The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency has appealed to the Federal Government to suspend the 50 per cent revenue deduction currently being made at source from its internally generated revenue, a practice capable of hindering smooth operations of the agency and hampering the safety of air passengers.

Before now, NAMA has been calling for the suspension of the mandatory 50 per cent deduction from its revenue, emphasising the need for the placement and modernisation of ageing navigational equipment currently in use across the country.

Speaking at the 54th Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association held in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Managing Director of NAMA, Ahmed Farouk, mentioned funding as the agency’s most pressing challenge, insisting that the deductions significantly constrain its ability to maintain and upgrade critical infrastructure required for safe and efficient airspace management and operations

Farouk stated, “The most significant constraint we face today is funding. This challenge is significantly exacerbated by the deductions-at-source of between 30 per cent and 50 per cent from NAMA’s internally generated revenue. While we understand the fiscal realities facing the government, these deductions are hindering our ability to execute vital projects.”

The NAMA boss added that the nature of its operations, particularly the need for continuous facility modernisation and statutory maintenance, demands consistent investment.

He argued that withholding half of its earnings leaves little room for reinvestment into the systems that uphold airspace safety and efficiency.

It further appealed to the government to consider granting a waiver on the deductions, describing such a move as a game-changer for the aviation sector.

According to the agency, should the waiver be granted to the agency, NAMA will rechannel the resources into critical infrastructure, modern technology, and workforce development.

He said, “The Honourable Minister, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, while we celebrate these achievements, we must also be candid about our challenges. Our most significant constraint remains funding. The scale of facility modernisation and the relentless cycle of statutory maintenance required to uphold the highest degree of safety and operational efficiency are capital-intensive.

“This challenge is significantly exacerbated by the deductions-at-source of between 30% and 50% made directly from NAMA’s internally generated revenue. While we understand the fiscal pressures on the government, these deductions severely limit our capacity to undertake the comprehensive projects our airspace demands.

“Therefore, from this esteemed platform, I wish to make a heartfelt appeal to the Federal Government to graciously consider a waiver of these deductions. Such a gesture would be a game-changer for Nigerian aviation safety. It would allow NAMA to reinvest every Naira of its earnings into critical infrastructure, cutting-edge technology, and the continued development of our human capital, the very ‘Human Edge’ we are here to discuss.”

NAMA also expressed its commitment to supporting the welfare and professional growth of its personnel, especially Air Traffic Controllers, whom it described as the custodians of Nigerian skies.

The agency pledged to remain a custodian of their growth and well-being and expressed hope that ongoing stakeholder deliberations would result in productive outcomes and guide future collaborations.

The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said there are plans to expand the Dangote oil refinery from the 650,000 capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, the largest in the world.

Dangote said this in an interview with S&P Global.

The PUNCH first reported in July that the refinery planned to scale up to 700,000 bpd by December this year.

According to S&P Global, the Nigerian business mogul is seeking to double the size of the refinery with Middle Eastern funding, putting it on track to become the largest in the world.

The Dangote refinery has transformed Nigeria into a net exporter of diesel and jet fuel and supplies vast quantities of petrol once imported from Europe.

Dangote was said to have described his ambitions to develop African energy independence as a “herculean task.”

“We have to build the refinery again, either here or somewhere else. But really, somewhere else is not possible because we’d have to go and spend so much building infrastructure, and we have the infrastructure already here,” Dangote was quoted as saying.

In Nigeria alone, S&P Global Commodity Insights projected that net gasoline imports could more than double from 2026-27 to hit almost 200,000 bpd by 2030, underpinned by economic development and rapid population growth.

“In July, Dangote unveiled plans to expand the refinery from its current 650,000 bpd to 700,000 bpd by the end of the year.

Now, the target is to reach 1.4 mbpd, with no specified date, a scale that would surpass the world’s largest 1.36 mbpd refinery in Jamnagar, India,” the report said.

Engineers working at the Lekki complex had said it was designed with room for growth, pointing out empty concrete plots capable of holding a second refining system.

Expanding could involve building a second refinery with the same configuration, one engineer said, potentially with the addition of a vacuum distillation unit to boost light ends yields.

Dangote said the company is also working on potential linear alkylbenzene and base oil projects and aims to grow its annual polypropylene capacity from one million metric tonnes to 1.5 million mt in the next few years.

