By Yahaya Umar 

President Bola Tinubu says the newly commissioned 180-megawatt Afam II Power Plant in Rivers State will be a critical milestone in Nigeria’s energy and industrial transformation agenda.

The project, executed through a partnership between Crescendough Nigeria Limited (CNL) and Sahara Power Group, is expected to significantly enhance Nigeria’s power generation capacity, providing electricity to homes, businesses, and industries.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony in Oyigbo Local Government Area on Wednesday, President Tinubu emphasized that the completion of the plant within 16 months demonstrates the success of his administration’s policies in fostering private-sector-led infrastructure development.

“This project is proof that with collaboration, tenacity, and commitment, we can overcome our energy challenges,” the President said.

“The Afam II Plant will not only add 180MW to the national grid but also stimulate economic growth, empower businesses, and improve healthcare and education through reliable electricity,” he added.

He reiterated his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, charging the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, and other stakeholders to work together to ensure nationwide power stability.

On his part, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Mr Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, praised President Tinubu for creating an enabling environment for investments, noting that the project aligns with the state’s long-term vision to expand energy infrastructure beyond oil and gas.

“This plant is a testament to what visionary leadership and private-sector collaboration can achieve,” Mr Ibas said. “Beyond power generation, it has created jobs and upskilled youths in the Afam community, setting a precedent for future projects.”

He also commended the host community for their cooperation, stating that peaceful engagement was key to the project’s success.

The Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group, Dr. Kola Adesina, highlighted that the company remains Nigeria’s largest private-sector electricity provider, contributing about 20 per cent of the nation’s power supply. He affirmed that the Afam II Plant reinforces Sahara’s commitment to sustainable development.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, applauded Rivers State’s sustained investments in energy infrastructure since 2011, which laid the foundation for the Afam II project.

The Afam II Power Plant is expected to play a crucial role in reducing Nigeria’s electricity deficit, supporting industrialization, and improving living standards. President Tinubu assured Nigerians of more reforms to attract further investments into the power sector.

“We will continue to enforce policies that make Nigeria a prime destination for energy investments, both local and foreign,” he declared.

 By Aliy

More Nigerians have continued to express outrage over the reported insertion of N6.93 trillion worth of projects into the 2025 national budget by members of the National Assembly without adequate justification, while the President Bola Tinubu-led administration keeps mum.

About a week ago, BudgIT, a civic tech organization promoting transparency and accountability in public finance, revealed it uncovered 11,122 projects valued at N6.93 trillion that the National Assembly inserted into the 2025 Federal Government Budget.

The latest reactions and criticisms came during a radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Project Officer at BudgIT Nigeria, Caroline Anintah, highlighting the unusual inclusion in the 2025 budget, maintained that the insertions were highly valued, questionable, and allocated to government Ministries Departments and Agencies, MDAs, that cannot implement the projects.

BudgIT, however, recommended ways to address dubious budget insertions, urging the National Assembly to focus on oversight. 

“We (BudgIT) recommend that the president must enforce stronger alignment between the budget and national plans; then judicial clarity – the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) should seek the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the legislature’s powers, and then agencies like the EFCC and the ICPC should investigate and prosecute the misuse of budget, while CSOs and citizens should be part of the budget review and implementation as this will help track and limit frivolous insertions.” 

Anintah noted that the level of insertions in the current budget shows that federal legislators are overstepping their boundaries and can destroy the programmes of the executives. Adding that the worry is on the competence of the MDAs where the inserted projects are allocated. 

She disclosed that President Bola Tinubu and his cabinet members had yet to comment on lawmakers’ insertion of 11,000 projects worth N6.9 trillion into the national budget. Likewise, the leadership of the National Assembly has not uttered a word following BudgIT’s expose. 

“Our report is on insertions, which are introducing new project line items to the budget. What makes this year special is that we’ve never seen such a high value of insertions. 

“The Ministry of Agriculture had over 4,300 inserted projects, which is worth more than N1.72tn, Science and Technology had insertions worth N994bn and Ministry of Budget and Economic planning had N1.1trn worth of insertions, and these ministries were likely used as dumping grounds for projects. 

“Many of them don’t have the technical capacity for these projects, and there’s no clear evidence that the ministries were actively consulted before these projects were added to their budget, and this creates implementation challenges as the agencies are stuck with projects they did not plan for or are not equipped to deliver.” 

On the response of the National Assembly or Tinubu-led government following the report of suspicious insertions in the 2025 budget, Anintah stated, “As of now, we’ve not received any direct or public reaction from the NASS or the executive arm, but we hope that the report serves as a wake-up call for them to follow due process of budgeting.” 

For his part, Dr. Umar Yakubu, the Executive Director of the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CEFTPI), stated that dubious budget insertions were destroying national development. 

Yakubu decried that national budgets have become a cesspool of corruption since the return to democracy, with the interests of political elites placed above the citizens. Hence, Nigerians do not feel the impact of implemented budgets. 

He faulted the president and his cabinet members for keeping mum on the alleged insertion of projects worth nearly N7 trillion, urging the Tinubu administration to ensure there’s a consequence for anyone perpetrating corruption with national budgets as it is the main step in curbing anomalies, usually seen in budget process and implementation. 

“That is why you see for decades now, especially from 1999, a lot of budgets have little impact on poverty, security, health care, water system, education, and on all sectors of the economy. Now, that means the budget process already has a fundamental problem in the first place because it is not citizen-led. 

“And let’s not forget the same goes at the state level. Though there might not be insertions by the state assembly members but by the governors who ensure they insert all these things that are not citizen-led because of the money they will extract, so it’s just basically a pool of corruption. 

“Insertion distorts national plans and agenda. If you don’t assess it that way, you won’t see the danger of what these legislators are doing. It’s not just about the money. It’s about distorting the process as laid out by the executive.”

On the President’s silence on the insertion, Yakubu says, “President Tinubu has to react because he has said he wants to bring development to Nigeria. This report threatens to impede what he wants to do for the country. So, it is in the country’s interest to ensure budget implementation.

World Trade Centre ,WTC, Abuja, has unveiled an export launch pad aimed at boosting Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade. The pad was unveiled by its Vice-President, Mr Ahmed Adelaja, alongside the WTC Abuja Trade Desk shortly after its webinar.

The webinar was on “Navigating Global Uncertainties and Breaking Barriers to Growth”, part of its series on `Nigeria`s Trade Competitiveness.

Adelaja described the pad as WTC Abuja’s flagship business accelerator, designed to empower Nigerian exporters, particularly small and medium-scale enterprises to compete successfully in international markets.

He said that the transformative initiatives were in response to the constraints limiting Nigeria`s competitiveness to global trade which aligned with Nigeria`s economic diversification agenda and the African Union 2063 Agenda, among other policies.

He expressed confidence  that the  launch pad  would provide solutions to concerns such as product packaging, compliance to international standards and access to logistics concerns.

“It will provide export-ready diagnostics, sector-specific market intelligence, packaging and compliance advisory and access to logistics partners, trade finance and verified international buyers.

“It will also serve as a pipeline for African Continental Free Trade Area ,AfCFTA, trade, ECOWAS regional integration and global exports, focusing on agriculture, manufacturing, the creative economy and services”,he said.

According to him, the unveiling of the export pad aims to ensure that no viable export idea in Nigeria fails due to a lack of knowledge, access, or support. While unveiling the WTC Abuja Trade Desk, he said that it would serve as a dedicated liaison and support hub for exporters.

Adelaja said that the services of the desk would also include offering market entry assistance, regulatory support, documentation guidelines, policy issue escalation, and business matchmaking through the global WTC network.

He said that the trade desk would also work with relevant organisations such as the chambers of commerce, trade agencies, international partners, stating that the WTC was determined to become a bridge to global opportunity.

