The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu has said the federal government does not have the required fund to fix the nation's refineries in order to halt importation of petroleum products. The Minister stated this on Wednesday while briefing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, shortly after the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Members of the House of Representatives Joint Committees on Finance and Petroleum Downstream on Tuesday walked out officials of Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA officials over improper representation. The Committees met to commence public hearing on the reported reintroduction of fuel subsidy.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said it will commence the enforcement of its recently unveiled Meter Asset Provider Regulations, 2018 on April 3, 2018. The Commission in its MAPR 2018, with Regulation No. NERC-R-112, which was released in Abuja on Wednesday, said the policy seeks to bridge the widening metering gap in the electricity supply industry, noting that the gap had increased to about 4.74 million.

The Speaker, House of Representatives Hon. Yakubu Dogara has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria and other relevant authorities to urgently effect a downward review of interest rates in Nigeria as the current figures were stifling businesses, discouraging entrepreneurship and impoverishing the country.

Nigeria’s total national debt grew to N21.7 trillion ($70.92 billion) at the end of December 2017, the Director-General of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office told a news briefing on Wednesday. It was N17.36 trillion at the end of 2016. Nigeria’s first Eurobond will be repaid when it matures in July, said the head of the DMO, Patience Oniha.

Japan will urge its G20 counterparts at a meeting next week to beef up efforts to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used for money laundering. This statement was confirmed by a government official who also added that the prospects for the G20 finance leaders agreeing on specific global rules and mention them in a joint communique are low, given differences in each country’s approach.

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday said no date has been fixed for passage of the 2018 budget. Senate spokesperson, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger) who stated this while addressing newsmen in Abuja assured that the Senate was working very hard to provide a budget that will serve the interest of all Nigerians.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday said it has injected additional $210 million into the foreign exchange market in furtherance of its quest to guarantee the availability of foreign exchange for customers’ needs. The Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okoroafor, who made the disclosure in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja, said $100 million was allocated to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market.

Members of Nigerian Bar Association, National Conscience Party, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights and Joint Action Committee, among others on Tuesday protested against the new Lagos State Land Use Charge Law 2018. According to Punch, the groups stormed the Lagos State Government’s secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, to protest against the new law, saying it had led to a hike in the levies charged by government on property.

Oil markets climbed on Monday on the back of a drop in the number of United States rigs drilling for more production and as the U.S. economy continued to create jobs, which industry hopes will drive higher fuel demand. Brent sweet crude was at 65.70 dollars per barrel, up 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their previous close. “A falling rig count and the strong employment data may have helped support prices,” said William O’Loughlin, investment analyst at Rivkin Securities.