Economy
FG Reveals 10-Point Roadmap To Save Economy
**To Return Toll Gates
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Federal Government has revealed steps it hopes to take to salvage the country’s economy, which has been battling with recession for months.
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who spoke at an event in Lagos, disclosed that the FG would focus on 10 points to help Nigeria out of the economic downturn.
Mrs Adeosun, who represented the Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, at the annual dinner of the Lagos Business School, noted that the 10-point roadmap would address the major problems dragging the economy backward.
According to her, the Federal Government’s Fiscal Roadmap will tackle obstructions to growth that will drive productivity, generate jobs and broaden wealth creating opportunities to achieve inclusive growth.
She said further that much attention would be focused on infrastructure deficit to unlock productivity, improve business competitiveness and create employment.
“Government would actively partner with the private sector to achieve this by use of a number of new funding platforms. These include the Road Trust Fund, which will develop potentially ‘tollable’ roads, and the Family Homes Fund which is an ongoing PPP initiative for funding of affordable housing,” she said at the event.
She added that the tax system would be reviewed to ensure companies get tax relief for investment in roads on a collective basis, subject to approval by FIRS and the Ministry of Works.
According to the Minister, only two firms, Dangote and Lafarge have only been able to get such.
Mrs Adeosun listed the government’s 10-point roadmap as follows:
The fiscal roadmap is detailed in the attached 10-point plan:
Fiscal Roadmap 2017
Fiscal Policy Initiative
Expected Impact
- Recognise inherited debt profile after a robust audit process:
- Introduce promissory note programme to finance verified liabilities
- Issue debt certificates to contractors, Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDAs), and State Governments
- Improve cash flow of businesses
- Improve Banks’ Non-Performing Loans (NPLs)
- Free up Banks’ balance sheet for lending to private sector
- Improve government’s business interaction with the private sector
- Mobilise private capital to complement Government spending on infrastructure:
- Roads Trust Fund
- Family Homes Fund
- Extend infrastructure tax relief to a collective model to attract clusters of corporate entities
- Expand the provision of infrastructure
- Drive growth of non-oil sector.
- Drive economic growth
- Strengthen fiscal/monetary handshake:
- Replace administrative measures on list of 41-items with fiscal measures to reduce demand pressure in parallel market
- Encourage domestic food production through specific incentives e.g. accelerated depreciation on food manufacturing equipment and Zero (0%) duty on green houses
- Planned revitalisation of refineries
- Increase Diaspora remittances via participation in the buyer support scheme for the Family Homes Fund
- Reduce demand for US Dollars
- Increase supply of US Dollars
- Incentivise exports:
- Restructure the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) to a tax credit system
- Rationalise tariffs and waivers in key export sectors
- Encourage/incentivise non-oil exports
- Drive import substitution
- Encourage investment in specific sectors through fiscal incentives:
- Accelerated depreciation on equipment in strategic sectors e.g. food processing, mining and power
- Rationalise tariffs and waivers in priority sectors
- Drive investment in strategic sectors
- Continue expansion of fiscal space through revenue enhancement and cost consolidation:
- Customs Single Window (being implemented through a Private Public Partnership (PPP) scheme)
- Template for non-allowable expenses for government agencies.
- Overhead cost control by the Efficiency Unit
- Continuous risk based audit by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit
- Revenue enhancement
- Cost containment
- Improve fiscal discipline at Sub-National level:
- Extension of efficiency unit at Sub-National level
- Fast track municipal bond issues to deepen the bond market
- Conversion to International Public Sector Accounting Standards by all State Governments.
- Improved fiscal position at Sub-National level
- Enable and accelerate Recoveries process:
- Whistle-blower scheme
- Centralised database on recovered assets
- Asset tracing
- Professional management of recovered assets
- Increased efficiency of Recoveries process
- Increased budgetary funding availability from Recoveries
- Rebalance debt portfolio to extend maturity and optimise debt service cost:
- Rebalance public debt portfolio with increased external borrowing (60:40 target)
- Extend maturity profile of public debt portfolio
- Deploy long-term debt instruments including Infrastructure and Retail Bonds
- Maximise use of concessionary loans
- Rebalanced debt profile withimproved debt service to revenue ratio
- Catalyse Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) growth through specific measures to improve capacity and access to finance:
- Development Bank of Nigeria (US$1.3bn)
- Increase share of business awarded to MSMEs from Government contracts
- Tax harmonisation and tax incentives
- Accelerated depreciation
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the Nigerian private sector in July 2026 contracted to 52.5 points from 53.4 points in June 2026, a statement made available to Business Post has shown.
This occurred despite the business environment sustaining its growth last month, with an increase in new orders experienced, as inflationary pressures softened, and output and employment modestly rising.
The Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Muyiwa Oni, said the PMI indicated that the private sector recorded its slowest since March 2026, as businesses also increased their input purchasing activity to keep up with current demand requirements and prepare for future workloads.
