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Doubts as Nigeria negotiates debt relief with World Bank, IMF

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Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Aliyu Ahmed (left); Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Kingsley Obiora and Director, Monetary Policy Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Hassan Mahmud at the on-going yearly meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group in Washington DC on Tuesday.

• Owoh: It’s fruitless, costly effort to further defraud citizens • Economy risks junk status, experts warn
• Country faces hard, painful choices, says Oxford economist, Dercon
• El-Rufai admits NNPC hasn’t brought N20,000 to nation’s treasury in 2022, says it’s a failure

Disclosure by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to the effect that the Federal Government is exploring debt restructuring options as well as securitising the N22 trillion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s overdraft, may confirm what analysts have always feared, that the economy is finally on a fiscal cliff.

During a media interview on the sidelines of the ongoing World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Ahmed said FG had commenced discussions with the Bretton Wood institutions on debt restructuring for the country.

“It is a fact that Nigeria’s debt has increased over the last three to four years and this increase in debt was occasioned by the different kinds of exogenous shocks that the country faced, which are not unique to Nigeria. The situation we have by the 2023 projection is that we will need about 65 per cent of our revenues to service debt.

“Unfortunately, the cost of debt service is rising, because of the growing interest rate globally, which is resulting also in higher debt service costs. But our projection from the debt sustainability analysis is that Nigeria is able to cope with its debt service in 2022 as well as in 2023.

“We have been engaging financial institutions to look at the opportunity to restructure our debt to further stretch the debt service period to give us more fiscal relief. Those are some of the things we want to achieve in this meeting,” Ahmed said.

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The official disclosure came same day Managing Director of Augusto & Co, Olabode Augusto, raised the alarm that Nigeria was on “its road to Zimbabwe,” stressing that no other country is leveraging 10x spending as the country is currently doing. Leverage ratio is the level of debt in proportion to income or equity.

According to Augusto, crisis-ridden Sri Lanka and neighbouring Ghana, which is seeking debt restructuring, have a leverage ratio of 7x and 3x respectively.

While Ahmed is in Washington negotiating with development partners, one of the world’s most renowned economist and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford, Prof. Stefan Dercon, is in Nigeria to speak on the state of the economy and the options before the managers.

On Wednesday, Dercon dismissed Nigeria as a country trapped in an ‘elite bargain’ crisis. He said hard choices would be able to rescue the economy but warned that even choices are limited in these hard times. He said any decision taken to achieve macroeconomic stability would be painful. The best time to act was about seven years ago, he said, advising the country to continue to manage the situation but show commitment to making hard decisions when things are more stable.

Reacting to the Minister’s disclosure, a professor of economics and debt management expert, Godwin Owoh, described the plan as another fruitless and costly ploy that would further drain public purse. He challenged government to provide more information about the consultants it is working with to help Nigeria evaluate the process.

“Who are the consultants they are working with? What are their terms of reference?” Owoh asked, saying there is little room for negotiating restructuring of the country’s debt. He said some of the debts are still shrouded in secrecy, adding that debt restructuring negotiation can take up to a year, which the current administration does not have the luxury of time to see the process through.

Chief Executive Officer of Dairy Hills Limited, Kelvin Emmanuel, warned that the move would downgrade the country’s economy to ‘junk status’, which would mean that the country will no longer be creditworthy in the international market.

Emmanuel also argued that converting the ways and means (W&M) facility into local debt stock is not only a violation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, but would also increase the total debt stock by over 50 per cent and worsen the cost of servicing; as well as trigger a downgrade to a lower rating from the current not-too-good B2.

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“Seeking to raise $20 billion is proof that the government does not understand the impending doom the economy faces in the current trajectory,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari had at the United Nations General Assembly in September sought the assistance of world leaders in considering granting debt relief or outright cancellation to developing countries.

But the Deputy Managing Director of IMF, Kenji Okamura, has urged governments to be prudent and spend public resources for the greater need of the people.

He said: “We live in turbulent times, which highlights the importance of social contracts – an understanding of mutual expectations that bind citizens and their governments. To strengthen public trust and support social cohesion, governments need to invest in basic public services and deliver more inclusive policies. Fair and more transparent use of public resources is key.”

