Economy
Tinubu Vows to Implement 20 Fiscal, Tax Reform Recommendations
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has directed his Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Mrs Hadiza Usman, to coordinate with the relevant government officials to work on the 20 recommendations provided by the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
On Tuesday, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, the chairman of the committee, presented a score of reform recommendations to the President as part of efforts to help improve the nation’s revenue profile and business environment.
Mr Tinubu praised the team and assured them of his support for the review and implementation of key recommendations.
“I have listened attentively to your report. Charting the critical path forward for Nigeria’s economic recovery is crucial to all of us. I want to say thank you to your delegation,” Mr Tinubu said.
He then granted the request of the committee to address a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and apprise cabinet members of their work and expected outcomes to facilitate economic growth.
Recall that President Tinubu in August set up a committee to review the fiscal system and the tax administration in the country
Part of the recommendations offered by the committee include measures to address duplication of functions in public service, ensure prudent public finances and management, and optimise value from government assets and natural resources.
The panel also recommended policy signalling and collaboration by MDAs, economic management, and policy execution team, the use of technology “Data4Tax” to expand the tax net, increasing personal income tax exempt threshold and personal relief allowance, and provision of tax breaks for the private sector in respect of wage increases to low-income earners, transport subsidy and a net increase in employment.
Other recommendations include allowing the payment of taxes on foreign currency-denominated transactions in Naira for Nigerian businesses, removal of impediments to global employment opportunities for Nigerians based in Nigeria, suspension of Value Added Taxes (VAT) on diesel and tax waivers on CNG, CNG conversion, and renewable energy items, and comprehensive review of tariffs on the 43 items unbanned from accessing forex in the official market and fiscal policy review of other items prohibited for imports.
The committee also said the country should attempt reforms of Withholding Tax Regulations to ensure simplicity and ease the pressure on the working capital of businesses, facilitate the use of mobile phones for conditional cash transfers, and introduce a spending framework for subsidy removal and forex reform windfall, including a national portal to track spending by the federal government, states, and local governments.
It also recommended the suspension of multiple taxes which place burdens on the poor and small businesses and compensate with windfalls revenue of certain agencies, expanding the official foreign exchange market to incorporate bureau de change (BDCs), forex apps and retail FX dealers, outlawing transactions in the black market, and digitalization of Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) regime and discourage speculative demands and hoarding of FX in cash as well as the imposition of excise tax on foreign exchange transactions outside the official market.
The team also called on the Tinubu administration to implement forward contracts for the importation of PMS as a short-term measure pending improvement in key economic indices, discontinue the FX verification portal and requirement for Certificate of Capital Importation and export proceeds restriction, address impediments to export promotion and bottlenecks regarding Exports Expansion Grants, and remove restrictions on repatriation and use of export proceeds by exporters, modify Tax ProMax to allow taxpayers to make part payments of outstanding tax liabilities, and grant waiver of penalty and interests on the condition of full payment of outstanding tax liabilities on or before December 31, 2023.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
