Business
PHALGA Set To Improve Revenue Collection
The Port Harcourt City
Local Government Council says in order to beef up internally generated revenue, efforts are underway to deploy best practices in the collection of internally generated revenue while completely eliminating touting from the system.
Speaking with The Tide in an exclusive interview, the Mayor of Port Harcourt City, Samuel Sunny Ejekwu, said that his administration was set to operate a cashless system in the payment of taxes to curb corruption and eliminate miscreants, whose activities have adversely affected the revenue of the council.
He complained that since his administration, “there has not been any improvement in the internally generated revenue”, adding “rather it has been on the downward slide, which is the reason why members of this executive have taken a resolution to review the revenue policies of the council,” because according to him, “what we met on ground was not good enough”.
The mayor added that “the issue of beefing up internally generated revenue has been there over the years”, which he insisted, “the council is doing everything to address as quickly as possible.
“In our last executive council meeting, we passed a resolution which is intended to be implemented in a couple of weeks, and once implementation starts, I am very positive and strongly believe that our internally generated revenue would improve,” he pointed out.
Ejekwu said: “The good thing about the cashless policy in our new transaction model is that customers no longer need to handle cash or carry money to the council or to banks to pay in, but can use Point Of Sales (POS), Automated Teller Machines (ATM) or the Internet Banking platform to pay required taxes, fees, levies, permits, and the amount is debited from the customer’s account without necessarily paying cash to faceless agents and miscreants posing as task force members to fraudulently extort money from companies and individuals. Life is so simple now that investors would no longer complain of being duped by criminals or multiple taxation as everything is now being done transparently because of the best practices we are adopting.”
The mayor also stated that “although the Rivers State Government had harmonized taxes in the past, but the implementation has not been on a full-scale”, expressing confidence that “when full-scale implementation begins, it will be a win-win situation for all stakeholders”.
He also hinted that in order to attract investors, the caretaker administration has begun to reach out to some corporate bodies, noting that, “we are getting some positive responses, and we believe that they are supportive of our programmes and policies, and want to partner with us to achieve the sustainable development of the city”.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor