Economy
Drop in Economic Growth Worries FG
By Dipo Olowookere
Federal government has expressed concerns over the slower growth recorded by the nation’s economy in the second quarter of 2018.
On Monday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.50 percent in Q2 2018, lower than the 1.95 percent in the Q1 2018.
Reacting to this, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udo Udoma, explained that this was mainly due to the contraction in the Crude oil and Gas sectors, which was caused by some production issues already being addressed by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
For instance, average crude oil production was only 1.84 million barrels/day in Q2 2018 as opposed to an average production of 2 mil barrels/ day in Q1 2018, expressing confidence that once these issues are addressed, Nigeria should be able to achieve positive growth in the oil and gas sector.
However, the Minister said government is encouraged by the continuing growth recorded in the non-oil sector, which grew by 2.05 percent in the period under review.
This, he noted, was evidence that the implementation of the targeted policies and programs of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) was yielding positive results.
Mr Udoma said that he is happy to see that the Nigerian economy has continued to register positive growth in the first and second quarters of the year in spite of the security and other challenges faced by the country.
He emphasized that the focus of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) is on diversifying the economy away from dependence on the oil and gas sector and was encouraged that efforts are yielding fruits by the continuing growth in the non-oil sector..
Mr Udoma noted that the 2.05 percent growth in the non-oil sector represents the strongest growth in the non-oil GDP since the fourth quarter of 2015.
According to the stats office, the non-oil growth was driven by Transportation (road, rail water and air).
Growth in Transportation grew by 21.76 percent, supported by Construction 7.66 percent and Electricity 7.59 percent; the three priority areas of the ERGP.
Other non-oil sectors that drove growth in Q2 2018 included Telecoms which grew by 11.51 percent, Water supply and Sewage 11.98 percent and Broadcasting by 21.92 percent.
However, the Oil and Gas sector contracted by 3.95 percent in Q2 2018 compared with a growth rate of 14.77 percent recorded in Q1 2018 and 3.53 percent in Q1 2017.
The Minister emphasized that the Nigerian economy needs growth from both the oil, as well as the non-oil sectors, to achieve its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) growth targets.
He said another area of concern for government was the slightly weaker growth in the Agriculture sector which slowed to 1.19 percent in the second quarter in 2018 compared with 3 percent in the first quarter of 2018.
This, he said, was partly attributable to security challenges mainly in the north-east and north-central zones of the country.
These security challenge affected activities of farmers with impact on commodity output; but the Minister indicated that the various measures being taken by government to tackle the situation is already reducing incidents of violent conflicts & other disruptions to farming activity.
The Minister said he is happy to see that Industry has continued to maintain a positive growth rate as a result of the performance of Manufacturing and Solid minerals which retained positive growth of 0.68 percent and 5.24 percent respectively in the second quarter of 2018.
Also, the Services sector recorded its best GDP performance in nine quarters, growing by 2.12 percent in the second quarter of 2018 compared to a contraction of 0.47 percent in the first quarter of the year and of -0.85 percent in second quarter of 2017.
Mr Udoma expressed that he was encouraged by these GDP growth results which he said is also consistent with improvements in other indicators including inflation and capital inflows, amongst others.
According to the NBS, headline inflation has consistently declined every month since January 2017 through July 2018 from 18.72 percent to 11.14 percent.
The consecutive disinflation year on year, which is the eighteenth in a row, has resulted in the lowest rate of inflation since June 2016.
He was also happy to note that the Nigerian economy has continued to attract significant capital inflows, which stood at $5.5 billion in the second quarter of 2018, representing a 207.62 percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2017.
While capital importation declined slightly in the second quarter of 2018, the total for the first half of 2018 at $11.8 billion represents the highest half year capital importation since 2014, indicating increasing confidence in the Nigerian economy, he pointed out.
The Minister expressed optimism that as government intensifies its activities in the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, the economy will sustain this growth momentum.
He conceded that, whilst the nation still has some ways to go to achieve the target growth rates of the ERGP, these continuing positive results are signs that the country was moving in the right direction.
Mr Udoma reiterated the commitment of the present administration to turn #Nigeria around to become a productive country where citizens “grow what we eat, consume what we make and use what we produce,” thereby providing jobs for our teeming population.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns in Lagos State has been extended by one week from February 1 to 7, 2026.
