The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Nigerian Institute of Petroleum and Gas Engineers have advocated increased adoption of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to improve operations in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

This was disclosed during a courtesy visit by the President-elect of NIPetGE, Prisca Kanebi, and her delegation to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, represented by the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power and New Energy, Mr Olalekan Ogunleye, in Abuja.

According to a statement made available on Sunday, discussions at the meeting focused on the future of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon industry amid global energy transition concerns, technological changes and sustainability targets.

The statement indicated that the NNPCL acknowledged the role of NIPetGE in policy advocacy, technical development and innovation within the sector.

Speaking during the meeting, Kanebi highlighted recommendations from the institute’s recent conference, including the proposed establishment of a national centre for intelligent energy systems to support the deployment of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and robotics across the petroleum value chain.

She also commended the Federal Government’s decarbonisation efforts and reiterated the institute’s support for policies aimed at improving sustainability in the industry.

The institute also recommended the creation of a hydrocarbon-linked emissions trading system to allow Nigeria to take part in global carbon markets.

The institute also proposed fiscal incentives to support local manufacturing and service delivery in the oil and gas sector, as well as the expansion of the Energy Transition Plan to include measurable upstream decarbonisation targets backed by tax credits.

Other proposals included increased public-private partnerships in emission control infrastructure, carbon capture projects and hybrid renewable energy initiatives.

Both organisations also stressed the need for stronger collaboration between industry and academic institutions to improve professional capacity and align petroleum engineering practice in Nigeria with international standards.

The institute further disclosed that its bill seeking chartered status had passed second reading and was progressing towards a third hearing at the National Assembly.

It was added that NNPCL pledged support for future collaborations with the institute on initiatives aimed at improving efficiency and innovation in the energy sector.

Fidelity Bank Plc has reported a 45 per cent increase in gross earnings for the 2025 financial year, as the lender’s shareholders’ funds crossed the N1tn mark following sustained balance sheet expansion and fresh capital injection.

Analysis from the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, submitted to the NGX on Tuesday, reveals that the bank delivered robust results across key financial metrics, including Gross Earnings, which stood at N1.5tn, up from N1.04tn reported in 2024.

Net Interest Income rose to N831.3bn, compared to N629.7bn in 2024, reflecting the bank’s stronger earnings capacity amid elevated interest rates and growth in interest-earning assets.

Interest and similar income calculated using the effective interest rate rose 38.7 per cent to N1.11tn in 2025 from N803.05bn in 2024, while other interest and similar income increased 25.1 per cent to N184.51tn.

Net interest income after credit loss also rose significantly by 41.2 per cent to N809.74bn from N573.33bn. The bank also recorded an improvement in asset quality costs, as credit loss expense moderated to N21.61bn from N56.44bn, representing a 61.7 per cent improvement year-on-year.

Fidelity Bank continued to expand its digital banking footprint, enhance customer experience, and support key sectors of the economy. Non-interest revenue performance remained strong during the period, with fee and commission income increasing 44.7 per cent to N113.36bn from N78.36bn. This was driven by letters of credit commissions and fees (N12.5bn), ATM charges and fees (N11.6bn), commission on travellers’ cheques and foreign bills (N8.9bn), account maintenance charges (N7.13bn) and commission on e-banking activities (N2.2bn).

Other operating income rose 200.5 per cent to N8.24bn, while foreign currency revaluation gains surged 749.9 per cent to N99.58bn from N11.72bn in 2024.

Fidelity Bank’s investment assets expanded significantly during the year, reflecting the bank’s stronger positioning in fixed income and other securities markets. Debt instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income rose 199 per cent to N557.78bn from N186.57bn, while debt instruments at amortised cost increased 27.2 per cent to N1.97tn from N1.55tn. Equity instruments at FVOCI also rose 26.2 per cent to N87.85bn.

The bank also recorded gains from financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss, which increased 280.7 per cent to N2.75bn. A new gain of N988bn from derecognition activities was also recorded during the period.

On the balance sheet side, cash and cash equivalents increased sharply by 87 per cent to N1.32tn from N707.45bn, indicating stronger liquidity buffers. Restricted balances with the Central Bank of Nigeria also rose to N1.65tn from N1.59tn.

Other assets surged 76.4 per cent to N278.89bn, while investments in property, plant, and equipment rose 161.6 per cent to N203.72bn. Intangible assets climbed 147.5 per cent to N50.44bn, indicating continued investment in technology and operational infrastructure. Deferred tax assets also increased significantly to N33.10bn from N5.31bn.

