Nigeria’s federal government has scrapped the long-standing “cost-of-collection” policy that allowed revenue-generating agencies to retain a percentage of the funds they collected before remitting proceeds into the Federation Account.

The decision, approved by President Bola Tinubu and announced Thursday in Abuja by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, marks a major shift in fiscal management and transparency policy.

Edun made the announcement during the launch of the National Development Update, describing the reform as part of President Tinubu’s broader effort to enforce fiscal discipline, strengthen transparency, and ensure that every naira collected by federal agencies flows directly into the national treasury.

“Funds have flowed to the Federation Account, but the point is this — efficiency of that spending is critical,” Edun said. “We have been mandated by His Excellency, Mr President, to take a look at deductions — not just those for the cost of collection, but deductions generally. When you look at the gross figure, you see all kinds of deductions before you get to the net distributable figure which goes to the federal, state, and local governments. And I must inform you that even during the last FAAC allocation, most of those deductions have been removed once and for all.”

For years, top revenue agencies such as the Nigeria Revenue Service (formerly the Federal Inland Revenue Service), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) have kept back portions of their collections to fund their operations. While the arrangement was meant to incentivize performance, it became a major source of controversy amid mounting allegations that many of the agencies routinely under-declared revenues, depriving the government of huge sums that should have gone into the Federation Account.

The practice also distorted the revenue-sharing process at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), where subnational governments often complained about dwindling funds despite strong revenue inflows.

Until this new directive, the Nigeria Revenue Service received N254.8 billion as its cost-of-collection for 2024, with N43.8 billion projected for the first half of the year. The Nigeria Customs Service, which previously retained seven percent of total collections, was recently placed under a four percent Free on Board (FOB) levy on imports by order of the House of Representatives in August. The NUPRC, which regulates the upstream oil and gas sector, had been allowed to keep roughly four percent of royalties and rents collected from operators.

The government said the abolition of the practice would not only plug revenue leakages but also ensure that all funds are properly accounted for before being shared among the federal, state, and local governments. The measure, Edun noted, aligns with Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that all federally collected revenues must be remitted in full to the Federation Account.

Fiscal experts believe the reform could significantly raise government revenue and improve liquidity at all tiers of government, especially at a time when Nigeria is struggling to fund its budget amid rising debt and limited oil earnings. The removal of the deductions, they argue, could free up hundreds of billions of naira monthly that were previously withheld under opaque cost-of-collection arrangements.

However, the move has also sparked skepticism over the government’s own record of financial transparency. Critics say while agencies have often been accused of shortchanging the treasury, the government itself has not demonstrated much accountability in managing public funds. Many economists note that despite periodic increases in revenue, Nigeria’s fiscal position remains weak due to excessive borrowing, wasteful expenditure, and limited visibility into how funds are utilized.

Some insiders at the affected agencies have also expressed concern that the move could disrupt operations unless the government creates a clear funding framework. Without their cost-of-collection provisions, these agencies will now depend entirely on budgetary releases from the Ministry of Finance — a process often hampered by bureaucratic delays and political considerations.

Nonetheless, the policy underscores President Tinubu’s ongoing fiscal reform drive, which includes unifying exchange rates, removing petrol subsidies, and auditing government-owned enterprises for unremitted revenues. It reflects a growing determination by the administration to widen the fiscal space and restore confidence in the management of public resources.

Edun maintained that the policy is part of a long-term restructuring effort aimed at promoting transparency and rebuilding trust in public finance.

“Every naira collected by government belongs to the people of Nigeria,” he said. “We are restoring order and discipline to ensure that public revenue truly serves the people — through development, not deductions.”

Although the reform marks a turning point in Nigeria’s fiscal management, the challenge remains whether the government can translate increased remittances into real economic impact.

Alphabet’s Google has launched a new artificial intelligence platform for business customers, Gemini Enterprise, in its latest push to attract more corporate clients and deepen its presence in the fast-growing enterprise AI market.

Unveiled on Thursday, the platform will serve as a conversational AI environment powered by Google’s most advanced Gemini models. It allows employees to interact directly with their companies’ data, documents, and applications in natural language. Google said Gemini Enterprise was built to help organizations “unlock insights from information and accelerate productivity across teams.”

“Gemini Enterprise brings the best of Google AI to every employee through an intuitive chat interface that acts as a single front door for AI in the workplace,” the company said in a blog post.

The product launch underscores Google’s intensified effort to compete in the enterprise AI segment, a space increasingly dominated by Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Microsoft has already integrated its AI assistant, Copilot, across products like Office 365, while OpenAI has expanded ChatGPT Enterprise for corporate clients seeking secure, private access to its large language models.

Gemini Enterprise, like its rivals, will offer a suite of pre-built AI agents to assist with data analysis, document summarization, market research, and workflow automation. In addition, companies will have access to customization tools for building and deploying proprietary AI agents tailored to their operations.

Google confirmed that it has already signed on several high-profile clients for the new platform, including Gap, Figma, and Klarna, signaling early traction among major enterprises. These companies are using Gemini Enterprise to automate tasks such as financial analysis, design ideation, and customer service support.

The new platform builds upon Google’s long-standing enterprise offering, Google Workspace, which has already integrated AI features under the Gemini brand for tools like Docs, Sheets, and Gmail. Gemini Enterprise, however, extends beyond Workspace by connecting directly to a company’s private databases, internal dashboards, and third-party applications — effectively making it a business-wide intelligence layer.

According to Google, the rollout of Gemini Enterprise aligns with its broader effort to monetize its AI investments through Google Cloud, which has emerged as one of the company’s most profitable and fastest-growing divisions. Analysts estimate that enterprise adoption of AI tools could contribute billions of dollars in additional revenue for Google Cloud over the next few years, as businesses increasingly seek to automate and analyze their workflows using generative AI.

