Economy
Illicit Flows Cost Africa $88bn Yearly—Edun
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, has raised concern over Africa’s mounting revenue losses, warning that the continent forfeits an estimated $88 billion annually to illicit financial flows (IFFs), a development he described as a critical threat to sustainable growth.
Speaking at the 5th Session of the Sub-Committee on Tax and Illicit Financial Flows of the African Union on Tuesday in Abuja, Mr Edun said the persistent outflows continue to deprive African countries of vital resources required for infrastructure, healthcare, and overall economic development.
The high-level meeting, held at Transcorp Hilton Abuja, brought together policymakers, tax administrators, and development partners to examine strategies for strengthening fiscal systems amid evolving global economic uncertainties.
Mr Edun stressed the need for African countries to reduce reliance on external financing sources such as debt, aid, and foreign investment, noting that these options are becoming increasingly unpredictable. He maintained that domestic resource mobilisation must serve as the foundation for long-term economic sustainability.
“Our ambition is to finance up to 90 per cent of Africa’s development needs from domestic resources,” he said, referencing the continent’s Agenda 2063 development framework.
He identified structural challenges, including tax evasion, weak institutional capacity, and limited economic diversification, as key impediments, while emphasising that curbing illicit financial flows remains central to unlocking Africa’s fiscal potential.
Highlighting ongoing reforms under President Bola Tinubu, Mr Edun noted that measures such as tax system reforms, fuel subsidy removal, and exchange rate unification are beginning to improve revenue performance and boost investor confidence.
He added that initiatives like the National Single Window are helping to reduce trade-related leakages, while enhanced international tax cooperation is supporting efforts to recover lost revenues. He also cited Executive Order 9 as a key policy aimed at strengthening transparency in the oil and gas sector.
Calling for broader continental action, Mr Edun urged African nations to expand their tax base, strengthen public financial management systems, and deepen financial inclusion. He listed institutional strengthening, digital infrastructure investment, and cross-border collaboration as critical reform priorities.
“The question is no longer whether we must reform, but how urgently and how boldly we act,” he said, warning that failure to act could leave African economies exposed to external shocks.
On his part, the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Mr Zacch Adedeji, called for urgent steps to safeguard domestic resources and address widening financing gaps across the continent.
Mr Adedeji noted that illicit financial flows ranging from tax evasion and trade mispricing to aggressive tax avoidance continue to weaken Africa’s capacity to fund critical sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
“Every year, billions meant for development are lost through illegal financial transfers. These are lost hospitals, lost schools, and lost opportunities,” he said.
He stressed that the cross-border nature of illicit flows requires coordinated responses at both national and continental levels, adding that Nigeria is pursuing reforms to modernise revenue administration through expanded tax coverage, improved compliance, and digital innovation.
According to him, efficient and transparent tax systems are essential not only for revenue generation but also for strengthening public trust in government institutions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc boosted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.05 per cent on Monday, May 11.
FrieslandCampina Wamco added N13.07 to sell N146.00 per share versus the previous price of N132.98 per share, and CSCS Plc rose by 10 Kobo to close at N76.00 per unit compared with last Friday’s N75.90 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N26.20 billion to N2.514 trillion from N2.488 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 48.80 points to 4,202.57 points from 4,158.77 points.
The volume of securities bought and sold by market participants decreased by 55.2 per cent yesterday to 236,921 units from 528,891 units, the value of securities slid by 51.5 per cent to N16.5 million from N34.0 million, and the number of deals contracted by 20 per cent to 20 deals from 25 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.5 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units transacted for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a negative note on Monday after it depreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by 0.86 per cent or N11.77 to sell for N1,373.16/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,361.39/$1.
It also weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N17.39 to quote at N1,871.07/£1 versus last Friday’s rate of N1,853.68/£1, and against the Euro, it slumped by N15.78 to close at N1,618.41/€1 versus N1,602.63/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian currency lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday, settling at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1. At the GTBank forex desk, it depreciated by N3 to sell at N1,375/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,372/$1.
Nigeria’s external reserves have fallen below $48.4 billion as of May 8, driven by interventions and external obligations by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In the first three weeks of April, the country’s FX reserves lost about $731 million.
Softer liquidity conditions have also dampened foreign investors’ appetite, with data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showing that total foreign exchange inflows declined by 30.1 per cent month-on-month to $2.86 billion in April from $4.09 billion in March. Out of this, foreign inflows weakened by 21.9 per cent to $1.63 billion from $2.09 billion in March.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were largely up as global equity markets and other risk assets came under pressure. Rising oil prices, higher treasury yields and renewed US-Iran tensions, along with a key inflation report from the world’s largest economy due on Tuesday, applied pressure.
Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 1.5 per cent to $662.80, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $96.63, Dogecoin (DOGE) added 0.7 per cent to close at $0.1104, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 0.5 per cent to $81,221.78, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.5 per cent to sell at $1.46.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.9 per cent to $2,310.49, Cardano (ADA) weakened by 0.4 per cent to $0.2776, and TRON (TRX) slid by 0.3 per cent to $0.3487, the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil prices rose more than 2 per cent on Monday after US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was “on life support,” leaving the Strait of Hormuz largely closed with no clear end in sight to the war.
Brent crude futures went up by $2.92 or 2.88 per cent to $104.21 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased by $2.65 or 2.78 per cent to settle at $98.07 a barrel.
President Trump on Monday said the ceasefire with Iran was “on life support,” after dismissing Iran’s response to a US peace proposal as “stupid.”
This came after the US floated a proposal aimed at reopening negotiations with Iran. The Middle East country on Sunday released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts, including one where America’s top ally, Israel, is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Iran also demanded compensation for war damage, emphasised its sovereignty over the strait, and called on the US to end its naval blockade, guarantee no further attacks, lift sanctions and remove a ban on Iranian oil sales.
After this, President Trump dismissed the offer in a social media post as “totally unacceptable.”
He also emphasised that the US continues to monitor Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles via Space Force surveillance and warned of further strikes if a real end to the nuclear issue is not reached.
The war has impacted oil output by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as it declined to its lowest level since 2000, with production falling by 830,000 barrels per day to an average of 20.04 million barrels per day in April, according to a Reuters survey published Monday.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq all saw significant output decreases as they were forced to shut in production due to the war, which started in late February.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the only Gulf member that was able to increase production in April. The UAE was able to leverage the Fujairah terminal on the Gulf of Oman to bypass the bottleneck, allowing it to export more crude than its peers. The Emirate is targeting a production capacity of 5 million barrels per day by 2027 after it exited OPEC and OPEC+ this month.
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