Economy
X-Raying the National Development Plan 2021-2025
By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi
There exist some points that highlight as impressive the recent launch at the State House, Abuja, of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, a successor plan to both the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017-2020) and the Vision 20:2020, by the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government.
The plan, according to Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, sets the tone for Nigeria’s next economic destination and would prioritize robust infrastructure, economic stability, improved social indicators and living conditions of Nigerians.
First, infrastructural provisions enable development and also provide the services that underpin the ability of people to be economically productive.
Infrastructure investments, from what development professionals are saying, help stem economic losses arising from problems such as power outages or traffic congestion. The World Bank estimates that in Sub-Saharan Africa, closing the infrastructure quantity and quality gap relative to the world’s best performers could raise GDP growth per head by 2.6% per year.
Another practical particular that qualifies the development as exemplary is the new awareness that for the first time in our planning history as a nation, we are having three volumes of the plan.
According to the Minister, in the past, we have always had one volume, which is the plan itself. But this time, we have three volumes.
Volume One is the main plan, and that’s what will be accessible to the public. “Volume two is then a prioritized and sequential list of programmes and projects that will be fed into the annual budgets while Volume Three are the legislative imperatives,” the Minister stated.
Again, in line with the global belief that every government must find ways to create a sustainable economy, find a solution to the harmful effects of poverty upon the poor and upon those who are not poor but know that countless men and women are ravaged by hunger but choose to look away, the plan is laced with opportunities for inclusiveness for young people, women, people with special needs, and the vulnerable ones, mainstreaming women gender into all aspects of our social, economic and political activities.
Despite the validity of these claims, there are, however, reasons for Nigerians to feel concerned.
The major tragedy linked to this concern is that the nation Nigeria is reputed for changing economic plans with every change in leadership. This fear cannot be described as unfounded as we have as a country had several economic plans in the past. A huge sum of money has been injected into it but none achieved its targeted result. They were all aborted on the way by corruption, incompetence, change in administration and in some cases a combination of these factors.
As noted elsewhere, since independence in 1960, the country has demonstrated that there is no development plan which has achieved its core objective. There is always a disturbing laxity in marching plan targets with practical and unfailing consistency. The result is that the country remains one of the most politically and economically dis-articulated countries in the world.
In view of the above fact, how sure are we as Nigerians that the FG’s present moves will depart this old order?
In my view, what has all these years abbreviated Nigeria’s socio-economic growth, or accelerated development of other nations, is by no means a function of development plans but predicated on, and traceable to the existence of deformed leadership styles.
Take, as an illustration, for most of our political history, public office holders in Nigeria assume a self-sufficient attitude, despise others and view themselves as the exclusive possessor of what they have, as well as claim excellence not possessed.
Unfortunately, such characterizes the leadership’s sphere, not just in Nigeria but Africa as a continent. A factor that’s largely responsible for leaders’ inability to provide direction, protection, orientation, shape norms or manage conflicts in their various places of authority. The bitter truth is that no matter how good a plan or system of government may be, bad leaders must bring harm to their people.
This piece is not alone in this line of argument.
While underlying the problem of Nigeria’s underdevelopment exacerbated by the failure in the leadership system, Chinua Achebe, in his book The Trouble with Nigeria, remarked that there is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. But concluded that the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.
Looking ahead, two questions that are as important as the piece itself are; what strategy can the nation deploy to arrest such ugly narrative in ways that will make this recently developed national plan not end in shame like previous experience but bear the targeted result?
Two, how can the nation handlers effectively diversify the nation’s revenue sources, bearing in mind that such arrangement will reduce financial risks and increase national economic stability as a decline in particular revenue source might be offset by an increase in other revenue sources?
The above questions call on leaders in the country to reassess their priorities via the development of the ability to give every citizen a stake in the country and its future by subsidizing things that improve the earning powers of citizens- education, housing and public health and placement of emphasis on, and understanding that the economy would look after itself if democracy is protected; human rights are adequately taken care of, and the rule of law strictly adhered to.
Again, as the nation celebrates the National Development Plan 2021-2025, which we are yet to be sure if it will achieve the targeted result, one point we must not fail to remember is that Nigeria, according to a report, is the only, or among the few oil-producing countries without adequate metering to ascertain the accurate quantity of crude oil produced at any given time.
