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Economy

FG Records N318.5bn Revenue Inflow in Q1 2024—Accountant-General

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Oluwatoyin Madein AoGF

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government recorded a revenue inflow of N318.5 billion between January and March 2024, says the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein.

Mrs Madein made the disclosure when she appeared before an interactive session organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on Wednesday.

The accountant-general, who was represented by the Director of Revenue Expenses, Mr Felix Ogundayero, said the reconciliation of revenue inflows was still ongoing, and what was declared was the figure presented to the committee.

“Reconciliation is still being done but the total revenue inflows to the federal government for January to March amounts to N318.5 billion as against a total budget of N2.691 trillion,” she said.

“For the budget, the bottom-up cash planning policy is on course and the 2024 budget is going to be implemented via that policy, officers have been retained and sensitisation is ongoing to ensure that MDAs are well equipped on the modalities and conditionalities,” she stated.

Mrs Madein said the revenue for 2024, will significantly increase due to the economic policies being implemented by the federal government.

Also addressing the committee, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Mr Armstrong Takang, said N101 billion has been declared as dividends by some agencies, noting that some agencies are yet to declare their dividends due to various factors.

“So far, we have received dividends declared by some companies. But for many others, their reports are either being prepared and have not been completed or have been completed but they have not gone to their boards for approval,” he said.

“As such, we cannot use the number of their dividends until that has been done based on the corporate governance rules.

“Based on the number so far, it is about N101 billion from the entities we have identified. We continue with other entities whose dividends have not been paid to ensure we go through the process of them passing it at the board level and the AGM before the figures are sent to us and the money rendered to the treasury,” he added.

In his response, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr James Faleke, said the purpose of the interactive session with heads of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) is to ensure that the revenue estimates submitted to the parliament by each agency before the passage of the 2024 appropriation bill into law are achieved.

“We have to ensure that those estimates are met. The appropriation has become a law and so that the revenue that you proposed to generate in the year we take it upon ourselves to do it quarterly to measure your performance.

“We want to ensure that revenue activities from January to March are in line with your appropriation. When you are giving us your figure — tell us what the figure was expected for the generation and what you have achieved. Also, tell us your expenditure.”

The committee ruled that all the agencies under MOFI should produce their annual report for the past 10 years.

“All organisations under MOFI should produce their annual report for the past 10 years and the dividend that ought to have been paid.

“What ought to have been paid, and what was paid by each of the agencies and of course evidence of payments,” he added.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

Nigeria’s Tax Sovereignty Not Affected by Deal With France—FIRS

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firs and france mou

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has issued a statement providing further clarifications following comments and reports on the recent memorandum of understanding between Nigeria and France on taxation.

The MoU, signed on December 10, 2025, at the French Embassy in Abuja by the chairman of FIRS, Mr Zacch Adedeji and French Ambassador, Mr Marc Fonbaustier, on behalf of France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), focuses on key areas, including digital transformation, workforce development, information exchange, transfer pricing, and tackling base erosion and profit shifting.

However, the MoU has been met with resistance from opposition coalition party African Democratic Congress (ADC) as well as Northern elders, which both raised serious questions about transparency, national sovereignty and the safety of Nigerian consumers’ data.

In response, the tax authority, which will become known as Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) from next year, emphasised that the deal does not grant France access to Nigerian taxpayer data, digital systems, or any element of the country’s operational infrastructure.

“All existing Nigerian laws on data protection, cybersecurity, and sovereignty remain fully applicable and strictly enforced. The NRS, like its predecessor, FIRS, places the highest premium on national security and maintains rigorous standards for the protection of all taxpayer information.”

It said similar MoUs are signed by tax administrations around the world to promote collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the adoption of global best practices.

“The DGFIP is among the world’s most advanced tax authorities, with over a century of institutional experience and deep expertise in digital transformation, taxpayer services, governance, and public finance.

“This partnership simply enables Nigeria to learn from that experience. It is advisory, non-intrusive, and entirely under Nigeria’s control.

