BAT Nigeria has advocated vital export coverage reforms to unlock Nigeria’s manufacturing competitiveness.
The managing director, BAT West and Central Africa, Yarub Al-Bahrani, acknowledged this on the 2025 version of the BusinessDay CEO Discussion board held in Lagos. Themed ‘Nigeria: From Reform to Restoration,’ the discussion board introduced collectively the nation’s foremost enterprise leaders, senior policymakers, international consultants, and entrepreneurs to dissect the sensible impacts of Nigeria’s ongoing coverage recalibration.
Taking part within the panel dialogue on ‘Driving Restoration Throughout Key Sectors’, Al-Bahrani emphasised that Nigeria’s daring reforms, together with overseas trade unification, subsidy elimination, and evolving industrial insurance policies have created each challenges and alternatives for producers.
“At BAT Nigeria, our strategy is obvious: adapt quick, make investments deeper, and construct sustainably. True restoration is not only about surviving volatility, however driving significant development anchored in innovation, sustainability, and native empowerment,” he mentioned.
Whereas commending coverage reforms which have improved transparency and market effectivity, Al-Bahrani referred to as for pressing reforms to the Export Growth Grant (EEG) scheme to stimulate Nigeria’s export competitiveness and liquidity.
“We urge the federal government to overtake the EEG scheme by changing promissory notes, that are proving administratively cumbersome, with export credit score certificates backed by annual finances allocations. This would supply sensible help to exporters,” he famous.
He revealed that regardless of rising operational prices attributable to trade price unification, BAT Nigeria stays a web contributor to Nigeria’s financial system with over $300 million in cumulative export gross sales between 2022 and 2024.
The corporate’s Ibadan manufacturing facility, he mentioned, serves as a regional manufacturing hub, exporting to 13 nations together with america whereas supporting Nigeria’s exterior reserves.
Highlighting BAT Nigeria’s sustainability management, Al-Bahrani mentioned “our enterprise is now centered on accelerating Tobacco Hurt Discount (THR) globally, with the ambition to generate not less than 50 per cent of our income from smokeless merchandise by 2035 merchandise which were scientifically proven to current diminished dangers in comparison with conventional smoking.
“We stay on observe to realize 100 per cent renewable electrical energy throughout our Nigerian operations by 2030, pushed by a 1.4MW photo voltaic system and a totally Compressed Pure Fuel powered vitality supply on the manufacturing facility,” he burdened.
He added that BAT Nigeria is a robust supporter of the non-public sector sustainability motion in Nigeria, partnering with private and non-private actors to drive initiatives resembling Lagos State’s N14.8 billion Inexperienced Bond, waste-to-wealth programmes, and the clear cookstove initiative.
Addressing the influence of tax and excise insurance policies on industrial resilience, Al-Bahrani referred to as for a consultative, data-driven strategy to excise planning.
“Sharp or unpredictable hikes can undermine formal companies, dampen funding urge for food, and gas illicit commerce. Insurance policies ought to be rooted in Nigeria’s distinctive financial realities, not imported fashions from markets dealing with totally different macroeconomic circumstances,” he suggested.
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