Business
NNPC: Looking Beneath The Sustained Disinformation Charade
NNPC: Looking Beneath The Sustained Disinformation Charade
Sahara Weekly Reports That There is a steady and sustained dispensation of disinformation about Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. But, what did Kyari do to upset the apple cart? Is he a victim of his success? What could he have done to offend those attempting to obliterate his catalogue of achievements, and hanging him out to dry as an economic saboteur?
There is a frightening volume, velocity, and variety of campaigns of calumny against Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC.
In the past couple of weeks especially, a deluge of disingenuous disinformation, dilettante opinion articles and editorials, blog posts, and even tweets has been unleashed, underpinning the consensus that ‘Project Batter, Bruise, Bash, and Boot Out Kyari’ is in motion and has become the sun around which the daily to and fro of the masterminds revolves.
Given his successful turnaround records in the NNPC, it would have been easy to say that the masterminds are on a wild goose chase. However, a lie left unchallenged for too long may be taken as the Holy Grail.
The oil and gas industry is Nigeria’s cash cow and has churned out substantive and emergency billionaires. Before it transitioned into a limited liability company, the legacy corporation, NNPC, was regarded as the cash dispenser (Automated Teller Machine) of successive Nigerian governments.
Oil theft and pipeline vandalism were the order of the day with the resultant effect on production. Over the years, billions of naira went down the drain in the name of reviving the comatose refineries while the corporation was never known to remit revenue to the federation account.
Nigerians have not forgotten how former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, caused nationwide panic when he said that $20 billion in oil revenue had not been accounted for. It was the reign of flagrant impunity, opacity, and corruption.
Then came Mele Kyari, the University of Maiduguri-trained geologist. He superintended the corporation’s transition into a limited liability company and has been steering its ship adroitly since then.
In two years, the NNPC has grown from a loss-making position to a profit-making entity. The days of opacity are over with the introduction of the Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence (TAPE) initiative, which occasioned the publication of the Monthly Financial and Operations Reports (MFOR), underscoring the corporation’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and open dialogue that are fundamental to building public trust.
The TAPE initiative, Kyari said, “places NNPC in a unique position globally as the only national oil company that publishes its financial and operations reports every month. Such transparency not only enhances accountability but also provides valuable insights into NNPC’s activities, performance, and strategic direction.”
Further, Kyari enlisted the NNPC l with the global transparency body, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a Norway-based organisation that seeks to establish international standards for the good governance of oil, gas, and mineral resources while addressing the key governance issues in the extractive sectors.
In its recent global assessment of the NNPC, the EITI scored the corporation high for enhanced transparency and accountability standards, increased competitiveness, and concerted efforts in combating corruption in the global oil, gas, and mining sectors.
He also instituted a broad range of reforms including collaborating with security agencies and private security contractors while also establishing a control centre known as the Central Coordination, Data Integration, and Activation Control Room to provide surveillance of all the country’s oil and gas assets in the Niger Delta.
The NNPC Data Control Centre uses video visibility to monitor the pipeline networks in the Niger Delta where more than 90 per cent of the country’s crude is explored.
Kyari has vowed to get the Kaduna, Port Harcourt, and Warri refineries working optimally again, promising that Nigeria will become a net exporter of petroleum when they are rejuvenated. He has also led the charge in reducing the impact of the fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians with the implementation of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiatives launched by President Tinubu to provide cheaper alternative fuel to motorists, stimulate the economy, and reduce carbon footprints.
Despite this catalogue of achievements, Kyari continues to be blackmailed, vilified, and scapegoated by the oil mafia who want the old days of flagrant impunity and milking of Nigeria’s commonwealth to return.
Nigeria’s economy is slowly rebounding after tailspinning into an abyss due to bad management. But the recovery pace has been further slowed down by the forces that want to hang Kyari out to dry.
He has been accused of sabotaging the Dangote Refinery by not meeting up with its crude oil supplies. But he denied the allegation saying the law is clear on domestic crude oil supply obligations and providing for local refineries.
