Economy
Road Infrastructure Tax is to Bridge Nigeria’s Revenue Gap—Nami
By Adedapo Adesanya
To help cover Nigeria’s revenue shortfall, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it is proposing the introduction of road infrastructure tax by making the informal sector contribute to building a modern society.
The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr Muhammad Mamman Nami said this when a delegation of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by its National President, Mr Chris Isiguzo, met him in Abuja.
Mr Nami said the proposed road tax to be administered by the FIRS will provide the government with adequate funding for road construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance, as well as providing the needed security for roads in the country.
According to the FIRS boss, “One quick and very important intervention required of you is in the area of the Road Infrastructure Funding Scheme that the country needs in order fix our roads and bringing the informal sector to the tax net.”
He noted that in many jurisdictions, road users pay for the use of road infrastructure, adding that this should not be seen as an additional burden on the people because it has the potential of making life better for all.
Speaking further, Mr Nami stated that Nigeria’s economy presently relies heavily on non-oil revenues to discharge its statutory responsibility of paying salaries and providing social amenities to the citizenry.
“Without the tax that you pay, governments at all levels would not be able to fulfil their mandate to the electorates. Tax money also helps to ensure the roads you travel are safe and always in good condition,” he said.
He disclosed that the recent rise in the price of crude oil ordinarily should have impacted positively on the Petroleum Profit Tax payable by oil-producing companies. However, it has shown otherwise due to some reasons.
On the challenges facing the service of delivering on its mandate, he said “crude oil production has been limited by OPEC quota. Nigerian OPEC quota as at July 2021 was about 1.5 million barrels per day as against its crude oil production budget of 1.8 million barrels per day.
“This is a shortfall of 300,000 barrels per day. Our average daily crude oil production is around 1.250 million barrels per day as against the allocated 1.5 million barrels per day OPEC quota which has resulted in a shortfall of almost 250,000 barrels per day mainly caused by crude oil theft and force majeure declared by some of the IOCs.
“The total shortfall to FGN budgeted production is about 550,000 barrels per day.
“Huge losses brought forward and un-recouped capital allowances reported by most of the companies due to production shut in and the fall in oil price in 2020 as a result of the covid-19 pandemic which reduced their revenue.“
He said with challenges in the oil and gas sector, reforms have been carried out by the agency with a visible impact on the economy such as the deployment of technology in tax administration to improve domestic revenue mobilisation in view of dwindling oil prices.
Mr Nami added that the service created 10 Value Added Tax, VAT, Regional Coordination Offices across the country to drive collection of VAT.
He said, “We have commenced the usage of VAT Form 002A for enrolment and tracking of branch offices of major VAT payers. This will certainly improve our VAT collection and capacity. We achieved 114.66 per cent of our VAT collection target in the first half of the year.
“It will interest you to know that the service collected a total of N4.2 trillion between January to September 2021. This feat was achieved as a result of the efficiency and effectiveness of the TaxProMax Solution and intelligence/data we gathered, mined and analyzed in the period under review.
“The service successfully facilitated both the mock and external audits for the ISO 27001:2013 certification of the Exchange of Information (EOI) centre, to meet international information security management standards.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The proposed share reconstruction of a local gaming firm, Secure Electronic Technology (SET), has been suspended.
The Lagos-based company decided to shelve the exercise after negotiations with potential investors crumbled like a house of cards.
Secure Electronic Technology was earlier in talks with some foreign investors interested in the organisation.
Plans were underway to restructure the shares of the company, which are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
However, things did not go as planned as the potential investors pulled out, leaving the board to consider others ways to move the firm forward.
Confirming this development, the company secretary, Ms Irene Attoe, in a statement, said the board would explore other means to keep the company running to deliver value to shareholders.
“This is to notify the NGX and the investing public that a meeting of the board of SET held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, as scheduled, to consider the status of the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation as approved by the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on April 16, 2025.
