Nigeria Cargo Volume, Nigeria World Bank Loan +More | Business Morning

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00][music] [music] >> Welcome to a new day. It's business morning, 55 minutes of current and relevant business talks. And I'm Ini John Mequa, so let's start off from the global oil space where prices today went up as US President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire with Iran was on life support after rejecting Tehran's counter proposal to end the war. And that signals the conflict in the Middle East could drag on. Mr. Trump was speaking to reporters and said that the state of the ceasefire is unbelievably weak, calling Iran's counter proposal to end the conflict garbage.

[00:00:49]Yeah, well, these are words from President of the United States. Well, since the US and Israeli-led war against Iran started on February 28th, WTI and Brent, they've both gone up more than 40%.

[00:01:02]Uh oil prices have been very volatile and could rise even further. This morning, uh yesterday we saw WTI was struggling to get on $100. It's already there this morning after going up almost 2.6%. $100.63.

[00:01:19]Brent has always been or has been um at the $100 level for some time now, so it's now $106.42 after it gained 2.10% and the words of President Donald Trump, obviously, is enough to drag uh all these prices up. Uh doesn't look like the end is in sight when we're talking about the price of oil following that war going on in Iran.

[00:01:50]Coming back home now, let's look at how the market fared yesterday. Well, um I I know what's going on, but it's still on fire. The NGX yesterday went up 2.33% and it's hit 250,000 level for the very first time ever.

[00:02:08]We're just hitting record highs like it's, you know, a normal thing these days. If you're not in the market, I tell you you're missing some opportunities at this time. 250,000, it opened at 244,000 um at the beginning of trade yesterday and closed at 250. That's a lot of money that's been brought in by investors. So, investor sentiment is still very positive. Um the market cap has gone up to 160 trillion. Don't you want your money to be part of it? Well, and remember that from the 1st of June we're going to do T+1, uh reducing your time, your waiting time when you're transacting in the market. Activity as we expect yesterday was green. Deals went up to 94,834.

[00:02:54]And volume 68.45 and volume 1.49 billion. And uh those stocks that really moved yesterday, top gainers we have Livestock, Inter Jeans, and RT, Briscoe. On the flip side, we have Prestige GPL and tantalizers. And top trades, you know, we see Access um notably standing out right there with because of all the story that's been going on about around it. And of course we see various cap and VM D Group also making the top trades at the close of trade yesterday.

[00:03:31]Now, the Central Bank of Nigeria says that foreign exchange inflows into the Nigerian market um went down to 2.86 billion dollars in April and that reflects weaker supply conditions across key segment of the FX market. The FX market data shows that inflows declined from levels recorded in the previous month, driven largely by reduced contributions from autonomous sources such as foreign portfolio investors, exporters, and other non-bank participants. It attributes the deep to softer effects supply conditions amid ongoing global economic uncertainties and lower foreign exchange earnings from key channels including oil-related inflows. So, that's where we're feeling um the impact of the war right there.

[00:04:20]Nigeria has also to share in the pain of the world.

[00:04:27]Nigeria has recorded a rise in cargo throughput to 32.38 million tons in the first quarter of 2026. This is according to the Nigerian Ports Authority. The figure reflects increased maritime activity across the country's major seaports, driven by higher import and export volumes within the period under review. The NPA says that the performance highlights improved port efficiency and growing trade flows, supported by ongoing reforms aimed at reducing cargo dwell time and enhancing operational capacity. Officials note that containerized cargo and bulk shipments contribute significantly to the increase, even as stakeholders continue to push for further infrastructure upgrades and digitalization of ports processes. And of course, we still have in the pipeline that deal between Nigeria and the United Kingdom to further improve efficiency of our port infrastructure.

[00:05:36]The federal government says it is negotiating a 1.25 billion dollar loan arrangement with the World Bank Group to support key development financing needs.

[00:05:46]Officials indicate that the proposed facility is part of ongoing discussions that aimed at strengthening fiscal buffers, funding critical infrastructure, and supporting economic reforms across priority sectors. The arrangement, if concluded, is expected to provide budgetary support and help address financing gaps as the government continues efforts to stabilize public finances and stimulate growth.

[00:06:15]I'm putting all of these together. We're looking ahead to inflation numbers expected in the next 3 days. However, we have analysts, economists, already think tanks projecting what the number could be for this morning. Let's have this conversation with the chief executive officer of financial derivatives company, Mr. Bismarck Rewane. Mr. Rewane, good morning and welcome to the program.