“(The) 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.
While appearing before an ad hoc senate committee on August 7, Kyari declared that the attacks were deliberate and calculated to create the impression that the NNPC and its leadership are creating economic sabotage in the country, saying, “And all of us see what is happening in the media – targeted personal attack on my person, on the institution, and we all know how this works.”
On the 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 most recent attack came from the regional newspaper, Daily Trust, which jumped on the obnoxious bandwagon with the editorial, last Monday, “NNPC Must Go,” asking rather astonishingly, “Is the NNPC a state-owned enterprise, a public service provider like a university or yet, a private company like Innoson Motors? Or is the NNPC all three at once?” Even a kindergarten pupil knows that after about 45 years of operating as a fully-owned government company, the NNPC was transformed into a limited liability company in July 2022 as the only entity licensed to operate in the country’s petroleum industry. And, it has been operating as such for the past two years, and profitably and transparently too.
It is one of three things – either Kyari is a victim of his success, a soft target for the prevailing economic hardship, or he is merely a personification of the aphorism; uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Whatever it is, the damaging disinformation needs to stop immediately in the interest of Nigeria.
SOURCE: pmexpressng.com
Business
BUA Foods Records 91% Surge in Profit After Tax, Hits ₦508bn in 2025
BUA Foods Records 91% Surge in Profit After Tax, Hits ₦508bn in 2025
By femi Oyewale
Business
Adron Homes Unveils “Love for Love” Valentine Promo with Exciting Discounts, Luxury Gifts, and Travel Rewards
Adron Homes Unveils “Love for Love” Valentine Promo with Exciting Discounts, Luxury Gifts, and Travel Rewards
In celebration of the season of love, Adron Homes and Properties has announced the launch of its special Valentine campaign, “Love for Love” Promo, a customer-centric initiative designed to reward Nigerians who choose to express love through smart, lasting real estate investments.
The Love for Love Promo offers clients attractive discounts, flexible payment options, and an array of exclusive gift items, reinforcing Adron Homes’ commitment to making property ownership both rewarding and accessible. The campaign runs throughout the Valentine season and applies to the company’s wide portfolio of estates and housing projects strategically located across Nigeria.
Speaking on the promo, the company’s Managing Director, Mrs Adenike Ajobo, stated that the initiative is aimed at encouraging individuals and families to move beyond conventional Valentine gifts by investing in assets that secure their future. According to the company, love is best demonstrated through stability, legacy, and long-term value—principles that real estate ownership represents.
Under the promo structure, clients who make a payment of ₦100,000 receive cake, chocolates, and a bottle of wine, while those who pay ₦200,000 are rewarded with a Love Hamper. Payments of ₦500,000 attract a Love Hamper plus cake, and clients who pay ₦1,000,000 enjoy a choice of a Samsung phone or a Love Hamper with cake.
The rewards become increasingly premium as commitment grows. Clients who pay ₦5,000,000 receive either an iPad or an all-expenses-paid romantic getaway for a couple at one of Nigeria’s finest hotels, which includes two nights’ accommodation, special treats, and a Love Hamper. A payment of ₦10,000,000 comes with a choice of a Samsung Z Fold 7, three nights at a top-tier resort in Nigeria, or a full solar power installation.
For high-value investors, the Love for Love Promo delivers exceptional lifestyle experiences. Clients who pay ₦30,000,000 on land are rewarded with a three-night couple’s trip to Doha, Qatar, or South Africa, while purchasers of any Adron Homes house valued at ₦50,000,000 receive a double-door refrigerator.
The promo covers Adron Homes’ estates located in Lagos, Shimawa, Sagamu, Atan–Ota, Papalanto, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Osun, Ekiti, Abuja, Nasarawa, and Niger States, offering clients the opportunity to invest in fast-growing, strategically positioned communities nationwide.