“After due deliberations, the board wishes to announce that the proposed share reconstruction will not take place as anticipated due to the inability of the parties to reach a convergence on the best and mutually viable terms.
“Thus, following an impasse in the negotiations, and the investors’ withdrawal from the transaction, the board has, in the interest of all members, decided to accept these outcomes and move ahead in the overall interest of the business.
“The board is committed to driving the strategic objectives of SEC and to seeking viable opportunities for sustainable growth of the company,” the disclosure stated.
Business Post reports that the share price of SET crashed by 3.85 per cent on Tuesday on Customs Street on Tuesday to 75 Kobo. Its 52-week high remains N1.33 and its one-year low is 45 Kobo. Today, investors transacted 39,331,958 units.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Clea, a blockchain-powered platform that allows African importers to pay international suppliers in USD while settling locally, has officially launched.
During its pilot phase, Clea processed more than $4 million in cross-border transactions, demonstrating strong early demand from businesses navigating the complexities of global trade.
Clea addresses persistent challenges that African importers have long struggled with, including limited FX access, unpredictable exchange rates, high bank charges, fraudulent intermediaries, and payment delays that slow or halt shipments. The continent also faces a trade-finance gap estimated at over $120 billion annually, limiting importers’ ability to access the FX and financial infrastructure needed for timely international payments by offering fast, transparent, and direct USD settlements, completed without intermediaries or banking bottlenecks.
Founded by Mr Sheriff Adedokun, Mr Iyiola Osuagwu, and Mr Sidney Egwuatu, Clea was created from the team’s own experiences dealing with unreliable international payments. The platform currently serves Nigerian importers trading with suppliers in the United States, China, and the UAE, with plans to expand into additional trade corridors.
The platform will allow local payments in Naira with instant access to Dollars as well as instant, same-day, or next-day settlement options and transparent, traceable transactions that reduce fraud risk.
Speaking on the launch, Mr Adedokun said, “Importers face unnecessary stress when payments are delayed or rejected. Clea eliminates that uncertainty by offering reliable, secure, and traceable payments completed in the importer’s own name, strengthening supplier confidence from day one.”
Mr Osuagwu, co-founder & CTO, added, “Our goal is to make global trade feel as seamless as a local transfer. By connecting local currencies to global transactions through blockchain technology, we are removing long-standing barriers that have limited African importers for years.”
According to a statement shared with Business Post, Clea is already working with shipping operators who refer merchants to the platform and is also engaging trade associations and logistics networks in key import hubs. The company remains fully bootstrapped but is open to strategic investors aligned with its mission to build a trusted global payment network for African businesses.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has declared that the National Identification Number (NIN) issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has now automatically become a Tax ID for Nigerians.
The service announced this in a public awareness campaign on the new tax laws posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.
The new tax laws go into effect in two weeks and to ease administration and collection of taxes, NIN, which was introduced as a way of identity, will now serve as Tax ID. This declaration comes amidst concerns over a provision of the tax laws mandating Tax ID for bank account ownership.
With this development, all Nigerians with NIN now automatically have a Tax ID and can be easily brought into the tax net, provided they receive taxable income. The new tax law has set N800,000 per annum earning as the cut-off annual income threshold which the Nigerian state will charge no personal income tax.
For registered businesses, the FIRS said their RC number issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) automatically becomes their tax ID under the new tax system.
According to the FIRS, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) billed to come into force from January 2026, mandates the use of Tax ID for certain transactions.
It, however, noted that this requirement is not new, adding that it has existed since the Finance Act 2019 and has been strengthened under the NTAA.
“The Tax ID unifies all TINS previously issued by FIRS and states IRS into a single identifier.
“For individuals, your NIN automatically serves as your Tax ID, while for registered companies, your CAC RC number is used.
“You do not need a physical card, the Tax ID is a unique number linked directly into your identity,” the FIRS stated.
The FIRS added that the new tax ID systems simplify identification, reduce duplication, closes loophole for tax evasion and ensure fairness so that everyone who earns taxable income contributes their share.
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