Though the International Energy Agency said the world will already have 11.4 mbpd more refining capacity than it needs by 2030, concentrated mostly in China and India.

But Dangote was said to have rejected a model that leaves Africa dependent on imported fuel and remains determined to disrupt a market shaped by economies of scale. He warned that the continent will be in trouble without huge private investment.

“Most African governments will not have the capacity to build a refinery,” Dangote said, calling smaller projects like Angola’s new Cabinda facility “a drop in the ocean.”

Platts said the company’s own maturing debt was recently seen as a key funding hurdle before it secured a critical $4bn financing agreement in August.

To expand the refinery and develop a new petrochemicals project in China, Dangote is actively considering a strategic partnership with Middle Eastern companies.

“Our business concept is going to change. Now instead of being 100 per cent Dangote-owned, we’ll have other partners,” he said.

Within the next year, he noted that the refining business will list 5 – 10 per cent of its shares on the Nigerian stock exchange.

“We don’t want to keep more than 65-70 per cent,” Dangote said, explaining that shares will be offered incrementally subject to investor appetite and market depth.

He added that the door remains open for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to boost its stake after it trimmed its interest to 7.2 per cent, but not before its next phase of growth is well underway.

“I want to demonstrate what this refinery can do, then we can sit down and talk,” Dangote said.

It was reported that the plant’s main petrol engine, the residue fluid catalytic cracker, recently went offline in September shortly after a three-week turnaround in August, fuelling rampant speculation over future downtime.

Dangote Vice President responsible for overseeing refinery operations, Devakumar Edwin, said the RFCC restarted around October 7 and should soon be back at full capacity.

“We have resolved most, not all, but most of the problems. And I think we’re looking for a window when we shut down for another month,” Dangote said on the maintenance plans.

The month-long turnaround will involve shutting down the RFCC but not the CDU and other secondary units. The entire refinery only requires a full turnaround every five years, Edwin said.

Dangote said that the RFCC turnaround will be planned to avoid clashing with a seasonal demand peak towards the year-end, without providing dates.

Transcorp Hotels Plc, the hospitality subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc, recorded a 36 per cent rise in its Profit Before Tax to N22.4bn for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025.

This was disclosed in a statement on Monday as the firm announced its unaudited results for the third quarter, which indicated a positive performance across key metrics.

In terms of revenue, the company delivered N72.31bn, a 49 per cent increase from N48.49bn in Q3 2024. Gross Profit Margin expanded to 76 per cent, up from 71 per cent in Q3 2024, which the firm said was driven by operational efficiency and superior service delivery.

Transcorp Hotels revealed that it had a future-ready growth strategy anchored on sustainability and innovation with the aim of unlocking value for shareholders. The recently commissioned 5,000-seat Transcorp Centre is fast positioning Nigeria as Africa’s hub for world-class meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions.

Commenting on the company’s performance, the Chairman of Transcorp Hotels Plc, Emmanuel Nnorom, said, “This impressive Q3 performance underscores our time-tested strategy focused on cost discipline, operational efficiency, and putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. We remain committed to delivering sustainable profitability and long-term value for our investors.”

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc, Uzo Oshogwe, added, “Our Q3 2025 results reflect our unwavering drive for excellence and our commitment to redefining hospitality in Africa. With the success of our newly commissioned 5,000-seat event centre, we are proud to be positioning Nigeria as the preferred destination for global conferences and events, while scaling sustainable value for our shareholders.

“With its iconic hospitality assets and dedicated team, Transcorp Hotels continues to strengthen its leadership in the sector, setting new standards for growth, innovation, and service excellence.”

Meanwhile, Transcorp Hotels recently won triple honours at the Seven Star Luxury Awards, where the brand won Best Luxury Business Hotel (Nigeria & Africa), Best Luxury Event and Conference Centre (Nigeria & Africa) and Best CEO of the Year.

The Bank Customers Association of Nigeria has expressed support for the Central Bank of Nigeria’s draft exposure on the use of Automated Teller Machines, which proposed a 24–48-hour refund rule.

This was disclosed by the president of BCAN, Dr. Uju Ogubunka, in an exclusive chat with The PUNCH on Monday, where he noted that the faster refund period would make life easier for bank customers.

