Business

2023 Fiscal Policy Measures: New Taxes’ll Kill Industries — MAN

Published

2 years ago

May 3, 2023

Editor

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has warned that the newly released 2023 fiscal policy measures (FPM) will lead to industry recession, capacity underutilisation, and layoffs of workers.

Director General, MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said this yesterday in reaction to the new FPM recently released by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, following the approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He stated: “The increases in excise tax for 2023 and 2024 as provisioned in the said 2023 fiscal policy came as a surprise to us because, as a major stakeholder, MAN had actively participated in the deliberations on the proposal and presented various positions from its members across all sectors, especially those directly impacted by the proposed measures.”

Ajayi-Kadir recalled that at a meeting held with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning on 29th March, 2023, MAN representatives were informed that the 2023 proposals on additional excise tax increases were being stepped down until further consultations on the 2023 Finance Bill.

According to him, based on the decision reached at the meeting, “MAN members had finalized their annual strategies and projections while exporting members had concluded pricing negotiations for orders to the end of fiscal period, on the strength of the agreed excise roadmap and recent assurance from the fiscal authority”.

He further stated: “It is worrisome that the current situation is indicative of inconsistency in government policy, given that industries that are affected by excise tax administration, already made 3-year strategic plans based on the agreed calendar as scheduled in the roadmap including domestic and export sales prices, revenue and volume projections, tax burden calculations, etc.

“This in our opinion may create credibility issues for the country with existing and potential investors, impacting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and the country’s Ease of Doing Business index among other implications.

“We are again emphasising the fact that the proposed increase in the recently released 2023 guidelines i.e., on Beer, Wines and Spirits, Tobacco, has the potential to trigger unprecedented distortions in the affected industries as well as the entire manufacturing sector.

“The policy is capable of producing a negative effect on investments with a huge consequence on job retention in these industries.

“We therefore strongly recommend that the government should maintain the status quo regarding the already government-approved excise duty increases on these items in the 3-year Roadmap as contained in the 2022 FPM.”

Related Topics:Fiscal policy Manufacturer Association of Nigeria

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Business

Nigerian Stock Market Hits 10th Consecutive Uptrend As investors Gain N308bn

Published

19 hours ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Stock Market recorded its 10th consecutive uptrend as investors raked in N308 billion gain on Thursday.

This comes as the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, market capitalisation, which opened at N92.490 trillion, appreciated by 0.33 per cent to close at N92.798 trillion on Thursday.

Also, the All-Share Index added 0.33 per cent, or 485.25 points, to close at 146,204.34, compared with 145,719.09 recorded on Wednesday.

Increased trading in Eunisell Interlinked, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Sunu Assurances, Industrial and Medical Gases, Mecure, and 27 other advancing stocks boosted market performance on Thursday.

To this end, the market breadth also closed positive with 32 gainers and 21 losers.

Further analysis showed that Eunisell Interlinked and Caverton Offshore Support Group led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent each, closing at N44 and N6.93 per share, respectively, while FTN Cocoa Processors led the losers’ table by 6.67 per cent, closing at N5.60 per share.

Market activity showed a decline in the number of deals and volume traded but an improvement in trade value.

Accordingly, a total of 346.99 million shares worth N27.43 billion were traded in 24,691 deals, compared with 525.72 million shares worth N13.61 billion exchanged in 25,597 deals on Wednesday.

Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 42.01 million shares valued at N861.54 million.

According to DAILY POST, NGX has continued its bullish run from last month’s end to date.

Business

CBN Sets POS Maximum Transactions In Fresh Guidelines

Published

2 days ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has rolled out fresh guidelines for agent banking, known as Point of Sales, across the country.

The apex also in the guidelines pegged daily POS transactions at N1.2 million per agent and N100,000 per individual.

CBN disclosed this in a circular signed by its Director of the Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh.

The guidelines further mandate all financial institutions to publish the list of all their POS agents on their website and to display it in their branches.

CBN noted that the guidelines would take effect from April 1, 2026.

“The Guidelines aim to establish minimum standards for operating agent banking in Nigeria, enhancing agent banking to provide financial services and promoting financial inclusion, encouraging responsible market conduct and improving service quality in agent banking operations.

“This circular takes effect from the date of release, while the implementation of agent location and agent exclusivity shall be in effect from April 1, 2026.

“POS agents are restricted to a maximum of N1.2 million per day. Individual customers are limited to N100,000 in daily transactions.

“These limits are intended to curb misuse, enhance financial integrity, and protect consumers within the agent banking framework,” it stated.

Business

Naira Records First Appreciation Against US Dollar At Official Market

Published

2 days ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded appreciation on Wednesday against the United States dollar at the official market, the first time in three days this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate data showed that the Naira strengthened to N 1,470.62 per dollar on Wednesday, up from N1,471.09 traded on Tuesday.

This means that the country’s currency firmed up slightly by N0.47 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

Monday and Tuesday, the Naira recorded negative sentiment at the official foreign exchange market.

However, at the black market, the Naira remained unchanged at N1,500 per dollar on Wednesday, the same rate exchanged on Tuesday.

The apex bank data indicated that the country’s external reserves, a determinant of the exchange rates, stood at $42.57 billion as of October 7, 2025.