Economy
Ndume Insists on Tax Bills Withdrawal, Calls For Governance Reforms
By Adedapo Adesanya
One of the fiercest critics of the tax reform bills, Mr Ali Ndume, has insisted on the withdrawal of the entire process, saying it is coming at a time the Nigerian economy is in crisis.
The former Leader of the Senate declared on Sunday that the North is not parasitic in nature, particularly when matters of economic survival are concerned.
President Bola Tinubu in September transmitted four tax bills to the parliament for approval. These are the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
The bills have generated controversies since they were forwarded to the legislative arm of government and earlier this month, President Tinubu directed that the concerns be addressed.
Northern statesmen have since advised Mr Tinubu to hold on before pushing the controversial tax reform bills, claiming they will not favour the region.
In particular, Mr Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, noted that all states, zones and regions in the country need each other to survive no matter how economically advantaged they are.
“The North was, is and will never be a parasite or dependent on any region or even the country. We are assets not liability to Nigeria. Those who think that the current tax reforms is only against Northern interests are naive. As it is the law is against all the low and middle-income Nigerians,” he stressed.
He insisted that the tax reform bills were coming at the wrong time, and said the economic hardship being suffered by Nigerians may get worse.
“I’m still insisting that the Tax Reforms Bills be withdrawn for more consultations and by-in of critical stakeholders like state, local government and private sectors,” Mr Ndume said.
He advised that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) should expand its tax net just as he called for greater demonstration of accountability.
“The FIRS should concentrate on expanding the tax net and collecting more. Also, accountability and transparency should be increased,” he stated.
Mr Ndume also called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to beam its searchlight on commercial banks to ensure that banks which declare huge profits every year should pay more taxes.
Ndume outlined his concerns with the bills, citing issues such as the wrong timing, the question of derivation, Value Added Tax, and the lack of consensus or buy-in from Nigerians.
According to him, “Yes, reform. But even with reforms, you have to prioritise, time it correctly, and ensure the buy-in of Nigerians because this is a democracy. It is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
“First in Nigeria, what we need to do is reform the government. Our personnel and overhead expenditure for 2024 is about 50 to 60 per cent of the budget itself. We are here in November, and 20 per cent of the budget has not been implemented. But if you check the recurrent expenditure, it has already been exhausted.
“So, that means over 15 to 20 trillion Naira is going into personnel, debt servicing, and recurrent expenditure. We should reform the government, not only the Executive – we need to reform the government holistically,” he added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, has taken a significant step to reduce the annual sugar import bill of Ghana by $162 million with the establishment of a sugar refinery in the country.
The sugar milling project is to be sited in Kwame-Danso, Bono Region under the West African nation’s ambitious One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
All the required permits as well as land for the massive project have been secured and the next step should be the commencement of the factory, according to Mr Dangote in a post on a LinkedIn.
Business Post reports that the Dangote Sugar Refinery Ghana will have the capacity to crush 12,000 tonnes of sugarcane daily, and an irrigation infrastructure spanning 25,000 hectares of farmland, with production lines for sugar, molasses, and ethanol.
“We’re thrilled to announce the launch of a major agro-industrial project in Kwame-Danso, Bono Region: Dangote Sugar Refinery,” the Nigerian businessman said, describing the venture as “a new chapter” in Ghana’s economic journey.
“With land secured and necessary permits obtained, we’re moving forward with the support of Ghana’s ‘One District, One Factory’ initiative.
“This project tackles Ghana’s $162 million sugar import bill while fostering a sustainable, homegrown solution.
“At Dangote, we envision more than just a factory. We see a catalyst for economic independence, job creation, and transformative impact across Africa. Join us in shaping the continent’s future,” he stated.
When completed, the project is expected to boost the revenue of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, an entity listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
Recall that in the 2024 financial year, the sugar refiner grew its turnover by 51 per cent to N665.6 billion from N441.5 billion a year earlier, with the earnings per share (EPS) rising to N15.80 from N6.00 in 2023.
Mr Dangote has consistently assured the company would build a sustainable business, target the production of 1.5 million metric tonnes of refined sugar annually and at the same time generate over 75,000 employment opportunities in its value chain.
Also, the chief executive of Dangote Sugar, Ravindra Singh Singhvi, reiterated the company’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in sugar production for Nigeria, with a target of producing 700,000 tonnes of sugar locally within the next five years.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.63 per cent in Week 18 of the 2025 trading year, supported by gains posted by five stocks on the platform.
