16 key events that shaped Nigerian economy in 2024

• Dangote refinery production 

The 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote refinery went live on January 19 and started producing diesel and aviation fuel. “This is a big day for Nigeria. This is a game changer for our country, and I am very fulfilled with the actualisation of this project,” Aliko Dangote, the founder of Dangote Group, said when the announcement was made. The start of production came more than 10 years after Dangote disclosed his plan to build a refinery in April 2013. In September, it began the production of petrol.

• Naira devaluation

The naira was weakened further by 30 percent against the dollar in January, after a 40 percent devaluation in July 2023. The local currency sank to as low as 1,655.50/$ in February compared to 907.11/$ at which it closed in 2023. It tumbled to N1,900/$ at the parallel market.

The official exchange rate stood at N1,541.68/$ on Friday.

• Incessant national grid collapse

The national power grid has collapsed 12 times this year, with the first occurring on February 4, worsening the blackouts facing households and businesses across the country.

• CBN bumper rate hikes 

The central bank embarked on an aggressive rate hiking cycle this year, starting with a 400-basis-points increase in its benchmark interest rate in February and a total of 875 basis points to 27.5 percent. While it translated to huge interest incomes for banks, it put immense pressure on businesses as borrowing costs surged.

Read more: CBN expected to hold interest rates steady Tuesday after two-year hiking cycle

• Binance’s exit 

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, exited the country in March amid allegations of exchange rate manipulation that led to the arrest of two of its executives.

The company faced five-count charges in the Federal High Court, Abuja, and its executive Tigran Gambaryan was in detention for eight months before the government dropped the case in October. The other executive Nadeem Anjarwalla escaped from custody and fled the country in March.

Read more: Binance still bullish on Nigeria after eight-month detention of executive 

• Bank recapitalisation 

On March 28, 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced new minimum capital requirements for commercial, merchant and non-interest banks.

They have until 1 April 2026 to meet the new targets.

• Electricity tariff hike

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a 300% increase in electricity tariffs for customers receiving at least 20 hours of supply, categorised as Band A consumers, effective April 1. The tariff increased from N68 to N225 per kilowatt-hour.

• Labour strike/new minimum wage

On June 3, the country’s two biggest unions, Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, embarked on an indefinite strike over a new minimum wage that led to the shutdown of the national power grid, airports and ports, among others. The strike was suspended the next day amid a total blackout caused by the grid shutdown.

In July, President Bola Tinubu approved N70,000 as the new minimum wage, up from N30,000.

Read more: Blackout: Labour union obstructing national grid recovery, says TCN

• Rollback of petrol subsidy/price hikes

Almost a year after petrol subsidies returned, Tinubu’s administration made its second attempt to stop the subsidization of the product.

In September, the country saw the first increase in petrol prices for the first time since July 2023 as the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company said it was facing financial strain owing to rising import costs. The NNPC, which was then the sole importer of petrol, had to bear the cost of subsidising the product again when the government decided to keep prices unchanged amid protests that greeted the rising cost of the product when subsidies were initially removed in May 2023.

• Moniepoint’s unicorn status

In October, Nigerian payment processing firm Moniepoint Inc. joined the exclusive club of fintechs with at least $1bn valuation in October, when it raised $110m in equity financing.

In the capital raise, the Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital joined existing blue-chip investors in Moniepoint such as QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, Lightrock, British International Investment, Global Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst and New Voices Fund.

• Debut domestic dollar bond

Nigeria issued its first-ever domestic dollar-denominated bond in August to boost forex liquidity and deepen local capital markets. The $500 million bond was issued at 9.75% per annum for a tenor of five years. It was oversubscribed as the government raised $900 million.

Read more: Nigeria offers $500m domestic dollar bond at 9.75% 

• Completion of ExxonMobil-Seplat deal

ExxonMobil’s sale of its subsidiary Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) was eventually approved in October after a long delay. The US oil major announced in February 2022 that it had agreed to sell its equity interest in MPNU to Seplat Energy. But the deal was later blocked by the regulator and the state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Company, which has a 60% stake in the joint venture with MPNU.

• Port Harcourt refinery restart

In November, the NNPC announced the restart of the 60,000bpd Old Port Harcourt Refinery, which it said was “currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90%”.

•  Return to Eurobond market

For the first time in more than two years, Nigeria returned to the international debt market in December to raise $2.2 billion.

Read more: Meet ex-ExxonMobil executive tapped as MD for Seplat’s new unit after $800m deal

•  Shell’s sale of subsidiary 

Shell announced in January the signing of an agreement to sell its onshore subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria to Renaissance, a consortium comprising four local operators and an international firm. The deal was rejected by the regulator in August but was approved in December.

•  Shell’s Bonga North FID

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, a subsidiary of Shell, announced in December a final investment decision on Bonga North, a deep-water project off the coast of Nigeria after years of delay.

Bonga North will be a subsea tie-back to the Shell-operated Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility which Shell operates with a 55% interest. Bonga is a deep-water development located in OML 118, at water depths exceeding 1,000 meters. Production at the Bonga FPSO began in 2005, with a capacity to produce 225,000 barrels of oil per day. 

Read more: Saipem wins $900m contract for Shell’s Bonga North project in Nigeria