President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the release of funds required for the immediate operationalization of the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Institute, whose hosting rights were awarded to Nigeria by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has announced.

Idris stated this in Paris on Thursday during a meeting with the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, on the sidelines of President Tinubu’s State Visit to France.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been very supportive of the take-off process, and has approved the release of all funds required for the immediate operationalisation of the Institute, which will be located in the Federal Capital Territory,” Idris said.

Recalling his previous meeting with Dr. Jelassi, in 2023, the Minister conveyed Nigeria’s gratitude to UNESCO for the honour of hosting a Category 2 MIL Institute, the only one of its kind in the world.

In response, Dr. Jelassi expressed enthusiasm for the take-off of the Institute in Nigeria, emphasizing its relevance in addressing the global challenges of misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech. He also highlighted the importance of fostering a safer and more reliable internet, which aligns with UNESCO’s key priorities.

He explained that the goal of UNESCO’s new Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms is to promote critical thinking and platform transparency, whilst also safeguarding freedom of expression.

Additionally, the Assistant Director-General informed the Minister about the UNESCO MIL Cities initiative, which seeks to integrate and embed the concept of Media and Information Literacy into the design and daily operations of cities around the world, including transport systems, community activities, culture, billboards, and so on.

Minister Idris welcomed the initiative and pledged to ensure that Nigeria takes prompt advantage of it, and presents a city that will be among the world's inaugural set of MIL Cities.

Discussions also touched on UNESCO’s new Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms, published in 2023 following a multi-stakeholder consultation that assembled over 10,000 submissions from 134 countries. Dr. Jelassi presented copies of the document to Minister Idris, who assured that Nigeria will work with all relevant stakeholders to domesticate the guidelines and ensure a safer and more responsible internet for all Nigerians.

Minister Idris was accompanied to the meeting held at the UNESCO Headquarters by Nigeria’s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Dr. Hajo Sani OON.

Rabiu Ibrahim
Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation.

How do you dance to the admiration of all Nigerians? Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey said it all in his song/story on “Ketekete” (horse) and its owner: There is nothing you can do to please the entire universe. No matter your efforts and regardless of the success achieved, some will still deride you and pull you down. They will find fault.

A man’s horse, the elders say, is never tall enough in the jaundiced eyes of his detractors. Even when it is all obvious for everyone to see, they will still say, “Ki ni?”. What is it? A saying of our people summarises the “Pull Him Down” syndrome by inveterate foes thus: “Winni-winni l’oju orogun; eji-woro l’oju iya e” While every good-natured person rejoices with the mother who just gave birth to twins, describing the new-born babies as “two-at-a-time” achievement; the detractor sees and describes them derisively and derogatively as “two tiny-tiny creatures”!

Let us start by talking about the Port-Harcourt refinery that reportedly came on stream after decades in the land of the dead. Last week, we were told that the refinery roared back to life and started trucking out products. But the detractors said “Ki ni? It is not producing but is only blending what-have-you!” Whether petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel or whatever - was it producing or blending anything before now?

This is the same refinery we have all given up as dead - dead as in dead; dead as dodo, as they say! This is the same refinery that we all said had gone the way of the Ajaokuta steel rolling mill - a multi-billion dollar investment that had become a bottomless pit and a source of national embarrassment. If only Ajaokuta can in the same manner roar back to life, even if minimally! And they began to say it is the old and not the new refinery! Whichever! And that it is operating at only xyz and not 100 percent capacity! Again, whichever!

To think that these were the same people who had pilloried the government for keeping workers of the refinery and spending billions on them for the lengthy period the refineries were comatose! Shouldn’t they now at least heave a sigh of relief, if not rejoice, that, at last, something is coming out of nothing?

Think of it: These are the same refineries that former President Olusegun Obasanjo told us Shell refused to take and manage. They are the same refineries that the same Obasanjo had sold at give-away price - as scraps. It took the wisdom and patriotism of his successor, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, to reverse Obasanjo’s decision and take back the national asset. Unfortunately, death cheated Yar’Adua to his vision for Nigeria.