The bank further reduced debts issued and other borrowed funds to N888.95bn from N929.60bn, reflecting lower reliance on external borrowings. Deferred tax liabilities declined completely from N727m in 2024 to zero in 2025.

The lender’s total assets grew 18.6 per cent to N10.46tn from N8.82tn, driven by growth in liquid assets and investment securities. Customer deposits rose 16.1 per cent to N6.89tn from N5.94tn, reflecting sustained customer confidence and expansion in the bank’s funding base.

Fidelity Bank also strengthened its capital position during the year as total equity increased 21.1 per cent to N1.09tn from N897.87bn, pushing shareholders’ funds above the N1tn mark, reinforcing the lender’s capacity to support larger transactions, absorb shocks, and expand its regional and international banking ambitions.

The bank disclosed that it completed a private placement of 12.9 billion ordinary shares in December 2025, raising fresh capital that increased eligible capital to N532.6bn, above the CBN’s N500bn minimum requirement for banks with international authorisation.

The PUNCH reported that the bank raised N259bn through a Private Placement of ordinary shares, significantly boosting its capital base as the lender intensifies efforts to meet the new regulatory capital requirements for commercial banks with international authorisation.

In a statement issued on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the bank said the Private Placement was conducted following approvals from the CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission and was successfully opened and closed on 31 December 2025.

“Fidelity Bank Plc is pleased to inform the general public that, following approvals granted by the CBN and the SEC, it successfully opened and closed a Private Placement of ordinary shares on 31 December 2025,” the bank stated.

The exercise increased total issued shares from 50.2 billion units to 63.17 billion units, significantly boosting shareholders’ funds beyond the N1tn threshold.

The stronger capital base is expected to improve the lender’s capacity to finance larger transactions, expand lending activities, and support future regional growth opportunities.

Fresh data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has shown that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals exported an estimated 1.66 billion litres of refined petroleum products in April 2026.

This came amid mounting tensions in the Middle East and fears of possible disruption to global fuel supply routes following the growing conflict involving the United States and Iran.

An analysis of the NMDPRA’s April 2026 fact sheet by our correspondent showed that the country exported about 513 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol; 534 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel; and 615 million litres of aviation fuel within the month under review.

The Dangote refinery is the only major functional refinery in Nigeria that currently produces enough refined petroleum products for both local consumption and export.

This is the first month the refinery has exported such a high volume of petroleum products, especially jet fuel and diesel, indicating the significance of the 650,000-barrel-per-day plant in Lekki, Lagos State.

The combined export volume translates to approximately 55.4 million litres daily. The development comes as the international oil market faces fresh uncertainty over the security of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route, following the failure of the United States and Iran to agree on a peace deal.

Industry experts said the rising geopolitical uncertainty had significantly boosted demand for refined petroleum products from alternative suppliers such as Nigeria, especially as Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia scramble for more secure fuel sources.

The NMDPRA document showed that local refineries operated at an average capacity utilisation of 99.12 per cent in April, with the Dangote refinery accounting for the overwhelming share of production.

The regulator stated that the refinery achieved 100 per cent capacity utilisation “for most of the days in April.” The report also indicated that domestic refineries received 18.37 million barrels of crude oil in April, up from 13.11 million barrels recorded in March.

Findings further showed that the refinery maintained strong export momentum despite increased domestic supply obligations. According to the fact sheet, average daily petrol production stood at 53.6 million litres, while 40.7 million litres were supplied locally and 17.1 million litres were exported daily.

Similarly, diesel production averaged 23.6 million litres daily, with exports accounting for 17.8 million litres per day, more than double the domestic supply volume of 8 million litres daily. For aviation fuel, exports stood at 20.5 million litres daily, compared to the domestic supply of 2.6 million litres per day.

The strong aviation fuel export performance comes weeks after reports emerged that domestic airline operators threatened to shut down over the rising cost of the fuel.

There are reports that Nigeria has become a net petrol exporter for the first time in decades due to rising output from the Dangote refinery. The refinery had earlier exported about 434 million litres of petrol in March after domestic production exceeded local consumption levels.

The latest figures underscore Nigeria’s gradual transition from a major importer of refined petroleum products to an export hub within Africa. It was observed that jet fuel exports may rise further if instability in the Middle East continues to disrupt traditional supply chains serving Europe and other regions.

The Middle East accounts for a substantial share of global aviation fuel exports, with the Strait of Hormuz serving as a strategic transit corridor for crude oil and refined petroleum products. The prolonged disruption in the region has tightened global fuel supply and pushed up prices internationally.

