Economy

Shocker! Tinubu economic team proposes merger of Customs, NIMASA, FIRS

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of Nigeria

— wants President to extend deadline on old naira note to Dec. 2024.

The Eyewitness reporter

In what could be his first major economic reform in the country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is considering the merger of the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS) into a single revenue-generating entity to enhance the revenue collection drive of the federal government.

This followed the recommendation of the President’s Policy Advisory Council which said a state of emergency should be declared on the revenue generation in the country.

Members of the Policy Advisory Council are Senator Tokunbo Abiru (chair), Dr. Yemi Cardoso, Sumaila Zubairu, and Dr. Doris Anite.

Alarmed stakeholders have however faulted the merger recommendation which they feared may compromise the functions and duties of NIMASA, adding is not a revenue-generating agency but a security and safety regulatory agency in the maritime industry.

According to the report of the economic advisory team, the policy will be aided by the passage of an Emergency Economic Reform Bill which will grant the President special powers to drive the economic reform agenda and support the delivery of sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

The council further outlined the removal of fuel subsidies, sale or concession of select government assets, transition to a transparent and unified foreign exchange rate system, deepening tax collection and optimization of operating expenditure to reduce cost, as targets to be pursued by the President towards the achievement of some milestones within the first 100 days in office.

The council’s report, which focuses on fiscal and monetary policies, industry, trade and capital market reforms, emphasised that changes in the Central Bank of Nigeria and temporary increases in fiscal circuit breakers such as debt limits would help achieve N1trn Gross Domestic Product growth and over 50 million jobs for citizens in eight years.

The 90-page document further proposed that reforms in the CBN will help achieve about $50bn-$60bn in external reserves, with a monthly inflow of at least $6bn-$8bn from export earnings and other forms of capital inflow, to support the policy at an exchange rate of N500-N600/$.

On fiscal policies to be implemented, the council advised on the need to achieve a domestic refining capacity of two million barrels per day, while creating economic opportunity for the host communities.

They also proposed one-off Personal Income Tax reliefs for low-income earners for up to one year as non-cash palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.

The advisory read, “Ramp up production capacity to four million barrels from offshore and onshore assets within four years and grow crude oil revenue and savings into ECA and NSIA.

“Formalise illegal refineries and encourage modular refineries to create economic opportunity for the host communities.

“Aggressively grow domestic refining capacity to 2 million barrels per day in the next 8 years, including modular refineries.

Other fiscal recommendations proposed include, “a policy directive that ensures proceeds from the sale of assets to settle existing FGN debt obligations.

“List shares of strategic and profitable NNPC subsidiaries. Privatise, concession or sell down FGN’s stake in corporate assets to partners and other investors (possibly with a buyback option) to generate liquidity in the short to medium terms (focus on sub-optimal assets e.g., NNPCL refineries).

“Leverage blockchain to create and provide access to a Government land registry and regionalise and concession the power transmission grid.”

Furthermore, the advisory council proposed the extension of old naira circulation till December 2024 in order to resolve the cash shortage situation, if required.

It also advised a five percent monthly gradual removal of the old notes and replacement with new notes through the deposit money banks.

They said, “Extend the December 31st, 2023 deadline to December 31st, 2024 (if required), and bring in new notes through the deposit money banks by 5% monthly and take out the old notes through the deposit money banks by the same 5 percent to solve cash shortage.”

The policy added, “ To transform Nigeria to become Africa’s most efficient trading nation, decongest the area up to 4km around the ports and designate them for cargo, roads and railway, enforce the Presidential directive on 48hr clearance of goods at seaports in line with Executive Order 001, redefine the performance measures of key agencies of government to emphasise trade facilitation and set up a whistle-blowing mechanism that enables and empowers transporters to report and escalate issues with the various authorities while transporting food and other critical items.”

Economy

Ojulari, new NNPCL MD, hits the ground running, assembles new management team as he takes over from Kyari

Funso OLOJO

The new Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, has assembled new management team that will drive the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the petroleum sector shortly after he took over the mantle of leadership from his predecessor, Mr Mele Kyari.

It could be recalled that the appointment of the erswhile NNPCL boss, Kyari was terminated and Ojulari was appointed in his stead with immediate effect.

However, in a brief handover ceremony held at the NNPC Towers, Ojulari commended Kyari for his contributions to the growth of NNPC Ltd and his sterling service to the nation.

He disclosed that the objective of his management was to consolidate on the successes of his predecessor and take the company to the next level.

He said though the targets set for his management were quite enormous, he would be relying on the co-operation of the Management and staff of the company, as well as the counsel of his predecessor to achieve set targets.

“I will be counting on your support. I will need it. I will be coming around to seek your counsel,” Ojulari told Kyari.

Earlier in his remarks, Kyari congratulated Ojulari and thanked the Management and staff of the company for their support while in office.

He pledged to do everything within his power to support the new Management to succeed, stressing that he was only a call away.

Soon after the official handing over ceremony, the new new NNPCL, Mr Ojulari announced the appointment of a new 8-man Senior Management Team .

The team which will be headed by the GCEO, Mr Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has Roland Ewubare as Group Chief Operating Officer; Adedapo Segun as Group Chief Financial Officer; and Olalekan Ogunleye as Executive Vice President Gas, Power & New Energy.

Other members of the team are: Udy Ntia as Executive Vice President Upstream; Mumuni Dagazau as Executive Vice President Downstream; Sophia Mbakwe as Executive Vice President Business Services; and Adesua Dozie, as Company Secretary & Chief Legal Officer.

All appointments are with immediate effect.

Economy

Tinubu sacks Kyari, NNPCL GMD, appoints Ojulari as new CEO, reconstitutes board

Funso OLOJO

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved sweeping changes on the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) as he removed the Board Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelire and the Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Meke Kolo Kyari.

Their removal took immediate effect.

The President also removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.

Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed the development in a statement he signed in the early hours of Wednesday titled, ‘President Tinubu reconstitutes NNPC limited board, appoints new Chairman, Group CEO.’

“President Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.

The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman,” the statement reads.

Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.

Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones.

They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG), who represents North Central.

President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-Executive Director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East.

Ahmad Musa Kida, NNPC new chairman,
Bayo Bashir Ojulari new NNPC GCEO,
Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

All the appointments are effective immediately ,April 2nd, 2025.

President Tinubu, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasised that the board’s restructuring is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.

President Tinubu also handed out an immediate action plan to the new board which include to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.

Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has implemented oil sector reforms to attract investment.

Last year, NNPC reported $17 billion in new investments within the sector. The administration now envisions increasing the investment to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.

The Tinubu administration targets raising oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030.

Concurrently, the government wants gas production jacked to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.

Furthermore, President Tinubu expects the new board to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030.

The new board chairman, Ahmadu Musa Kida, is from Borno State.

He is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he received a degree in civil engineering in 1984.

He also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrol (IFP) in Paris.

He started his career in the oil industry at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production as a trainee engineer in 1985.

Musa became Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015.

Last year, he became an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.

Apart from his oil industry career, Ahmadu Musa Kida is a former basketballer and the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation(NBBF) board.

Ojulari, the new NNPC Limited Group CEO, hails from Kwara State.

Until his new appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company.

His Renaissance recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), worth $2.4 billion.

Like Kida, Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

He worked for Elf Aquitaine as the first Nigerian process engineer to begin a stellar career in the oil sector.

From Elf, he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.

Apart from working in Nigeria, he worked in Europe and the Middle East in different capacities as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.

In 2015, he became the managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).
During his career, he was chairman and member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

Economy

Dangote group remits N402.3 billion tax to government coffers in 2024

Gloria Odion

The Pan African Conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited and its subsidiaries, have disclosed that it paid over N402 billion in taxes in 2024, making it the highest taxpayer in the country.

Dangote’s Chief Branding and Communication Officer, Anthony Chiejina, declared during a meeting with some senior media executives who visited him in his Lagos Office.

He said Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and its subsidiaries, namely, Dangote Cement, NASCON, Dangote Packaging Limited among others, remitted a total of N402.319billion for the out-gone year as taxes as responsible business enterprises.

Recall that Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) had in late 2024 recognised Dangote group and its subsidiary, Bluestar Shipping as the most tax compliant organizations in the country during its Special Day at the 2024 Lagos International Trade Fair organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

The Federal Inland Revenue Service is Nigeria’s agency responsible for assessing, collecting and accounting for tax and other revenues accruing to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Chiejina told his visitors that as a responsible business organisation, DIL and its subsidiaries have never shieded away from its obligations either to the government in the form of tax payment at all levels or to host communities in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

According to him, the Group’s corporate strategy has evolved just as its businesses have grown, matured and diversified into new sectors and regions over the last four decades.

He noted that Dangote Group has almost single-handedly taken Nigeria to self-sufficiency in cement and refined petroleum products and is expanding rapidly across Africa.

Dangote Group and its subsidiaries were recognised as number one most compliant in tax payment in the country, just as its subsidiary Dangote Cement, the country’s leading cement manufacturer, at another occasion won three awards at the FMDQ Gold Awards in Lagos as the most active business in the Foreign Exchange market.

Dangote Cement Plc was adjudged as the Largest Commercial Paper Quotation on FMDQ and Single Largest Corporate Debt Issue on FMDQ.

Also, Dangote Industries Ltd also emerged as the “Most active corporate in the foreign exchange market”.