Economy
CBN’s Monetary Policies Boosted Economy, Stock Market—Elumelu
By Dipo Olowookere
Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr Tony Elumelu, has heaped praises on Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele.
According to the Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the fiscal and monetary policies put in place by the apex bank when Nigeria was in recession in 2016 helped in the putting back the economy on its feet.
Mr Elumelu further said the interventions of the CBN also buoyed the performance of the stock market last year, which closed over 40 percent higher, making it among the top five performers in the world in 2017.
Speaking in an interview with ThisDay, the serial entrepreneur, who is presently in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF), disclosed that he has a huge confidence in the nation’s economic recovery especially with the equities market sustaining its gains.
As at the close of business on Tuesday, January 23, 2018, the Nigerian stock market has risen by 16.07 percent this year alone and analysts believe the market will close 2018 higher than last year.
Mr Elumelu praised the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, saying “their commitment to governance and market integrity has increased investors’ confidence in the market.”
He said further that, “Consolidating on the 42 percent rally in 2017, the benchmark All Share Index has gained 18 percent year-to-date, an unprecedented return in recent times, driven by renewed local and foreign investor confidence in the Nigerian economy and markets.
“The valuation of the Nigerian market, which is currently on a 14.5x P/E, still trades at a discount to its frontier market peers and more so, at a gross undervaluation to emerging market peers, especially when we take the improving fundamentals of the economy in perspective.
“Further reinforcing prospects for the equities market, is the moderating yield on fixed income securities, given the lower interest rate outlook. I fully expect fund managers to continue to allocate increasing money to Nigerian equities.”
Speaking further, the Chairman of Transcorp Plc said, “The fruits of patient and judicious central bank interventions are being rewarded by increasing local and international investor confidence, demonstrated by the recent unprecedented performance of the Nigerian equities market and the broader improvement in the domestic macroeconomic environment.”
According to him, “Nigeria’s external reserves, which are now at almost a five-year-high, have grown to over $40 billion, just as trade and current account balances are now positive. This strong performance underpins the naira today and will indeed ensure its stability in the near and medium term.
“Inflation, which peaked at 18.7 percent a year ago, has continuously trended downwards to 15.37 percent in December 2017, with a benign outlook of further moderation, as both food and core inflation ease.
“These impressive positive developments are a clear demonstration of effective monetary policy management and businesses across Nigeria need to recognise the role of the CBN governor.”
“I salute the unwavering tenacity and enterprise of the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, for his initiative in creating the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window and, more importantly, the commitment of the governor in ensuring the efficient functioning of this market.
“The I&E window has attracted over $15 billion to Nigeria, enhanced the liquidity of the FX market, reduced speculative demand for foreign currency, stabilised the naira and provided the vital foundation for renewed local and foreign investors’ confidence in the Nigerian market,” Mr Elumelu said.
He also commended President Muhammadu Buhari the clear and coherent policy-making framework put in place his administration, including “the positive engagement with the Niger Delta people, which has returned calm to this oil-producing region of the country leading to the current daily production of 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent.”
However, Mr Elumelu cautioned that Nigeria must translate these recent improvements into a long-term strategy of ensuring economic success for all.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