[00:06:40]Thank you, Winnie, for having me this morning. Yeah, I guess even the blind will see that we should have a higher inflation number by the next in the next few days because of what has been happening around the world mainly driven by energy costs. And FDC is seeing it rise to 15.89%.

[00:07:02]Yes.

[00:07:03]Um the increase is not that significant.

[00:07:06]But I I want to make something very clear to the viewers.

[00:07:09]One is that the headline inflation compares the price of a basket of goods this year with what it was at this time last year.

[00:07:18]The reason why you are having this increase of just few points to 15. 15.89 is because at this time last year, if you remember candidly, that the price of petrol this time was 1,850.

[00:07:35]Price of diesel was even higher. And therefore, if you compare last year's price to this year's price, the base effect is giving us some kind of support. But when you look at the month on month inflation, don't forget this crisis started in March, February 28th.

[00:07:51]And ever since then the price of Brent has been consistently above $100 a barrel in the month of March, the month of April, and now we are in May.

[00:08:01]So, we are saying that uh food inflation month on month inflation is actually going to decline, while >> [clears throat] >> while the annual inflation is going to increase.

[00:08:13]Uh why? Because of energy cost. Two, because of seasonality.

[00:08:18]And three, because this basket also includes transportation. We have not seen a wild increase in transport cost so far.

[00:08:26]Because most of the transport prices were set when price of price of PMS was about 1,100. Now it's about 1,300.

[00:08:36]So, the difference is not that much.

[00:08:38]We've also seen uh food insecurity.

[00:08:41]>> you Sorry, Mr. Wani. Immediately you said month on month inflation will decline, I mean that just lights a bulb in my head. How come month on month inflation is expected to decline?

[00:08:54]Okay, let us look at the price of goods between last month and this.

[00:08:58]The perishable goods have actually declined.

[00:09:01]Two, there's been imports. And you know the federal government have cut the import duty on some of these commodities.

[00:09:09]And the naira has virtually appreciated. So, that is why if you compared what you had last month with what you had this month, the price of those commodities have actually declined.

[00:09:20]And that is clear.

[00:09:21]But month on month inflation takes into consideration certain things, you know, uh the cost of transportation, the cost of logistics, and the exchange rate shock.

[00:09:30]Don't forget that also we've seen the price of crude go all over the map. And we are not likely to see uh any major changes. He just said now announced now that Trump says that they they peace deal is on life support. But what we do know is that there'll be no change while Trump is visiting China. There'll nothing will happen. There'll be no escalation. No.

[00:09:55]But after the visit with in China or with the Chinese president then we begin to look at it and see whether part of the negotiation between from between China and the United States will involve uh, the Iran Iranian uh, choking point of the Strait of Hormuz.

[00:10:16]So, the things that we don't know are more than the things that we know. And generally speaking like I said, your inflation is a function of exogenous shocks uh, money supply growth currency values and more than anything else, PMS and diesel price.

[00:10:34]And the future oil price. So, I wouldn't carried away by if the the inflation trend at this time until things stabilize. And when will they stabilize? They probably stabilize at the end of this month or early early June.

[00:10:48]And amidst all of this, Dangote Refinery of course is a major player when we talk about energy cost in Nigeria. We've been hearing a lot of news by Dangote across I think mostly Africa. For instance, this $50 billion valuation refinery listing, the plant refinery listing. I'm sure a lot of investors in Nigeria are waiting for him or the refinery at the NGX. And so when we hear this targeting evaluation of the in Africa, then what direction should investors be thinking?

[00:11:26]Well, first and foremost it's a great investment opportunity.

[00:11:31]Our view is that the valuation of 50 billion dollars is conservative. We think more like 60 billion dollars.

[00:11:37]Which bring has about 70 trillion naira to the market cap. You just said the market cap was 160 trillion. If you added 70 to it, you'll definitely get about 2 30 230 230 trillion naira. And that's huge.

[00:11:52]Uh but not only that, you know, Dangote considering building a refinery in Mombasa, Kenya. Uh This is in Kenya. And that sounds like music to the ears of of the Kenyan government and And from there you can transport finished products all the way all across the Indian Ocean and the uh southern part of Africa. So, it's uh I think it's a it's a win-win situation.

[00:12:18]And the only thing is that we hope that people allow Dangote to sell some shares to buy that, which means that it won't it won't add to the valuation of the stock market and only people rotate their portfolios. But generally speaking, I think Aliko Dangote has made some good decisions. He's been bold, he's been ambitious. And also, more than anything else, he has been lucky.