He said the trade desk would also work with relevant organisations such as chambers of commerce, trade agencies and international partners, emphasising  the determination of the WTC  to become a bridge to global opportunities.

The keynote speaker, Prof Jonathan Aremu, said that Nigeria`s trade competitiveness was facing both global uncertainties and  domestic barriers to growth, such as global volatility, weak oil prices and infrastructure deficits.

Aremu, a professor of International Economics Relations, said that navigating uncertainty and breaking barriers to enhance Nigeria’s trade competitiveness involved a multi-faceted approach from both the public and the private sector.

He said that the approaches include forming strategic partnerships, embracing digital transformation, diversification, local sourcing and regional import substitution, sequencing and negotiating Nigeria’s trade agreements and reordering the priorities of trade formulation and negotiation.

He said that the range of products or services offered in Nigeria should be expanded  to help businesses reduce their reliance on any single revenue stream.

“Exploring new markets, either within Nigeria or internationally, can help businesses spread risk by targeting different customer segments or expanding into new geographical areas. “Diversifying investments across different asset classes and currencies can help protect against inflation and currency devaluation, “he said.

Mr Kevin Oye, the President, National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture ,NACCIMA, said that the private sector plays a vital role in export competitiveness.

Represented by the Director of Abuja Liaison Office, Mahmud Ahmed, Oye said that  competitiveness  couldn’t be achieved through driving product and process innovation, powering production infrastructure, strengthening supply chains, and promoting global marketing.

By Dickson Pat 

Nigerian energy solutions company provider, Oando Plc, has announced the successful upsizing of its Reserve Based Lending ,RBL2, facility to $375 million.

This upsizing is a result of Oando’s significant progress in deleveraging, having substantially reduced the original $525 million RBL2 facility, signed in 2019, down to $100 million by the close of 2024.

The refinancing, led by the African Export-Import Bank ,Afreximbank, with the support of Mercuria, extends the final maturity date of the facility to January 30, 2029.

In recent years, financing arrangements for the acquisition, development, and operation of oil and gas assets have commonly been structured as Reserve-Based Loans ,RBLs.

Under this model, the amount a borrower, in this instance Oando, can access is directly tied to the size and value of their proven reserves, with Oando’s standing at 1.0Bnboe referred to as the Borrowing Base.

“This proactive debt management has paved the way for successful refinancing”, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Speaking on this strategic achievement, the chief executive of Oando, Mr Wale Tinubu, said, “We are pleased to have completed the upsizing of our RBL2 facility, a strategic milestone that reinforces our commitment as Operator of the Oando-NEPL JV to maximizing the value of our expanded asset portfolio.

“Our Joint Venture holds extensive reserves with the potential to generate over $11 billion in net cashflows to Oando over the assets’ life. This working capital facility is a critical enabler towards efficiently extracting and monetizing these resources”, he said.

“We appreciate the continued partnership of Afreximbank and Mercuria, whose unwavering support underscores their alignment with our long- term focus on maximizing production, optimizing asset performance, and delivering sustainable value to all stakeholders”, he added.

Oando said the capital injection will be strategically deployed to aggressively pursue key growth initiatives, including accelerated drilling campaigns, critical infrastructure upgrades across its operations, and the implementation of advanced operational efficiencies throughout its portfolio.

These strategic investments directly support the company’s stated ambition to significantly increase its production levels to 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 1.5 billion cubic feet ,Bcf, of gas per day by the end of 2029, the statement added.

This development follows Oando’s landmark $783 million acquisition of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company ,NAOC, from Italian energy giant, Eni, in August 2024.

This also significantly expands Oando’s operational landscape, incorporating twenty-four currently producing fields, approximately forty identified exploration prospects and leads, 12 key production stations, an extensive network of approximately 1,490 km of pipelines, three vital gas processing plants, the strategic Brass River Oil Terminal, the significant Kwale-Okpai phases 1 & 2 power plants boasting a total nameplate capacity of 960MW, and a comprehensive suite of associated infrastructure.

