General
Manufacturers Urge Lagos to Suspend Ban on Single-Use Plastics
By Adedapo Adesanya
As the enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics (SUPs) by the Lagos State government nears, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called for a reconsideration.
The Lagos State Ministry of the Environment recently announced that the ban would take effect from July 1, 2025, as part of broader efforts to tackle the city’s growing environmental pollution challenges.
Now, MAN is warning that the policy, if enforced as planned, could trigger widespread economic, social, and operational disruptions across the manufacturing value chain.
In a statement, MAN cautioned that the proposed measure was not backed by robust data, and lacked adequate consultation with industry players, noting that it could inadvertently worsen unemployment and poverty levels.
“Not a plastic problem, but a waste management failure. It is the failure of plastic waste management that leads to pollution, not the material itself,” said Director General of MAN, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir.
He warned that banning SUPs would not resolve pollution issues but merely substitute one problem for another, especially without scalable alternatives or infrastructure to support the transition.
Citing findings from a study it commissioned, the group of manufacturers warned that the planned ban on single-use plastics could trigger significant job losses and business disruptions across the plastics value chain.
According to MAN, “100 per cent of manufacturers surveyed expressed fears of job losses and workforce restructuring if the ban is implemented.”
Curing more data, MAN said that 89 per cent of participants in the plastics value chain rely on SUPs as their primary source of income; More than 75 per cent of end users, including numerous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), depend on plastic packaging, with no affordable or viable alternatives currently available; 93 per cent of dealers, many of whom are women entrepreneurs, reported having received no prior information about the ban or access to any form of social support to mitigate its impact.
It also noted that recyclers also raised concerns about a potential drop in the availability of plastic feedstock, which could further undermine the performance of their already underutilized plants.
“There is no form of arrangement for social protection for the employees who will lose their livelihoods as a result of this ban,” the association stressed.
MAN thus advocated for a system-oriented and circular economy strategy instead of an outright ban on the single-use-plastics, urging government to invest in recycling infrastructure, including sorting and collection systems.
The organisation also advised the government to support local production of sustainable alternatives and adopt evidence-based policymaking informed by context-specific data.
It said the federal government had already developed a national plastic Action Roadmap and a National Policy on Plastic Waste Management (NPPWM), both of which promote circularity and were developed through inclusive consultations.
Mr Ajayi-Kadir viewed that the ban focuses on the easiest approach to address the issue of plastic pollution rather than the most sustainable approach that gives balanced attention to social, economic, and environmental considerations.
He therefore called for discontinuation of the ban on plastics, noting that it is “a move in the wrong direction.”
“We support the environmental intent of plastic waste management, we however believe this can only be achieved through policies that are inclusive, evidence-based, and sustainably implemented.
“It is out of tune with the reality of our socio-economic situation, and is bereft of more ingenious and beneficial solutions. Quite importantly, the proposed ban is riddled with needless, potentially adverse economic and social impacts on the State and the country.
“The decision is predicated on the unsubstantiated claim that plastics, and especially some single-use plastics (SUPs) are associated with adverse health and environmental impact and therefore need to be banned.”
MAN also alleged that the state is yet to publish any study to substantiate this claim.
“On the contrary, plastic is indeed a versatile and highly durable material that is supporting mankind in various endeavors across industries. It is the failure of management of plastic waste that may result in adverse environmental and social impacts.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
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