Business
AfCTA: NCDMB provides roadmap to $3.4tn continental market
By Modupe Asudo
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has outlined a practical framework for positioning Nigeria’s energy sector to access the African Continental Free Trade Area, following a strategic webinar focused on meeting rules-of-origin requirements for continental trade.
The Board held a pre-conference webinar on Wednesday ahead of the Nigeria Local Content AfCFTA Energy Summit scheduled for Monday, February 9, 2026.
The engagement was attended by stakeholders from the oil and gas, power and renewable energy sectors, and they addressed how Nigerian products and services can qualify for preferential market access across 54 African countries with a combined gross domestic product of $3.4tn and a population of about 1.4 billion people.
Entitled ‘Meeting AfCFTA Origin Requirements in Energy Trade’, the webinar focussed on one of the major barriers facing Nigerian exporters under AfCFTA — structuring production and operations to meet origin requirements that determine eligibility for duty-free and preferential trade.
The initiative was supported by the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, and the Acting Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Ene Ette, as part of preparations for the forthcoming Nigeria Local Content AfCFTA Energy Summit, with the theme ‘Unlocking Africa’s Energy Future through AfCFTA: Trade, Innovation and Regional Integration’.
Speaking during the session, a communications analyst, Joseph Nwokedi, representing the Acting National Coordinator of Nigeria’s AfCFTA Coordination Office, Mrs Patience Okala, stressed the central role of energy in Africa’s economic integration under AfCFTA.
He urged Nigerian companies to shift their focus from Nigeria’s domestic market of about 200m people to the wider continental market of 1.4bn consumers.
“Without energy, there’s no industrialisation. Without energy, regional value chains remain aspirational,” Nwokedi said. “With AfCFTA, energy transforms from a domestic infrastructure issue into a tradable, investable and exportable sector within an integrated African market.”
He noted that even one per cent penetration of the African market translates to about 14m consumers, underscoring the scale of opportunity available to Nigerian energy firms.
The webinar identified four key pathways through which Nigeria’s energy sector can participate in AfCFTA-enabled trade. First, Nigeria’s Electricity Act of 2023 allows independent power producers to supply electricity directly to industrial clusters and export processing zones, positioning power generation as a foundation for trade-ready manufacturing.
Second, the country has submitted commitments under AfCFTA that enable professionals such as engineers, electricians, geophysicists and energy auditors to export services across Africa, subject to mutual recognition of qualifications.
Third, refined petroleum products, gas derivatives, electricity and renewable energy components can be traded across borders under preferential tariffs, provided they meet AfCFTA rules of origin.
Fourth, AfCFTA’s investment protocol, combined with recent domestic reforms, including the Presidential Directives on Investment Incentives for 2024–2025, strengthens Nigeria’s credibility for attracting cross-border investments in power generation, transmission, renewable energy and storage infrastructure.
Delivering a technical presentation, Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Burhan Sulaiman, explained that AfCFTA would eliminate tariffs on 90 per cent of goods traded within the bloc over five to 10 years, with an additional seven per cent liberalised over 13 years. However, he stressed that these benefits were conditional on meeting origin requirements.
“Companies lose benefits because origin was treated as an afterthought,” Sulaiman said. “You must build in origin compliance from the beginning, not while already running your project. Origin determines whether you export duty-free or pay full tariffs.”
He clarified that origin is determined by where economic production takes place, not by company ownership or registration. Foreign-owned companies producing in Nigeria can export as Nigerian origin, while Nigerian companies importing finished goods cannot claim AfCFTA preferences.
Sulaiman explained that products qualify for preferential access through two routes. “Wholly obtained” goods are entirely produced within AfCFTA member states, such as crude oil and natural gas extracted in Nigeria, as well as locally generated electricity regardless of fuel source.
The second route, “substantial transformation”, applies where foreign inputs are used and requires compliance with one of three tests: a change in tariff classification; a value-addition threshold limiting foreign content to between 30 and 60 per cent of ex-works price; or completion of specific prescribed processes such as distillation, cracking or reforming for petroleum products.
He provided sector-specific guidance, noting that in oil and gas, locally extracted crude and gas qualify, just as refined petroleum products that meet processing requirements. However, simple blending, basic distillation operations and modular refineries using imported crude without substantial transformation do not qualify.
In the power sector, he explained, locally generated electricity and regionally manufactured equipment with deep component transformation qualify, while installation-only activities, imported turbines, transformers and switchgear mounting do not.
“For renewables, regional solar cell and battery cell manufacturing with deep component processing qualify,” he said, adding that panel installation alone, simple module assembly and packaging imported batteries do not meet the thresholds.
Sulaiman warned that without regional manufacturing accumulation, power equipment exports fail origin tests.
According to him, the Nigeria Customs Service applies a five-step verification process for origin claims, including confirming accurate HS codes, reviewing production records, testing for minimal operations, verifying African input origins and ensuring consistency across certificates, production records and cost documentation.
“Weak documentation kills origin claims. Even genuinely originating products can be denied if documentation is incomplete or inaccurate,” he noted.
Both speakers emphasised that origin compliance should be treated as a core business strategy rather than a regulatory formality.
“Origin is not paperwork; it is strategy,” Sulaiman said. “It shapes where you locate facilities, how you source inputs, and where you sign regional contracts. Treat it as strategic from day one.”
Nwokedi urged Nigerian firms to act early. “AfCFTA is happening now. Early movers will shape supply chains, standards and partnerships. Are you going to lead, or simply follow?”
Officials also provided updates on AfCFTA implementation, noting that 92 per cent of rules of origin had been agreed, with negotiations ongoing in the textiles and automotive sectors.
An online dispute resolution mechanism has been established to coordinate Customs authorities, standards bodies and complainants.
Nigeria has deployed a fully operational electronic certification system for paperless trade, while Nigerian Customs is introducing risk-management frameworks that could allow exporter self-certification on commercial invoices.
Following a five-year implementation review led by the Minister of Industry and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, government sensitisation efforts have intensified through partnerships with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture; Women’s Chambers of Commerce; zonal outreach programmes and ‘P3 engagements’ involving the press, private sector and public institutions.
“The government will not trade under AfCFTA — our exporters will,” officials said. “If they win, we win.”
Nigerian Customs also reiterated its open-door policy for pre-export origin verification to help businesses avoid delays and additional costs at the border.
The webinar highlighted Nigeria’s potential as a regional energy and transition-fuel hub, building on frameworks such as the West African Power Pool to support cross-border electricity trade.
Key recommendations included structuring projects for origin compliance from inception, forming regional joint ventures, aligning with continental standards and leveraging AfCFTA service commitments to export Nigerian energy expertise.
The session ended with confirmation that the webinar was a technical precursor to the Nigeria Local Content AfCFTA Energy Summit, which will convene policymakers, industry leaders and trade experts to develop strategies for maximising Africa’s energy potential under the AfCFTA framework.
The recently commissioned 70-tonnes-per-day Air Separation Unit plant in Lagos, has upscaled Apex African Gas Nigeria Limited production capacity to 110 tonnes per day, thus positioning it among the largest domestic industrial gas producers in Nigeria.
It was gathered that this development would help reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported gases and strengthen the supply of industrial and medical gases to the healthcare, construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, and food processing sectors.
During the inauguration on Thursday, the Chairman of Apex African Gas, Najimu Adeniji, said the facility will produce oxygen, nitrogen and argon for critical industries across the country.
“This plant does not just produce oxygen. We also produce nitrogen and argon, which are used in industries. Oxygen, we can change the configuration to produce more oxygen if we want or more nitrogen,” Adeniji said.
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He noted that nitrogen remained a key product for the oil services industry, particularly in Port Harcourt and its environs.
“Our main customers for nitrogen are in the oil service industries in Port Harcourt and the environment. They also represent a significant part of our revenue. These are gases that would have been imported if we were not producing locally. So it saves us the foreign exchange costs that we are able to produce here,” Adeniji added.
The chairman, however, identified power supply as a major challenge affecting production costs, explaining, “If we can get a power supply from the national grid, the cost will be significantly cheaper. So what we would like is for the government to provide for us, for the benefit of the general populace, cheaper power so that the cost of oxygen to the general public will be much cheaper than it is.”
On his part, the General Manager of Apex African Gas, Charles Allam, said the company remained committed to supporting hospitals with oxygen despite rising operating costs.
