Economy
Tribunal Orders MTN Nigeria to Pay $72.6m for Tax Default
By Adedapo Adesanya
A Tax Appeal Tribunal in Lagos has ordered MTN Nigeria Communications Plc to pay the sum of $72.6 million in a tax default that covers 10 years to the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).
However, the five-man panel led by Mr A. B. Hamed comprising Mr P. A. Olayemi, Mr Babatunde Sobamowo, Mr Samuel N. Ohwerhoye, and Mr Terzungwe Gbakighir asked the telco not to pay the $21.0 million imposed on it as penalties and interest on the principal sum.
The order was made on Friday in an appeal numbered TAT/LZ/VAT/075, filed by the telecommunication company against the request by the FIRS to pay the default.
In May 2018, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) issued a report of its investigation into the MTN’s Forms A and M transactions. The report covered the 2007 to 2017 accounting years.
Three months later, the OAGF adjusted the alleged outstanding in respect of import duty and Value Added Taxes (VAT) to the tune of N242.2 billion, (Form M -visible transactions) whilst the section relating to VAT and Withholding Tax (WHT) was revised $1.284 billion (Form A invisible transactions).
The processes also stated that sometime in mid-2020, the FIRS informed MTN that it had received a report from the OAGF in respect of its alleged liability to VAT and WHT.
FIRS consequently conducted a review of MTN’s tax and accounting records and upheld the OAGF’s alleged tax liability.
However, MTN and its tax consultant, KPMG Advisory Services, held a series of meetings with FIRS to resolve the tax dispute arising from MTN’s alleged tax liability.
Thereafter, in July 2021, the FIRS issued a VAT assessment of $93, 590, 366 to MTN. This assessment comprised the sum of $72,551,059, as the principal liability and $21,039,807, for penalties and interest on the principal sum (first assessment).
MTN objected to the first assessment whereupon the FIRS further reviewed the assessment. Accordingly, by the Notice of Assessment dated April 14, 2022, the Respondent issued a revised assessment for $135,697,755 to MTN as a revised assessment.
Although the principal amount of tax alleged to be outstanding and due from the Appellant (principal tax liability) in the revised assessment ($47,776,210), was less than the alleged principal tax liability contained in the first assessment, ($72,551,059), the interest and penalty imposed by the FIRS on the alleged principal tax liability in the revised assessment, ($87,900,000), is higher than the interest and penalty imposed by the FIRS on the alleged principal tax liability in the first assessment, ($21,039,807).
Also MTN by a letter of notice of objection dated May 13, 2022, objected to the FIRS’s revised assessment, and FIRS by a letter dated June 16, with ref. no. FIRS/TID/LOS/2020/0213/01, notified the MTN of its refusal to amend the revised assessment.
Dissatisfied with the FIRS’s amended revised assessment, MTN filed the Appeal before the Tax Appeal Tribunal.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite reservations from some quarters, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has praised President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order 9, which mandates direct remittances of all government revenues from tax oil, profit oil, profit gas, and royalty oil under Production Sharing Contracts, profit sharing, and risk service contracts straight to the Federation Account.
Issued on February 13, 2026, the order aims to safeguard oil and gas revenues, curb wasteful spending, and eliminate leakages by requiring operators to pay all entitlements directly into the federation account.
NEITI executive secretary, Musa Sarkin Adar, called it “a bold step in ongoing fiscal reforms to improve financial transparency, strengthen accountability, and mobilise resources for citizens’ development,” noting that the directive aligns with Section 162 of Nigeria’s Constitution.
He noted that for 20 years, NEITI has pushed for all government revenues to flow into the Federation Account transparently, calling the move a win.
For instance, in its 2017 report titled Unremitted Funds, Economic Recovery and Oil Sector Reform, NEITI revealed that over $20 billion in due remittances had not reached the government, fueling fiscal woes and prompting high-level reforms.
Mr Adar described the order as a key milestone in Nigeria’s EITI implementation and urged amendments to align it with these reforms.
He affirmed NEITI’s role in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and pledged close collaboration with stakeholders, anti-corruption bodies, and partners to sustain transparent management of Nigeria’s mineral resources.
Meanwhile, others like the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have kicked against the order, saying it poses a serious threat to the stability of the oil and gas industry, calling it a “direct attack” on the PIA.
