Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday after the United States carried out what it described as defensive strikes in southern Iran, raising fresh concerns over the fragile ceasefire and ongoing peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

The strikes came amid expectations that both countries were nearing an agreement to end the three-month war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz for the free movement of oil shipments.

From about $97 per barrel on Monday, global benchmark Brent crude futures rose by roughly 3.5 per cent on Tuesday to around $100 per barrel.

According to reports, US forces struck missile-launch sites and other targets in southern Iran on Monday, even as the Donald Trump administration signalled that a peace agreement between the two sides could be close.

In a statement, the US Central Command said the attacks were defensive in nature. “US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines,” CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said.

Reacting, Iran accused the United States of violating the ceasefire with the strikes. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the attacks in the southern Hormozgan province, where Iranian media reported explosions early on Tuesday, amounted to a “gross violation” of the fragile ceasefire that has been in place for nearly seven weeks, according to Reuters.

Both sides had earlier indicated progress on a memorandum of understanding that could halt the war and restore shipping activities through the Strait of Hormuz, while giving negotiators 60 days to address more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

Reports also indicated that Iranian negotiators had pushed for the proposed agreement to include the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets during talks held in Qatar.

The war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has triggered a major oil supply shock, increasing the costs of fuel, fertiliser, and food globally. Iran had responded to the attacks by launching drones and missiles at Gulf states hosting US military bases.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade, has remained significantly below normal levels since the conflict began.

Although diplomatic efforts are continuing, there are growing fears that the latest US strikes could further escalate tensions in the Middle East and disrupt global energy supplies.

No fewer than 89 firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange remitted a combined N579.78bn as company income tax in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 10.60 per cent increase from the N524.23bn paid in the corresponding period of 2025.

An analysis of the companies’ unaudited financial statements by The PUNCH showed that out of 143 companies listed on the main board of the NGX, about 89 firms recorded tax payments during the period under review, while 54 firms either reported zero tax obligations, delayed filings, or did not publish tax figures on the Exchange’s disclosure segment.

Across 11 business categories, companies under the Information and Communications Technology sector emerged as the biggest contributor to government tax receipts after paying N191.22bn in Q1 2026, up by 175.8 per cent from N69.32bn in Q1 2025. The N190.92bn tax charge recorded by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc resulted in the sharp increase.

The Industrial Goods sector followed with N151.31bn in taxes, rising by 18.9 per cent from N127.29bn, while oil and gas companies paid N177.61bn, though this represented a decline of 36.9 per cent from N281.25bn in the corresponding period of 2025 due largely to lower tax charges by Seplat Energy Plc.

Consumer goods firms remitted N62.69bn, representing a 73.8 per cent increase from N36.07bn, while financial services companies paid N56.69bn, up by 27.7 per cent from N44.38bn.

At the lower end of the spectrum, natural resources firms paid only N121.43m in taxes, down by 4.2 per cent year-on-year, while construction and real estate firms remitted N107.36m, representing a 51.8 per cent decline.

Sector leaders

Collectively, the top 10 corporate taxpayers in Q1 2026 were led by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc with N190.92bn from the ICT sector, followed by Seplat Energy Plc with N176.60bn from oil and gas.

Others were Dangote Cement Plc (N100.07bn), Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (N84.76bn), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (N73.46bn), First HoldCo Plc (N53.26bn), Lafarge Africa Plc (N51.17bn), Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc (N50.44bn), Access Holdings Plc (N49.07bn), and Zenith Bank Plc (N46.90bn).

Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc recorded the strongest year-on-year tax increase with a 746.6 per cent jump, followed by Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc with 338.9 per cent, First HoldCo Plc with 179.1 per cent, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc with a 168.6 per cent swing in tax burden, and Presco Plc with 81.2 per cent growth.

On the other hand, firms with the sharpest tax declines included Eterna Plc with a 63.9 per cent drop, C & I Leasing Plc with 40.6 per cent, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc with 35.1 per cent, Trans-Nationwide Express Plc with 33.5 per cent, and Red Star Express Plc with 28.7 per cent.

Among the biggest nominal taxpayers, MTN Nigeria, Seplat, Dangote Cement, GTCO, and Ecobank remained the five highest contributors overall, while firms such as Trans-Nationwide Express Plc, Premier Paints Plc, Tripple Gee and Company Plc, Juli Plc, and John Holt Plc recorded some of the smallest tax obligations during the period.

Analysts speak

In separate interviews with The PUNCH, market and investment analysts explained that profitability played a role in the effective tax rates of major firms and evaluated the role of the new tax laws, predicting their future impact on the finances of these firms.

Managing Director of Afrinvest Consulting, Abiodun Keripe, said the divergence in tax payments reflected profitability trends, sector-specific pressures, and tax incentives.

“The divergence in tax payments among these companies is largely tied to profitability patterns, sector-specific pressures, and the impact of tax incentives or deferred tax adjustments,” Keripe noted. “Companies such as Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Presco Plc, and Nestlé Nigeria Plc recorded stronger year-on-year tax expenses mainly because their earnings improved significantly during the period under review. In most cases, higher profitability naturally translates into higher income tax obligations for companies.”

