Business
UK Confirms 99% Duty-Free For Nigerian Exports
The United Kingdom has confirmed that Nigeria will continue to enjoy duty-free access on 99% of total goods exported to the UK market under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS).
This is just as the UK reinforced its long-term ambition to deepen trade ties, support Nigerian exports and promote economic growth for both our countries
The DCTS is part of the UK’s strategy to support growing economies like Nigeria by reducing tariffs on thousands of goods, simplifying export rules for Nigerian businesses and making it easier to qualify for trade benefits. The scheme lowers import cost for UK businesses and offers consumers a wider range of affordable products.
Since its launch in June 2023, the DCTS allows Nigeria and 36 other African countries to export over 3,000 products duty-free or at reduced tariffs to the UK, supporting Nigerian businesses to grow and become more competitive on the global stage.
Through the DCTS, Nigerian exporters can sell key goods like cocoa, yam, tomatoes, plantain, shrimp, and other agricultural products to the UK at reduced tariffs.
The scheme also supports processed and value-added products like cocoa paste and cocoa butter, sesame and Palm oil, cashew nuts, cotton clothing, and cocoa paste, helping Nigeria move beyond raw exports.
Commenting on the DCTS, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery, said “as one of the UK’s most important partners in Africa, Nigeria stands at the heart of the UK’s global trade ambitions, and we want to strengthen the trade ties between our two great nations and unlock the power of sustainable and transformative growth in Nigeria and across emerging economies.
“A major advantage of the UK’s developing countries trading scheme is the reduction or complete elimination of duty-tariffs on everyday goods such as cashew nuts, cocoa, cotton, plantain, tomatoes, prawns, and sesame. This isn’t just about improved access into the UK market, it’s about building a fairer, freer global trading system that supports economic growth and job creation, both in developing countries and in the UK.”
Speaking further, Dr Montgomery added that “through the UK-Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) we are continuing to work alongside the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) to tackle export challenges and ensure the DCTS is fully leveraged by Nigerian businesses to improve trade growth between our two countries.”
This trade framework is part of a wider UK effort to build strong economic ties across the world, with recent trade agreements also signed with major economies like India and the United States.
Tribuneonlineng.com
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) marketers have slashed depot prices, offering distributors lower wholesale rates and raising expectations that cooking gas refill costs could ease for Nigerian consumers in the weeks ahead.
Fresh market data showed that PPMC recorded the sharpest reduction, cutting its depot price to N1,010/kg, a 0.69%.
Rainoil Lagos followed with reduction, bringing its depot price down to N1,030/kg. NIPCO Lagos held its rate steady at N1,025/kg, data from petroluemprice.ng show.
The only marketer to move in the opposite direction was Matrix Warri, which is N1,100/kg.
The new cooking gas depot prices are:
PPMC: N1,010/kg
NIPCO Lagos: N1,025/kg
Rainoil Lagos: N1,030/kg
Matrix Warri: N1,100/k
Industry sources attributed the downward movement to greater competition among suppliers and improved product availability at the wholesale level.
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has demanded that the National Assembly (NASS) immediately conduct a comprehensive forensic review of the 2026 Appropriation Act, following revelations of over ₦210 billion in overlapping and duplicated allocations in the budget.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the revelation, coming alongside Nigeria’s poor showing on nearly 90 percent of globally recognised prosperity indicators, exposes the Tinubu administration as one of the most fiscally reckless governments in Nigeria’s democratic history.
“For more than three years, Nigerians have been subjected to relentless hardship. They were told that fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, higher taxes and rising tariffs were bitter pills that would eventually restore economic stability. Yet today, the same government cannot explain how more than ₦210 billion found its way into duplicated and overlapping budget provisions,” he said.
He linked the finding to what he called a growing pattern of questionable budget practices, citing allocations for projects outside agencies’ statutory mandates and insertions running into billions of naira.
The former vice president also cited the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC Limited’s audited 2024 financial statements, which he said showed ₦7.13 trillion spent on “Energy Security Expenses” — what NNPC itself identifies as petrol subsidy — despite claims that subsidy had been removed in 2023.
Atiku argued that this fiscal indiscipline is reflected in declining living standards, noting that families are skipping meals, small businesses are shutting down, and graduates cannot find jobs, even as government celebrates selective economic indicators.
He also urged the Auditor-General of the Federation, anti-corruption agencies and civil society organisations to independently scrutinise the budget, identify officials responsible for the duplicated allocations, and ensure all improperly appropriated funds are recovered.
Atiku pledged that an ADC administration would restore credibility to public finance through transparent budgeting, zero-based expenditure planning, digital public expenditure tracking and strict personal accountability for public officers.
“When the owner of the barn invites goats to keep watch over his harvest, he should not be surprised when hunger follows abundance. Nigeria deserves custodians of her commonwealth, not Bourdillon caretakers of waste,” he added.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has explained how a retired factory worker’s monthly pension increased from N18,000 to N206,000 after the Federal Government carried out pension reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The PenCom boss shared the story while speaking on the impact of the reforms, saying the increase reflects the government’s commitment to improving the welfare of retirees.
She said the retiree received a pension alert earlier in the day showing the increased payment.
“Early this morning, somewhere in Nigeria, a retired factory worker checked the alert on his phone. For 21 years, that alert read ₦18,000. This month, as in every single month now, it reads N206,000,” she said.
Oloworaran said the increase was not a gift but the result of the government’s decision to meet its obligations to retired workers.
“He did not win a lottery. He was not given anything he had not already earned. What changed was simple. His country decided to keep its promise,” she added.
According to Oloworaran, the improvement is not limited to one person, as hundreds of thousands of pensioners across the country are benefiting from the reforms.
She credited the progress to President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to workers and vulnerable Nigerians, saying the administration has focused on policies that improve the welfare of retirees.
“Work has been made easy because we have a president that is passionate about the Nigerian people, passionate about vulnerable Nigerians, and doing everything in its power to make sure that it puts more money in the hands of the average Nigerian,” she said.
The PenCom Director-General added that the administration’s record on pension welfare over the past two years reflects the impact of the reforms.
She said, “Today, standing before you with 24 months of evidence, I can say that that case is no longer emerging. It is on the record. Because history is rarely defined by one decision. It is defined by a pattern of decisions.”
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