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Actionaid Urges FG To Curb Illegal Financial Outflow

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The Country Director,
Actionaid, Nigeria, Dr Hussein Abdul, has urged the Federal Government to curb its losses through transfer pricing,  mispricing, tax avoidance and tax manipulation.
Abdul told journalists in Abuja that the money lost yearly in the extractive sector was almost equal to the nation’s annual budget.
The country director said that in solving the problem of illegal financial outflow from the oil and gas sector, Nigeria needed to put in place a strong accounting policy.
According to him, the occurrence is a major challenge hindering the nation’s development, especially being the largest economy in Africa and extractive driven.
“As a major exporter of crude and gas in Africa, it is a major challenge. Currently, what Nigeria is losing through transfer pricing and mispricing, tax avoidance and tax manipulation is quite huge.
“The money we lose yearly is almost equal to our annual budget. This is quite unacceptable because this is the money that would have been invested in the lives of the people.
“This money would have gone a long way to improve our infrastructure and ensure better education and health services.
“Nigeria does not know how much crude it exports. The information we get is based on what the multinationals tell us.
“We must institute a strong governance system that is internally accountable and not externally accountable.
“What that means is that if a multinational company is coming to Nigeria, it must be prepared to remain independently accountable to the Nigerian system.
“Profit is not declared based on an accumulated income from the branches it has all over the world. It should be based on what they are making from Nigeria alone.’’
Abdul urged the government to improve the economic environment and infrastructure, especially electricity to be able to attract the right kind of investment that would grow the economy.
“What motivates investors is the economic environment. All the major tax concessions and holidays these corporate bodies enjoy need to be abrogated.
“Because these concessions are being manipulated on a daily basis and therefore, we do not get the right taxes from these corporations
“Tax is not even a good incentive to draw foreign investment. For instance, a company will come to Nigeria, and is given tax concessions and holiday, maybe five years.
“Then the company runs for five years, enjoys the holiday and after that period, the company gets sold to another body, who changes its name, reapply for holiday, gets it, it expires, sells it again.
“That practically means that the tax you are ordinarily supposed to be collecting throughout that period are not paid.
“There are telecoms companies in this country that have changed names several times. Ask yourself why and that is the reason,’’ he said.
Our correspondent reports that during the recently held World Economic Forum, former President of South Africa, Mr Thabo Mbeki, announced that Africa loses over 50 billion dollars yearly through illegal transactions.

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NPA Assures On Staff Welfare 

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The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure  and equipment  modernization drive  with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the  clearing  of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying,  “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President  of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP

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National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement 

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In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of  NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the  Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
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