Economy
X-Raying the National Development Plan 2021-2025
By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi
There exist some points that highlight as impressive the recent launch at the State House, Abuja, of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, a successor plan to both the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017-2020) and the Vision 20:2020, by the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government.
The plan, according to Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, sets the tone for Nigeria’s next economic destination and would prioritize robust infrastructure, economic stability, improved social indicators and living conditions of Nigerians.
First, infrastructural provisions enable development and also provide the services that underpin the ability of people to be economically productive.
Infrastructure investments, from what development professionals are saying, help stem economic losses arising from problems such as power outages or traffic congestion. The World Bank estimates that in Sub-Saharan Africa, closing the infrastructure quantity and quality gap relative to the world’s best performers could raise GDP growth per head by 2.6% per year.
Another practical particular that qualifies the development as exemplary is the new awareness that for the first time in our planning history as a nation, we are having three volumes of the plan.
According to the Minister, in the past, we have always had one volume, which is the plan itself. But this time, we have three volumes.
Volume One is the main plan, and that’s what will be accessible to the public. “Volume two is then a prioritized and sequential list of programmes and projects that will be fed into the annual budgets while Volume Three are the legislative imperatives,” the Minister stated.
Again, in line with the global belief that every government must find ways to create a sustainable economy, find a solution to the harmful effects of poverty upon the poor and upon those who are not poor but know that countless men and women are ravaged by hunger but choose to look away, the plan is laced with opportunities for inclusiveness for young people, women, people with special needs, and the vulnerable ones, mainstreaming women gender into all aspects of our social, economic and political activities.
Despite the validity of these claims, there are, however, reasons for Nigerians to feel concerned.
The major tragedy linked to this concern is that the nation Nigeria is reputed for changing economic plans with every change in leadership. This fear cannot be described as unfounded as we have as a country had several economic plans in the past. A huge sum of money has been injected into it but none achieved its targeted result. They were all aborted on the way by corruption, incompetence, change in administration and in some cases a combination of these factors.
As noted elsewhere, since independence in 1960, the country has demonstrated that there is no development plan which has achieved its core objective. There is always a disturbing laxity in marching plan targets with practical and unfailing consistency. The result is that the country remains one of the most politically and economically dis-articulated countries in the world.
In view of the above fact, how sure are we as Nigerians that the FG’s present moves will depart this old order?
In my view, what has all these years abbreviated Nigeria’s socio-economic growth, or accelerated development of other nations, is by no means a function of development plans but predicated on, and traceable to the existence of deformed leadership styles.
Take, as an illustration, for most of our political history, public office holders in Nigeria assume a self-sufficient attitude, despise others and view themselves as the exclusive possessor of what they have, as well as claim excellence not possessed.
Unfortunately, such characterizes the leadership’s sphere, not just in Nigeria but Africa as a continent. A factor that’s largely responsible for leaders’ inability to provide direction, protection, orientation, shape norms or manage conflicts in their various places of authority. The bitter truth is that no matter how good a plan or system of government may be, bad leaders must bring harm to their people.
This piece is not alone in this line of argument.
While underlying the problem of Nigeria’s underdevelopment exacerbated by the failure in the leadership system, Chinua Achebe, in his book The Trouble with Nigeria, remarked that there is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. But concluded that the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.
Looking ahead, two questions that are as important as the piece itself are; what strategy can the nation deploy to arrest such ugly narrative in ways that will make this recently developed national plan not end in shame like previous experience but bear the targeted result?
Two, how can the nation handlers effectively diversify the nation’s revenue sources, bearing in mind that such arrangement will reduce financial risks and increase national economic stability as a decline in particular revenue source might be offset by an increase in other revenue sources?
The above questions call on leaders in the country to reassess their priorities via the development of the ability to give every citizen a stake in the country and its future by subsidizing things that improve the earning powers of citizens- education, housing and public health and placement of emphasis on, and understanding that the economy would look after itself if democracy is protected; human rights are adequately taken care of, and the rule of law strictly adhered to.
Again, as the nation celebrates the National Development Plan 2021-2025, which we are yet to be sure if it will achieve the targeted result, one point we must not fail to remember is that Nigeria, according to a report, is the only, or among the few oil-producing countries without adequate metering to ascertain the accurate quantity of crude oil produced at any given time.
What the above tells us as a country is that there is more work to be done and more reforms to be made.
Finally, while it is evident, to use the words of the Minister, that the current plan has the future we all desire and will play a sizeable role in the product complexity space internationally and adopt measures to ease constraints that have hindered the economy from attaining its potential, particularly on the product mapping space. That notwithstanding, the masses must develop a keen interest in holding their leaders accountable.
Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via [email protected]/08032725374.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions has called for stronger collaboration among financial sector regulators and other stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system and support sustainable economic growth.
The committee made the call during an expanded stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos, attended by the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), among other industry stakeholders and financial experts.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru (Lagos East), who was represented by Mr Osita Izunaso (Imo West), said stronger legislative reforms and regulatory collaboration were necessary to reposition Nigeria’s financial architecture for long-term economic prosperity.
Mr Abiru said the financial sector remained critical to investment, job creation, business expansion and macroeconomic stability, stressing that its ability to mobilise savings, channel credit to productive sectors, facilitate investment and manage risks was fundamental to sustainable economic growth.