At a press conference, yesterday, the Managing Director of the Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, appealed to policymakers to act with a sense of urgency to bring down inflation and support vulnerable emerging markets.

The statement came shortly after the reading of the United States’ September Consumer Price Index (CPI), which showed a slight decline, but higher-than-expected inflation. The inflation rate slowed to 8.2 per cent from 8.3 per cent in August.

Georgieva said policymakers need to act now and act together in resolving inflation and safeguarding financial stability. On this note, she said, macro-prudential policies need to be vigilant and proactively address pockets of vulnerability.

“In this environment, we also must support vulnerable emerging markets and developing countries. It is tough for everybody, but it is even tougher for countries that are now being hit by a stronger dollar, high borrowing costs, and capital outflows, a triple blow that is particularly heavy for countries that are under a high level of debt.”

MEANWHILE, Kaduna State governor, Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai, has restated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is a big problem to Nigeria, and unless it is completely sold, it is capable of bringing the country to its knees.

In the build up to elections of 2015, el-Rufai and the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised to reorganize the corporation but a few months to the departure of this administration, the lamentation has not changed.

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The governor, who stated this while speaking on Channels Television special programme to mark the beginning of the yearly Kaduna Investment Summit (KADInvest 7.0), said the Federal Government has failed in the oil and gas business and should get out of the sector.

El-Rufai, while speaking to the theme of the summit, ‘Building a Resilient Economy,’ stated that since the beginning of this year, NNPCL has not brought even N20,000 to the Federation Account.

According to him, “NNPC is a big problem to Nigeria and unless we resolve it, it will bring Nigeria to its knees. It is a systemic and institutional problem, it is beyond one person.”

He said: “There is no reason why government should still be in the oil and gas sector. It should just get out, it has failed. By every measure it has failed.

“When I say the Federal Government should get out of oil and gas, people shouldn’t think it’s crazy, it’s not. We are living on taxes. It is PPT, royalties and income tax that is keeping this country going, because NNPCL claims that subsidy has taken all the oil revenues. I don’t believe that. So, the government should sell everything — the oil and gas sector. I have been making this point since 1999 when I was head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). I have not changed my mind.

“The government should get out of whatever is left of electricity. Leave it to the private sector. Maintain the environment. The money will come. Nothing has changed for NNPC other than adding L to it for the limited. They are still taking our money. They are still declaring profits that we don’t see the dividends.”

Speaking further, el-Rufa’i said the sectors doing well in the country like entertainment, telecoms, fintech and others have no government involvement.

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Dangote deploys technology to curb truck crashes, improve road safety

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August 21, 2026

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Dangote deploys technology to curb truck crashes, improve road safety

 

Dangote Cement has stepped up the deployment of advanced safety technology and monitoring devices across its truck fleet as part of efforts to improve driver behaviour and reduce road crashes involving its vehicles.

The company said the technology, which enables real-time monitoring of its trucks and drivers, was being complemented by intensive driver training, strict safety protocols and incentives for accident-free driving.

The Head of Operations, Dangote Cement Ibese, Ogun State, David Idiege, disclosed this on Thursday at a press briefing on the company’s road safety measures, explaining that the initiative was designed to give the company greater control over what happens on the road.

With more than 4,000 trucks operating from the Ibese plant, Idiege said the company had invested in cameras and other state-of-the-art devices capable of monitoring its trucks in real time and helping to detect unsafe driving practices.

“That is why we have cameras in our trucks and state-of-the-art technologies that make us see in real time what is happening in any of our trucks at every material time,” he said.

According to him, the technology is particularly important in addressing practices such as speeding and proxy driving, where authorised drivers hand over trucks to unauthorised persons.

“Proxy driving, cases where our drivers give the truck to some other person to drive for them, and the company has stringent sanctions applied to any driver caught in proxy driving,” he said.

Idiege added that environmental factors, including bad weather, also contributed to some road incidents, making real-time monitoring and driver vigilance critical to the company’s safety strategy.

