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Oil Price Fall And Nigeria’s Economy

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At the 7th All Nigeria
Guild of Editors conference held in Benin, the Edo State capital on Thursday, September 22, 2011, the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, raised alarm that should oil  price drop below $80 per barrel in the international market, some state governments in Nigeria would not be able to pay salaries to their workers.
El-Rufai, who was speaking on the topic, “Perspectives on the Cost of Governance in Nigeria”, had strongly noted that pegging of oil price as high as $75 then in the national budget was unrealistic and not good for Nigeria’s economy.
The minister was being as prophetic as many individuals and organizations who believed that the nation’s economy which is oil dominated would be in a quagmire, should any unforeseen surprises affect the oil price in the global market.
Various experts had also, for too long been consistent in expressing strong need for drastic reduction in the high cost of Nigerian governance which gulps as high as 25% of the annual budget and one of the highest in the world.
They had equally suggested diversification of the economy from oil to other sectors particularly agriculture which hold high promises for food on the table of the average Nigerian, mass employment, raw material for industrialization and foreign exchange earning.
While most nations of the world had strategized to contain such possible economic fears, most African governments also took bold steps in preparations for the economic uncertainties, but some deaf-and-dumb governments had preferred what goes directly into the individual pockets of the leaders than the general good of the citizens. Billions of Dollars meant for constituency funds, furniture extravagant travelling allowances, amongst others find their ways to the law makers and their crowd of primal aides.
Today, the reality is not only knocking at our doors but is quite here with us. The present systematic drop in the oil price which experts predict could slide far below $50 per barrel benchmark before the end of 2015 has become Nigeria’s undoing.
Many state governments in Nigeria today are owing months of salaries arrears to their workers while contractors have abandoned projects execution because the oil price then predicted had fallen below budgetary calculations and states lack the funds to pay.
Some private schools in Port Harcourt have already given notice of increase in school fees, landlords are also threatening to raise rent, labour unions are ironically agitating for pay rise in view of recent devaluation of Naira occasioned by dramatic drop of oil price in global market even as state governments insist they would not review the $65 per barrel benchmark on which they proposed their 2015 budgets. Where would these excoriations take the nation to in the present economic situation determined by global economic reality?
An economist, George Clement, is of the view that time has come for Nigeria to elect leaders who have the capacity to proffer solutions to the socio-economic challenges confronting the nation as against empty promises for which most Nigerian political leaders are known.
“The era of touts aspiring for public offices should be over. It is time to look beyond sweet talks and empty promises now that campaign period in Nigeria is around the corner”, said Clement.
He said, “our leaders had since the oil boom of the 70s refused to do the right thing. Billions of Naira had consistently been swallowed up by the pockets of fraudulent leaders”, he remarked noting that the future generations may have nothing to be proud of about their nation if the real change is not effected.
Another respondent, Mrs Mary Jonathan, in her own reaction is challenging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to trace the loots of the nation wherever they might have been hidden.
“Yes, it  appears late but not too late. We cannot continue to wallow in poverty in a rich country while few persons in the name of politics continue to cart away our resources”, she stressed.
Jonathan appealed to the Federal Government to review the pump price downward to reflect the price of oil in the global market. “We cannot afford to pay more when actually the price has fallen. The N97 per litre of fuel is no longer realistic”, she maintained.
A civil servant, Makel Ndah, in his own reaction called for upward review of workers salary. “Since the Naira has been devalued, its exchange power has become weak, it is important that the government reviews workers salary upward to meet with the current market reality”.
A landlord in Port Harcourt Chief Clifford Nweke, said,” it is obvious that house rent would be reviewed since government has started to have a second look at the Naira.”
We are all Nigeirans, operating in the same market, so what affects one should equally affect the other. Yes some people will say landlords are wicked shylocks, but that is mere sentiment”, he maintained.
A private school proprietor who pleaded anonymity said, “we had our first Parent Teachers Meeting last week and the issue of increase of salaries was raised by the teachers and I told the parents to pray and watch because for me to pay higher workers salary means that the fees charged students would also be reviewed upward.
“Please don’t get me wrong, we have not increased school fees yet. What I am saying is that we in my school are studying the socio-economic variables. If workers salary goes up and other schools readjust to meet with the reality, we here would also adjust because we are part of the society”, he explained.
A Port Harcourt- based public analyst, Christian Nnamdi, said the issue calls for caution. “There is no need to panic yet. It is not a Nigerian thing but a global phenomenon. It does not affect only Nigeria but other nations of the world. Nigeria has many antidotes to the problem. So all we need to do is study the situation to know the dynamic nature of the change.
According to Nnamdi, the nation should not leave everything in the hands of politicians. “We need to protect the economy from the excesses of selfish Nigerian politicians and one way of doing that is to gather together some technocrats and experts in various fields especially economists. Let the think- tank develop an economic plan that should guide the policies and programmes.
Call it 25 years economic development plan. So that whichever political group that takes the mantle of leadership, will have to build whatever programme from the economic blue print.
Nnamdi blamed the woe of the nation on inconsistency of leadership, stressing that government should be seen as a continuation from where the former ends. “But you see, in Nigeria, any new administration is in the habit of abandoning the programmes of the previous administration at the detriment of so much fund sunk into such projects because they want to take credit.
“But with a long term economic development plan, new government can no longer abandon projects started by the former government. It has to inherit it and complete it for the people. This idea will make nonsense of the penchant for second term which is common in Nigeria,” he maintained.
It would be recalled that discovery of shale oil which increase supply in American oil market, a major importer of Nigeria’s oil has affected the oil supply in the global market. This high supply has reduced oil price in the global market and Nigeria, whose economy remains oil-driven is directly affected.
Nigeria whose budget depends on oil has been forced to review its oil benchmark resulting in austerity measures to contain the economic downturn.
Medium Term Expenditure framework which the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, submitted to the National Assembly, scaled down the nation’s budgetary estimate for 2015 to N4.661 trillion as against an initial N4.817 trillion.

