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OPL-245: NANS, energy group back AGF’s stance

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The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and Partners for Petroleum/Energy Sector Prosperity Initiative (P-PESPI) have expressed their support to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, over his recommendations to the President Muhammadu Buhari on OPL-245.

NANS and P-PEPSI- a new advocacy group for Petroleum and Energy made their position known in joint statement on Tuesday in Abuja. The statement, co-signed by NANS’ President, Mr Chinonso Obasi and Lord Charles Ibiang, PEPSI’s Chairman, said that the flurry of litigations concerning the Oil Prospecting Licence(OPL-245) had become protracted and an embarrassment to Nigeria.
The case involves the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria of Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oilfield – one of Africa’s most valuable oil blocks – for about 1.3 billion dollars.

The two groups, in the statement, said that it was high time litigation on OPL-245 was stopped in order to tap into the economic benefits of the zone. OPL -245 is located on the southern edge of the Niger Delta, in water depths ranging from 1,700 to 2,000 metres. The AGF and Minister of Justice, Malami, had in a letter to Buhari, advised that charges against the chief suspects, including his predecessor, Bello Adoke, former petroleum ministers, Diezani Alison-Madueke and Dan Etete, in the alleged Malaby bribery scandal be dropped.

Malami had argued that his examination of the case file showed that there was no significant evidence to prove sharp practices by the accused persons, adding that prosecution of the suspects would portray Nigeria in bad light before foreign investors. NANS and P-PEPSI said that it was regrettable that with reserve of nine billion barrels of crude oil worth over 500 billion dollar, OPL-245 had been in legal wrangling for over twenty years. “This should stop; and a way forward or road map should be designed to enable Nigeria to benefit from its prolific assets. Nigeria needs huge foreign Investment that can generate employment; OPL 245 is an investment haven.

“We call on the Federal Government to take advantage of the terms of April, 2011 three separate resolution agreements to acquire a major stake in the OPL 245 by converting it to a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) between FGN/NNPC, Shell and ENI/AGIP through Nigerian PSC Mechanism and wish to say that AGF Abubakar Malami’s advice to PMB is in good faith and Patriotic. The groups said that, while researching on the lucrative block,  they were appealing to Buhari to allow Agip-ENI to continue developing some parts of the field in OPL -245 particularly the ETAN and Zabazaba fields.

They observed that total investment from AGIP involved in both the Zabazaba and Etan fields which included a power plant, and a new refinery was in excess of 15 billion dollars and could generate thousands of Jobs. The groups called  on AGIP to halt the purported billion dollar contract award to Saipem until certain insider issues were resolved by all parties concerned in the bidding Processes. P-PESP and NANS, in the statement, said they would embark on more fact finding visits to all stakeholders mentioned– Shell, AGIP, Saipem, Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu , Malami and others for further clarification on some issues of serious concerns.

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Cardano rises as midnight launch triggers rally

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Cardano (ADAUSD) climbed amidst tight trading activities in the crypto market, up by 1.05% in the past 24 hours, showing resilience near key support.

The price ticked up on Sunday amidst negative movements in the global crypto market. The gain has reduced its negative movement in the week to 1%. Cardano is showing strength with a $70 million ADA treasury push and a bullish December setup, but it faces key resistance amidst competing traders.  

The token is trading at $0.4165 at the time of filing the report on Sunday, gaining more than 1% on the day as volume traded reached $359.252 million. The token is in a notable correction from its November highs. Recent trading activity reflects pronounced investor caution. Over a 30-day period, ADA has declined approximately 15%, mirroring the broader pressure on risk assets from macroeconomic uncertainties.

Sentiment trades mixed, as retail and mid-sized investors are accumulating at lows, but large holders remain sceptical. Cardano’s privacy-centric Midnight Network went live after years of development, introducing NIGHT – the first native asset on Cardano.

According to crypto analysts, Short-term speculation around NIGHT airdrops and interoperability boosted ADA demand. ADA rebounded from $0.371–$0.416 after testing an ascending trend line connecting 2023–2025 lows. Traders interpreted the bounce as a bullish divergence, but ADA remains below critical resistance of $0.5113 and its 200-day EMA of $0.68.

