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Oil output slumps as Nigeria, Libya, Venezuela drag OPEC+ targets

Published

3 hours ago

November 5, 2025

Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela recorded drops in crude oil production in October, undermining the output levels set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, for the month.

According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, OPEC’s overall output rose by just 30,000 barrels per day in October, a sharp contrast to the 330,000 bpd increase recorded in September, despite earlier agreements to boost supply.

Data from OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report for October, obtained by Channels Television, showed that Nigeria’s crude production, which fluctuated between 1.3 million and 1.4 million barrels per day from January to June 2025, rose briefly to 1.5 million bpd in July before sliding back to 1.4 million bpd in August and 1.3 million bpd in September.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, attributed the production decline to the “crisis between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers as well as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.”

Oil prices slipped on Wednesday amid global market weakness and a stronger US dollar as investors reassessed supply dynamics.

Brent crude futures fell by 6 cents (0.1%) to $64.38 per barrel by 5:08 a.m. WAT, hitting a near two-week low. U.S. West Texas Intermediate also declined by 10 cents (0.17%) to $60.46, while the OPEC Basket shed 0.26 cents (0.39%) to $66.72 per barrel.

“The risk-off tone across markets saw investors exit energy markets,” ANZ analysts wrote in a client note quoted by Reuters.

“Crude oil is trading lower … as risk sentiment shifted sharply negative, boosting the safe haven U.S. dollar, both of which weighed on the crude oil price,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore stated.

Further pressure came after the American Petroleum Institute reported a rise in U.S. crude inventories for the week ending October 31.

On the supply front, OPEC+ announced plans to raise production by 137,000 bpd in December but said it would pause further increases during the first quarter of 2026.

However, analysts at LSEG cautioned that the pause was “unlikely to offer meaningful support to November and December prices.”

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NIS to introduce emergency passport for Nigerians abroad

Published

47 minutes ago

November 5, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service has announced plans to introduce a Single Travel Emergency Passport, a new biometric travel document designed to help Nigerians abroad whose passports are expired, lost, or stolen return home securely and verifiably.

The Comptroller-General of Immigration, Kemi Nanna Nandap, disclosed this during the Joint Thematic Meeting of the Khartoum, Rabat, and Niamey Processes held in Abuja, which Nigeria co-hosted with the Government of France.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Service Public Relations Officer, ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, on Wednesday.

According to Nandap, the STEP will replace the current Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) as part of NIS’s ongoing reforms “aimed at strengthening Identity Management and Border Governance frameworks in line with global best practices.”

The CGI explained that “the STEP will serve as a temporary travel document for Nigerians abroad whose passports are expired, lost, or stolen, enabling them to return home in a secure and verifiable manner.”

She noted that “the travel document will be issued at designated Nigerian embassies and consulates abroad and valid only for single entry, reinforcing the Service’s commitment to efficient service delivery and robust identity protection.”

The meeting brought together key stakeholders in migration management, including the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, NAPTIP, ECOWAS, AU, EU, and representatives of African and European countries.

The high-level forum focused on strengthening collaboration to combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking, emphasising prevention, protection, and prosecution across regional migration routes.

In her keynote address, titled “Insights on Prevention and Protection as Strategic Pillars to Effective Law Enforcement and Prosecution Responses,” Nandap outlined the Service’s broader reform agenda aimed at enhancing migration management systems, international cooperation, and capacity building.

“The Comptroller-General reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to regional and global migration dialogues, emphasising that the Nigeria Immigration Service will continue to align its policies and operations with international standards to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration across borders,” the statement added.

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Rivers achieves 95% HIV testing among pregnant women — Institute

Published

56 minutes ago

November 5, 2025

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The Institute of Human Virology Nigeria reports significant progress in Rivers State’s Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, achieving more than 95 per cent HIV testing acceptance among pregnant women between 2020 and 2023.

Project Director of the Rivers ASPIRE Project at IHVN, Dr Stanley Idakwo, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday, noting that the achievement reflected years of strategic community engagement and consistent peer mentorship efforts.

Idakwo said data from the District Health Information System indicated that “HIV testing among pregnant women had remained between 95 and 100 per cent since 2020,” following intensive counselling and mentorship.

“This achievement is largely driven by effective counselling, strong peer support, and the mentor mother model that encourages adherence and emotional support.

“About 98.6 per cent of clients also expressed satisfaction with PMTCT services,” he said.

However, Idakwo acknowledged that challenges remained.

“Around 31.7 per cent of women cite distance to facilities as a barrier, 20.1 per cent mention transportation costs, and 16.5 per cent report long waiting times,” he noted.

