Business

FG’ s Expatriate Employment Levy Policy Contradicts Int’l Trade Agreements – MAN

Published

3 years ago

March 6, 2024

550 Views

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has requested the Federal Government to reverse its new Expatriate Employment Levy Policy.
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” The EEL policy contradicts our international trade agreements and the obligations contained therein,” said MAN .

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, the Director-General of MAN, while reacting to the just imposed EEL Levy Policy, cited for instance that Nigeria is a signatory to the African Continental Free Trade Area [AfCFTA] agreement.

One of the pillars of the AfCFTA is the free movement of skilled labour across the continent, which is complemented by non-discriminatory measures against fellow Africans.
Quite importantly, this could trigger retaliatory measures against Nigerians working across Africa and other nations of the world; frustrates regional integration efforts and portray Nigeria as a spoiler among her peers.

He said: “The policy will surely undermine the administration’s determination to position Nigeria as an attractive global investment destination and may engender a cold welcome in Mr. President’s future foreign investment promotions endeavors, as well as undermine our efforts at becoming a hub for shared services center and business process outsourcing.

MAN posits that the rather punitive levy is already being perceived as a punishment imposed on investors for daring to invest in Nigeria and indigenous companies for employing needed foreign nationals.

It will deter multinational companies from either investing in Nigeria or setting up regional headquarters in the country.

Also, the levy will make Nigeria a more expensive location for global expertise that international companies require for their operations.

“Overall, we risk slowing down knowledge and skills transfer to Nigerians and undermining a key avenue for the country to move up the technology ladder.

We are equally worried that the imposition of such a levy that could have far reaching implications for our national economy and potentially exert pressure on our national currency could be introduced through a Handbook, rather than a law enacted by the National Assembly.
This levy, if not reversed, may expose the Federal Government to a plethora of lawsuits that will distract Government from the task of salvaging the current dire situation of our economy.”

Business

Airtel Money Targets October Listing On London Stock Exchange

Airtel Money’s parent company is Airtel Africa, a telecoms provider that is part of the Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises, which is ultimately controlled by the billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal.

Published

13 hours ago

September 23, 2026

OCHEFA

11 Views

Airtel Money, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, has concluded plans to float on the London Stock Exchange in October.

Airtel Money’s chief executive, Ian Ferrao, made the disclosure Wednesday emphasising that the company would announce more details about the float in early October, including the indicative price range and number of shares to be offered, with final pricing to follow later in the month.

Airtel Africa had originally targeted a listing in the first six months of 2026 but delayed it to the second half of the year, blaming unfavourable market conditions as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Several other companies also pushed back planned IPOs amid the market volatility caused by the conflict.

The company is hoping to raise about $800m (£601m) from the initial public offering (IPO) and is targeting a valuation of $8bn to $9bn, which would make it one of London’s largest listings in recent years.

Airtel Money has 53 million monthly active users across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It operates through a network of branches and kiosks, which enable customers to load money on to their phones, withdraw cash and access other money services, and the company generated revenues of just under $1.4bn in the last financial year.

Business

Cardoso Says Multiple FX Windows Cost Nigeria 3% of GDP, Higher Than Fuel Subsidy

Before the CBN introduced FX reforms in 2023 to unify exchange rates, Nigeria had different channels through which dollars could be bought and sold. Different rates applied to different users and transactions.

Published

18 hours ago

September 23, 2026

OCHEFA

16 Views

Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso has estimated that Nigeria lost about three per cent of its gross domestic product to multiple foreign exchange windows.

Mr Cardoso spoke in Abuja on Tuesday while answering questions after the 307th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee.

He put the losses from the fuel subsidy regime at about 2.2 per cent of GDP, meaning the two distortions together cost the country roughly 5.2 per cent of GDP.

The committee cut the benchmark Monetary Policy Rate to 23 per cent from 26.5 per cent, a decision the governor described as an important operational realignment aimed at strengthening monetary policy transmission.

Mr Cardoso compared the cost of the old exchange rate system to the fuel subsidy, which he said was already a staggering amount of money.

The losses that we were making as a result of these multiple exchange rate windows was more. It was 3 per cent of GDP. So between those, you had 5.2 per cent of GDP lost,” he said.