“While the major concern now is power, we are working closely with the government, especially with the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, to see how we can save on power. But for now, we are trying our best,” Allam said.
“We are supporting all the medical hospitals and the federal hospitals with oxygen at the best rate and at the best cost. Some of them, as we mentioned in the ceremony, are free. We are trying. There are challenges, but with God’s help, we will overcome them,” he added.
According to Allam, the project involved an investment of more than N10bn and was designed to serve Nigerians across multiple sectors of the economy.
“What we have done so far belongs to all Nigerians. It belongs to Nigeria, and it is for the benefit of all Nigerians. So, altogether, we can make a big difference for this country,” Allam said.
Guest of Honour, Senator Tokunbo Abiru, described the project as a demonstration of investor confidence in Nigeria and a major contribution to industrial development and job creation.
“It is with great pleasure that I join you today at the formal launch of Apex African Gas Nigeria Ltd., a company whose emergence further strengthens Nigeria’s industrial, healthcare and energy value chain,” Abiru remarked.
“To me, this occasion is more than the unveiling of a company. It is the celebration of enterprise, innovation and confidence in the future of our nation. Apex African Gas represents the kind of indigenous capacity we must continue to encourage in Nigeria,” he added.
Abiru said the investment will support local production and reduce reliance on imports while improving access to critical industrial and medical gases.
“The importance of industrial and medical gases in healthcare, manufacturing, construction, oil and gas and other strategic sectors cannot be overstated. The contribution of this company, therefore, is to improve access to medical oxygen and support industrial productivity,” Abiru said.
He also commended the company’s parent group for its contribution to employment generation, noting that the investment could create additional jobs.
Partners of the firm, including the Technical Director of FHI 360, Dr Kenny Ewulum, commended the inauguration, stressing that Apex had played a vital role in improving access to liquid medical oxygen across Nigeria.
“To need liquid oxygen in the country is one thing, but to have access is a big challenge. That’s where Apex Gases came, I would say, to the rescue for the country to be able to access liquid medical oxygen across the country,” Ewulum stated.
“Currently, we are being supported by Apex Gases to provide liquid medical oxygen across the country. We hope that we are going to be expanding that access to contribute to universal access to medical oxygen,” he added.
Also speaking, the Director of Medical Services, Nigerian Navy, Surgeon Commodore Momoh Salihu, said the company had supported the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, Ojo, with free oxygen supplies during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Today’s event represents far more than the inauguration of a new industrial facility. It is a testament to vision, innovation and confidence in Nigeria’s capacity to build, produce and compete. This investment is no doubt a significant contribution to national development,” Salihu said.
“Recently, Apex Gas has been a valued partner in healthcare delivery since the COVID-19 pandemic, when the company generously supplied oxygen gas free of charge to the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, Ojo. More importantly, this support continued beyond the pandemic, reflecting a genuine commitment to healthcare delivery and community well-being,” he added.
Representing the National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, Technical Adviser to the initiative, Eniitan Tejuoso, described the new facility as a milestone for Nigeria’s healthcare and industrial sectors.
“Medical oxygen sits squarely at the intersection of these priorities. It is more than an industrial product. It is an essential medicine. Every investment that strengthens our ability to produce medical-grade oxygen locally strengthens the resilience of our health system and our capacity to save lives,” Tejuoso said.
“With this new 70-tonne per day air separation unit, Apex African Gas Nigeria has established itself as the country’s leading producer of liquid oxygen. This is not only a milestone for Nigeria, but a significant achievement for the wider West African region,” she added.
Senior Director, Child Health and Infectious Diseases, Dr Chizoba Fashanu, who represented the Country Director of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Dr Olufunke Fasawe, also commended the company for its role in strengthening Nigeria’s oxygen supply chain and supporting healthcare facilities, particularly in underserved communities.
Apex African Gas was founded in 2004. The company produces oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium and specialised gas mixtures in both liquid and gaseous forms. The company serves healthcare institutions, manufacturers, oil and gas operators, food processors, construction firms and other industrial users across Nigeria.
The company said the new facility will expand storage capacity, improve supply reliability and support long-term growth in sectors where uninterrupted access to industrial and medical gases remains critical.