By Yahaya Umar 

Soaring energy costs, including prices of petrol, diesel, and electricity, have been identified by a vast majority of Nigerian businesses as the primary driver of the country’s persistent inflation, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ,CBN, May 2025 Inflation Expectation Survey.

The survey, released this week, revealed that 90.8% of respondent firms ranked energy expenses as the leading cause of inflationary pressure, underscoring the structural challenges plaguing Nigeria’s cost environment.

Despite sustained monetary tightening, the report indicates that inflation remains predominantly driven by supply-side constraints.

“Respondents ,businesses and households, identified energy, exchange rate, and transportation as the top three inflation drivers”, the CBN stated in its report.

“Natural disasters, activities of middlemen, and infrastructural challenges were perceived as less significant contributors”.

This finding reflects the persistence of structural supply-side issues that continue to undermine the effectiveness of traditional monetary policy tools such as interest rate hikes.

While the CBN has maintained a tight monetary stance, with the Monetary Policy Rate currently at 27.5% the data suggests inflation is largely being fuelled by factors beyond the influence of monetary tightening.

The second most frequently cited inflation driver was the exchange rate, with 88.5% of businesses highlighting the impact of naira depreciation on the cost of imports and inputs.

Transportation costs, including road, air, rail, and water logistics, followed closely as another major pressure point, cited by 87.2% of firms.

Interest rates were ranked as a significant but secondary contributor. Around 85.5% of businesses acknowledged that high borrowing costs were compounding inflationary pressures, particularly for enterprises that rely on credit to finance operations or expansion.

Other issues, such as insecurity, raw material costs, and inadequate infrastructure, were also widely acknowledged by businesses as contributing to inflation, though to a slightly lesser extent.

Insecurity was flagged by 84.7% of respondents, while raw material costs and infrastructural constraints were noted by 78.3 and 75% respectively.

Although, middlemen activities and natural disasters were recognised, they were perceived as less critical than the broader structural challenges.

The findings from households mirrored those from businesses. Among respondents, transportation ranked second only to energy as a source of inflationary stress. Exchange rate volatility, insecurity, and interest rates also ranked high in the perceptions of Nigerian households.

Overall, the report revealed that inflation expectations worsened in May. Approximately 75.3% of all respondents said they believed inflation was high, a significant jump from 70% in April.

The highest increase in inflation perception came from households, with 79.6% reporting that inflation was high, compared to 69.4% in the previous month. Among businesses, the figure rose slightly from 70.5% in April to 71.5% in May.

Lower-income households felt the impact of inflation most acutely. Among respondents earning between ₦30,001 and ₦100,000 per month, 82.9% described the inflation rate as high. In contrast, only 65.7% of households earning above ₦200,000 expressed the same sentiment.

Larger companies were also more likely to perceive inflation as severe, with 78.2% of large firms reporting high inflation, compared to 72.8% of microenterprises and 70.6% of medium-sized businesses.

Looking ahead to June, the survey found that 43.1% of households and 29.7% of businesses expect inflation to rise further.

Additionally, a strong majority of respondents anticipate increased spending this month, with 75.1% of businesses and 67.1% of households expecting their expenses to go up.

Amid these concerns, public sentiment appears to be shifting toward a more accommodative policy stance. About 68.9% of respondents said they would prefer the CBN to reduce interest rates, suggesting widespread concern that high borrowing costs are exacerbating rather than easing the inflation problem.

Only 10.9% supported a rate hike, while 20.2% favoured keeping the rate unchanged.

The report reinforces that Nigeria’s inflation challenge is deeply rooted in structural inefficiencies, particularly in the energy and logistics sectors, and may require a broader mix of policy solutions beyond interest rate management.

By Cyril Ogar 

In a bid to bolster Nigeria’s food security, the Federal Government has strengthened its collaborative initiative with the Japan International Cooperation Agency ,JICA.

This partnership is aimed at supporting the country’s food production systems and enhancing resilience amid global supply challenges.