The CBN, in an exposed draft of guidelines on the operations of automated teller machines in Nigeria, seeks to enforce strict rules for transaction processing, reconciliation, and refund timelines for failed transactions (instant for “on-us” transactions, manual reversal within 24 hours, and within 48 hours for “not-on-us” transactions). The proposed guideline also sought to mandate specific security features, such as camera surveillance, anti-skimming devices, and physical security measures, while also ensuring accessibility and continuous service with limited downtime and proper maintenance.

Speaking on the faster fund reversal period, Ogubunka said, “I think the CBN makes a lot of sense. If I go to an ATM to withdraw money, and it’s not paid, and then you don’t refund me the money within one day, you are strangling me, because that may even be the last money I have in my account.  So, 24 hours is ideal, if you ask me, and 48 hours is even too much for other banks. But again, we can give up some kind of benefit of doubt to another bank and say, ‘Okay, if my own bank is taking 24 hours, let’s give them 48 or 36.’

“No customer would like their money to be hanging out there for more than that kind of length of time, especially if you have an important thing to do with that money at that point, that you need to get the money.

So, it makes a lot of sense, but I’m very sure that the banks will pick against that. They need some leverage of time to be able to sort themselves out. But whatever they do, I think CBN makes sense, and we will support the CBN position.”

On ATM downtimes, the proposed rule said, “All ATM deployers shall ensure that: a. The ATM downtime (due to a technical fault) shall not exceed 72 consecutive hours. Where this is not practicable, customers shall be duly informed by the deployer; b. Helpdesk contacts are adequately displayed at the ATM terminals. At the minimum, there should be a dedicated telephone line for reporting faults, and such telephone lines shall always be functional and manned.”

Ogubunka said, “I think that should depend on what the cause of the problem is. If you give 72 hours for a downtime ATM to be brought back to life, it appears you are suggesting that you have an idea what the problem may be, which I am not very sure anybody can just guess from the outside. But it is a good start. That will make banks face the issue squarely, instead of abandoning the ATM when it gets bad.

“Because the experience we have now is when an ATM gets bad, it may take weeks or months before they can take a look at it. It also means that we need to train more technicians who can handle some of these things, too. Because if the number of people who can handle the issue of broken-down ATMs is very few or limited, then the capacity to run around will just be very challenging. So, I think if it is a rule or a regulation, it makes sense to start from there, put pressure on the banks and let them do what is needful. That’s the position I hold.”

Providing an update on the letter that the association wrote to the apex bank over excessive bank charges, the former Registrar of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria said the body was still waiting for a response from the CBN.

“We have written to CBN. There hasn’t been a response. We have also sent a reminder to CBN to see whether they can give us at least a response. But so far as I am speaking to you, there hasn’t been any. What we are writing to CBN is that we are telling CBN to stop the issue of excess charges because we believe it is possible with regulations and all of that.

“I don’t think any bank can justifiably say, “Oh, this is why we are excessively charging our customers.’ There are guidelines already; a guide to bank charges is there. So, if you follow the guide and use your computers to do that, and you have in-house human capacity, I don’t think you have any problem keeping to the regulation. But like I said, we have not got the feedback yet from CBN.”

He added that although some fintechs were already offering zero transfer charges, the commercial banks do not have to follow suit but should operate within the boundaries of the bank charges guideline.

“Even if they don’t want to give us those things free of charge, let them restrict themselves to what the guidelines have said they should charge. You understand? If the guidelines say charge me one naira, don’t go and charge me two naira, three naira, or five naira. Restrict yourself to the one naira, if you cannot even lower it yourself, to encourage your customers.

“The banks that have said, ‘Oh, we are no longer charging this; we are no longer charging that,’ are trying to encourage their customers to do more business with them. So, that’s the position we hold, and I believe that it’s not too extreme,” Ogubunka asserted.

Nigerians consumed a total of 613.62 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, for transportation, power generation, and other domestic uses between October 2024 and October 10, 2025,

This is according to fresh data obtained from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority obtained by our correspondent on Monday in Abuja.

Despite the ramp-up in operations at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other local plants, imported petrol still accounted for a larger share of the country’s total fuel supply during the period under review.

Out of the total 613.62 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit consumed between October 2024 and October 10, 2025, the NMDPRA data revealed that 236.08 million litres were supplied by domestic refineries, while 377.54 million litres came through imports.

The figures indicate that imported petrol still accounted for the bulk of Nigeria’s fuel needs within the period, with imports dominating supply, contributing about 63 per cent of Nigeria’s PMS needs.

