Business

Govt Moves To Revive Few Moribund Ports

Published

4 years ago

January 21, 2022

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council are set to revive six moribund ports whose contracts were signed in 2006.

To commence the process, ICRC on Wednesday held a meeting with NSC, which is the owner of the projects, and the concessionaires, according to a statement.

The purpose of the meeting was to get the six inland container depots located in each of the geopolitical zones of Nigeria to become operational.

The statement quoted the commission’s acting Director-General, Mr. Mike Ohiani, as saying that when completed, these ICDs would bring the required benefit to the country Nigeria.

“We are not unaware that at the material time that the contracts were signed, ICRC as a commission had not been set up, so no proper outline business cases were done for the projects like we now do, but I want us to have a frank discussion so that we can chart a way forward,” he said.

The commission reminded the concessionaires and that NSC that by its Act, it is to take custody of all PPP contracts including the ones for the ICDs.

The states where the ports are located and the level of progress by the concessionaires were listed as Oyo State (10 per cent), Abia State (five per cent), Plateau State (29.7 per cent), Kano State (55 per cent), Katsina State (68 per cent) and Borno State (five per cent).

According to the statement, the concessionaires told the ICRC that the 16 years’ journey had been fraught with various challenges that had hampered any progress that could have been recorded.

It said the concessionaires complained of poor cooperation from state governments, which they said mostly delay in meeting their own part of the agreement, citing land provision as an example.

They said another major challenge was the lack of narrow gauge rail lines in and out of the dry ports, which they noted was important to make the operation of the ports efficient.

They added that access to funds also remained a major issue as banks and foreign investors made unreasonable demands for assets and bank bonds before the release of funds.

The concessionaires unanimously stressed the need for the ports being constructed to be given the status of port of origin and destination and also to be registered with the International Chamber of Commerce upon completion.

(PUNCH)

Business

NNPCL Revenue, Profit Soar To N5.08tn, N447bn In October

Published

2 days ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced a significant revenue increase to N5.078 trillion for October 2025.

The state-owned firm disclosed this in its monthly financial report released on Saturday.

According to the financial report, from N5.078 revenue in October, the company posted a N447 profit after tax.

The figure represents a significant 19.2 percent increase in revenue from N4.26 trillion and a 106 percent rise in PAT from N216 billion in September 2025.

The report stated that from January to September, NNPCL paid N11.150 trillion in statutory payments to the federation.

Four days ago, NNPCL posted a total of N45.1 trillion as total revenue for the 2024 financial year.

Business

NNPCL Reveals Reason Behind N5.4trn Profit After Tax

Published

2 days ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, has explained that the state-owned firm’s N5.4 trillion profit after tax declaration in its 2024 financial statements indicates that the country has begun to reap the benefits of the Petroleum Industry Act.

He made this explanation in an interview released on NNPCL’s X account on Friday.

Recall that NNPCL declared a significant N5.4 trillion PAT from a total revenue of N45.1 trillion in 2024.

Reacting, Ojulari said the earnings result demonstrated the state-owned firm’s commitment to transparency.

“This earning is our first step in going out there to make ourselves more visible and demonstrate our commitment towards transparency. The profit of N5.4 trillion is quite significant. What that indicates is that we are beginning to reap the benefits of the Petroleum Industry Act.”

According to DAILY POST, since Ojulari’s appointment in April 2025, NNPCL has been consistent in making its monthly financial records public.

Business

CBN Directs Nigerian Banks To Withdraw Misleading Advertisement

Published

3 days ago

November 28, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed Nigerian banks, payment service banks and other financial institutions to immediately withdraw all advertisements that violate consumer-protection rules.

The directive, issued in a circular dated Thursday and signed by Olubunmi Ayodele-Oni, director of the CBN’s compliance department, followed a review of marketing practices in the financial sector.

The apex bank said the assessment revealed inconsistencies in how institutions apply disclosure, transparency and fair-marketing requirements.

The CBN ordered the removal of all non-compliant adverts and warned that future promotional materials must be factual, balanced and transparent.

It banned misleading claims, exaggerated benefits, incomplete information, unaudited financial results and comparative language that could de-market competitors.
The regulator of Nigeria’s financial sector also prohibited chance-based promotional inducements such as lotteries, prize draws and lucky dips.

Accordingly, institutions submitting adverts for prior notification must now include campaign timelines, creative materials, target audience details and written confirmation of internal legal and compliance clearance, along with proof that the underlying product has CBN approval.

The bank clarified that such notifications are only for monitoring and do not amount to approval.
All affected institutions must file a compliance attestation within 30 days, signed by the chief executive and compliance leads.

The CBN added that beginning January 2026, it will conduct a follow-up review and apply sanctions for violations under BOFIA 2020 and the Consumer Protection Regulations.