 

Chris Oluoh

Some Transformers donated by the lawmaker representing Oyigbo in the RSHA Hon. Okechukwu .A. Nwuogu

Some Transformers donated by the lawmaker representing Oyigbo in the RSHA Hon. Okechukwu .A. Nwuogu

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FG Inaugurates National Energy Master Plan Implementation Committee

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The Federal Government has inaugurated the National Energy Master Plan Implementation Committee (NEMiC), in a major step towards repositioning Nigeria’s energy sector.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, disclosed this in a Statement issued by the minister’s Senior Special Adviser, Robert Ngwu, in Abuja, at the Weekend.
According to the statement, the inauguration which marked the beginning of the full implementation phase of the National Energy Master Plan (NEMP), tasked the committee with the responsibility of spearheading the country’s transition to a cleaner, more inclusive and sustainable energy future.
Nnaji urged the committee to deliver real impact to households, industries, and communities nationwide.
“The National Energy Master plan is not just a document; it is a blueprint for transforming our energy landscape. NEMiC must fast-track the deployment of energy solutions that are reliable, affordable, and climate-friendly.
“The work you do will directly influence Nigeria’s economic growth, social progress, and environmental sustainability,” the minister said.
Nnaji expressed optimism that the committee would deliver on the assignment.
“The decisions and actions taken by this Committee will define Nigeria’s energy trajectory for decades to come.
“This is a responsibility of the highest order, and I am confident NEMiC has the capacity, the vision, and the commitment to rise to the occasion,” he said.
It would be noted that NEMP is a comprehensive framework designed to guide Nigeria’s energy diversification, strengthen energy security and align national development with global climate action goals.
Constituted on Oct. 17, 2024, by the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), NEMiC is tasked with mobilising funding and investing in renewable energy infrastructure.
It also has the responsibility of accelerating the deployment of technologies that expand access to reliable and affordable power.
The committee would oversee projects across solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and other emerging technologies while also advancing the operationalisation of the National Energy Fund, meant to channel resources into domestic energy efficiency and infrastructure projects.
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How Solar Canals Could Revolutionize the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

