Economy
MAN Urges FG to Suspend Proposed 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has asked the federal government to suspend the planned excise duty increase on alcoholic beverages and tobacco, arguing that the headwinds in the economic environment would put more pressure on members.
At a stakeholders’ meeting on Tuesday, MAN raised significant concerns about the provisions of the 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures (FPM), including the record increase in excise on beverages and tobacco and the introduction of a tax on Single Use Plastics (SUP), amongst others.
Speaking at the event, the president of the association, Mr Festus Meshioye, lamented that the FG, despite past assurances that it would not increase excise in beverages and tobacco, reneged and has planned a new increase as contained in the 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures (FPM).
The Muhammadu Buhari administration initiated a 3-year excise roadmap system in 2018 after extensive consultation with the industry, and the roadmap ran successfully until its conclusion in 2021 without any change or issues.
MAN said this enabled the industry to plan its operations, given the certainty in excise successfully. In 2021, the government retained the excise rates for 2020/21 until May 2022, while it used the 1-year period to engage extensively with the industry to decide on a revised roadmap.
Following this engagement, the government released the 2022 FPM with a revised 3-year excise roadmap which, though providing for higher excise rates, still took into consideration input from the industry and the potential impact on the economy.
However, barely five months into the implementation of the 2022 excise roadmap, the industry became aware of fresh plans by the government to increase excise rates further.
MAN bemoaned this development and said this signifies ‘an increase on the increase’ since there was already an approved increase in place for 2023.
Mr Meshioye said that the manufacturing sector is immersed in an unprecedented crisis and an acute recession due to extraordinary challenges, which he said include “sustained scarcity of naira which has led to a crash in consumer purchases; limited access to foreign exchange, which has led the industry to purchase foreign exchange from the parallel market, thereby increasing costs; high inflation which is driving up the cost of operation and prices of products and a struggling economy.”
“This has impacted the industry. For instance, the brewing sector suffered a massive decline of 169 per cent in profit before tax in Q1 2023. Also, the industry turnover for non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco declined by 15 per cent, while gross profit and profit before tax declined by 31 per cent and 96 per cent within the same period, respectively,” he revealed.
He also noted that other worries include the burdensome increase in excise on beer and tobacco, which have tripled and quintupled as well as the impact on sales due to the Naira scarcity.
He warned that, “A continuing decline in sale volumes will necessitate production cuts and a reevaluation of investments in the sector. Specifically, if sales proceeds can no longer sustain business overheads and operating expenses, businesses will be forced to scale down their operations which would result in factory closures, job losses, a decline in exports, and much more.”
MAN also warned that a decline in sales and profitability of the industry would result in a decline in the industry’s total tax contribution to the government because company income tax (CIT), value-added tax (VAT), and education tax are directly tied to the performance and profitability of the companies.
The association further warned that it would not be able to support other businesses within its value chain, cutting across agriculture, logistics, bottling, labelling, and packaging businesses, as well as distribution, wholesale, and retail businesses, catering to over 950,000 direct and indirect employees.
MAN then called on the outgoing government to suspend the 2023 FPM and retain the 2022 -2024 excise duties roadmap as approved in the 2022 FPM to foster stability in the affected sectors and their value chain in the interest of the national economy.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom via the British High Commission in Abuja has launched two flagship economic reform programmes – the Nigeria Economic Stability & Transformation (NEST) programme and the Nigeria Public Finance Facility (NPFF) -as part of efforts to support Nigeria’s economic reform and growth agenda.
Backed by a £12.4 million UK investment, NEST and NPFF sit at the centre of the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership and support Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen macroeconomic stability, improve fiscal resilience, and create a more competitive environment for investment and private-sector growth.
Speaking at the launch, Cynthia Rowe, Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission in Abuja, said, “These two programmes sit at the heart of our economic development cooperation with Nigeria. They reflect a shared commitment to strengthening the fundamentals that matter most for our stability, confidence, and long-term growth.”
The launch followed the inaugural meeting of the Joint UK-Nigeria Steering Committee, which endorsed the approach of both programmes and confirmed strong alignment between the UK and Nigeria on priority areas for delivery.
Representing the Government of Nigeria, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Finance and the Economy, Mrs Sanyade Okoli, welcomed the collaboration, touting it as crucial to current, critical reforms.
“We welcome the United Kingdom’s support through these new programmes as a strong demonstration of our shared commitment to Nigeria’s economic stability and long-term prosperity. At a time when we are implementing critical reforms to strengthen fiscal resilience, improve macroeconomic stability, and unlock inclusive growth, this partnership will provide valuable technical support. Together, we are laying the foundation for a more resilient economy that delivers sustainable development and improved livelihoods for all Nigerians.”
On his part, Mr Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, highlighted the significance of the programmes within the wider UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.
“NEST and NPFF are central to our shared approach to strengthening the foundations that underpin long-term economic prosperity. They sit firmly within the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the growth, digital capacity, and sustainability of Nigeria’s 40 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has been signed by MTN Nigeria and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The collaboration will feature joint initiatives focused on digital inclusion, financial access, capacity building, and providing verified information for MSMEs.
With millions of small businesses depending on accurate guidance and easy-to-access support, MTN and SMEDAN say their shared platform will address gaps in communication, misinformation, and access to opportunities.
At the formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday, November 27, 2025, in Lagos, the stage was set for the immediate roll-out of tools, content, and resources that will support MSMEs nationwide.
The chief operating officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr Ayham Moussa, reiterated the company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic development, stating that MSMEs are the lifeline of Nigeria’s economy.
“SMEs are the backbone of the economy and the backbone of employment in Nigeria. We are delighted to power SMEDAN’s platform and provide tools that help MSMEs reach customers, obtain funding, and access wider markets. This collaboration serves both our business and social development objectives,” he stated.
Also, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer of MTN Nigeria, Ms Lynda Saint-Nwafor, described the MoU as a tool to “meet SMEs at the point of their needs,” noting that nano, micro, small, and medium businesses each require different resources to scale.
“Some SMEs need guidance, some need resources; others need opportunities or workforce support. This platform allows them to access whatever they need. We are committed to identifying opportunities across financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and capacity building that help SMEs to scale,” she noted.
Also commenting, the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, emphasised the significance of the collaboration, noting that the agency cannot meet its mandate without leveraging technology and private-sector expertise.
“We have approximately 40 million MSMEs in Nigeria, and only about 400 SMEDAN staff. We cannot fulfil our mandate without technology, data, and strong partners.
“MTN already has the infrastructure and tools to support MSMEs from payments to identity, hosting, learning, and more. With this partnership, we are confident we can achieve in a short time what would have taken years,” he disclosed.
Mr Odii highlighted that the SMEDAN-MTN collaboration would support businesses across their growth needs, guided by their four-point GROW model – Guidance, Resources, Opportunities, and Workforce Development.
He added that SMEDAN has already created over 100,000 jobs within its two-year administration and expects the partnership to significantly boost job creation, business expansion, and nationwide enterprise modernisation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
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