Economy
Palm Oil Investor Gets N10m from Heritage Bank
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An investor in the palm oil industry, Mr Joshua Joseph Idiong, has received N10 million from Heritage Bank and the fund is expected to boost his business.
Mr Idiong is into the oil palm processing business. He is the chief executive of the Akwa Ibom State-based Josult Oil Processing Company.
He was one of the contestants of the prestigious The Next Titan Season 7. In fact, he won the edition of the programme themed The Unstoppable.
The Next Titan is an entrepreneurial reality show sponsored by Heritage Bank and aimed to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Mr Idiong, who is a graduate of Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) with Bachelor Degree in Environmental Science, emerged winner after competing with Ifeanyi Nkwonta, Chidinma Eriobu and Ifeoma Benjamin at the grand finale in Lagos.
Idiong’s entry on the show was amongst the 18,000 entries, followed by online auditions before the top 16 moved into the Titan House for 10 weeks to compete against top-notch young entrepreneurs in real-life entrepreneurial tasks.
They were grilled by a panel of judges who are technocrats with the perfect blend of entrepreneurial requisite skills comprising Kyari Bukar, co-founder/CEO of Trans-Sahara Investment; Lilian Olubi, CEO of Primera Africa Securities Ltd; Chris Parkes, Chairman/CEO of CPMS Africa and Tonye Cole, co-founder of Sahara Group.
The winner, who highly commended Heritage Bank for its continued supports to entrepreneurs and sponsorship of the Next Titan, said, “Heritage Bank is an amazing bank that has stood strong on this show. My love for Heritage Bank stems from the fact that this is my second time on this show but before I came in, I have learnt so much from the show.
“This means that Heritage Bank is truly affecting the lives and businesses of entrepreneurs positively, alongside the viewers. This is a bank that has differentiated itself from other banks in boosting the strength of SMES in Nigeria.”
Speaking at the grand finale, MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Mr Ifie Sekibo, stated that the programme easily aligns with the primary focus of the management of Heritage Bank to promote every laudable entrepreneurial idea meant to broaden economic horizon of the country for the benefit of citizens and other residents of Nigeria.
Mr Sekibo who was represented by the Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Mr Fela Ibidapo, further affirmed, “as a catalytic institution in the empowering of entrepreneurs in the MSME sector, Heritage Bank has continued to make relentless efforts in this space to empower entrepreneurs in Nigeria through championing several empowerment schemes like the HB Innovation Lab Accelerator programme (HB-LAB), Ynspyre Account, Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP), Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) on Young Entrepreneurship Business Training Programme (YEBTP), Young Entrepreneurs and Students (YES) Grant and Nigerian Youth Professional Forum (NYPF), Big Brother Nigeria, Lagos Comic Con, amongst others.”
The Executive Producer of The Next Titan, Mr Mide Kunle-Akinlaja, in his address explained that the project was created and designed as a deliberate attempt to provoke the spirit of entrepreneurship of young Nigerians, not only the contestants on the show but another multitude of aspiring entrepreneurs who can watch the show on TV.
He said that Season 7 was designed to search for business ideas that are immune to any pandemic, innovations that break boundaries and technologies that can survive any lockdown.
“It does not matter what your business idea is all about or its focus, but you must be able to prove that your business has what it takes in terms of ideas or technologies to survive any future pandemic or lockdown,” he said.
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.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
See the full list below:
