Crude oil prices are heading for a weekly decline despite weak tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States.

Brent crude was trading at $89.17 per barrel as of Friday, down 5.3 per cent for the week, while West Texas Intermediate stood at $83.19 per barrel, with the benchmark on course for a 4.3 per cent weekly decline, Reuters reported.

The decline came despite reports that tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz remained significantly below pre-war levels.

According to preliminary data from vessel-tracking firm Kpler cited by Reuters, only seven commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, down from 17 vessels the previous day and below the 10-day average of 15 vessels.

Another vessel-tracking company, Windward, reported that only six tankers passed through the chokepoint on Thursday, with three operating in “dark mode” to avoid detection.

Four of the tankers entered the strait, while two exited, according to the report.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global oil chokepoint, making the reduced tanker movement potentially bullish for crude prices. However, oil prices have continued to decline as the market adapts to the disruption.

Bloomberg reported that oil flows through the strait had risen to between six million and eight million barrels per day, according to estimates from unnamed traders.

Goldman Sachs estimated that oil flows through Hormuz had recovered to about two-thirds of pre-war levels, while ING’s commodity analysts said producers in the Persian Gulf were increasingly finding ways to move crude outside the strait.

“More Persian Gulf oil producers seem to be shuttling their crude through the strait, while producers in the region are increasingly selling their crude outside the Strait of Hormuz,” ING analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said.

The development came as the United States Treasury announced what it described as the “toughest sanctions in history” aimed at forcing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Donald Trump administration has also ruled out returning to the terms of the ceasefire reached with Iran in June, which broke down less than a month after it was agreed.

“As the president said, there are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The naval blockade remains in full force and effect, and Operation Economic Outcast is underway to sever every remaining economic lifeline sustaining the regime.”

Despite the intensifying tensions, the effectiveness of the US pressure campaign has been questioned, particularly because of China’s role as Iran’s biggest trading partner.

China has repeatedly opposed sanctions as a means of achieving political change, potentially limiting the impact of the US measures.

Meanwhile, ING said upward pressure on crude prices remained because of fading hopes for renewed peace talks between Tehran and Washington.

There were also expectations that Venezuela could leave OPEC following increased United States control over its oil industry.

Such an exit could eventually result in higher Venezuelan production, although analysts cautioned that a rapid increase in output was unlikely because the country would need time to reverse years of decline in its oil industry.

Manufacturers paid N74.48bn in Company Income Tax in the first quarter of 2026 as the Federal Government and the organised private sector seek to balance increased tax compliance with stronger protection for businesses under the new tax regime.

Saturday PUNCH found that N74.48bn paid by manufacturers accounted for 13.82 per cent of the N538.91bn total local Company Income Tax collected during the period, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

However, the sector’s tax remittance fell by 30.98 per cent year-on-year from N107.90bn in Q1 2025, highlighting the changing tax landscape as the four new tax laws introduced a simplified framework for businesses from January 1, 2026.

The Federal Government and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria agree that the reforms should ensure that manufacturers meet their tax obligations without facing the multiple assessments, levies and administrative costs that previously burdened the productive sector.

Following a recent presentation to manufacturers, the Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board, Olusegun Adesokan, said the new tax framework fundamentally changed manufacturers’ position within the tax system.

“The new law reframes the Nigerian manufacturer from an endlessly assessed target to a protected taxpayer. The law provides stronger safeguards than ever before. Our shared responsibility is to ensure these safeguards are consistently applied across every level of government,” Adesokan said.

He urged manufacturers to hold valid Tax Identification Numbers, maintain accurate records, file employees’ returns on time, pay undisputed assessments and raise valid objections where necessary.

Adesokan also urged manufacturers to comply with the Model Taxes and Levies Law, reject cash transactions for tax payments and use available dispute-resolution channels.

“The success of tax reform will ultimately be measured not by the taxes we impose, but by the businesses we enable to grow, the jobs we enable to create, and the prosperity we enable to share,” he said.

Under the new framework, the government has consolidated more than 100 taxes and levies into nine revenue heads at the sub-national level. They include income tax, stamp duty, property tax, road tax, haulage levy, economic development levy, harmonised levy, user charge and daily tickets.

The new Tax ID system also consolidates the taxpayer identification systems previously operated by the Joint Tax Board, the Federal Inland Revenue Service and state tax authorities. At the same time, the tier of government will have one recognised revenue administration authority.

The reforms prohibit the collection of taxes through roadblocks along transportation corridors and ban cash payments for taxes. They also prohibit associations, unions and other non-state actors from collecting taxes on behalf of the government.

The framework prescribes penalties of up to N5m, three years’ imprisonment or both for mounting revenue-collection roadblocks, while violations involving prohibited cash tax collection attract penalties of up to N2m, three years’ imprisonment or both.

