Economy
Ogun Signs MoU On Cotton Production
The Ogun State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an indigenous natural fibre company, Arewacotton Limited, on the production, processing and marketing of cotton in the state.
The deal was completed between the two parties on Wednesday in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The state Governor, Mr Ibikunle Amosun and the Chairman of Arewacotton, Professor Michael Olayiwole signed the MoU on behalf of the government and the company respectively at an event held at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan.
Mr Amosun, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Taiwo Adeoluwa, restated the commitment of the state towards developing the agriculture sector to enhance employment generation.
He said the partnership is expected to address increased cotton and demands from local textile industries as well as exports, which would lead to the establishment of an ultra-modern ginnery in the state.
To him, the collaboration would boost productivity and foreign exchange for the local farmers.
He said, “There are so many benefits. Agriculture, with its value chain, is the third cardinal programme of this administration.
“We have always not been in doubt that the only way to put more money in the pockets of our people and to tackle the restive and large youth unemployment is to develop agriculture. It would help us to keep our communities calm and ultimately it will improve our security initiatives.”
Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Ronke Sokefun, disclosed that the agreement is targeted at the cultivation of 10,000 hectares of cotton farmland to be provided by the state government.
“But in the first instance, they are going to start by clearing a thousand hectare. At the maximum capacity, we’ll be producing 25,000 metric tonnes at 2.5 metric tonnes per hectare.
“In fact, between 2017 and 2018, the processing mill which is called the gingery would already come on stream. Our role is limited to land provision and mobilisation of the farmers.”
While commending the state government, the Arewacotton boss declared that the collaboration would empower 5,000 indigenes who are cotton farmers and their dependants.
Mr Olayiwole added that the partnership with the state would create multiple investment opportunities estimated at billions of naira.
He stated “I am delighted to announce that Ogun State is the first state in the South West region to collaborate with us in the spirit of the MoU that we signed with the Federal Government, although we have reached conclusive stages of signing MoUs with some other state governments.
“Creation and sustaining an enabling environment devoid of bureaucracy is critical to the success of this project, which is time bound. This is highly critical to the success of our collective goals and efforts.”
The event was attended by officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Industry and National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), among others stakeholders.
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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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.
