Economy
Savings for Capital Formation, Investment Good for Economy—Ahmed
By Dipo Olowookere
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said the mobilisation of domestic savings for capital formation and investment remains a critical success factor for harnessing the true growth potential of the Nigerian economy.
Speaking during the submission of a report of the Working Group on National Savings Scheme in Abuja on Tuesday, Mrs Ahmed said this would also deepen the capital market.
According to her, the recently launched Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025 recognizes the role of a deep financial market in supporting the high and sustainable growth the plan aims to attain, expressing hopes that the proposals made in the report will guide the government in taking actionable steps to actualize the objectives outlined.
The Minister promised to review the report and work with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other stakeholders to ensure that the country fully realizes the potential benefits of the scheme to the country.
“We understand that this initiative will involve several other agencies such as the CBN, FIRS, NAICOM and other important stakeholders. We will leverage on our collaborative working environment within the government to ensure we get necessary buy-in and commitment from relevant stakeholders.
“On behalf of the federal government and the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, I extend my sincere appreciation for your selflessness in giving your time and skill in this painstaking work in support of the government.
“I trust that we will count on your patriotic spirit when we call on you for further support in this or other laudable endeavours for our dear country,” Mrs Ahmed said.
Earlier, the Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, stated that the need to establish a National Savings Strategy was outlined in the 10-years Capital Market Master Plan “as one of the key strategies to enhance capital formation by mobilizing domestic funds for investment to drive rapid economic growth.”
“It envisaged the deliberate provision of risk capital as venture capital and private equity that are naira based and more committed to the long-term prosperity of Nigeria as well as create a buffer to the instability created by foreign investors.
“The CAMMIC commissioned a white paper on a National Savings Strategy and recommended to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning the formation of a working group to explore the feasibility of the report findings,” he added.
Mr Yuguda thanked the Minister for graciously embracing this initiative and constituting the team, expressing optimism that she will accept the recommendations of the group and facilitate the adoption of the National Savings Scheme in the nation’s development program.
“We are indeed grateful for your commitment and efforts to position our market where it deserves to be – a capital market that will broaden access to economic prosperity by enabling the emergence of financially responsible citizens, accelerate wealth creation and wealth distribution, provide capital to small and medium scale enterprises, and catalyse housing finance,” he added.
While presenting the report, Dr Ore Sofekun, a member of the committee and CEO of Foothold Advisors Limited, on behalf of the Committee Chairman, Mr Fola Adeola, said the scheme will be open-ended and considering its medium-term to long-term objective, participants will have the opportunity to decide how their contributions will be invested and will be able to make periodic re-allocations.
To allow for product diversification and provide savers flexibility and choice, she stated that multiple investor risk/return profiles have been designed with corresponding savings products.
These products will allow service providers to offer an array of diversified product options tailored to match customer needs.
On the implementation roadmap, Ms Sofekun said the scheme will be subject to the overall supervision of SEC and structured, to start, as a department within the agency.
She added that with the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) of 2007 currently being reviewed, a new section should be introduced in the proposed Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) to provide for the establishment of the National Savings Scheme as a mandatory scheme and other related matters.
“The new provisions in the ISB should be articulated to give the NSS its own advisory board. The governance structure of the scheme should be robust and transparent with stringent measures in place to ring-fence the assets of the scheme.
“The implementation mechanism is designed to consider practical realities and minimize complexity. The main objective is to create a stable and optimal financial intermediation structure where channels and savings products are easily accessible, and an effective and robust institutional framework is established.
“The overriding goal is to incentivize the population to save, have access to various savings-investment products and ultimately, provide a pool of funds to finance capital investments. The initial take-off expenses should be borne primarily by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning with some funding provided by the SEC,” she added.
The SEC launched a 10-year Capital Market Masterplan in 2015. The commission at that time believed that having just emerged from a bubble that negatively impacted the performance and confidence in the Nigerian capital market, it was expedient to come up with a market-wide strategic blueprint that had the buy-in of all stakeholders aimed at making our market deeper, vibrant and more effective.
The implementation of the initiatives in the 10-year master plan will transform the Nigerian market, facilitate the diversification of our economy, encourage savings and create wealth.
This will no doubt grow investor confidence, improve the depth and breadth of the market in terms of product offerings, engender market integrity, and contribute to the country’s economic growth.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian maritime sector may soon witness the inflow of $600 million in investment from APM Terminals.