Don’t get me wrong: I am not saying all is well right now at the Port Harcourt (old and new) and the other refineries; no! A lot of hard and serious work still needs to be done! I am also not by this eulogising the management of the place; no! I am one of those who canvassed a regime change there but it would appear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a different idea. He must have his reasons. I concede that those of them in government have access to information that is not readily available to those of us outside.

But, for now, kudos to the President and NNPC for this minimum achievement. Placed side-by-side with the monumental failure of the past decades spanning successive military and civilian leadership, it looks like cherry news but we must not rest on our oars. All the refineries must be made to work at full capacity. Importantly, Nigeria needs more refineries - be it government, private or a combination of both. The downstream oil sector is damn too critical to national survival and the well-being of Nigerians to be left in the vice-like grip of a monopolist.

If we say we operate a free market economy, we should know that monopoly distorts the market. That is why there are laws in free market economies frowning at unfair competition. Monopoly breeds and entrenches unfair competition. In fact, it eliminates competition altogether and imposes the economic equivalent of a political reign of terror. Let’s build more refineries!

But should the NNPC turnaround story turn out to be a hoax and another Nigeria Air swindle of monumental proportions - like some are alleging - then, not only must heads roll, some folks should cool their heels in jail. We must begin to ensure that there are consequences for bad behaviour!

CBN: The ‘Orisa’ that cannot help Nigerians

What do you think of the new interest rate imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)? The apex bank raised the rate from 27.25 percent to 27.50 percent. According to them, this is to fight inflation - but inflation keeps surging and raging. They may not know it because they are cut off from reality; fixated, as it were, on the textbooks and lecture notes their Harvard-trained “Oyinbo” lecturers poured into them in college.

Despite the CBN’s monthly MPR, inflationary surge has not abated; maybe it does in their books but the pockets of Nigerians and the market place say otherwise! We need a refreshingly different alternative to the Western-trained economists forcing IMF and World Bank bitter pills down our throat! There used to be one self-styled “motor park” economist on the Editorial Board, I think, of The Guardian newspapers. Where are you? What we need are economists like the late Professor Sam Aluko who have their legs firmly on the Nigerian ground, not floaters regurgitating economic models that deepen the country’s underdevelopment as well as exacerbate our people’s penury.

And do you blame the CBN fat cats? They are immune from the adverse effects of the policies they propound as they are ensconced in their air-conditioned offices feeding fat on our common patrimony. The scriptures describe some people as hypocrites and a brood of vipers who “bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers”(Matthew 23: 4). Did we not hear, the other time, how the fat cats were still loading themselves with additional largesse at our collective expense?

Now, if the CBN’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) is as high as 27.50 percent, by the time the banks add their own administrative costs or charges and you factor in corruption, we may have to borrow from the banks at over 30 percent, if not up to 40 percent. What kind of business will still break even - especially small-scale enterprises, which are the bedrock of many thriving economies elsewhere? Is that not why businesses are folding up here and/or relocating elsewhere? By the time you add to the mix the cost of power supply and corruption at both ends of the regulatory authorities and ordinary Nigerian workers themselves, are we at all surprised that factories here are quitting their space for worship and events centres?

As at last week (November 24, 2024), the interest rate in China was 3.1%. And we want Nigerian products to compete favorably with Chinese products? Any surprise, then, that we have become a dumping ground for all manner of Chinese products? It is safer - in fact, the only profitable option available is to go to China and ask them to lower the quality of their products for the Nigerian market (because our people cannot pay for quality products due to the massive devaluation of the Naira). Unfortunately, medicines are not spared. Vehicle tyres are also not spared!

The other time we were warned by the regulatory authorities that over 50% of imported pharmaceutical certificates in Nigeria are fake. If the certificates are fake, it stands to reason that the products themselves are fake! Or can fake certificates be used to back up standard and quality products? And according to NAFDAC (National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control), substandard and falsified products threaten access to safe, efficacious and affordable medicines. Don’t mind their long-winding grammar; it is mere euphemism for just one word: Death! Slow, painfull, agonising death, after fortunes must have been spent procuring fake, adulterated and substandard drugs. May that not be our portion! I know you will shout “Amen”!

