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Association Wants Release Of N150bn Export Grant

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10 years ago

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The Organised Private Sector Exporters Association (OPEXA), has appealed to the Federal Government to settle the backlog of unutilised Negotiable Duty Credit Certificates (NDCC), amounting to N150 billion.
This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Jaiyeola Olanrewaju, Executive Secretary of OPEXA, and made available to The Tide source in Abuja yesterday.
The statement stated that the operations of non-oil exporters had been paralysed due to the non-payment of outstanding NDCC claims.
The NDCC is an instrument of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG), which was introduced in 1999 to encourage non-oil exports.
The grant is given to Nigerian exporters in the form of NDCC to cushion the effect of cost disadvantages faced by them as a result of infrastructural deficiencies.
It said explained that NDCCs are utilised by beneficiaries for payment of customs and excise duty on their export shipments after they being validated by the government.
However, the government suspended the scheme in January 2014 to pave way for its review, according to the former Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The statement said that the backlog of unutilised NDCCs had accumulated to the tune of N150 billion as at the end of 2013 before the scheme was suspended.
This, according to the statement, has paralysed the operations of exporters leading to a decline in the country’s non-oil exports.
“The Nigeria Customs Service public notice of Dec. 10, 2014, indicates that 155 companies mentioned in the list had about N94 billion worth of NDCC outstanding in their favour.
“Others that were not on the list were told to wait for the next batch. Of this backlog, only N5billion was approved for utilisation.
“However, the non-oil exporters claimed that the backlog of unutilised NDCC at the end of 2013 was over N150 billion.
“It is imperative to note that there is a huge backlog of NDCCs yet to be processed as at January 2014 when the embargo was placed”, it said.
The statement stated that the issue was largely responsible for the decline in the non-oil exports by 10 per cent in 2014 and 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2015.
It added that the development was worsening the country’s foreign exchange situation as well as posing a great challenge to its economic diversification agenda.
It statement recommended five urgent measures to be taken by government to restore the confidence of stakeholders in the export business.
It urged government to instruct Customs to accept utilisation of NDCCs for duty payment as per extant policy, adding that Ministry of Finance should treat the backlog in a time-bound manner.
“The Nigeria Export Promotion Council should process electroencephalographic (EEG) against exports made till December 2014 as per extant policy.
“A meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee on EEG should be reconvened in conjunction with the organised private sector”, it said.
The statement urged the federal government to make a policy pronouncement on non-oil exports and restart the EEG policy.
According to him, the EEG policy is critical to the economic diversification agenda of the present administration.

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PENGASSAN Tasks Multinationals On Workers’ Salary Increase 

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5 days ago

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December 8, 2025

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The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked companies in the oil and gas sector to undertake urgent review of salaries of their workers in view of the prevailing harsh economic conditions in the country.
Also, the pensioners of Chevron Nigeria, under the aegis PenCoN, have lauded the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo and his executive on their unrelenting efforts toward addressing pension abnormalities faced by retired workers in the oil and gas industry.
The association also appealed to the federal government to take necessary measures to check banditry and terrorist activities in parts of the country.
PENGASSAN President, Osifo who addressed journalists shortly after the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, at the weekend, said that though a lot of success has been recorded in negotiating salary reviews for its members, there are still organisations that have failed to lift their workers from the present harsh economic situation.
He said within this period, PENGASSAN has signed numerous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which has brought smiles to the faces of its teeming members.
“This is because we recognise that our job, literally, is how to protect the job of our members, and how to enhance their pay,” he said.
Osifo said that operators in the oil and gas sectors always go for the best qualified professionals to carry out their operations.
“So, the same way they recruit the best, we also challenge them to provide the best condition of service and provide the best remuneration.
“Yes, today, a lot of companies will have achieved successes, but there are still few that we are still discussing at their CBAs, that we are not yet there.
“We still use this opportunity to call on these companies that are still foot dragging, that are still holding back, even with the massive devaluation that has occurred in our country, that still don’t want to fix the remuneration of our members.
“We are calling on them to do the needful, because for us in PENGASSAN we will push without holding back. We will push, using everything in our arsenal, to ensure that the needful is done,” he said.
Osifo spoke of the dispute with the Dangote Refinery group, saying there are still pending issues to be resolved.
“Gentlemen of the press, during the networking session, we also looked at the issues that are plaguing some of our branches, and you know that recently, we had some challenges in Dangote Refinery and PetroChemicals Ltd.
“And within this period, since our last National Industrial Action, we have been engaging them in a lot of conversations, but the issues are not fully resolved. There are still a lot of pending issues.
“Yes, the NEC decided that, yes, let us still consummate that process by pushing those issues, by engaging in dialogue to resolve the issues, and by also engaging all our social partners and stakeholders to get the issues resolved,” he said.
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SEC Unveils Digital Regulatory Hub To Boost Oversight Across Financial Markets

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5 days ago

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December 8, 2025

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched the Regulatory Hub, a new centralized digital platform designed to streamline collaboration, strengthen oversight, and improve transparency across Nigeria’s financial and capital market ecosystem.
The Commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.
According to the commission, the platform connects key regulatory and security institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), enabling them to exchange information securely and in real time.
The launch of this regulatory hub comes ahead of the implementation of new tax laws in January 2026, with agencies such as the FIRS spreading its tentacles across sector to monitor compliance.
According to the SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, the launch marks a significant step toward modernizing Nigeria’s regulatory framework through technology.
“The Regulatory Hub is a major step in our commitment to leverage technology for stronger regulatory synergy. By connecting regulators on one platform, we are building resilience, enhancing market integrity, and promoting investor confidence,” he said.
The SEC said the platform would help reduce bottlenecks in regulatory processes and facilitate faster, more informed decision-making across agencies.
Reinforcing the DG’s comments, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Bola Ajomale, highlighted the operational benefits of the new system.
“The platform will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of regulatory decision-making. It provides a single window for regulators to share data, respond to requests, and collaborate seamlessly in safeguarding our financial and capital markets,” he said.
The commission believes the Regulatory Hub would support its broader mandate to strengthen investor protection, enhance market stability, and harmonize regulatory activities across the financial sector.
It urged stakeholders to initiate interest by emailing the Commission, adding that once registered, participants would be able to access the Hub and take advantage of its features.
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NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products 

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5 days ago

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December 8, 2025

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing circulation of banned food products across markets in the country.
The agency, in a Press Release dated 6 December 2025, warned that these items including pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are illegal to import.
NAFDAC stated that the sale and distribution of such prohibited items violate national trade laws, compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s food control system, and pose significant public health risks, as they have not undergone the agency’s mandatory safety and quality evaluations.

Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.

The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.

The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.

“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.

NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu
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