Economy
Sanwo-Olu Lures Dutch Investors to Lagos
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has assured Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mr Jan Van Weijen, investors from the Dutch nation would be given the opportunity to grow their businesses in the aquatic city.
Mr Sanwo-Olu gave this assurance when the diplomat paid him a courtesy visit on Monday to officially inform the Governor of the upcoming visit of the Netherlands Prime Minister to Nigeria in November for bilateral meeting.
Mr Van Weijen said it was necessary to meet Lagos Governor ahead to discuss cooperation between the Netherland and Lagos on areas of mutual interests, which include inland waterway administration, intermodal transportation and efficient public health services.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Sanwo-Olu mulled partnership with the Dutch country, given that Lagos shared common realities with Amsterdam – the Netherlands’ most populous city and capital.
Like Amsterdam, the Governor said Lagos is 5 metres above the sea level, noting the State had started studying the model used by the Netherlands to bring about solution to transportation on its waterways. He said his government was looking forward to activate collaborations that could bring about Foreign Direct Investment in Lagos to boost capacity of transportation in the State.
“Netherlands is beautiful country that has preserved its legacy in innovative governance over the decades. It is not out of place for Lagos, as a big city in Nigeria and African, to learn from the Amsterdam examples, given common realities we share. Nature has endowed both cities, but these endowments must not be burden. This is why we must take the opportunity to discuss cooperation and partnership.
“We will be working with your team. We will be planning further engagement to ensure that our partnership is mutually beneficial and rewarding to both countries and to our citizens. We are open for business and open to have a conversation around Lagos development and to make it a great and a megacity than what it is today,” Governor Sanwo-Olu said.
Responding, Mr Van Weijen said the Netherlands government was ready to partner with Lagos in delivering the key objectives in the six pillars of development programmes of the Sanwo-Olu administration known as Project T.H.E.M.E.S.
“I will like to officially inform you of the visit of Prime Minister of the Netherlands to Lagos State and Abuja, which is coming up at the end of November. We will be showcasing our cooperation with Lagos and consolidating on the progress we shared for more investment drive.
“We are looking at cooperation in transportation, exploring the Lagos waterways to alleviate the pain of road transportation. Netherlands has achieved much progress in this area; we request Lagos to study the solution we proffered in order to solve its transportation problems. Lagos is the city for the next millennium. Given our interest Project T.H.E.M.E.S. of the Lagos Government, we have excellent opportunities to mutually benefit from cooperation, which will also get the Dutch business involved in regenerating the metropolis of Lagos,” he said.
Mr Weijen was accompanied on the visit by Deputy Consul-General, Mr Ayinole’ Kohndou, and Adviser on Economy, Trade and Investment Affairs, Ms. Sonia Fajusigbe.
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.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange gained 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, July 15, pushing the NASD Security Index (NSI) up by 74.20 points to 4,316.51 points from 4,242.31 points, as the market capitalisation added N44.54 billion to finish at N2.590 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.546 trillion.
During the session, there was an 11.5 per cent rise in the value of transactions at midweek to N72.7 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, as there was a 3.7 per cent growth in the number of deals to 28 deals from the previous session’s 27 deals, while the volume of securities slumped by 64.5 per cent to 4.9 million units from 13.7 million units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended as the most active security by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, with the second spot occupied by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc after selling 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and the third position was taken by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which exchanged 74.3 million units for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was negative yesterday, as there were two price gainers and three price losers.
11 Plc added N22.36 to its value to close at N250.00 per share versus N227.64 per share, and CSCS Plc improved by N7.95 to N90.35 per unit from N82.40 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.37 to end at N150.00 per share versus N151.37 per share, UBN Property Plc depreciated by 6 Kobo to N1.75 per unit from N1.81 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc dropped 1 Kobo to close at N2.49 per share versus N2.50 per share.
