Economy
NEPZA, Others to Remodel Free Trade Zones Operations
By Adedapo Adesanya
There are plans by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone Authority (OGFZA), as well as Nigeria Economic Zones Association (NEZA), and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to remodel the administration and management of the country’s Free Trade Zones (FTZ) to strengthen their impact on the economy.
These critical stakeholders agreed to remodel the operations when Mr Adesoji Adesugba MD/CEO of NEPZA, and his counterpart in OGFZA, Mr Tijjani Kaura, and Mr Toyin Elegbede, Executive-Secretary of NEZA, paid a working visit on the Acting Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi last Friday in Abuja.
Mr Adesugba had described Mr Adeniyi’s appointment as a boost for the industry, noting that the growth of the scheme was largely stunted due to years of uncooperative posture of the customs’ top leadership.
The NEPZA boss explained that it was incumbent on the customs to help the regulatory bodies drive the success of the free trade ecosystem by allowing seamless trade facilitation across the landscape.
“We are here to first felicitate with you on your appointment by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We are elated that this appointment came from within the service, and we pray that this culture is sustained.
“Since my appointment in 2020 as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEPZA, this is the first time that customs honoured our request for a courtesy visit. This evidenced how uncooperative the former leadership was toward the overall success of the scheme.
“We are all now in agreement that only a collaborative partnership among the key stakeholders can reposition the scheme to begin to have a significant impact in the economy and for global competitiveness,’’ the NEPZA chief executive said.
Mr Adesugba added that a Joint Committee comprising of members from NEPZA, OGFZA, NEZA and NCS was urgently required to address all the teething challenges affecting the smooth operation of the scheme.
Mr Kaura, on his part, explained that the regulatory bodies and all the free trade zones’ stakeholders were willing to establish a more cohesive and collaborative partnership with customs, adding that such a partnership had already been established between the two regulatory bodies and with all the free trade zones’ investors through NEZA.
The OGFZA boss further stated that the Joint Committee would be in the right position to deal with all the key issues that would be listed as the Terms of Reference (ToR).
“We want the customs leadership to understand that the Free Trade Zone is a unique economic landscape guided by both the Act of Parliament and Global Rules and Regulations. Any country that seeks to adopt it must also be prepared to accept these rules.
“We are happy that the service now has an individual who is a professional in Investment Promotion, Investors Relations & Services, as well as Trade Facilitations. We again thank His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for giving us such a complete professional, and it is indeed a new dawn for us,’’ Mr Kaura said.
The Acting Comptroller-General, expressed his delight on the visit, stating that the Free Trade Zones scheme could be used to realistically drive the nation’s economy.
Mr Adeniyi said that the suggestion for the setting up of a Joint Committee to remodel the processes and procedures to manage the various administrative engagements among key stakeholders was a novelty, adding that all hands must be on deck to salvage the country’s ailing economy through the scheme.
“I must, however, state that we should also study and re-evaluate our various Acts to see those areas of conflicts and overlapping functions and to assiduously work toward amending them.
The Executive Secretary of NEZA, however, explained that the Free Trade Zones’ Investors were confronted with a mirage of challenges that included intermittent disagreeable execution of duties by some customs officers, adding that the incentives that were the main attraction to zones must continually be allowed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom via the British High Commission in Abuja has launched two flagship economic reform programmes – the Nigeria Economic Stability & Transformation (NEST) programme and the Nigeria Public Finance Facility (NPFF) -as part of efforts to support Nigeria’s economic reform and growth agenda.
Backed by a £12.4 million UK investment, NEST and NPFF sit at the centre of the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership and support Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen macroeconomic stability, improve fiscal resilience, and create a more competitive environment for investment and private-sector growth.
Speaking at the launch, Cynthia Rowe, Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission in Abuja, said, “These two programmes sit at the heart of our economic development cooperation with Nigeria. They reflect a shared commitment to strengthening the fundamentals that matter most for our stability, confidence, and long-term growth.”
The launch followed the inaugural meeting of the Joint UK-Nigeria Steering Committee, which endorsed the approach of both programmes and confirmed strong alignment between the UK and Nigeria on priority areas for delivery.
Representing the Government of Nigeria, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Finance and the Economy, Mrs Sanyade Okoli, welcomed the collaboration, touting it as crucial to current, critical reforms.
“We welcome the United Kingdom’s support through these new programmes as a strong demonstration of our shared commitment to Nigeria’s economic stability and long-term prosperity. At a time when we are implementing critical reforms to strengthen fiscal resilience, improve macroeconomic stability, and unlock inclusive growth, this partnership will provide valuable technical support. Together, we are laying the foundation for a more resilient economy that delivers sustainable development and improved livelihoods for all Nigerians.”
On his part, Mr Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, highlighted the significance of the programmes within the wider UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.
“NEST and NPFF are central to our shared approach to strengthening the foundations that underpin long-term economic prosperity. They sit firmly within the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the growth, digital capacity, and sustainability of Nigeria’s 40 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has been signed by MTN Nigeria and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The collaboration will feature joint initiatives focused on digital inclusion, financial access, capacity building, and providing verified information for MSMEs.
With millions of small businesses depending on accurate guidance and easy-to-access support, MTN and SMEDAN say their shared platform will address gaps in communication, misinformation, and access to opportunities.
At the formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday, November 27, 2025, in Lagos, the stage was set for the immediate roll-out of tools, content, and resources that will support MSMEs nationwide.
The chief operating officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr Ayham Moussa, reiterated the company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic development, stating that MSMEs are the lifeline of Nigeria’s economy.
“SMEs are the backbone of the economy and the backbone of employment in Nigeria. We are delighted to power SMEDAN’s platform and provide tools that help MSMEs reach customers, obtain funding, and access wider markets. This collaboration serves both our business and social development objectives,” he stated.
Also, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer of MTN Nigeria, Ms Lynda Saint-Nwafor, described the MoU as a tool to “meet SMEs at the point of their needs,” noting that nano, micro, small, and medium businesses each require different resources to scale.
“Some SMEs need guidance, some need resources; others need opportunities or workforce support. This platform allows them to access whatever they need. We are committed to identifying opportunities across financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and capacity building that help SMEs to scale,” she noted.
Also commenting, the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, emphasised the significance of the collaboration, noting that the agency cannot meet its mandate without leveraging technology and private-sector expertise.
“We have approximately 40 million MSMEs in Nigeria, and only about 400 SMEDAN staff. We cannot fulfil our mandate without technology, data, and strong partners.
“MTN already has the infrastructure and tools to support MSMEs from payments to identity, hosting, learning, and more. With this partnership, we are confident we can achieve in a short time what would have taken years,” he disclosed.
Mr Odii highlighted that the SMEDAN-MTN collaboration would support businesses across their growth needs, guided by their four-point GROW model – Guidance, Resources, Opportunities, and Workforce Development.
He added that SMEDAN has already created over 100,000 jobs within its two-year administration and expects the partnership to significantly boost job creation, business expansion, and nationwide enterprise modernisation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
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