The NMDPRA report also revealed that Nigerians consumed an average of 51.1 million litres of petrol daily in April, slightly above the 50 million litres benchmark estimated by the regulator. Diesel consumption stood at 17.3 million litres daily, while aviation fuel consumption averaged 2.5 million litres per day.

Despite increased local refining activity, petrol prices remained elevated across the country. The regulator attributed prevailing prices partly to international crude oil costs, which averaged $120.55 per barrel during the month, while gasoline costs stood at $1,074.97 per metric tonne.

The refinery, with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is expected to play a central role in Nigeria’s energy security and foreign exchange earnings as global fuel trade patterns shift amid geopolitical tensions.

As the Nigerian refinery exports petrol, the NMDPRA has continued to issue licences for the importation of petrol.

Four banks have published details of no fewer than 321,181 dormant accounts following a directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria,

This comes as economic analysts have warned that the CBN directive raises major concerns around customer communication, account reactivation procedures, business failures, and privacy.

The published dormant accounts span individuals, companies, cooperatives, churches, clubs, community associations, and small businesses that have remained inactive for over 10 years.

The banks include Access Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Fidelity Bank Plc.

The disclosures followed the CBN’s July 2024 Guidelines on Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances and Other Financial Assets, which directed financial institutions to publish dormant account details on their websites six months before such funds become eligible for transfer to the apex bank’s Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund Pool Account.

Analysis of the published records showed that Access Bank listed 243,934 dormant accounts, Stanbic IBTC published 26,135 dormant accounts, Fidelity Bank disclosed about 61,900 dormant accounts, while Union Bank published 212 dormant and unclaimed accounts that had remained inactive for 10 years and above.

The combined figure from the four banks stood at about 321,181 dormant accounts. Findings from the Access Bank register showed an almost even split between individual and corporate dormant accounts, indicating that business inactivity contributed heavily to the rising dormant account volumes across the banking industry.

A full extraction of the Access Bank document showed 122,390 individual accounts and 120,718 corporate accounts, representing 50.34 per cent and 49.66 per cent, respectively.

The Fidelity Bank register showed a significantly different pattern, with corporate accounts accounting for about 79 per cent of dormant accounts. The document, which spanned 693 pages, contained approximately 48,900 corporate dormant accounts and about 13,000 individual dormant accounts.

The accounts reflected widespread inactivity among SMEs, oil and gas firms, logistics operators, churches, schools, hospitality businesses, pharmaceutical firms, marine operators, and informal trading businesses.

Several dormant accounts were linked to Lagos commercial districts such as Idumota, Oyingbo, Allen Avenue, Awolowo Road, and Ladipo, while major clusters also appeared around Port Harcourt oil-service corridors and northern trading centres.

Union Bank’s list, though significantly smaller at 212 entries, largely consisted of cooperatives, clubs, churches, associations, alumni bodies, women’s groups, and community development unions spread across the country.

Stanbic IBTC’s dormant accounts register, which exceeded 1,520 pages, showed strong concentrations in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kaduna, and Maiduguri. The document contained mostly current accounts, including salary accounts, joint accounts, and a smaller number of corporate and institutional accounts.

Meanwhile, some major lenders adopted different approaches. United Bank for Africa Plc did not publish a dormant accounts register but instead maintained an unclaimed dividend list.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Zenith Bank Plc provided dedicated portals for customers to search for affected accounts rather than publishing comprehensive lists.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc published dormant account management guidelines without attaching a dormant accounts document, while Ecobank Nigeria offered dormant account reactivation services but did not publish a Nigerian dormant accounts list.

Analysts react

In phone interviews with The PUNCH, analysts and finance stakeholders addressed the implications for bank-customer communications, improved customer relations, and privacy concerns. They also noted that the data from the documents revealed the state of business and corporate account holder closures/ dormancy.

The Director of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, said the CBN directive highlighted shortcomings in customer communication by banks. “I think it’s more about getting the banks to communicate a lot more with their customers because if the CBN is compelling them to publish, it’s a communication issue,” Yusuf said.

“So, the bank needs to do a lot more to get in touch with its customers. This is a customer service issue, actually, to know what exactly is happening, why they are not active in their accounts, what they can do to resuscitate their accounts.”

Yusuf added that worsening economic conditions and rising SME failures contributed heavily to dormant corporate accounts. “The mortality rate of businesses has grown significantly. When you are running a business, you have an account, and the business collapses because of a whole lot of issues. You just walk away from everything,” Yusuf said.

“The economic situation and the high rate of business mortality, especially among micro-enterprises, small businesses, and even medium-sized businesses, are also factors.”

