Business

NACCIMA Highlights Concerns Over Government Economic Reforms and Private Sector Growth

Published

12 months ago

January 20, 2025

400 Views

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has expressed concerns that the current economic reforms implemented by the Federal Government are not fostering growth within the private sector.

Instead, these reforms appear to be disproportionately benefiting the public sector.

The public sector encompasses the segments of the economy that are owned, controlled, and managed by the government, including various agencies and institutions responsible for delivering essential goods and services such as transportation, infrastructure, and public works.

Dele Kelvin Oye, President of NACCIMA, made these observations during an appearance on AriseTV News, stating, “In 2024, data, metrics, and statistics indicate that the private sector is shouldering the negative impacts of the nation’s economic reforms, enduring challenging conditions such as high inflation, increased borrowing costs, and currency devaluation.”

Oye emphasized the need for the government and its economic advisory teams to acknowledge the private sector as a vital stakeholder in the economy.

“While the public sector continues to thrive and expand, the economic benefits derived from recent reforms have largely been absorbed by the public sector through significant capital transfers and revenue increases.

In contrast, the private sector is grappling with escalating inflation, higher borrowing costs, unresolved foreign currency commitments amounting to 2.4 billion USD from the CBN, and rising operational expenses across all sectors.”

He further noted that the persistent imbalance caused by heightened public sector spending has been detrimental to the private sector, leading to value erosion due to excessive fiscal deficits financed through government borrowing at unsustainably high interest rates.

Looking ahead to 2025, Oye remarked, “The proposed expenditure framework appears to be heavily weighted towards substantial capital transfers to specific sectors that may not enhance national wealth.”

He advocated for the government to cultivate an environment that empowers the private sector to spearhead economic initiatives.

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.

Published

4 hours ago

January 16, 2026

OCHEFA

7 Views

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.

Published

5 hours ago

January 16, 2026

OCHEFA

13 Views

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.

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.

Published

1 day ago

January 15, 2026

OCHEFA

21 Views

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.

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.