Only those engaged in illicit businesses such as drug peddling, yahoo-yahoo and money laundering can raise the funds needed to start or re-inflate businesses here. Any surprise, then, that crime is on the rise all over the place? Why are more and more of our people getting themselves into money rituals and cult-related activities? It is largely because legitimate channels to access funds for productive ventures are shut against them. Jobs are not available. Factor into that the quantum of disguised unemployment. Crime and desperation are on the rise. The legitimacy of the Government and of the political system itself is stridently being called into question, leading us to the real reason for this piece!

Tinubu: Delay is dangerous!

Despite the fact that there are many bus stops and traffic gridlocks in Lagos where I live and work, we still manage to get to our destination! Even though I made a brief stop-over at some bus stops, my actual destination here today is this: Tell President Tinubu that no matter how well he revamps the economy that was destroyed beyond imagination by his predecessor, if he fails to address the foundational problem of Nigeria, he would have achieved nothing in the real sense of the word.

It took Buhari just eight years to destroy all that three previous administrations achieved in 16 years. It will take a similar or lesser length of time to destroy Tinubu’s own achievements if the present Nigerian system remains the same. Under Obasanjo, Nigeria exited the debt trap; today, we are back in it real time. Obasanjo also once bemoaned that all the thriving national assets he left behind as military Head of State, he found none when he returned as a civilian President.

Tell Tinubu to quickly restructure the country! That is the greatest legacy he can bequathe to Nigerians. Time and tide waits for no man. Obasanjo learnt that too late and desperately sought for a third term in office, even though he bold-facedly denies today what was clear to even the blind.

Ask former President Goodluck Jonathan the cost of procrastination. When he could have implemented the resolutions of his Political Confab 2014, he waited to first win the 2015 presidential election.

Tinubu, you were one of those who did not let him! Learn from history! Others are waiting to give you a taste of your own bitter pill! What goes around comes around! Don’t wait to win a second term of office before you do the needful. They will distract you with challenges as well as with praises! They will obstruct you! They will ring you round with enemies pretending to be loyalists.

Be wise! Who knows, maybe you became the president of Nigeria at a time like this for an assignment such as this (Esther 4: 13 & 14)!

President Bola Tinubu extends his heartfelt congratulations to Alhassan Yahaya on his election as the President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the 8th Triennial National Delegates Conference in Owerri, on November 27, 2024.

The President also congratulates other newly elected members of the NUJ executive. He praises the Union for organising a rancour-free election at the conference.

President Tinubu says Yahaya's overwhelming victory was a testament to the NUJ members' confidence in his leadership qualities.

He expresses optimism that Yahaya's experience, particularly as the former deputy president of the Union, will be instrumental as he leads the Fourth Estate of the Realm.

The President emphasises the importance of the press taking on its constitutional roles with a renewed patriotic passion, aligned with the vision and efforts of the founding fathers of journalism in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the President encourages Yahaya and the new leadership to address malpractices within the industry.

He reiterates the administration's commitment to ensuring a free and independent media integral to deepening democracy and promoting national development.

President Tinubu expects Yahaya's tenure to reflect a strengthened commitment towards upholding journalism ethics while fostering a collaborative relationship with the government to build a just and equitable society.

He wishes Yahaya and his team a successful and impactful term in office.

Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
November 30, 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) urges bank customers to report ATM and branch cash withdrawal difficulties starting December 1, 2024, through designated state-specific phone numbers and email addresses.

The CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso announced this directive during the 2024 Annual Bankers Dinner organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos.

Cardoso acknowledges cash availability issues at ATMs, which impact ordinary Nigerians. To address this, the apex bank will conduct spot checks on Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and penalize underperforming institutions

“We recognize the ongoing challenges with cash availability at ATMs, which disproportionately affect ordinary Nigerians. 

“To address this, we are conducting spot checks across Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and will impose penalties on underperforming institutions. 

“Effective December 1, 2024, customers are encouraged to report any difficulties withdrawing cash from bank branches or ATMs directly to the CBN through designated phone numbers and email addresses for their respective states,” he stated 

He assured that guidelines with reporting procedures will be widely distributed to raise public awareness.

Regulatory compliance and penalties 

Cardoso emphasized the need for compliance from all stakeholders, including Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Mobile Money Operators, and PoS agents, to enhance service delivery.

“I repeat, financial institutions found engaging in malpractices or deliberate sabotage will face stringent penalties,” he warned 

The governor added that the apex bank would maintain a robust cash buffer to meet demand during high-pressure periods like the festive season.

