Adeleye sated this in his address during the recent WorldStage Nigeria’s Macro-economic Outlook 2026 presentation in Lagos.

In the speech, the WorldStage boss explored how nurturing the synergy between local media and corporate organizations can ensure steady flows of business and investment information.

President Bola Tinubu said recently that his government will cut tariffs on media equipment coming to the country, hoping to provide some relief for the media industry.

“But with media houses now transforming to offer online products and services, the extent to which they will benefit from such tariffs cut may be very minimal,” Adeleye said.

According to him, the only reasonable revenue source in the industry is advertising, whose window has been closing over the years.

He offered another look into the Federal Government’s “Nigeria First” policy through the lens of the media sector and the local advertisers he said make profits in Nigeria but spend the bulk of their ad dollars on foreign media to look good.

“The policy can be explored to compel local businesses to prioritize the local media. This is important because many Nigeria’s blue chips spend millions of dollars to promote their businesses in foreign media with little regards for the local players,” he said.

“The way forward, I think, should be for President Bola Tinubu to issue an Executive Order mandating local firms to commit nothing less than 80 percent of their advertising budget to local media.”

He commended sponsors of the outlook, which include the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Zenith Bank, NLNG, CBN, NNPC Limited, Linkage Assurance, and Fidelity Bank.

“I believe if most Nigerian firms can emulate NLNG in terms of social responsibility and commitment to local media, there will be no need of seeking for an Executive Order for them to do the needful,” he said.

The outlook reflected hopes, projections, optimism for Nigeria’s economy, with caution, according to its reviewer, Lagos Commissioner for Information Gbenga Omotoso.

Adeleye said a sequel to the outlook, Q1 2026 Report, will provide actionable insights for policymakers, businesses, and investors, informing strategies for growth and development.

The results, shared during its earnings call with analysts, underscore a year of strong operational delivery.

Building on this performance, the Company unveiled its strategic roadmap to drive sustained growth and support Nigeria’s energy transition through 2030.

The plan prioritises increased oil and gas production and outlines a $60 billion investment pipeline across the energy value chain.

2024 Financial Highlights

NNPC Limited’s results demonstrate strengthened financial resilience and enhanced operational efficiency:

• Revenue: ₦45.1 Trillion, 88% year-on-year growth
• Profit After Tax: ₦5.4 Trillion, 64% year-on-year growth
• Earnings Per Share: ₦27.07, 64% year-on-year growth

“The earnings highlight the positive momentum of our ongoing transformation and the unwavering commitment of our workforce,” said Bashir Bayo Ojulari, group chief executive officer, NNPC Limited. “They offer a solid foundation for the ambitious growth ahead, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate, and reaffirm our commitment to delivering value to Nigerians.”

A Roadmap for Sustained Growth and Energy Security

NNPC Limited is accelerating investments across upstream operations, gas infrastructure, and clean energy to extend growth into the next decade. Key strategic targets include:

• Increasing crude oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 and 3 million bpd by 2030.
• Growing natural gas production to 10 bcf/d by 2027 and 12 bcf/d by 2030 and completing major gas infrastructure projects such as Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK), Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) pipelines to strengthen domestic supply and regional integration.
• Mobilising $60 billion in investments across the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors by 2030.

“Our transformation is anchored on transparency, innovation, and disciplined growth,” Ojulari added. We are positioning NNPC Limited as a globally competitive energy company capable of delivering sustainable returns while powering the future of Nigeria and Africa.”

Today, NNPC Limited plays a pivotal role across the entire oil and gas value chain, from exploration and production to refining and distribution, driving growth and energy security for Nigeria and the continent.

Mr. Odeh assumes the role of chief corporate communications officer, while Mrs. Adewunmi has been appointed chief relations officer.

Mr. Odeh brings over three decades of extensive experience in communications and business administration across the oil and gas, advertising, and broadcasting sectors. Prior to joining NNPC, he had a distinguished 26-year career at Nigeria LNG (NLNG).

There, he held various leadership roles in Community Relations and Development; Business Logistics and Services; Information Management and Technology; Corporate Communications and Public Affairs; Government Relations and Regulatory Compliance, and most recently, General Manager of External Relations and Sustainable Development.

He is recognized for his work on major public relations and advertising campaigns for top brands. At NLNG, he successfully managed the company’s rebranding and implemented one of Nigeria’s best-run micro-credit schemes for host communities.

Mr. Odeh was also instrumental in instituting the NLNG Prize for Energy Reporting.

He is an alumnus of the University of Jos, the University of Lagos, INSEAD Business School, and the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), among others.

