Economy
Nigeria’s Consumer Confidence Level Gains 3 Points in Q4 2016—Report
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A new report released by Nielsen Holdings Plc, a a global performance management firm providing a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy, has revealed that Nigeria climbed three points to 116 in the fourth quarter of 2016, after a steep decline in the third quarter.
In the latest Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) figures for Quarter 4 of 2016, it was observed that sentiment in the west of Africa is on the increase with Ghana rising by two points to 111.
Managing Director of Nielsen East and West Africa, Mr Abhik Gupta, while explaining the reasons for Nigeria’s improved consumer sentiment in a statement made available to Business Post, stated that, “Despite previous drops in consumer confidence, Nigerians are now more positive than Kenyans, South Africans and Ghanaians, in terms of their job prospects and personal finances and as the country’s macro, business and retail prospects recover we expect to see continued positivity amongst Nigerian consumers.”
Adding to this positive outlook, the latest Nielsen Africa Prospects Indicator (APi), which integrates macro-economic, business, retail and consumer factors points to the fact that predictions are that the worst is over and it will not take much to drive the Nigerian economy into positive growth levels in 2017.
Short term positivity in Nigeria
In light of this, all confidence indicators in Nigeria increased in the fourth quarter. The percentage of respondents who predict that their personal finances will be good or excellent in the next 12 months jumped five percentage points to 80 percent, and 59 percent of Nigerian respondents said job prospects will be good or excellent, up one percentage point from the third quarter.
Immediate-spending intentions increased four percentage points, rising to 39 percent while more than four in 10 Nigerian respondents (44 percent) said they had spare cash, up from 36 percent in the third quarter.
In terms of what they would use this spare cash for, the highest number of Nigerians are seeking to batten down the hatches on their current financial future, with 80 percent saying they would put it into savings.
The second highest number (69 percent) wants to use their spare cash on home improvements and decorating and 62% on investing in shares and mutual funds. Unsurprisingly, 60 percent would spend it on out-of-home entertainment as they seek some respite from their current daily stresses and strains.
Mixed positivity in Ghana’s results
The overall increase in Ghana’s CCI, was due to a higher proportion of “Excellent” responses even though “Good” responses have declined.
This means that despite the positive outlook for jobs dropping two percentage points from Q3 to an overall 55 percent, this was made up of 12 percent saying “Excellent” (up from 10 percent previous quarter) and 43 percent saying “Good”.
This was followed by positive personal-finance sentiment decreasing by one point to 76 percent, of which 23 percent said “Excellent” (up by 4 points) and 52 percent said “Good”.
Immediate-spending intentions dropped by two percentage points to 40 percent of which 10 percent said “Excellent” (up by 4 points) and 30 percent said “Good”.
Less than half of Ghanaian respondents said they had spare cash (47%) – a drop of 3 percentage points from the third quarter, however this proportion of consumers is higher than Nigerians (44 percent) and Kenyans (42 percent).
In terms of what they would use this spare cash for, Ghanaians remain financially conservative in their outlook, with the highest number (82 percent) saying they would put it into savings, the second highest number of respondents 72 percent see home improvements as a worthwhile investment while (59 percent) saying they would invest in shares/mutual funds.
Overall Gupta comments; “In the backdrop of improved confidence levels, businesses need to adjust to the altered daily habits that consumers are displaying to deal with the tough market conditions. As consumers have been forced to reduce consumption, only buying on an immediate need basis, businesses need to meet these new consumers realities with agility, flexible product offerings, packaging and pricing.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of HBM Nigeria Plc (formerly Lafarge Africa), Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, said the cement producer is expected to add 4.5 million tonnes to its production capacity by January 2027.
HBM Nigeria Plc is positioning itself for stronger long-term competitiveness, market leadership and job creation as it accelerates expansion projects.