The Afrinvest boss explained that stronger performers benefited from improved pricing power, exchange-rate gains, rising consumer demand, and better cost management.

This trend was evident in companies such as Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, which increased its tax expense by 51.5 per cent to N1.54bn after returning from a N22.63bn pre-tax loss in Q1 2025 to a N20.69bn pre-tax profit in Q1 2026.

The company’s gross profit surged to N43.10bn from N9.26bn after the cost of sales declined sharply. Similarly, Presco Plc raised its tax payment by 81.2 per cent to N19.99bn after revenue rose to N100.86bn and finance income climbed sharply to N5.13bn.

Nestlé Nigeria Plc also recorded a 65.8 per cent increase in tax expense to N34.77bn as revenue expanded to N326.13bn and net finance costs narrowed substantially.

The ICT sector posted the strongest growth overall. Airtel Africa’s tax charge rose by 94.3 per cent year-on-year, while MTN Nigeria alone accounted for over 99 per cent of the sector’s total tax contributions.

Financial institutions also posted stronger tax remittances on the back of higher earnings. GTCO doubled its tax expense to N84.76bn, while First HoldCo increased its tax payment by 179.1 per cent to N53.26bn after profit before tax rose to N321.12bn.

Stanbic IBTC’s tax burden also rose following the introduction of a minimum tax component.

Meanwhile, Managing Partner at SBM Intelligence, Ikemesit Effiong, assessed that companies with lower tax obligations were largely battling margin pressure, weak demand, or deferred tax adjustments.

Speaking on factors determining firms’ varying remittances, Effiong said, “It appears to be driven by a mix of operational recovery, strategic cost management, and acute macroeconomic pressure. Companies that posted higher tax bills did so because their underlying profitability improved, largely through one-off gains or deep cost restructuring.”

He added, “Those with lower tax bills are generally experiencing margin compression, structural demand weakness, or aggressive tax planning, while Eterna’s sharp tax decline despite stronger earnings points to either the crystallisation of tax losses or a shift in deferred tax positions.”

That trend was visible in companies such as Beta Glass Plc, whose tax expense declined by 22.6 per cent to N4.04bn following weaker profitability, rising finance costs, and higher foreign exchange losses.

Eterna Plc also cut its tax charge by 63.9 per cent despite posting stronger profits, suggesting lower effective tax exposure and possible tax relief adjustments.

In the Services sector, Red Star Express, C & I Leasing, and Trans-Nationwide Express all recorded lower tax payments amid weaker profitability or reduced effective tax rates.

Several firms, including DAAR Communications Plc, Morison Industries Plc, and SCOA Nigeria Plc, recorded zero tax obligations because of accumulated losses, weak profitability, or tax-loss carry-forwards.

Lead economist and fixed income strategist at CardinalStone, Olaolu Boboye, said company-specific tax waivers, pioneer status, deferred tax adjustments, and transitions under the Petroleum Industry Act were influencing effective tax rates.

“We need to check, per company, what made some companies pay lower taxes. A company can be granted pioneer status, which means it pays lower taxes. Oil and gas companies transitioning under the PIA may also pay lower taxes compared to the old petroleum profit tax regime,” Boboye said.

SBM Intelligence’s Effiong added that while Nigeria’s new tax laws could reduce headline tax rates over time, most large firms should not expect a sharp drop in effective tax rates.

“The headline statutory rate is coming down, but most real-sector companies should not expect a clean, one-for-one reduction in their effective tax rate. For larger firms, the new laws deliver a lower nominal rate, but it is offset by new layers of taxation, including a development levy and a 15 per cent global minimum effective tax,” he said.

Afrinvest’s Keripe also noted that tax reforms were aimed more at broadening the tax base, improving compliance, and simplifying administration than aggressively reducing corporate tax obligations.

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has said increased competition in the downstream petroleum sector forced the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to slash the ex-depot price of diesel by N200 per litre.

Checks on Petroleumprice.ng showed that the price of diesel dropped from N1,800 to N1,600.

The National Public Relations Officer of PETROAN, Dr Joseph Obele, disclosed the association’s position in a statement on Tuesday, describing the development as a clear indication that competition, not monopoly, would deliver lower fuel prices for Nigerians.

According to him, the refinery reduced the price of Automotive Gas Oil, popularly known as diesel, from N1,800 per litre to N1,600 per litre after fresh imported products entered the Nigerian market

Obele said, “The Dangote refinery recently took legal action after NMDPRA granted five import licences to marketers for the importation of petroleum products.

“Over the weekend, several of the vessels reportedly arrived, and today the refinery reduced the price of AGO, commonly known as diesel, by N200. The reduction is from N1,800 to N1,600,” he stated.

The PETROAN spokesman described the price cut as a direct consequence of market rivalry in the deregulated downstream sector. “This development is widely seen as a positive impact of increased competition in the downstream petroleum sector,” Obele said.

According to him, the latest reduction may have been strategically targeted at importers whose products were already en route to the country, “as the new selling price at the Dangote refinery is significantly lower than the landing cost of the importers”.

