Business

Nigeria formally Accepts WTO’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

Published

3 years ago

June 13, 2023

450 Views

Nigeria has deposited its instrument of acceptance for the World Trade Organisation’s ((WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.

The Agreement prohibits support for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, bans support for fishing overfished stocks, and ends subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas.

Ambassador Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid presented Nigeria’s instrument of acceptance to WTO Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday.

Ambassador Abdulhamid said: “The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies presents a unique opportunity for Nigeria to promote sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth and the improvement of livelihoods while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem, believing that the Agreement shall put a stop to all harmful fisheries subsidies such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities by all WTO members.”

“By this instrument of acceptance, Nigeria reassures its commitment to a rule-based multilateral trading system by guaranteeing its compliance with the Agreement as well as refraining from introducing any new subsidies that harm the marine environment while recognizing the need for appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries which can be achieved through adequate policy space to develop its fisheries sector and technical assistance and capacity building in order to implement the discipline.

Nigeria calls on other WTO members who are yet to ratify this agreement to do so as soon as possible so as to contribute to our global effort of preservation of the global fish stocks,” he said.

DG Okonjo-Iweala said: “I am profoundly grateful to Nigeria for formally accepting the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
I am proud to see the country’s continued commitment to sustainable development and its vote of confidence in the work of the WTO.
Nigeria’s acceptance adds to our growing tally of members that have accepted the Agreement — we have received about one-third of the total that we need for the Agreement to enter into force.

I hope that Nigeria’s action serves as an inspiration to other governments in Africa and the rest of the world to move swiftly to implement the Agreement and foster global cooperation for the benefit of our shared future.”

Nigeria is the fifth-largest African fishing nation and is estimated to lose about USD70 million each year to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
The sector accounts for as much as 5 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and supports the livelihood of about 24 million people.

Business

BUA Group Denies Reports of Bid to Acquire Stake in Kano Pillars Football Club

Published

3 hours ago

June 30, 2026

Charles Flames

16 Views

BUA Group has firmly dismissed online reports claiming that the conglomerate and its Chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, submitted a bid to acquire a 70% stake in Kano Pillars Football Club.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the company described the publication as inaccurate and misleading.

PRESS STATEMENT

Re: False Claims of Bid to Acquire Stake in Kano Pillars Football Club

Our attention has been drawn to an online publication suggesting that BUA Group and its Chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, have submitted a bid to acquire a 70% stake in Kano Pillars Football Club.

We would like to clarify that this report is inaccurate and does not reflect any position, action, or communication from BUA Group or Abdul Samad Rabiu. No such bid has been made, and there has been no engagement with any party on this matter.

We kindly request that this report be disregarded, and we encourage the public and members of the press to rely only on official statements issued through BUA Group’s verified channels for accurate information regarding our activities.

We appreciate the continued interest in BUA Group and thank the public for their understanding.

BUA Group reiterated its commitment to transparency and urged stakeholders to verify information through its official communication channels.

Business

Nigeria’s oil minister orders marketers to reduce fuel price

“While we believe that market forces will eventually restore equilibrium, the regulator also has a statutory responsibility to ensure that deregulation does not become an avenue for profiteering. This must be done in line with the extant provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act,”said Lokpobiri.

Published

7 hours ago

June 30, 2026

OCHEFA

18 Views

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, at the NMDPRA General Counsel and Legal Advisers Forum, directed petroleum marketers to reduce fuel price .

At the two-day forum themed: “Beyond Compliance: Driving Regulatory Certainty and Investment Confidence in Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector, Lokpobiri noted that refiners and marketers have continued to sell petrol at elevated pump prices despite the significant decline in crude oil prices from a peak of $120 per barrel to about $72 per barrel last week.

He said: “Following de-escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States, we expected to see a commensurate downward adjustment in the prices of PMS and other petroleum products.However, that has not yet happened.”