“Nigerian businesses reported improved customer demand in July while better pricing and new product launches also helped them to capture new orders arising from the increase in demand. These factors helped to keep the private sector activity in an expansionary territory, although this moderated when compared to June,” he was quoted as saying.
It was stated that while input costs increased at their slowest pace in five months, panellists reported higher costs for fuel and raw materials. Selling prices also softened in line with the picture for input costs in July.
Headline inflation eased slightly to 15.91 per cent y/y in June from 15.93 per cent y/y in May, snapping three consecutive months of price increases.
Although July inflation is likely to be higher m/m, it is expected to print lower, likely at 15.72 per cent y/y, primarily driven by favourable base effects from the corresponding period of last year, because there are no expectations of the magnitude of m/m inflation witnessed in July 2025 (1.99 per cent) to materialise this year.
“We retain our 2026 growth forecasts at 4.1 per cent as we see the oil sector growing by 3.45 per cent y/y in 2026, from 8.50 per cent y/y in 2025, while the non-oil sector is likely to grow by 4.11 per cent y/y, from 3.71 per cent y/y in 2025.
“The risks to our outlook include country-wide insecurity which may constrain food production, exchange rate pressures resurfacing, extreme-weather related conditions and higher fertiliser prices impacting crop yield, and a volatile global environment which may affect sentiment and constrain capital flows,” Mr Oni noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Sahara Upstream, a Nigeria-focused crude producer, has deployed a new 380,000-barrel tanker to boost exports from the OML 18 block as part of a wider push by domestic operators to invest in infrastructure and lift output and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
The MT D Adesanya, which can hold more than 62,000 cubic metres of crude, will operate alongside the MT D Bayero, receiving crude from shuttle vessels at Bonny Anchorage, one of Nigeria’s main crude export hubs, before transferring it to the FSO Cawthorne storage facility.
Sahara said the tanker would help cut turnaround times, currently about 30 to 48 hours, and support a planned 50 per cent increase in exports from the block’s current level of about 950,000 barrels per month.
The block currently produces about 36,000 barrels per day, according to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), with Sahara targeting output of 60,000 barrels per day.
OML 18 is one of the Niger Delta’s oldest producing assets. It began production in 1970 and contains an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves.
Shell, Total and Eni sold their combined interests to Eroton in 2015 as part of a broader shift toward domestic ownership in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
This development comes as Sahara Upstream is deepening its exploration and production footprint through Asharami Energy Limited (AEL), its upstream E&P business, which says it is targeting 350,000 barrels of oil per day by 2030 through its subsidiary, Enageed Resources Limited (ERL).
The growth target comes as AEL also marks a major safety milestone, achieving 6 million Lost Time Injury (LTI)-free man-hours in its OML-148 operations — reinforcing the company’s commitment to operational excellence and safety leadership.
According to Asharami Energy, the milestone reflects its ability to execute complex operations safely, in line with Sahara’s Beyond XXX vision, which builds on the group’s 30-year legacy of responsible enterprise while marking its next chapter of impact, innovation, and sustainable growth.
The developments position Sahara Upstream and its subsidiaries among the domestic operators driving increased investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure, as the group works to scale up production and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading energy firms in Nigeria, Aradel Holdings Plc, has expressed its desire to optimise its enlarged portfolio and improve operational efficiency in the second half of 2026.
The company is planning to build on the success it recorded in the first half of the year, where it grew its revenue by 577 per cent to N2.5 trillion from N368.1 billion in H1 2025.
The significant rise in earnings was driven by higher production volumes together with stronger realised crude oil and gas prices, with the average at $90.4/bbl and $2.08/mmscf, respectively.
In the period under review, the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 688 per cent to N1.4 trillion from N176.4 billion in the corresponding period of last year, while the operating profit surged by 789 per cent to N1.1 trillion from N118.6 billion due to higher revenue and crude handling income at N149.8 billion, partly offset by underlift cost and general and administrative costs.
The net cash generated from operations was N975.6 billion between January and June 2026 versus N140.8 billion in the same period of 2025, reflecting the cash generation of the enlarged organisation.
The net debt contracted by 70 per cent on a year-to-date basis to N46.5 billion from N475.1 billion as of December 31, 2025.
Aradel, in the period under consideration, improved its post-tax profit by 30 per cent to N191.0 billion from N146.4 billion, a development that impressed its chief executive, Mr Adegbite Falade, who said, “A firmer price environment supported performance, generating net cash from operating activities of N975.6 billion and a closing cash balance of N1.7 trillion.”
“Our enlarged portfolio provides more opportunities to generate stronger cash flow and returns for shareholders and unlocking that potential is our main focus.
“We reaffirm our full year production guidance of 110 – 140 kboepd and remain committed to operating responsibly in a changing energy landscape and to delivering lasting value for our stakeholders,” he stated.
