The Nigerian National Petroleum Company says the country can get up to three million barrels per day of crude if all the stakeholders in the oil sector work in synergy.

The country currently produces an average of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), according to data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Olufemi Soneye, NNPC’s chief corporate communications officer, spoke at an interactive session with reporters covering the national assembly in Abuja on Saturday.

Soneye said the country is now averaging 1.7 million bpd because of a recent directive President Bola Tinubu gave to security agencies.

“Three million barrels oil production per day is achievable in Nigeria if all the stakeholders work in synergy for that purpose from the security agencies both government and private owned, to oil companies and host communities,” he said.

“With the expected synergy from all the relevant stakeholders in the war against oil theft and pipeline vandalism, the enabling environment would be in place for optimal oil production to the volume of 2.5 to 3 million bpd.

“At a time, we felt that Nigeria was in trouble as far as oil theft was concerned, but with the intensity of the war against it (crude oil theft) has allayed our fears.”

Murtala Muhammad, NNPC’s deputy manager, command and control centre, said in six months, over 8,000 illegal refineries and 5,800 illegal oil pipelines were found and destroyed.

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has been officially certified as a Great Place To Work for the year 2024-2025, marking the Bank’s second consecutive year receiving the Great Place To Work (GPTW) certification.

Great Place To Work is recognised worldwide as the global authority on workplace culture. With a comprehensive assessment of organisational culture, practices and employee feedback, the Great Place To Work certification serves as an unequivocal endorsement of an organisation’s positive work culture and commitment to employee well-being—as is the case with Wema Bank’s two-time Great Place To Work certification.

Wema Bank’s remarkable track record reflects an unwavering commitment to employee well-being and positive work culture. The Bank currently offers one of the longest standard leave days in the industry, provides employees with a Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) to cushion the impact of economic fluctuations, provides employees with a standard crèche for their infants and a fully equipped gym for fitness enthusiasts, and within the year, also increased salaries for Non Full-Time Equivalent (NFTE) employees.

From work-life balance to prioritising mental health for employees, promoting physiological wellness and enhancing professional expertise towards career success, upward reviews of allowances and a host of other unique benefits Wema Bank continues to curate for its employees; the Bank is evidently deserving of its successive Great Place To Work certifications.

Moruf Oseni, the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, attributed the two-time certification to the Bank’s deep-rooted commitment to employee wellbeing.

“At Wema Bank, we understand that our exceptional output as a Bank is a result of the dedicated input of our employees, the Wema Bank Knights, and we acknowledge the indispensable role they continue to play in our growth and success as a Bank. This is why we continue to pull all the stops in providing an enriching, productive, supportive and fulfilling work experience for our employees. This is a commitment that we will never compromise on”.

“We are honoured by the recognition accorded to us by Great Place To Work. This certification not only attests to our dedication to fostering a culture of excellence and empowering our employees with the best quality of work experience towards their personal and professional success, but also drives us to keep up the good work and exceed even more goals and expectations in enhancing employee experience.

“We take this as a challenge to go above and beyond in providing a fulfilling work experience for every Wema Bank employee and we trust that the strength of our internal framework will continue to reflect positively externally as we fulfil our lifelong goal of providing optimum value for every stakeholder of Wema Bank”, Oseni concluded.

Wema Bank earned its first Great Place To Work certificate in 2023, additionally bagging four awards at the Great Place To Work Awards 2023, which are: 2nd Best Place to Work in Nigeria (Large Corporate Organisation Category), Best in Promoting the Culture of Innovation by All, Best in Promoting Learning and Development Practices and The Victor Ligbago Award for Best Workplace for Millennials.

Femi Otedola, the chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings and majority shareholder, has increased his stake in the financial company to 13.15 percent.

Otedola increased his stake after purchasing 534,094,407 shares at the cost of N16.02 billion between September 23 and 25.

FBN Holdings notified the capital market in a statement on Thursday.

The acquisition raised his interest in FBN Holdings from 11.67 percent (4,187,602,704 shares) to 13.15 percent (4,721,697,111 shares), worth N136.9 billion as of Wednesday.

It also expands the gap between Otedola and Barbican Capital Limited, FBN Holdings’ second majority investor with an 8.67 percent stake, which represents 3,110,400,619 shares, valued at N90.2 billion as of Wednesday.

Although there is contention over the exact shares Barbican Capital holds in FBN Holdings.

In a lawsuit (no. FHC/L/CS/1172/24) against FBN Holdings, Barbican Capital, owned by Oba Otudeko, claimed that about 5,386,397,202 units of shares representing 15.1 percent of FBN Holdings were acquired over the years and at different times.

Barbican Capital said its shares purchases and dates of issue, were adequately captured by Meristem Registrar and Probate Service Ltd, the financial institution’s appointed registrars, and further acknowledged in the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which contained its value of shares with the bank.

CSCS is Nigeria’s central securities depository (CSD) licensed to carry on the depository, clearing and settlement of all transactions in the country’s capital market.

In response, FBN Holdings said Barbican Capital only notified the financial institution on July 7, 2023, that about 4,770.269,843 units of shares were acquired.

FBN Holdings told the court that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was only able to verify 3,110,400.619 units of shares out of the 4,770,269,843 shares Barbican Capital claimed it acquired.