He explained that those challenges were being mitigated through task-sharing among healthcare workers, improved case management, and integration of PMTCT with broader maternal and child health services across the state.

“Improved staff attitude and shorter waiting times have encouraged more women to seek antenatal care, ensuring better access to HIV testing and follow-up treatment for both mothers and their babies,” Idakwo added.

He emphasised that although maternal and infant ARV prophylaxis had reduced HIV transmission, uptake of follow-up services like facility-based deliveries and antiretroviral use during labour still needed improvement.

“To address this, we’re strengthening health workers’ capacity, improving drug supply chains, and ensuring mentor mothers and midwives jointly monitor pregnant women through delivery and the postnatal period.

“IHVN is also collaborating with the Rivers State Ministry of Health to expand PMTCT services closer to communities and improve access for women in hard-to-reach rural and riverine areas.

“With PEPFAR-CDC and Global Fund support, we’ve trained more than 400 Traditional Birth Attendants across 319 wards, linking them to 115 facilities under a hub-and-spoke service delivery model,” he said.

Idakwo said continuous training for counsellors, expansion of PMTCT coverage to more primary healthcare centres, and enhanced safety for healthcare workers were key strategies for sustaining the recorded progress.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure no child in Rivers State is born with HIV. Every pregnant woman deserves quality, stigma-free healthcare regardless of her location or social status,” he affirmed.

He added that the IHVN Rivers ASPIRE Project would continue strengthening community partnerships and supporting Nigeria’s goal of eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission through sustained innovation and collaboration.

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FCT doctors’ strike continues despite partial payment of arrears

Published

1 hour ago

November 5, 2025

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The Association of Resident Doctors in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (ARD-FCTA) on Wednesday confirmed the partial payment of salary arrears and the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) by the FCT Administration. Still, it maintained that its indefinite strike would continue until all outstanding demands are met.

In a statement signed by its President, Dr. George Ebong, the association said the payments mark the beginning of the implementation of its demands, though several doctors were still left out of the recent disbursements.

The statement noted that 28 doctors who had been owed salary arrears for periods ranging from one month to one year were paid two nights ago.

The association, however, explained that the Medical Residency Training Fund payment was not made to all affected doctors, leaving 47 others still awaiting their entitlements.

It added that salaries for October were also paid on Tuesday.

The ARD-FCTA is an association of doctors practising in the 14 district and general hospitals, including the Department of Public Health under the FCTA.

The ARD-FCTA began its strike on Saturday following the announcement by its national body, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, to commence an indefinite and total strike on the same date.

The doctors embarked on the industrial action to press home their demands for better working conditions, improved welfare, fair remuneration, and others.

Giving details of the government’s response to their demands, the doctors said, “Two nights ago, the 28 doctors who had been owed their salary arrears for more than two years, ranging from one month to six months to one year, were paid.

“Also, the MRTF of some doctors was also paid. Out of 150 doctors owed the MRTF, only 103 were paid; there is a remainder of 47 doctors not yet paid. Salaries were also paid yesterday (Tuesday), starting from the morning.”

While the association expressed gratitude to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, for what it described as the beginning of the implementation of demands, it insisted that the indefinite strike would continue until all outstanding issues are resolved.

“Our demands are not exclusive of the immediate payment of the rest 47 doctors of their MRTF as time is running out for their trainings and exams; the immediate payment of the external resident doctors owed six to seven months since they got employed as some have resigned and left due to lack of funds to commute themselves to work; the skipping of arrears that have lingered for years, the promotion arrears that have left lingered for years.

“The Post-Part 2 conversion arrears that have lingered for years; the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure 25-35 per cent adjustment that the Federal Institutions have implemented since; wage award; hazard allowance arrears of 13 months since 2021; the immediate employment; and favourable working conditions, among others.

“These demands are very pertinent to this strike and are also the prerequisite to the suspension of this strike, both at the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors’ level and also at ARD-FCTA.

“While we are grateful for the dialogues that we have been involved in at the National Assembly and the FCTA management, we hope to find a lasting solution to the lamentable situation of our healthcare system,” the statement highlighted.

The doctors urged the government not to always wait for a strike before addressing workers’ grievances.

“Finally, the management and the government should not always wait for a strike to occur before scampering to listen to our yearnings.

“Our sincere appreciation once more to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for his leadership and commitment to our country as we continue to work together to ensure that we continue our commitment to the welfare of our patients, while we, as health professionals, are not neglected again.

“However, the indefinite strike continues until other of our demands are met,” it added.

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