To foster digital transactions and trust, Cardoso reiterated CBN’s commitment to addressing payment delays, particularly for vulnerable populations.

He explained that trust is fundamental to fostering digital transactions, and the CBN must take every necessary step to preserve that trust in payment systems.

Cardoso assured that Payment gateways for financial transactions will become better in 2025. Key initiatives under the Payment System Vision 2025 include:

• Implementing an open banking framework.
• Advancing contactless payment systems.
• Expanding the regulatory sandbox.
• Issuing revised guidelines for agency banking.

“Additionally, we will issue revised guidelines for agency banking and continue to strengthen electronic payment channels,” he stated 

Anti-money laundering and financial system reforms 

• Cardoso disclosed that Nigeria aims to exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list by Q2 2025.
• He outlined plans to combat money laundering, cybercrime, fraud, and corruption, ensuring a sound financial ecosystem.
• Prof. Pius Deji Olanrewaju, President/Chairman of CIBN, praised the resilience of Nigeria’s economy and banking sector despite macroeconomic challenges. He highlighted steady GDP growth from Q1 to Q3 of 2024, attributing it to government policies and CBN initiatives.

“For example, the Nigerian economy continues to be more resilient and agile as shown in the steady growth from 2.98 per cent in Q1 to 3.19 per cent in Q2 and now 3.46 per cent in Q3 of 2024. 

“The bank recapitalization exercise also attests to the fact that we are well on our way towards not only strengthening the financial sector but also supporting a $1 trillion economy envisaged by 2030,” he said. 

Olanrewaju noted that the Nigerian banking industry has demonstrated resilience this year despite macroeconomic challenges, including rising inflation and exchange rate fluctuations.

[Nairametrics]

Former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has claimed that the independent analysis by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership of the Edo State governorship election has thrown Governor Monday Okpebholo into a frenzy.

Recall that Osita Chidoka, the founder of the Centre, had claimed that the governorship election results shouldn’t have stood.

Chidoka, who presented the Athena Centre’s findings on the Edo State election on Channels Television’s Politics Today, stated that there was substantial evidence of systemic rigging.

But in a statement to Naija News on Saturday, Okpebholo’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, said in a well-orchestrated plot hatched by the PDP, in connivance with Chidoka, tried to bully and blackmail the judiciary into circumventing the will of Edo people.

He said the shameful display on Channels Television’s Politics Today reeled out numbers purchased from ‘Oluwole market,’ and impetuously concluded that the 21st September governorship election in Edo State was rigged.

In a swift reaction to Okpebholo’s comments, Obaseki’s Media Adviser, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement to Naija News, said the program on Channels TV showed overwhelming evidence and data exposing the systemic rigging and brazen subversion of the people’s will during the September 21 governorship election.

According to the former governor’s aide, the show must have been a difficult 30 minutes for even the most vile criminal.

He said the analysis revealed a widespread manipulation and substantial interference in the electoral process by the umpire, noting that the APC who is party to the robbery would rather the findings be dismissed, distorted, or buried under a barrage of propaganda and baseless accusations.

His statement read: “The independent analysis by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, a non-partisan research institute, of the sham of an election that installed Monday Okpebholo as governor of Edo State clearly threw the governor-select and his godfathers into a frenzy yesterday.

“Channels TV, in their show, Politics Today, had the mindless and unprecedented transgressions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and their conspirators, the Edo All Progressives Congress (APC) laid bare. The show must have been a difficult 30 minutes for even the most vile criminal.

“Taunted by overwhelming evidence and data exposing the systemic rigging and brazen subversion of the people’s will during the September 21 governorship election, the APC, rather than covering their faces in shame, resorted to smear campaign, lies and propaganda, in a last-ditch effort to distract from the daylight robbery, and undermine the integrity of revered institutions advocating for the judiciary to right the wrong of the electoral umpire and their conspirators.

“The independent analysis broadcast yesterday is the outcome of a forensic examination of data and documents made available to the research institute by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It revealed a widespread manipulation and substantial interference in the electoral process by the umpire. But the APC who is party to the robbery would rather the findings be dismissed, distorted, or buried under a barrage of propaganda and baseless accusations.

