Connect with us

Economy

Nigeria’s Non-oil Export to US Falls by 24%

Published

on

NEPC
  • Nigeria’s Non-oil Export to US Falls by 24%

Nigeria’s non-oil export to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act policy has continued to lag, recording $1.141m in 2016.

According to the AGOA trade statistics, non-oil exports to the US under the policy fell by 23.5 per cent from $1.491m in 2015 to $1.141m in 2016.

This is as the oil export under the policy continues to take the centre stage, accounting for 99.9 per cent out of the $3.475bn AGOA exports to the United States in 2016.

In addition, Nigeria’s energy export to the United States under the policy boosted trade balance between the two countries, creating a trade surplus of $2.390bn in 2016.

In the same year, exporters of chemical products, agro-products, mineral and metals enjoyed a duty-free trade deal.

Chemical products valued at $80,000 were exported to the US; agricultural products worth $1.05m, mineral and metal worth $6000 and other export products valued at $1,000 were also exported.

Overall, the total export under AGOA in Nigeria rose by 148 per cent from $1.402bn in 2015 to $3.475bn in 2016.

Nigeria led countries that benefitted from the tariff-free export opportunity last year with South Africa and Angola coming behind it.

After leading for several years, South Africa’s export under AGOA declined from $2.88bn in 2015 to $2.86bn in 2016 with Angola recording a 6.8 per cent improvement from $1.83 to $1.96 in 2016.

AGOA, which is a United States’ trade policy, was enacted in 2000 as a legislation facilitating trade between exporters from sub-Saharan Africa and the United States, duty-free.

After much clamour from the beneficiary countries, the export opportunity was extended in 2015 by another 10 years. This was after completing an initial 15-year validity period.

This means that Nigeria and 42 other countries, which met the eligibility criteria, will benefit from the tariff-free opportunity up until 2025.

The United States is one of Nigeria’s major import and export destinations, with the export representing up to 12.08 per cent of the total exports in 2016 and 8.01 per cent of the total imports into the country.

Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the export intensity, which compares the share of Nigeria’s exports to the US with the share of world exports, was 0.6 in October; 0.6 in November; and 0.2 in December 2016.

The President, Nigeria America Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Olabintan Famutimi, said that chamber had redoubled its efforts to fully maximise the AGOA opportunity after its extension to 2025.

This, according to him, will ensure the volume of export to the US under the scheme will surpass the past years.

He said, “We have redoubled our efforts. Just last year, we got more engaged with AGOA. We participated in AGOA forums, set up an AGOA desk at the chamber; and employed a specialist to manage the desk.

“We are part of the United States Agency for International Development trade hub headquartered in Ghana. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding on AGOA. We have been conducting AGOA sensitisation programmes to encourage more participation. We are working with the USAID’s Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport, which is promoting export for Nigeria community.

“The crude oil has bottomed out. We want to increase the export of Nigeria products to the US and that is why we have embarked on all these activities.”

Meanwhile, stakeholders in the export community have been complaining of low participation in the scheme where other African countries have been earning foreign exchange from the initiative.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

Economy

President Tinubu Approves Concrete Redesign for Abuja-Kaduna Road Amid Contract Termination

Published

on

lekki

The Federal Government has announced plans to address the difficulties faced by road users on the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road with the redesign of the dual carriageway.

This announcement was made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi via a statement on Wednesday.

The Ministry revealed that the 127 kilometers project has been approved by President Bola Tinubu.

This development comes two days after the Ministry of Works announced the termination of its contract with Julius Berger for the Section I (Abuja-Kaduna) of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway project in FCT, Kaduna, and Kano States.

Investors King understands that the contract for the rehabilitation of the road was awarded to Messrs Julius Berger (Nig.) Plc on December 20, 2017.

The project, initially valued at N155.7 billion, with a 36-month completion period was further categorized into three sections.

However, only Section II (Kaduna-Zaria) has been completed and partially handed over.

