Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

NCC Urges Protection of Fibre Infrastructure During Road Construction, Decries Over 5,000 Fibre Cuts in H1 2026 The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on road construction companies, contractors, engineers and other stakeholders to strengthen coordination and adopt preventive measures to protect fibre-optic cables during road construction, rehabilitation and other civil works across the country. The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, made the call today, August 11, 2026, at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables held at the National Counter- Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser…

Tinubu Approves Offshore Reform to Unlock $50bn Investment President Bola Tinubu has approved a landmark reform aimed at unlocking up to 50 billion dollars in deep offshore investment and reviving stalled offshore projects. The reform replaces project-by-project negotiations with a transparent, rules-based investment framework designed to attract long-term capital into Nigeria’s offshore oil and gas sector. This is contained in a statement issued by Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday in Abuja. According to the Presidency, the framework will support a new generation of deep offshore developments, beginning with the approximately 10 billion dollars Bonga South West project. It…

Nigeria’ll Expand Refining Capacity to Serve African Market The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, says Nigeria will expand its refining capacity and petroleum infrastructure to position the country as West Africa’s energy and trading hub. Lokpobiri said this at the second edition of the West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference on Tuesday in Abuja. He said that Nigeria must leverage its strategic position and resources to drive regional energy security. He said the Federal Government’s deregulation of the petroleum sector had unlocked investment opportunities and created a more competitive environment for the industry. According to…

CIBN Urges Banks to Deploy Recapitalised Funds to MSMEs The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has urged banks to deploy funds raised from the recapitalisation exercise to increase lending to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and other productive sectors. The President of CIBN, Dr Dele Alabi, made the call on Tuesday in Lagos while responding to journalists at a news conference to announce the institute’s 2026 Annual Banking and Finance Conference. The conference, which has the theme, “Building a Resilient Economy in an Era of Disruption: Imperatives for the Banking and Financial Services Industry,” will hold from…

FG Targets 6 States for Pilot Ranching Programme The Federal Government has identified six states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the pilot implementation of its National Ranching Policy. Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Maiha, disclosed this after briefing President Bola Tinubu on the ministry’s activities at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday. Maiha said the pilot programme would commence at the Wase Grazing Reserve in Plateau as a proof of concept for the new ranching model. He identified the states as Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Adamawa, alongside the FCT. According to him, the areas were selected…

Senate Gives Seplat Energy, Others 48-Hour Deadline The Senate has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria Ltd., and other oil firms to appear before its Public Accounts Committee. The directive followed the companies’ failure to attend Tuesday’s investigative hearing in Abuja to answer audit queries contained in reports reviewed by lawmakers. The Other companies handed the ultimatum include All Grace Energy Ltd. and Aradel Energy. The audit queries are contained in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 reports submitted by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). Chairman of the committee, Sen. Abdul Ningi, criticised the absence…

Excess liquidity in the banking system increased sharply on Tuesday, up by about 57% to 6.81 trillion

NMDPRA Tasks Investors, Regulators on Infrastructure for W/Africa Petroleum Trading Hub The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), has called for increased investment in infrastructure, logistics and operational efficiency to position West Africa as a credible petroleum pricing and trading hub. Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rabiu Umar, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the second edition of the West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference. Umar said that West Africa must urgently bridge infrastructure gaps across refineries, pipelines, storage terminals, ports, jetties, rail networks, road corridors, marine logistics, strategic reserves and digital trading platforms. ‘Infrastructure is…

CBN Opens Applications for 2nd Cohort of Regulatory Sandbox Programme The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the commencement of the second cohort of its Regulatory Sandbox Programme, with a new dual-track structure. The structure was designed to support responsible innovation in virtual assets and data-enabled financial services. The programme, which opens for applications on Aug. 12 and closes on Aug. 31, will run under two dedicated tracks: the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Track and the Data-Enabled Financial Services Track. A statement by the Acting Director, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, said the VASP…

Abia State Introduces Digital App to Track High-Risk Pregnancies The Abia Government has introduced a digital application, `CyTrack’, to identify and track high-risk pregnancies to improve maternal healthcare and reduce maternal and child mortality in the state. The Commissioner for Information, Mr Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting, in Umuahia. Kanu said that the application had been piloted successfully in tracking teenage pregnancies and monitoring the cases through delivery, enabling health officials to identify and manage potential complications. He said that the initiative formed part of the health…