Business

Seplat workers suspend strike after fresh talks

Published

7 months ago

April 4, 2026

Workers at Seplat Energy have suspended the strike action they embarked upon on Friday amid concerns over pay increases.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that workers at the oil company’s onshore and offshore facilities began the industrial action after the firm failed to meet their demands.

On Saturday, the workers’ union, under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), announced the suspension following written commitments by the company on pay-related issues, according to Reuters.

The strike had raised concerns about potential disruptions to oil and gas output at a time the Nigerian government is seeking to maximise production amid fluctuating global oil prices linked to the Middle East crisis.

In a letter dated 4 April to Seplat’s Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown, PENGASSAN said it had directed its members to immediately suspend the industrial action after negotiations resumed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

The union said discussions on the 2026 collective bargaining agreement would continue, with a target to resolve outstanding issues by 13 April.

Details of the workers’ demands remain unclear.

“We can confirm that the union has suspended its notice of industrial action to allow negotiations to conclude on outstanding items within an agreed framework,” Seplat spokesperson, Ogechukwu Udeagha, was quoted as saying.

“Operations are recommencing at our various locations,” he added.

Seplat is targeting production of up to 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) this year, up from an average of 131,506 boepd recorded in 2025, as it seeks to scale output while remaining a key gas supplier to Nigeria’s domestic power market.

The industrial action came despite the company’s strong operational performance in 2025. Seplat reported a 150.4 per cent increase in revenue to N4 trillion, driven by expanded output and its first full year of offshore operations.

Average daily production rose by 148 per cent to 131,506 boepd, accounting for roughly 7 to 9 per cent of Nigeria’s total liquids output.

ALSO READ: Seplat workers begin indefinite strike over welfare concerns

Onshore production also increased by 14 per cent, supported by upgrades to the Sapele Gas Plant, which raised processing capacity to 90 million standard cubic feet per day.

Despite the revenue growth, profit expansion was constrained by rising costs, including higher tax obligations.

The company’s projection to increase output to 155,000 boepd underscores the potential impact any prolonged disruption could have had on its operations.

Business

Dangote Foundation to gift refinery shares to 778,000 women in 15 states

Published

51 minutes ago

October 19, 2026

PlateauReports

The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) has said 777,907 vulnerable women across 15 Nigerian states are on track to benefit from 15.56 million shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals under its Women Share Subscription Grant Initiative.

In a statement issued on Sunday by Zouera Youssofou, its managing director/CEO, the foundation said the programme aims to promote financial inclusion and empower women through equity ownership in one of Africa’s largest industrial investments.

“A total of 777,907 underprivileged Nigerian women across 15 states are set to benefit from 15.56 million shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals IPO under the Aliko Dangote Foundation’s (ADF) Women Share Subscription Grant Initiative,” the statement said.

The initiative forms part of the foundation’s broader target of empowering two million vulnerable women across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it stated further.

The foundation said 15 state governments have committed to participating in the programme, under which each state’s financial contribution will be matched by the foundation to provide beneficiaries with shares at no cost to the beneficiaries.

The participating states include Abia, Anambra, Borno, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Yobe and Zamfara.

Last week, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals extended its ongoing $1.6 billion IPO, originally scheduled to end on 13 October, by two weeks to enable broader participation across Africa, following robust, continent-wide interest.

Since its launch, the IPO has been heralded as the biggest-ever on the continent. It is offering 4.1 billion shares at N525 per unit, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares. Its green shoe option allows an additional 30 per cent of the shares on offer to be sold if it is oversubscribed.

In July, a private placement ahead of the IPO was 270 per cent oversubscribed, even though the original plan was to raise $2.5 billion.

The IPO attracted billions of naira within minutes of opening, with a couple of trading platforms, including Bamboo and Cowrywise, experiencing downtime on the first day on account of unprecedented subscription traffic.

Shares allocation

The foundation noted that Gombe State has emerged as the first participating state to make full payment towards the initiative, marking a milestone in its implementation.

Under the arrangement, each beneficiary is eligible to receive 20 shares at an indicative allocation price of N525 per share, giving each recipient an allocation valued at N10,500.

The state government will finance 10 shares per beneficiary, while the foundation will provide a matching contribution for the remaining 10 shares.

The initiative, according to the statement, seeks to extend the benefits of the IPO beyond institutional and high net-worth individuals to vulnerable women, many of whom may be participating in the capital market for the first time.

Rather than relying solely on conventional financial assistance, the programme intends to give beneficiaries ownership of productive assets and an opportunity to participate in long-term wealth creation.

The foundation’s target of reaching two million women across all 774 local government areas underscores its ambition to expand financial inclusion and broaden individual participation in Nigeria’s capital market.

ADF acknowledged the support of the Nigerian Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission in advancing the initiative’s financial inclusion objectives.

The programme runs simultaneously with the foundation’s Tertiary Students Share Subscription Grant Initiative, which is designed to support eligible students looking to participate in the IPO.

Under the students’ initiative, the foundation supports applications for 10 shares on behalf of each participating eligible student at no cost.

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Business

NDLEA Intercepts Saudi-Bound Drugs Hidden in Palm Oil Keg at Kano Airport

Published

9 hours ago

October 19, 2026

PlateauReports

BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Sunday said it has intercepted a Saudi Arabia-bound consignment of skunk concealed in a gallon of palm oil at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.