Mrs. Adewunmi is a legal professional with over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Her expertise is in stakeholder management and advocacy, particularly from her extensive tenure at the Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCIN).

She is highly regarded for her ability to navigate complex external landscapes, ensuring regulatory compliance and protecting the company’s “License to operate”.

At Shell, she held key roles, including Regulatory Affairs Manager, where she managed all mandatory regulatory engagements and permits. As the Government Relations Manager, she built and maintained constructive relationships with the Presidency, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

Mrs. Adewunmi is known for her strong leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and ability to build robust stakeholder networks.

She is a subject matter expert on non-technical risks and has a background in law from the Nigerian Law School and Olabisi Onabanjo University.

The appointment of Mr. Odeh and Mrs. Adewunmi reflects NNPC Limited’s commitment to enhancing communication and engagement with stakeholders.

In a world press conference held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, Mr. Umar Ajiya the chief financial officer of the Company, said the release of the AFS is a testament to the Company’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

“Our fiscal performance reflects both strategic foresight and operational resilience. Despite inherent challenges of our operational and economic environment, we have improved the productivity and the financial performance of this great company,” Ajiya stated.

Ajiya added that posting such impressive returns demonstrates NNPC Ltd’s commitment to sustaining profitability and supporting the attainment of national energy security as stipulated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, and by extension, as expected by the Company’s shareholders.

Explaining that the NNPC Ltd will announce Initial Public offer (IPO) once the shareholders and Board make a decision, Ajiya also debunked claims on subsidy payment, saying the Company was only taking care of PMS importation shortfall between it and the Federation.

Speaking earlier at the press conference, the Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure said that the excellent performance came as the fruit of the PIA 2021, the commitment of the Board, Management and staff of the company.

Akinyelure added that the shareholders of the company have since approved a final dividend of N2.1trn in line with PIA 2021 provisions.

In her remarks at the briefing, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the executive vice president, Upstream, said with improvements witnessed as a result of the renewed vigour in the war against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, NNPC Ltd is targeting 2million barrels per day crude oil production by the the end of the year.

On the current fuel queues in parts of Lagos and the FCT, Mr. Dapo Segun, the executive vice president, Downstream, appealed for understanding from Nigerians, saying that the the Company is working with relevant stakeholders to address the distribution, evacuation and logistics challenges.

It would be recalled that in 2021, NNPC declared profit in its operations for the first time.  From a loss position of N803 billion in 2018, it reduced the loss further down to N1.7 billion in 2019.

However, in 2020, it posted its ‘first ever’ profit of N287 billion, then in 2021, it recorded a N674.1 billion profit and in 2022, the profit grew to N2.548, an unprecedented achievement in its financial performance.

The N3.297 trillion profit declared for 2023 is the highest since the Company’s inception, 46 years ago.

A statement signed by Olufemi Soneye, chief corporate communications officer, NNPC Ltd., quoted Kyari, who was addressing the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee investigating alleged economic sabotage in the Nigeria Petroleum Industry at the National Assembly on Wednesday, stating that refining business is a straightforward business which any investor should know before coming into the market.

“Refining business is a straightforward business. You must secure (a source for) your feedstock and you must find a market. This is basic and this determines what happens in any refinery anywhere in the world. That is the business of refining. We have done nothing to sabotage any domestic refinery,” Kyari stated.

According to the GCEO, the law is very clear on domestic crude oil supply obligation and also on providing for local refineries. However, Kyari added, the same law also said that there must be a willing buyer and a willing seller.

On alleged importation of sub-standard products into the country, Kyari said the NNPC Limited has nothing to do with that as the relevant regulatory agencies will, by law, not allow any sub-standard product into the country.

The GCEO also supported calls for the Ad-hoc Committee to beam the interactive sessions live on national television to prevent misinforming Nigerians.

He explained that there is enough infrastructure to produce two million barrels of crude per day but the challenges of crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and absence of investment in the upstream are the major factors hindering the sector.

He said as a company owned by the over 200 million Nigerians, the NNPC Limited has grown from a loss-making position to a profit-making entity.

While pledging full co-operation towards the Committee in its efforts to unravel the allegations being investigated, Kyari said the NNPC Limited, its entire board, management and staff remain loyal, faithful and committed to Nigeria and will continue to act in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the Company & Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and other enabling laws and regulations governing the nation’s energy Industry.

“We are faithful, loyal and committed to the progress and development of this country. It is our duty to protect the overall interest of this great nation. We are not in breach of any rules,” Kyari concluded.

The Company in its latest outlook report titled ‘Pulling Back from the Precipice’, said NNPC limited, Veritasi Homes, Nigeria Reinsurance, Nigeria Machine Company, Haldane McCall, and Eleme Petrochemicals are possible listings on the NGX.

