Business

Trade war looms as UK set to spurn EU offer on Northern Ireland

Fears that the UK is heading for a trade war with the EU have been fuelled by strong indications from the government that it thinks proposals to be unveiled in Brussels on Wednesday over Brexit arrangements do not go far enough.

The Brexit minister, David Frost, will use a speech in Portugal on Tuesday to say that the EU scrapping its prohibition on British sausages to resolve the dispute over the Northern Ireland protocol does not meet the UK and unionists’ demands.

Lord Frost will call for “significant” changes to the post-Brexit agreement he negotiated, including over the role of the European court of justice, something the EU is highly unlikely to concede to.

“Without new arrangements in this area, the protocol will never have the support it needs to survive,” he will warn on the eve of a significant move by the EU to resolve the row.

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, reacted with incredulity at the UK’s “red line” and its timing just days before what he said was a “serious” offer from the EU.

He tweeted: “EU working seriously to resolve practical issues with implementation of Protocol – so UKG creates a new “red line” barrier to progress, that they know EU can’t move on … are we surprised? Real Q: does UKG actually want an agreed way forward or a further breakdown in relations?”

Frost immediately responded to Coveney, saying his demands over the ECJ were nothing new.

“I prefer not to do negotiations by Twitter, but since @simoncoveney has begun the process … the issue of governance & the CJEU [court of justice of the European Union] is not new. We set out our concerns three months ago in our 21 July Command Paper. The problem is that too few people seem to have listened,” he said.

1. I prefer not to do negotiations by twitter, but since @simoncoveney has begun the process…

…the issue of governance & the CJEU is not new. We set out our concerns three months ago in our 21 July Command Paper.

The problem is that too few people seem to have listened.

— David Frost (@DavidGHFrost) October 9, 2021
The EU’s Brexit commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, will table four papers on Wednesday on the subject of how the Northern Ireland protocol can be improved – which he has described as “very far-reaching”.

Included will be a proposed “national identity” exemption for British sausages from the EU’s prohibition on prepared meat from a third country, sources said.

However, Mujtaba Rahman, the managing director of the Eurasia Group consultancy, warned in a note to clients on Saturday that the absence of concessions on the ECJ will give Frost the justification for triggering article 16, the mechanism for putting the Northern Ireland protocol into formal dispute process or putting it into abeyance by disapplying the arrangements altogether.

“There is a huge amount of cynicism in the EU about what the government’s actual objectives are. Is it to fix substantive issues in Northern Ireland or is it to keep an ideological fight with the EU rolling because it serves certain sections of the Tory party?” said Rahman.

“The French president and the German chancellor and the European Commission president cannot wake up every single day to a new argument with Boris Johnson. At some point they need to send a stronger, simpler message.

“Use of a termination clause within the trade and cooperation agreement itself can be triggered unilaterally and would fully suspend the zero tariff/quota trade deal between the two sides.”

This cross-retaliation mechanism allowing trade penalties for breaches of the withdrawal agreement was agreed by both sides, but others think the EU will not be so keen to go nuclear.

Catherine Barnard, professor of EU law at the University of Cambridge, believes short sharp shocks in the form of tariffs on such British products as Scottish whisky or salmon are more likely.

She also said that the ECJ is not a significant issue in relation to the trade of goods. Its annual report cites just 24 cases relating to customs union laws currently pending, among more than 1,045 in total.

Frost also told delegates at the Conservative party conference last week that the rules required the EU to be “proportionate” but said he still hoped to come out of negotiations with a fresh deal.

Retaliatory measures are unlikely until next year, with the EU expected to respond with infringement and legal proceedings as its first response to any suspension of the Northern Ireland protocol by the UK.

The protocol, designed to avoid a hard border between the UK and the single market operating in the Republic of Ireland, placed a border in the Irish Sea, enraging unionists who see checks on goods coming into Northern Ireland from Britain as an attack on the integrity of the UK and their British identity.

The EU is expected to propose eliminating checks on goods destined to remain in Northern Ireland, with checks only on those products that are intended for sale in the republic.

Both sides have said they expect to go into a period of intense negotiation, which Frost put at three weeks, after the EU’s response to the UK’s demands are published on Wednesday.

However, one school of thought is that Frost and the home secretary, Priti Patel, are being used to keep the Brexit pot boiling to show how the UK is sticking up against “EU bullies”.

Others think the fight over Northern Ireland is more fundamental. One former Downing Street official said he had been told that Boris Johnson “was going round telling people he had been misled” over the protocol and was determined it would have to be rewritten.

Frost will say on Tuesday that “the UK-EU relationship is under strain” but if the two sides can put the protocol “on a durable footing, we have the opportunity to move past the difficulties of the past year”.