On the sidelines of the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, the Regional President of APM Terminals for Africa-Europe, Mr Igor van den Essen, informed President Bola Tinubu that his company was interested in deepening its investment in Nigeria.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President of Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the investment would be deployed in Apapa port modernisation, logistics infrastructure, and long-term private-sector investment in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
President Tinubu welcomed the investments, emphasising that Nigeria is repositioning itself for greater competitiveness through ongoing economic reforms and infrastructure modernisation.
He said the country is determined to move beyond structural bottlenecks and outdated systems, stressing the need for advanced technology, faster cargo processing, and improved operational efficiency across the nation’s ports.
He emphasised that Nigeria possesses the market scale, talent base, and economic potential to support globally competitive maritime and logistics infrastructure investments and called on other investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s reform outcomes.
Earlier, Mr Igor van den Essen lauded President Tinubu’s reform agenda and policy direction, which had strengthened investor confidence and created renewed momentum for long-term infrastructure investments.
He described Nigeria as a strategic stronghold within its African operations, referencing over 20 years of collaboration and substantial existing investments in the country’s port ecosystem.
He reaffirmed his company’s commitment to expanding investments in Nigeria and disclosed plans to support the development of world-class terminal infrastructure and technology-driven port operations.
He also commended Mr Tinubu for establishing the National Single Window (NSW), which has streamlined trade procedures, improved Customs coordination, and reduced delays in cargo clearance.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has filed a new lawsuit against the federal government over the fuel import licences issued to marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Last week, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) issued licences to six marketers for the importation of 720,000 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit, known as petrol.
The marketers are NIPCO, AA Rano, Matrix, Shafa, Pinnacle, and Bono. The development comes amid claims by the NMDPRA that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery now supplies over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption.
Dangote said in the filing that the licences issued undermine its operations and contravene the law, which it argues allows imports only when domestic supply falls short.
Named in the suit against the country is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi. The federal government can only be sued via his office.
The case signals renewed tensions almost a year after Dangote withdrew an earlier lawsuit challenging similar licences. That case sought to nullify import permits issued to the NNPC and several traders.
The new filing asks the Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside import permits issued or renewed by the NMDPRA, arguing they breach an earlier order to maintain the status quo.
Dangote ended the earlier lawsuit in July 2025 without explanation, leaving unresolved questions over competition and supply in one of Africa’s largest fuel markets.
Nigeria has long relied on petrol imports due to underperforming state refineries. However, Dangote’s 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery was touted to end that dependence.
Despite the presence of the facility, imports have continued to cover supply gaps as the refinery ramps up output.
The NMDPRA did not issue a single import licence in the first quarter of 2026 because the Dangote refinery had the capacity to meet Nigeria’s petrol demand.
Business Post gathered that only upon intervention by President Bola Tinubu were the licenses granted for the second quarter by the NMDPRA.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate in April 2026 rose to 15.69 per cent, beating analysts’ expectations of 15.95 per cent, as the fallout from the Iran war continued to affect the global economy.
The statistical office on Friday showed the headline inflation rate for April on a month-on-month basis was 2.13 per cent, while the food inflation rate in the review month was 16.06 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
The rise in prices comes as an energy price shock stemming from the continued conflict in the Middle East, which stoked food prices and affected relative exchange rate stability.
According to the NBS, “this can be attributed to the rate of change in the average prices of the following products: Millet whole grain, yam flour, ginger (Fresh), beef, garri, tam tuber, pepper (Fresh), cray fish, cassava tuber, Beans, Irish Potatoes, tomatoes (fresh), wheat grain (Sold loose), soya beans, guinea corn, plantain, carrots (Fresh) etc.”
“The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending April 2026, relative to the previous twelve-month average, was 17.55%, which was 17.05% points lower than the average annual rate of change recorded in April 2025 (34.60%),” the NBS said.
Analysts at Coronation Research had earlier projected that the inflation rate in Nigeria would be at 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis in April 2026. It added that the expected inflation rate signals a return toward the underlying disinflation trajectory and could be a pivotal data point in shaping Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) deliberations at the next policy meeting.
It also expects food inflation to further ease, as food and non-alcoholic beverages remain the dominant contributor to headline CPI, accounting for about 40 per cent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket.
The MPC of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will meet this month, the first since the Iran War started in late February, to review core monetary policies and possibly make adjustments.
The committee reduced the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 50 basis points from 27.0 per cent to 26.5 per cent at its 304th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in February.
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