Economy
Agriculture Can Boost Low IGRs of States—Osinbajo

By Adedapo Adesanya
As the nation grapples with tight fiscal revenue generation, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has noted that agriculture can provide succour to the low internally generated revenues of states.
While interacting with a delegation from the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday, the VP said “agriculture can be the solution to a lot of our IGR needs and a lot of our resource needs; it has been proven so many times that it is possible.”
Mr Osinbajo, who spoke after listening to a presentation on the commission’s framework for sustainable agricultural transformation in the states, stated that in the 1950s and 60s, the agricultural sector was the major source of earnings for the country.
The Vice President noted that “the truth of the matter is that the difference between then and now is the political will. There is no question at all that there is far more information today than there was then but someone has to have the will to do it.
“There is no question at all, that any part of Nigeria if there is sufficient dedication and hard work, can feed the entire country. There are smaller countries not up to the size of one State in Nigeria that is producing enough and exporting products to other parts of the world.”
The Vice President also acknowledged the importance of private sector collaboration in transforming agriculture but emphasized the need for stakeholders to focus on research and development, noting that the progress made by some countries of the world, especially in the area of commercial farming has been hinged on research.
According to him, “obviously, what will take us out of the woods and make us relevant in terms of export and even in terms of satisfying local demands is commercial farming.”
Addressing the concern raised about challenges in developing the agriculture value chain, the VP said “there must be a way of perfecting the value chain and ensure that the value chain actually works.
“Of course, it involves logistics, transportation, credit facility, etc. A lot more attention needs to be paid to how that value chain works. No matter how much you are producing, if you don’t work on the value chain, you will just be wasting a lot of the resources.”
“With respect to government policy, he said “we have been doing a lot of work with agro-export in particular. One of the problems that we are faced with is even with the whole process of exporting. We are addressing the problem, we have had several meetings with agro exporters. It is among the issues that we are trying to pay attention to.”
The Vice President then commended the DAWN Commission for its efforts, noting that “the work that the commission is doing is seminal. It is work not just for the present but perhaps for the future of the South-West region and of course of the entire nation.”
On his part, the Director-General of DAWN, Mr Seye Oyeleye, briefed the VP on the efforts made over the years, reporting that the commission has developed blueprints for the development of the health and education sectors in the 6 States of the South-West.
He also cited the revitalization of cocoa production and the framework for sustainable agricultural transformation in the region, among achievements recorded by the commission in the 9 years of its establishment.
In the presentation of the agricultural transformation plan, Mrs Abiodun Oladipo, a member of the delegation said the commission among other things, aims to facilitate the operationalization of the existing Staple Crop Processing Zone (SCPZ) master plans as part of the broad objective of transforming farming in the region.
She said DAWN collaborating with private investors will also facilitate value chain development in the production of cassava, cocoa, maize, oil palm, and cotton.
Economy
Legend Internet Plc to List N11.3bn Shares on Nigerian Exchange

By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An Abuja-based Internet Service Provider (ISP), Legend Internet Plc, will list its shares on the main board of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The listing is expected to take place on Thursday, April 24, 2025, Business Post has gathered.
To mark this, the NGX is organisation an event tagged Facts Behind the Listing for the management of the organisation to inform capital market stakeholders of its numbers and operations.
The executive management team and its issuing house, Finmal Finance Services Limited, will share valuable insights into the company’s strategic vision, growth trajectory, and the anticipated impact of this listing on its operations and market positioning.
Before this, the team will be honoured with a closing gong ceremony, an event to close trading activities at the stock exchange for the trading session.
Legend Internet is an exclusive experience of premium multimedia services built on the foundation of an ultra high speed fibre optic internet connection.
The company delivers the best in Internet, payments, voice, mail and home management, all working together to give customers instant access to the things that matter most – anywhere, anytime.
It was learned that Legend Internet is bringing to the stock exchange a total of 2 billion ordinary shares of 50 Kobo at a unit price of N5.64.
The equities of the firm will increase the market capitalisation of the bourse by N11.3 billion.
Economy
IMF Downgrades Nigeria’s Economic Growth to 3.0%

By Adedapo Adesanya
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Nigeria’s economy would grow by 3.0 per cent in 2025, a downgrade from the 3.2 per cent project by the organisation earlier this year.
According to its latest World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the Bretton Wood institution said the downgrade was due to recent tariffs move by the US under President Doland Trump.
“Since the release of the January 2025 WEO Update, a series of new tariff measures by the United States and countermeasures by its trading partners have been announced and implemented, ending up in near-universal US tariffs on April 2 and bringing effective tariff rates to levels not seen in a century.” it noted.
The organisation also projects a 2.7 per cent growth rate for the country in 2026.
The global financial institution noted that while Nigeria faces significant challenges, particularly with inflation, forex volatility, and weak infrastructure, recent policy adjustments, such as the partial unification of exchange rates and removal of fuel subsidies, could enhance investor confidence and stimulate economic activity if properly implemented.
The IMF warned that the US tariffs on its own is a major negative shock to global growth.
“The unpredictability with which these measures have been unfolding also has a negative impact on economic activity and the outlook and, at the same time, makes it more difficult than usual to make assumptions that would constitute a basis for an internally consistent and timely set of projections,” the April outlook said.
The IMF added that the swift escalation of trade tensions and extremely high levels of policy uncertainty are expected to have a significant impact on global economic activity.
Based on this, it projected that global growth is projected to slow to 2.8 per cent in 2025 and 3 per cent in 2026—down from 3.3 per cent for both years in the January 2025 WEO Update, corresponding to a cumulative downgrade of 0.8 percentage point, and much below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.7 per cent.
Economy
Tinubu’s Economic Reforms Poorly Timed, Lacked Critical Safeguards—Yemi Kale

By Adedapo Adesanya
Renowned economist, Dr Yemi Kale, says Nigeria must recalibrate its economy through disciplined reforms, forward-looking governance, and people-centred development.
Mr Kale, a former head of Nigeria’s statistics bureau and now Group Chief Economist at Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), gave this advice at the 2025 Vanguard Economic Discourse, where he delivered a keynote address that examined Nigeria’s current economic hardship and offered a compelling and urgent roadmap toward sustainable recovery and shared prosperity.
According to the economist, Nigeria is grappling with both external shocks and internal structural fragilities: from global inflationary pressures to domestic policy missteps.
“Business as usual is no longer an option,” he quipped, warning that slowing growth, commodity volatility, rising protectionism, and geopolitical instability are compounding Nigeria’s vulnerabilities.
“From exchange rate volatility to eroding investor confidence, Nigeria finds itself navigating a storm with limited buffers,” he explained.
He critiqued the removal of fuel subsidies, FX rate unification, tax overhauls, and monetary tightening, leading to surging inflation, currency depreciation, contracting investment, and intensifying socioeconomic hardship, noting that while the reforms instituted by President Bola Tinubu were necessary steps toward a rules-based economy, they were poorly sequenced and lacked critical safeguards.
“Most of Nigeria’s economic hardship is not caused by unforeseen events but by policies introduced without adequate safeguards. Public trust is built not just by making policies—but by implementing them with foresight, fairness, and firmness,” he submitted.
The economist then outlined a clear, actionable framework to transition Nigeria from macroeconomic fragility to resilient, inclusive growth revolving around three pillars: macroeconomic stability, economic diversification, and social investment and inclusive governance.
He noted that restoring confidence begins with fiscal discipline, transparent FX management, and tighter coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities.
“The first pillar is macroeconomic stability. Macroeconomic stability is not an outcome—it is a prerequisite. Nigeria must rebuild investor and citizen confidence by addressing fiscal imbalances, taming inflation, and restoring exchange rate credibility.”
He noted that this can be done via enforcing tax reform, curb leakages, and ensure budget credibility, empowering the central bank with operational independence and clear mandates, tackling inflation through supply-side reforms—particularly in agriculture and logistics, maintaining a transparent, market-reflective exchange rate supported by non-oil exports and reserve buffers, as well as creating a predictable investment climate that encourages long-term capital formation.
“The second pillar is economic diversification. Diversification is no longer optional. Nigeria’s dependence on oil exposes it to external volatility and fiscal instability. We must rapidly expand our productive base,” adding that core focus should be on agriculture, manufacturing, services and digital economy, small businesses, and infrastructure.
“The third and final pillar is social investment and governance. True growth is people-centered. It must deliver meaningful improvements in the lives of Nigerians across all demographics and regions.”
Dr Kale emphasised that key focus areas include the need to expand social safety nets to protect vulnerable populations from systemic shocks, improve access to basic services—housing, healthcare, electricity, water, and strengthen education through curriculum reform, teacher training, and vocational pathways.
He also advocated fostering entrepreneurship and digital inclusion, particularly for youth and women, deepening institutional trust through anti-corruption enforcement and policy continuity, and usage of digital governance to increase transparency, reduce leakages, and improve service delivery.
“Inclusive growth is not just a social ideal—it is a strategic economic necessity,” he said.
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