The transition to HBM Nigeria marks a new phase of growth, driven by operational excellence, sustainability, innovation, and infrastructure development, while maintaining its long-standing commitment to Nigeria’s construction sector.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi, speaking recently in Lagos, said the ongoing expansion of the company’s Ashaka and Sagamu plants would significantly boost local production, create employment opportunities, and support businesses across its value chain.
“We recently announced the expansion of the Sagamu plant in Ogun State and the Ashaka plant in Gombe State. Hopefully, in January 2027, we will commission both plants, adding 4.5 million tonnes to our capacity. Traditionally, building a new plant takes about three years, but this is one of the benefits of belonging to the Huaxin Group,” he said.
According to him, the projects will generate employment, create opportunities for young people and women, strengthen local suppliers and contractors, and contribute further to Nigeria’s economic growth.
“There are many vacancies we are trying to fill in Sagamu and Ashaka. Beyond direct employment, we are creating opportunities for small businesses, developing suppliers and supporting local contractors. This is an exciting period because it will deliver significant benefits to Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi noted that while the company’s corporate identity had changed following its acquisition by Huaxin Building Materials Group, its core values and commitment to customers, host communities, employees and shareholders remain unchanged.
He said HBM Nigeria traces its roots to 1959 as West African Portland Cement Company (WAPCO), with its first cement plant commencing operations in Ewekoro, Ogun State, in 1961.
Since then, he said, the company has grown into one of Nigeria’s leading building solutions providers with integrated plants in Ewekoro, Sagamu, Ashaka and Mfamosing.
He added that the company, which became publicly listed in 1979, has continued to expand through acquisitions and transformation while maintaining high product quality, innovation and responsible operations.
Highlighting the strengths of its parent company, Alade-Akinyemi described Huaxin Building Materials as a globally recognised building materials manufacturer founded in 1907 and headquartered in Wuhan, China, with operations across 16 regions in China and 14 countries worldwide.
He said Huaxin’s engineering expertise and focus on research and development would strengthen HBM Nigeria’s operations and help close engineering skills gaps in the country.
“As HBM Nigeria, we are strategically positioned for long-term competitiveness and stronger market leadership while reinforcing our commitment to supporting Nigeria’s infrastructure development and economic progress after more than six decades of industry leadership,” he said.
He also said sustainability would remain central to the company’s operations, noting that it had introduced lower-carbon products and continued to invest in environmentally friendly production processes.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributed about N2.550 trillion from the revenue generated by the nation in June 2026 to the three tiers of government after its July meeting in Abuja.
A statement signed by the Director of Press in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Bawa Mokwa, “The N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue comprised N1.809 trillion in distributable statutory revenue and N740.724 billion in distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue.”
It was gathered that a total gross revenue of N4.500 trillion was available in June 2026, with deductions for the cost of collection amounting to N160.744 billion, and transfers and refunds at N1.789 trillion.
According to a communiqué after the gathering, gross statutory revenue of N3.700 trillion was received in June 2026, N1.049 trillion higher than the N2.651 trillion received in the preceding month, while gross revenue of N799.746 billion was generated from VAT, N56.058 billion higher than the N743.688 billion recorded in May 2026.
It was stated that from the N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received N923.438 billion, the state governments got N838.208 billion, while the local government councils were given N591.390 billion, with N197.610 billion allocated to the benefiting states as 13 per cent of mineral derivation revenue.
From the N1.809 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government went away with N849.366 billion, states shared N430.810 billion, local councils took N332.136 billion, while the benefiting states got N197.610 billion as derivation revenue.
From the N740.724 billion distributable VAT earnings, the central government got N74.072 billion, the states received N407.398 billion, and the local government councils were allocated N259.253 billion.
The communiqué further stated that in June 2026, collections from Companies Income Tax (CIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duties (SDT), Petroleum Royalties, Gas Flare Penalties, Rent, Mineral Oil Royalties (MOR), Value Added Tax (VAT), Import Duty, and Common External Tariff (CET) Levies increased significantly, while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Mineral Royalties, and Fees declined considerably. Excise Duty recorded only a marginal increase.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
