Economy
NECA Launches Nigeria’s First ESG Implementation Guide for MSMEs
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has inaugurated the country’s first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Implementation Guide for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to strengthen business sustainability.
The guide was inaugurated on Tuesday during the 2026 Nigeria Employers’ Summit in Abuja in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Chairman of the NECA ESG Advisory Board, Mr Femi Jaiyeola, described the guide as a milestone for strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of Nigerian MSMEs.
He said MSMEs remained the backbone of Nigeria’s economy and required practical tools to compete in an increasingly sustainability-driven global business environment.
Mr Jaiyeola said ESG had evolved beyond regulatory compliance into a strategic business tool for attracting investment, improving competitiveness and enhancing long-term enterprise value.
He said ESG also presented significant opportunities for MSMEs and Nigeria’s economy beyond meeting regulatory obligations.
According to him, the guide comes as regulators, financial institutions and global markets increasingly demand sustainable business practices from enterprises of all sizes.
The official said ESG reporting was expected to become mandatory in Nigeria by 2030, urging MSMEs to begin preparations immediately.
He said the guide provided a practical roadmap to help MSMEs adopt ESG principles progressively while delivering measurable business value and organisational resilience.
According to him, ESG adoption will improve access to finance, strengthen business reputation and expand opportunities in international value chains.
He described the guide as a practical tool that would enable Nigerian MSMEs to compete, grow and thrive in a sustainability-driven economy.
Mr Jaiyeola commended ILO consultants and members of the NECA ESG Advisory Board for supporting the development of the implementation guide.
He recalled that NECA, with ILO support, launched an ESG assessment on Dec. 4, 2025, to strengthen sustainability practices across Nigerian businesses.
According to him, the assessment highlighted the need to integrate MSMEs into Nigeria’s ESG framework because of their contributions to economic growth and employment.
Mr Jaiyeola said the implementation guide was the first designed specifically for MSMEs in Nigeria and, to NECA’s knowledge, across Africa.
He expressed confidence that the guide would help MSMEs understand ESG principles and improve competitiveness in local and international markets.
Mr Jaiyeola disclosed that six NECA officials were undergoing specialised ESG training for SMEs at the ILO International Training Centre in Turin, Italy.
He said the officials would train MSMEs across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones after completing the programme. According to him, the initiative demonstrates NECA’s commitment to building business capacity for sustainability and global competitiveness.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 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 sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
