Economy
ABCON Wants Establishment of Voluntary Offshore Asset Reparation Window
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has charged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to establish a voluntary offshore asset repatriation window to allow more foreign capital inflows into the economy.
In a statement by its president, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, the foreign exchange traders said the proposed policy plan would be a monetary instrument of the apex bank backed by an Act of the National Assembly for non-disclosure of the sources or basis of proceeds of the funds to be repatriated.
The ABCON boss also called for stricter measures by fiscal and monetary policy makers to keep the forex market and economy going due to the realities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic has led to drop in crude oil prices and drastic cut in Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and with this, more foreign capital will be pumped into the economy through the Voluntary Offshore Asset Repatriation Window which will benefit all players in the economy.
According to him, the proposed window will boost liquidity in the BDC sub-sector, Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) forex window and help the CBN sustain stability of the exchange rate.
According to Mr Gwadabe, the forex window, which differs from the previous Voluntary Offshore Asset Regularization Scheme backed by executive order 008 and tied to taxation, will be an incentive for owners of stashed funds abroad to be given an amnesty to repatriate their foreign cash holding into the window so it can then be traded at the prevailing rates in those windows.
Also, he advised owners of such funds to have one year amnesty to participate in the market which should be liable to paying a reduced corporate income tax of 20 percent.
Mr Gwadabe also advised that Naira proceeds from the transactions in that window should be invested in the economy for a maximum of 10 years before it can be allowed to be repatriated back, if and when the need arises.
According to the group, the window will also boost foreign exchange liquidity and help against the volatility of the market. He also said, it would help in diversifying Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, support national planning, enhance backward integration and import substitution policies.
Further, Mr Gwadabe said it will lead to reduction in the size of black and informal economy, boost sovereign credit ratings, improve living standards for the people and promote good corporate governance in institutions.
“Going by the dire consequences of COVID-19 on our economic indicators- decline in oil revenue, low tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, increasing budget deficit, declining fiscal buffers and debt servicing challenges, among others, poor revenue problem and falling oil prices despite OPEC oil supply cut and debt rescheduling.
“These will trigger other macro economic challenges such as high interest rate, low level of investors confidence, shrinking Diaspora remittance inflows and increasing livelihood agitations,” he said.
According to him, the Nigerian economy outlook, when compared with global economic trends, does not look positive, which is why the country needs to work with every available options or face dire consequences of inaction.
He said that the dwindling oil revenue was another wake up call to diversify the economy.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for 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 transacted for N415.7 million.
