Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — July 28 to August 1.
NIGERIA’S GDP RATE GREW BY 3.13% IN Q1 2025
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) rate was 3.13 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 — higher than the 2.27 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
In the data released on July 21, the NBS said the performance of the GDP in the period reviewed was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth rate of 4.33 percent and contributed 57.5 percent to the aggregate GDP.
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Nigeria’s nominal GDP also hit N372.82 trillion as of 2024 following the rebasing exercise.
DISCOS ANNOUNCE POWER DISRUPTION IN LAGOS AS TCN BEGINS MAINTENANCE JULY 28
Ikeja and Eko electricity distribution companies (IKEDC and EKDC) have announced that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will carry out scheduled maintenance on the Omotosho–Ikeja West 330 kilo-volt (kV) transmission line.
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The maintenance exercise is expected to run from July 28 to August 21, 2025, between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm daily.
In separate notices issued on Friday, the DisCos said the planned TCN maintenance will lead to intermittent power supply disruption and load shedding across their respective network areas.
CUSTOMS WILL REPLACE MULTIPLE LEVIES WITH SINGLE 4% CHARGE
The Nigeria Customs Service says it will replace its seven percent collection fees from the federation account and one percent comprehensive import supervision scheme (CISS) with a 4 percent free on board (FOB) levy at the port.
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Adewale Adeniyi, the comptroller-general of the service, spoke at a town hall meeting with stakeholders on the B’Odogwu clearance system in Lagos.
Adeniyi said the customs will use the 4 percent FOB levy to address concerns about the simultaneous collection of the 1 percent CISS and 7 percent customs collection fees.
CBN RETAINS INTEREST RATE AT 27.5%
The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained the monetary policy rate (MPR), which benchmarks interest rates in the country, at 27.5 percent.
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Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the apex bank, announced the rate adjustment on Tuesday at the end of the committee’s 301st meeting in Abuja.
Speaking at the media briefing, Cardoso said the committee members voted to retain the MPR at 27.50 percent, adjust the asymmetric corridor to +500 and -100 basis points around the MPR.
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The governor said the committee also retained the cash reserve ratio (CRR) at 50 percent, and the liquidity ratio at 30 percent.
CAC POSTPONES IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW FEES, PENALTIES TO SEPTEMBER 1
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The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has postponed the implementation of new fees and penalties for document downloads on its upgraded registration portal to September 1.
In a public notice released on Monday, the CAC said the decision followed transitional challenges being experienced by users on the portal.
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According to the commission, some challenges users encounter include difficulties with downloading documents, payment processing, post-incorporation filings for business names, and the uploading of required documents.
SENATE APPROVES TINUBU’S $21BN BORROWING PLAN
The senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to borrow over $21 billion from external sources for the 2025–2026 fiscal years.
The borrowing plan was passed during plenary on Tuesday, following the presentation of a report by Aliyu Wamakko, chairman of the senate committee on local and foreign debt.
The approved borrowing package includes $21.19 billion in direct foreign loans, €4 billion, ¥15 billion, a $65 million grant, and additional domestic borrowing through government bonds worth approximately N757 billion.
NIGERIA’S CRUDE PRODUCTION INCREASED BY 80%
Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), says Nigeria’s crude oil production has increased by 80 percent.
Speaking at the recent West African refined products pricing and markets development conference in Abuja, the minister said the country’s output rose from 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023 to 1.8 million bpd in 2025.
Lokpobiri, however, said a large portion of the crude is exported and re-imported as petroleum products, highlighting the lack of value retention on the continent.
