Economy
FG Sends 15 Obsolete Labour Laws to NASS for Review
By Dipo Olowookere
At least 15 obsolete and retrogressive labour laws, some of which date back to the colonial era, have been sent to the National Assembly for review.
This disclosure was made by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige, at a function on Friday in Algiers, Algeria.
The Minister, according to a statement issued by the Deputy Director of Press in the Ministry, Mr Samuel Olowookere, explained that these laws were forwarded for review as part of concerted efforts to increase access to decent work to Nigerians through the implementation of National Policy on Employment whose document was reviewed in 2016.
He said further that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was irrevocably committed to growing the economy through strategic initiatives that engage the nation’s huge population as a fulcrum.
According to him, the recently released Medium Term Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) was a paradigm shift in this direction.
“The present administration in Nigeria has demonstrated its capacity to exploit our huge population for wealth creation and economic growth.
This explains the capacity shown so far for an early exit from recession. Our shift is the engagement of our large population in well-articulated diversification programme which has shifted attention to agriculture and mining, in a process intended to be driven by diverse skills acquisition and subsequent job creation,” Mr Ngige was quoted in the statement as saying.
Presenting Nigeria’s position in an address entitled ‘Investment In Employment and Social security For Harnessing Demographic Dividend’ at the on-going 2nd Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Social Development, Labour and Employment in Algiers, Algeria, the Minister said Nigeria was resolute in exploiting the untapped potentials of huge population to grow the economy through dynamic micro-economic policies.
“The focus of the present administration in Nigeria is to invest in our huge population through massive job creation, youth empowerment, social inclusion and strengthening of our educational and health system so as to achieve macro-economic stability and diversification.
“This is a pathway to building a global competitive economy that can stimulate private sector investments, infrastructural renewal, a major pathway to spend out of recession and improved business environment,” Mr Ngige said.
The Minister enumerated other government efforts towards exploiting Nigeria’s huge population for jobs and skills development to include a nation-wide stop-gap jobs for unskilled persons through interventionist schemes in agriculture and mining, skills development and competency upgrade, reduction of miss-match between graduate skills and demands in modern labour market as well as the N-power programme, noting that women constitute a large percent of the beneficiaries of these different programmes.
On Social security, the Minister said that beyond a National Policy on Social Protection and Social Security which was conceived to drive universal human rights, inclusiveness and wealth re-distribution, the National Social Insurance Trust Fund, the National Health Insurance Scheme, Pension Commission and National Social Investment Programmes were core government agencies effectively providing social protection for vulnerable persons within their respective purviews.
Earlier in his address, the Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sellal lauded the theme of the conference which he said tallied with the objectives of the Africa Union as well as the aspiration of individual African governments to stimulate the economy of the continent through massive job creation with the youth population as the fulcrum. He said a stable African economy which subsists on diverse and sustainable job opportunities would stem brain drain, illegal migration, criminality and violent crimes, factors he said, impacted negatively on African labour force.
He however added that the future of labour in the continent would be brighter should leaders go beyond lip service to tripartite dialogue in labour administration.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has unveiled a unified Taxpayer Identification (Tax ID) system for all taxable persons across the country as part of efforts to strengthen tax administration and improve transparency.
The agency announced the development in a public notice issued jointly with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) on Monday.
According to the notice, the initiative is backed by Sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which mandate every taxable person in Nigeria to obtain a Tax ID, in a wider move to expand the country’s tax base.
The NRS said the new framework is designed to create a centralised and harmonised taxpayer database that would enhance interactions between taxpayers and revenue authorities at both federal and sub-national levels.
“The Tax ID will serve as a single, unified identity for all taxpayers, enabling seamless interaction with tax authorities at both federal and sub-national levels. It is designed to consolidate taxpayer records, eliminate duplication, and ensure more efficient management of tax-related information,” the agency stated.
The revenue agency explained that the new system would simplify tax compliance procedures, including taxpayer registration, filing of returns, and payment processes.
According to the NRS, the framework is also expected to improve accountability and reduce leakages in tax collection by creating better visibility and tracking of taxpayer information nationwide.
“The initiative will simplify tax compliance processes, including registration, tax filing, and payment procedures. The system will improve transparency by enabling better visibility and tracking of taxpayer records while reducing leakages and improving accountability in tax collection. The framework will also harmonise taxpayer information across all levels of government,” the notice added.
The agency further disclosed that the new Tax ID system would replace the existing Tax Identification Number (TIN) Validation API currently used by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), financial institutions, and other organisations for taxpayer verification.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.
This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.
The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.
Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.
The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.
Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.
Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.
The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
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