Adron Homes reiterated that beyond the incentives, the campaign underscores the company’s strong reputation for secure land titles, affordable pricing, strategic locations, and a proven legacy in real estate development.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Adron Homes encourages Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to take advantage of the Love for Love Promo to enjoy exceptional value, exclusive rewards, and the opportunity to build a future rooted in love, security, and prosperity.
Business
Why Nigeria’s Banks Still on Shaky Ground with Big Profits, Weak Capital
*Why Nigeria’s Banks Still on Shaky Ground with Big Profits, Weak Capital*
*BY BLAISE UDUNZE*
Despite the fragile 2024 economy grappling with inflation, currency volatility, and weak growth, Nigeria’s banking industry was widely portrayed as successful and strong amid triumphal headlines. The figures appeared to signal strength, resilience, and superior management as the Tier-1 banks such as Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank, UBA, and First Bank of Nigeria, collectively reported profits approaching, and in some cases exceeding, N1 trillion. Surprisingly, a year later, these same banks touted as sound and solid are locked in a frenetic race to the capital markets, issuing rights offers and public placements back-to-back to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N500 billion recapitalisation thresholds.
The contradiction is glaring. If Nigeria’s biggest banks are so profitable, why are they unable to internally fund their new capital requirements? Why have no fewer than 27 banks tapped the capital market in quick succession despite repeated assurances of balance-sheet robustness? And more fundamentally, what do these record profits actually say about the real health of the banking system?
The recapitalisation directive announced by the CBN in 2024 was ambitious by design. Banks with international licences were required to raise minimum capital to N500 billion by March 2026, while national and regional banks faced lower but still substantial thresholds ranging from N200 billion to N50 billion, respectively. Looking at the policy, it was sold as a modern reform meant to make banks stronger, more resilient in tough times, and better able to support major long-term economic development. In theory, strong banks should welcome such reforms. In practice, the scramble that followed has exposed uncomfortable truths about the structure of bank profitability in Nigeria.
At the heart of the inconsistency is a fundamental misunderstanding often encouraged by the banks themselves between profits and capital. Unknown to many, profitability, no matter how impressive, does not automatically translate into regulatory capital. Primarily, the CBN’s recapitalisation framework actually focuses on money paid in by shareholders when buying shares, fresh equity injected by investors over retained earnings or profits that exist mainly on paper.
This distinction matters because much of the profit surge recorded in 2024 and early 2025 was neither cash-generative nor sustainably repeatable. A significant portion of those headline banks’ profits reported actually came from foreign exchange revaluation gains following the sharp fall of the naira after exchange-rate unification. The industry witnessed that banks’ holding dollar-denominated assets their books showed bigger numbers as their balance sheets swell in naira terms, creating enormous paper profits without a corresponding improvement in underlying operational strength. These gains inflated income statements but did little to strengthen core capital, especially after the CBN barred banks from using FX revaluation gains for dividends or routine operations. In effect, banks looked richer without becoming stronger.
Beyond FX effects, Nigerian banks have increasingly relied on non-interest income fees, charges, and transaction levies to drive profitability. While this model is lucrative, it does not necessarily deepen financial intermediation or expand productive lending. High profits built on customer charges rather than loan growth offer limited support for long-term balance-sheet expansion. They also leave banks vulnerable when macroeconomic conditions shift, as is now happening.
Indeed, the recapitalisation exercise coincides with a turning point in the monetary cycle. The extraordinary conditions that supported bank earnings in 2024 and 2025 are beginning to unwind. Analysts now warn that Nigerian banks are approaching earnings reset, as net interest margins the backbone of traditional banking profitability, come under sustained pressure.
Renaissance Capital, in a January note, projects that major banks including Zenith, GTCO, Access Holdings, and UBA will struggle to deliver earnings growth in 2026 comparable to recent performance.
In a real sense, the CBN is expected to lower interest rates by 400 to 500 basis points because inflation is slowing down, and this means that banks will earn less on loans and government bonds, but they may not be able to quickly lower the interest they pay on deposits or other debts. The cash reserve requirements are still elevated, which does not earn interest; banks can’t easily increase or expand lending investments to make up for lower returns. The implications are significant. Net interest margin, the difference between what banks earn on loans and investments and what they pay on deposits, is poised to contract. Deposit competition is intensifying as lenders fight to shore up liquidity ahead of recapitalisation deadlines, pushing up funding costs. At the same time, yields on treasury bills and bonds, long a safe and lucrative haven for banks are expected to soften in a lower-rate environment. The result is a narrowing profit cushion just as banks are being asked to carry far larger equity bases.
Compounding this challenge is the fading of FX revaluation windfalls. With the naira relatively more stable in early 2026, the non-cash gains that once flattered bank earnings have largely evaporated. What remains is the less glamorous reality of core banking operations: credit risk management, cost efficiency, and genuine loan growth in a sluggish economy. In this new environment, maintaining headline profits will be far harder, even before accounting for the dilutive impact of recapitalisation.
That dilution is another underappreciated consequence of the capital rush. Massive share issuances mean that even if banks manage to sustain absolute profit levels, earnings per share and return on equity are likely to decline. Zenith, Access, UBA, and others are dramatically increasing their share counts. The same earnings pie is now being divided among many more shareholders, making individual returns leaner than during the pre-recapitalisation boom. For investors, the optics of strong profits may soon give way to the reality of weaker per-share performance.
Yet banks have pressed ahead, not only out of regulatory necessity but also strategic calculation.
During this period of recapitalization, investors are interested in the stock market with optimism, especially about bank shares, as banks are raising fresh capital, and this makes it easier to attract investments. This has become a season for the management teams to seize the moment to raise funds at relatively attractive valuations, strengthen ownership positions, and position themselves for post-recapitalisation dominance. In several cases, major shareholders and insiders have increased their stakes, as projected in the media, signalling confidence in long-term prospects even as near-term returns face pressure.
There is also a broader structural ambition at play. Well-capitalised banks can take on larger single obligor exposures, finance infrastructure projects, expand regionally, and compete more credibly with pan-African and global peers. From this perspective, recapitalisation is not merely about compliance but about reshaping the competitive hierarchy of Nigerian banking. What will be witnessed in the industry is that those who succeed will emerge larger, fewer, and more powerful. Those that fail will be forced into consolidation, retreat, or irrelevance.
For the wider economy, the outcome is ambiguous. Stronger banks with deeper capital buffers could improve systemic stability and enhance Nigeria’s ability to fund long-term development. The point is that while merging or consolidating banks may make them safer, it can also harm the market and the economy because it will reduce competition, let a few banks dominate, and encourage them to earn easy money from bonds and fees instead of funding real businesses. The truth be told, injecting more capital into the banks without complementary reforms in credit infrastructure, risk-sharing mechanisms, and fiscal discipline, isn’t enough as the aforementioned reforms are also needed.
The rush as exposed in this period, is that the moment Nigerian banks started raising new capital, the glaring reality behind their reported profits became clearer, that profits weren’t purely from good management, while the financial industry is not as sound and strong as its headline figures. The fact that trillion-naira profit banks must return repeatedly to shareholders for fresh capital is not a sign of excess strength, but of structural imbalance.
With the deadline for banks to raise new capital coming soon, by 31 March 2026, the focus has shifted from just raising N500 billion. N200 billion or N50 billion to think about the future shape and quality of Nigeria’s financial industry, or what it will actually look like afterward. Will recapitalisation mark a turning point toward deeper intermediation, lower dependence on speculative gains, and stronger support for economic growth? Or will it simply reset the numbers while leaving underlying incentives unchanged?
The answer will define the next chapter of Nigerian banking long after the capital market roadshows have ended and the profit headlines have faded.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos and can be reached via: [email protected]
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