Economy
FG Flings 41 Items Exempted From Forex Policy By CBN
By Dipo Olowookere
There are strong indications that the Federal Government may set aside the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regarding the 41 items exempted from foreign exchange market in its newly released 2017 Fiscal Policy Roadmap.
The policy document prepared by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, will, instead, come up with fiscal measures to reduce pressure in the parallel market.
According to the document, the FG “will replace administrative measures on list of 41-items with fiscal measures to reduce demand pressure in parallel market.”
Presenting the document at a programme held in Lagos, Mrs Adeosun said, “The Federal Government’s Fiscal Roadmap is addressing barriers to growth that will drive productivity, generate jobs and broaden wealth-creating opportunities to achieve inclusive growth.”
She stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was determined to return Nigeria to a productive economy rather than one steeped in consumption. To do so, government would tackle the infrastructure deficit to unlock productivity, improve business competitiveness and create employment.
She further said that government would actively partner with the private sector to achieve this by use of a number of new funding platforms, including the Road Trust Fund, which would develop potentially tollable roads, and the Family Homes Fund, which is an ongoing PPP initiative for funding of affordable housing.
According to the minister, the tax provision that allows companies to receive tax relief for investment in roads on a collective basis would be reviewed.
She explained that the existing provision that enabled companies to claim relief for road projects had only been taken advantage of by two companies, Lafarge and Dangote Cement. This was because few companies were large enough to fund roads alone.
The revision would now allow collective tax relief, such that companies will be able to jointly fund roads, subject to approval by FIRS and the Ministry of Works, and share the tax credit. It added that the government would revitalise refineries and increase Diaspora remittances through participation in the buyer support scheme for the Family Homes Fund with a view to increasing the supply of US Dollars to the Nigerian market.
The Roadmap also provides for a fresh audit of the federal government debt profile after which it would introduce a promissory note program to finance verified liabilities and issue debt certificates to contractors of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
These, according to the document, would positively impact on the economy by improving government’s cash flow of businesses, improve banks’ Non-Performing Loans, (NPLs); free up banks’ balance sheet for lending to private sector; and improve business interaction. These liabilities were estimated to be N2.2 trillion and would be addressed with a 10 year Promissory Note Issuance programme in conjunction with the CBN.
“Some contractors had not been paid in the past 4 years and in some cases the banks they were owing refused them access to the funds released, causing delays,” she explained, adding that those receiving the Promissory Notes would be expected to provide a material discount to government. The issuance was a solution to a long term problem that was ‘a drag on economic activity’.
It would also mobilise private capital to complement government spending on infrastructure, through the Roads Trust Fund, Family Homes Fund, while extending infrastructure tax relief to a collective model to attract clusters of corporate entities and expand the provision of infrastructure, in other to drive growth of non-oil sector, especially and the economy in general. There would be incentives for exports which would include restructuring the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) to a tax credit system, as well as rationalised tariffs and waivers in key export sectors. These have been designed to drive import substitution. The document indicated that the federal government would encourage investment in specific sectors through fiscal incentives especially in food processing, mining and power, and would rationalise tariffs and waivers in such priority sectors. In order to expand fiscal space through revenue enhancement and cost consolidation, it would enhance the Customs Single Window (being implemented through a Private Public Partnership (PPP) scheme), introduce template for non-allowable expenses for government agencies, control overhead costs by the Efficiency Unit and implement a continuous risk based audit by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit.
In order to improve fiscal discipline at Sub-National level, the federal government would, from next year, extend the Efficiency Unit to Sub-National level; fast track municipal bond issues to deepen the bond market, as well as conversion to International Public Sector Accounting Standards by all state governments. The government plans to pursue its anti-corruption crusade in the new year with greater vigour and accelerate recoveries process, introduce a whistle-blower scheme, centralised database on recovered assets, asset tracking and a professional management of recovered assets. It also plans to rebalance debt portfolio to extend maturity and optimise debt service cost through rebalancing public debt portfolio with increased external borrowing with a target of 60:40 ratio and extend maturity profile of public debt portfolio, while deploying long-term debt instruments and depending more on concessionary loans.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/12/41-exempted-items-fg-dumps-cbns-forex-policy/
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.