“Among other things, the centre uncovered shocking discrepancies in the election results, showing that INEC inflated the number of accredited voters by over 100,000 in 798 polling units. They also discovered that polling officers recorded 580,000 accredited voters, yet INEC’s backend mysteriously produced 687,000, which further buttressed the evidence that it deliberately tampered with the election.

“There were also glaring inconsistencies between INEC’s certified results and the data uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV). Specifically, the forensic analysis revealed that results of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were slashed by 11,665 votes during collation, while 32,284 votes were illegally added to APC’s tally, showing the brazen manipulation and fraud perpetrated against the people of Edo State during the last governorship election.

“Unsurprisingly, as a party of electoral fraudsters, the APC would prefer that this fraud on a massive scale is upheld and normalized, seeking desperately to silence voices of dissent and attacking any institution or individual who dares to speak out against this barefaced theft of the people’s mandate.

“In their desperate quest for power at all costs, the APC has continued to undermine democratic processes, distort the truth, and manipulate the system to have a grip on power. This shows what the APC really represents – a party that values personal and political gain over the interest and will of the people, willing to subvert justice and erode the very foundations of democracy to achieve their selfish objectives.

“While we sympathize with the APC over their trauma from the public exposure of their electoral fraud in Edo State by the Athena Centre, we want to restate that we will not be distracted in our resolve to reclaim the mandate duly given by the good people of Edo State. We trust in the impartiality of the judiciary and are confident that they will rise above the distractions and intimidation tactics of the APC, ensuring that justice is served and the will of the people prevails.”

[NaijaNews]

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele was at the House of Representatives to brief federal lawmakers on the need to pass the bills on tax reforms arguing that majority of Nigerians stand to gain from the proposed new system of tax administration.

Mr President set up the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee in August, 2023 with three very clear mandates. The first one is on fiscal governance.

For this committee to look at our nation’s finances, revenue, how we spend our money, our borrowing, the terms of those borrowing, and how we coordinate policies amongst fiscal, monetary, and trade, not only at the federal government level alone, but also across sub-nationals so that one level of government is not pulling to the right and another one is pulling to the left, bearing in mind that at the end of the day, governance at all levels is about our people.

The second mandate is revenue transformation. How do we change the narrative for our country? And that includes taxation. That includes government assets. That includes government-owned enterprises. We want NFPs to give us tens of billions of dollars in profit, dividend every year, as well as natural resources, oil and gas, and solid minerals.

The last mandate is economic growth and competitiveness. We are given the mandate to look very closely at why is it that our businesses are struggling? Why is it that Nigeria today does not have like 50 multinational companies that are headquartered in Nigeria? That even when you are not selling crude oil, they are bringing money back home. We have a company in the world today, one of the largest companies, that their turnover alone is more than Nigeria’s GDP multiplied by two.

That’s one company. So why is it difficult for our small businesses to survive beyond five years? Why are they not growing? So those issues, why is it difficult for exporters to export? We spoke to people exporting and they said they have to go through more than 22 permits, approvals, clearance. That takes about two months and they have to pay for every single one of that.

By the time you are done, if you are lucky, your product is still fit for export. In putting the committee together, we’re very, very deliberate in ensuring that the committee is representative. We have over 80 members of eminent, qualified, experienced and patriotic Nigerians from all the geopolitical zones.

We have good representation of women and youths. We had 45 undergraduates from 22 universities across Nigeria working with us at the secretariat and they attend our meetings because we also want to get the views of the young people. We have over 20 government institutions represented.

Level of consultation

We have the organised private sector represented including trade associations, manufacturers, chambers of commerce, small businesses, professional bodies, large and small accounting firms and the civil society. In doing our work, we were very clear that it has to be national interest first, national interest next, national interest at all times. We said to ourselves that if we have a Nigeria that is working, everybody will find a space within a Nigeria that is working.

We were very, very particular about using data. Every single recommendation we have in those four views are driven by data. There was nothing we’re recommending that is emotional.

When we have meetings with our stakeholders, we say to them, give us data because it’s by using data that we can look back many years from now and say we did the best for our country. We also ensure that we have a clear philosophy for our tax system, which is that our tax system must be modern, it must be simple and it must be dynamic. It must enable growth and make Nigeria competitive.

