Business
Nigeria formally Accepts WTO’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
Nigeria has deposited its instrument of acceptance for the World Trade Organisation’s ((WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
The Agreement prohibits support for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, bans support for fishing overfished stocks, and ends subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas.
Ambassador Adamu Mohammed Abdulhamid presented Nigeria’s instrument of acceptance to WTO Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday.
Ambassador Abdulhamid said: “The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies presents a unique opportunity for Nigeria to promote sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth and the improvement of livelihoods while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem, believing that the Agreement shall put a stop to all harmful fisheries subsidies such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities by all WTO members.”
“By this instrument of acceptance, Nigeria reassures its commitment to a rule-based multilateral trading system by guaranteeing its compliance with the Agreement as well as refraining from introducing any new subsidies that harm the marine environment while recognizing the need for appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries which can be achieved through adequate policy space to develop its fisheries sector and technical assistance and capacity building in order to implement the discipline.
Nigeria calls on other WTO members who are yet to ratify this agreement to do so as soon as possible so as to contribute to our global effort of preservation of the global fish stocks,” he said.
DG Okonjo-Iweala said: “I am profoundly grateful to Nigeria for formally accepting the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
I am proud to see the country’s continued commitment to sustainable development and its vote of confidence in the work of the WTO.
Nigeria’s acceptance adds to our growing tally of members that have accepted the Agreement — we have received about one-third of the total that we need for the Agreement to enter into force.
I hope that Nigeria’s action serves as an inspiration to other governments in Africa and the rest of the world to move swiftly to implement the Agreement and foster global cooperation for the benefit of our shared future.”
Nigeria is the fifth-largest African fishing nation and is estimated to lose about USD70 million each year to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
The sector accounts for as much as 5 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and supports the livelihood of about 24 million people.
Business
Traders shut down Enugu ‘s Obollo-Afor market over N25,000 haulage levy
However, Chairman of ESIRS, Emmanuel Nnamani, in a letter to the traders, said the haulage levy was not paid by traders buying or selling goods in the markets, but was applicable strictly to truck drivers plying interstate routes.
All shops and markets at Obollo-Afor, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State were shut yesterday, as traders staged a peaceful protest against alleged selective collection of a N25,000 haulage levy in the market.
The traders, who locked their shops and took to the streets in large numbers, carried placards with various inscriptions, alleging that the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS) had singled out Obollo-Afor Market for the collection of N25,000 haulage fee on every truckload of goods loaded or offloaded in the market.
However, Chairman of ESIRS, Emmanuel Nnamani, in a letter to the traders, said the haulage levy was not paid by traders buying or selling goods in the markets, but was applicable strictly to truck drivers plying interstate routes.
Addressing officials of the Udenu Local Government Council at the council secretariat, where the protesters marched to present their grievances, Chairman, Obollo-Afor Market Traders Association, Charles Eze, lamented that truck operators bringing foodstuffs, building materials, and other commodities to the market had stopped coming because of the levy.
Business
Nigeria’s oil production dropped by 4% in July – NUPRC
“In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.”
The Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) data has shown Nigeria’s average daily oil production fell by four percent in July, 2026.
According to the NUPRC, Nigeria produced 1.505 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and 0.17 million bpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67 million bpd.
The commission said the country met and exceeded its Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota of 1.5 million bpd for the third consecutive month.
“In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.”
Business
FG approves tax waivers for 4,000 electric vehicles
Nigeria’s 2022 Energy Transition Plan targets electric vehicles accounting for 60 per cent of the country’s vehicle fleet by 2050. However, the country is still at the early stages of the transition.
The Federal Government has approved tax waivers for almost 4,000 electric vehicles imported into Nigeria in the first half of 2026.
Government data reviewed by Reuters in a report on Wednesday showed that the approvals represented the first batch processed under a new government initiative designed to encourage the adoption of cleaner vehicles through tax incentives and local vehicle assembly programmes.
The move signals an intensification of Nigeria’s efforts to shift part of its transport system away from petrol and diesel vehicles, even though the country’s electricity supply remains far below the level required to support large-scale electric vehicle adoption.
Nigeria’s 2022 Energy Transition Plan targets electric vehicles accounting for 60 per cent of the country’s vehicle fleet by 2050. However, the country is still at the early stages of the transition.
Official data on the current number of electric vehicles on Nigerian roads is unavailable, but dealers cited by Reuters estimated that EVs account for less than one per cent of the country’s vehicle fleet, translating to only tens of thousands of vehicles.
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