“The debut listing of VFD Group Plc and Mecure Industries Plc on the Nigerian equities market resulted in an inflow of N86.5 billion as of December 15, 2023,” the report said.

It said the entrants have contributed to the deepening of the market, and the NGX would anticipate additional listings to further enhance market depth,” the report said.

The report also revealed that the top 10 performing stocks in 2023 are Transcorp Hotels at 1,022.9 percent, Chams with 795.5 percent, CWG at 721.8 percent and Transcorp at 666.4 percent.

Others are MRS Oil (644.7 percent), Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (639.8 percent), Japual Gold and Ventures (507.1 percent), Ikeja Hotel (471.4 percent), FTN Cocoa processors (410.3 percent), Skyway Aviation Handling Company (407.0 percent).

The equities market closed last year with a capitalisation of N40.9 trillion and NGX All Share Index at 74,773.7 points. The market finished 2023 with returns of 45.9 percent.

“The equity market has benefited from recent government reforms, but challenges like inflation and fuel price rigidity persist,” analysts at Vetiva Research said in their latest outlook report.

They added that the market’s future trajectory will depend on how these issues are addressed and the government’s commitment to reform implementation, making it a landscape to watch closely in 2024.

“The market outlook remains mixed, with the potential for a currency devaluation by the Central Bank of Nigeria to combat currency pressures not entirely ruled out.

“Simultaneously, the CBN’s increase in stop rates at its primary auction reflects a cautious approach to monetary policy. Investors will closely monitor the pace and sustainability of these reforms and the government’s dedication to their effective implementation,” they added.

On the outlook on consumer goods, Afrinvest noted that they are less bullish on the sector due to the expectation of continued cost pressure on raw material items due to lingering inflationary and FX illiquidity.

“We are mildly bullish on the sector as players are expected to drive higher mobile penetration, however, weak purchasing power could negatively impact our outlook,” it said for the telecoms sector.

For the banking sector, the firm said it is cautiously optimistic and it is hinged on expected normalisation in banks earnings (post positive FX revaluation gain in 2023). (Independent)

===

The amount of queueing Nigerians have been subjected to in the last couple of weeks is unprecedented. It is equally unbecoming. It’s almost like the country had gone back four decades.

Fights have broken out in queues at bank facilities, filling stations and INEC and LGAs offices across the country. There are trending videos of people stripping naked in protest inside banking halls, others hitting each other with queue dividers and one person has been confirmed dead inside a banking hall, somewhere in Asaba. Nigerians born in the 2000s, GenZs, should be forgiven for thinking the end of the world is here.

On a typical day, a person will queue to collect new currency notes at the bank, rush to queue at the filling station to buy supposedly subsidized petrol at exorbitant prices and then drive to the closest INEC office to queue for permanent voter cards (PVCs). This is not sustainable.

The worst part is that no one is accepting responsibility for the inanity.

ALSO READ: Five Steps INEC Should Take to Address Concerns of Disenfranchisement over PVCs – EiE

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has consistently held that the banks are given enough stock of the new naira notes. The endless queues in and around banks question the veracity of this claim. The CBN has now alleged sabotage by the banks and has deployed a monitoring task force to keep an extra eye on their operations. This shows the frosty state of the relationship between the banks and its regulator.

The CBN inspection and ICPC teams have caught a couple of banks hoarding the new naira notes. They should continue the good work that they’re doing to maintain control.

The reality is that the suffering is real, the pain is widespread and anger is rising to a boiling point. The CBN must act to ease the pain. It is a case of demand and supply – make more new naira notes available across the banks, monitor the deployment and see the relief across the land.

The naira redesign, according to the CBN, is expected to strengthen the economy, reduce the expenditure on cash management, promote financial inclusion, and enhance the bank’s visibility of naira supply. It also seeks to drive the quest for a truly cashless society. It is a good thing.

It is a change management issue. The CBN ought to have managed it better. In systematically phasing out the old note, it should have introduced the new notes earlier and ensured availability in ATMs all over the country with a restriction on the amount that can be cashed per time.

The cashless policy beyond the cash supply challenge is a digital banking infrastructure issue. Digital banking deals with everyday essentials, including checking balances, reviewing transactions, making payments and transferring funds, whether using USSD, banking apps or online/web-based systems.

It is thus a sad commentary on the actual state of the nation’s digital financial infrastructure to see apps and servers collapse under the strain of increased traffic. It shows a lot still needs to be done to strengthen the system. Transactions are not completed; alerts fail to arrive and all sorts of strange messages occur for the first time.