Speaking at the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, PENGASSAN President, Mr Festus Osifo, said provisions of the order, particularly the directive to remit 30 per cent of profit oil from Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) directly to the Federation Account, could destabilise operations at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Mr Osifo firmly dispelled rumours of imminent protests by the union, despite widespread claims that the controversial executive order threatens the livelihoods of 10,000 senior staff workers at NNPC.
He noted, however, that the union had begun engagements with government officials, including the Presidential Implementation Committee, and expressed optimism that common ground would be reached.
Mr Osifo, who also serves as President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), expressed concerns that diverting the 30 per cent profit oil allocation to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), without clearly defining how the statutory management fee would be refunded to NNPC, could affect the salaries of hundreds of PENGASSAN members.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
To strengthen its domestic market dominance, drive its export activities, optimise existing operational assets and enhance production efficiency and capacity expansion, Dangote Cement Plc has sealed $1 billion strategic agreements with Sinoma International Engineering for cement projects across Africa.
The president of Dangote Industries Limited, the parent firm of Dangote Cement, Mr Aliko Dangote, disclosed that the deal reinforces the company’s long-term growth strategy and aligns with the broader aspirations of the Dangote Group’s Vision 2030.
According to him, Sinoma will construct 12 new projects and expand others for the cement organisation across Africa, helping to achieve 80 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) production capacity by 2030, while supporting the group’s overarching target of generating $100 billion in revenue within the same period.
Under the Strategic Framework Agreement, Sinoma will collaborate with Dangote Cement on the delivery of new plants, brownfield expansions, and modernisation initiatives aimed at strengthening operational performance across key markets.
The new projects include a new integrated line in Northern Nigeria with a satellite grinding unit, a new line in Ethiopia and other projects in Zambia/Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Cameroon. In Nigeria, Sinoma will also handle different projects in Itori, Apapa, Lekki, Port Harcourt and Onne.
The projects signal Dangote Cement’s sustained commitment to consolidating its leadership position within the African cement industry, while enhancing its competitiveness on the global stage.
Chairman of the Dangote Cement board, Mr Emmanuel Ikazoboh, during the agreement signing event in Lagos, explained that the new projects would enable the company to play a critical role in actualising Dangote Group’s Vision 2030.
The new projects, when completed, will increase Dangote Cement’s capacity and dominant position in Africa’s cement industry.
On his part, the Managing Director of Dangote Cement, Mr Arvind Pathak, said the agreement reflects the company’s determination to grow its investments across African markets to close supply gaps and support the continent’s infrastructural ambitions.
According to him, Dangote Cement is committed to making Africa fully self‑sufficient in cement production, creating more value and linkages, leading to increased economic activities and a reduction in unemployment.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A joint National Assembly probe into President Bola Tinubu’s new oil revenue executive order was stalled on Thursday following a request for more time by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mr Heineken Lokpobiri.
The hearing was convened to scrutinise the executive order directing that royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, profit gas and other revenues due to the Federation under various petroleum contracts be paid directly into the Federation Account.
Mr Lokpobiri told lawmakers that although he attended out of respect for parliament, he had been notified of the hearing only a day earlier and had not obtained all the relevant documents needed to defend the policy adequately.
He appealed for the session to be rescheduled.
Co-chairman of the joint committee and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, Mr Agom Jarigbe, put the request to a voice vote, and lawmakers approved the adjournment.
A new date is expected to be communicated to the minister.
The executive order signed last week also scrapped the 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund created under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and discontinued the 30 per cent management fee on profit oil and profit gas previously retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Anchored on Sections 5 and 44(3) of the Constitution, the presidency said the directive was aimed at safeguarding oil and gas revenues, curbing excessive deductions and restoring the constitutional entitlements of federal, state and local governments to the
However, the order has sparked criticism within the industry, one of which was from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), whose president, Mr Festus Osifo, called for an immediate withdrawal of the order, warning that it could undermine the PIA and erode investor confidence.
Meanwhile, at another session, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, disclosed that President Tinubu would soon transmit proposals to amend certain provisions of the PIA to align with current economic realities.
He noted that while many expect the executive order to boost revenue automatically, Nigeria has yet to achieve its desired income levels.
He did not specify which sections of the law would be targeted, but suggested that the drive to enhance revenue generation would necessitate legislative adjustments.
The PIA, signed into law in 2021 by the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, overhauled the governance, regulatory and fiscal framework of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, commercialised the NNPC and restructured revenue-sharing arrangements.
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