[00:12:40]So, uh which is which is great for everybody.

[00:12:44]And uh like we said, what what we hear is that the market the the the the issue, even though it's not advertised yet, is fully and over subscribed already. Across most African markets. Mr. Mr. Aluwani, I have to say it again in public now. The big man should not take all the stocks. Let them remember the average and the and the you know, they should also be part of this. Help us to tell Dangote that, you know, you have those who are not very high up there who are also interested in investing in the refinery.

[00:13:16]Don't worry. I There's there's room for everybody.

[00:13:20]Everybody It's a win-win situation. Good for the institutional investors, the corporates, the widows and orphans, and the collective investors.

[00:13:27]>> Widows and orphans that's a good one. So I wonder if this will be part of you know the Africa France summit which our president is attending in Kenya. I wonder if this will slip into some of those conversations.

[00:13:40]No I think you will need to look at some historical context.

[00:13:44]Never in history as far as I know as Germany and France had strong economies and strong governments. If you go back to the time when France was very strong there was no pressure. Germany and Prussia at that time it was Prussia and Austria were relatively weak.

[00:14:02]When you go further to the time of Napoleon Bonaparte France was very strong and Prussia was weak. Then you go forward to the the German when Germany was united in 1870 Germany became very strong you know you had the Congress of Berlin.

[00:14:20]Germany became strong and France was weak.

[00:14:23]In the Second World War you had Hitler a strong Germany and the world was relatively weak at that time. So for the first time in history we are seeing a really weak Germany and a weak France.

[00:14:38]France has had control over its French francophone colonies both in Central Africa and West Africa.

[00:14:46]Now France is trying to make up for that by ensuring that there's trade there's aid there's investment and that's what it's about. Don't forget that you had a Chinese investing in road and belt initiative.

[00:15:02]You have the Americans investing in North Pole and all the other things that are there. So it's time for the European Union but France is now one over 23 or I think there are maybe 23 24 EU countries. So its influence is not as much as it used to be back in the day when they were the French Empire whatever you.

[00:15:23]So, this is kind of a kind of restoration of prestige and restoration of restoration of game because Macron is heading for another election. There's a the French Prime Minister is pretty on shaky ground. The right wing is gaining ground voting in Europe and and [clears throat] in Britain. So, we see that we are but clearly speaking, Africa is in the driver's seat and what are they I forgot what you call it.

[00:15:51]Africans are looking for financing arrangements that are not cutthroat. They're looking for to be on the to be at the the table, right?

[00:16:00]That's what the question today is that Africans were not at the table and you know the saying that if you're not at if you're not at the table, you're part of the menu.

[00:16:10]So, Africans [clears throat] now want to be at the table. Both French-speaking and English-speaking. It's interesting that we are hosting this summit in Kenya, which is English-speaking. And if you look at it, English-speaking countries have done much better than the French-speaking countries because of the parasitic relationship that existed between the French mother country and their colonies as against the more near combative relationship between the English-speaking and their parent and their mother country. But, those days are gone.

[00:16:44]It's now a new dimension. So, like I said, Africans are at the table this time cuz if they were not at the table, they would be part of the menu.

[00:16:54]You know what happens to you when you're part of the menu. You get gobbled. Thank God we are not part of the menu and I'm sure our president will bring some of those goodies back home from that summit, Mr. Owning. Thank you so much for your time.

[00:17:07]Thank you for having me.

[00:17:10]If you're not on the table, then you're on the menu. Well, not a good place to be to be eaten.

[00:17:15]But now, the federal government has flagged off the Southwest zonal engagement for the mobilization of share capital towards the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the rollout of digital identities for cooperators. The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Aliyu Abdullahi, said that the initiative is designed to reposition cooperatives as a driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, job creation, and food security under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's renewed hope agenda. He notes that the Southwest has been chosen as a starting point because it is the birthplace of Nigeria's cooperative movement since 1935 37. Under the plan, the Cooperative Bank will have a 65% controlling stake reserved for cooperative societies and members, while 30% will be open to private investors and 5% to employees.

[00:18:17]What we looked at is the problem of the cooperative sector is numerous. They are operating on analog system. There are a lot of sharp practices in terms of the people who are running the system. And so, we're taking a lot of issues on board.

[00:18:32]And together with the stakeholders of the cooperative movement in Nigeria, we have agreed this reform is necessary.