Section III (Zaria-Kano) is partially finished while Section I remains in a severely deteriorated state.

A statement from the Ministry explained that the decision to terminate the contract with Berger was based on non-compliance with reviewed cost, scope, and terms, stoppage of work, and refusal to remobilise to site.

The ministry on Wednesday, November 6, confirmed that Section I has been redesigned and re-scoped.

The statement reads, “The President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has approved that the remaining 127 kilometres of the Rehabilitation of Abuja – Kaduna – Zaria – Kano Dual Carriageway, Section I (Abuja – Kaduna) be redesigned using continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) instead of the present asphaltic one.”  

“The contract, divided into three (3) sections, was awarded to Messrs Julius Berger (Nig.) PLC on 20th December 2017 at an initial sum of N155, 748,178,425.50 billion (one hundred and fifty-five billion, seven hundred and forty-eight million, one hundred and seventy-eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-five naira, fifty kobo) with a completion period of thirty-six (36) months.” 

Continue Reading

Economy

Tax Expert Warns Tinubu: VAT, PAYE Hikes Will Deepen Hardship for Nigerians

Published

on

Company Income Tax (CIT) - Investors King

Due to Nigeria’s economic situation, tax expert Adebisi Oderinde has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to halt plans to increase the VAT and Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax rates.

Oderinde, who is also the CEO of AOC-Adebisi Oderinde & Co, made the statement during the inauguration of the company’s Head Office in the Kara area of Ogun State.

He said the country’s economic conditions are challenging and particularly unfavorable for SMEs and warned that implementing tax reform could destabilize many small businesses as inflation has already eroded purchasing power in Nigeria.

With over 28 years of experience as a tax consultant, Oderinde noted that new tax reforms would likely worsen hardship across the country.

“My advice is to make hay while the sun shines, as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and slow and steady wins the race. The country is hard! As a tax practitioner, I continue to pray for our President, but he must heed the advice of elders, especially when it concerns tax reform,” he said.

“This is not the right time to reform any tax, nor to adjust rates. Nigerians’ purchasing power is very low. While some may think of VAT reform as beneficial, it would have a negative impact, especially on Lagos State. One part of the reform aims to cancel the consumption tax, which would hit Lagos hard, as the state earns more from consumption tax than any other state in the federation,” he added.

Oderinde further advised northern Nigeria not to support the proposed policy, warning it could disproportionately affect the region.

“They also want to increase PAYE, and recent data from the NBS in 2023 shows that the total IGR from the 36 states plus the FCT is about N2.4tn, with PAYE accounting for about 63%. If PAYE is raised, it will impact many states significantly. Instead of focusing on VAT, the northern states should consider that an increase in PAYE would affect them even more than VAT,” he explained.

Continue Reading

Economy

Power Restored Hours After Lastest Grid Collapse

Published

on

Electricity - Investors King

Electricity has been restored in some parts of the states that were hitherto affected by the nation’s power grid collapse.

Investors King gathered that some states including Lagos, Osun, Federal Capital Territory among others now have light.

Recall that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had on Tuesday announced the latest National Grid collapse.

Checks by Investors King, however, revealed that the last disruption was the tenth time Nigeria would be experiencing total blackout due to grid collapse in about nine months in 2024 alone.

The situation has been raising concerns from Nigerians and other stakeholders even as others alleged that the collapse has led to inferno in people’s homes among other property destruction.

The General Manager of TCN Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, had assured members of the public that the grid collapse which occurred at 1:52 pm on November 5 would be speedily fixed.

The GM revealed that the grid collapse was caused by line and generator trippings, adding that efforts were on to rectify it.

Mbah had disclosed how the national grid experienced a partial disturbance due to a series of line and generator trippings that caused instability in the grid and, consequently, the partial disturbance of the system.

Each time the disruption through citizens into darkness, businesses are affected as many Nigerians task the Federal Government to tackle the menace.

Continue Reading

Trending