Economy
Aggressive Demand for Financial Stocks Pushes NGX Higher by 3.13%
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited sustained its upward movement on Wednesday as it closed higher by 3.13 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 2:30 pm.
The bullish run persisted due to the aggressive demand for financial stocks, as investors bet on them because they projected that the suspension of Mr Godwin Emefiele as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would give financial institutions a breathing space to operate optimally.
Business Post reports that the banking index rose by 26.52 per cent, the insurance counter grew by 22.98 per cent, the energy sector appreciated by 16.01 per cent, and the consumer goods counter went up by 4.09 per cent, while the industrial goods sector depreciated by 1.13 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,821.55 points to 59,985.10 points from 58,163.55 points, and the market capitalisation expanded by N992 billion to N32.662 trillion from N31.670 trillion.
The renewed interest in equities left the activity chart in the green territory today as the trading volume, value, and the number of deals moved up by 8.33 per cent, 9.90 per cent, and 15.22 per cent, respectively.
Data showed that investors bought and sold 1.3 billion stocks worth N21.1 billion in 11,947 deals compared with the 1.2 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion traded in 10,369 deals on Tuesday.
UBA finished the session as the busiest after it transacted 230.8 million equities worth N2.7 billion, GTCO traded 125.5 million shares valued at N4.2 billion, Zenith Bank exchanged 119.1 million stocks for N4.0 billion, Access Holdings sold 92.8 million shares valued at N1.5 billion, and Fidelity Bank traded 75.6 million equities worth N494.1 million.
Like the preceding trading session, investor sentiment was bullish as the bourse finished with 70 price gainers and 13 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index.
The top five, International Breweries, Sterling Holdings, Transcorp Hotel, Dangote Sugar, and Seplat Energy gained 10.00 per cent each in the midweek session to settle at N5.50, N2.75, N12.10, N25.30, and N1,320.00 apiece.
The heaviest price loser of the day was Pharma Deko, which lost 9.65 per cent to finish at N2.06, CWG dropped 9.44 per cent to N1.63, Northern Nigerian Flour Mills depleted by 8.66 per cent to N12.65, BUA Cement fell by 6.52 per cent to N86.00, and Ardova decreased by 5.06 per cent to N16.90.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributed about N2.550 trillion from the revenue generated by the nation in June 2026 to the three tiers of government after its July meeting in Abuja.
A statement signed by the Director of Press in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Bawa Mokwa, “The N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue comprised N1.809 trillion in distributable statutory revenue and N740.724 billion in distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue.”
It was gathered that a total gross revenue of N4.500 trillion was available in June 2026, with deductions for the cost of collection amounting to N160.744 billion, and transfers and refunds at N1.789 trillion.
According to a communiqué after the gathering, gross statutory revenue of N3.700 trillion was received in June 2026, N1.049 trillion higher than the N2.651 trillion received in the preceding month, while gross revenue of N799.746 billion was generated from VAT, N56.058 billion higher than the N743.688 billion recorded in May 2026.
It was stated that from the N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received N923.438 billion, the state governments got N838.208 billion, while the local government councils were given N591.390 billion, with N197.610 billion allocated to the benefiting states as 13 per cent of mineral derivation revenue.
From the N1.809 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government went away with N849.366 billion, states shared N430.810 billion, local councils took N332.136 billion, while the benefiting states got N197.610 billion as derivation revenue.
From the N740.724 billion distributable VAT earnings, the central government got N74.072 billion, the states received N407.398 billion, and the local government councils were allocated N259.253 billion.
The communiqué further stated that in June 2026, collections from Companies Income Tax (CIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duties (SDT), Petroleum Royalties, Gas Flare Penalties, Rent, Mineral Oil Royalties (MOR), Value Added Tax (VAT), Import Duty, and Common External Tariff (CET) Levies increased significantly, while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Mineral Royalties, and Fees declined considerably. Excise Duty recorded only a marginal increase.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
See the full list below:
