General
WTO Urges Overhaul, Reforms of Nigerian Customs Practices
By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has expressed concerns over the high rate of physical inspection of containers at Nigerian ports, urging the country to review its customs procedures to promote timely and cost-effective practices.
Members of the Trade Policy Review organ of the organisation also stated that longstanding import prohibitions on a wide array of agricultural products, coupled with tariff peaks and additional levies, had the potential to worsen food insecurity, higher food price inflation, and negatively affect private sector investments in the agricultural sector.
Those were part of the submissions made by members of the body during the recently concluded sixth Trade Policy Review of the WTO, which focused on Nigeria in Switzerland.
The Ambassador of Nigeria to WTO, Mr Adamu Abdulhamid, who doubles as Chairperson of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body for the 2024/2025 period, explained that the review provided Nigeria with a good opportunity to better understand and discuss the country’s trade policy developments since its previous review in 2017.
The body appreciated Nigeria’s active participation and constructive role at the WTO, including by ratifying the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement.
It also highlighted Nigeria’s constructive engagement in ongoing negotiations and its instrumental coordinating role concerning fisheries subsidies and agriculture negotiations.
Nigeria was also encouraged to join the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement and the Government Procurement Agreement, as well as to incorporate the Services Domestic Regulation commitments into its WTO schedule of commitments.
“Members welcomed Nigeria’s initiative to undertake significant economic policy reforms against a particularly challenging global economic environment to strengthen its macroeconomic and fiscal situation.”
The key three areas were highlighted in particular, including the removal of fuel subsidies, saying by doing so Nigeria also sought to achieve positive results in the fight against climate change.
There was also the need of an introduction of a floating and market-driven foreign exchange rate system and removal of restrictions on the use of foreign exchange for imports.
The body also said efforts to improve the business and trade environment, including adopting a new customs code, starting to improve tax administration, and enacting new copyright and competition acts, must be followed.
It was pointed out that members also stressed that transparency and predictability in the business and investment environment would benefit from further reforms, including by improving the complex regulatory Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) frameworks.
Members also praised Nigeria’s various growth and development plans as well as its new trade and investment policies aimed at diversifying the economy.
“They also expressed strong interest in better understanding the implementation of existing subsidy schemes. In this context, some delegations noted the increasing share of trade in goods and services in Nigeria’s GDP and highlighted the increase in the share of the manufacturing sector in GDP, which nearly doubled from 8.6% in 2017 to 15.7 per cent in 2023.
“Members lauded Nigeria’s efforts on trade facilitation and for streamlining its customs procedures, including by introducing the Authorised Economic Operator scheme in 2024,” a statement said.
On tariffs generally, members expressed concern that Nigeria had bound only 19.7 per cent of its tariff lines, with the average bound rate standing at 120 per cent, while the average applied rate was 12.8 per cent in 2023.
In this regard, members encouraged Nigeria to enhance predictability and good governance and to increase its binding coverage as well as reduce the bound rates.
There were also concerns over the high number of outstanding notifications by Nigeria, including on anti-dumping, agriculture, subsidies, State Trading Enterprises, quantitative restrictions, and import licensing.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The decision of a major player in the domestic steel sector in Nigeria, Inner Galaxy Steel Company, to establish a new plant in Ogun State with a projected annual output of 2 million metric tons (MMT) has been applauded by the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership (NCSP).
The director-general of the agency, Mr Joseph Tegbe, said he was impressed that the Abia State-based organisation to invest such an amount in Ogun State.
The funding structure for the new project allocates $450 million from Chinese partners and financial institution and $100 million from Nigerian partners and institutions.
The Ogun State facility will be developed in phases, utilising locally available iron ore, positioning it as a strategic contributor to the government’s goal of achieving 10 MMT in national steel production annually.
According to him, the significance of this investment “extends beyond steel,” noting it is about fortifying Nigeria’s industrial base, deepening partnerships with global investors, and building a manufacturing ecosystem capable of driving long-term economic transformation.
Currently producing about 600,000 metric tons annually, the company believes operational enhancements could lift capacity at the Abia site to 1 MMT per year.