To keep pace with rivals and sustain profitable operations amid structural shifts in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, the board of TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc has outlined strategic initiatives.
Chairman, TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc, Jean-Philippe Torres, admitted at the company’s annual general meeting that the downstream petroleum market in Nigeria has been dramatically altered with the coming of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals (DPRP).
According to Torres, the structural shifts in the downstream architecture, erratic supply lines, and aggressive competitor pricing following the upscaling of domestic refining capacity negatively affected the company’s performance in 2025.
“Some operators decided to start price wars during a big part of the year, which had obviously a significant impact on our sales and also on the margins.
The volatility of the foreign exchange (forex) during the whole year also exposed the company to high and negative stock effects,” Torres stated.
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He outlined that the company would prioritise cost discipline and product optimisation over joining irrational market price wars.
“We work with one motto, which is operational excellence. We have to work with all stakeholders to make sure supply continues to be fluid, and manage our fixed costs in a very precise manner. Even if the environment is complicated, we keep investing in capital expenditures to have sustainable profitability on the long run,” Torres declared.
He assured the investing public that corrective measures are already yielding strong results.
“In the first quarter of this year, 2026, we have a very significant improvement of the profitability of the company, and it really makes us quite optimistic for the future,” Torres said.
Shareholders commended the company’s operational resilience during the 2025 financial year, while tasking the board to deploy concrete strategies to navigate market distortions triggered by new domestic refining dynamics.
At the virtual meeting, shareholders noted the historic performance of TotalEnergies and expressed their confidence in the board and management to drive the country through the challenging period.
TotalEnergies recorded a 25 percent drop in revenue and a 151 percent decline in profitability in 2025, preventing a dividend payout.
The Host Communities of Nigeria (HOSCON), comprising oil and gas producing communities, has raised the alarm over alleged attempts by certain individuals to sabotage the operations of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, particularly in the oil rich Niger Delta region.
The HOSCON’s note of warning was contained in a letter to Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the signature of HRM Monday Whiskey, Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom and Chairman of HOSCON.
In the letter, the HOSCON alerted the President to imminent crisis in the oil and gas sector if urgent steps were not taken to forestall it by checkmating the alleged sinister acts of sabotage against the security organisation.
The letter reads in part, “We the leadership of the Host Communities of Nigeria (HOSCON) Producing Oil & Gas write to specifically draw your attention to a well planned and orchestrated plot by some influential cabal at the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd to deliberately cause disorder in the Niger Delta.
“Our intelligence from highly placed sources both in Abuja and across the Niger Delta is that since the oil cabals/bunkerers can no longer have their way in stealing crude oil in the region, they have perfected a new approach by deliberately starving the authorities of the hardworking Tantita Security Nigeria Limited of regular funding and thus creating unnecessary salary delays and other operational activities being carried out in the day-to-day activities of the oil pipeline security giant.
“As a result, staff and subcontractors of the organisation have not been paid for almost four months running, thereby causing grumbling and threats to down tools by workers. We strongly condemn this new plot and believe that it cannot be true because the sacrifices/risk that the authorities of Tantita Security Services Ltd have taken to get to where they are will be made useless by some selfish cabals who do not mean well for our country.
“We trust that as a father of the nation, these findings by the leadership of the Oil & Gas production Communities in the country will be given very serious attention, as delaying action could be an invitation to avoidable crises.”
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In addition, the HOSCON stated that the people of the Niger Delta deeply appreciate the professionalism and competence of the Tantita Security Services, as the environment and ecosystems were in a sorry state before the coming on board of the firm.
“No interest of individuals or groups can be more important than that of the entire country. Now that we are fully aware of the antics of the NNPC authorities to deliberately delay payments of services already rendered by Tantita Security Services Ltd so that they can disorganise their operations, the leadership of HOSCON will keep exposing all the underhand working against the success of this all important project.
“What we expect from all patriotic Nigerians, NNPC management inclusive, is support and undiluted encouragement, considering the daily hazards and threats being faced by Tantita Security workers.
“Finally, we strongly believe that in order for our country to be great again, sensitive national assignments like Tantita Security operations be given its rightful place in budget allocation,” the HOSCON averred.
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