Experts in the commerce industry have requested that the Federal Government widen its tax net in movement to increase its revenue and ease the burden on the nation’s economy. The experts, established that beyond the technicalities around the assessment, rates, and computation of taxes, the government at all levels should ensure the creation of an enabling tax environment where the tax system is fair, equitable. The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Michael Olawale-Cole, advised the Federal Government to widen its tax net in order to increase its revenue and ease the burden on the country’s predominantly oil-based…
Author: Temitope N.
TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited has disclosed the appointment of Mr. Frederick Asasa as Chief Financial Officer and member of the company’s Corporate Executive Committee (EXCOM) with effect from January 1st, 2022. He succeeds Mrs. Tai Oshisanya who will retire from the Company at the end of March 2022. Asasa brings to the position over three decades of extensive experience in finance. He joined TotalEnergies in 1999 as Head of Accounts and has since held several senior positions within the Company in Nigeria and at its headquarters in France. Until his appointment, Mr. Asasa was the Finance Controller responsible for group…
Over 7,000 small-scale business owners and artisans are in line to benefit from the Federal Government’s COVID-19 intervention fund in Ogun State. The beneficiaries, according to the Coordinator of Ogun State Coordinating Units (Ogun SOCU), ‘Tunde Adebiyi, would get N5,000 each for six months to augment their capital. Adebiyi disclosed this, yesterday, in an interview with journalists in his office in Abeokuta, the state capital. He explained that the programme, which was tagged, ‘Rapid Response Register’ is a social intervention by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. Adebiyi added that the register would capture small-scale…
The National Action on Sugar (NASR), a health advocacy coalition, has encouraged the Federal Government to channel revenues realised from taxes on carbonated and sweetened beverages towards addressing challenges in the health sector. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, on Wednesday, announced new excise duty on sugar-sweetened beverages. She stated at a public presentation of the 2022 budget in Abuja that an excise tax of N10 per litre would now be imposed on non-alcoholic, carbonated and sweetened beverages. Reacting to the new tax, on Thursday in Abuja, a member of the coalition, Dr. Alhassan Umar, commended…
The Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) Plc has restrategized its board with the appointment of new members. The appointees are Aishah Ahmad, Dr. Angela Sere Ejembi and Phillip Yila Yusuf. NCX, in a statement, said the appointments are in line with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, following an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on January 4, 2022, at which all shareholders unanimously endorsed the retirement of some directors. Following the meeting, Ahmad was appointed chairman of the board at the inaugural new board meeting, which was also held on January 4, 2022. The NCX informed…
June was the toughest month for most borrowers. Then, the maximum interest rate, the statistics said, was 29.05 per cent as against prime borrowing cost of 11.67 per cent. Prime borrowers are individuals and organisations whose perceived credit risks are below average. The categories of borrowers are likely to make full payments on time. Facilities to such individuals are often priced lower than the market rate. While the prime-lending rate is lower than the maximum loan price globally, the difference between prime and non-prime credits is often far wider than the global average. Last year, non-prime borrowers, including small and…
The world’s largest smartphone maker forecast 2021 fourth-quarter operating profits at around 13.8 trillion won ($11.5 billion), up from 9.05 trillion won in the same quarter last year. The firm was boosted by record sales in the quarter, estimated at 76 trillion won, up 23.5 percent on-year, according to the statement, which added that the forecast reflected a one-time bonus payment to employees. A spokeswoman told AFP annual sales in 2021 were also expected to be the highest ever. The operating profit estimate was below analysts’ estimate of 15.2 trillion won, according to Bloomberg News. “A continued price growth…
As investors move to restructure ahead of full-year earnings results and dividend declarations, transactions on the equities sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) reopened the year on a positive note yesterday, as market capitalisation appreciated by N887 billion. At the close of trading, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by absolute points, representing a growth of 0.7 per cent to close at 43,026.23 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation gained N886.9 billion to close at N23.18 trillion. The positive performance was triggered by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, including BUA Cement, Stanbic IBTC, Zenith Bank, Flour Mills of…
Naira opened trading for the year at the Investors and Exporters’ (I & E) window on an upswing yesterday. It was quoted at N422.67 per dollar, gaining N8.75, as against last year’s closing rate of N435/$. The Guardian reported earlier that the local currency fell to a record low at the spot market on the last trading day of 2021, closing at $435/$. The quote was the lowest naira had plugged at the official market. With the closure quote, the naira traded at a discount of over 15 per cent against the dollar at the official Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange…
Telecommunications sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) went down by 2.48 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. Statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that the figure dropped from 14.42 per cent in Q2, 2021 to 11.94 per cent in Q3, 2021. Checks showed that within the same period in 2020, the contribution was 11.20 per cent Industry analysts hinged the drop on several factors including the Federal Government NIN-SIM policy; Twitter ban, weak consumer purchasing power and the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). Precisely, the NIN-SIM mandatory exercise, which started in December 2020 and…