[00:18:39]And that is why from 2014 to date, that's what we have been doing. So, we're not rushing it because we want to get it right. And the technical working committee that we set up under my guidance involved cooperators from both this country and Nigerians who are in diaspora who are involved in various cooperative, you know, activities in their country of residence.

[00:18:59]And we came to the conclusion that digitalization is the first thing we must anchor.

[00:19:05]So, that every cooperative society will have a cooperative ID.

[00:19:10]That is, the cooperative members will have cooperative ID. but the cooperative society will have what you call cooperative verification number.

[00:19:17]All of these will be linked to the national identity, you know, system.

[00:19:21]And at the end of the day, if a corporator is located in one state and wants to move to another state, it becomes easier for his operation to be seen.

[00:19:35]Let's take a short break. Now, when we come back, we'll be discussing infrastructure from the general infrastructure for development to infrastructure in the oil and gas sector. Please stay with us.

[00:19:56]>> [music] [music] [music] >> You're welcome back to watching Business Morning right here on Channels Television. Now, um let's look at Nigeria's energy sector, which some have uh called a paradox at this time because we have a recount that has surged from eight to 69 uh in 5 years. Yet, a production profile that consistently falls short of OPEC quota. 1.5 million, we haven't been able to hit that consistently. While crude theft often dominates the discourse, a more silent systemic crisis is at play, and that's the rapid decay of legacy offshore infrastructure. Estimates suggest that infrastructure-related production deferment cost the Nigerian economy a staggering 3.4 billion dollars in just the first quarter of this year, 2026, as international oil companies, that's the IOCs, continue their strategic exit from onshore and shallow water assets. The burden of maintaining the nation's 200 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and the crude output now falls on indigenous shoulders. And we have one firm that seem to be interested in this and that's Kenyon International.

[00:21:25]They say that they provide local intelligence and that can do what was once thought impossible and replace what they call critical underwater pipelines. And we have the chief executive officer joining us this morning, Dr. Victor Epieyong, the chief executive officer of Kenyon International joins us virtually from Houston. Dr. Epieyong, good morning and welcome.

[00:21:55]Good morning, good morning Nigerians, good morning viewers. Thank you for having me. Yeah, good to have you. Your team has just completed a milestone at OML 123 in Nigeria and you achieved an 80% reduction in project time.

[00:22:12]Why is speed of execution a major consideration?

[00:22:18]Yeah, so in life we always need to take advantage of any opportunities that present self to you.

[00:22:25]You know, sometime 2022 March, there was a war in Ukraine and all of a sudden the oil price jumped.

[00:22:32]And this year March again, we know what is going on in the Gulf, in the Middle in the Middle East.

[00:22:41]So, imagine all these opportunities that just spring up to people that operate oil and gas in the Gulf of Guinea. And either they they have been able able to meet their OPEC quota, they have been smiling to the bank at the moment and you see what the oil and gas industry does in terms of Nigeria economy. And not just Nigeria, most of the operators in the country and the Gulf of Guinea. So, you see that these these were being a lot of opportunity for all of us as a as a nation to earn a lot of foreign exchange. So, we see that one of the major challenges uh for people who operate mature assets, people who operate, you know, assets that were discovered in in in '50s, '60s, and assets that were, you know, uh you know, developed in '70s, '80s, and and early '90s, you discover that most of these assets are over 30 years, and most of these assets a lot of things have gone on. Just like you said, you know, some so sometime we focus that one of the reason why we are not meeting of our OPEC's quota is that the resource of what is going on in terms of downstream.

[00:23:52]One of the reason is that there is a lot of production, you know, the farm in terms of expired, you know, pipeline, hoses, and most of those things under water, which take a longer longer time for them to be fixed, for them to be replaced. And sometimes, you know, oil gas is all about, you know, petroleum economics. So, people look at, do we need to do this now? Do we need to do this later? What do we cost us to do it now? So, what we as K and International, what we are doing is that we are trying to stand as a technology gap in these critical infrastructure in Nigeria. We discovered [snorts] that in West Texas here in United States, you see oil companies are drilling and, you know, producing their oil as fast as possible. But, in Nigeria, the time it takes for you to drill a well, and the time it takes for you to produce those you know, production takes a longer time. Why does it take this time? It's because of planning, logistics, and most of those infrastructure that need to be, you know, put in place. So, what we're doing is that why is it in a easier in in West Texas. What are the Americans doing that we are not doing? And we did I now discover that there is a technology, you know, it has been there before, but what the people here are doing is that they deploy RTP reinforced cable plastic pipes. And these are the technologies that are making oil and gas deployment in terms of oil and gas pipeline very easy for it to be laid. So, we partner with a company called Flexsteel here in Houston, and we took them to Nigeria.