ADA’s minor rally reflects optimism around Midnight’s launch and oversold technicals, but scepticism about its ecosystem impact and whale selling caps upside. While the price surges, analysts stated that Cardano balances technical hope against macroeconomic headwinds, with Midnight’s adoption trajectory and $0.51 resistance serving as critical watch points.

While governance upgrades signal maturing decentralisation, crypto analysts are still querying whether ADA can leverage these developments to reverse its 2025 underperformance.

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NDLEA intercepts 7.6m tramadol pills, 76,273kg Colorado

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recovered over 7.6 million pills of tramadol and a total of 76,273.4 kilograms of different strains of cannabis.

The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Babafemi said that the drugs, including Colorado, Loud and Skunks, had several members of drug trafficking organisations linked to the seizures arrested.

He said that out of the total opioids seized during the raids, not less than 3,874,000 pills of tramadol, 225mg and 100mg, and others, as well as 252.2litres of codeine syrup were recovered. He said that they were recovered from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba, Delta, on Saturday. He also said that no fewer than 1.2 million tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from a suspect on December 3.

This, he said, was when NDLEA operatives on patrol at Orogwe, along the Onitsha-Owerri road, Imo, intercepted his vehicle conveying the consignment, which was loaded at Aba, Abia, and heading to Onitsha, Anambra. Meanwhile, in Adamawa, NDLEA officers on December 1 intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus marked MGU 554 XB along Maraba-Mubi, coming from Jos, Plateau state, and heading to Mubi, with a total of 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol.

“Other drugs intercepted were Exol-5 tablets, all concealed inside jumbo bags mixed with new rubber sandals and slippers. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure. Similarly, another 27-year-old suspect was nabbed along Zaria-Kano road, Kano state, with 197,000 pills of exol-5,” he said.

The NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the SOU commands in Delta, Adamawa, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Kano for the arrests and seizures. Mr Marwa said that their operational successes, along with those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction, were well appreciated. NAN

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Lagos, Kaduna, Oyo, FCT, Ogun top 2025 subnational ease of doing business report  

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The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has released the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report, with Lagos emerging as the best-performing state, scoring  85.6 per cent.

The report released by the director-general of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, has Kaduna in second position with  65.1 per cent. Oyo, FCT, and Ogun rounded up the top five with scores of 62.7 per cent, 61.0 per cent, and 59.9 per cent, respectively. Others include Enugu (56.2 per cent) in sixth position, with Plateau (56.2 per cent), Ekiti (55.8 per cent), Kano (54.8 per cent), and Nasarawa (53.4 per cent) rounding out the top 10 states.

The EoDB report is a comprehensive data-driven assessment of how Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT are shaping business competitiveness through regulation, infrastructure, and administrative efficiency.
The report assesses performance across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics covering electricity, infrastructure, digital connectivity, land administration, taxation, trade logistics, justice delivery, investor support and skilled labour readiness.

According to the DG, these states distinguished themselves through consistent reform momentum, improved digital processes, and more predictable regulatory environments. “The 2025 Report also highlights five priority interventions states can implement immediately. These include establishing investor aftercare systems, strengthening MSME credit enablement, harmonising interstate trade rules, upgrading commercial justice processes, and improving power reliability for industrial clusters,” she said.

According to her, PEBEC  will continue to support state-led reform adoption, particularly under the $750 million State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme. She added that “the 2025 Subnational EoDB Report provides a critical foundation for policy action, investment decisions, and long-term competitiveness across Nigeria.”
The DG said the  Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report is available for download at www.pebec.gov.ng/reports

PEBEC had earlier released its 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, covering MDAs’ performance from January to October. This performance report is part of the council’s  effort to track and measure the compliance of federal government MDAs with the BFA’s requirements on promoting Transparency and Efficiency of government-delivered services to the  business community.

The report presents a data-driven assessment of 69 priority MDAs, drawing on monthly compliance submissions, independent mystery shopping, website audits, ReportGov analytics, and targeted process-verification exercises.

According to the report, the top five performing MDAs include the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), with an impressive 90.6 per cent score, followed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at 89 per cent. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), ranks third with 86.6percent, the  Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) secured the fourth and fifth positions, scoring 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent, respectively.

PEBEC, currently chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was established in July 2016 by the federal government to oversee Nigeria’s business environment intervention. It has a dual mandate of removing bureaucratic and legislative constraints to doing business and improving the perception of the ease of doing business in Nigeria. NAN

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