Obele maintained that the development further strengthened arguments against monopoly in the petroleum sector. “All hail competition and say no to monopoly in the petroleum industry. The more the competition, the better prices consumers will enjoy,” he added.

The development comes amid an ongoing legal dispute involving the Dangote refinery against the Attorney General of the Federation and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited over fuel importation into Nigeria.

The refinery had approached the Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge the issuance of petroleum import licences by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to some marketers and oil trading firms.

The Dangote refinery, in the suit, reportedly argued that the continued issuance of import permits was undermining local refining and discouraging investments in domestic petroleum production.

The refinery also maintained that Nigeria has sufficient local refining capacity to meet domestic demand and therefore questioned the justification for continued fuel imports.

But the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited told the Federal High Court in Lagos that petroleum products from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE are sold at “significantly high and fluctuating market prices”, warning that granting the refinery’s requests could hand it monopoly control of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

FCMB Group Plc has said the Ojude Oba Festival is no longer just a cultural celebration but a growing economic driver that is increasingly shaping tourism, enterprise development, and creative industry opportunities in Nigeria.

It stated that as global attention turns to Ijebu-Ode, the century-old festival reflects a new generation’s embrace of heritage, identity, and cultural confidence, stressing that every year in Ijebu-Ode, history arrives on horseback.

“It comes draped in aso-ofi and embroidered fabrics. It moves to the rhythm of drums, prayers, and praise chants. It gathers in age-grade regberegbe processions and the proud pageantry of warrior families whose histories span generations.

“What began over a century ago as a gathering of Muslim converts paying homage to the Awujale — Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland — has evolved into one of Africa’s most recognised cultural spectacles, a living expression of memory, identity, enterprise, and belonging,” the bank stated in a statement.

It noted that for FCMB Group Plc, Ojude Oba represents something even deeper: the reawakening of cultural confidence across Africa. Speaking ahead of the 2026 Ojude Oba Festival, FCMB said the growing global fascination with the festival reflects a broader shift among Africans at home and in the diaspora who are reconnecting with indigenous identity, heritage, and community in ways that feel modern, aspirational, and globally relevant.

“Ojude Oba is no longer simply a cultural festival,” said FCMB’s Divisional Head of Corporate Affairs, Diran Olojo. “It has become a powerful expression of how African culture continues to evolve without losing its roots. What we are witnessing is the meeting point of heritage and modern identity, where tradition is not preserved as nostalgia, but lived confidently and projected to the world.”

This year’s festival, themed “Celebrating the Legacy of Oba Sikiru Adetona,” will be held on May 29 in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. The event honours the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, whose reign transformed Ojude Oba from a respected local celebration into a globally recognised cultural institution that now attracts visitors, creatives, entrepreneurs, investors, and media attention from around the world.

The bank stated that for more than two decades, it has maintained a steady relationship with the festival, long before social media amplified its visual splendour globally. According to the Group, that commitment has always been rooted in recognising that enduring cultural institutions play an important role in strengthening social cohesion, preserving collective memory, and supporting economic activity.

Across hotels, fashion houses, catering, transportation, photography, entertainment, trade, and tourism, the festival now supports a wide ecosystem of livelihoods and enterprise extending beyond Ogun State.

“At a time when nations are searching for authentic expressions of identity and influence, culture has become one of Africa’s strongest assets,” Olojo said. “Festivals like Ojude Oba demonstrate that heritage and enterprise are not separate conversations. Culture creates emotional connection, but it also creates opportunity, visibility, confidence, and economic value for communities.”

FCMB noted that the renewed attention around Ojude Oba also reflects a generational shift in how younger Africans engage with tradition — not as an obligation, but as identity, style, and self-expression.

Among the cultural figures associated with this renewed energy is Farooq Oreagba, whose now-iconic appearances at the festival have come to symbolise Ojude Oba’s expanding global visibility and contemporary appeal. FCMB said collaborations with cultural personalities are guided by shared values around authenticity, responsible influence, creativity, and pride in African identity.

The Group also paid tribute to the late Awujale for preserving the dignity and continuity of the institution over decades of social change, while commending the Regent Awujale and Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Olorogun (Dr) Sonny Kuku, for sustaining the kingdom’s cultural vision and unity during this important transition period.

FCMB further acknowledged the contributions of the Ogun State Government, the Ojude Oba Festival Organising Committee, community leaders, the regberegbe groups, and the wider Ijebu community for sustaining one of Nigeria’s most enduring cultural landmarks.

The Chairman of the Ojude Oba Festival Organising Committee, Chief Olu Okuboyejo, described the festival as a symbol of continuity, peaceful coexistence, and collective pride.

“Ojude Oba remains one of the greatest cultural assets of the Ijebu people and an important contribution to Nigeria’s cultural diplomacy,” he said. “This year, almost ninety age groups and twenty-five warrior families will participate in the celebrations.”

“Today, as cameras from across the world turn toward Ijebu-Ode once again, Ojude Oba continues to tell a larger story — that African culture is not fading into memory. It is adapting, expanding, and finding new relevance across generations and borders.