Economy
Organised Private Sector Writes Tinubu Over Incessant Summons by National Assembly
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
President Bola Tinubu has been urged to urgently look into the incessant summons of private companies by some committees of the National Assembly.
In an open letter, the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) said the legislative arm of government was going beyond its bounds by looking into the activities of private firms operating in the country.
The group noted this practice has continued unhindered despite judicial pronouncements, including a pending appeal before the Supreme Court, which affirms that the powers conferred on the National Assembly in line with sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 constitution do not extend oversight powers to private companies.
Citing judicial precedents, it stated that the case of DHL International Nigeria Limited versus Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ORS (FHC/ABJ/CS/261/2018) comes to mind.
It would be recalled that the court unequivocally held that private companies do not fall within the category of persons contemplated by sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution.
OPSN stressed that the members of the National Assembly must understand that there are constitutional limits on legislative oversight, noting that the provisions only empower them to investigate matters connected with the administration of laws and the disbursement and management of public funds by public sector agencies.
It explained that the incessant summons by the Committees of the National Assembly has created duplication of regulatory activities, thus usurping the statutory roles of the Executive arm of Government through the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), stating that the purported investigations, demands and investigations being carried out by the committee fall within the jurisdiction of the Executive arm of Government, noting that the constitution, as expressly stated in section 5, vests the responsibility to investigate compliance on the Executive through the MDAs.
The association urged the parliament to exercise restraint and await the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter to resolve the recurring controversies surrounding the scope of legislative authority, emphasising that, beyond the legal and constitutional issues, the continuous summons could be economically damaging as it creates multiple layers of regulatory uncertainty, thereby discouraging foreign investors, derailing the Ease of Doing Business reforms, and worsening the unemployment rate, especially at a time when the FG is making an effort to restore investors’ confidence.
“The summons has led to high financial costs for companies, with executives of private companies compelled to travel frequently to Abuja, incurring costs for flights, accommodation, legal representation and documentation.
“Beyond that, this has led to disruption of operations and productivity loss with senior managers and technical experts pulled away from business operations of manufacturers and service providers, leading to lost output and missed deadlines, weakened competitiveness,” it added.
While emphasising that the private sector was not opposed to legislation or regulation, the OPSN noted that regulation should not be enforced to serve as a bottleneck but rather to facilitate and promote Ease of Doing Business. OPSN explained that the sustainability of enterprises can only be achieved when there is an efficient, predictable regulatory environment supported by stable policies and viable incentives.
The group seeks the President’s intervention to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s regulatory framework and ease the burden on businesses by clearly deploying a practical, coordinated approach that delineates the authority and responsibility between regulators and legislators.
“We can further strengthen Nigeria’s reputation as a stable, business-friendly investment destination, capable of attracting and retaining capital to drive inclusive growth and job creation by addressing these challenges. We reaffirm our readiness to collaborate with the government in finding practical solutions for Nigeria’s sustainable economic transformation,” it stated.
OPSN comprises the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria(MAN), the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASS), the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) in collaboration with Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ATCON), the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), the Association of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (AFBTE), and other 25 sectoral Employer’s Associations.
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.
