By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has commended the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for the recent policy reforms and operational improvement, which have boosted trade facilitation.

NECA President, Mr Ifeanyi Okogwu, gave the commendation on Monday while leading a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, at the NCS headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.

According to a statement on the service’s X on Tuesday, the visit was aimed at strengthening collaboration on trade facilitation and private sector development.

“We are here today to commend the Service for your impactful initiatives so far. NECA was established in 1957 to represent the interests of businesses in Nigeria.

“Today, with over 4,000 members, we play a vital role in enhancing the operating environment for businesses, and we recognise the customs as a critical partner in this journey,” he said.

Mr Okogwu emphasised that key trade facilitation tools introduced by the service, including Advance Ruling, the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme, and the Time Release Study were significant in reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and improving the ease of doing business, especially for small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).

“These reforms are not just policies on paper; they are impactful initiatives directly supporting Nigerian businesses, particularly SMEs. We look forward to continued engagement with the NCS to ensure businesses thrive and the economy grows,” he added.

On his part, the CG thanked the NECA team for the visit and for recognising the agency’s efforts, reiterating the NCS’s unwavering commitment to working closely with the private sector to build a more inclusive trade environment.

“I am always glad to partner with private enterprises. At Customs, we’ve come to understand that our actions or inaction have a direct bearing on the kind of business environment we create. This is why we put a lot of premium on trade facilitation and stakeholder engagement,” Mr Adeniyi said.

The Customs boss assured that the Service remains public-centric in its approach and will continue to work with the business community to simplify processes and ensure compliance.

“We see ourselves not just as enforcers, but as facilitators. We are committed to walking with you every step of the way in building a better ecosystem for Nigerian businesses to flourish. Continuous dialogue like this drives meaningful progress,” he said.

By Adedapo Adesanya

A data insights company, Veriv Africa, has called for increased focus on tackling insecurity and boosting private sector involvement in the Nigerian agriculture to help staunch the growing food crisis in the country.

This was informed by its survey, Veriv Africa Nigeria Food Price Baseline Survey 2025, which found that the country is facing a worsening food crisis stemming from systemic challenges such low agricultural productivity, insufficient policies, dearth in policy harmonisation, as well as climate, geopolitical, and economic shocks.

The survey examined the state of Nigeria’s agricultural sector, focusing on six key crops: cocoa, sesame, rice, corn, tomato, and yam. The study, conducted across five case-study states, revealed critical challenges and opportunities within these value chains.

The report found that despite agriculture employing 30.1 per cent of Nigeria’s labour force and contributing 24.64 per cent to GDP, the country faces a food crisis with food inflation reaching 26.08 per cent in January 2025 and 33 million people are projected to experience food insecurity.

It warned that Nigeria’s crop yields are significantly below global averages, indicating substantial inefficiency in the sector.

According to the study shared with Business Post, Nigeria’s maize yields stand at 1.939.1 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha), significantly below the global average of 5,962.3 kg/ha and the African average of 2,154.8 kg/ha.

At the same time, rice yields in Nigeria (1,974 kg/ha) also lag behind the global average of 4.751.8 kg/ha and the African average of 2.313.3 kg/ha, citing data from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) data from 2023.

This is also similar across other select crops like cocoa, millet, and tomato.

The survey, which included 543 farmers, found that most farmers operate on small land holdings (1-4 acres) and rely on family labour and found that most farmers (60 per cent) finance their activities through personal savings, indicating a lack of access to formal credit.

The data also showed that key challenges faced by Nigerian farmers include lack of access to finance (54 per cent), insecurity (21 per cent), and post-harvest losses (12 per cent).

Farmers desire greater access to finance (52 per cent), improved security (22 per cent), and access to subsidised inputs (19 per cent) as key interventions.

Most farmers (64 per cent) feel better off than in previous planting seasons due to high crop prices, but over half of the surveyed expect the country to be worse off in the next twelve months.

While 82.5 per cent of farmers plan to continue with their primary crops, those who plan to change highlight high input costs, pests, diseases, and low yields as reasons.

Veriv recommended that addressing security challenges, attracting more private sector participation in food production activities, providing rural infrastructure, and establishing staple crop processing zones (SCPZs) in physical proximity to core crop-producing zones is a good course of action.

The firm also advocated democratising and decentralising agricultural extension services to farmers, adopting modern farming techniques, and promoting access to finance to unlock the sector’s potential and ensure food security.

Speaking on the survey, the co-founder of Veriv Africa, Mr Basil Abia, told Business Post that Nigeria lacks an updated central food production data and this survey provides a tentative outlook before the company releases a wider general agriculture data for the country, which will be released later this year.

“As the months go, we will add more crops and expand coverage regarding the value chains; we shall add another layer by 2027 with a beta test by December 2026. That layer is a for a marketplace and mostly for international businesses that want raw materials from Nigeria.”

He pointed out that the first phase of the project are important for social impact projects before evolving into serving corporate needs that will see companies have adequate data for making their decisions.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has pledged to deliver the first batch of a promised three million electricity meters, amounting to 275,000 units, in the next two months.

The move is part of efforts to close the seven million metering gaps in the country, a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations to the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, Mr Bolaji Tunji, revealed

The Minister said 75,000 meters under the International Competitive Bid 1 are expected by April 2025 and the second batch of 200,000 meters will follow in May 2025.

“While challenges persist, the facts tell a more balanced story – one of sustained effort, financial commitment, and structured implementation plans by the Federal Government of Nigeria to close the metering gap”, the statement noted.

“Despite claims of stagnation, metering installations have been progressing steadily. As of December 2024, a total of 5,502,460 customers had been metered, representing about 55 per cent of the 10,114,060 active electricity customers in Nigeria.

“In 2024 alone, 572,050 meters were installed. While the government acknowledges the existing metering gap, it is actively working to close it as quickly as possible. However, the fact remains that a sizable portion of active electricity users already have meters, countering the exaggerated portrayal of an industry in crisis,” Mr Adelabu stated.

According to the statement, though installation rates have varied over the years, the sector has maintained a yearly average of about 668,000 meters of installation annually.

Structured financing and government-backed initiatives are expected to accelerate deployment beyond the current pace, ensuring that the metering gap is addressed efficiently, the minister added.

“To bridge this gap, the government has put in place key initiatives aimed at significantly improving metering across the country. The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) is set to deliver 3,205,101 meters by 2026.

“This will be achieved through different procurement models, including 1,437,501 meters through International Competitive Bid 1 (ICB1), 217,600 meters through National Competitive Bid (NCB), and 1,550,000 meters through International Competitive Bid 2 (ICB2).

“As part of this plan, the first batch of 75,000 meters under ICB1 is expected by April 2025, followed by the second batch of 200,000 meters in May 2025.

“In addition to the DISREP, the N700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) is another key intervention designed to accelerate metering. The initiative, which has already secured N700 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), is structured to ensure large-scale meter procurement and deployment,” the minister added.

According to the power minister, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been established to oversee the implementation of the initiative, with the government setting a target of deploying two million meters annually for five years, with the tender for the first batch of two million meters expected to be released by the third quarter of 2025.

These structured interventions, the minister explained, provide a clear roadmap for addressing the metering gap in an effective and sustainable manner.

According to the statement, further that while the metering gap remains a concern, the notion that it will take over a decade to resolve is misleading.

“With the ongoing DISREP and PMI initiatives, Nigeria’s metering landscape is set to experience significant improvement before the end of the year. The focus should be on the execution of these well-structured plans rather than a blanket critique that overlooks the real progress being made,” the minister added.