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Economy

Nigeria Exits Global Tax Deal over Unreliability, Profit Reallocation Issues

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Tax Waiver

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria has opted out of a global tax deal negotiated under the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OEDC)/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

According to ThisDay Newspaper, Nigeria is one of the four countries alongside its African counterpart, Kenya as well as Pakistan and Sri Lanka that exited the deal.

For context, BEPS refers to corporate tax planning strategies used by multinationals to shift profits from higher tax jurisdictions to lower tax jurisdictions or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity, thereby eroding the tax base of the higher-tax jurisdictions using deductible payments such as interest or royalties.

Nigeria’s position was predicated, among others, on the unreliability of the economic impact of the deal for developing countries.

The OECD estimates that countries lose $100-$240 billion worth of revenue annually to BEPS practices, which is the equivalent to 4-10 per cent of the global corporate income tax revenue.

The deal set out to introduce a global minimum tax rate and new profit reallocation rules, which aim to give countries a fairer chance to collect tax revenues from multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in or generating revenues from their jurisdictions.

In a new report titled, OECD Global Tax Deal: Key Elements, Opportunities and Challenges, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) stated that the framework represents a group of countries and jurisdictions working together to address systemic issues within the global taxation system that cause an inequitable distribution of tax revenues among countries and jurisdictions.

It operates under the leadership of the OECD, but any country or jurisdiction is allowed to join and participate.

The global tax deal represents a major reform to the rules governing the international tax system, aimed at bringing an end to tax havens and profit-shifting by multinational enterprises.

The deal specifically aims to address challenges that arise from the digitalisation of the economy and is broken down into two pillars.

Pillar 1 aims to reallocate multinationals’ profits and taxing rights to market jurisdictions while Pillar 2 introduces a global minimum tax rate.

The Inclusive Framework releases the blueprints for the two-pillar solution to address tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy.

A total of 140 tax jurisdictions were part of the Inclusive Framework when the negotiations commenced, the report highlighted.

After the conclusion of the high-level agreement in October 2021, Mauritania joined the Inclusive Framework as the 141st member in November and also agreed to the two-pillar statement.

In total, 137 of the 141 member jurisdictions have agreed to the two-pillar solution while Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka opted out.

However, Nigeria expressed concern with Pillar 1 particularly, claiming that the OECD’s assessment of the economic impact on developing countries was unreliable.

Also, the mandatory dispute resolution element was one of the reasons for Kenya and Nigeria to disapprove of the deal because of concerns around losing sovereignty due to tax issues having to be resolved in residence countries.

Although Nigeria made no disclosures of its own calculations on potential revenue, its conclusion was that it was not worth the high cost of implementation.

Some of the concerns around the deal and reasons why Nigeria and the other countries rejected it included: Lack of transparency in negotiations, exclusion of the majority of developing countries, the issue of too many MNEs out of scope, and limited impact on developing countries, among others.

According to the report, although the agreement was negotiated under the Inclusive Framework, a substantive part of the process was carried out within the G7 and G20.

This in turn made the process less transparent and gives rise to the concern that smaller and less rich countries were not given equal participation.

The newspaper also reported that the deal also excludes companies working in the extractives industry, although this sector has been flagged to be more susceptible to illicit financial flows.

Similarly, although the Inclusive Framework allows all interested jurisdictions and countries to become members, there are conditions and annual fees they have to commit to in order to join.

The majority of African (52 per cent) and Least Developed (78 per cent) countries have not joined the framework.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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Economy

Nigeria’s Inflation Outlook Improves as US-Iran Tensions Ease

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nigeria inflation outlook

By Adedapo Adesanya

Easing tensions between the US and Iran in the Middle East is expected to offer more respite to the Nigerian economy in the coming months.

Analysts at Comercio Partners noted in a report that there is an increased likelihood of a gradual moderation in inflation from July into the third quarter of 2026.

The analysts opined that the near-term outlook for inflation “has become less tilted to the upside” following the peace deal reached by the warring parties in the Middle East conflict and the sharp decline in global oil prices.

