Business

Electricity: WAPP Moves To Connect Nigeria, Others

Published

8 years ago

April 6, 2018

The West African Power Pool (WPP), has announced plans to begin construction of Nigerian component of the North core transmission line that will connect Nigeria, Benin Republic, Niger and Burkina Faso.
The Chairman of WAPP, Mr Mohamnmed Gur-Usman, said this in Abuja, while responding to questions on the sidelines of a meeting organised to disseminate the operational manual of WAPP.
WAPP is a Cooperation of the national electricity companies in West Africa under the auspices of the ECOWAS.
The members of WAPP are working for the establishment of a reliable power grid for the region and a common market for electricity.
It was founded in the year 2000 with present membership of 14 West African countries.
Gur-Usman, who is also the Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), said the transmission line was a project designed to be constructed by four member countries of WAPP.
According to him, the component of the line that concerns Nigeria is about 62 kilometers to other countries.
He said the line would run from Birnin Kebbi in Nigeria to the border, to Niamey in Niger.
He also said that the line would run from Benin Republic from Niamey to Burkina Faso.
According to him, the construction of the line that concerns other countries will be financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the French Development Agency (FDA).
The component financed by AfDB is concentrated on the side of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Niamey in Niger.
“That component has been approved already by the board of AfDB and the agreements signed with those countries.
“The component that concerns Nigeria is about 62 kilometres from Birnin-Kebbi to the border and we are discussing with World Bank to finance it.
“All the studies for it have been carried out including the environmental disclosure.
“For us to be able to supply energy on that line, we also have to build a 330kV double circuit line from Kanji hydropower plant to Birnin-Kebbi which is part of the Northern corridor project of TCN.
“We have done the feasibility study and what is remaining is the validation of the feasibility study which we have hired a consultant to do.
“We are at the final stage of completing the procurement of that contract, everything is starting this year.’’
He further disclosed that the funding of the project that concerns Nigeria would cost 29 million dollars for the transmission line from Birnin-Kebbi to the border of Nigeria and Niger.
“I don’t have the total funding cost for the other countries but the distance of the entire transmission lines is about 700 kilometres. So it is a long distance transmission line’’.
On the progress made on the Southern component of the transmission project, the WAPP Chairman said “the Southern backbone project is a separate project that is under preparation.
“We are doing the environmental impact assessment which is supported by the AfDB, once the study is completed, we will start looking for the financing.
“The grant given is three million dollars and is equal to the amount to pay for the study, they are paying for the contract we entered with the consultant.’’
The chairman also said WAPP in conjunction with the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), was hoping to launch the regional electricity market in June.
He said sensitisation programmes were being done to sensitise member utilities firms on the plan to start the regional electricity market.
“There are several things that are involved in the regional electricity market and synchronisation is just one of them.
“It means that all the electricity that is generated across the sub-region have to be synchronised so that from Nigeria to Cote D’ivoire can have the same power frequency and other places.
“As TCN, we anticipated this and that is why last year, we embarked on the frequency control which we achieved and attained at 39.5 and 30.5 frequency.
“In the last 20 years, this has not been achieved and it enabled WAPP and the rest of the country to synchronise their power.’’
He said the vision of the regional electricity market was also to provide energy security.
“If tomorrow, Nigeria has a problem of gas supply, Nigeria can import energy from Ghana or Burkina Faso, depending on which has cheaper source of energy.”
On if the regional market will ensure improvement in the payment of electricity supplied to international customers, Usman-Gur said:
“We have other mechanism we are putting in place to ensure payment in the market but even as it is, the payment in the international market is better than the local market and we are still working to improve it.’’
He, however, said he could not guarantee that the launch of the regional market would ensure 100 per cent payment of electricity supplied to international customers.
“Whether it will guarantee 100 per cent payment, I can’t tell you because even in the WAPP sub-region like Benin and Niger, the distribution companies are still the weakest link as they are not collecting all the money.
“We are working with WAPP to improve the collection capacities of distribution firms by forming mechanisms that will guarantee payment like this synchronisation.”(NAN)

Business

FIRS Clarifies New Tax Laws, Debunks Levy Misconceptions

Published

14 hours ago

December 5, 2025

The Tide

The Federal Inland Revenue Service has said that Nigeria’s newly enacted tax laws are designed to strengthen economic competitiveness, attract investments, and improve long-term fiscal stability.

The agency also clarified that the much-debated four per cent development levy on imported goods is not a new or additional tax burden, but a streamlined consolidation of several existing levies.

According a statement released Wednesday, one of the most misunderstood elements of the new tax framework is the four per cent development levy with the agency explaining that the levy replaces a range of fragmented charges — such as the Tertiary Education Tax, NITDA Levy, NASENI Levy and Police Trust Fund Levy — that businesses previously paid separately.

This consolidation, it said, reduces compliance costs, eliminates unpredictability and ends the era of multiple agency-driven levies. The law also exempts small businesses and non-resident companies, offering protection to firms most vulnerable to economic shocks.

Another major clarification relates to Free Trade Zones. Earlier commentary had suggested that the government was rolling back the incentives that have attracted export-oriented investors for decades. However, the reforms maintain the tax-exempt status of FTZ enterprises and introduce clearer guidelines to preserve the purpose of the zones.

“Under the new rules, FTZ companies can sell up to 25 per cent of their output into the domestic market without losing tax exemptions. A three-year transition period has also been provided to allow firms to adjust smoothly.

“Government officials say the reforms aim to curb abuses where companies used FTZ licences to evade domestic taxes while competing within the Nigerian market”, it said.

