Economy
World Bank Projects 3.8% GDP Growth for Nigeria, Others
By Adedapo Adesanya
Countries in the sub-Saharan African region, including Nigeria, is expected to record an economic growth of 3.8 per cent this year, buoyed by stable prices that have spurred easing by policymakers.
This is according to a Bretton Woods institution, the World Bank Group, which upgraded is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecasts for Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast, all major economies in the region. It said real incomes are also growing at a faster rate this year and into the next two years.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) eased interest rates from 27.5 per cent to 27 per cent last month.
“While this marks a gradual recovery from a decade of successive shocks, the rebound has yet to gain strong momentum,” the World Bank said in the report.
The upgrade from 3.5 per cent in April was driven by stabilising foreign exchange and inflation rates in countries like Ethiopia, giving room for interest rate cuts, the bank said in its biannual Africa Pulse report.
Growth prospects for 30 economies out of the 47 that make up the region, as defined by the bank, were revised upwards. It noted that growth will accelerate to an annual average of 4.4 per cent in the next two years, the bank said, slightly up from an initial forecast of 4.3 per cent.
“These favourable conditions are fuelling a recovery in private consumption and investment,” the bank said in the report. However, fiscal consolidation efforts could curb the pace of recovery in some economies, the report warned.
“The median inflation is less than 4%. Moreover, most of the currencies that were cratering relative to the U.S. dollar have now recovered and are stable,” Mr Andrew Dabalen, chief economist for Africa at the World Bank said as per Reuters.
However, the regional economic outlook faces risks from trade uncertainty sparked by the policies of US President Donald Trump, high debt burdens, and the need to create jobs for millions of young people coming into the job market.
“Trade challenges remain very high. We don’t know how this is going to be resolved because there are lots of negotiations going on,” Mr Dabalen said, citing the expiry of AGOA, a key trade agreement between the United States and African nations.
The World Bank urged governments to focus on the creation of good jobs by improving the general business environment, and nurturing small and mid-sized firms.
“These jobs have to be jobs that provide a living wage and secure lives,” Dabalen said, adding that three-quarters of the jobs created in the region’s economies are in the informal sector.
Lack of employment opportunities and other grievances have led to youth-led protests in Kenya, Nigeria, and Madagascar since last year, showing the scale of the challenge for policymakers.
“The consequences of not solving these problems are hard to contemplate. They will be very disruptive, and I think we’re beginning to see the signs of it,” Mr Dabalen said.
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.