The launch also comes as Google continues to fend off regulatory pressure and antitrust scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which is pursuing a landmark case accusing the company of maintaining a monopoly in search and advertising through anti-competitive practices. While the DOJ’s ongoing trial could reshape parts of Google’s business, the company is pushing forward with diversification efforts — including cloud computing and enterprise AI — to reduce reliance on its advertising revenue.

Gemini Enterprise marks a key step in that direction, as Google looks to reinforce its foothold among businesses while advancing its position in the AI arms race. The company is expected to expand the platform’s capabilities later this year with deeper integrations into Google Cloud and its Vertex AI service for developers.

“By bringing all of these components together through a single interface, Gemini Enterprise transforms how teams work. It moves beyond simple tasks to automate entire workflows and drive smarter business outcomes — all on Google’s secure, enterprise-grade architecture,” Google said.

The launch further cements Google’s position as a major contender in enterprise AI, as the battle to win corporate customers and the billions in revenue they represent continues to intensify.

The United States has imposed sweeping new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports, striking directly at one of China’s largest state-owned refiners, Sinopec, by designating a key crude terminal that handles roughly one-fifth of the company’s total oil imports.

The move intensifies tensions between Washington and Beijing just weeks before Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Thursday that it had sanctioned Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co. Ltd, accusing the facility of receiving Iranian oil transported aboard sanctioned vessels.

Rizhao Shihua accepted more than a dozen of Iran’s so-called shadow fleet vessels, the Treasury said, listing tankers such as Kongm, Big Mag, and Voy, which it said carried “several million barrels of Iranian oil to Rizhao.”

Located in the coastal city of Lanshan in eastern Shandong province, the terminal is jointly owned by Sinopec Kantons Holding—a logistics arm of Sinopec—and Shandong Port Group’s Rizhao Port, backed by local government interests. According to Chinese corporate data platform Qichacha, each party holds a 50 percent stake. The facility operates three berths capable of handling Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), each with the capacity to carry up to 2 million barrels of oil.

The Rizhao terminal is a critical hub in China’s refining network. Shipping data from analytics firm Vortexa and multiple industry executives show that Sinopec handles the majority of the crude passing through the port. In 2024, Sinopec imported about 804,000 barrels per day (bpd) via Rizhao—representing roughly 20 percent of its total crude imports. The port’s pipelines supply two major Sinopec subsidiary refineries—Sinopec Luoyang Petrochemical in Henan province and Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical in Jiangsu province—with a combined processing capacity of 420,000 bpd. Rizhao also indirectly serves several smaller refineries along the Yangtze River through pipeline connections.

The sanctions on Rizhao Shihua mark the fifth time Washington has designated an oil import terminal in Shandong, a region that serves as the heart of China’s independent refining industry and a major destination for crude shipments from Iran, Venezuela, and Russia. Collectively, the sanctioned facilities represent about half of Shandong’s VLCC handling capacity.

Industry experts said the impact could be significant. “Compared to the previous round of sanctions on Chinese terminals, the impact could be larger,” said Samuel Kong, a senior analyst at energy consultancy FGE. “In the near term, we could see disruptions to discharges around Rizhao, and vessels carrying non-sanctioned barrels might seek alternative ports in Shandong to unload their cargoes.”

FGE estimates that about 10 to 20 percent of crude imported through Rizhao comes from sanctioned sources, but the sweeping restrictions could complicate all trade passing through the port.

The new measures are part of a broader U.S. effort to choke off Iran’s energy revenue by targeting its logistics network and shipping fleet. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is “degrading Iran’s cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran’s energy export machine.” The sanctions package also includes several ships and an independent Chinese refinery accused of processing Iranian crude.

The impact on the market was swift. Spot freight rates for VLCCs on the Middle East–China route rose about 3 percent on Friday amid concerns over potential port congestion and discharge delays resulting from the sanctions. Shipping sources said several vessels bound for Rizhao had begun seeking alternative destinations along the Shandong coast.

The sanctions also follow a broader pattern of Washington’s enforcement actions against China-linked entities accused of facilitating Iran’s oil trade. In early 2025, U.S. authorities blacklisted a China-based crude oil storage facility linked to an independent refinery, while the Haiye Dongjiakou terminal in Qingdao—once handling up to 200,000 bpd of Iranian crude—was sanctioned and forced to suspend operations.

To adapt, Chinese refiners have increasingly used indirect channels to continue importing Iranian oil. Traders have rebranded Iranian crude as originating from Malaysia to evade detection. Discounts for Iranian oil have also widened as inventories built up and import quotas for smaller refiners in Shandong became increasingly constrained.

Beijing had last year denounced the U.S. sanctions, which it called “illegal” and said they have no basis in international law, urging Washington to abandon the wrong practice of arbitrarily resorting to sanctions and to stop interfering in normal energy cooperation between China and other countries.

Industry insiders say Sinopec is now reviewing its crude logistics network to mitigate the impact. Executives familiar with the matter told Reuters that the company could redirect shipments to other terminals, including Ningbo or Qingdao, or increase throughput at nearby refineries to offset possible production losses at Luoyang and Yangzi plants.

Still, such adjustments could take time and increase costs, particularly for a supply chain built around the Rizhao terminal’s pipeline infrastructure.

Analysts say the sanctions highlight Washington’s growing use of financial and logistical pressure to target Beijing’s role in sustaining Iran’s oil exports. The measures come shortly after China announced tighter controls on rare earth mineral exports, a move widely interpreted as a counterweight to U.S. trade restrictions.

With Trump preparing to meet Xi later this month, the sanctions are expected to feature prominently in discussions between both leaders.