Business
Nigerian Govt Suspends Single Use Plastic Tax of 10%
By Ocheneyi Alli
The Nigerian government , today, announced the suspension of its green tax of 10 percent on Single Use Plastics (SUPs), including plastic containers and bottles.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, gave the directives to the Ministry of Finance, and the Customs authority, after he had signed four Executive Orders which includes the suspension of the 10 percent Single Use Plastics tax, five percent excise tax on telecommunication services; some imported vehicles as well as the excise duties escalation on locally manufactured products.
Also, President Tinubu shifted the commencement date of Finance Act 2022 from May 23, 2023 to September 1, 2023.
He said that the suspension was to ensure adherence to the 90 days minimum advance notice for tax changes as contained in the 2017 National Tax Policy.
Ohibaba.com, reported that two months ago, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria ( MAN) kicked against the surcharge of 10 percent on Single Use Plastic under HS Code 3919.10.00.00 and 3919.90.00.00 as well as Headings – 39.20; 39.21 and 39.23 (Plastic Containers, Films and Bags).
Otunba Francis Meshioye, President of MAN, said that the tax on Single Use Plastics was ill-timed and hasty in view of the fact that the government, through the Federal Ministry of Environment, is currently working towards instituting a Plastic Recycle Waste Management Policy with technical assistance from the United Nations Industrial Organisation (UNIDO) along with support from the Japanese government.
” The project is to institute a long-term solution to manage the menace of plastic wastes and assist the affected industries to retrofit, thereby reaching the threshold of the United Nations goal of green environment as being espoused by the series of the UN organized Conference of Parties (COP),” he said .
Global Ban On Single Use Plastics
On the global scene, the OECD estimated that global plastic pollution could nearly triple to 1.0 billion metric tons by 2060.
And while they estimate that the share of plastic that escapes waste management systems will fall from 22% (2019) to 17% (2060), that’s still a lot of plastic to deal with.
Also, the tide is turning against single-use plastics as many governments have banned the it.
Bangladesh was the first country to ban plastic bags in 2002, while the U.S. banned microbeads in personal care products in 2015, followed by the UK (2018), Canada (2018), and then China (2020-2022).
Business
Cardoso Urges Banks To Lend Out Idle Funds With CBN * Retains MPR at 26.5%
Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso , urged banks from keeping idle funds with the apex bank and encouraging increased lending into the economy.
Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.
The apex bank retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), also known as benchmark interest rate, at 26. 5 percent.
This decision marks the second consecutive retention of the MPR at 26.5 per cent, following a 50-basis-point reduction in February from 27 per cent.
“The committee’s decision to maintain the current policy stand follows a thorough assessment of the balance of risk,” said Cardoso.
He emphasised that although headline inflation moderated marginally in June 2026, global uncertainties have heightened due mainly to the renewed hostilities in the Middle East.
The MPC also adjusted the asymmetric facilities corridor around the MPR to +50/-450 basis points—a move aimed at discouraging banks from keeping idle fund with CBN.
Furthermore, the committee maintained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks at 45 per cent, retained the rate for merchant banks at 16 per cent, and kept the CRR on non-TSA public-sector deposits at 75 per cent for liquidity management considerations.
Cardoso said despite the global uncertainties, the Nigerian economy has “remained largely resilient to the external shocks”.
Business
CBN admits it opened domiciliary accounts for PFIPC agency
Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said that the accounts are one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
File photo : PFIPC agency DG, Adeniyi Adeyemi
The Central Bank of Nigeria had admitted that it opened two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The apex bank made the confirmation, yesterday, during the public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said that the accounts are one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He explained that on July 30, 2025, CBN received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General.
“We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim told the committee.
He explained the CBN’s verification process, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.
The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.
Nevertheless, he noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened.“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.
Business
Naira Exchange Rates At The Parallel/ Official Market Tuesday, 21 July
BLACK MARKET RATES
US DOLLAR (USD) Buy ₦1, 410 Sell ₦1,415
GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) Buy ₦1,890 Sell: ₦1,910
EURO (EUR) Buy ₦1,580 Sell ₦1,600
CANADIAN DOLLAR (CAD) Buy ₦1,020 Sell ₦1,080
SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) Buy ₦75 Sell ₦90
UAE DIRHAM Buy ₦350 Sell ₦370 CHINESE YUAN Buy ₦190 Sell ₦205
GHANA CEDI (GHS) Buy ₦95 Sell ₦110
WEST AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2, 300 Sell ₦2, 400
CENTRAL AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2,150 Sell 2,250
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Buy ₦800 Sell ₦900
CBN OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATES
US DOLLAR (USD) ₦1,380.11
GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) ₦1,857.35
EURO (EUR) ₦1,575.95
SWISS FRANC (CHF) ₦1,705. 31
JAPANESE YEN (JPN) ₦8.50
CHINESE YUAN (CNY) ₦203.94
WEST AFRICAN CFA (XOF) ₦2.40
WEST AFRICAN UNIT ACCOUNT (WAUA) ₦1,874. 32
SAUDI RIYAL (SAR) ₦367.49
SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) ₦83.69
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