Business
Licensed Customs Agents Seek Clarification on Commencement Date of Zero Duty
We noticed a serious conflict between the date of the implementation of the Presidential Order, and the Ministers of Finance’s Circular
Wale Edun, Minister of Finance
The National Council of Managing Directors Of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) says that the Presidential Order on Inflation Reduction and Price Stability conflicts with the Minister of Finance Circular on zero duty rate on basic food items.
” We request that the conflict of Presidential Order on Inflation Reduction and Price stability (Fiscal policy measures, etc) Order 1st May 2024 and the Minister of Finance Circular F17417/VI/T/6 of 8th August that was backdated to 15th of July, should be clarified,” said Lucky Eyis Amiwero, National President of NCMDLCA.
NCMDLCA in a letter to President Bola Tinubu, dated September 4, said: ” We hereby bring to the attention of the Federal Government of the two circulating instruments of the Federal Government with conflicting date of implementation and description of Fiscal Policy content.
We noticed a serious conflict between the date of the implementation of the Presidential Order, and the Ministers of Finance’s Circular, while the Presidential Order gave the date of commencement as 1st of May 2024, the Minister of Finance’s Letter was backdated to 15th July 2024 as the Commencement date, while the Finance Circular was dated 8th of August which was received by the Nigeria Customs Service on the 13th August and issued to the Trading public on 14th August by service
The area of concern to the Trading public is whether the Minister of Finance drew its strength from the Presidential Order, approved by the President that is, the Inflation Reduction and Price Stability (Fiscal policy measure, etc) order, 2024, which is supposed to commence on the 1st May 2024, or the President issued a fresh order and suspend the Order that has been signed because nothing is said on the Presidential Order that has been in circulation before the Minister’s Circular and Customs implementing circular
Furthermore, the date of the Minister’s Circular was backdated by almost one(1) month, which is not in line with the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) Nigeria being a contracting party to the Agreement, which states, in Article 2: opportunities and appropriate time period shall be provided to traders and other interested parties on new or amendment laws and regulations of general application.
Related to the movement, release, and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, are published or Information on then, giving enough time to be made otherwise publicly available, as early as possible before they entered into force, to enable traders and other interested parties to become acquainted with them.
Amiwero said that the clarification is very important to eliminate the use of dollarizing the domestic market and to stabilize it for consistent, predictable, and transparent transactions.▪︎
Business
TIME Names Moniepoint CTO Felix Ike Among 50 Global Executives of the Year
In its citation, TIME said Ike “has helped to establish the business as one of Africa’s leading financial platforms.
TIME magazine has named Felix Ike, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Nigerian fintech Moniepoint, to its inaugural Executives of the Year: Tech and Data list.
Ike is the only executive representing an African company among the 50 leaders selected for the 2026 list.
The list, unveiled on Tuesday, September 22, recognises chief information officers, chief technology officers, chief data officers and chief product officers whose decisions are shaping how major organisations deploy technology and use data.
Moniepoint is also the only African company represented on the inaugural list.
Ike was named alongside executives from Netflix, CrowdStrike, Dell, Duolingo, AT&T, OpenAI, Anthropic, Shopify and Reddit, among others.
In its citation, TIME said Ike “has helped to establish the business as one of Africa’s leading financial platforms.
“The recognition follows Moniepoint’s inclusion in TIME’s 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential Companies, giving the Lagos-founded fintech another global distinction.
Black Market Rates
₦1382DOLLAR (USD)
₦1855POUND (GBP)
₦1545EURO (EUR)
1000 DOLLAR (CAD)
₦70 RAND (ZAR)
370DIRHAM (AED)
190YUAN (CNY)
₦100G.CEDI (GHS)
₦2350 CFA F.(XOF)
₦2250 CFA F.(XAF)
₦850 AUSSIE (AUD)
Official CBN Exchange Rates
DOLLAR (USD)₦1328.67
POUND (GBP)₦1758.36
EURO (EUR)₦1511.63
SWISS FRANC (CHF)₦1605.45
JAPANESE YEN (JPN)₦8.38
CFA FRANC (XOF)₦2.31
WEST AFRICAN UNIT OF ACCOUNT (WAUA)₦1808.03
CHINESE YUAN (CNY)₦197.92
SAUDI RIYAL (SAR)₦353.86
SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR)₦81.09
Business
Djibouti, Ethiopia and Dangote to build $660 million petroleum pipeline
In Kenya, Dangote and the government are due to break ground on a new 700,000-barrel-per-day crude oil refinery in Lamu next week.
Ethiopia, Djibouti and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote plan to build a $660 million refined petroleum pipeline that will connect Ethiopia and Djibouti, a spokesperson in Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said on Thursday.
The project will include a 120-km (75-mile) pipeline, as well as approximately 375,000 cubic metres of storage capacity at Damerjog in Djibouti and 800,000 cubic metres at Dewele in Ethiopia, the spokesperson told Reuters, adding it should become operational within 18 months.
Abiy said on his X account the project will be developed through a partnership between Ethiopian Investment Holdings and the Dangote Group, which separately is already building a $4 billion fertiliser pipeline and power plant, and a polypropylene packaging facility, in Ethiopia.
The project aims to reduce logistics costs and delays along the Ethiopia-Djibouti transport corridor, Abiy said.
Developers say the infrastructure will strengthen energy security and improve supply chain resilience for the two countries, he said.
Abiy is on a visit to Djibouti and made the announcement alongside its president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, and Dangote.
In Kenya, Dangote and the government are due to break ground on a new 700,000-barrel-per-day crude oil refinery in Lamu next week.
Congo military plane crash kills 13, including three officers
Manchester City Faces Expulsion For Breaching 114 EPL Financial Rules
TIME Names Moniepoint CTO Felix Ike Among 50 Global Executives of the Year
Tech Expert, Zuckerberg trains with UFC champions, Adesanya, Alexander
Organ Trafficking: Ekweremadu bags 10 years in UK prison
SAINT OBI: Between his marriage and his death
-
Business3 days agoFG Engages Stakeholders On Nigeria’s Rice Value Chain
-
Business3 days agoNaira To Dollar, Pound , Euro Rate Wednesday September 23
-
Business3 days agoAirtel Money Targets October Listing On London Stock Exchange
-
Business2 days agoMAN Urges CBN To Consider CRR Cut Next Phase of Monetary Easing
-
Crime2 days agoJUST IN: Zamfara LG Chairman Freed After 61 Days in Captivity
-
Business3 days agoCardoso Says Multiple FX Windows Cost Nigeria 3% of GDP, Higher Than Fuel Subsidy
-
Sports2 days agoFIFA names Nigerian referee among 81 officials for U-17 World Cup
-
News2 days agoVP Shettima, Gov Mbah to address Over 500 editors on 2027 election issues