Economy
LCCI Tasks FG to Adopt Prudent Fiscal Measures, Pro-Investment Tax Policy
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Nigerian government to adopt prudent fiscal policy measures and investment-friendly tax policies that work in tandem with the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to tame inflation.
The President of LCCI, Mr Gabriel Idahosa, said this at the Chamber’s first quarter of 2024 news conference on Thursday in Lagos, as he warned that as headline inflation continued its upward trend, it was telling on the ability of businesses to operate in the country.
He said in the last quarter of 2023, inflation notched higher to 28.92 per cent in December 2023, compared to 26.72 per cent recorded in September 2023,
Mr Idahosa also made a case for the government to strengthen its support to critical sectors like agriculture, road infrastructure, power, energy, and other key sectors because increasing the monetary policy rate has proven to be insufficient in taming inflation.
Last year, the CBN increased interest rates by more than 700 basis points to 18.75 per cent.
Citing the report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), he noted that the inflationary pressures were primarily attributed to food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel; clothing and footwear; transport, furnishing, household equipment, and maintenance.
He, however, projected that should the government be able to address the main drivers of inflation including food and transportation in 2024, projecting that the transportation component of inflation was likely to come down.
“This is because we can see the efforts being made to put buses on the road that are more gas or electric. For instance, Borno now has a large fleet of these vehicles and some companies in Nigeria are embracing producing gas-powered buses.
“Should this trend from now month by month continue, there would be a decrease in the cost of public transportation.
“Given the fact that Dangote has started refining fuel, we do not expect to see a dramatic reduction in the price of oil but we expect some reduction as we won’t spend dollars taking crude out or bringing it back.
“What that means is that sometime in the year, you won’t see a further dramatic rise in inflation,” he said.
Mr Idahosa said that the global economy in 2023 proved more resilient than expected in the face of significant monetary tightening, continuing policy uncertainties, multiple shocks from conflicts, and climate change.
He, however, noted that domestically, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reports in 2023 showed quarterly growth that indicated a weak and fragile economy.
The LCCI president projected that in emerging markets and developing economies, growth was projected to remain steady at about 3.9 per cent in 2024.
He, however, stated that growth was expected to remain divergent in the region due to an array of global and domestic currents.
Mr Idahosa recommended that the federal government urgently address the structure of the power sector particularly, with a focus on the transmission segment.
This, he said, was needed to attract private sector investment into electricity transmission to bring in relevant financial, technical, and management capacity.
“The Federal Government needs to step up efforts to address the security challenges that have negatively affected investment inflows and improve the security measures adopted in tackling the menace of oil theft and vandalism.
“On agriculture sector growth, we urge the federal government to improve security and intensify the implementation of the national agricultural extension policy with a focus on improved and relevant agricultural technologies.
“The cost of logistics has gone up due to the poor state of our roads and the inadequate connectivity amongst farms, factories, and markets.
“The LCCI commends the Federal Government for the recent effort to attract private investment into the infrastructure sector. We also expect improved implementation of the capital funding allocated to infrastructures in the 2024 budget.
“While the CBN embarks on monetary tightening to tame inflation, it should ensure that targeted concessionary credit to the private sector is sustained for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME),” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the divestment of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.
The Renaissance JV, formerly known as the SPDC JV, is an unincorporated joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (55 per cent), Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (30 per cent, operator), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (10 per cent) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria (5 per cent), which holds 18 licences in the Niger Delta.
In a statement by TotalEnergies on Wednesday, it was stated that under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil.
Production from these licences, it was said, represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in company’s share in 2025.
The agreement also stated that TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the three other licences of Renaissance JV which are producing mainly gas, namely OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77, while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licences, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply.
Business Post reports that the conclusion of the deal is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.
“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Vaaris for the sale of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance JV licences in Nigeria.
“Under the agreement signed with Vaaris, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest and all its rights and obligations in 15 licences of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly oil. Production from these licences represented approximately 16,000 barrels equivalent per day in the company’s share in 2025.
“TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will also transfer to Vaaris its 10 per cent participating interest in the 3 other licenses of Renaissance JV, which are producing mainly gas (OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77), while TotalEnergies will retain full economic interest in these licenses, which currently account for 50 per cent of Nigeria LNG gas supply. Closing is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals,” the statement reads in part.
The development is part of TotalEnergies’ strategies to dump more assets to lighten its books and debt.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The trading licence of Monument Securities and Finance Limited has been revoked by the regulatory arm of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc.
Known as NGX Regulations Limited (NGX Regco), the regulator said it took back the operating licence of the organisation after it shut down its operations.
The revocation of the licence was approved by Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC) at its meeting held on September 24, 2025, a notice from the signed by the Head of Market Regulations at the agency, Chinedu Akamaka, said.
“This is to formally notify all trading license holders that the board of NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) has approved the decision of the Regulation and New Business Committee (RNBC)” in respect of Monument Securities and Finance Limited, a part of the disclosure stated.
Monument Securities and Finance Limited was earlier licensed to assist clients with the trading of stocks in the Nigerian capital market.
However, with the latest development, the firm is no longer authorised to perform this function.
Economy
NEITI Advocates Fiscal Discipline, Transparency as FG, States, LGs Get N6trn in Three Months
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has called for fiscal discipline and transparency as data showed that federal government, states, and local governments shared a whopping N6 trillion Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements in the third quarter of last year.
In its analysis of the FAAC Q3 2025 allocation, the body revealed that the federal government received N2.19 trillion, states received N1.97 trillion, and local governments received N1.45 trillion.
According to a statement by the Director of Communication and Stakeholders Management at NEITI, Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, the allocation indicated a historic rise in federation account receipts and distributions, explaining that year-on-year quarterly FAAC allocations in 2025 grew by 55.6 per cent compared with Q3 of 2024 while it more than doubling allocations over two years.
The report contained in the agency’s Quarterly Review noted that the N6 trillion included 13 per cent payments to derivative states. It also showed that statutory revenues accounted for 62 per cent of shared receipts, while Value Added Tax (VAT) was 34 per cent, and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and augmentation from non-oil excess revenue each accounted for 2 per cent, respectively.
The distribution to the 36 states comprised revenues from statutory sources, VAT, EMTL, and ecological funds. States also received additional N100 billion as augmentation from the non-oil excess revenue account.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr Sarkin Adar, called on the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) FAAC, the National Economic Council (NEC), the National Assembly, and state governments to act on the recommendations to strengthen transparency, accountability, and long-term fiscal sustainability.
“Though the Quarter 3 2025 FAAC results are encouraging, NEITI reiterates that the data presents an opportunity to the government to institutionalise prudent fiscal practices that will protect the gains that have been recorded so far in growing revenue and reduce vulnerability to commodity shocks.
“The Q3 2025 FAAC results are encouraging, but windfalls must be managed with discipline. Greater transparency, realistic budgeting, and stronger stabilisation mechanisms will ensure these resources deliver durable benefits for all Nigerians,” Mr Adar said.
NEITI urged the government at all levels to ensure the growth of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth and stabilisation capacity, by committing to regular transfers to the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund and other related stabilisation mechanisms in line with the fiscal responsibility frameworks.
It further advised governments at all levels to adopt realistic budget benchmarks by setting more conservative and achievable crude oil production and price assumptions in the budget to reduce implementation gaps, deficit, and debt metrics.
This, it said, is in addition to accelerating revenue diversification by prioritising reforms that would attract investments into the mining sector, expedite legislation to modernise the Mineral and Mining Act, support reforms in the downstream petroleum sector, as well as the full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to expand domestic refining and value addition.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn