Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has reiterated his administration’s commitment to supporting small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), pledging to provide an enabling environment for businesses to flourish across the state. He gave the assurance while receiving two Ondo-based entrepreneurs who recently won national honours at the 2025 National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Awards held in Abuja and organised by the Presidency. The awardees were Engr. Emmanuel Adewumi of…

Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, has criticised the federal government’s economic direction, saying its relentless push for revenue is doing more harm than good. Sppaking during an interview on Politics Today aired on Channels Television on Friday, Utomi said the government’s “obsession” with generating revenue is weakening the economy instead of strengthening it. “Most non-productive sectors, the political class, for example, and we need to get the resources that…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has reaffirmed its commitment to completing the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) and the other two refineries it operates, while officially ruling out any plans to sell the Port Harcourt refinery. This announcement, made by NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, during a company-wide town hall meeting at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, ends weeks of speculation about…

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has formally withdrawn its legal case against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), and five other oil marketing firms. The lawsuit, which was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, was discontinued by the refinery’s legal counsel, as confirmed in a notice of discontinuance submitted to the court. Although the notice didn’t specify…

The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has voiced concerns over Nigeria’s escalating debt levels and deepening poverty. In a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, the former Anambra State governor warned that the country risks severe economic and social consequences if it continues on its current borrowing trajectory. Obi highlighted that on 22 July, the Senate approved a new wave of external loans amounting to $21…

The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an international consortium comprising Dalberg Group and Campo Group to advance its Green Legacy Programme. The agreement marks a significant step towards achieving Nigeria’s ambitious environmental targets, including the planting of 25 billion trees nationwide. This development was announced on Monday during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and representatives of the Dalberg and…

Nigeria, alongside other African nations and the United Nations, has issued a forceful call for unified action and resolute determination to combat pervasive food insecurity on both the African continent and a global scale.  The demand for predictable concessional finance to fuel investments in agriculture, rural transformation, infrastructure, and literacy across Africa was a central theme, with leaders stressing the imperative of aligning climate finance with robust food systems. Speaking…

President Bola Tinubu has signed the Nigeria Tax Act into law, exempting several goods and services from the 7.5% value-added tax (VAT). The Act, part of a broader tax reform initiative, was signed on June 26, alongside three other laws — the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Law, and the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act. These reforms, which are expected to take effect from January 1,…

Nigeria could have attained a $1 trillion economy if the nation had embraced its current fiscal and tax reform agenda a decade earlier, according to Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee. Speaking yesterday at PwC’s ‘Executive Summit on Nigeria’s Tax Reform’ in Lagos, Oyedele stressed that past economic mismanagement, particularly concerning exchange rates, had severely hampered the country’s progress. Oyedele contended that without the…

The Federal Government (FG) is fast-tracking the implementation of the National Single Window (NSW), a key initiative under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, to enhance transparency, curb revenue leaks, and streamline trade processes. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, confirmed this commitment yesterday during his appearance before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Customs and Tariffs. He emphasised the government’s resolve to digitise trade operations,…

Vice President Kashim Shettima has issued a warning about the severe economic consequences of deforestation in Nigeria. He revealed that over 90% of the nation’s original forest cover has been depleted, with an alarming annual loss of more than 400,000 hectares. “This is not just an environmental crisis; it is an economic emergency,” Shettima declared on Monday while inaugurating the Nigeria Forest Economy Summit 2025 in Abuja. The summit, themed…

Nigeria’s headline inflation slowed to 22.22% in June 2025 from 22.97% in May, marking a 0.75 percentage point drop, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The decline also represents a notable 11.97-point decrease from June 2024, when the rate stood at 34.19%. The NBS explained in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Wednesday that the easing in the year-on-year figure reflects changes in the rebased…