Beyond technology, he said Dangote Cement was strengthening driver competence by using some of its best-performing drivers as safety ambassadors to train their colleagues.

“We also have a very good rewards system for those who drive diligently without getting involved in accidents. Aside from the rewards and certificates, we also bring those best drivers up to train their colleagues,” he said.

The company’s Head of Human Resources, Muhammed Al-Hassan, said driver development remained a key component of its road safety programme, stressing that only properly trained drivers were permitted to operate its trucks.

He said the company also encouraged safe driving through monthly and annual recognition of drivers who maintained accident-free records.

“For instance, a driver who has been driving without getting involved in accidents is rewarded monthly,” Al-Hassan said.

He added that at the company’s annual safety day, the driver with an outstanding accident-free record would be recognised as the “Safety Person of the Year” and rewarded in line with the organisation’s policies.

While the company maintains disciplinary measures for breaches of safety protocols, Al-Hassan said the broader objective was to ensure that drivers understood and complied with the organisation’s safety standards.

He disclosed that more than 250 drivers had faced sanctions for various safety violations between 2025 and 2026, but stressed that the company’s approach combined enforcement with training, monitoring and incentives.

Idiege also clarified that not every truck bearing the Dangote brand was currently under the company’s direct operational control.

He explained that some trucks previously owned by Dangote had been leased to customers and were now operated by those customers. According to him, trucks no longer managed by the company had been de-branded.

The company said the combination of smart monitoring devices, driver training, safety ambassadors, real-time surveillance and rewards for responsible driving was aimed at creating a stronger safety culture and reducing truck-related accidents on Nigerian roads.

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Fuel subsidy: FG records N20.4tn extra resources, spends N30.6tn, says Oyedele

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August 19, 2026

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Fuel subsidy: FG records N20.4tn extra resources, spends N30.6tn, says Oyedele

The Federal Government generated about N20.4tn in additional resources from fuel subsidy removal and other fiscal reforms over the last three years, but spent N30.64tn on wages, debt servicing, infrastructure and electricity subsidies, the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has disclosed.

Oyedele gave the figures on Wednesday at a press conference, where he explained how the government had deployed the resources generated from the reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

According to him, the removal of fuel subsidy resulted in N15.8tn in savings that accrued to the Federation Account and were shared among the three tiers of government.

He said the Federal Government received N5.43tn, states got N6.52tn, while local governments received N3.88tn from the subsidy savings.

The minister explained that the reforms also generated N3.12tn in incremental revenues, while the Federal Government raised an additional N11.85tn through borrowing.

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These, he said, brought the Federal Government’s total incremental resources during the period to approximately N20.4tn.

Oyedele, however, stressed that the subsidy removal did not translate into N20.4tn of cash available solely to the Federal Government, noting that a significant portion of the resources was shared among the different tiers of government.

“The Federal Government had approximately N20.4tn in incremental resources.

“Over the same period, additional expenditures amounted to approximately N30.64tn. Subsidy removal therefore did not create one large pool of cash available to the Federal Government. It reduced a major fiscal burden and the amount of additional borrowing that would otherwise have been required,” he said.

Giving a breakdown of the additional expenditure, Oyedele said N9.39tn was spent on wage adjustments, while N9.37tn went into servicing external debt.

He added that N6.47tn was committed to infrastructure, while N3.14tn was spent on electricity subsidies.

The figures offer a clearer picture of the fiscal impact of the Tinubu administration’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, a policy announced in May 2023 shortly after the President assumed office.

The subsidy removal triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices, while the government’s subsequent liberalisation of the foreign exchange market also led to significant fluctuations in the value of the naira.

Oyedele’s explanation suggests that the savings from subsidy removal were used largely to ease fiscal pressures, support increased government spending and reduce the need for even higher borrowing, rather than providing the Federal Government with a single pool of funds for discretionary spending.

