Economy
NIVA Rewards CSCS for Commitment to Market Efficiency
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc has been celebrated for its commitment to market efficiency and growth at the BusinessDay Nigerian Investor Value Awards (NIVA) held last weekend in Lagos.
The firm was named as the winner of the Market Choice award for its outstanding counterparty trust assurance, broad asset class coverage and enhanced collaboration with market participants.
But the CEO of the organisation, Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri, while receiving the award, said the award was a call for continuous improvement and a boost to CSCS’ tenacious commitment to delivering on market-efficiency initiatives.
“As we relish this recognition of CSCS as the Market Choice, we reiterate our kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement and restate our enthusiasm in furthering our partnerships with esteemed participants and broader stakeholders in our quest for mutual prosperity and in our drive towards enhancing market efficiency and growth,” he said.
Mr Jalo-Waziri used the occasion to remind his colleagues “that the reward of good work is more work. I know the stakes are higher as we have set new benchmarks, albeit I am more than ever optimistic in our capacity to do more and work with our participants in delivering better experience and value to investors in the Nigerian capital market.”
The CEO dedicated the “award to our esteemed participants, whose loyalty, support and constructive feedbacks continue to enhance our operations and broader service to the Nigerian capital market.”
He also thanked “the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as the board of directors of CSCS for their diligent oversight and for ensuring sound governance which I believe is essential to every corporate’s sustainability and long-term value creation.”
The NIVA, previously known as the Top CEOs and Next Bulls Awards, has been jointly organised by BusinessDay and the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) since 2015.
It was conceived as a platform to celebrate the CEOs of listed companies that have delivered superior value to investors through operating efficiencies, organizational values, and market engagement activities.
The event was further expanded to include the CEOs of carefully vetted non-listed companies that could fill a pipeline of initial public offering candidates, particularly companies in which active and informed investors have expressed a strong demand to own their shares if their shareholders decide to take them public.
Over the past three years, the ordinary shares of CSCS, though not yet listed on the floor of the NGX, actively trades on the Nigerian Autonomous Securities Dealers Over-the-Counter (NASD-OTC) Exchange and has emerged as the most liquid and attractive stock on the NASD-OTC.
Last Friday, for instance, CSCS gained 65 kobo or 4.1 per cent to close at N16.65 per unit, consolidating its year-to-date gain to 10.6 per cent, compared to the current bearish performance of equities.
More so, the shares of CSCS have rallied 93 per cent over the past three years, in addition to the company growing its dividend payment by 36 per cent over the same period.
Remarkably, a total of 1.64 billion units of CSCS’ shares, valued at N27.06 billion (based on the current valuation of N16.50 per share) and representing 38.8 per cent or one-third of the total shares outstanding of the company has been traded over the past three years.
The liquidity of the shares is notwithstanding the fact that the top-5 largest shareholders closely hold about two-thirds of the company’s shares.
The liquidity of the shares of CSCS on the NASD-OTC platform reinforces the strong appetite and demand of retail and institutional shareholders to own CSCS’ shares.
In addition to the steady bull-run on the share price, CSCS’ steady dividend payment has been a major attraction to investors, who seek a stable return on investments.
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.