While local refineries, led by the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery, provided the remaining 37 per cent, marking a significant improvement from the previous year’s levels.

The NMDPRA data further indicated that domestic production rose steadily from 9.62 million litres per day in October 2024 to 18.93 million litres per day by October 2025, showing a near 100 per cent increase within the one-year period.

Conversely, import volumes declined sharply from 46.38 million litres per day in October 2024 to 15.11 million litres per day in October 2025, reflecting a 67 per cent drop.

A monthly breakdown of the data revealed a steady decline in petrol importation and a gradual rise in local supply. Import volumes dropped from 46.38 million litres in October 2024 to 36.39 million litres in November and 38.90 million litres in December.

By January 2025, import figures had fallen further to 24.15 million litres, and though there were slight fluctuations in subsequent months – 26.79 million litres in February, 25.19 million litres in March, and 23.73 million litres in April – imports rebounded temporarily to 37.37 million litres in May.

Thereafter, volumes declined again, with 28.54 million litres imported in June, 35.07 million litres in July, 20.66 million litres in August, 19.26 million litres in September, and a year-low of 15.11 million litres as of October 10, 2025.

In contrast, domestic refining output showed notable improvement within the same period, rising from 9.62 million litres in October 2024 to 19.36 million litres in November and 13.13 million litres in December.

The upward trend continued into 2025, with local supply climbing to 22.66 million litres in January and 22.42 million litres in February and maintaining over 20 million litres in both March (20.65 million litres) and April (20.35 million litres).

Though there were minor dips to 17.85 million litres in May, 17.82 million litres in June, and 16.50 million litres in July, output surged again to 21.19 million litres in August before stabilising at 18.93 million litres in October 2025.

The figures reflect a gradual but significant shift in Nigeria’s fuel supply structure, with local refineries, particularly the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, steadily closing the gap on imports within just one year of operation.

The document further showed that total petrol supply averaged 46.6 million litres per day, comprising 29.5 million litres from imports and about 17.1 million litres from local production.

The reduction in petrol imports has also eased pressure on Nigeria’s foreign reserves, as the country spends less on importing refined products. Previously, importers required billions of dollars monthly to settle letters of credit and cover freight and insurance costs.

However, the report noted fluctuations in overall supply, with volumes dipping from 55.21 million litres in May 2025 to 34.04 million litres in October 2025, a sign that logistical constraints and periodic maintenance still affect consistent nationwide distribution.

Oil and gas analysts say the improvement coincides with the first full year of operations of the Dangote Refinery, which began large-scale production earlier in 2025 and now contributes between 15 and 20 million litres of PMS daily to the domestic market.

Since its commissioning in May 2023 and subsequent ramp-up through 2024, the Dangote Refinery has been under global scrutiny as the flagship of Nigeria’s industrial revival agenda.

In its first year of sustained operation, the refinery’s growing output has reshaped Nigeria’s fuel supply structure, reduced foreign exchange exposure, and rekindled confidence in local refining after decades of failed turnarounds at the government-owned Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.

Commenting, the Chief Executive Officer of Petroleum.ng, Olatide Jeremiah, said that Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity has recorded remarkable progress in the past year, with the Dangote Refinery now supplying about 40 per cent of the country’s daily petrol consumption.

Speaking in reaction to new supply data released by the NMDPRA, the analyst said the progress underscores the growing impact of local refineries on Nigeria’s energy security.

He, however, stressed that the Dangote Refinery and other local refiners require uninterrupted access to crude oil in naira to scale up production and reduce pump prices nationwide.

“The fact that import remains the country’s major source of refined products shows that there are still unresolved issues. In the last year, domestic supply championed by Dangote Refinery has made tremendous progress with about 40 per cent of our daily consumption. Dangote Refinery needs 100 per cent access to crude in naira to increase domestic supply and drive down prices at the pump,” he said.

He lamented that despite being Africa’s biggest crude oil producer and host to the continent’s largest refinery, Nigeria still imports about 60 per cent of its daily petrol needs, a situation he described as inconsistent with the country’s energy potential.

The Petroleum.ng chief urged the Federal Government and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to strengthen policies that guarantee local refineries full access to domestic crude supply.

“Nigeria, the biggest producer of crude in Africa with the biggest refinery in Africa, should not be importing about 60% of its daily fuel consumption; thus, our pump prices should be amongst the lowest in the world.