 

Fuel subsidy: FG records N20.4tn extra resources, spends N30.6tn, says Oyedele

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Electric Vehicles: Six-point blueprint to drive mass adoption, by Metropolitan CEO 

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August 19, 2026

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Electric Vehicles: Six-point blueprint to drive mass adoption, by Metropolitan CEO 

Nigeria’s electric vehicle transition risks remaining trapped in a cycle of policy announcements unless government and industry move swiftly to turn existing incentives, infrastructure plans and regulations into a coordinated, bankable market, Metropolitan Electric Limited has warned.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Olugbenga Obadina, made the call at the 3rd Nigeria Auto Industry Summit, organised by the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association in conjunction with the National Automotive Design and Development Council in Lagos.

Obadina said Nigeria had reached a critical stage in its electric mobility journey, stressing that the immediate challenge was no longer the absence of policies but the failure to coordinate and execute them effectively across government agencies.

According to him, several building blocks for EV adoption are already in place, including the National Automotive Industry Development Plan 2023–2033, which targets a 30 per cent local EV production share and 40 per cent local content.

He also cited the zero-rating of VAT on EVs and semi-knocked-down assembly parts under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and the reported reduction of EV import duty from five per cent to zero under the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures.

Other initiatives, he said, covered government EV procurement, charging infrastructure, standards, battery recycling and skills development.

However, Obadina warned that these measures would have limited impact if investors and operators continued to face uncertainty over tariffs, customs procedures, financing, charging permits and other regulatory requirements.

“The policy pieces are largely in place. What is needed now is to connect them, with coordination and execution across agencies,” he said.

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He added, “Investors price execution certainty, not policy intention.”

Six-point EV compact

To move Nigeria from growing EV interest to mass adoption, Metropolitan Electric proposed a six-point “Nigeria EV Compact”.

The first is the development of a stable 10-year EV roadmap under a single coordinating body with sufficient authority to align the activities of relevant government agencies.

The second is to create anchor demand by progressively increasing EV procurement quotas for government fleets and public transportation.

The company also recommended financing “kilometres, not cars” through a naira-denominated green-mobility facility, credit guarantees and multi-year leasing arrangements.

It called for charging infrastructure to be treated as regulated infrastructure, with standardised permits, defined service levels and transparent tariffs.

The fifth proposal is performance-based localisation, with incentives tied not just to vehicle assembly but to production, quality, job creation, components, research and development and exports.

The final recommendation is to strengthen consumer and investor confidence through technician certification, transparent warranty disclosure, battery-health standards and clear rules for battery disposal and end-of-life management.

Obadina stressed that the goal should not be permanent government subsidies but the creation of a market capable of attracting private finance, supporting local production and eventually competing without extraordinary government intervention.

“The objective is not permanent subsidy. It is a bankable market that scales, localises and eventually competes,” he said.

Put fleets before private cars

Obadina argued that Nigeria should avoid simply copying the private-car-led EV transition experienced in wealthier economies.

Instead, he urged policymakers to prioritise vehicles that cover high daily mileage, including buses, logistics vehicles, institutional fleets and two- and three-wheelers.

Such vehicles, he explained, can generate returns on vehicle and charging infrastructure investments faster because of their intensive utilisation.

He said charging infrastructure should therefore be planned around actual depots, routes and daily driving patterns rather than deployed without regard to vehicle utilisation.

Obadina pointed to Metropolitan Electric’s operations as evidence that electric mobility can work in Nigeria when the wider ecosystem is properly coordinated.

Since 2023, the company has supplied, deployed and maintained more than 200 EVs, with another 150 units ordered. It has also deployed more than 6MW of charging infrastructure and operates in Lagos, Abuja, Abeokuta, Port Harcourt and Kaduna.

The Metropolitan Electric boss challenged policymakers, investors and journalists to judge the country’s EV transition by actual performance rather than policy announcements.

He said stakeholders should track the number of EVs operating daily, cost per kilometre, charging uptime, warranty performance and who ultimately bears the risks associated with batteries, financing and recycling.

“Count what operates, not what is announced,” Obadina said, insisting that Nigeria’s EV future must be “engineered, assembled, financed, charged and maintained here.”

 

Electric Vehicles: Six-point blueprint to drive mass adoption, by Metropolitan CEO

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