2025 budget presentation, November inflation report… business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — December 16 to December 20.

TINUBU TO PRESENT 2025 BUDGET TO N’ASSEMBLY ON TUESDAY

President Bola Tinubu is set to present the N47.9 trillion 2025 budget to the national assembly on December 17.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the development at a plenary on December 12.

On December 3, the senate approved the MTEF/FSP ahead of the consideration of the 2025 budget proposal.

In the MTEF/FSP, the key parameters include a $75 oil price benchmark per barrel, daily oil production of 2.06 million barrels per day (bpd), an exchange rate of N1,400 to $1, and a targeted gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4 percent.

The expenditure framework also has a new borrowing plan of N9.22 trillion which constitutes both domestic and foreign borrowings.

SHETIMMA INAUGURATES $315M FPSO VESSEL 

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has inaugurated a $315 million floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel to boost Nigeria’s oil production capacity.

The inauguration ceremony was held in Dubai.

Operated by Oriental Energy Resources Limited, the FPSO vessel, with a storage capacity of one million barrels, is expected to kick off with an initial production of 17,000 barrels per day (bpd) before increasing its output capacity to 30,000 bpd.

SUPPLY OF MINT NAIRA TO HAWKERS WILL ATTRACT N150M FINE, CBN WARNS BANKS 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says banks facilitating the illicit flow of mint naira notes to local currency hawkers will face a N150 million fine per branch.

In a circular signed by Solaja Olayemi, the acting director of the currency operations department, the CBN expressed concern over the illicit flow of mint banknotes to currency hawkers and unscrupulous economic agents.

According to the regulator, it impedes the efficient and effective cash distribution to banks’ customers and the general public.

CBN said it would intensify spot checks at banking halls and automated teller machines (ATMs) to review cash payouts to banks’ customers, as well as mystery shopping to all identified cash hawking spots across the country.

‘OLD NAIRA NOTES REMAIN LEGAL TENDER’

Also, the CBN has reassured the public that both the old and redesigned naira notes will continue to serve as legal tender without any deadline.

In a statement on Friday, Hakama Sidi Ali, CBN’s acting director of corporate communications, addressed the ongoing misinformation concerning the validity of the old N1,000, N500, and N200 banknotes currently in circulation.

Ali said the supreme court ruling of November 29, 2023, permits the concurrent use of all versions of the affected denominations indefinitely, dismissing any claims suggesting an expiration date.

NIGERIA RETAINED SPOT AS AFRICA’S BIGGEST OIL PRODUCER IN NOVEMBER 

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says Nigeria has retained its position as the largest oil producer in Africa.

In its latest monthly report on December 11, OPEC said Nigeria’s oil output increased in November to 1.48 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.33 million bpd in the previous month.

The oil alliance said the production figure was Africa’s largest in October, even as Nigeria continued to hold the top spot on the continent in the subsequent month.

In November, OPEC said Nigeria surpassed Algeria, which produced 908,000 bpd, followed by Congo, which had an output of 268,000 bpd.

INFLATION REPORT

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release the report on the country’s consumer price index (CPI) and inflation report for November on December 15.

In the previous month, inflation rose to 33.8 percent – higher than the 32.7 percent recorded in September 2024.

‘150MW OF ELECTRICITY TO BE ADDED TO NATIONAL GRID BEFORE YEAR-END’

Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, says Nigeria is on track to add 150 megawatts (MW) of electricity to its national grid before the year ends.

Adelabu spoke to journalists after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at the presidential villa in Abuja.

The minister said the upgrade will be made possible following the successful completion of the pilot phase of the presidential power initiative (PPI).