This information was revealed in a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mrs Monsurat Amasa-Oyelude.
In the statement issued over the weekend, the chairman of the tax collecting organisation, Mr Ayodele Subair, explained that the statutory deadline for filing of employers’ annual tax returns is January 31, every year, noting that the extension is intended to provide employers with additional time to complete and submit accurate tax returns.
According to him, employers must give priority to the timely filing of their annual returns, noting that compliance should be embedded as a routine business practice.
He also reiterated that electronic filing through the LIRS eTax platform remains the only approved method for submitting annual returns, as manual filings have been completely phased out. Employers are therefore required to file their returns exclusively through the LIRS eTax portal: https://etax.lirs.net.
Describing the platform as secure, user-friendly, and accessible 24/7, Mr Subair advised employers to ensure that the Tax ID (Tax Identification Number) of all employees is correctly captured in their submissions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Sunil Kumar Taldar, has disclosed that the company is still on track to list its mobile money business, Airtel Money, before the end of June 2026.
Recall that Business Post reported in March 2024 that the mobile network operator was considering selling the shares of Airtel Money to the public through the IPO vehicle in a transaction expected to raise about $4 billion.
The firm had been in talks with possible advisors for a planned listing of the shares from the initial public offer on a stock exchange with some options including London, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Europe.
However, so far no final decisions have been made regarding the timing, location, or scale of the IPO.
In September 2025, the telco reportedly picked Citigroup Incorporated as advisors for the planned IPO which will see Airtel Money become a standalone entity before it can attain the prestige of trading on a stock exchange.
Mr Taldar, noted that metrics continued to show improvements ahead of the listing with its customer base hitting 52 million, compared to around 44.6 million users it had as of June 2025.
He added that the subsidiary processed over $210 billion in a year, according to the company’s nine-month financial results released on Friday.
“Our push to enhance financial inclusion across the continent continues to gain momentum with our Mobile Money customer base expanding to 52 million, surpassing the 50 million milestone. Annualised total processed value of over $210 billion in Q3’26 underscores the depth of our merchants, agents, and partner ecosystem and remains a key player in driving improved access to financial services across Africa.
“We remain on track for the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026,” Mr Taldar said.
Estimating Airtel Money at $4 billion is higher than its valuation of $2.65 billion in 2021. In 2021, Airtel Money received significant investments, including $200 million from TPG Incorporated at a valuation of $2.65 billion and $100 million from Mastercard. Later that same year, an affiliate of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund also acquired an undisclosed stake in the unit.
The mobile money sector in Africa is expanding rapidly, driven by a young population increasingly adopting technology for financial services, making the continent a key market for fintech companies.
By Dipo Olowookere
A cryptocurrency investor and owner of Polyfarm, Mr Bamu Gift Wandji, is currently cooling off in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was handed over to the anti-money laundering agency by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday, January 30, 2026, after his arrest on Monday, January 12, 2026.
A statement from the EFCC yesterday disclosed that the suspect was apprehended by the NSCDC in Gwagwalada, Abuja for running an investment scheme without the authorisation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria.
It was claimed that Mr Wandji created a fraudulent crypto investment platform called Polyfarm, where he allegedly lured innocent Nigerians to invest in Polygon, a crypto token that attracts high returns.
Investigation further revealed that he also deceived the public that his project, Polyfarm, has its native token called “polyfarm coin” which he sold to the public.
In his bid to promote the scheme, the suspect posted about this on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, X (formally Twitter) and Telegram. He also conducted seminars in some major cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja where he described the scheme as a life-changing programme.
Further investigation revealed that in October, 2025, subscribers who could not access their funds were informed by the suspect that the site was attacked by Lazarus group, a cyber attacking group linked to North Korea.
Further investigations showed that Polyfarm is not registered and not licensed with SEC to carry out crypto transactions in Nigeria. Also, no investment happened with subscribers’ funds and that the suspect used funds paid by subscribers to pay others in the name of profit.
Investigation also revealed that native coin, polyfarm coin was never listed on coin market cap and that the suspect sold worthless coins to the general public.
Contrary to the claim of the suspect that his platform was attacked, EFCC’s investigations revealed that the platform was never attacked or hacked by anyone and that the suspect withdrew investors’ funds and utilized the same for his personal gains.
The EFCC, in the statement, disclosed that Mr Wandji would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
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