What the above tells us as a country is that there is more work to be done and more reforms to be made.
Finally, while it is evident, to use the words of the Minister, that the current plan has the future we all desire and will play a sizeable role in the product complexity space internationally and adopt measures to ease constraints that have hindered the economy from attaining its potential, particularly on the product mapping space. That notwithstanding, the masses must develop a keen interest in holding their leaders accountable.
Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via je*********@***oo.com/08032725374.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intensified its nationwide sensitisation campaign on the implementation of the Green Tax Surcharge and related fiscal adjustments ahead of the policy’s commencement on July 1, 2026.
The service disclosed this in a statement published on its official X handle on Monday, saying the initiative is aimed at promoting environmental sustainability, reducing carbon emissions and encouraging the importation of cleaner vehicles into the country in line with global environmental standards.
According to the statement, the latest sensitisation programme was held at the Apapa Area Command on Friday, June 26, 2026, under the theme, “Implementation of the Green Tax Surcharge and Related Fiscal Adjustments.”
The event brought together customs officers, licensed customs agents, freight forwarders, importers and other key stakeholders to familiarise them with the new policy ahead of its implementation.
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, the Zonal Coordinator for Zone A, Mr Mohammed Babadende, said the exercise was organised to ensure stakeholders fully understand the policy and its implementation framework before it takes effect.
“This sensitisation is designed to ensure that every stakeholder clearly understands the policy before implementation. Our objective is to eliminate uncertainty, promote voluntary compliance and guarantee uniform application of the Green Tax Surcharge across all commands,” Mr Adeniyi said.
He stressed that effective stakeholder engagement would help ensure a seamless rollout of the policy while improving compliance across the country’s ports and border stations.
Delivering a technical presentation, the Comptroller in charge of Tariff, System Audit and Coordination, Mr Murtala Muazu, explained that the Green Tax Surcharge differs from conventional fiscal measures and would therefore require a separate assessment process.
Mr Muazu disclosed that the agency has introduced a simplified implementation mechanism through the Harmonised System (HS) Code declaration platform to facilitate accurate assessment and ease compliance by importers and clearing agents.
He further revealed that the federal government has simultaneously reviewed existing import charges on vehicles to cushion the effect of the new environmental levy.
According to him, import levies on vehicles have been reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, while duties on used vehicles have been cut from 15 per cent to five per cent.
The customs said the reductions are intended to offset the impact of the Green Tax Surcharge while supporting legitimate trade and ensuring businesses are not unduly burdened by the new policy.
Area Controllers who attended the sensitisation programme urged importers, licensed customs agents and members of the public to support the initiative, noting that the reduction in import levies would lower the cost of doing business, facilitate legitimate trade and ultimately contribute to reducing transportation costs across the country.
Stakeholders at the event welcomed the initiative but called for sustained public awareness campaigns to ensure broader understanding, minimise confusion and encourage voluntary compliance as the rollout date approaches.
The Green Tax Surcharge is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026, as part of the federal government’s broader efforts to promote environmentally friendly transportation and align Nigeria’s import policies with global climate and sustainability objectives.
By Dipo Olowookere
The three busiest equities on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week were Access Holdings, Fidelity Bank, and Chams Holdco.
The trio accounted for 20.90 per cent and 5.69 per cent of the total trading volume and value, respectively, after trading 485.749 million units worth N7.656 billion in 17,843 deals.
In the week, investors transacted 2.324 billion shares valued at N134.486 billion in 249,328 deals versus the 3.075 billion shares worth N254.614 billion executed in 287,157 deals in the previous week.
The financial services space led the activity chart with 1.523 billion stocks sold for N47.542 billion in 105,230 deals, contributing 65.53 per cent and 35.35 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively. The ICT industry exchanged 198.821 million shares worth N32.622 billion in 29,905 deals, and the consumer goods sector posted a turnover of 151.635 million shares worth N10.933 billion in 23,951 deals.
In the five-day trading week, 22 equities appreciated versus 11 equities a week earlier, 57 equities depreciated versus 78 equities of the previous week, and 67 equities remained unchanged versus 57 equities in the preceding week.
McNichols gained 26.47 per cent to trade at N8.60, International Energy Insurance appreciated by 14.43 per cent to N5.79, GTCO expanded by 10.69 per cent to N127.90, First Holdco jumped by 10.00 per cent to N55.00, and Airtel Africa also climbed 10.00 per cent to settle at N4,358.80.
