Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has unveiled details of his proposed petroleum subsidy reform, declaring that his administration would replace Nigeria’s old import-subsidy architecture with a targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited production subsidy designed to lower energy costs while accelerating domestic refining. Atiku, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the Atiku Economic Recovery Plan (AERP) 2027 recognises that the choice before Nigeria is not simply between subsidy and no subsidy, but between an opaque intervention that breeds waste and a disciplined economic instrument that delivers measurable benefits to citizens. Under the AERP, qualifying public and private Nigerian refineries …
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The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has announced a major breakthrough in Nigeria’s maritime sector, following the decision by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to lift the Condition of Entry (CoE) imposed on vessels arriving in the United States from Nigeria. The development brings to an end a 12-year regime of enhanced security requirements on vessels calling at Nigerian ports before entering the United States and marks a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen maritime security, improve port competitiveness and enhance Nigeria’s standing in the global maritime industry. The Condition of Entry, which took effect on June 25, 2014, required vessels destined for the United States that had called at designated Nigerian …
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By Ayo Kehinde  After several months of public speculations over comparative prices of cement in Nigeria and other African countries, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has opened a further investigation into Nigeria’s cement market. In a three-month cross-border study the Commission said its preliminary findings showed significant price differences between Nigeria and several African markets despite Nigeria’s substantial limestone deposits and installed cement production capacity. The FCCPC’s Anticompetitive Practices Department, compared Nigeria with Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Togo. According to the FCCPC, Nigeria has installed cement production capacity estimated at between 60 and 65 million metric tonnes annually, while domestic consumption is estimated at only 25 to 30 million tonnes. Despite the apparent …
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Businesses and individuals involved in virtual-asset activities like cryptocurrency, non- fungible tokens and utility tokens may face penalties running into millions of naira for non-compliance, following a set of tax rules set by the Niger Revenue Service, NRS, PwC Nigeria has said. According to the professional services firm, taxpayers who default on specified obligations could face a ₦10 million penalty for the first month of default and ₦1 million for every subsequent month. In a report, the firm highlights the compliance implications of the NRS guidelines as Nigeria seeks to bring income and gains from virtual assets more clearly within the tax system. PwC said a single virtual-asset transaction could trigger different tax liabilities depending on the event giving rise …
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