[00:25:29]What we did was that we took to a customer and said to customer, "I know you are you are you you are you know different production thousands of thousands of barrels that are supposed to add revenue to Nigerian economy.

[00:25:42]Imagine now that the oil price has skyrocketed. Why don't you apply this technology? This technology can be laid as quickly as possible." And we we we appreciate those uh you know, operators because they were very quick to see that there is a technology that we can bring into the you know, Nigerian uh uh industry. And this is what we took in there. And this is typically what's supposed to take at least 1 or 2 years to be planned, but we were able to do this in a space less than, you know, 4 5 months and deliver these, you know, critical, you know, project to our customer. And now, this is one of the project that have also boosted Nigerian production today. As you can see that the you know, Nigerian production have you know, gone up a little bit. These are one of the critical project that has boosted this you know, production. And just think about those thousands of hundreds of kilometers of pipelines in our shallow waters in the Gulf of Guinea, in uh in our land and swamp that are ready to be expired. If these can be deployed, I can tell you that Nigeria may not even need to drill more wells. The drill The wells that we we have existing already, if we can try as much as possible to see how to revamp uh infrastructure, I can tell you that we in a very short interval of time we can hit 2 million barrels of oil per day.

[00:27:09]Underwater composite technology, how does it change the cost-to-benefit ratio?

[00:27:17]Okay, so you know, if you want to lay a typical pipeline, a typical pipeline takes a lot of time for you to lay that.

[00:27:25]Yeah, you need to lay You need to bring a lot of a lot of equipment on ground.

[00:27:30]It takes a lot of time to weld this pipe. It take a lot of time to do critical test on them. They call it NDT, a non-destructive test. It take a lot of time to lay them. But, this one can, you know, is is all about time. It's all about time. Now, if we are to lay The project we just finished now, if we are to do it in a normal steel pipeline, it's going to take you at least a year plus. So, imagine us laying these in 3 months.

[00:28:03]You look at the cost, the cost-benefit that we have saved for the customer. So, we did these day and night, and we able to to finish it up from shipment in Houston to deployment took 6 months.

[00:28:15]But, the typical project took less than 90 days. We did these in less than 90 days. And these are what we need in our critical infrastructure right now. So, you help the customer to to save a lot of money. Secondly, this technology does not require inspection, does not require maintenance.

[00:28:37]Immediately you lay it, you are sure that in the next 30-45 years, you are sure of your production. But, other pipelines will require you to come in between the inspection, the testing to be sure if there are leakages there, if there are, you know, other leakages there. But, this technology is a technology that immediately you deploy in, you are sure that in the next 30, 45 years, even 50 years, you are sure of constant production and you there are not going to be any production defining.

[00:29:08]All right, but you know, we we've seen a lot of exits of the IOCs. Should we be worried about maintenance gap before all these exits? Can we trust the indigenous hands to handle this?

[00:29:22]>> I can tell you this project was done by indigenous company. It was not done by IOCs. The operator is is indigenous.

[00:29:31]They are we as a company that deploy the technology, we we're indigenous. And I can tell you a lot of indigenous companies that took over this brownfield asset, they are investing a lot to see how to revamp them. I can tell you Renaissance, you know, a lot of companies supply. They are doing a lot.

[00:29:50]And who are they using? They are using us as a company. I can tell you Nigeria as a country, we are so blessed to have technical and smart people. I can tell you I belong to organization called PETAN, you know, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria. Nigerian companies are in Kuwait. Nigerian companies are in India. Nigerian companies are in Uganda. Nigerian companies are now exporting technology.

[00:30:20]We in PETAN, we are exporting technology to other African country. We are helping African country in terms of local content. We are helping African country in terms of technology support. So, it's not all that because IOCs leaving and Nigerian oil gas is going is going down.

[00:30:38]No, I can tell you Nigerians are being trained. Nigerians are expert. Nigerians are capable to manage or run this industry.

[00:30:47]And the PIA, I mean a lot of companies have in the past complained about the regulatory environment in Nigeria. Can we say that the PIA at this time is is working towards at least unlocking some of that global capital and calm nerves when it comes to the regulatory environment?

[00:31:09]You can see that even with the PIA was [clears throat] signed, you can see a lot of the FIDs that are coming to the country.

[00:31:15]You know, the Bonga South, even the ENI. I just learned and just signing the they're about to kick off a project.

