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Prof. Bart Nnaji To Chair 2025 Oriental News Nigeria Summit

By Amaka Obiefuna
As Nigeria continues to promote energy efficiency with natural gas as key driver to achieve her energy transition goals, key stakeholders in the sector would be discussing prospects of the country’s huge gas resources in actualizing set targets.
Other key agencies of government have also signified their acceptance to participate in the 2025 Oriental News Nigeria national conference where the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) as keynote speaker at the conference would highlight benefits of gas as the country’s transition energy source.
The conference will be chaired by former Power Minister and chairman of the indigenous power company, Geometric Power Limited (GPL).
STANMEG Communications, publishers of Oriental News Nigeria Online, one of Nigeria’s most influential Online platforms confirms NLNG as keynote speaker at its 2025 National Conference on Sustaining Gas Utilization Towards Achieving Nigeria’s Energy Security.
The main Theme of the conference is “Integrating Nigeria’s Gas Potentials Into Strategic Energy Transition Initiatives”
The conference is also focusing on key Sub Themes, which include
…..Enhancing Energy Security And Efficiency Through Effective Gas Utilization
……Evaluating Regulatory Frameworks for Sustainable CNG Adoption in Nigeria’s Transportation Industry
………. Building Local Content Synergy’ between the Insurance Industry and Oil and Gas Sector.
The event holds on 24th July, 2025 at Radisson Blu,  GRA Ikeja Lagos at 9am.
Meeting Nigeria’s domestic energy needs remains one of the most significant challenges to sustainable development and economic growth. Only half of Nigeria’s 200 million citizens currently have access to energy, and with the population set to double by 2050 universal access is a huge challenge.
Nigeria has proposed to ramp up gas production, utilization and export, with the aims of supporting industrialization, boosting domestic energy supply (for power, cooking and transport), and increasing government revenues.
Whether ramping up gas utilization is feasible, or indeed the appropriate approach to achieving Nigeria’s energy supply and economic ambitions, is uncertain.
Every year Oriental News Nigeria, undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s most influential and reliable news channels brings stakeholders together to discuss pivotal topics around the economy.
Being the 4th in the series, the 2025 Oriental News Nigeria conference is bringing key industry figures, experts and policy analysts to evaluate various aspects of natural gas initiatives put together to drive the national economy.
Government is quite aware that what is certain is that global pressure to transition away to cleaner energies and defund fossil fuel projects complicates the process of realizing that goal and could lead to wasted investments that jeopardize the economic and energy security of Nigerians in the future.
But weak legal and regulatory frameworks, big infrastructure gaps, a non-cost-reflective pricing regime and host community conflicts have made the domestic gas sector uncompetitive and unattractive to investors. This, in turn, has left gas reserves underexploited, especially more expensive non-associated gas which represents half of Nigeria’s reserves.
Implementation of reforms by successive governments through the 2008 Gas Master Plan the (GMP), the 2017 National Gas Policy (NGP) and other instruments have proven slow. With the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, the legal, fiscal and regulatory framework of the gas sector has been strengthened with the creation of dedicated regulators, a dedicated minister, provision of third party access to infrastructure, and other improvements. But many gaps remain.
Thus the Decade of Gas Policy launched in 2021 to address the limitations to achieving domestic gas-based industrialization and economic prosperity, and reduce energy poverty, faces greater challenges.
Also, as a response to the high cost of petrol and the attendant rise in the cost of transportation, following the removal of fuel subsidy, President Bola Tinubu launched the Presidential CNG Initiative to provide a cheaper and cleaner energy source for Nigerians.
It is based on the above initiatives and pace setting policies that we have developed a theme and sub-themes to examine and evaluate those policies by key government agencies, including key stakeholders in the industry.
Apart from examining the role of gas initiatives boosting power sector growth, the sub-themes is evaluating the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as preferred fuel for the transport industry.
Road transport is the dominant mode of transportation in Nigeria, moving over 90% of internal goods and passengers across the country; hence it is the highest contributor to the nation’s GDP amongst other sub-sectors.
However, from all we could glean, road transport is predominant in the Nigerian transport sector. This entails an excessive use of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs), hence, an immense contribution to CO2 emission through the combustion of petroleum-based products like PMS, AGO and ATK; relatively small amounts of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are emitted during fuel combustion, though.
The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has revealed that Nigeria boasts of an estimated 11 million vehicles traversing its roads.
Globally, the transport sector is a major source of CO2 pollution in the atmosphere, with a global contribution of about 7.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emission in 2020. About 20% of the global CO2 emission is contributed by Surface transport.
We reviewed the various sub-sectors of the Nigerian transport sector with their corresponding energy consumption rates. Results show that all the sub-sectors are solely dependent on fossil fuels to meet their energy demands and requirements, thus making the transport sector the highest consumer of fossil fuels, and consequently, the highest contributor to carbon footprint.
This necessitates the need for gradual decarbonisation of the sector, but not at the expense of the nation’s economy, since the transport sector contributes about 3% of the nation’s GDP.
During the conference there will be Panel Discussions on the following sub themes
1. Adaptation of Renewable Energy Policy and Gas Utilization Strategies In Power Generation Sector
2. Evaluating Decade of Gas Policy and Broad Spectrum of Gas Utilization Strategies
3. Reinforcing CNG, LPG Strategies in Addressing Emissions and Climate Impacts of Fossil Fuel Use in the Transport Industry.
  4. Building Local Content Synergy’ between the Insurance Industry and Oil and Gas Sector.
The conference promises to be highly interactive and with such great collaboration and shared commitment of stakeholders the outcome will not only achieve the country’s objectives but also set a precedent for other nations to follow.
Yemisi Izuora
Publisher/Editor
Oriental News Nigeria
Fidelity Bank Promotes 12% Of Workforce And Increases Salaries By 20% Across Board

