Economy
Governors Quickened Nigeria’s Economic Recovery—NGFS
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat (NGFS) has disclosed that the contributions of Governors in the country have been tremendous.
A statement signed by the Head, Media & Public Affairs of the NGFS, Mr Abulrazque Barkindo, quoted an Economist at the NGFS, Mr David Nabena, as saying during a meeting of the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) committee in Abuja that, “Thanks to governors and their reforms at the sub-national level, there is a 69 percent success in Public Expenditure Reforms being implemented by governments at the sub-national level.”
It was disclosed that this may have contributed immensely to the quick turnaround of the national economy which wriggled itself out of recession much faster than the public had expected.
The FSP committee comprises officials of the NGF, and Federal Ministry of Finance.
The FSP, the framework for the sustenance of state governments in Nigeria, which is a product of an agreement between federal and state governments, has been hailed as a strategic game-changer for fiscal governance at the state level.
The FSP seeks to improve transparency and accountability, increase public revenue, rationalize public expenditure, improve public finance management and facilitate sustainable debt management. The meeting was to review the 22 core action points of the FSP from its last workshop held in April.
According to the NGFS findings, “the action point with the highest percentage of implementation is that of Public Expenditure Reform, which recorded 69% success,” the NGFS Economist, Nabena disclosed.
Several economists have argued that since most economic activities take place in the states, they might have indirectly assisted the economic recovery that the nation is now celebrating.
However, Nabena still believes more can be done by states to get the country out of the doldrums. Others with encouraging results according to him were public revenue reforms 63% and 54% for debt management reforms.
These are laudable goals, according to many economists, but above all it shares a very special affinity with the Open Government Partnership OGP which carries with it huge financial relief for governments that are able to meet its conditions.
A consultant at the Kaduna Business School concludes that the first point to note is that states are in dire financial straits today because of poor management of fiscal and other resources that occurred in the years preceding the report.
Funds meant for development have been stolen outright and laws and policies, where they exist, have been ignored. In some states, there is an absence of good fiscal laws, according to the findings.
Nabena noted that the purpose of the meeting was to share findings of the 22 core action points of the FSP from the workshop held in April, as well as acquaint the ministry of the plans of the NGF Secretariat going forward.
During his presentation, Nabena noted that around 15 out of the 22 action points of the FSP have been implemented by most States, stating however that, this finding was contained in the states’ self-assessment reports.
He also highlighted the actions with the weakest implementation status, among which Nabena lamented were those targeted at accountability and transparency.
Even here, Nabena explained, there is light at the end of the tunnel because there is a 44% success in implementation despite the fact that many states find the adoption of IPSAS cumbersome, expensive and challenging.
In conclusion, the NGF Economist regretted that the picture is not all rosy for governance at the subnational level.
In many states that work was conducted Nabena stated that there is no consolidated debt service account or sinking fund, 9 states do not have an active and functional website, seven states have not yet concluded their biometric staff audit, and up to 31 states have recorded success in the internal audit of their accounts. “Only sixteen states” Nabena added, “have an efficiency unit.”
Responding, the Director, Home Finance at the Finance Ministry Mrs Olubunmi Siyanbola congratulated the Forum for the brilliant and thorough work that they had done and also added that the figures given by the Forum is not far from that of the Consultants they deployed for the same reason.
Olubunmi Siyanbola also disclosed that 6 Consultants have been sent to the different geo-political zones to make a report on the activities of the states around the 22 action points of the FSP and their success stories so far.
She added that the way forward will be determined when all the consultants are back from the field with the complete report.
However, at a glance, the consultants recorded a 42% level of implementation across the 36 states, other percentages are 60% for Public expenditure reforms as against 69% from the NGF, 56% for PFM which is the same with what the Forum recorded and 35% level of implementation for public debt as against 54% recorded by the NGF.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has said there are no discrepancies in the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the gazetted versions made available to the public.
Last week, a member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, raised worries about the differences between its version and that gazetted by the presidency.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, Mr Oyedele claimed what has been circulating in the media was fake.
“Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we have what has not been gazetted. We don’t have what was passed,” he said.
“The official harmonised bills certified by the clerk, which the National Assembly sent to the President, we don’t have a copy to compare. Only the lawmakers can say authoritatively what we sent.