[00:31:23]You see Total Obite project. All these projects were stalled in the past, but PIA have also, you know, facilitated these projects.

[00:31:32]And you can see a lot of companies, a lot of people, and even Nigeria sometimes is is even the bride now. You know, Nigeria is not just about the oil.

[00:31:42]Nigeria has about 30-something billion reserves of oil, but Nigeria has about 210 trillion cubic feet of gas. Nigerian gas reserve life index is about 92.7 years. If we start to produce gas now in the next 92 years, we will not be able to finish producing our gas. So, the PIA has unlocked this opportunity for for people to see, for companies outside, for investors outside the country to say Nigeria is not just about a an oil in a country. Nigeria is a gas nation. A lot of people are now a lot of investment are flowing into Nigeria. The the the Total Energies Obite project is a gas project. There is another project that is going to happen at Emu project.

[00:32:28]There is another project going on at Bonga. There's another project that is going to be spearheaded by ENI. All these projects have been unlocked because of PIA. So, PIA is is a catalyst for you to see all these foreign direct investment and all these uh FDIs that have been taken in oil and gas industry. And yet, reports says in spite of all of this, just about 1.5% of Nigeria's gas has been unlocked. Is it just a matter of infrastructure, or are there other challenges that stops Nigeria from maximizing this gas potential?

[00:33:01]You know, number one is is funding investment, I wish the PIAs have in terms of bringing in the the funding investment. I don't know what is going to be the infrastructure, which the companies are coming up with. Like now, there is a lot of project you can see.

[00:33:17]NNPC just last week talks about the river you know, the river crossing. NNPC just achieved a very magnificent milestone, which they lay a pipeline that, you know, cut across on the water.

[00:33:29]That pipeline is for domestic consumption. That pipeline is to bring gas from wherever they are to, you know, domestic market. So, you see, there is going to be a lot and a lot of project coming up because of, you know, PIA, and there's going to be a lot of project coming up for gas distribution. And that is where we're also going to play a major role. That's where this technology, this our pipeline, you know, is also going to play a major role because this pipeline is going to bring gas faster and faster [clears throat] to consumers.

[00:34:00]And um we have been hearing a lot of applause about the Nigeria-Morocco um pipeline, gas pipeline. Uh what can we expect from this? Do you see a future where perhaps African firms can lead the infrastructure build-out beginning from this gas pipeline?

[00:34:19]You know, the gas pipeline product across Nigeria is about 14 West African countries or so. So, most of those gas pipeline networks are even done by by Africans, by Nigerians. Nigerians are one of the companies that are also doing all these. And the the the purpose of the gas pipeline is Nigeria as one of the country that has the largest gas reserve in Africa is also to export the gas to Europe and which they are going to move through about these 7,000 km of pipeline to Morocco and from there they now supply gas to Europe. And it plays a very critical roles in terms of indigenous company ability in terms of indigenous capacity and you have seen the likes of company you know Nigerian companies being part of these going to lead the Nigerian side and some other African countries and some other African you know companies are also going to tie their own end before it moves into the North Africa. And now these are major major major project that are projecting the indigenous capability indigenous capacity of Africans and to tell the world that these can not only be done by foreign companies can also be done by Nigerian company. And most of these companies are being spearheaded by Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria Copita.

[00:35:43]All right. So of course we do hope that we would see more congratulations to your company and yourself for this milestone you have achieved but of course we expect and we are greedy for more from the oil and gas and from private companies like yours Dr. Victor Epeyong the Chief Executive Officer of Kenyon International. Thank you for your time and congratulations once again. Thank you for having me.

[00:36:07]It's my pleasure.

[00:36:09]Well talking about infrastructure it's not just about the oil and gas. Nigeria as a whole in different areas well Africa. Well let's focus on Nigeria our faces critical multi-trillion naira infrastructure deficit requiring an estimated 3 trillion dollars over the next 30 years to fix roads, power, and housing.

[00:36:30]This is according to 2025-2026 report, and only 30% to 40% of the required infrastructure stock exists, obviously far below 70% level of comparable and emerging economies. Can we look, for instance, at the financial development institutions for this? We know that even here in Nigeria, PPP, public-private partnership, has been adopted, but how successful has that been? Let's speak to an infrastructure economist who is also the group managing director of TTL Group and the managing partner of Africa Infrastructure Summit Group, Dr. Nnachi. He joins us from our Abuja studio. Dr. Nnachi, good morning.

[00:37:13]Welcome to the program.

[00:37:17]Good morning.