During this season of madness, some banks have been heard whispering to customers that the network fault that they are complaining about is failings from the telecommunications side. Telcos do not need to respond to this allegation. They simply need to work closely with financial institutions to make the transactions seamless. The first step in solving a problem is recognising there is one.

ALSO READ: No to Proposed Excise Duty on Telecommunications Services

One more thing, the CBN must also look at removing ALL charges for online and POS transactions in the short term. It can later look at a reduced fee for these transactions as volume has risen.

The N100 and N50 naira notes are not being redesigned, they should be widely available. CBN must stick with the deadline and work assiduously to ease the flow of cash. The cashless economy cannot happen overnight. We can admit that progress has been made.

On the fuel queues which have persisted for over five months, the NNPC Limited consistently claimed it had enough fuel and urged the public to shun panic buying. The problem has remained.

The DSS, in December, gave the NNPC Limited and marketers 48 hours to end fuel scarcity. We are still here.

The House of Representatives also gave the NNPC Limited a week ultimatum to end the artificial scarcity of petroleum. It has long expired without any respite.

The Presidency has equally waded in with little success. The problem has proven intractable.

The economics is difficult to follow. How can the government be budgeting trillions for fuel subsidies and Nigerians are buying at double the approved price? Something is not right here. In a season of a global oil boom, Nigeria may be the only oil-producing nation with citizens queueing long indeterminate hours for fuel. Something is missing here. Someone is not telling Nigerians the truth. Between NNPC Limited and the major Marketers, there is a gulf.

The citizens are been made to suffer and pay for their failings.

In addition, the federal government cannot continue to pretend to be unaware of the problems that Nigerians are going through. It must, as a minimum, look to fix it, apply necessary sanctions and ensure the availability of petroleum products across the country.

The queue for PVCs is another queueing battle Nigerians are currently contending with. News reports indicate that no fewer than 6.7 million Nigerians have yet to collect their PVCs less than four weeks before the general elections. Over two million of this number are in Lagos and Abuja alone.

Before we heap the blame on the citizens, let us remember the reports of missing PVCs, poor communication about collection points and claims of extortion against INEC officials since the collection of the cards commenced on 12 December. Some people have complained on social media of discrimination from compromised INEC officials stalling the release of PVCs to people from a particular tribe, especially in Lagos State. Many people were told their PVCs had not been printed after over six months of registering. That is untidy on the part of INEC. Bank ATMs cards are now printed on demand why should PVCs take forever?

Thankfully, the umpire has been responsive. It set up collection centres in the wards, started sending text messages to people to ease the process and even extended the collection deadline.

These are good steps. But INEC can do better. INEC must do better. Registration and collection on PVCs should be open all year round in its offices. This ad-hoc, fire-brigade approach doesn’t cut it any more.

The PVC queue is important. It is expected to prove useful in determining the next leader of the country. February 25, 2023, Nigerians will have to queue to cast their votes. Let us queue patiently on the day. When we queue and vote wisely, we can take back Nigeria

Eromosele, a Corporate Communication professional and public affairs analyst lives in Lagos.

The company gave this commendation following the declaration by Mallam Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), at the just concluded Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, that the government is focusing on the development of gas as an energy transition fuel.

Oluseun Solanke-Ebhojie, Partner and Associate Director at BCG Nigeria, said Nigeria’s energy transition plan is consistent with the Paris Agreement to keep global warming to less than 2oC, to which Nigeria has consented.

She stated that gas was a good choice as an energy transition fuel due to its greater cost competitiveness, ability to replace fossil fuel use in many industries and reduce the carbon footprints in the country.

Solanke explained that the country’s gas reserves of about 206.53 trillion cubic feet were sufficient to meet local demand and for exportation.

To achieve significant growth in the energy transition process, she pointed out that (NNPC) investment in gas infrastructure and charging ports for electric vehicles will accelerate the plans.

She said, “At a time when global economies are striving to recover from the impact of coronavirus and a slowing economy, the need to switch to sustainable energy is imperative. The ambitious plans of the government to convert car engines from petrol to gas-powered engines should be supported with infrastructure buildout such as storage facilities, pipelines and service stations that will enable access to gas supplies and boost consumption.

“Also, investment and adoption of gas technologies and innovation have proven to deliver a reduction in direct emissions, thereby enabling the decarbonisation goals to be reached.”

At the NOG conference, Kyari identified gas as a critical resource in Nigeria’s energy mix and transition plans, saying that opportunities to create wealth for the country had been seen in the growing local and international demand for gas.

The NNPC Limited is encouraging the production and use of about one million electric vehicles by partnering with indigenous car manufacturers.

BCG’s team of experts are dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, and energy as well as helping leaders identify their greatest opportunities.