Economy
FG Negotiating Free Trade Agreements
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Federal Government has noted that it was in the process of negotiating 21st century Nigerian free trade agreements with the goal of expanding market opportunities for Nigerian companies as well as looking into the ECOWAS Common External Tariff that has been quite controversial.
This disclosure was made by Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
Dr Enelamah noted that that the Export Expansion Grant (EEG), which was suspended in 2014 following allegations of widespread abuse and the accumulation of significant liability on the Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCCs), is also expected to resume in 2017.
In addition, he said the minister is currently running a feasibility study for the development of six Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) and securing funding in the Nigerian budget for the first development phase to be launched in 2017.
According to him, the Ministry is updating Nigeria’s trade policy priorities by working to correct imbalances in the country’s trade relationships and reversing negotiating failures. One of those items it is examining at the moment is the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) CET.
The CET is a regional tariff structure for West Africa on the basis of which products are imported within the region.
It came into effect in 2015 with a transitional period of implementation to 2020. The challenge for the Nigerian economy is that manufacturers and industrialists have taken a strong position that the negotiation that resulted in the CET did not take into account the sensitive of the Nigerian industrial and manufacturing sector.
The pre-existing sensitivities have now been compounded with the onset of the recession and other vulnerabilities. Stakeholders have taken the position that the Nigerian economy would be damaged if the CET is implemented in 2020 and that the situation would be compounded if Nigeria signs the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.
He said as a consequence therefore, producers, manufacturers, industrialists and others have requested for the postponement and negotiation of the CET and for the EPA not to be signed. The government is thus, seriously working on these concerns.
On the EEG, the Minister said government intends to resume the scheme in 2017 because of its determination to expand the volume and value of Nigeria’s exports, diversifying export products and improving global competiveness of Nigerian exporters. The scheme will be included in the budget in order to manage the impact on government revenue and promote transparency.
On Industry, he said the aim is to broaden the scope and accelerate the growth of the Nigerian manufacturing & industrial businesses
The Minister said that approved liability on the Scheme for unused certificates which are either in the custody of exporters or awaiting issuance in the Federal Ministry of Finance, will be settled after the conduct of an audit to verify the actual amount due.
Following EEG suspension, Dr Enelamah had set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee to access the scheme holistically and make recommendations on its continued operation or otherwise and the framework for its continued operation.
The committee came up with far reaching recommendations and also made a presentation at the Economic Management Team (EMT) meeting of October 17, 2016, presided over by His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, in which its recommendations were approved.
The Ministry had a meeting a couple of weeks ago with exporters and other stakeholders to discuss and exchange ideas once again on the matter.
On the SEZs, the Minister explained that his ministry was facilitating the setup of special economic zones throughout Nigeria. Specific goals include to help overcome the infrastructure disadvantages faced by local manufacturers, and promote the cluster effects gained by locating similar manufacturing businesses together.
Apart from the funding secured in the Budget for SEZs, other financial partners such as Afreximbank and EXIM bank of China have committed $1bn to the project.
On the investment front, he said the ministry is working with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) to enhance investments and reverse the overall decline of FDI inflows.
Key achievements include important Investment Promotion and Protection agreements signed with Singapore and UAE and Investment road shows undertaken in China, Germany, Singapore, Turkey, UAE, UK, and US.
Also investors such as GE, Nissan, Coca-Cola among others, have continued to express interest to expand investment in Nigeria.
On the Enabling Business Environment (EBE), he the stated that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has been created and monthly meetings have commenced to monitor results achieved.
On Industry, the aim is to broaden the scope and accelerate the growth of the Nigerian manufacturing & industrial businesses, with a special focus on agribusiness and agro allied industries. This includes for example auto assembly and component manufacturing, mining, sugar, food processing, textile and garments, palm oil, and leather.
He also said the ministry’s initiatives currently underway within the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) include: FG has approved the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP). Secondly, a roadmap implementation has begun with sugar, tomato, textile and garments.
Also, he said in order to keep up with the rapidly transforming global economy, Nigeria’s digitalization has to be accelerated.
The ministry’s digitalization initiatives currently underway include: The establishment of the Smart Digital Nigeria Economy Project, as the baseline strategy for the digital-led growth of the Nigerian Economy.
Dr Enelamah said the ministry was working in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI) and other relevant government departments to support MSME’s through funding.
Specific MITI initiatives currently underway include: The GEM (Growth and Employment) initiative in collaboration with the World Bank. More specifically, The GEM initiative has identified 23 IDAs (Industrial Cluster Areas) to support MSME’s with capacity development and launch the ‘BIG platform’ funding initiative to provide funding and training for MSME’s.
Finally, giving an overview of the ministry’s vision, Dr Enelamah explained that there are three core pillars and five foundational enablers (necessary conditions to realise our plans) as follows:
3 Core Pillars:
– Implement the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP)
– Support Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
– Support the Digitalization of the Nigerian economy
- 5 Foundational Enablers
– Establish an Enabling Business Environment (EBE)
– Develop Special Economic Zones (SEZ)
– Establish 21st Century trade/Free Trade agreements
– Attract domestic and foreign investments
– Institutionalize the Structural Reform Agenda (SRA)
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.
According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.
These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.
The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.
According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.
According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.
The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.
Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.
It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.
For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 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 valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
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