On the flip side, Trans-Nationwide Express declined by 26.79 per cent to N3.28, Deap Capital slipped by 23.31 per cent to N3.75, Abbey Mortgage Bank lost 20.30 per cent to trade at N8.05, Aradel Holdings contracted by 19.00 per cent to N1,417.50, and Regency Assurance dropped 18.56 per cent to close at 79 Kobo.
The All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation, which measures the performance level of Customs Street, depreciated last week by 1.65 per cent and 1.60 per cent each to 232,049.02 points and N148.905 trillion, respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished lower except the CG, banking, AFR Bank Value, AFR Div Yield and MERI Value indices, which grew by 2.40 per cent, 3.51 per cent, 3.28 per cent, 9.93 per cent and 0.56 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has cautioned against the Senate’s resolution seeking to ban the importation of textile fabrics, warning that such a move could be counterintuitive as it would undermine key industries, threaten millions of jobs and fail to revive Nigeria’s struggling textile sector.
According to the chief executive of the think-tank, Mr Muda Yusuf, while the objective of revitalising the textile industry was commendable, an outright import prohibition would likely create more economic challenges than solutions.
The Senate had urged the federal government to implement an import ban for an initial period of five years. The motion, sponsored by Senator Sunday Katung, is to create a protected window for domestic cotton farmers and local textile mills to scale up production.
Mr Yusuf noted that the import ban wasn’t the major driving force behind the country’s ailing textile sector, adding that it was driven mainly by structural constraints such as high energy costs, poor infrastructure, expensive credit and obsolete technology.
Other factors, he said, driving the decline of the sector included logistics bottlenecks, smuggling and policy inconsistency, rather than import competition.
According to him, restricting textile imports will disrupt production across the country’s garment, fashion, tailoring, furniture and interior design industries, which depend heavily on imported fabrics as production inputs.
He said that Nigeria’s fashion, garment-making and tailoring industry, valued at about N10 trillion, supported an estimated 10 million livelihoods and represented one of the country’s most vibrant creative economy sectors.
He further stated that the sector generates significant domestic value addition through design, tailoring, branding, embroidery, merchandising and retailing, often exceeding the value of the imported textile inputs.
“Restricting textile imports would increase production costs, reduce consumer choice and threaten thousands of micro, small and medium enterprises engaged in fashion, tailoring and garment manufacturing,” he said.
Mr Yusuf added that textile fabrics were also critical inputs for the furniture and interior design industry, valued at about N7 trillion, warning that supply disruptions would weaken the competitiveness of manufacturers.
He further noted that imported textile fabrics already attracted a combined Import Duty and Import Adjustment Tax of between 35 per cent and 45 per cent, yet the existing tariff protection had not restored the competitiveness of local textile manufacturers.
“The core problem lies in production economics rather than import penetration. An import ban addresses the symptom while leaving the underlying causes unresolved,” he said.
Mr Yusuf also maintained that local textile manufacturers currently lacked the capacity to meet the quantity, quality and diversity of fabrics required by the country’s fashion, garment, furniture and interior design industries.
He warned that an outright import ban could therefore create supply shortages and negatively affect downstream sectors that generated significantly more employment than textile manufacturing itself.
The CPPE boss advocated a comprehensive value-chain strategy to revive the textile industry and called for the restoration of domestic cotton production through improved security, mechanisation, better seedlings, extension services and guaranteed off-take arrangements.
He also stressed the need for affordable long-term financing, access to modern technology, a reliable energy supply and a more competitive operating environment for manufacturers.
Among other recommendations, Yusuf urged the government to prioritise locally produced textiles and garments for uniforms used by the military, paramilitary agencies, schools and other public institutions.
He also recommended the establishment of a Textile Competitiveness Fund financed from textile-related import tax revenues to support technology upgrades and industry modernisation.
Other measures proposed include strengthening border enforcement to curb smuggling and implementing reforms aimed at reducing energy and financing costs while improving industrial infrastructure.
Mr Yusuf stressed that sustainable revival of Nigeria’s textile industry would depend on improving competitiveness rather than imposing additional import restrictions.
He warned that a blanket import ban could encourage smuggling, reduce customs revenue and weaken a broader value chain that contributed substantially to employment and economic growth.
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