If it cannot grow, it doesn’t matter what you want to do with revenue. Revenue cannot come because people cannot give what they don’t have. We came up with what we call the socioeconomic equation that says revenue and taxes are the consequences of economic activities.

Without economic activities, there can be no revenue. And where revenues have been collected, why are they collected? So that they can improve the lives, livelihood and the well-being of the people. That is the equation.

In our view, any policy we have, whether it’s tax policy, fiscal policy, trade policy, monetary policy, if they distort economic activities, those policies are not good enough. If they undermine the well-being of our people, those policies are also not good enough because we exist as a society for the interests of our people. So, with this background in mind, we did a lot of consultations and engagements.

Private sector: We had more than 40 sector groups. We met with them, individual sector per time. From farmers to small business owners to Nigerians with disabilities, to Nigerians in the Diaspora, to large businesses, to professional associations, FinTech, and the list goes on and on.

We also had public engagements with sub-nationals, finance commissioners, head of Internal Revenue Services under the Joint Task Force platform. We had meetings with the Governor’s Forum. We had meetings with the National Economic Council. We had meetings also with the National Assembly. We were privileged to be invited by the People’s House.

Even though it was a short interaction, but we had the opportunity to engage. We had a more elaborate engagement with the Senate. We had a two-day retreat as part of these processes.We’ve had meetings with many ministries and agencies that I cannot count. We’ve also had a lot of interactions with the international community, trying to learn from other countries, trying to learn from the books. We are trying to learn from ourselves.

Why past efforts failed

What is it that we have tried in the past that hasn’t worked? Why did it not work? What is it that we tried that worked? Because sometimes we don’t celebrate ourselves when we have done the right thing, we lose sight of them. We receive a lot of support from the international community, including the United Nations Development Program, African Development Bank, and so on and so forth.

We conducted surveys, and we asked for submissions from Nigerians. We were pleasantly surprised that we received submissions from every single state in Nigeria. We were not even expecting it.

There was no state in Nigeria where we did not get submissions from people. For this, we are grateful to the Nigerian people for the trust that they have in the work of the committee. Of course, we have a dedicated website, social media accounts, and we engage through the press, radio, TV, and other platforms.

But we know these engagements are never enough, so we are always very happy for the opportunity for further engagement. So, what did we find out from the work that we’re doing? Like Mr Speaker said, and also the Deputy Speaker, what are the mischief we are trying to correct? You don’t need to fix something if it’s not broken. In doing our work, we did a lot of findings.

The first one, I’ll just put it bluntly, Nigeria is running on a low budget. For 2024, the budget of the federal government including the amendment to the Appropriation Act that added about 6.2 trillion, it came up to about 35 trillion Naira. (21:59) For all the states combined, it was 15.9 trillion.

When you add up the entire budget for Nigeria, it comes to 51.1 trillion if you convert it to US dollars. It was only $32 billion for 2024. These $32 billion is the equivalent of the budget of Kenya.

Kenya has 54 million people, plenty of poor people as well. It is less than one quarter of the budget of South Africa. South Africa’s budget for 2024 is the equivalent of $130 billion.

South Africa has a little over 60 million people. How is it that Nigeria with all the potentials we have, with all the knowledge and the experience and human capital that God has blessed us with, how is it that we’re over 200 million people and our budget is barely the size of Kenya? That budget, if you dedicate it to just transportation infrastructure alone, roads, rail, flying, it will not be enough. If you do nothing else, that budget will not be enough.

The narrative for our country cannot be changed by increasing that amount by 5% or 10%. The base is just too small. It cannot fund our development.

The next slide shows our major revenue sources as a country, and there are eight of them. The eight major revenue sources for us as a country is personal income tax. The second one is property tax. The third one is stamp duties. The next one is value-added tax. And the next one is land.

These first five are mostly controlled by the states. And then now you have three that are shared amongst federal, state, and local governments. It’s corporate income tax, custom duties, and petroleum and solid minerals revenues. These are the eight major sources of revenue for our country. The sad news, or the bad news is that every single one of those eight is significantly underperforming. The good news is that every single one of those eight presents an opportunity for our country to change the narrative.

