Economy
UNSDGF Lauds Sahara Group
By Dipo Olowookere
Leading African energy conglomerate, Sahara Group, has been lauded by the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals Fund (UNSDGF) for its unwavering commitment to spearheading private sector involvement in driving global campaigns for achieving the SDGs.
Speaking at the launch of the new report on Universality, business and SDGs in New York, Paloma Duran, Director, UNSDGF said Sahara’s contribution to the SDGs had boosted the narrative of business being a key stakeholder in promoting sustainability initiatives.
“We truly appreciate the support and dedication from Sahara Group as well as the company’s commitment to its membership of the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) that was formed to better align public-private partnerships for sustainable development through business leaders of major companies from various industries worldwide.
“We are delighted to see Sahara leading the SDG charge through its various Corporate Responsibility initiatives, the Food Africa Project and midwifing platforms for private sector involvement across Africa,” said the UNSDGF Director.
Entitled ‘Universality and the SDGs: A business perspective’, the report is sequel to the maiden edition (‘Business and the United Nations: Working Together towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Framework for Action’) which set tone for private sector perspectives on how companies can address the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through collaboration.
The new report is based on a series of global workshops and dialogues with the private sector and examines some of the key issues facing businesses working to incorporate and implement the SDGs within their organization. Insight and input from over100 companies all over the globe are presented in the report, including common elements gleaned from more structured workshops held in Nigeria, Colombia, Spain, and the United States.
A case study on Sahara Group’s ‘Light Up Nigeria Challenge’ features in the report and highlights how the SDGs can be incorporated into a company’s core business activity, the crucial importance of establishing diverse partnerships to bring about sustainable and targeted change.
Working in conjunction with ENACTUS Nigeria, Sahara Groups hosts the annual ‘Light Up Nigeria Challenge’ to encourage innovation in alternative and renewable energy resources. The competition harvests projects from students from around the country showcasing alternative energy sources and innovations to help ensure sustainable electricity supply in Nigeria.
The 2015 competition, which attracted entries from 28 different schools, involved developing simple models to reduce energy production costs and encourage the use of alternative energy sources in communities, small businesses and schools. “This competition provides a national and international platform for young people to present their ideas and empowers them to make real change in their communities. It also serves to power innovation in the energy sector where the Sahara Group conducts most of its business, helping develop more efficient and environmentally-friendly solutions while contributing to sustainability,” the report stated.
In Nigeria, the PSAG has scored a huge point through the Food Africa project which mirrors how business, the UN and other stakeholders can collaborate to create a sustainable development platform.
The Food Africa Project is a collaborative initiative involving Sahara Group, UNSDGF, Roca Brothers and the Kaduna State Government, directed at empowering communities and alleviating poverty through food security. The 5- year project is an Agro-base initiative envisaged to integrate the entire food value chain – the farmer, wholesaler, retailer and consumer- providing a sustainable source of food security, poverty alleviation and eradication, skill acquisition and social inclusiveness.
The project seeks to: provide employment, eradicate poverty and empower the people – It is estimated that about 500,000 people will be impacted both directly and indirectly by the project; reduce food wastage through the recycling of food produce that do not meet the proposed standards for offtake and increasing production substantially to encourage the development of sustainable food infrastructure in Kaduna State, with initial investment in vegetables.
Sahara’s Executive Director and Co-Founder, Tonye Cole, said the company is committed to pursuing the emergence of formidable PSAG platforms through which the SDG-F can partner with the Private Sector to achieve the SDGs in Nigeria.
Cole said this would enable businesses align their operations with the 17 SDGs as well as continuously gauge their contribution to each global goal, monitoring impact and implementing new ideas to effect improvement. “Increased involvement of the Private Sector will in the long run enhance the sustainability of business as SDGs are good for business.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for 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 transacted for N415.7 million.