[00:37:19]Nice being on your show. Thank you for coming. Hello Nigerians. Yeah. So, I mean, I don't know if you saw there's a statement that came out I think it's from AFDB recently saying that the problem in Africa is actually not capital. And yet we It still seems where when we talk about infrastructural development, capital is what's missing. What for you has kept the continent and a country like Nigeria, as rich as it is, from closing this infrastructural gap over the years?

[00:38:00]Dr. Nnachi, can you hear me?

[00:38:07]Hello, Dr. Nnachi, can you hear me?

[00:38:11]Okay, Dr. >> Yeah, I lost you at the point, but I can hear you now.

[00:38:14]>> Oh, great. All right, so I was asking, we keep, you know, reporting this number, the infrastructural gap in in Africa, in Nigeria. And yet, uh there's also the perspective that capital is not the challenge that Africa has. So, what do you think has kept the continent and a country like Nigeria in this area of uh lack of sufficient infrastructure?

[00:38:40]There are various dimension to look at it, and uh any development in any nation uh will surely have the priority effects based on the willingness of the those in power, the government willingness, the political willingness to drive that.

[00:38:59]So, the once the political willingness is not sure what it should, then you will definitely have some level of delay.

[00:39:06]Uh with the case of Nigeria, luckily for us, we were part of those that developed the national integrated infrastructure master plan of the country. Uh we started our work in 2014 and got it materialized in 2015.

[00:39:21]Uh the people in government at that time were willing to have a holistic look, but immediately there was a transition of that. And the next set of people in government did not have that political will. So, the foremost thing is the political will. Once the political will are there, the structure for the financing, the structure for the technology transfers can be put in place. And that will just uh open up the the place. Every deficiency, every deficit in infrastructure is an economic opportunity, is an investment opportunity because each of these uh infrastructures are economically inclined. They generate revenue.

[00:39:58]Think about the airport. Think about the rail system. Think about the port system.

[00:40:03]There's none of them that is not a revenue-generating stream. So, the key economic infrastructure are revenue-generating. So, if the willingness of the government is there, definitely it it will it will come to play. And that is why even while we were part of those that started worked on the infrastructure master plan. When the government was not willing to drive it the way it should, we just created an initiative called infrastructure dialogue where we have conversation about the infrastructure deficit of the country. And we've been able to do that for the past 5 years.

[00:40:39]We have five sections of here that I've done different things between 2015 and 2020.

[00:40:44]>> Dr. Before you go there, let's look at the development finance institutions. We have about 140 of them on the continent.

[00:40:52]Can we say we have felt their impact in this area of closing this infrastructural gap?

[00:41:03]I I didn't get to hear the the beginning of your question.

[00:41:06]>> Okay, I'm asking about which you talking about. The 140 development institutions, development finance institution DFI's.

[00:41:15]We have about 140 of them on the continent. That's a lot and we should feel their impact. Can't they play a role in this infrastructural gap?

[00:41:26]Yes, they have technically played a major role.

[00:41:30]If you pick institutions like African Development Bank, African Bank, ECOWAS Bank on Investment and few others, even the Development Bank of Nigeria. They have technically played a role and they'll continue to play a role. If I pick Nigeria as an example, the most project that the current government is doing, let's take the the coastal road. If you check the costing and the financing of the coastal road, at least we were part and parcel of it to to reasonable extent. ECOWAS Bank alone, which is a development finance institution, is doing about 100 million dollars into that which about 75 of that has been released into that project. The case is the willingness of the government to approach them, which which I keep saying. Uh because there are transactions that were structured. They just don't put their money where they don't see the return on investment.

[00:42:22]There are levels of documentation that are involved, but are the institutions willing, both uh state and regional government? Are they willing to subject themselves to such processes? And that is where uh positions like us come to play a role because we know uh we sit in between between them and the government to make sure that gap is is is covered and they fund the project.

[00:42:46]It's not about the number, but how many of them are active? That is the most important part.

[00:42:51]Mhm.

[00:42:53]in Nigeria. Bank of Agriculture has also picked up a recent time. So, we can count the ones that are operational and and if you take if you take a look at any big project in Nigeria, they are deeply involved and it's just it's just about knowing how to structure the transactions and deliver them properly.

[00:43:12]What about the That will make it happen.

[00:43:14]What about the PPP? We know even here in Nigeria we have tried the PPP. So, even if there's no willingness from the government side, the fact that they're partnering the private sector, that should be able to push and change, you know, the the status of the willingness.

