What Is PAYE?
PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn. It is a system of personal income tax collection in Nigeria where tax is deducted directly from an employee’s salary before they even receive it.

In simple terms — your employer deducts your tax and pays it to the government on your behalf, every single month.

Who Does PAYE Apply To?
PAYE applies to:
Employees earning a salary from a company or organization
Civil servants and government workers
Contract staff on a regular payroll
Basically anyone who earns income through employment — whether or not they own a business or have a registered business name
So if you have no business name and you are simply working for someone else, PAYE is your tax system.

First, what does “buying a stock” even mean?

When you buy Fidelity Bank stock, you’re buying a tiny piece of ownership in that bank. If the bank grows and makes more money, your piece becomes worth more. If it struggles, your piece loses value. Simple.

What does N100,000 actually buy you?

Fidelity Bank shares are currently trading around ₦19–21 per share on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. So with N100,000 you’d own roughly 4,700 to 5,200 shares. Not bad for a start.

Is the stock performing well? 📊

Honestly — yes, the business itself is growing fast. In 2024 alone:

Revenue grew by over 124%

Profits grew by 179%

Those are strong numbers. Analysts believe the share price could rise to around ₦23–₦28 within the year. If you bought at ₦19 and it hits ₦28, that’s roughly 47% profit on your N100,000 — meaning you’d walk away with around N147,000.

1. On top of that, Fidelity Bank paid a 12% dividend in 2024 — meaning they share part of their profits with shareholders every year just for holding the stock.

I respect the energy. But I have to be honest with you — that argument, as motivating as it sounds, has a serious flaw. And I want to break it down.

The business scenario in that post isn’t modest. It’s exceptional.

N50,000 profit weekly on a N1M investment is a 200% annual return. Let that sink in. If finding a business that returns 200% on capital annually was easy, every Nigerian with a million naira would be a multimillionaire in 3 years. The post presented a best-case business outcome and compared it to an average stock market outcome. That’s not analysis — that’s motivation dressed up as math.

Real businesses, especially in years 1 to 3, often don’t profit at all. Many run at a loss. Many fail entirely. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s own data shows that over 80% of SMEs in Nigeria don’t survive their fifth year. The post skipped the part where the business owner is burning through that N1M figuring out branding, market fit, bad hires, and slow seasons.

Now let me say what the post got right — because it did get something right.

If you have no business, no system, no skill stack, and no market understanding — putting N1M in stocks while ignoring your own development IS a mistake. Not because stocks are bad. But because you haven’t built the income engine that will give you surplus capital to invest in the first place. A tree without roots can’t hold fruit. That part of the argument is valid.

But here’s the bigger picture nobody in that conversation addressed:

The question isn’t Stock vs Business. The real question is sequence and context.

The wealthiest people in the world — locally and globally — didn’t choose one over the other. They built a business to generate cash flow, then deployed that surplus into investments that work while they sleep. Aliko Dangote didn’t just build factories. He invests. The Otedola family doesn’t just run businesses. They hold equities. The sequence is: build the engine first, then let the engine fund the machine.

Stocks are not the game of the already rich alone. Stocks are the game of people who understand that money should work in multiple places simultaneously. The mistake is putting your last N1M in stocks when you have no income base. The wisdom is putting your surplus N1M in stocks when your business is already breathin

The right time to invest in gold is:

1. During economic uncertainty — inflation, wars, weak currencies. Gold thrives when the world is unstable.

2. When the dollar is weak — gold and the US dollar move in opposite directions. Dollar drops, gold rises.

3. During market dips — gold pulled back recently after hitting $4,781/oz. Short-term drops like this are your entry window.

4. Right now — consistently — don’t try to time it perfectly. Invest a fixed amount every month (called Dollar Cost Averaging). This beats waiting for the “perfect” moment every time.

Your best options:

Gold ETFs (GLD, IAU) on NYSE — easiest way in

Bamboo or Trove app — buy US gold ETFs in naira from Nigeria

Gold mining stocks (Newmont, Barrick) — higher risk, higher reward

Gold is up 63% in 2025 and major banks like J.P. Morgan forecast it hitting $5,000/oz before end of 2026.

Since you already have your CAC registered business name and TIN number, you’re actually in a good position to file. Here’s exactly what to do:

Step 1 — Go to TaxProMax

Visit taxpromax.gov.ng and create an account using your TIN number. This is FIRS’s official filing platform.

Step 2 — Prepare your figures

Before you log in, write down:

Total income your business earned this year

Total expenses you spent running the business

The difference = your profit (that’s what gets taxed)

Even if you made little or no profit, you still file. It’s called a nil return.

Step 3 — File your return

Once logged in, select “File Tax Return”, enter your income and expense figures, then submit.

Step 4 — Pay if required

If your annual profit is above ₦300,000, a small tax applies starting at 7%. You can pay directly through the platform via Remita or your bank.

Important deadline: Returns for 2025 must be filed before March 31, 2026  so now is the right time.

If you find the online process confusing, you can also walk into any nearby FIRS office with your CAC certificate, TIN, and income details. They’ll guide you through it physically.