By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Tuesday that it will withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the broader OPEC+ alliance, effective May 1, 2026.

The decision, reported by a Dubai-based local media outlet, stems from the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision as its energy profile evolves. This includes accelerated investments in domestic energy production, following a comprehensive review of the country’s current and future production capacity, as well as its overall output policy.

“This would be based on the UAE’s national interest and commitment to contributing effectively to meeting the market’s pressing needs,” the report added.

The UAE stated that it will continue to act as a responsible and reliable energy supplier, bringing additional production to the market gradually and measuredly, in line with demand and market conditions.

The Emirates also reaffirmed its commitment to investing across the entire energy value chain—including oil and gas, renewables, and low-carbon solutions—and to working with partners to ensure stable global supply.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Senator Magnus Abe officially resumed as Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) today, vowing to enhance the regulatory body’s capacity to fulfill its statutory mandate.

Speaking at the Commission’s headquarters shortly after his inauguration, Abe promised to provide stronger leadership and oversight while also committing to securing a more befitting office for the NUPRC to maximize staff productivity.

“I want to assure management that we are here strategically to work with you and see that, as much as possible, we work together to uplift the Commission and to help our country,” Abe said.

The Chairman emphasized that the board’s core purpose is to deliver better leadership and oversight to the regulatory agency.

In her remarks, NUPRC Commission Chief Executive Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan congratulated the new board members, noting that the Commission depends on them for direction in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.

Eyesan described the inauguration as coming at a “most auspicious moment,” particularly amid the current spike in oil and gas prices triggered by the ongoing Middle East crisis.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Amidst growing public discontent over persistent economic hardship and the Federal Government’s continued reliance on borrowing, former Central Bank Governor and current Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, recently questioned the logic behind President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing spree despite the removal of the long-criticised fuel subsidy.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, a prominent economist and financial analyst at a reputable establishment, AbdulWahab Olalekan, dissected the paradox, arguing that the administration’s promises to “stop the hemorrhaging” have yet to materialise because the wound has only been relocated.

When asked whether this economic dislocation is driven by global forces or local mismanagement, Olalekan did not mince words. He attributed the severity of the current hardship primarily to “local structural deficiencies and poor policy sequencing”—specifically the twin shocks of subsidy removal and foreign exchange (FX) liberalisation.

“The relocation of this hardship is primarily the result of local structural deficiencies and policy sequencing (FX liberalisation shock following subsidy removal), though it has been heavily compounded by global economic headwinds,” Olalekan said.

He stressed that most economists agree the removal of the subsidy was a long-overdue necessity. However, the problem, he explained, lies in the “blunt execution of the transition.” He pointed to two critical domestic failures: the absence of effective social safety net programmes to cushion the blow for ordinary Nigerians, and the country’s “huge debt servicing blackhole” which has swallowed much of the revenue that should have trickled down to the populace.

“The severity of the current hardship is less about the removal of the subsidy itself… and more about the underlying fragility of the Nigerian economy and the blunt execution of the transition. Notably, failure to provide effective social safety net programmes to cushion impact and the fact that the country’s huge debt servicing blackhole sucked some of the subsidy revenue that should typically have trickled down to the average Nigerian,” he explained.

But while local dynamics set the stage, the economist acknowledged that global macroeconomic forces have acted as a devastating multiplier. He noted that the current high global interest rate environment has forced emerging markets like Nigeria to borrow at an expensive premium, further worsening the fiscal picture. Additionally, sticky global inflation has directly fed into Nigeria’s import-dependent economy, accelerating imported inflation.

“The high global interest rate environment meant that countries in the emerging and frontier markets like Nigeria had to borrow at an expensive premium further exacerbating our fiscal picture while the stickiness of global inflation meant increased imported inflation since we are largely an import-dependent nation,” Olalekan stated.

He, however, offered a sliver of relief, observing that the inflation trajectory would have been even worse were it not for the operationalisation of the Dangote Refinery and certain reforms introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“Thanks to the Dangote Refinery and some of the CBN reforms, the inflation situation could have been worse,” he concluded.

As the Tinubu administration continues to defend its borrowing plan in the face of mounting scrutiny, Olalekan’s diagnosis suggests that without fixing domestic structural flaws and providing tangible relief, removing the subsidy alone will remain a repositioning of pain rather than a cure.