It also announce search of a shipment at the Apapa port in Lagos uncovered 8,725 kilograms of powdered tramadol worth over N6.98 billion in street value.

The agency also seized thousands of kilograms of cannabis and large quantities of opioids in Lagos, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Kano and Kaduna states, arresting dozens of suspects, including an 85-year-old grandmother.

At the Kano airport, NDLEA officers on Friday 16th October 2026 intercepted a female passenger, Fatimah Ahmad, with a gallon of palm oil containing parcels of cannabis weighing 511.75 grams during the outward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Addis Ababa. Fatimah told operatives the gallon was given to her by her cousin, Abubakar Yahaya, who was promptly arrested at the airport car park.
Following a joint examination with the Customs Service and other agencies at the APM terminals in Apapa, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on 2nd October uncovered a large shipment of powered tramadol from India, declared as maize starch. A confirmatory test at the NDLEA forensic laboratory showed the cargo to be tramadol hydrochloride powder. When it was separated from its concealment on Wednesday 14th October, it came to 349 bags with a gross weight of 8,725kg, worth over N6.98 billion.
In a separate operation at the Tincan port in Lagos on Monday 12th October, NDLEA officers in the course of a joint examination of a container with Customs and others, discovered 55kg of Canadian Loud worth N165 million. The drugs were packed in brown cartons and hidden inside a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveyed in the 40-foot container.
Elsewhere in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 14th October, raided Idumota market where they arrested Elizabeth Chidera Kalu, and recovered 10,600 ampoules of diazepam injection and 6,500 tablets of Molly from her store. The following day, Thursday 15th October, two 35-year-old men were arrested in the Mushin area of the state: Idowu Daudu, with 59.95kg of skunk, and Ahmed Oniyinde, with 61.23kg of same substance.
In another interdiction operation in Lagos, operatives acting on credible intelligence on Thursday 15th October intercepted a truck coming from Trade Fair market with illicit drug consignments along Iyana Oba. Two suspects: Tajudeen Adeduntan, the loading manager and his assistant, Azeez Sikiru.
A search of the truck led to the recovery of 18,000 pills of tramadol 250mg, concealed in cartons labelled as Rambo insecticide.
In Edo, NDLEA operatives raided Warake, Ivhiaro and Ewe/Irue communities in Owan East LGA between 15th and 16th October, arresting six suspects. They include 85-year-old Grace Ehimeka, arrested with 179kg of skunk at Warake; Ayo Aigberadion, 53, with 220.8kg at Ewe/Irue; Ali Garba, 57, with 5.852kg; Habib Braimoh, 45, with 100 grams; Musa Mubid, 35, with 2kg of cannabis, cannabis seeds, tramadol, Swinol and diazepam; and Hope Okoro, 35, with 237 grams of loud.
Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 17th October raided a cannabis farm in Okemoro Isinbode camp forest, Ondo State, and destroyed 7,500kg skunk on three hectares. Five suspects were arrested: Asikpo Ekpeyoung, 43; Solomon Okpani, 22; Ubong Friday, 35; Joseph Friday, 22; and Ekenimi Seth, 35. Exhibits recovered included 92 bags of skunk weighing 1,267kg, 11kg of cannabis seeds and 3kg of fresh stems, a total of 1, 281 kilograms. In Owo area of the state, operatives on Friday 16th October, trailed 53-year-old Okunebe Ndidi to his hideout in Ameyinti where they recovered 25 bags of cannabis weighing 375kg.
Not less than 894,800 pills of tramadol capsules and exol-5 tablets were recovered from
Shamsu Garba, 35, at Ragwam village, Katagum LGA, Bauchi state when NDLEA officers intercepted his Volkswagen Golf wagon car on Wednesday 14th October. The same day, operatives on patrol along the Bauchi-Gombe road recovered 291 blocks of cannabis weighing 265kg from an abandoned car at Tudun Natsira village.
In Kano, two suspects, Ali Abdullahi, 38, and Ibrahim Adamu, 23, were arrested on Tuesday 13th October, along the Zaria-Kano road, with 30,100 tablets of tramadol 225mg seized, while a 54-year-old Murtala Dayyabu was arrested at Niger Street, Malan Kato, with 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 on Wednesday 14th October.
A raid by NDLEA operatives at Kayimi village, Kaduna state led to the arrest of Mohammed Sani, 48, Zaharadeen Shafiu, 29, and Yakubu Abdullahi, 20, with 496.5kg of cannabis. In a separate raid at Food Palace, Ali Akilu Road, Kaduna, John Ayo David, 39, was arrested with 49,500 tablets of tramadol 225mg, while a 42-year-old suspect, Odo Jonas Ejike was arrested with 29,500 capsules of tramadol at Utako area of Abuja on Saturday 17th October.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Nawar-Ur-Deen High School, Ogboro, Oyo state; Elf Junior Secondary School, Bojude, Gombe; Cherubim and Seraphim Primary School, Ikorodu Lagos; Harmony Secondary School, Lokoja, Kogi; Government Secondary School, Ikot Ansa, Calabar, Cross River; Rivers State College of Health Science and Management Technology, Port Harcourt; Mesh International School, Benin City, Edo; and Abu Hanifa Academy, Kano Municipal, Kano state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of Apapa, Tincan, MAKIA, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Kano, and FCT Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain the onslaught against drug trafficking networks, while continuing with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.

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