Business
Dangote: Nigeria Can Become Africa’s Petroleum Refining Power house
▪︎Aliko Dangote and Sen Heineken Lokpobiri
The Chairman of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited, Aliko Dangote, says Nigeria can become a petroleum refining hub in Africa, citing his Refinery and the other private refineries that are coming up in the country.
Dangote affirmed this in his keynote address during a summit held in Lagos by the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria, (CORAN).
The event attracted top government officials and key stakeholders from the midstream and downstream sectors.
Addressing Nigeria’s potential as a refining hub, Dangote expressed concern that, despite producing over 3.4 million barrels of crude oil per day, Africa imports around 3 million barrels of petroleum products daily.
He noted that these imports, primarily from Europe, Russia, and other regions, were estimated to cost approximately $17 billion in 2023.
Represented by Engr. Mansur Ahmed, Group Executive Director of Dangote Industries Ltd,
Dangote said Nigeria could capitalise on this situation to become a net exporter of refined petroleum products, as the markets would be more competitively served by the country.
“Both the crude oil and the petroleum products will travel shorter distances.
The logistics costs of floating storage will be eliminated, and countries can purchase their petroleum product requirements just in time. Nigeria and Africa can become completely self-sufficient, and we can keep all the value on our shores. We have done it in cement, and we can certainly do it for petroleum products.
“It is worth noting that the Dangote Refinery already produces sufficient diesel and jet fuel to meet Nigeria’s demand. We recently started the production of PMS and will soon ramp up to meet Nigeria’s needs.
”Our refined products have been exported to diverse markets, including Europe, Brazil, the UK, the USA, Singapore, and South Korea,” he added.
He said that Nigeria must develop a refining capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day and prioritise domestic crude supply obligations to seize this opportunity.
At the event, the Chairman of IPPG/Waltersmith Refinery & Petrochemicals Co. Ltd, Abdulrazaq Isa, called on the government to support domestic refiners by ensuring the availability of crude, adhering to domestic crude supply obligations, and implementing effective pricing and monitoring measures to prevent smuggling.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lopkobiri, assured that the government would continue to refine frameworks to enhance crude production and support domestic refineries.
The Chairman of CORAN’s Board of Trustees and CEO of Integrated Oil & Gas, Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, retd, said Dangote Oil Refinery had set a high standard by producing Euro-V products, thus protecting citizens from exposure to high-sulphur products.
He noted that transforming Nigeria into a net exporter will bring numerous benefits but reiterated the need for increased investment to boost crude production, lamenting that Nigeria loses approximately $83 billion annually by not meeting its OPEC quota.
Business
NTA didn’t introduce VAT on charges collected by banks — NRS
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) wishes to address and correct misleading narratives circulating in sections of the media suggesting that Value Added Tax (VAT) has been newly introduced on banking services, fees, commissions, or electronic money transfers.
Photo: NRS chairman, Zacch Adedeji
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has clarified that the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) did not introduce VAT on banking charges, nor did it impose any new tax obligation on customers in this regard.
In a statement made available to newsmen and signed by Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the NRS chairman, Zacch Adedeji, the service said the claims are incorrect.
According to the NRS, VAT has always applied to banking services and was not introduced by the Nigeria Tax Act.
The statement reads:
“The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) wishes to address and correct misleading narratives circulating in sections of the media suggesting that Value Added Tax (VAT) has been newly introduced on banking services, fees, commissions, or electronic money transfers.
This claim is categorically incorrect.
“VAT has always applied to fees, commissions, and charges for services rendered by banks and other financial institutions under Nigeria’s long-established VAT regime.”
Business
LIRS gives employers Jan 31 deadline for filing 2025 tax returns
The Executive Chairman of LIRS, Dr Ayodele Subair, who gave the directive on Thursday, reminded employers that the obligation to file annual returns is in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service(LIRS) fixed statutory deadline of January 31, 2026, for all employers of labour in the state to file their annual tax returns for the 2025 financial year.
The Executive Chairman of LIRS, Dr Ayodele Subair, who gave the directive on Thursday, reminded employers that the obligation to file annual returns is in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
Subair explained that employers are required to file detailed returns on emoluments and compensation paid to their employees, as well as payments made to service providers, vendors, and consultants, and to ensure that all applicable taxes due for the 2025 year are fully remitted.
He emphasised that the filing of annual returns is a mandatory legal obligation and warned that failure to comply would attract statutory sanctions, including administrative penalties, as prescribed under the new tax law.
Business
Nigeria To Review Inflation Reporting First Time In 15 years
The agency said the expected spike in December inflation did not reflect actual price movements in the economy but was largely a statistical distortion caused by the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index.
Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced plans to revise its inflation reporting methodology.
This followed concerns that December’s year-on-year figure may be artificially inflated due to the impact of last year’s rebasing exercise.
The agency said the expected spike in December inflation did not reflect actual price movements in the economy but was largely a statistical distortion caused by the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index.
Reuters reported that the rebasing, the first in 15 years, adopted December 2024 as the index reference point.
Officials explained that the change is likely to exaggerate the year-on-year inflation figure for December without accurately capturing prevailing market trends.
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