<< Back             Poser >> FG threatens to withdraw licenses of dormant oil blocks By Udeme Akpan & Sebastine Obasi The Federal Government is set to revoke the licenses of some oil blocks in the country over delays in development of the oil blocks by the license holders. Confirming this yesterday at the Licensing Round Pre-bid Conference in Lagos, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, added that there will be no refund of bid fee or signature bonus following the revocation. He stated further: “Licenses are no longer status symbol.   They belong to the government.   Every licensee must develop the assets within the given time frame. “Some licensees have held their licenses for 20 years without developing their assets. Such will not be tolerated any longer.” According to him, post-bid adjustment is not provided for in the bid round, as investors are cautioned to adhere strictly to the guidelines.   “Nigeria is a mature field. That’s why investors want to invest in the country’s hydrocarbon, “he added. Also speaking, Commission Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, stated that many of the blocks on offer were recovered through the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA. She said: “Nigeria should be seen as the preferred investment destination in Africa. It is noteworthy that the number of indigenous producers has increased appreciably.” She also explained that Nigerian banks are critical to Nigeria’s oil industry and enjoined investors to always liaise with them appropriately while embarking on the licensing round. A total of 50 blocks are on offer for bid, 16 onshore and 18 shallow water blocks are in the Niger Delta. Four onshore blocks, each, are in Anambra, Benue and Chad frontier basins, while one onshore block is in the Benin frontier basin. There is only one deep offshore block in the Niger Delta basin. Vanguard Business News	Why many Nigerians choose non-interest banking – Summit Bank CEO In this interview with Emeka Anaeto, Business Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, the Managing Director of Summit Bank Limited, Dr. Sirajo Salisu, gave insight into the operations in the sub-sector Ghana economy continues stronger performance – GSS Ghana’s economy continues to show strong performance with economic activities growing by 3.8 per cent year-on-year in October 2025, propelled largely by the services sector, says the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). Nigeria exits EU high-risk list, boosts investor confidence – Edun Nigeria’s exit from the European Union’s high-risk third-country list is a major boost for investor confidence, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, has said, as the government moves to prioritise affordable food, housing, and job creation in the next phase of reforms. Truckers warn Lagos extortion crippling port logistics, petition Presidency By Godwin Oritse The Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Associations (COMTUA), owners of articulated trucks on Nigerian roads, has petitioned President Bola Tinubu over what it described as the failure of the Lagos State government to protect truckers and other road users from widespread extortion, harassment and intimidation by organized street urchins. In a petition […] FG threatens to withdraw licenses of dormant oil blocks By Udeme Akpan & Sebastine Obasi The Federal Government is set to revoke the licenses of some oil blocks in the country over delays in development of the oil blocks by the license holders. Confirming this yesterday at the Licensing Round Pre-bid Conference in Lagos, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, added that there will be […] NGX confirms listing of 3.16billion UBA shares The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has admitted an additional 3.16 billion ordinary shares of United Bank for  Africa (UBA) Plc, to its Daily Official List, signalling a major enhancement of the bank’s market capitalisation whilst also deepening liquidity on the capital market. The NGX noted this in a confirmatory letter to the bank, dated January 12, […]