Economy
FG Opens New Channels for Tax Complaints, Accountability
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has urged Nigerians to help drive transparency in the country’s tax system as it launched the toll-free call centre and website of the Tax Ombud Office.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris, during the unveiling, described the development as a major step toward improving public confidence in the country’s tax system and enhancing access to complaint-resolution services for taxpayers.
“This is a major milestone in strengthening public trust, improving accessibility, and promoting fairness in Nigeria’s tax administration system. Effective communication and citizen engagement remain central to the success of ongoing economic reforms such as this,” the minister said.
He noted that the Bola Tinubu administration was focused on implementing reforms aimed at strengthening revenue generation, ensuring fiscal sustainability and driving national development.
According to him, “Under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Federal Government remains steadfast in its commitment to building a stronger, more resilient, and prosperous economy through bold and strategic reforms.”
The minister stressed the importance of taxation in national development, saying it provides resources needed for investments in critical sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, transportation and security.
He, however, maintained that tax administration must be built on trust, transparency and fairness rather than enforcement alone.
“Tax administration cannot succeed on enforcement alone. It must be supported by public trust, transparency, fairness, and effective communication,” Idris stated.
He explained that the Tax Ombud Office was created to serve as a bridge between taxpayers and tax authorities by providing a fair and professional platform for handling complaints and resolving disputes.
The minister also commended the introduction of the toll-free call centre and official website, describing them as important tools for improving public access to information and removing communication barriers.
“The launch of the Toll-Free Call Centre demonstrates a commitment to removing communication barriers and ensuring that Nigerians can easily seek information, make enquiries, and resolve complaints without unnecessary difficulties or financial burden,” he added.
Mr Idris further emphasised the need for sustained civic education and public enlightenment to encourage voluntary tax compliance and responsible citizenship.
“Tax education is not just about revenue generation; it is about building a culture of national participation and shared responsibility,” he said.
The minister warned that misinformation and poor communication often weaken public trust in reforms, calling for stronger collaboration among government institutions, the media, civil society groups and other stakeholders.
“Misinformation and inadequate communication often contribute to distrust and resistance to reforms. This underscores the importance of strategic media engagement and sustained public communication,” he noted.
He pledged the continued support of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation in sensitising Nigerians on tax reforms, taxpayers’ rights and available complaint-resolution mechanisms.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.11 per cent on Monday, July 27.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, the milk producer famed for Peak Milk and Three Crowns, added N13.61 to its share price to sell for N149.80 per unit compared with the previous session’s N136.19 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by N1.60 to N19.01 per share from N17.41 per share.
The two securities offset the 30 Kobo loss posted by Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc. This stock closed at N20.00 per unit compared with last Friday’s closing value of N20.30 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went up by N28.72 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.577 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) increased by 47.85 points to 4,342.60 points from 4,294.75 points.
The first trading session of the week witnessed a drop in activity level, as the volume of securities crashed by 79.8 per cent to 604,565 units from 2.99 million units, the value of securities declined by 71.7 per cent to N19.6 million from the preceding session’s N69.4 million, and the number of deals dipped by 40 per cent to 33 deals from 55 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc with 75.6 million units exchanged for N5.4 billion.
GNI Plc was also the traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week marginally down against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by 12 Kobo or 0.01 per cent on Monday, July 27, to trade at N1,362.21/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,362.09/$1.
This occurred amid a sharp decline in interbank FX turnover during the trading session, with deals among financial institutions also reducing strongly. The FX turnover for the day stood at $39.587 million, approximately 56 per cent lower than the $89.082 million recorded last Friday.
In the same official market, the Nigerian Naira lost 43 Kobo against the Pound Sterling yesterday to quote at N1,814.05/£1 compared with the previous session’s rate of N1,813.62/£1, and against the Euro, it slid by N1.09 to close at N1,550.19/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,549.10/€1.
However, the local currency appreciated against the greenback by N7 at the GTBank forex desk on Monday to sell for N1,372/$1 versus N1,379/$1, and at the parallel market, it maintained stability at N1,400/$1.
The Naira has been able to remain firm despite a very strong US Dollar, largely due to market liquidity on the back of a $52 billion foreign reserves buffer, which makes it easier for banks, traders, and businesses to trade at the FX market without triggering volatility with their demands.
The Dangote Refinery also resumed selling petrol in Naira, a decision it said was driven by the need to stabilise the market, amid claims that fuel importers were withholding supplies in anticipation of higher prices. This has lifted pressure that may come due to foreign-currency buying from fuel importers.
In the cryptocurrency market, most tokens fell, as the US Senate delayed action on the closely watched CLARITY Act to focus on a Russia sanctions bill, likely pushing any vote on crypto regulatory legislation to next week before the August 8 recess.
Analysts say Bitcoin (BTC) and other coins tend to move with stocks when macro and interest-rate stress is high, and they expect volatility across asset classes around the Federal Reserve’s rate decision Wednesday and key US data on Thursday.
Cardano (ADA) dropped 6.0 per cent to finish at $0.1556, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.4 per cent to $1.05, Solana (SOL) fell by 4.0 per cent to $73.27, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 3.9 per cent to $1,884.11, Dogecoin (DOGE) depleted by 3.8 per cent to $0.0699, BTC crashed by 3.0 per cent to $63,420.37, TRON (TRX) retreated by 2.3 per cent to $0.3241, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.6 per cent to $565.57, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
Sell-offs in mid- and large-cap stocks crashed the local bourse by 0.05 per cent on Monday, with almost all the major sectors closing lower.
The insurance counter depreciated by 1.69 per cent, the consumer goods space lost 1.07 per cent, the energy segment shed 0.14 per cent, and the industrial goods index contracted by 0.06 per cent. But the banking sector gained 0.78 per cent, which was not enough to offset the losses printed by the others.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) moderated by 118.66 points to 247,238.74 points from 247,357.40 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N77 billion to N159.511 trillion from N159.588 trillion.
Investor sentiment was weak yesterday after the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended with 27 advancing equities and 32 declining equities, implying a negative market breadth index.
Transcorp Power collapsed by 10.00 per cent to N219.60, SUNU Assurances also fell by 10.00 per cent to N3.24, International Breweries slipped by 9.85 per cent to N12.35, Neimeth depreciated by 9.78 per cent to N8.30, and Austin Laz lost 9.64 per cent to trade at N3.28.
Conversely, Thomas Wyatt appreciated by 9.92 per cent to N3.99, Lasaco Assurance gained 9.89 per cent to quote at N2.00, CMFC surged by 9.18 per cent to N3.45, Chams jumped by 7.78 per cent to N4.85, and NGX Group flew higher by 6.96 per cent to N158.30.
The level of activity increased during the session, as market participants bought and sold 638.0 million shares for N57.2 billion in 71,240 deals versus the 565.5 million shares worth N29.9 billion transacted in 53,688 deals last Friday, indicating a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 12.82 per cent, 91.30 per cent, and 32.69 per cent, respectively.
Access Holdings led the activity chart yesterday after trading 47.6 million stocks valued at N1.4 billion, FCMB exchanged 40.3 million equities for N478.3 million, First Holdco sold 34.2 million shares valued at N4.3 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 33.2 million stocks worth N372.2 million, and Zenith Bank traded 25.4 million equities valued at N3.2 billion.