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies announced yesterday that they will return 400,000 barrels per day to the global oil market in the month of February. The alliance, therefore, decided to stick with its plan on gradual output increase first reached in April 2021. Oil futures rose yesterday, with global benchmark Brent crude topping $80 a barrel to trade at its highest price in over five weeks. Under the new plan, Nigeria is expected to pump 1.7 million barrels a day in February, although lingering challenges may undermine the country’s capacity to meet the target, going…
Shehu established that the president assented to the budget due to the need to save value-additive projects, programmes and policies and felt that it would not be wise to throw it all away. He said that despite the reduction and introduction of new projects, there are tens of thousands more provisions in the 2022 Budget, all of which, when efficiently and effectively implemented, will have significant developmental impact on the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Nigerians. The presidential media aide also pointed out that President Muhammadu Buhari believes in the supremacy of the constitution, with its checks and balances across…
The NNPC said the fire incident at the Port Harcourt Refining Company was caused by a spark while a 33,000-litre truck was discharging naphtha into a tank at the PHRC. NNPC played down the effect of the fire outbreak explaining that it caused insignificant damage and was put out in less than two hours. Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Garba Deen Muhammad explained what happened in a statement titled, ‘Minor Fire At Port Harcourt Refining Company Put Out.’ T“This morning, 01/01/2022, a minor fire incident occurred at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC). “The incident, which was…
OPEC+ announced on Tuesday that it is sticking with its plan to gradually boost oil output next month, as the group brushed off concerns about Omicron’s impact on global crude demand. The 23-nation member group encompassing Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and the cartel’s allies led by Russia agreed at the end of its meeting on Tuesday to adhere to its previous decision to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels a day in February. Last August, OPEC+ started incrementally opening the taps each month to roll back severe production cuts introduced during the opening months of the pandemic when oil prices crashed.…
The Federal Government has been encouraged not to increase the economic hardship index of the country with its planned removal of fuel subsidies. The Founder and President of Moahz Group Of Companies, Dr. Ojo Abdulqadir, stated this in a statement. He advised that the furore over fuel subsidy should be resolved to avoid panic. Abdulqadir noted that everybody, particularly the less privileged, would feel the impact of people and that negative effects would outweigh the benefits. He added that the cost of transportation and other essential commodities across the country would skyrocket with a spiral effect on the living standard…
The monetary authority is in a good position to ease foreign exchange (FX) pressure as its coffers have been enhanced by a sizable $7.3 billion liquidity – $4 billion Eurobond issuance and $3.3billion special drawing right (SDR) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These were among the projections of EFG Hermes, in its report titled, ‘The Year Ahead 2022 – Recovery intact, but expect volatility. The report mentioned that a number of local banks have been active in the international debt market, raising billions of dollar, which will help improve FX liquidity. The report stated: “We are less optimistic that…
The government’s lack of capacity to reduce tariffs and foreign exchange (FX) crisis will continue to give other West and Central African countries a comparative advantage ahead of Nigeria in the maritime business. Already, Togo has overtaken Nigeria to become the leading port in West Africa. The latest United Nations (UN) report said Togo recorded 1, 725, 520 twenty-foot equivalent (TUEs) cargo throughput in 2020 while Nigeria recorded 1, 528, 520 TUEs in the same year, thereby losing over 196, 750 TUEs or 30 per cent of container traffic to Lome port. There are also reports of diversion of Nigerian-bound…
Central Bank of Nigeria and others particularly the financial services regulators, would invest N1.54 trillion over five years to increase liquidity in the financial services sector. The government intends to boost the liquidity thresholds in each segment of the financial system to levels that will sustain the country’s growth and development, according to the Federal Government’s National Development Plan 2021-2025. The investment is also expected to optimize all aspects of the country’s balance sheet to free up the liquidity needed to support the economy’s stability, growth, and transformation. According to the document, the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning,…
The year 2021 was a recovery year for many, as businesses, especially those in the agricultural space, started to get back on, and some even waxed stronger than they had before the pandemic. While agriculture continues to play a crucial role in economic growth across many nations around the globe, the continuously growing population and rising demand for agricultural output indicate the need for investments in agricultural technology (agritech) solutions. Agritech, the application of technology to enhance agricultural production as well as bring about production efficiency, has been growing at an impressive pace worldwide and Nigeria is not left out of the list of countries exploring the space. To further traverse the ecosystem, agritech entrepreneurs are securing funds to advance areas like the software…
The Director of Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nwanisobi Osita, has established that the five-year development plan embarked upon by the governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emiefele, will revive and stimulate the Nigerian economy, which will, in turn, stimulate sustainability and reduce inflation. He further said the CBN was promoting the e-naira, which is the equivalent of the physical naira to drive the digital economy, saying, “We are already seeing inflation trending downward from about 16.63 per cent to about 15.4 per cent.” Speaking at a one-day interactive session with members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)…