Business
CBN To Sanction Banks Over Non-Remittance Of Content Dev Funds
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Monday that it would sanction Money Deposit Banks (MDBs) still collecting payments under the Nigerian Content Development Fund without remitting same to dedicated account opened for the fund at the apex bank.
The Tide source reported that the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, issued the threat in Lagos on Monday at the stakeholders’ forum, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
Emefiele, who was represented by Mr Jack Ukitefu, Deputy Director, Banking and Payments Systems Department, said the bank would collaborate with the agency to identify the defaulting banks.
He warned them to close such accounts and remit the funds at their disposal to the dedicated account with the CBN.
He said that the infraction by the bank was a violation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy and promised to punish such banks.
The bank boss said that the operations of the TSA began in 2015 and that all ministries, departments and agencies should have complied.
He added that commercial banks still collecting funds under the NCDF should have remitted such funds collected.
According to him, CBN will not hesitate to sanction any of the banks identified in the act because it is viewed as a very serious offence.
Mr Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, said the NCDF was established by Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010.
Wabote said that the Act provided that one per cent of every contract in the upstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry shall be deducted at source and paid into the fund.
The Act also gives the board the mandate to manage the fund and employ it for projects, programmes and activities directed at increasing Nigerian Content in the Oil and Gas industry.
The executive secretary said that the agency had been working to create the operating model for utilisation of the fund and had established the NCDF Advisory Committee for efficient governance of the fund, creating confidence and trust of industry stakeholders.
“The board opened up the fund for utilisation from 2013, based on the approved operating model that segmented 70 per cent of the fund to finance commercial interventions and 30 per cent for developmental initiatives and activities carried out by the board on behalf of the industry.
“Under commercial interventions, the fund was leveraged to provide 30 per cent partial guarantee to commercial banks for loans granted to oil and gas service companies towards financing project execution.
“Asset acquisition or facility upgrade. It also provided 50 per cent interest rebate on performing loans, beneficiaries of the fund include Ladol, Starz and Vandrezzer,” Wabote explained.
He said the introduction of the TSA policy by the Federal Government and the need to deepen accessibility of the fund for critical activities created the need to re-engineer the operating model of NCDF
He said the board had fully complied with the TSA policy by opening Naira and foreign currency accounts in CBN, into which all NCDF remittances were to be made.
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