CBN verifying $2.4bn FX claims, NERC public hearing… business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — October 21 to October 25.

WORLD BANK SAYS NIGERIA SEEING POSITIVE RESULTS FROM ECONOMIC REFORMS

The World Bank says Nigeria is seeing positive results from the economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Alex Sienaert, World Bank’s lead economist, spoke on Thursday at the launch of the Nigeria Development Update (NDU) report in Abuja.

Sienaert said Nigeria’s fiscal deficit has reduced from 6.2 percent in the first half of last year to 4.4 percent in the first half of 2024.

He said the reforms have led to robust growth in service sectors, stability in the oil sector, and improvements in the foreign exchange market.

On October 15, Indermit Gill, senior vice-president of the World Bank Group, said Nigeria must maintain its current reforms for the next 10 to 15 years to transform its economy.

NERC TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARING ON RECURRING GRID COLLAPSES 

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says it will conduct an investigative public hearing to identify immediate and remote causes of recurring incidents of grid disturbances.

In a statement on Saturday, the commission said it would also conduct a probe on extensive outages.

On October 19, the national electricity grid collapsed for the third time within a week and the eighth time in 2024.

‘POWER GRID COLLAPSE INEVITABLE DUE TO OUTDATED INFRASTRUCTURE’

Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, says the frequent system failure at the national grid is inevitable due to the outdated infrastructure.

The minister said the frequent grid collapses, which have plagued Nigeria’s power supply, are largely due to the deteriorating state of the country’s power infrastructure.

Adelabu also stressed the importance of increased investment in power infrastructure to prevent future collapses.

CBN VERIFYING DISPUTED $2.4BN FX CLAIMS 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it is looking into the foreign exchange (FX) re-validation exercise to ascertain complaints of manufacturers and importers over FX claims worth $2.4 billion.

Providing updates on October 15, at a special summit dinner organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), in Abuja, Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, said the unverified backlog is being worked on.

“I know that as of now, there are still some which have been unverified. We are working on those,” Cardoso said.

“We are at a particular stage now where we have gone through stage one, and we are back to stage two to verify those claims as it is now.”

N’ASSEMBLY PROPOSES 5% EXCISE DUTY ON TELECOMS, BETTING

The national assembly has proposed a five percent excise duty on telecommunications services, gaming, betting, and lottery activities.

According to an executive bill, titled ‘Nigeria Tax Bill 2024,’ the national assembly is seeking reintroduction of the excise duty.

The bill proposed that the amount of an excisable transaction is the amount chargeable for the service by the service provider, “both in money or money’s worth”.

NIGERIANS EARNING ABOVE N1.5M MONTHLY WILL PAY UP TO 25% PIT

On October 14, Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, said the personal income tax (PIT) of Nigerians earning above N1.5 million will be increased gradually to 25 percent under the new economic stabilisation bill.

Oyedele said people earning less than N1.5 million below would be exempted from the personal income tax (PIT).

He also said the wrong set of people have been taxed for so long.

IPMAN, NNPC AGREE ON N995/LITRE EX-DEPOT PRICE 

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has agreed to reduce the ex-depot price of petrol for its members.

Speaking to TheCable on October 15, Abubakar Maigandi, IPMAN president, said the national oil company reduced the price to N995 per litre.

He said the Department of State Services (DSS) intervened in the matter, leading to a decision by the NNPC to reduce the price.

Maigandi added that the NNPC also promised to commence sale of the product today.