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Globally, demand for food, water, and energy is sharply on the rise. The World Economic Forum says that by 2050, food demand could increase by over 50%, energy by up to 19% and water by up to 30%. The increasing scarcity of these resources – and potential solutions to their sustainable management – are deeply interconnected, calling for integrated solutions.
“Disruption in one amplifies vulnerabilities and trade-offs in others,” wrote the World Economic Forum in a July report. “Such disruptions also create opportunities for sustainable growth, enhanced resilience and more equity.” The idea of synergistic nexus solutions is starting to pick up steam in both public and private sectors.
A new project in California, aptly named Project Nexus, aims to do just that. The novel project seeks to find synergies for water management and renewable energy production in some of the nation’s sunniest and most water-stressed agricultural lands by covering miles and miles of irrigation canals with solar panels, yielding multiple benefits for the water-energy-food nexus.
While the panels generate clean energy, they also shade the canals from the harsh desert sun, mitigating water loss to evaporation and discouraging the growth of aquatic weeds that can choke the waterways. Plus, the presence of the water acts as a built-in cooling system for the solar panels. The $20 million state-funded initiative could produce up to 1.6 megawatts of renewable energy “while producing a host of other benefits,” according to a report from SFGATE.
In addition to these benefits, placing solar panels on top of existing agricultural infrastructure could offer key benefits compared to standard solar farms. They are more easily and quickly greenlit, as they don’t face the same land-use conflicts that utility-scale solar farms are facing across the nation. Plus, “placing solar panels atop existing infrastructure doesn’t require altering the landscape, and the relatively small installations can be plugged into nearby distribution lines, avoiding the cumbersome process of connecting to the higher-voltage wires required for bigger undertakings,” reports Canary Media.
The result of Project Nexus and similar models appears to be a win-win for water, energy, and food, all while using less land. “The challenges of climate change are going to really force us to do more with a lot less … so this is just an example of the type of infrastructure that can make us more resilient,” says project scientist Brandi McKuin. While Project Nexus isn’t releasing figures on the project’s performance until they have a full year’s worth of data, McKuin says current analysis shows that the project is on track to meet its projected outputs.
Project Nexus is not the first project to place solar panels over canals, but it’s still among just a handful of such projects in the world. The United States’ first and only other solar canal project came online late last year in Arizona, where the project produces energy for the Pima and Maricopa tribes, collectively known as the Gila River Indian Community. While many large-scale renewable energy projects have run up against land-use issues with tribal lands, the Arizona project shows that the canal model can be an excellent alternative solution.
“Why disturb land that has sacred value when we could just put the solar panels over a canal and generate more efficient power?” David DeJong, director of the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project, was quoted by Grist. In keeping with the spirit of water-energy nexus solutions, the Project is currently developing a water delivery system for the water-stressed Gila River Indian Community.
Of course, these pilot projects produce a whole lot less energy than utility-scale solar farms. But research suggests that if the solar canal idea is scaled across the United States’ 8,000 miles of federally owned canals and aqueducts, it could have a significant impact. In 2023, a coalition of environmental groups calculated that installing panels on all that existing federal infrastructure could generate over 25 gigawatts of energy and potentially avoid tens of billions of gallons of water evaporation at the same time.
By Haley Zaremba
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Dangote Refinery Resumes Gantry Self-Collection Sales, Tuesday

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Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited has announced that it will resume self-collection gantry sales of petroleum products at its facility beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, September 23, 2025.

This is revealed in an email communication from the Group Commercial Operations Department of the company, and obtained by Newsmen, at the Weekend.

The decision marks a reversal of a directive issued earlier, which had suspended self-collection and compelled marketers to rely exclusively on the refinery’s Free Delivery Scheme.

The company explained that while gantry access is being reinstated, the free delivery service remains operational, with marketers encouraged to continue registering their outlets for direct supply at no additional cost.

The statement said “in reference to the earlier email communication on the suspension of the PMS self-collection gantry sales, please note that we will be resuming the self-collection gantry sales on the 23rd of September, 2025”.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery also apologised to its partners for any inconvenience the suspension may have caused, while assuring stakeholders of its commitment to improving efficiency and ensuring seamless supply.

“Meanwhile, please be informed that we are aggressively delivering on the free delivery scheme, and it is still open for registration. We encourage you to register your stations and pay for the product to be delivered directly to you for free. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding,” it added.

It would be recalled that in September 18, 2025, Dangote refinery had suspended gantry-based self-collection of petroleum products at its depot. The move was designed to accelerate the adoption of its Free Delivery Scheme, which guarantees direct shipments of petroleum products to registered retail outlets across Nigeria.

 The company had also explained that the suspension would help curb transactions with unregistered marketers, either directly at its depot or indirectly through other licensed dealers.

The refinery stressed that the earlier decision was an operational adjustment aimed at streamlining efficiency in the downstream supply chain.

It further warned that any payments made after the effective suspension date would be rejected.
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