I just told you that our budget is small. What is even smaller is our revenue. On this next slide, the entire revenue that we generated from tax in 2023, because 2024 has not ended, so we are not done with the numbers yet, so we decided to use 2023 and it was only about N17.9 trillion.

Comparison with other countries  

If you convert this to dollar, it’s less than $20 billion, so which means that our small budget is even financed by borrowing. We can’t even raise enough revenue to finance a small budget. If you look at the breakdown of our major taxes, let me start with personal income tax.

In 2023, Nigeria, the whole 36 states, plus the FCT, collected 1.5 trillion Naira in personal income tax. In that same year, South Africa collected about 50.5 trillion naira equivalent in personal income tax alone. What South Africa collected from personal income tax alone is more than our entire revenue as a federation multiplied by two.

Even Kenya, that is a very small country compared to Nigeria, with a lot of poor people, I will continue to repeat that, they collected 5.8 trillion naira equivalent from personal income tax alone, almost four times what Nigeria collected, even though our population is four times their own population. I will not bore you with the other details because of our time, but I’ll just mention one more, and that’s to do with customs. In 2023, Nigeria collected 3.2 trillion naira from Customs.

In that same year, Kenya collected 8.9 trillion naira equivalent, almost three times. When we looked at the value of what Nigeria imported and the value of what Kenya imported, Kenya imported $23 billion worth of items. Nigeria imported $66 billion worth of items.

We imported almost three times what Kenya imported and collected about one-third of what Kenya collected. Something is not adding up, and those problems, we must fix them if we must make progress as a country. We know that the Nigeria Customs Service is doing its best.

We can do better

We are just seeing that we can do more and we can do better. Some of these issues are not isolated to any agencies. They are issues to do with the system and how the system can work. One other very important study I need to share with you, Your Excellencies, is we conducted a study about national tax perception and tax morale, and this was done by the Nigeria Economy Summit Group. I had the privilege to lead the round table that did the study. We were asking Nigerians whether they would like to pay their taxes and whether they think those who don’t pay their taxes should be punished.

We were alarmed at the result that we got. Only 17% of Nigerian adults, believed that they should pay their taxes and that evasion is wrong and punishable. 83% of Nigerians would do anything but pay their taxes.

When we asked them why, they said, number one, that they do not trust governments. Number two, they said even the little that they have paid, what are they getting in return? Many of them said after paying the taxes, they have to take care of everything government is supposed to take care of. Number three reason they gave is that even when they want to pay the tax, the process is complex and is corrupt.

Two in three adults said they were asked to pay a bribe in the process of wanting to pay their taxes. Bear in mind that this study covers all levels of government, so we’re not pointing fingers at anyone. We’re just being honest with ourselves because recognising the problems we have and acknowledging them is 50% of finding the solutions.

When we ask these Nigerian people, what can government do to make you change your mind and start paying your taxes. They want transparency so they can trust governments. And they said in terms of what government should spend money on, that the government should prioritise spending on number one, education; number two, health; number three, electricity; number four, security. Look at what Nigerians told us, four things.

Those four things align perfectly with the multidimensional poverty index. So, there’s perfect consistency as to what is putting our people into poverty and where they want government to spend money. Our view is that if government at any level, local, state, federal, is not prioritising spending in these four areas, then we have the wrong priorities. If we place our people first, these must be our priorities.

 [DailyTrust]

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin has explained why the upper legislative chamber allowed the controversial tax reform bills to pass for second reading.

Jibrin, in an interview with BBC Hausa, said it was to allow experts and all Nigerians to provide their input on the bills.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu had transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration last month.

The move generated controversy with the northern governors and other stakeholders kicking against the tax reforms.

However, the Red Chamber on Thursday passed the four tax bills for second reading through voice votes.

Speaking to BBC Hausa Service on Friday, the Deputy Senate President said the senators passed the tax reform bills to give room for contributions from experts and Nigerians.

[DailyPost]

Nigeria has raised alarm over Africa’s rising debt refinancing needs, costly access to liquidity, and limited access to global capital markets for emerging economies. 

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who was represented by Mrs Aisha Omar, Director Special Projects at the Federal Ministry of Finance, raised the alarm during the 5th African Union Extraordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning, and Integration held in Abuja on Saturday.

