Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

TotalEnergies, Conoil Sign Deal on Oil Assets in Nigeria TotalEnergies has signed agreements with Conoil Producing Limited under which to acquire from Conoil a 50% interest in Oil Processing Licence (OPL) 257, a deep-water offshore oil block in Nigeria. The deal entails Conoil also acquiring a 40% participating interest held by TotalEnergies in Oil Minining Lesse (OML) 136, both located offshore Nigeria. Upon completion of this transaction, TotalEnergies’ interest in OPL257 will be increased from 40% to 90%, while Conoil will retain a 10% interest in this block. Covering an area of around 370 square kilometres, OPL 257 is located…

CGT to Make Market Competitive, Investors Friendly — Oyedele The new Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will make the capital market more competitive and investors friendly, the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee says. Prof. Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the committee, said this at an online public lecture organised by the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN) on Wednesday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CGT is a tax on the profit (gain) you make when you sell or dispose of an asset that has increased in value. The tax is levied on the gain itself, not…

China Overtakes U.S. as Germany’s Top Trading Partner China has again replaced the United States as Germany’s top trading partner, with foreign trade turnover nudging up 0.6 per cent in the year to 185.9 billion Euros (215.4 billion dollars). The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden reported on Wednesday that the turnover from January to September was mainly due to large imports from China. Meanwhile, the trade volume with the U.S. shrank by 3.9 per cent to 184.7 billion Euros. China was Germany’s most important trading partner from 2016 to 2023, but was overtaken by the U.S. in 2024. From January…

Lagos Targets N400bn Annual Healthcare Financing Through Insurance The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, says the state can inject over ₦400 billion annually into the healthcare financing system if 20 million residents enrol in the state’s health insurance scheme. Abayomi said this during the inauguration of the Lagos Private Health Partnership (LPHP), a reform initiative designed to restructure health financing, expand insurance coverage, and ensure equitable access to quality healthcare for residents. This , he said, the initiative aimed to achieve through a unified, transparent, public–private collaboration framework. The commissioner explained that the projected ₦400 billion annually…

Terrorism in Africa, a ‘Growing Global Threat’ – UN chief UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said expanding terrorist networks, mass displacement, and the collapse of essential services in West Africa and the Sahel are a growing concern worldwide. Guterres told the UN Security Council at UN headquarters that the growth in terrorist groups was “not only a regional dramatic reality.” “Progressive links of its groups in Africa and beyond make it a growing global threat.” The vast Sahel region which stretches almost coast to coast across Africa, accounts for 19 per cent of terrorist attacks worldwide and for over half…

Ending Hunger by 2030 Will Cost $93bn Annually – WFP The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has said ending hunger by 2030 would cost just $93 billion a year—less than one per cent of the $21.9 trillion spent on military budgets over the past decade. By 2026 a staggering 318 million people would face crisis levels of hunger or worse, more than double the figure recorded in 2019, the food agency reported in its 2026 Global Outlook. International support for the world’s hungriest people is “slow, fragmented, and Underfunded,” meaning that many living in the world’s trouble spots will likely…

Alleged Acquisition: Zenith Bank Drops Hint on Regional Expansion Zenith Bank Plc says the financial services company is exploring regional expansion opportunities as part of its long-term strategic growth agenda.  The bank said this in reaction to the alleged acquisition of Paramount Bank in Kenya as part of an expansion into the East African market. Some media outlets in Kenya reported that definitive decisions on the acquisition have been taken and that a transaction is currently underway. “The Bank wishes to formally notify the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), our esteemed shareholders, investors, and the general public that the information currently…

PDP Crisis Deepens as Wike-Backed Faction Expels Makinde, Turaki, Others The factional National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, has purportedly expelled governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara from the party. The faction also expelled the the party’s new National Chairman, Sen. Tanimu Turaki, Board of Trustees Chairman, Sen. Adolphus Wabara and Deputy National Chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja. Also expelled, according to the group, are the Chairman, Caretaker Committee for South-South, Emmanuel Ogidi and others for alleged anti Party activities. Attempts by the Makinde…

Nigerian Exchange Drops N110bn as Investors Sentiment Deteriorates The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) slumped by more than N110 billion as investors’ sentiment continues to deteriorate, with year-to-date return moderated to 40.86%. The all-share index retreated further, with pressures building across key sectoral indexes. The retreat signifies cautious trading by market participants, especially as they continue to digest the long-term effects of the new capital gains tax despite clarifications by the policymakers. The downbeat sentiment haunted top-listed companies in the financial sector, among others. Specifically, the market index, or All-Share Index, fell by 173.26 basis points to close at 144,986.51, while market…

Bitcoin’s $1 Trillion Shakeout Is ‘Leverage’: deVere CEO Bitcoin has erased more than a trillion dollars’ worth of crypto market value in six weeks, forcing the market to confront how much borrowed money had been propping up positions across the sector. This is the analysis of Nigel Green, CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations, as global stocks and risk-on assets extend losses. In this context, ‘leverage’ means some traders had been using borrowed funds to boost the size of their positions. When prices fell, those positions were automatically closed by exchanges, creating forced selling that…