The reforms also introduce a tax refund mechanism to enable taxpayers to recover tax overpayments and establish a centralised framework for haulage levy payments at designated loading and offloading points.

The Office of the Tax Ombud will review complaints against tax officials and authorities, mediate disputes, institute legal proceedings on behalf of taxpayers and escalate cases of non-compliance to the National Assembly or state Houses of Assembly.

Meanwhile, Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, concurred that the tax contribution by manufacturers must be viewed alongside the need to create a tax system that supports production and investment.

He said the four new tax laws had created an opportunity to reposition taxation as a strategic tool for growing the productive sector.

“In more recent times, the issue of tax has generated a lot of attention, both from the government and the private sector. And the four new tax laws that took effect from 1st of January 2026 have so far been a bigger platform for engaging and for deciding whether tax should support productivity or it should continue to burden the productive sector,” Ajayi-Kadir said.

He said manufacturers previously paid between 120 and 160 taxes and levies, which increased operating costs and created uncertainty for businesses.

“It is evident that before now, we paid anywhere between 120 and 160 new taxes and levies. And for a manufacturer, that can be a lot. It’s too much, and it has actually affected the bottom line, wasted our time and created uncertainty,” he said.

Ajayi-Kadir said limiting the number of taxes and levies to nine would make compliance easier and give manufacturers greater certainty.

The Nigerian Communications Commission has called for increased investment in locally developed technologies to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign software and strengthen the country’s digital sovereignty.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, made the call on Thursday at the closing ceremony of the fourth NCC Hackathon Live Show in Abuja, where innovators showcased technology solutions targeted at persons with disabilities and other digitally excluded Nigerians.

Maida, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, said Nigeria must move from being largely dependent on imported software to developing technologies tailored to local needs.

“Through this hackathon, we are transforming Nigeria from a passive importer of foreign software into a creator of locally engineered assistive technology that serves the ability of all its citizens,” he said.

He added that the solutions developed at the hackathon, ranging from artificial intelligence-powered speech-to-text technologies to voice-enabled public platforms, accessible USSD solutions and inclusive mobile applications, represented building blocks for technological self-reliance.

“By investing in a homegrown, universally accessible codebase, we guarantee Nigeria’s digital economy remains operational, secure, affordable, and responsive to Nigeria’s realities, immune to external shocks,” Maida said.

The NCC boss further urged venture capitalists, telecommunications operators and state governments to provide the investment and partnerships required to move the innovations beyond prototypes.

“We ask you not to view these innovators as contestants, but as future founders, future partners, and future vendors,” he said. “We encourage you to step forward, invest in these accessible prototypes, and help us remove digital exclusion.”

Maida said the need for locally relevant technologies had become more urgent because millions of Nigerians remained at risk of exclusion as economic and social activities increasingly moved online.

Citing World Bank estimates, he said about 25 million Nigerians experience at least one form of disability, while approximately 3.6 million experience significant difficulties in functioning.

He added that persons with disabilities could be excluded not only from connectivity but also from education, employment, financial services, healthcare and participation in society if digital products were not designed with accessibility in mind.

Representing MTN Nigeria, the Senior Manager, Strategy and Innovation, Chinyelu Chikwendu, pledged the telecom operator’s support for the innovators, saying the company was willing to provide infrastructure and explore partnerships with startups whose technologies aligned with its operations.

“We are happy to support your growth. We are happy to support these beautiful ideas that you are all working on, and we are here to help you with the various infrastructures that we have,” Chikwendu said.

She said MTN had infrastructure and platforms that startups could leverage to scale their products, including cloud services, its data centre and API marketplace.

Chikwendu also invited the 20 innovators who participated in the hackathon to apply for the company’s next Cloud Accelerator Programme, which provides startups with mentorship, funding and infrastructure support.

Also speaking, Amadi Kenneth of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion Department said the apex bank saw opportunities to deploy some of the innovations to expand financial inclusion.

“We want to see that the excluded Nigerians are brought into the financial system,” he said, identifying women, youths, persons with disabilities and people in remote communities as priority groups.

Kenneth said the CBN would collaborate with the NCC and could invite some participants to its Digital Channel Working Group to examine how their applications could support financial inclusion.

The NCC Director of Digital Economy, Helen Obi, said the commission expected the partnerships emerging from the event to help innovators scale their technologies beyond the competition.

She also urged financial institutions to consider dedicated funding for young innovators, saying, “Youths need to be encouraged. Let’s begin to have a huge fund projected for this sector of the economy.”

At the end of the competition, Sora emerged winner and received N3m, while ClearSignal won N2m in second place and Ikor received N1m for finishing third. The three were selected from five finalists, which also included Aditus and Axol.