Economy
2025 Budget: LCCI Seeks Proper Budget Implementation, Improved Tax-to-GDP Ratio
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called for budget implementation, saying it will be the core driver of the nation’s path to recovery.
The LCCI Director-General, Mrs Chinyere Almona, said this on Thursday in Lagos, in reaction to the 2025 budget proposal which was presented by President Bola Tinubu to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday in Abuja.
She said, “Beyond the figures and assumptions, budget implementation is the key performance driver.”
“The 2024 budget implementation cycle extension to June 2025 should be closely watched to avoid such in the future as it can signal weak budget execution.
“We call on the National Assembly to expedite action on the appropriation debates.
“We are concerned that much-needed scrutiny and consultations on the budget may not be possible if the January-December budget cycle is to be maintained,” she said.
President Tinubu revealed that in 2025, the country was targeting N34.82 trillion in revenue to fund the country’s projected expenditure of N47.90 trillion, including N15.81 trillion for debt servicing.
According to Mrs Almona, to achieve this, accelerating tax reforms, simplifying processes, and incorporating the informal sector were essential.
She also drummed the urgency of improving Nigeria’s tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, to meet the ambitious N34.82 trillion revenue projection.
She said that the country must leverage technology to expand the tax net, minimise leakages, and foster
“Fiscal discipline must complement these efforts to effectively manage the N15.81 trillion debt servicing allocation.
“Nigeria must prioritise high-impact, self-sustaining projects and explore alternative funding mechanisms, such as public-private partnerships, to keep debts within sustainable limits.
“Structural reforms are indispensable to reducing inflation to 15 per cent and stabilising the exchange rate at N1,500 to the dollar, ”she said.
She said that addressing food and energy supply chain bottlenecks, fast-tracking local petroleum production projects, and fostering alignment between monetary and fiscal policies would restore confidence in the Naira and ease inflationary pressures.
“Achieving the ambitious oil production target of 2.06 million barrels daily requires decisive action to resolve pipeline vandalism, theft, and underinvestment.
“Across the three streams of operations in the oil and gas industry, a sound regulatory environment can boost activities and investments in the short term,” she said.
Addressing the priorities of the budget, Almona lauded Tinubu’s attention to security, infrastructure, education, health, and agriculture, to achieve macroeconomic stability and inclusive growth.
The LCCI head said that the allocation of N4.91 trillion for defence was commendable compared to previous allocations.
She, however, said that the funding must be complemented with enhanced intelligence, surveillance technology, and simultaneous investment in poverty reduction and youth empowerment.
Mrs Almona said that the N4.06 trillion earmarked for infrastructure and significant allocations for education and health called for swift and transparent project execution.
According to her, while the budget outlines bold goals, these aspirations hinge on robust policy implementation, sustained execution, and coherence across government strategies.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