Mr Tegbe, who visited the factory of Inner Galaxy in Abia State on July 30, 2025, had a tour of the facility’s operations, including Neway Power Technology Company Ltd, which manufactures roughly 4 million car batteries annually; Jiu Xing Integrity Industries Limited, which fabricates and assembles trailers from CKD and SKD kits; and Starich Recycle Technologies Company Limited, a plastics recycler and manufacturer.
Industry analysts see the Inner Galaxy expansion as a potential catalyst for foreign direct investment inflows, advanced technology transfer, and large-scale job creation within Nigeria’s steel value chain.
If delivered on schedule, the Ogun State plant would represent one of the single largest boosts to Nigeria’s steel capacity in decades, helping to close the domestic supply gap, reduce reliance on imports, and strengthen competitiveness in regional infrastructure and manufacturing markets.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative designed to equip at least 25 Nigerian youths with technical and entrepreneurial skills in the green economy has been launched by Oando Foundation, an independent charity established to support the federal government in achieving its Universal Basic Education goal.
This new scheme, known as the Green Youth Upskilling Programme, will train young persons about ways to make a living from the renewable energy and waste management sectors for nine months.
For the seamless execution of this initiative, Oando Foundation has partnered with the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC).
The launch of GYUP represents a significant milestone in Oando Foundation’s sustainability journey.
As the first program of its kind under the foundation’s ‘PLANET’ initiative, it expands the organisation’s footprint in climate action education and youth enterprise development.
Following a call for applications in early July, the initiative received over 8,000 applications, from which 25 outstanding individuals were selected to become the inaugural cohort of Green Youth Champions.
The Green Youth Upskilling Programme (GYUP) is positioned to drive long-term impact by equipping young Nigerians with practical skills for a climate-smart economy.
The Head of Oando Foundation, Ms Tonia Uduimoh, emphasized the organisation’s long-standing commitment to education and sustainable development, noting that the GYUP represents a strategic response to youth unemployment and the urgent need for climate-responsive skills.
“The Green Youth Upskilling Program was developed in response to two pressing needs – empowering our youth and driving climate action.
“With 12.5 per cent of Nigerian youth not in education, employment, or training, and the potential for over 2 million green jobs by 2030, this programme bridges that opportunity gap.
“Over the next nine months, we will equip 25 exceptional young Nigerians with practical skills in renewable energy, sustainable waste management, and green enterprise development.
“GYUP aligns with the PLANET component of our LEARNOVATE strategy, and through our partnership with the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre, we are creating a scalable, replicable model that empowers young people, supports climate action, and fuels economic inclusion,” she stated.
In his remarks, the chief executive of NCIC, Mr Bankole Oloruntoba, highlighted the importance of building technical capacity among youth and the broader goal of the GYUP partnership.
“To build a thriving green economy, we must invest in the right skill sets—technical, entrepreneurial, and climate-focused. The GYUP is not just a program; it is a catalyst for action, helping us move beyond conversations about unemployment toward building sustainable green jobs that will endure,” he said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has disclosed that it has paid about N5.12 billion for 90,689 pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).
In a statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications Unit of PTAD, Mr Olugbenga Ajayi, on Monday, August 11, 2025, it was disclosed that, “This payment reaffirms the administration’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that pensioners receive their due entitlements in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.”
This development, Business Post reports, is coming after Mr Tinubu approved measures aimed at improving the welfare of pensioners under the DBS.
In the statement today, PTAD said it paid N276.0 million as one-month pension arrear of 8,626 pensioners under the Customs Immigration and Prison Pension Department (CIPPD), N619.6 million in two-month pension arrears of 9,681 pensioners in the Police Pension Department (PPD), N408.7 million in one-month pension arrear of 12,773 pensioners under the Civil Service Pension Department (CSPD), and N3.8 billion as two-month pension arrears of 59,609 pensioners in the university sector of Parastatals Pension Department (PAPD).
The agency said, “In keeping with its assurance to clear outstanding pension liabilities as funds are disbursed by the federal government, the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has finalised the disbursement of N5.12 billion to 90,689 pensioners across the four pension departments, reaffirming its continued dedication and unwavering commitment to pensioners’ welfare.”
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