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Tertiary Education Tax Will be Increased to Three Percent says FG

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The Federal Government of Nigeria has increased the tertiary education tax from 2.5 percent to 3 percent for the second time in two years, after it was increased from 2 percent in the Finance Act 2021 to 2.5 percent and has gone up to 3 percent in the backdated 2023 Finance Act.

Recall that the former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Finance Act 2023 on May 28, 2023 and backdated the commencement date of the Act to 1 May, 2023 and imposed on every company at the rate approved by the President of the assessable profit for each year of assessment. 

The funds are disbursed for the general improvement of education in federal and state tertiary institutions, specifically for the provision or maintenance of: Essential physical Infrastructure for teaching and learning; instructional material and equipment; research and publications.

Also contained in this year’s Finance Act is the reintroduction of the payment of taxes for purchasing life insurance policy for an individual or a couple.

According to the Act: “Tax deduction is restored for premium paid in respect of insurance on own life and spouse”.

Other changes made to the old Finance Act include: taxation of gains on the disposal of digital assets including cryptocurrency at the rate of 10 percent; deduction of capital losses on assets for capital gains tax purposes. This may be carried forward for a maximum of 5 years.

There is now the rollover relief on sale of shares. This is however subject to reinvestment of the proceeds within the same year of assessment. There is now the deletion of investment allowance on plant and equipment.

Government has imposed a 0.5 percent levy on goods imported into Nigeria from outside Africa. 

All services including telecommunication services are liable to excise tax at rates to be prescribed by the President.

Buhari in his last minute assent to the 2023 Finance Act retained the contentious sharing formula of Electronic Money Transfer (EMT) levy at 15 percent to the federal government, 50 percent to state governments and 35 percent to local governments. 

EMT is a singular and one-off levy of N50 on the recipient of any electronic receipts or transfers of N10,000 or above.

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Data Centers Attract $270bn Investments in 2025 — Unctad

France, the United States and the Republic of Korea led as host countries, while emerging markets such as Brazil, India, Thailand and Malaysia also attracted major projects.

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Image credit : Unctad

UN Trade and Development has reported that out of $1.6 trillion global foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025, data centres attracted more than one fifth of global greenfield projects, with announced investment exceeding $270 billion.

In the report published this week on its website, Unctad, said that the demand for data centers investment was driven by AI infrastructure and digital networks.

The report reads:

” France, the United States and the Republic of Korea led as host countries, while emerging markets such as Brazil, India, Thailand and Malaysia also attracted major projects.

Similarly, the value of newly announced semiconductor projects rose by 35%.

By contrast, project numbers fell sharply by 25% in tariff-exposed, global value chain-intensive sectors.

Textiles, electronics and machinery were particularly affected.

While investment in technology-driven, capital-intensive projects lifts overall FDI figures, flows remain highly concentrated and generate limited spillovers.

Policies should aim to link digital infrastructure investment more closely to skills development, innovation systems and local value creation.

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Tony Elumelu Becomes Seplat Energy’s Non-Executive Director

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Seplat Energy Plc has appointed Tony O. Elumelu, the renowned Nigerian businessman and chairman of Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa (UBA), as a Non-Executive Director on its board with effect from January 22, 2026.

The appointment comes shortly after Elumelu’s investment entities, Heirs Holdings Limited and Heirs Energies Limited, acquired a 20.07% stake in Seplat Energy from French oil company Maurel & Prom (M&P) in a December 2025 transaction valued at approximately $500 million.

The deal positioned Heirs as the company’s largest single shareholder.In a related board change, Seplat announced the resignation of Mr. Olivier Cleret De Langavant, who had represented M&P as a Non-Executive Director since January 2020.

Both the appointment and resignation were disclosed in a filing to the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

Elumelu brings deep expertise in energy, banking, power generation, and pan-African investments.

His entry to the board is widely seen as a strategic move to support Seplat’s long-term growth ambitions and further strengthen indigenous participation in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry.

The leadership transition underscores Seplat Energy’s evolving ownership structure and its continued focus on operational excellence and value creation in Africa’s energy sector.

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EFCC Directs Moniepoint to Tighten Regulatory Compliance and Strengthen KYC Processes

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has called on Moniepoint, a prominent Nigerian fintech platform, to improve its regulatory compliance standards and reinforce its Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures.

EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede made the appeal during a recent meeting with Moniepoint’s leadership team. He highlighted the vital role that strong KYC processes play in detecting and preventing fraud, money laundering, and other illicit financial activities, while protecting the overall integrity of the financial system.

The chairman reportedly stressed that full adherence to existing regulations is mandatory for all fintech operators. He encouraged Moniepoint to exceed the baseline requirements set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by putting in place more rigorous internal controls and enhanced due diligence measures to ensure only legitimate customers access its services.

This directive is part of wider regulatory attention on Nigeria’s fintech industry. It follows previous enforcement actions, including the CBN’s imposition of ₦1 billion fines on Moniepoint and several other digital payment providers in 2024 for identified compliance gaps.

Those incidents also led to temporary restrictions on new customer onboarding for some platforms.

In response, Moniepoint has stated its commitment to further strengthening internal controls and upholding the highest standards of compliance in order to deliver secure and transparent financial services to its users.

The EFCC’s position reflects the Nigerian authorities’ continued efforts to tighten supervision of digital financial platforms amid growing concerns over financial crime and illicit flows in the sector.

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