By Amaka Obiefuna

Fidelity Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s top-tier financial institutions, has promoted 376 employees following its recently concluded annual performance review exercise. This represents approximately 12% of the bank’s workforce, underscoring its management’s deep appreciation for the pivotal role played by staff in recoding the highest growth by percentage volumes in the banking industry with  210% increase in its Profit Before Tax (PBT) which grew from N124.3 billion in 2023 to N385.2 billion in 2024.
The announcement, which was recently communicated internally, comes on the heels of a 20% across-the-board salary increase implemented in June 2025—a gesture that reflects the bank’s commitment to staff welfare. It is worth noting that this follows a similar salary adjustment carried out in November 2024.
Under the leadership of Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank has consistently outperformed market expectations. In 2024, the bank recorded the highest share price growth of 116%  in the industry following the completion of its Public Offer which  was  over subscribed by 238% .
In recognition of the banks stellar performance, global rating agency, Fitch Ratings recently upgraded Fidelity Bank’s National Long-Term Rating from ‘A(nga)’ to ‘A+(nga)’ in a further endorsement of the bank’s financial strength and prudent management. The upgraded ratings reflects improved profitability metrics and robust capital buffers, reinforcing the bank’s sustained upward trajectory.
AXA Mansard Unveils Fully Digital, Flexible Health Insurance Solution

By Amaka Obiefuna
In a major step toward expanding healthcare access in Nigeria, AXA Mansard Health Limited has enhanced its digital health insurance offering by introducing flexible monthly payment options.
The upgraded solution now allows customers to spread their premiums over up to 10 months, replacing the traditional one-time annual payment and making health coverage more affordable and accessible for millions of Nigerians.
This game-changing product is fully digital, designed to meet Nigerians where they are. It aims to remove the financial and procedural barriers that have historically prevented many from accessing quality healthcare.
 “Health insurance shouldn’t be a luxury, it should be a lifeline ,” said Mrs. Adebola Surakat, Chief Marketing Officer at AXA Mansard. “With our extendedsolution, we’ve simplified the journey. Nigerians can now get the protection they need and deserve, without the pressure of a one-time annual payment. It’s affordable, flexible, and, most importantly, accessible anytime, anywhere, digitally.
Through this product, AXA Mansard Health is addressing a key challenge in Nigeria’s healthcare system: low health insurance penetration due to affordability and accessibility issues. By introducing monthly instalment payments and removing paperwork with an entirely digital onboarding process, the company is bringing a much-needed innovation to the market.
“This isn’t just another health insurance product, it’s a gateway to quality health care that everyone can afford,” Mrs. Surakat added. “We have designed it for the average Nigerian students, artisans,  young families, and professionals who want healthcare with peace of mind without breaking the bank. Customers can choose from flexible plans that suit their income and health needs. The platform is intuitive, mobile-friendly, and powered by cutting-edge digital infrastructure that ensures a fast and seamless experience.”
The new health insurance solution is available online. Nigerians can explore and sign up for a plan in just a few minutes by visiting https://www.axamansard.com/health/plans-details.
Fidelity Bank MD Not Part Of The Woobs Case

Reports published by Sahara Reporters on June 25 claimed that Fidelity Bank’s MD, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe was a party to an ongoing case involving fraud on Woobs Resources account with the bank.
This is however not true. The charge sheet dated 12 May 2025 (sighted by this reporter) stated that the Defendants in the suit were Victor Ukutt, Esq, Fidelity Bank Plc, Whoba Ugwunna Ogo and Safiya Whoba.
It will be recalled that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice issued a press release on 9 June 2025 explaining that Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe’s name was struck off the charge as she was neither the account officer nor the Managing Director of the Bank when the account used in the alleged scheme of fraud was opened.