Business

FG, states, LGs share N1.678trn for February – FAAC

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), has shared N1.678 trillion among the Federal Government, states and the Local Government Councils (LGCs) for the month of February.

This is according to a communiqué issued by FAAC and made available by Bawa Mokwa, the Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

According to the communiqué, the total revenue of N1.678 trillion comprised statutory revenue of N827.633 billion and Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N 609.430 billion.

It also comprised Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N35.171 billion, Solid Minerals revenue of N28.218 billion and Augmentation of N178 billion.

It said that a total gross revenue of N2.344 trillion was available in the month of February.

“Total deduction for cost of collection was N89.092 billion while total transfers, interventions, refunds and savings was N577.097 billion,’” it said.

The FAAC issued communiqué said that gross statutory revenue of N1.653 trillion was received for the month of February, which was lower than the sum of N1.848 trillion received in January by N194.664 billion.

It said that gross revenue of N654.456 billion was available from VAT in February, lower than the N771.886 billion available in January by N117.430 billion.

The communiqué said that from the total distributable revenue of N1.678 trillion, the Federal Government received total sum of N569.656 billion and the state governments received total sum of N562.195 billion.

It said that the LGCs received total sum of N410.559 billion, and a total sum of N136.042 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

“On the N827.633 billion statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N366.262 billion and the state governments received N185.773 billion.

“The LGCs received N143.223 billion and the sum of N132.374 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue,” the communiqué said.

It said that from the N609.430 billion VAT revenue, the Federal Government received N91.415 billion, the state governments received N304.715 billion and the LGCs received N213.301 billion.

“A total sum of N5.276 billion was received by the Federal Government from the N35.171 billion EMTL. The state governments received N17.585 billion and the LGCs received N12.310 billion.

“From the N28.218 billion Solid Minerals revenue, the Federal Government received N12.933 billion and the state governments received N6.560 billion.

“The LGCs received N5.057 billion and a total sum of N3.668 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue,’” it said.

It said that Oil and Gas Royalty and EMTL, increased significantly while VAT, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax, Excise Duty, Import Duty and CET Levies recorded decrease.

Business

NNPCL refutes explosion rumour at Port Harcourt refinery, confirms containment

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has debunked reports of an explosion at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) in Rivers State.

In a statement issued on March 19, 2025, Olufemi O. Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, clarified that the event was a flare incident, which has been fully contained without posing any danger to staff, surrounding communities, or the environment.

“There is no danger or health hazard to staff, the surrounding communities, or the environment,” NNPC said in the statement

The company therefore urged the public and media to disregard false claims of an explosion at the refinery, emphasizing that operations remain unaffected.

The NNPC Ltd also reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and safety in its operations.

Business

Rising data costs will worsen Nigeria’s connectivity gap – CITAD warns

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has raised concerns over the increasing cost of internet data in Nigeria, warning that it further widens the country’s existing digital divide.

The centre argued that the increase in data will leave many underserved communities without access to essential online services.

Haruna Adamu Hadeija, the Coordinator of Community Network, CITAD, revealed this while speaking at a press briefing held at the CITAD office in Kano on Monday.

He emphasized the impact of rising data costs on marginalized communities.

According to Hadeija, the 50% tariff increase on data, calls, and SMS approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has made it increasingly difficult for communities already struggling with poor connectivity to access the internet.

“Now that data charges have been jerked up by 50%, students and parents in underserved areas have to ‘dearly’ pay to enable their children to learn online,” Hadeija said.

“This cost hike not only widens the existing connectivity gap but also makes digital liberation nearly impossible for millions of Nigerians.”

Hadeija noted that while Nigeria has made strides in expanding internet access, an estimated 27.91 million people in 97 underserved communities still lack internet access, according to a 2022 report by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).

He highlighted how this lack of connectivity continues to disenfranchise students, youth, and women, particularly those in rural areas.

“In regions where internet access is absent, parents must send their children far from home just to register for computer-based tests, conduct exams, and check their results. It is unfair that many communities are left behind because they cannot afford internet services,” he added.

The CITAD coordinator stressed the need for urgent policy interventions to address the widening digital divide.

He called on the Minister for Digital Economy to officially recognize community networks as an additional layer of connectivity providers in the country.

“We urge the USPF to support local communities with grants to deploy their own connectivity initiatives. These community networks are not competitors to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs); they are complementary solutions to bridge the existing connectivity gap,” Hadeija appealed.

CITAD also proposed capacity-building initiatives to empower local communities in resource mobilization and sustainability to create self-sufficient, community-centered networks.