He said the current economic realities required closer collaboration between the legislature and financial regulators, noting that challenges confronting the sector were interconnected and could not be effectively addressed through isolated interventions.
The lawmaker identified inflationary pressures, global economic uncertainties, cybersecurity threats, low insurance penetration and the need to diversify Nigeria’s export base as some of the challenges requiring coordinated policy responses.
He said the engagement was aimed at generating practical solutions to strengthen the country’s financial architecture and support sustainable economic growth.
According to him, monetary policy, financial safety nets, banking institutions, the insurance industry and export finance were interdependent components of a stable financial system and must therefore be strengthened collectively.
The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, said the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 had contributed significantly to stabilising and repositioning the insurance sector.
Mr Omosehin disclosed that 43 insurance companies had successfully recapitalised, describing the development as a major milestone for the industry.
He commended Abiru and members of the committee for their role in advancing insurance sector reforms and urged the House of Representatives to expedite action on the relevant insurance reform bill to enable it to receive presidential assent and become operational.
Representatives of the CBN Governor and the Managing Directors of AMCON, NEXIM and NDIC also commended the Senate committee for its oversight and legislative support, saying its interventions had strengthened the agencies’ capacity to discharge their statutory mandates.
The engagement, held under the theme, Strengthening Financial System Architecture for Sustainable Economic Growth and Stability in Nigeria, also featured presentations by Professor Uche Uwaleke, President of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN); Professor Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant, B. Adedipe Associates Limited; and Dr Tilewa Adebajo, Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory.
The experts presented policy recommendations on key issues affecting Nigeria’s financial system, with emphasis on financial stability, investment and sustainable economic growth.
Mr Abiru said the Senate would continue to engage financial regulators and other stakeholders to deepen financial inclusion, strengthen public confidence in financial institutions and improve regulatory effectiveness.
He said the broader objective was to position Nigeria’s financial system to compete more effectively in the global economy while remaining resilient and responsive to the country’s economic transformation agenda.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The first six months of 2026 were not too good for Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, as it suffered an N8.7 billion loss compared with the N2.1 billion net profit it recorded in the same period of 2025.
This occurred as the company posted a 10.91 per cent decline in earnings between January and June 2026, according to its financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2026.
Analysis of the results showed that the revenue generated in the period under review stood at N14.7 billion versus the N16.5 billion printed in the corresponding period of last year.
Business Post observed that the revenue was negatively impacted by a decline in earnings from helicopter charter and helicopter/airplane contract.
Further analysis of the financial results indicated that operating profit went down by 22.34 per cent to N7.3 billion from N9.4 billion, with administrative expenses jumping to N7.9 billion from N4.7 billion.
But Caverton believes things will get better, noting that the clearest driver of the recovery is Caverton Marine.
Through its relationship with Stena Bulk, one of the world’s leading tanker operators, the organisation now participates in three Suezmax tankers trading a rare source of foreign-currency revenue for a Nigerian-listed company.
It noted that the relationship is being deepened through Unity Shipping Worldwide, a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Stena Bulk that pairs the state-owned oil firm’s national position and Stena Bulk’s fleet with Caverton’s indigenous operating platform
Closer to home, the firm’s OMIBUS platform, developed with Shanghai-based electric-propulsion OEM Explomar, is bringing battery-electric passenger ferries to Lagos waterways. A prototype is already in service, and Caverton holds a firm order from Lagos State for ten vessels, an early-mover position in clean inland-water transport that the group believes can be replicated across other states as the fleet enters service and ferry operations mature into steady, recurring revenue.
In aviation, the institution said the recovery is anchored on its partnership with NHV, a Belgium-based international helicopter operator, with the restructuring of charter operations targeted for the second half of 2026.
“The first half of the year tested us, but the direction of travel is now visible in the numbers.
“Quarter on quarter, we are working to build up our revenue to narrow losses. Our marine business units, from international tankers to electric ferries, are scaling.
“Meanwhile, our aviation relaunch is on track for the second half, and our cost base is tighter than it has been in years. There is distance still to travel, but Caverton is moving from stabilisation to recovery, and we intend to finish 2026 with that momentum intact,” the chief executive of Caverton, Mr Olabode Makanjuola, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) have issued new guidelines clarifying the taxation of virtual assets in Nigeria.
The guidelines provide an administrative framework for the taxation of virtual assets and specify the tax obligations of individuals and businesses operating in the sector.
According to a public notice issued by the two agencies, the framework covers registration, reporting and record-keeping requirements, valuation principles and the tax treatment of virtual asset transactions.
It applies to taxpayers, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators, tax practitioners and other persons engaged in virtual asset-related activities.
The NRS and JRB said the guidelines were developed in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
The two bodies said the release was aimed at providing clarity, certainty and consistency in the administration of Nigeria’s tax laws as the country’s virtual asset ecosystem continues to evolve.
The agencies added that the framework would promote voluntary compliance, enhance transparency and support the development of a fair and efficient tax system for digital asset transactions.
They urged all affected taxpayers and stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the guidelines and ensure compliance with the applicable tax obligations.
The guidelines are available on the official websites of the two agencies.
