Economy
Preline Offers Minority Shareholders of Eterna Plc N17.6m
By Dipo Olowookere
Minority shareholders of Eterna Plc have been offered 17.6 million to give up their equity stake in the local energy company.
The offer is being made by Preline Limited, the largest and majority shareholder in Eterna after it recently acquired a 60.98 per cent equity stake in the organisation through the purchase of 794,969,774 ordinary shares of the public-quoted company on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
After the deal, Preline triggered the mandatory tender offer (MTO) provisions of the Investment and Securities Act and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations and after obtaining approvals, it is willing to pay N13.50 for the 1,300,000 ordinary shares held by minority investors, which is equivalent to 0.10 per cent stake.
In a statement issued by the secretary of Eterna, Mr Mandella Golkus, it was stated that the “notification is in fulfilment of our disclosure obligations in line with regulatory guidelines and our corporate responsibility to our stakeholders.”
According to Eterna, the transaction takes the firm a step closer to its vision of becoming Africa’s preferred energy company and “better positions us to take advantage of the opportunities in our industry and create superior value for our stakeholders (customers, staff, communities and shareholders).”
Eterna is an integrated energy company that retails and distributes petroleum products across the country to retail, industrial, automotive, marine and energy customers.
The organisation has a retail footprint of over 70 active petroleum products retail outlets, world-class lubricants, a manufacturing plant and petroleum storage terminals.
Eterna, which has its headquarters in Lagos, is the sole licensee of Castrol products in Nigeria.
Business Post reports that at the stock market today, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, shares of the company closed flat at N5.00 per unit. It is not certain if the firm will remain on the local exchange after the MTO.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) have issued new guidelines clarifying the taxation of virtual assets in Nigeria.
The guidelines provide an administrative framework for the taxation of virtual assets and specify the tax obligations of individuals and businesses operating in the sector.
According to a public notice issued by the two agencies, the framework covers registration, reporting and record-keeping requirements, valuation principles and the tax treatment of virtual asset transactions.
It applies to taxpayers, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators, tax practitioners and other persons engaged in virtual asset-related activities.
The NRS and JRB said the guidelines were developed in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
The two bodies said the release was aimed at providing clarity, certainty and consistency in the administration of Nigeria’s tax laws as the country’s virtual asset ecosystem continues to evolve.
The agencies added that the framework would promote voluntary compliance, enhance transparency and support the development of a fair and efficient tax system for digital asset transactions.
They urged all affected taxpayers and stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the guidelines and ensure compliance with the applicable tax obligations.
The guidelines are available on the official websites of the two agencies.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Manufacturers are yet to benefit from relief on the burden of multiple taxes and levies despite the enactment of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
The association, in its Manufacturers CEO Confidence Index (MCCI) report for the second quarter of 2026, said manufacturers continued to face multiple tax collectors and regulatory agencies during the period.
Director-General of MAN, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said the new tax law, which was expected to reduce the burden of multiple taxation, had yet to deliver the intended benefits.
“Manufacturers complained that they were still met with multiple tax collectors and regulators in Q2 2026. It follows that the implementation of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 is yet to achieve its objective of relieving manufacturers of the burden of taxes and levies,” he said.
According to the report, Nigeria’s business environment remains largely unsupportive of manufacturing growth, with local sourcing of raw materials emerging as the only indicator that recorded noticeable improvement.
MAN, however, warned that the gains in local sourcing could be undermined by worsening insecurity in parts of the country.
The association attributed the improvement largely to persistent foreign exchange constraints, which have forced many manufacturers to source inputs locally.
Despite this, it said excessive regulation and multiple taxation continue to weigh heavily on manufacturers.
The report showed that manufacturers recorded a modest increase in sales volume during the second quarter, but rising production, distribution and logistics costs continued to erode profitability.
It added that capacity utilisation, production levels, investment and employment remained broadly unchanged during the review period.
MAN further observed that although recent foreign exchange reforms had helped stabilise the naira, inadequate foreign currency supply remained a major constraint to manufacturing operations.
Other key challenges identified in the report include poor infrastructure, high production costs, raw material shortages and unfavourable trade policies.
The association said the findings underscore the continued pressure on manufacturers despite recent fiscal and foreign exchange reforms, stressing the need for more effective implementation of policies aimed at improving the operating environment for the real sector.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The figure, contained in the DMO’s latest domestic debt service report for Q1 2026, comprised N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
According to the report, the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service in January before the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February.
Debt service increased further to N1.43 trillion in March, bringing total spending for the quarter to N3.14 trillion.
The March figure represented a 47.7 per cent increase from the N967.67 billion recorded in February and was 92.7 per cent higher than the N741.82 billion spent in January.
The debt office said interest payments accounted for approximately 94.6 per cent of the total domestic debt service during the quarter.
Treasury bills accounted for the largest share of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest payments on Federal Government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
The government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period.
The debt management body said the principal component of the debt service comprised N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.
Overall, domestic debt service rose significantly throughout the quarter, with March alone accounting for nearly half of the N3.14 trillion spent between January and March.