With the new measures, Nigeria aligns with global FTZ models in places like the UAE and Malaysia, where the zones function primarily as export hubs for logistics, manufacturing and technology.

The introduction of a 15 per cent minimum Effective Tax Rate for large multinational and domestic companies has also been met with public concern. But the FIRS notes that this policy aligns with a global tax agreement endorsed by over 140 countries under the OECD/G20 framework.

Without this adoption, Nigeria risked losing revenue to other countries through the “Top-Up Tax” mechanism, where the home country of a multinational collects the difference when a host country charges below 15 per cent. By localising the rule, Nigeria ensures that tax revenue from multinational operations remains within its borders.

Business

CBN Revises Cash Withdrawal Rules January 2026, Ends Special Authorisation

Published

16 hours ago

December 5, 2025

The Tide

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revised its cash withdrawal rules, discontinuing the special authorisation previously permitting individuals to withdraw N5 million and corporates N10 million once monthly, with effect from January 2026.

In a circular released Tuesday, December 2, 2025, and signed by the Director, Financial Policy & Regulation Department, FIRS, Dr. Rita I. Sike, the apex bank explained that previous cash policies had been introduced over the years in response to evolving circumstances.

However, with time, the need has arisen to streamline these provisions to reflect present-day realities.

The statement said the new set of cash-related policies is designed to reduce the cost of cash management, strengthen security, and curb money laundering risks associated with the economy’s heavy reliance on physical currency.

“These policies, issued over the years in response to evolving circumstances in cash management, sought to reduce cash usage and encourage accelerated adoption of other payment options, particularly electronic payment channels.

“With the effluxion of time, the need has arisen to streamline the provisions of these policies to reflect present-day realities,”

“Effective January 1, 2026, individuals will be allowed to withdraw up to N500,000 weekly across all channels, while corporate entities will be limited to N5 million”, it said.

According to the statement, withdrawals above these thresholds would attract excess withdrawal fees of three percent for individuals and five percent for corporates, with the charges shared between the CBN and the financial institutions.

Daily withdrawals from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) would be capped at N100,000 per customer, subject to a maximum of N500,000 weekly stating that these transactions would count toward the cumulative weekly withdrawal limit.

The special authorisation previously permitting individuals to withdraw N5 million and corporates N10 million once monthly has been discontinued.

The CBN also confirmed that all currency denominations may now be loaded in ATMs, while the over-the-counter encashment limit for third-party cheques remains at N100,000. Such withdrawals will also form part of the weekly withdrawal limit.

Deposit Money Banks are required to submit monthly reports on cash withdrawals above the specified limits, as well as on cash deposits, to the relevant supervisory departments.

They must also create separate accounts to warehouse processing charges collected on excess withdrawals.

Exemptions and superseding provisions
Revenue-generating accounts of federal, state, and local governments, along with accounts of microfinance banks and primary mortgage banks with commercial and non-interest banks, are exempted from the new withdrawal limits and excess withdrawal fees.

However, exemptions previously granted to embassies, diplomatic missions, and aid-donor agencies have been withdrawn.

The CBN clarified that the circular is without prejudice to the provisions of certain earlier directives but supersedes others, as detailed in its appendices.

Business

Shippers Council Vows Commitment To Security At Nigerian Ports

Published

18 hours ago

December 5, 2025

The Tide

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC)has restated its commitment towards ensuring security at Nigerian seaports.

Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Dr Pius Akuta, said this in Port Harcourt, while declaring open a one day workshop organized by the Nigerian Shippers Council in collaboration with the Nigerian police( Marin Division).

Theme for the workshop was ‘Facilitating Port Efficiency; The strategic Role of Maritime police “

Akuta who was represented by the Director, Regulatory Services, Nigerian Shippers Council, Mrs Margeret Ogbonnah, said the workshop was to seek areas of collaboration with security agencies at the Ports with a view to facilitating trade

Akuta said the theme of the workshop reflects the desire of the council and the Nigerian police to build capacity of police officers for better understanding and administration of their statutory roles in the Maritime environment.

He said Nigerian seaports has constantly been reputed as one of the Port with the longest cargo dwell in the world, adding,”This is so, because while it takes only six hours to clear a containerized cargo in Singapore Port, seven days in Lome Port, it takes an average of 21 days or more in Nigerian Ports” stressing that this situation which has affected the global perception index on Ease of Doing Business in Nigerian seaports must be addressed.

Akuta said NSC which is the economic regulator of the Ports has the responsibility of ensuring that efficiency is established in the Ports inorder to attract patronages.

“Pursuant to its regulatory mandate, the NSC has been collaborating with several agencies to ensure the facilitation of trade and ease of movement of cargo outside the Ports to avoid congestion”he said.

Also speaking the commissioner of police, Eastern Port Command, Port Harcourt, CP Tijani Fakai, said Maritime police has played some roles in facilitating Ports efficiency.

He listed some of the roles to include ensuring security and crime prevention at the Ports, checking of illegal fishing activities at the Ports, checking of human trafficking and drug smuggling and prevention of fire incident at the Ports.

Represented by ACP, Rufina Ukadike, the CP said police at the Ports have also helped in the decongestion and prevention of unauthorized Anchorage.

He commended the Nigerian Shippers Council for the workshop and assured of continuous collaboration.

Speaking on the dynamics of cargo handling, Deputy Controller of customs, Muhydeen Ayinla Ayoola, said the launching of electronic tracking system and dissolution of controller General Taskforce has helped to ensure efficiency at the Ports.

Ayoola who represented the custom Area Controller Port Harcourt 1 Area command, however raised concerned over rising national security threat , which according to him has affected efficiency at the Ports.

John Bibor