He also criticised account reactivation procedures, saying cumbersome documentation discouraged customers from reviving dormant accounts. “We need to simplify as much as possible the process of resuscitating dormant accounts,” Yusuf said. “If I have my ID card, I will give you my name. I have my BVN. I have my NIN. Why are you asking me for the NEPA bill?”

Yusuf further called for reforms to simplify access to funds belonging to deceased account holders. “It’s not fair for the families of people who have died to have huge amounts of money in their accounts, and they cannot access it,” Yusuf said. “We have to simplify the process. The process is very, very bureaucratic.”

Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Uyo, Akpan Ekpo, questioned the rationale behind publishing dormant account details publicly.

“The Central Bank has examiners who can go to a bank and ask for accounts and know what they have to do without making it public,” Ekpo said. “For me, it bothers me about privacy. Because if you publish that person A has a dormant account, it doesn’t look good in terms of the environment we are living in. You can expose the person.”

Ekpo said the apex bank already possessed enough regulatory powers to inspect dormant accounts directly from banks without public disclosure.

“I don’t see any reason why that has a monetary policy purpose,” Ekpo said. “They should communicate more about why they want to do it.”

Former President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Idahosa, said dormant accounts emerged for several reasons, including bank mergers, customer relocations, deaths, and abandoned businesses.

“Companies collapsed, failed, and the owners did not bother to withdraw all the balances from accounts,” Idahosa said. “People who passed on and do not have the next of kin to open their accounts. There are all kinds of reasons why accounts become dormant.”

Idahosa said many customers abandoned small balances because of the stress associated with account recovery. “A couple of people tried to go to the new banks that inherited their accounts from the other banks. Especially for small amounts, people just forgot about it because of the trouble pursuing it,” Idahosa said.

He also warned that publication of dormant account holders could trigger legal disputes and privacy concerns. “Ordinarily, the central bank should not do that because of the privacy doctrine in the relationship between the customer and the bank,” Idahosa said. “A lawyer or a group of lawyers, or even civil society organisations, can go to court to prevent the central bank from doing so.”

He added, “It could lead to some chaos in some families, who may find that their parents have lots of money in an account and they never knew about it. Now there will be battles among the children to come and get it.”

Under the 2024 guidelines, the CBN said dormant accounts and unclaimed balances had become vulnerable to fraud and abuse.

The apex bank stated that dormant balances eligible for transfer included current accounts, savings accounts, domiciliary accounts, prepaid card wallets, unclaimed salaries, stale drafts, deposits for shares, and abandoned financial assets that had remained inactive for at least 10 years.

The CBN also directed banks to notify dormant account owners regularly through emails, text messages, and letters, while maintaining audit trails and quarterly reporting obligations.

The equities market extended its bullish run on Monday as the All-Share Index crossed the 250,000-point mark, with investors gaining over N3tn amid sustained buying interest in key stocks.

Data from Nigerian Exchange Limited showed that the ASI advanced 2.33 per cent to close at 250,485.54 points, pushing the market’s year-to-date return to 60.97 per cent from 57.30 per cent recorded in the previous session.

Equities market capitalisation rose from N157.09tn to N160.26tn, while total market capitalisation stood at N215.89tn at the close of trading.

The rally was driven by strong demand for stocks, including RT Briscoe, FTN Cocoa Processors and Livestock Feeds, alongside continued activity in banking and telecommunications counters.

Trading activity strengthened during the session as total volume traded rose 30.82 per cent to 1.51 billion shares, while the value of transactions increased 17.23 per cent to N70.10bn exchanged in 95,093 deals.

Investor sentiment also improved sharply, with market breadth rising to 2.76x in the previous session as 56 stocks gained against 21 decliners, indicating stronger participation across the market.

The most active stocks by value traded were MTN Nigeria, First HoldCo, Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank and GTCO, which accounted for a significant share of total market turnover.

Year-to-date equities turnover also increased to N3.37tn, while average daily value traded climbed to N38.74bn, highlighting sustained liquidity and continued investor participation in the market.

Analysts said the continued rally reflects stronger domestic participation, improving liquidity conditions and sustained interest in equities despite mixed sentiment across other asset classes.

Commenting on the market activities, Vice Chairman of Highcap Securities, David Adonri, said the sustained rally reflects improving investor confidence, strong liquidity and increased positioning in fundamentally sound stocks.

President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is targeting a valuation of $50bn for his Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals ahead of a planned stock market listing later this year, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Dangote wants investors to know that the refinery, which commenced operations in 2024, is now valued at $50bn. Bloomberg reports that the refinery company could sell up to a 10 per cent stake through the Nigerian stock exchange, implying a potential offering size of about $5bn.

A senior executive at the Dangote Group confirmed that the projected valuation aligns with the company’s current internal expectations but declined to provide additional details on the planned transaction.

The planned listing comes as stronger global crude oil prices and growing domestic fuel demand improve the commercial outlook for the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery, which has increasingly become a dominant player in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.

Dangote is planning a landmark cross-border public offering of his $20bn oil refinery in a move that could reshape capital markets across Africa and deepen regional investor participation, Bloomberg revealed on Monday.

The proposed listing, which will see shares of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals floated on multiple African stock exchanges, is being positioned as the first pan-African initial public offering of its scale.

Details of the plan emerged recently following a meeting in Lagos involving Dangote and the chief executives of several African bourses under the umbrella of the African Securities Exchanges Association.

Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Frank Mwiti, who attended the meeting, disclosed that discussions centred on structuring a cross-border listing framework that would allow investors across the continent to participate in the refinery’s ownership.

“The plan is to structure a pan-African IPO,” Mwiti said after the meeting, noting that the initiative would require coordination among exchanges to ease regulatory barriers and facilitate seamless trading across jurisdictions.

A spokesman for the Dangote Group confirmed that the meeting took place but declined to provide further details on the structure and timeline of the proposed offering.

The development comes months after Dangote unveiled plans to list about 10 per cent of the refinery on the Nigerian Exchange Group in 2026, a move widely seen as part of efforts to unlock value and broaden the company’s investor base.

To drive the offering, Dangote has appointed a consortium of financial advisers, including Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Vetiva Advisory Services Limited, and FirstCap Limited

The Chief Executive Officer of FirstCap, Ukandu Ukandu, confirmed the appointments, stating that the advisers were already working on the transaction structure.

It was noted that a multi-exchange listing could significantly deepen liquidity in African capital markets while positioning Nigeria as a major hub for cross-border investments, especially as the country eyes a return to the FTSE Russell Frontier Markets Index.

They added that the offering could also provide much-needed capital to support Dangote’s aggressive expansion strategy.

Currently, the refinery, the largest single-train facility in the world, has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. However, Dangote plans to more than double this to 1.4 million barrels per day within the next three years, a scale that would rival global refining giants, including facilities owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

To fund this expansion, the company recently secured backing from the African Export-Import Bank, which underwrote $2.5bn out of a $4bn syndicated financing facility.

Lasaco Assurance Plc has kicked off the 2026 financial year with a formidable performance, reinforcing investor confidence and strengthening its ongoing recapitalisation drive. The insurer’s Q1 2026 results for the period ended 31 March 2026, revealed an impressive 81.5 per cent growth in profit after tax, climbing to N2.36bn.

This surge was supported by a 119.6 per cent jump in insurance service results and a 74.7 per cent increase in net insurance and investment income, signalling a period of aggressive growth and operational refinement.

The company’s balance sheet further reflected this upward trajectory, with total assets rising 16.6 per cent to reach N46.20bn, while shareholders’ funds grew to N22.86bn. Notably, Lasaco returned to a positive retained earnings position from a deficit in the previous year, a move industry analysts say underscores significantly improved earnings quality and stronger internal capital generation.

Commenting on the results, the Managing Director of Lasaco Assurance Plc, Ademoye Shobo, said, “These results reflect the company’s continued focus on operational efficiency, customer-centric innovation, and sustainable growth. The recapitalisation initiative aligns with regulatory requirements set by the National Insurance Commission while also serving as a strategic platform for expansion, innovation, and increased market competitiveness.”

On the progress of the rights issue, Shobo said, “By strengthening our capital base, Lasaco Assurance Plc is better positioned to underwrite larger risks, deepen market penetration, and compete more effectively in an evolving insurance landscape. Early indications point to encouraging participation from existing shareholders, reflecting sustained confidence in our strategy, leadership, and growth prospects.

“The combination of strong earnings performance and recapitalisation progress places Lasaco in a favourable position to unlock new growth opportunities, particularly within underserved segments. With shareholders demonstrating continued confidence through active participation in the rights issue, the drive appears firmly on track to enhance financial resilience and long-term stability.”

Riding on the momentum of this Q1 performance, Lasaco is progressing towards the completion of its Rights Issue, a key pillar of its capital-raising journey. The company’s recent product innovations and customer-focused offerings are expected to benefit heavily from the enhanced capital base, driving further growth in the coming quarters.

As the Nigerian insurance industry continues to evolve under new regulatory thresholds, Lasaco Assurance is positioning itself as a better-capitalised player, ready to capture emerging opportunities and deliver sustainable value to its stakeholders through a well-optimised investment strategy and disciplined underwriting.