“It should be the House of Representatives or Senate version. It should be the harmonised version certified by the clerk. Even me, I cannot say that I have it. I only have what was presented to Mr President to sign.”
Mr Oyedele stated that he reached out to the House of Representatives Committee regarding a particular Section 41 (8), which states, “You have to pay a deposit of 20 per cent.”
He noted that the response given by the committee was that its members had not met on the issue.
“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in the draft gazette. Some people decided that they should write the report of the committee before the committee had met, and it had circulated everywhere.
“What is out there in the media did not come from the committee set up by the House of Representatives. I think we should allow them do the investigation,” Mr Oyedele added.
In June, President Bola Tinubu signed the four tax reform bills into law, marking what the government has described as the most significant overhaul of the country’s tax system in decades.
The tax reform laws, which faced stiff opposition from federal lawmakers from the northern part of the country before their passage, are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
The laws include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all operating under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.
By Dipo Olowookere
A total of 55 equities appreciated last week on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited versus the 49 equities recorded a week earlier.
However, 33 stocks closed lower compared with 41 stocks in the previous week, while 55 shares remained unchanged versus 57 shares of the preceding week.
Leading the advancers’ log was Aluminium Extrusion, which gained 59.35 per cent to close at N12.35, Mecure Industries rose by 44.93 per cent to N55.00, First Holdco appreciated by 42.93 per cent to N44.95, Guinness Nigeria improved by 33.01 per cent to N289.70, and NPF Microfinance Bank grew by 20.65 per cent to N3.74.
On the flip side, Living Trust Mortgage Bank lost 11.38 per cent to settle at N3.35, Japaul declined by 10.53 per cent to N2.38, International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.92 per cent to N2.27, FTN Cocoa depreciated by 9.80 per cent to N4.42, and Stanbic IBTC went down by 9.33 per cent to N95.20.
The buying interest in the week raised the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation by 1.76 per cent to 152,057.38 points and N96.937 trillion, respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of AFR Bank Value, and the energy indices, which fell by 1.38 per cent and 0.17 per cent apiece.
According to trading data, a total 9.849 billion shares worth N305.843 billion in 126,584 deals exchanged hands in the five-day trading week compared with the 4.373 billion shares valued at N97.783 billion traded in 110,736 deals a week earlier.
The financial services industry led the activity chart with 8.295 billion shares valued at N232.223 billion traded in 50,351 deals, contributing 84.22 per cent and 75.93 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The healthcare space followed with 517.443 million shares worth N3.472 billion in 2,979 deals, and the consumer goods counter transacted 392.765 million shares worth N12.664 billion in 18,438 deals.
The trio of Ecobank, First Holdco, and Access Holdings accounted for 6.424 billion shares worth N204.629 billion in 11,362 deals, contributing 65.23 per cent and 66.91 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has assured beneficiaries of the $50 million Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund to expect the first tranche of grants in the first quarter of 2026, following the completion of ongoing capacity-building and compliance processes.
The assurance was given during a Town Hall Meeting for WEIDE Fund beneficiaries held in Abuja over the weekend. The gathering provided an opportunity to review progress made since the launch of the initiative in August 2025.
The $50 million WEIDE Fund is a global initiative by the WTO and ITC to empower women-led businesses in developing countries, especially Nigeria, by providing training, finance, and market access for digital trade, helping them grow from small enterprises to global players through support like grants and mentorship, as seen in its launch phase benefiting 146 Nigerian women entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the event, the chief executive of NEPC, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, called on beneficiaries to maximize the opportunities provided by the programme, emphasizing the progress made and the milestones achieved since its launch.
Mrs Ayeni said the engagement was meant to review the programme’s achievements, identify areas for improvement, and strengthen support for the beneficiaries.
“So, it’s time for us to get together at the end of the year to see how far we’ve gone, how well we’ve done, and what we need to do to make it better and support them more effectively through the WEIDE Fund,” she said.
Mrs Ayeni highlighted the significant capacity-building activities conducted for the 146 selected women entrepreneurs, noting that top-tier coaches and trainers had been deployed immediately after the official launch by the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“These coaches are exceptional. They’ve trained our beneficiaries in financial literacy, bookkeeping, soft skills, leadership, succession planning, and digital tools so they can compete globally,” she said.
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