The report read in part: “May inflation data showed that price pressures remain sticky, but the near-term outlook has become less tilted to the upside following the peace deal and the sharp decline in global oil prices.

“Headline inflation rose to 15.93 per cent year-on-year from 15.69 per cent in April, while food inflation climbed to 16.96 per cent and core inflation increased to 16.82 per cent, suggesting that both food and underlying non-food price pressures remain elevated.

“However, the easing in crude oil prices below $85/bbl reduces the risk of a renewed energy-led inflation shock. This is important for Nigeria, where fuel, diesel, transport, logistics, and food distribution costs are key channels through which global energy prices feed into domestic inflation.

“If lower oil prices are sustained and domestic fuel prices remain stable or decline, pressure on transport and production costs should gradually ease.”

It noted that in June, inflation may remain sticky because the pass-through of lower oil prices to consumer prices is unlikely to be immediate.

It added that food prices remain elevated, and core inflation picked up month-on-month in May, indicating that underlying price pressures have not fully faded. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was 1.75 per cent, which was 0.39 per cent lower than the rate recorded in April 2026 (2.13 per cent).

“However, the balance of risks has shifted. The likelihood of another sharp energy-driven acceleration has reduced, while the probability of gradual moderation from July into Q3 has improved.”

The analysts said in the report that while the latest CPI data, “still supports a cautious tone across rates and fixed income, as annual headline, food, and core inflation all moved higher in May,” the decline in oil prices gives the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) “more room to maintain a wait-and-see stance rather than respond aggressively to external energy-price risks, provided domestic prices begin to reflect the easing in global crude markets.”

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Economy

All On Invests $1m in Eja-Ice Nigeria Limited to Strengthen Cold-Chain Infrastructure in Off-Grid Markets

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All One Eja-Ice Nigeria Limited

All On, an impact investing company focused on expanding access to renewable energy solutions in Nigeria, has announced a $1 million investment in Eja-Ice Nigeria Limited, a provider of solar-powered refrigeration and cold chain infrastructure.

The investment will support Eja-Ice’s manufacturing and operational scale-up as the company enters its next phase of growth. It is expected to enable the expansion of its cold-chain solutions and improve access to reliable cooling services for households, small businesses, and institutions operating in off-grid and weak-grid environments.

Access to dependable cold storage remains a significant constraint across Nigeria, particularly in coastal and rural communities where limited energy infrastructure contributes to post-harvest losses and income instability for small-scale agro-producers.

By delivering energy-efficient refrigeration systems, Eja-Ice is helping to address these challenges while supporting the preservation of perishable goods and strengthening local value chains.

“All On’s investment in Eja-Ice reflects our approach of supporting solutions that improve energy access while enhancing livelihoods, reducing costs, and enabling businesses to grow. Strengthening cold-chain infrastructure is an important step towards building more resilient local economies and expanding opportunities in underserved markets,” the chief executive of All On, Ms Caroline Eboumbou, commented on the investment.

Eja-Ice’s integrated cold-chain model allows for greater control over product design, operational efficiency, and service delivery, ensuring that its solutions are tailored to the needs of underserved markets. The company’s systems are already supporting micro enterprises, cooperatives, and community-level infrastructure, particularly in areas where reliable electricity remains limited.

Also commenting, the founder and chief executive of Eja-Ice Nigeria Limited, Mr Yusuf Bilesanmi, said, “This capital raise is a huge step forward in our vision to power homes and businesses with products designed, assembled, and optimised right here on the continent. It’s not just about access to electricity—it’s about dignity, productivity, and opportunity for the over 600 million people across sub-Saharan Africa who are still off-grid.”

Through this investment, All On continues to advance its mission of closing Nigeria’s energy access gap by supporting the renewable energy ecosystem and businesses that deliver sustainable, market-driven solutions.

All One Eja-Ice Nigeria Limited $1m

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Economy

First Holdco Lists N45bn Private Placement Shares on Stock Exchange

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first holdco subsidiaries

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.

According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.

These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.

The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.

“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.

“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.

“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.

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