By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) Limited are advancing discussions on the development of deepwater assets estimated to hold 500 million barrels of oil reserves.

The development followed a meeting between the chief executive of the state oil company, Mr Bayo Ojulari, and Agip’s Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Maurizio Pinna, in Abuja.

The talks focused on ongoing work on deepwater acreage jointly held by NNPC, NAE and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) as well as plans to bring the associated resources into production.

According to NNPC, the acreage comprises the Zabazaba and Etan deepwater fields, with estimated reserves of about 500 million barrels.

The fields are located in Nigeria’s deepwater terrain and are considered significant to the country’s efforts to expand its upstream oil production base, particularly as operators seek to advance projects capable of delivering additional barrels over the medium to long term.

While details of the expected production timeline were not disclosed, the meeting underscores renewed industry focus on unlocking Nigeria’s deepwater resources and growing crude oil production.

The acreage comprises licences converted from OPL 245 and is operated by NAE in partnership with NNPC Limited and SNEPCo.

Mr Ojulari and Mr Pinna also reviewed the work currently underway on the assets and the expected production outlook, with the discussions centred on advancing deepwater development.

The engagement comes amid renewed efforts to attract investment into Nigeria’s offshore petroleum resources and increase national oil production.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Lagos State Government has declared Thursday, August 20, as a work-free day for public servants, political appointees and others to mark the 2026 Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Day.

The event is expected to be the largest single gathering of traditional worshippers anywhere in the world, with over three million residents expected to join the celebrations.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Idris Aregbe, in a statement signed personally on Wednesday, described the day as one that is bigger than a holiday on a calendar.

“Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said, noting that the Yorubas are one of Africa’s largest ethnic nations with more than 55 million people globally, holding tenaciously to the Yoruba culture and inculcating it in their children.

Adhering to culture and tradition over the years has sustained the Ìṣẹ̀ṣe festivals in Cuba, Brazil, and the Caribbean, where many Yorubas live aside from Africa to this day.

“When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Mr Aregbe said.

Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Day marks the culmination of a full week of traditional activities, and has been observed as a work-free day in Lagos since 2023, following a request from the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has upheld it every year, in line with the administration’s commitment to indigenous values and religious inclusiveness.

Mr Aregbe expressed profound appreciation to Sanwo-Olu for his courageous support for a noble cause, and reserved special honour for the traditional institution.

“We thank Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. It takes real conviction for a leader to stand publicly with heritage, and he has done so without hesitation and without apology. We also bow to Kábíyèsí, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu I, foremost custodian of Lagos culture, to all our royal fathers, our revered White Cap Chiefs, our Babaláwo and Ìyánífá, our Olóòrìṣà and every custodian and promoter who kept these rites alive when it was neither fashionable nor convenient. Governments come and go. Custodians carry the culture,” he said.

This year’s celebrations will feature prayers, rituals, processions, drumming and cultural displays dedicated to the Òrìṣà, coordinated by the Association of African Traditional Religion Nigeria and Overseas (AATREN).

Mr Aregbe urged all participants to celebrate peacefully and respectfully.

“Three million voices rising in honour of tradition is not noise. It is history, faith and cultural pride in harmony. Whether you worship in a mosque, a church or a grove, Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Day belongs to you, because heritage has no denomination. Lagos remains the city where every heritage finds its place.”

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Two persons have been convicted and sentenced by Justice A. Aluko of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, for illegal Naira trading.

The judge found the duo of Ms Mutairu Omowunmi Tawa and Ms Faith Chukwujeku guilty and sentenced them to six months’ imprisonment with an option of a N50,000 fine each.

Their sentencing on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, followed their arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on one-count charge each bordering on unlawful trading of Naira notes.

“That you, Mutairu Omowunmi female, on or about July 25, 2026, at Salamagic Event Centre, Onikan, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, did sell and trade in the sum of N850,000 and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(4) of the Central Bank Nigeria, Act 2007, as amended and punishable under Section 21(10) of the same Act,” the charge against Ms Mutairu read.

“That you, Faith Chukwujeku on July 25, 2026, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this court engaged in hawking the sum of N1.3 million in N200 note denomination issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(4) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2007,” the charge against Chukwujeku read.

They pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.

Following their guilty pleas, the prosecution counsel, Mr Fanen Anum, reviewed the facts of the cases and urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.

He further urged the court to order the forfeiture of the exhibits recovered from the convicts to the federal government, being the instruments used in committing the crime.