Business
US government reveals major barrier to trading and investing in Nigeria
The United States government has pointed out the major stumbling block to trade and investment in Nigeria.
According to US authorities, corruption is the major barrier preventing trading and investing in Nigeria.
Speaking in the latest 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said corruption and lack of transparency in tender processes are major concerns to U.S. companies. Nigerian home decor ideas
It stated: “U.S. firms experience difficulties in day-to-day operations as a result of inappropriate demands from officials for ‘facilitative’ payments.
“Efforts to strengthen anticorruption measures have been hampered by inter-ministerial infighting and partisan politics.
“Questions also remain regarding the Nigerian justice system’s capacity to achieve convictions and appropriate sentencing for corruption-related crimes.”
The continued delay in approving import permits for American agricultural products was also blamed on Nigeria, with the U.S. authorities calling the issue a longstanding trade barrier that has hindered access to the Nigerian market.
According to the report, Nigeria had not acted on several pending requests concerning food and agricultural imports from the US despite repeated efforts to secure market access.
“Since 2019, the United States has sought to negotiate import permits for the export of several categories of US food and agricultural products. Nigeria has been slow to approve these requests,” the US National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers said. Nigerian home decor ideas
“Nigeria is not consistent in the implementation of technical regulations and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, which can create confusion and undermine compliance.
“Nigeria maintains a combined duty plus other associated import fees of 50 per cent or more on 79 tariff lines.
“These include 17 tariff lines on which the combined duty plus other associated import fees reach or surpass the 70 per cent limit set by ECOWAS,” it added.
The naira appreciated massively against the United States dollar across official and parallel foreign exchange markets to end the week on a good note.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the naira strengthened to N1,487.90 against the dollar on Friday, up from N1,498.98 on Thursday.
This means that the Naira firmed up against the dollar at the official market by N11.08 on a day-to-day basis.
At the black market, the naira appreciated by N15 to N1,522 on Friday per dollar from N1,537 on Thursday.
The development showed that the Naira gained against foreign exchange currenciesacross FX markets on Friday. This is a major boost from Wednesday and Thursday’s downtrend the naira experienced.
Ekwutosblog reports that the Naira gained N3.9 on a week-on-week basis when compared to N1,501.50 traded last week Friday.
This comes as the apex bank data showed that the country’s external reserves had continued its rise and stood at $41.99 billion as of September 18, 2025.
The government in Hanoi has ordered the closure of bank accounts lacking biometric verification, affecting over 86 million accounts.
Starting September 1, Vietnam has decided to permanently close more than 86 million bank accounts that did not comply with the new facial biometric authentication requirements. The remaining 113 million accounts have been subjected to verification under the new anti-fraud and anti-money laundering regulations.
The situation has particularly impacted foreigners residing in the Asian country. A Reddit user, a former international contractor, reported being forced to return to Vietnam in person to avoid the closure of his HSBCaccount, as remote solutions for biometric verification were not available.
“This is a very insidious way to do a bail-in while also increasing the surveillance state,”commented Marty Bent.
According to Daniel Batten, researcher and co-founder of CH4 Capital, these measures give the Vietnamese central bank “next-gen financial surveillance ability.”
The Hanoi government justified the introduction of the new rules by citing the increased use of generative AI and sophisticated spoofing techniques to bypass banking security systems. Last May, local police dismantled a laundering network that used fake facial scans and had moved approximately 1,000 billion Vietnamese dong ($39 million).
The new regulations require facial biometric authentication for first-time registration and online transfers over 10 million dong ($379), while combined transactions exceeding 20 million dong ($758) always require biometric verification.
The National Industrial Court has granted an interim injunction restraining the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) from blocking Nigerian roads, or frustrating and shutting down the operations of Dangote refinery, MRS Oil Nigeria Limited, and MRS Oil and Gas Company Limited.
The court also restrained NUPENG and other drivers’ associations from embarking on an industrial action or compelling other truck drivers to join in its industrial action.
Emmanuel Subilim, the presiding judge, delivered the ruling on Wednesday following an ex parte motion filed by George Ibrahim, the refinery’s lawyer.
Ibrahim approached the court with an ex parte motion filed alongside the originating processes and a motion on notice, dated and filed September 15.
The lawyer prayed the court to direct NUPENG and its members to continue petroleum trucking services to the refinery, MRS, and the Nigerian public pending the determination of the motion on notice.
In an affidavit deposed by Ahmed Hashem, the group’s general manager, government and strategic relations of the refinery, the applicants provided an undertaking of damages to the organisation if the court ultimately rules against the restraining request.
After hearing Ibrahim, the judge held that “this court, having satisfied itself that there is a serious issue to be tried, that the balance of convenience tilts in favour of the Applicants (Dangote Refinery), that irreparable damage may be occasioned if the necessary orders are not granted, and that the Applicants have given an undertaking as to damages”.
He ruled that NUPENG ought to be restrained, granting interim injunction on the refinery’s request.
‘RESTRAINING ORDER TO LAST FOR SEVEN DAYS’
The judge noted that the restraining orders would remain in effect for seven days.
He further directed the applicants to serve the respondents with the motion on notice and all accompanying processes in the suit within seven days from the date of the order.
The judge also noted that the court’s authority to sit during the ongoing vacation would expire on September 23.
Consequently, he ordered that the case file be forwarded to the president of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria for reassignment to another judge, who will hear and determine the motion on notice as well as the substantive case on its merits.
On September 11, NUPENG placed its members on red alert for the resumption of its nationwide industrial action — two days after it suspended its strike action, in protest against Dangote refinery’s “anti-union practices”.
The union said it made the decision after Sayyu Dantata, the owner of Mrs Oil, allegedly instructed his truck drivers, who had been NUPENG-Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) members for several years, to remove union stickers from their trucks.
NUPENG said the action led to an altercation between the truck drivers and its officials.
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