contained in Circular No. 59805/S.I/74, dated 27 July 2026, and signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr George Akume, according to a statement by the Head, Legal, Enforcement & Regulations, Mr Babatunde Bamigboye.
The initiative forms part of a continuum of regulatory measures that will be vigorously pursued as Nigeria advances towards the decisive frontiers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The circular drew the attention of MDAs to a statement of President Bola Tinubu, where he said: “Data is the new oil”.
Mr Akume then directed all Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies to capture the information rigorously and safeguard it under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act).
The circular also directed MDAs to ensure full compliance with the NDP Act, Regulations, Guidelines, and Directives issued by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in relation to the processing of personal data.
To this end, the Circular directs MDAs to, designate suitably qualified officers as Data Protection Officers (DPOs) to oversee data protection compliance and advise management on all matters relating to the lawful processing of personal data, ensure that the names and contact details of their designated DPOs are communicated to the NDPC for registration and official records; engage licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), where required, to facilitate compliance with the NDP Act and support the conduct of statutory compliance audits.
It also directed them to provide adequate budgetary allocation for data protection compliance activities, including capacity building, awareness programmes, deployment of appropriate technical safeguards, and periodic compliance audits; and submit all mandatory Data Protection Compliance Audit Returns and other statutory returns to the NDPC within the timelines prescribed by law.
The circular further states that “Permanent Secretaries, Accounting Officers and Chief Executive Officers of all MDAs shall be personally responsible for ensuring institutional compliance with the Circular and the provisions of the NDP Act.”
The National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, Mr Vincent Olatunji, expressed the commission’s commitment to supporting data-driven governance.
Mr Olatunji maintained that data accountability is pivotal to achieving the eight Presidential Priorities. To provide full technical support to MDAs for the purpose of achieving compliance, the commission has constituted a regulatory clinic.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Yellow Card, a global stablecoin infrastructure provider, has raised $40 million in a strategic funding round to accelerate its international expansion and strengthen its digital payment infrastructure.
The funding round attracted investments from SC Ventures, the innovation and investment arm of Standard Chartered, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, and other strategic investors. With the latest raise, Yellow Card’s total equity financing has now exceeded $120 million.
The company said the fresh capital will be used to scale its Global US Dollar Accounts, an end-to-end dollar account designed for businesses, while expanding the stablecoin payment rails that connect businesses to markets around the world.
Yellow Card’s chief executive, Mr Chris Maurice, described the investment as a strong endorsement of the company’s long-term vision, noting that the company has spent years building infrastructure that allows businesses to move money globally without relying on traditional correspondent banking systems.
He added that the next phase of growth will focus on helping banks connect directly to stablecoin payment rails, enabling faster and more efficient cross-border transactions while expanding access to US Dollar services for businesses.
SC Ventures chief executive, Mr Alex Manson, said stablecoins are becoming an important part of global payments, but noted that widespread adoption will depend on reliable infrastructure and practical use cases.
He said Yellow Card has built the payment rails businesses across Africa need to move money efficiently across borders and expressed confidence in the company’s ability to expand both within Africa and internationally.
The investment also marks growing interest from global institutions in stablecoin-based payments. Sony Innovation Fund said its backing reflects confidence in Yellow Card’s ability to build digital payment infrastructure for emerging markets.
Mr Austin Noronha, Managing Director at Sony Ventures-US, said the company believes Yellow Card is creating the technology needed to help banks, financial technology firms and enterprises move money faster and more securely.
He added that the company looks forward to supporting Yellow Card as it expands beyond Africa into Latin America, the Middle East, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Yellow Card said the funding will also support the wider rollout of its Global USD Accounts, which allow businesses to hold U.S. dollars, manage treasury operations, swap stablecoins, and collect or make payments in local currencies across more than 50 countries.
The company noted that the platform is already being used by major customers, including Visa and Western Union.
Founded to simplify cross-border payments through digital assets, Yellow Card has processed more than $10 billion in transactions across its network. The company supports over 50 currencies and holds licences, authorisations and registrations in 22 jurisdictions across North America, Europe and Africa.
Yellow Card has also established strategic partnerships with global payment companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Coinbase as it positions itself as a key infrastructure provider for international digital payments.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a $4.5 billion arrangement for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited aimed at strengthening the country’s external reserves and freeing up funds for infrastructure.
This is part of the refinancing of the $3.3 billion Project Gazelle Pre-Export Finance Facility through a new $4.5 billion facility named “Project Gazelle 2”.
The approval allows NNPC Limited to refinance the outstanding balance of approximately $1.5 billion under the original 2023 facility, while unlocking an additional $3 billion in liquidity to strengthen the country’s external reserves and support ongoing fiscal and infrastructure priorities of the government.
NEC’s approval followed a presentation by the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which was presented by the Chairman of the Council, Vice President Kashim Shettima, underscoring the importance of the project.
NEC observed the significance of unlocking additional liquidity to the federation, among other benefits, pledging its support for the actualisation of the initiative.
The Finance Minister explained that the refinancing has been structured on more favourable terms than the original facility, including a reduction in the volume of pledged crude oil from 90,000 barrels of oil per day to approximately 78,750 barrels of oil per day – a 12.5 per cent reduction.
He noted that under the new arrangement, an additional 11,250 barrels of oil per day for the federation will be released, while there will be a reduction in the pledged crude volumes by the state oil company.
Mr Oyedele added that while accessing additional liquidity on improved terms, the arrangement is freeing up resources for strategic national priorities while strengthening the country’s financing structures.
“The arrangement is freeing up resources for strategic national priorities while strengthening the country’s financing structures,” he said.
VP Shettima called for a responsive, scalable, and data-driven social protection policy to tackle multidimensional poverty in Nigeria.
According to Mr Shettima, government policies are often heard before they are seen, speak through the price of food, condition of hospitals, records in schools, strain on families, the confidence of those who invest their labour in the nation’s future, and, very importantly, the ambitions of state governments.
He implored members of Council to ensure that every decision they make assure the citizens “that their government is paying attention to the pulse of the nation and is resolved to respond with competence, compassion and purpose.”