Just like in the previous week, there were four trading days last week due to the Workers’ Day holiday, and over these days, investors carried out 130 deals in 19 stocks.
Data indicated that the value of transactions went down by 98.9 per cent to N105.9 million from the preceding week’s N9.9 billion and the volume of trades shrank by 99.6 per cent to 14.5 million units from 3.9 billion units in the previous week.
The most active stock by value in the week was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with N70.7 million, Afriland Properties Plc recorded N13.6 million, Geo-Fluids Plc traded N13.0 million, Capital Hotels Plc posted N6.0 million, and IPWA Plc reported N2.0 million.
Geo-Fluids Plc was the most traded stock by volume with 6.4 million units, IPWA Plc transacted 4.0 million units, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc recorded 1.9 million, Capital Hotels Plc traded 1.2 million units, and Afriland Properties Plc exchanged 0.902 million units.
The NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) added 20.60 points to settle at 3,289.66 points compared with the 3,269.06 points recorded in the preceding trading week, and the bourse’s market capitalisation gained N12.07 billion to close at N1.926 trillion compared with the N1.914 trillion posted the previous week.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 13.1 per cent to N40.00 per unit from N35.37 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 11.1 per cent to N2.00 per share from N1.80 per share, Food Concepts Plc grew by 10.3 per cent to N1.29 per unit from N1.17 per unit, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc jumped by 10.00 per cent to N3.08 per share from N2.80 per share, and UBN Property Plc increased by 4.8 per cent to N2.20 per unit from N2.10 per unit.
On the flip side, Afriland Properties Plc dropped 10 per cent to end at N16.00 per share compared with the preceding week’s N17.78 per share. IPWA Plc dipped by 9.1 per cent to 50 Kobo per unit from 55 Kobo per unit, Acorn Petroleum Plc lost 5.9 per cent to close at N1.10 per share versus N1.17 per share, and Mass Telecomm Innovation Plc shed 2.4 per cent to finish at 40 Kobo per unit versus 41 Kobo per unit.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited expanded by 0.27 per cent on a week-on-week basis last week, driven by gains recorded by 52 stocks, led by ABC Transport.
The notable transport and logistics firm posted a 44.87 per cent surge in its share price in the four-day trading week, closing at N2.26.
Legend Internet appreciated by 32.40 per cent to N9.03, Fidson rose by 22.85 per cent to N22.85, University Press jumped by 20.88 per cent to N4.11, and NAHCO flew by 20.17 per cent to N82.50.
On the flip side, Ecobank lost 18.75 per cent to sell at N26.00, Multiverse declined by 18.59 per cent to N6.35, Livestock Feeds crashed by 10.63 per cent to N8.49, Aradel Holdings slipped by 9.86 per cent to N448.00, and Tripple Gee depreciated by 9.60 per cent to N1.79.
Business Post reports that 52 shares gained weight in the week versus 64 shares a week earlier, 37 stocks depreciated versus 27 stocks in the previous week, and 59 equities closed flat versus 57 equities in the preceding week.
The All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation improved by 0.27 per cent and 0.28 per cent each to 106,042.57 points and N66.648 trillion, respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher apart from the banking, insurance, AFR Bank Value, MERI Value, energy, Lotus II, sovereign bond and commodity indices, which depreciated by 0.38 per cent, 2.89 per cent, 0.04 per cent, 2.08 per cent, 2.90 per cent, 0.01 per cent, 0.19 per cent and 1.12 per cent, respectively.
The market operated for four days last week because of the public holiday observed on Thursday for the 2025 Workers’ Day celebration.
Despite this, Customs Street witnessed a higher turnover compared with the preceding trading week, as investors bought and sold 2.200 billion shares worth N75.409 billion in 70,329 deals versus the 1.854 billion shares valued at N56.025 billion traded in 51,386 deals a week earlier.
The financial services sector led the activity chart with 1.432 billion equities valued at N30.908 billion in 33,095 deals, contributing 65.09 per cent and 40.99 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively, as the ICT industry transacted 230.248 million shares worth N27.453 billion in 4,811 deals, and the consumer goods space sold 166.345 million stocks for N4.708 billion in 8,284 deals.
Fidelity Bank, Access Holdings, and UBA transacted 704.639 million units worth N16.757 billion in 10,466 deals, accounting for 32.03 per cent and 22.22 per cent of the total trading volume and value, respectively.
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