“Contrary to misconceptions, the MoU does not displace local technology providers, FIRS and the emerging Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) continue to work closely with Nigerian innovators such as NIBSS, Interswitch, Paystack, and Flutterwave. The MoU does not include the provision of technical services; it is limited to knowledge sharing, institutional strengthening, workforce development, policy support, and best-practice guidance.

“We welcome robust public engagement on tax reforms, but such conversations must reflect the actual content and purpose of the agreement. Rather than undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty, this MoU strengthens it by helping to build a modern, capable, globally competitive tax administration one firmly in command of its systems, data, and strategic direction.

“FIRS remains committed to transparency, professionalism and partnership that advance Nigeria’s long-term economic development,” it said in a statement.

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Economy

Nigeria Okays 28 Firms for Gas-flaring Monetisation Project

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Gas flaring

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has issued permits to 28 companies under Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), a scheme that aims to end routine gas flaring to cut carbon emissions and use some of the gas to generate power.

Gas flaring is the controlled burning of natural gas that is released during oil extraction. The initiative marks a major step toward ending flaring and monetising wasted gas.

The projects could capture 250 to 300 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas currently flared, cut about 6 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, and unlock nearly 3 gigawatts of power generation potential, an NGFCP document showed.

Nigeria expects the initiative to attract up to $2 billion in investment and create more than 100,000 jobs. It could also produce 170,000 metric tonnes of LPG annually, providing clean cooking access for 1.4 million households.

The permits follow a competitive bid round that awarded 49 flare sites to 42 bidders after the programme was restructured post-COVID-19 and the Petroleum Industry Act.

Speaking on this, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, head of the NUPRC, during the presentation of the certificates to the 28 companies said, “The NGFCP is a pillar in our quest to eliminate routine flaring, reduce emissions, and enhance Nigeria’s global credibility in energy transition commitments.”

The programme aligns with Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and aims to turn flare gas from an environmental liability into an economic asset.

The 28 companies have signed key agreements, including Connection, Milestone Development and Gas Sales Agreements, and now qualify for permits to access flare gas.

Producers will benefit from reduced liabilities, improved Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and alignment with the government’s decarbonisation agenda.

Development partners, including Power Africa, KPMG, World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction initiative, USAID and financiers, have supported the programme with technical and commercial frameworks.

Mr Komolafe said while the permits mark a milestone, engineering, construction and financing must begin in earnest.

“The real work starts now,” the official added. “This programme will create economic, industrial and environmental value while strengthening Nigeria’s energy transition.”

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Economy

CSCS, Geo-Fluids, FrieslandCampina Lift NASD OTC Bourse by 0.62%

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Regconnect CSCS

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three bellwether stocks lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.62 per cent on Friday, December 12 with the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) jumping by 22.20 points to 3,600.43 points from 3,578.23 points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the trading platform increased by N13.28 billion to close at N2.154 trillion from the previous day’s N2.140 trillion.

During the session, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went up by N2.53 to close at N39.71 per share compared with the previous day’s N37.18 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc added 35 Kobo to its price to finish at N5.00 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N4.65 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 23 Kobo appreciation to sell at N60.23 per share versus N60.00 per share.

It was observed that yesterday, the price of Golden Capital Plc went down by N1.05 to N9.45 per unit from N10.50 per unit, and UBN Propertiy Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N2.01 per share from the N2.22 per share it was traded a day earlier.

There was a significant improvement in the level of activity for the day, as the volume of transactions increased by 6.2 per cent to 37.4 million units from the previous day’s 35.2 million units, the value of trades went up by 265.1 per cent to N4.9 billion from N1.4 billion, and the number of deals soared by 13.80 per cent to 33 deals from 29 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended the last trading day of this week as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, the second spot was taken by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units traded for N9.5 billion, and third space was occupied by a new comer in MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units valued at N420.3 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 537.0 million units sold for N524.9 million.

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