[00:43:31]Okay, let me take you a little bit backward. When we did the infrastructure master plan, the total deficit that was accrued together was 30.1 trillion dollars. And out of that 30.1 trillion dollars, the document clearly indicated that about 58% must come from private sector. And structures, dynamics of putting that in place that would have allowed the private sector participate in it was also outlined.

[00:43:59]And one thing you need to understand, whether is a private sector, is federal government or regional government borrowing, most of these things reflect within the the brewing capacity of the nations and and that has has a has a has a role to play. If the federal government I give a typical example, no matter the project a regional government conceive and wants to borrow, remember it must be guaranteed and it must be captured by the debt management office as part of the borrowing scheme of the federal government. The same thing is applicable when a private sector wants to borrow from this development institution. What happens? They have to provide guarantee. They will run back to the commercial bank. The commercial bank will run back to to their to their reserve bank, which is the CBN. And the cycle keep playing itself. So, we must understand these dynamics and how it play out. Until government must be willing. Private sector initiate transactions. Clearly clearly they initiate transactions. But yes, it has to You know, when we sit back and talk about the PPP, PPP does not just means the private sector jump into it. When you want to do a PPP, most of the asset you want to take over is is a government owned asset. And the lenders wants the government who is part owner of that to make their contribution, to give the assurance. When they are not forthcoming, even if when the private sector must have laid the foundation what he wants to do because he's the one that will develop the business projection, the dynamics of the business and how this can be paid back. But when the lenders ourselves you the state that is the owner of the asset, you produce 10% of this as an equity or guarantees.

[00:45:43]And this state government will have to run back to the federal to make sure that is guarantees. This chain is just what we have.

[00:45:52]Hope we can strengthen that chain and get more willingness from uh the public sector. Thank you so much, Dr. Noah Hamman Nuhu the group managing director of TTL Group and also managing partner of Africa infrastructure summit group.

[00:46:07]Thank you for your time and please help us to push for that willingness to change. Thank you for being on the program.

[00:46:18]All right, let's go global now.

[00:46:23]>> [music] [music] >> Going global now, US consumer inflation is expected to rise again in April as the ongoing Iran conflict continues to push up global oil and food prices.

[00:46:46]Investors are now watching closely for fresh inflation data that could shape the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rate amid growing concerns that higher living costs may further pressure the American economy.

[00:47:02]And Britain's financial market, they're under pressure as government borrowing costs surged to levels not seen in nearly three decades amid growing political uncertainty surrounding Prime Minister Keir Starmer's investors are reacting to report of mounting calls within the Labour Party for Starmer to step down sending guilt yields higher and the pound lower and fears growing over UK's fiscal outlook and political stability.

[00:47:35]Open AI and Microsoft are reportedly reshaping one of the biggest partnerships in artificial intelligence.

[00:47:42]This is according to reports that the two companies have agreed to cap revenue sharing payment at $38 billion as Open AI pushes for greater financial flexibility ahead of a possible public offering. Well, the move could also open the door for OpenAI to deepen partnership with rivals including Amazon and Google signaling a major shift in the rapidly evolving AI race.

[00:48:09]And from there we head to Germany where Siemens Energy is ramping up shareholder returns after a sharp jump in second quarter cash flow. And that's fueled by booming demand that's linked to artificial intelligence and data center expansion. The energy technology giant says that it will accelerate its share buyback program to as much as 3 billion euros next year after reporting a 42% surge in pre-tax free cash flow. The company has also raised its full year outlook signaling growing confidence in the global energy transition and AI-driven infrastructure.

[00:48:50]Brazil's state-owned oil giant Petrobras has reported a 7% drop in first quarter profit missing market expectations as higher global oil prices from Iran conflict failed to fully feed into earnings. The company says that its pricing model delayed the impact of the recent surge in crude prices while weaker domestic fuel sales also weighed on performance. Despite the earnings dip, Petrobras is still moving ahead multi-billion dollar shareholder payout and investors watch closely for stronger second quarter results.

[00:49:30]And German hydrogen energy technology firm uh they're calling Nucera. They're tightening costs as a reporting a wider than expected second quarter loss as rising expenses tied to green hydrogen projects continue to weigh on earnings.

[00:49:47]The company says it will freeze hiring in high-cost countries and restructure parts of its operations after posting a sick a 64 million euro net loss and double analyst expectations. Despite the setback, the company it says that cash flow improved as investors closely watch the future of Europe's clean energy and hydrogen ambitions.

[00:50:13]>> [music] [music]