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NUPRC seeks stakeholders’ inputs on 7 more petroleum regulations
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has begun consultation with stakeholders prior to finalising seven more petroleum draft regulations, in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA 2021). Mr Gbenga Komolafe, the Commission’s Chief Executive, said this at the 4th Phase of its Consultation Forum with Stakeholders on regulations development, as mandated by Section 216 (4)(g) of the PIA, on Thursday in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the regulations include Draft Upstream Commercial Operations Regulations, Upstream Petroleum Code of Conduct and Compliance Regulations as well as Upstream Petroleum Development Contract Regulations. Others are: Upstream Revocation of Licences and Lease Regulations, Petroleum Assignment of Interest Regulations, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum (Administrative Harmonisation) Regulations and Amendment to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Host Communities Development Regulations 2022.
Komolafe, represented by Dr Kelechi Ofoegbu, Executive Commissioner, Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning, NUPRC, said the regulations were significant in line with recent happenings in the industry and that it formed part of the framework of key regulatory tools for PIA implementation. “This phase of public hearings on the making of regulations for the upstream is divided into two segments. The first segment will run from Oct. 9 to Oct. 13, while the second segment will start from Nov. 8 to Nov. 10,” he said. He said the Draft Upstream Commercial Operations Regulations 2023 proposed to establish commercial operations framework on the procedure and process for evaluation and approval of Field Development Plans and annual work programme and budget approvals. Upstream Petroleum Development Contract Administration Regulations prescribed the framework for the regulatory administration of petroleum development contracts joint development Agreements and Production sharing agreements (Service Agreements) relating to upstream petroleum operations.
“Upstream Revocation of Licences and Lease Regulations propose to set out the framework for implementing the Revocation Provisions of the Act and for dealing with post revocation issues in a systematic manner. Draft Petroleum Assignment of Interest Regulations 2023 propose to elevate the provisions of the existing guidelines on divestment of interest to a regulation and by so doing, improving the rules to reflect current realities,” Komolafe explained. He also listed the relevance of the draft regulations, which the second segment would consider. Komolafe described the Draft Upstream Petroleum Code of Conduct and Compliance Regulations 2023 as a novel regulation aimed at ensuring commitment by licensees, lessee and permit holders to maintain high ethical standard in the conduct of upstream petroleum operations. “The Draft Nigerian Upstream Petroleum (Administrative Harmonisation) Regulations 2023 seeks to provide regulatory clarity on the implementation of the dual regulatory regime in the upstream occasioned by the preservation of licences and leases.
“Draft Amendment to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Host Communities Development Regulations 2022 seeks to introduce certain amendments to the existing regulation on the implementation of the host community regime. This will further ease the administrative process and provide regulatory clarity to the challenges that the implementation of the regime has thrown up in the last one year since the initial regulation was established,” he said. He reiterated that the process of formulating the above regulations had been a rigorous and strenuous exercise. He added that they were products of critical thinking and the evaluation and process was incomplete until the stakeholders’ critical inputs were obtained, discussed, and incorporated. Recall that PIA 2021 empowers the Commission to make regulations which will give meaning and intent to the spirit of the PIA. Consequently, Komolafe said in fulfilment of this mandate, the commission swung into action with the drafting of regulations of which 12 regulations have been successfully gazetted into law and published to date between June 2022 and July 2023. According to the CCE, the gazetting of these regulations demonstrated the Commission’s commitment towards providing a business enabling environment in the Nigerian Upstream Oil and Gas industry space.
Earlier, in a remark, Mr Kingston Chikwendu, Head, Compliance and Enforcement, NUPRC, said the PIA had seen accelerated implementation on the side of the upstream sector and part of the process was anchored on developing framework for regulations. “We have been able to issue 12 regulations out of 26 priority regulations identified by the Presidential Implementation Committee of the PIA. We are here to consider more regulations which will be forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice for approval,” he said. The event was attended by the NUPRC executive commissioners, officials from Oil Producers Trade Section of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce, Independent Petroleum Producers Association and Indigenous Operators among others.
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.
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
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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