The initiative took a significant step forward yesterday as the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, met with senior representatives of JICA to advance the implementation of the Food Security Emergency Loan Support Programme.

The JPY 15 billion facility (approximately $110 million) aims to support Nigeria’s food production systems and enhance resilience amid ongoing global supply challenges.

With the rainy season now underway, both Ministers emphasised the importance of swift, coordinated action to maximise impact for farmers and rural communities.

JICA welcomed the government’s commitment to delivery and requested formal clarification on proposed implementation adjustments.

It was jointly agreed that core production activities would proceed immediately under the existing framework, while additional components, such as aggregation and financing, would be reviewed in line with the original loan agreement.

This partnership underscores the commitment of both governments to addressing food security challenges and improving the livelihoods of millions of Nigerians, while also driving economic growth and development in the country.

Recall that earlier in the first quarter 2025, the  Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, had supported the federal ministry of Agriculture and food security with the sum of ¥12bn Japanese loan to Nigeria to achieve a sustainable and resilience Agriculture under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket ,NAGS-AP.

He noted that the facility will be utilized on three components namely; enhancement of rice seed quality, improvement in delivery of farm inputs, quality extension services and enhancement of private sector participation in the production of Agriculture inputs.

The Minister made the commendation during the meeting with the Economic Development Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, led by the Director General, Mr. Takao Shimokawa to his office in Abuja recently.

He stated that the rice seeds production project was domiciled in the National Cereal Research Institute NCRI, Badeggi, Niger State, under the Ministry was strategic in enhancing the research and development for breeding of high-yield, disease resistant varieties that can withstand climate variability.

Kyari had pointed out that, “we will do our part under the technical cooperation with NCRI and include the National Agricultural Seed Council, NASC, to add value to the seed ecosystem.

“While enhancing seed quality is crucial, we recognize that knowledge dissemination is equally important.

“Our partnership on market oriented agriculture promotion with JICA on the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion ,SHEP, project from 2020 to 2024, covering 14 states in Nigeria, to include; Nasarawa, Benue, Osun, Ogun, Kogi, FCT, Taraba, Jigawa, Edo, Anambra, Ebonyi, Cross River, Gombe, and Kebbi has empowered smallholder farmers and has serve as a bridge between research and practice, ensuring that farmers are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive”, the Minister added.

Speaking further, he stated that the Ministry will leverage technology to enhance extension services, using mobile applications to provide real-time information on weather patterns, market prices and pest outbreaks to make informed decisions and adapt to challenges more swiftly.

He emphasized that implementing emergency food security measures, enhanced rice seed quality, and expanding extension services are not just initiatives. Rather, they are commitments to the future of our communities and nation.

The Minister noted that working together with JICA, researchers, NGOs, and farmers, “we can create a sustainable and resilient agricultural system that ensures food security for all”.

He, therefore, commended JICA for being a long-term strategic partner, considering the impact of bilateral activities JICA undertakes in the agricultural space in more than four decades.

In his remarks, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abdullahi Sabi Aliyu reiterated that JICA has always been supportive and will not be taken for granted.

He pointed out that the seed issue was very key because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has always said “plant the right seed, then you can feed the entire nation, so seed is key to our food security problems”, Sen Abdullahi stressed.

Earlier in his remarks, the Director General Economic Development Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, Mr. Takao Shimokawa expressed gratitude for the long-standing collaboration between the Ministry and JICA.

He stated that JICA would continue to prioritize the collaboration towards ensuring economic prosperity and food security in Nigeria, noting that JICA is fully aligned to the Ministry’s mandate.

In his words, “today i take advantage to report the recent progress of JICA assistance in the Agricultural sector in three key areas to include food security, announcing that the first disbursement of the loan has been paid yesterday”.

He noted that, “now, we are proceeding to supervision and monitoring of the fund utilization”.

The Director General emphasized that JICA and Japan are fully committed to rice production in Africa particularly in Nigeria which is the largest producer of rice, pointing out that the new grant project would provide the machinery for rice production which procurement process is about to commence.