Business

Concerns Over N142bn E-customs Contract Approval By Buhari’s Government

Published

2 years ago

May 6, 2023

Concerns of palpable wrongdoing have been raised over the recently approved N142.24 billion e-custom project by the Federal Executive Council.

Wole Badmus, the National Coordinator Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations in Nigeria, FONGON, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists in Abuja.

FEC okayed the e-Customs modernization project at N142.24 billion despite controversy.

The project was awarded to Trade Modernization Project Ltd (TMPL).

But, Badmus claimed that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN; and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali, are collaborating to deplete the Comprehensive Import Supervisor Scheme (CISS) and Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme accounts.

He said the contract approval controversy is some of the clear landmines for the incoming administration.

He also alleged that Ali is collaborating with the Executive Secretary of Buhari Support Group, Hajia Zainab Jummai Ajijola, using TMPL to siphon the nation’s commonwealth.

He added that President Muhammadu Buhari, billed to exit the seat of power in less than 26 days, must come clean to Nigerians on why he allowed Ali to hijack the e-customs project in favour of TMPL.

“The fraudulent intention of the CG Customs further manifests in the fact that investigations at CAC show that Trade Modernisation Project Limited and Buhari Support Organization, BSO, are Siamese twins. Hameed Ali is the Chairman, while Hajia Zainab Jummai Ajijola is the Executive Secretary of BSO.

“The foregoing has exposed the intention of Hameed Ali, with the support of the AGF and HMOF, to deplete the CISS/NESS accounts with funds running into hundreds of billions of naira.

“These are clear landmines being laid in place for the incoming administration. The desperation to access the CISS/NESS accounts before the departure of the current administration is quite suspicious.”

However, in an interview with DAILY POST, CSC Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), described the claim as false and baseless.

According to him, the e-custom project, when actualized, would improve service delivery of Nigeria Customs.

“This is a distraction to the successful implementation of the e-customs project. The project would improve Nigeria’s customs service delivery and reduce corruption within the sector”.

“There is no truth in the claim”, he added.

Similarly, the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr Yunusa Abdullahi, said the allegation is untrue.

Meanwhile, the Spokesperson to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Umar Gwandu, has yet to respond to a text and call by DAILY POST on Thursday.

The development comes amid some Nigerians’ concerns about the project’s hasty approval amounting to billions by the Buhari administration in the twilight of its exit.

Business

Okonjo-Iweala Reveals How Nigeria Can Dominate AfCFTA

Published

18 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says Nigeria has what it takes to lead Africa’s new era of trade if it tackles high logistics costs, develops efficient payment systems, and invests in value addition.

Okonjo-Iweala, who was speaking on the sidelines of the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, said Nigeria and other African economies must speed up the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, and build stronger infrastructure to unlock billions of dollars in opportunities in manufacturing, services, and digital trade.

“The AfCFTA is a great step, but Africa trades only about 15–20 percent within itself — far below the European Union, EU’s 60 percent. We (Nigeria) need to speed up implementation so Africans trade more with each other.

“Take Lesotho: it exports around $200 million worth of textiles (jeans, etc.) to the U.S. — about 10 percent of its GDP — while Africa imports $7 billion of similar goods. Why not absorb Lesotho’s products within Africa? To unlock intra-African trade, we (Nigeria) need efficient payment systems (Afreximbank and others are working on this), better infrastructure and lower trade costs. It shouldn’t take longer to ship goods from Cape Town to Lagos than from China to Lagos.

“With critical minerals, energy, and new supply chains, plus opportunities in services and digital trade, there’s huge potential — if we invest in connectivity and implementation,” she said.

The former Nigeria’s Minister of Finance also cautioned that negative narratives about global commerce risk overshadowing recent successes achieved through multilateral cooperation.

Business

French Media Giant Canal+ Takes Over S.Africa’s Multichoice

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

French media giant Canal+ said Monday it had taken effective control of South African television and streaming company MultiChoice, creating a group present in nearly 70 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia.

The companies said in a joint statement that the combined group will have a workforce of 17,000 employees and serve more than 40 million subscribers.

The acquisition is “the largest transaction ever undertaken” by Canal+, the statement said.

Canal+, which is already the sector’s leader in French-speaking African countries, now controls what it described as the leader in the continent’s English- and Portuguese-speaking regions.

“This acquisition allows us to strengthen our position as a leader in Africa, one of the most dynamic pay-TV markets in the world,” Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada said in the statement.

The buyout was given a final green light by South Africa’s competition authority in late July, more than a year after Canal+ launched its bid.

Canal+ offered 125 rand ($7.2) per share for MultiChoice when it launched its offer last year, valuing the South African firm at around $3.0 billion.

Canal+ is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries and has eight million subscribers.

MultiChoice operates in 50 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and has 14.5 million subscribers.

It includes Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service.

AFP

Business

BREAKING: Nigeria’s GDP Grows By 4.23% In Q2 2025 – NBS

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23 per cent (year-on-year) in the second quarter of 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed in its Q2 2025 GDP Report.

According to the report released on Monday on its website, the figure shows a significant improvement compared to 3.48 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2024 and the 3.13 per cent recorded in Q1 2025.

The figures signal a strengthening economy, driven by recent rebasing, rebound in oil production and a resilient non-oil sector.

The report said, “Following the rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product using 2019 as the base year, previous quarterly GDP estimates were benchmarked to the rebased annual estimates to align the old series with the new rebased estimates

“This procedure provided a new quarterly GDP series, which is compared to the 2025 second quarter estimates. Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23% (year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2025.

“This growth rate is higher than the 3.48 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2024. During the quarter under review, agriculture grew by 2.82%, an improvement from the 2.60% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

According to NBS, “The growth of the industry sector stood at 7.45% from 3.72% recorded in the second quarter of 2024, while the Services sector recorded a growth of 3.94% from 3.83% in the same quarter of 2024.”

The report said in terms of share of the GDP, “the Industry sector contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2025 at 17.31% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024 at 16.79%.”

It added, “In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP at basic price stood at N100,730,501.10 million in nominal terms. This performance is higher when compared to the second quarter of 2024, which recorded an aggregate GDP of N84,484,878.46 million, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 19.23%.”

Details later…