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The Big Story
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Oyo Presses Presidency to Explain Where $3 Billion in NLNG Dividends Went
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“What happened to the $3 billion received under this administration?” Sulaimon Olanrewaju, special adviser on media to Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde [TheCable] |
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Oyo State has asked the presidency to explain how nearly $3 billion in dividends from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) was shared since President Bola Tinubu took office. This is the latest escalation in a row that began when the presidency rejected Governor Seyi Makinde’s claim that each state is owed NGN250 billion. The presidency said NLNG has paid about $21.5 billion to the federation in 25 years, with less than $3 billion of it under Tinubu. Makinde’s office says that answer sidestepped the central issue. It says the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, with federal support, hired a consultant to reconcile NLNG dividend payments, that the study found a shortfall of about NGN9 trillion owed to states and local governments, and that the federal government accepted the findings. The report is held by both the federal government and the forum, it says. It asks whether states and councils received their shares, how much, and how the amounts were worked out, and says the presidency did not explain how the money was disbursed. [TheCable]
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What Else Is Happening
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Power Generation Drops to 653.6 Megawatts as 27 Plants Produce Nothing
The national grid dashboard showed electricity generation at 653.60 megawatts (MW) at 2pm on Monday, with 27 of the 33 listed plants producing nothing. Only six plants were supplying power, led by Delta at 196MW and Odukpani at 187.90MW, while Egbin, Geregu, Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro were at zero. Ikeja Electric said a shortfall in power from the grid had cut supply hours for its customers. [Guardian]
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Nigeria Unveils Plan to Triple Its Capital Market to NGN750 Trillion by 2036
Vice President Kashim Shettima launched the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan 2.0 on Monday. It aims to lift the total value of the market, where companies and governments raise money from investors, from about NGN250 trillion to NGN750 trillion by 2036. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also plans a National Savings Scheme for traders, farmers and graduates, run by registered fund managers. [Nairametrics]
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Residents Demand Probe After Gas Pipeline Explosion Injures 20 in Rivers
Residents of Aleto in Eleme, Rivers State, want compensation and an investigation after a gas pipeline explosion on Thursday that reportedly injured 20 people and damaged more than 50 houses and shops. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) said the pipeline belongs to its subsidiary, NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company Limited, and that it is still working out the cause. Residents allege the leak was reported earlier, a claim no independent investigation has established. [Premium Times]
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Benue Catholic School Moves Students After Four Hostel Fires
St Winifred Girls Secondary School in Ihugh, Benue State, has moved its students to four other Catholic schools. Its hostels burnt on 28 October 2025, 10 May, 15 May and 11 October 2026. The Catholic Diocese of Gboko has closed the school, a hospital and a parish in Ihugh indefinitely, citing repeated fires, burglaries and no lasting security guarantees. Students resume at the new schools on 23 October. [Premium Times]
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Market Watch
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The naira weakened slightly, with the official rate at NGN1,333.72 per dollar on 19 October, up 0.11% from NGN1,332.26 on 16 October, so a dollar costs a little more. [CBN] Since 31 December 2025 the rate is still down 9.58%.
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The NGX All-Share Index fell 0.91% to 245,278.34 on 19 October from 247,539.73 on 16 October, and is up 57.62% since 31 December 2025. [NGX Group] Dangote Cement fell 5.50% to NGN1,008 and banking shares slid on profit-taking, as the market lost NGN1.47 trillion in value. [Nairametrics]
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Banks lend to factories so they can buy equipment and keep production running. CBN data show outstanding loans to manufacturers fell 26.8% in a year, from NGN7.09 trillion in June 2025 to NGN5.19 trillion in June 2026. The data is for June and does not show whether banks lent less or borrowers repaid more. Manufacturers face high electricity, transport and exchange rate costs. [Nairametrics]
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Quick Hits
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| → Ondo State has signed an agreement with technology firm ADMINSERV to launch electric buses in Akure, starting with five buses worth NGN180 million each. The company estimates monthly transport costs could fall from about NGN9,000 to between NGN5,000 and NGN6,000 per user. [Guardian] |
| → Soldiers rescued 11 passengers during a foiled kidnapping on the Kabba-Ayere Road in Kogi State after suspected terrorists stopped a commercial vehicle. Nine people, including the driver, were freed first, and two more were found in a search. Two suspects are assisting investigations. [Premium Times] |
| → Eight Zamfara lawmakers who left the All Progressives Congress (APC) say they are returning after meeting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa. Led by Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle, the group pledged to work for the party’s success in the 2027 elections. [Premium Times] |
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On a Lighter Note
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Seven Celebrity Couples Whose Love Started With a DM. Ini Dima-Okojie posted that she could not find Maltesers in Lagos, and Abasi Ene-Obong offered to send some from London. They married in 2022. Banky W slid into Adesua Etomi’s DMs, and Ebuka’s New Year message to Cynthia began ten years of marriage. [Pulse Nigeria]
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Why It Matters
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More than four in every five power plants on the national grid dashboard were producing nothing at 2pm on Monday. Only six were supplying electricity. Alongside that, some homes in Ogba and Festac in Lagos were reported to have gone without power for up to two days, and Ikeja Electric told customers, for the second time in two weeks, that it was getting too little power from the grid to give them their usual hours. On Saturday, the Ibadan distribution company said load restrictions on a transmission line had cut the power available to its feeders in Ogun communities from Ota to Abeokuta. Banks, meanwhile, lent less to factories, with outstanding loans to manufacturers down 26.8% in a year to NGN5.19 trillion. The data cannot say whether the two are connected, and neither figure alone shows a trend: the plant count is one afternoon’s reading, not an average, and the loan figure is from June. The grid problem itself is not new, since Ikeja Electric’s earlier notice was dated 5 October.
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Produced with AI assistance using open-source web content. Edited by Tomiwa Afolabi. Sources have not been independently verified by Frontier Brief Media. Readers are encouraged to consult original sources before acting on any information herein.
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