Edun stated that Africa’s public debt profile has significantly worsened over the years, becoming increasingly short-term and less consensual. 

“The debt service burden has escalated, increasing financing risks. Since 2011, the average maturity of Africa’s external debt has declined from nearly 23 years to around 17 years in 2022,” he said.

The minister called on African countries to collaborate in reshaping their economies to reduce dependence on foreign aid. 

“It is important for Africans to work collectively in a more coordinated manner to shape our economies so that we will not rely on aid from international partners. Only through collective endeavours can we navigate the challenging times ahead,” he stated.

Edun praised the work of African experts in harmonizing divergent interests to create a unified resolution. 

He urged ministers and central bank governors to encourage political leaders to adopt these resolutions during the February 2025 African Union Heads of State Assembly. 

“Nigeria remains eternally grateful to our experts for their efforts. I urge all ministers and governors to invite our political leaders to endorse these resolutions at the next Heads of Government Assembly,” he added.

Edun reiterated Nigeria’s readiness to host the African Monetary Institute, a precursor to the operationalization of the African Central Bank. 

He expressed confidence in Nigeria’s role in advancing Agenda 2063, the African Union’s strategic framework for socio-economic transformation.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso echoed this sentiment, emphasizing Nigeria’s fiscal and economic reforms. 

“The removal of fuel subsidies has created fiscal space for strategic investments. Targeted policies to enhance diaspora remittances have also improved our external reserves,” Cardoso noted. 

He expressed optimism that the outcomes of the session would guide the February 2025 Assembly towards aligning regional aspirations with the Abuja Treaty and Agenda 2063.

Prof. Kevin Urama of the African Development Bank (AfDB) pointed out the dire implications of Africa’s rising debt. 

“Africa’s public debt has surged by 170 percent since 2010, exacerbated by structural global debt architecture issues, recent global shocks, and weaknesses in our macroeconomic fundamentals,” Urama said.

He noted that the shift towards privately owned debt, which is projected to account for 54 percent of Africa’s total debt by the end of 2024, has increased borrowing costs. 

“Africa pays 500 percent more in interest costs when borrowing from international capital markets compared to borrowing from multilateral development banks like the AfDB,” he explained.

Urama also revealed the paradox of debt and development financing in Africa. 

“While debt sustainability risks are growing, high-cost, short-term debt options are creating sustainability challenges. This year alone, Africa is expected to spend $74 billion on debt refinancing, with annual costs projected at $10 billion from 2025 onwards,” he said.

He added that Africa’s financing challenges are compounded by declining foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio flows. 

Urama stated that FDI fell by 44 percent in 2022, while net portfolio flows dropped by 17 percent. 

“Only remittances remained resilient, rising by 2 percent in 2022. These trends underline the paradox of debt and development financing in Africa,” he said.

Urama warned that without urgent interventions, Africa risks further distress. 

“In February 2024, 20 African countries were already in or at high risk of debt distress. The rising cost of debt is diverting resources away from critical development needs,” he concluded.

As African finance ministers and central bank governors deliberate on these pressing issues, the call for collective action resonates strongly. 

The resolutions adopted at the session are expected to set a transformative agenda for Africa’s economic future.

[TheNation]

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has expressed concern over the messages politicians send to him expressing worries over his reelection in 2026.

Oyebanji, who stressed that he would not lose sleep over the election said that he was not worried over agitations ahead of the 2026 governorship election in the state, and advised politicians to stop sending him such text messages as he was committed to good governance and fulfilling his electoral promises.

Oyebanji spoke in Ado Ekiti on Friday night at the monthly Evening of Praise and Worship at the Jibowu Hall, Government House Ground.

The governor said, “My belief is that God’s plan supersedes any human agenda. I will not lose sleep over the development as God is in control,” adding that his political future is in the hands of God who has never failed him.

“What God does not give a man, he cannot have it and when God makes up his mind, nobody can stop him. So, I am just saying this so that you can stop sending me text messages expressing anxieties about 2026″, Oyebanji added.

He expressed confidence in God’s ability to work out things in his favour, maintaining that God who did it for him in 2022,  would do it again in 2026.

Oyebanji, who attributed the significant progress that his administration recorded across critical sectors in the state to divine intervention despite the economic realities, said, “My focus remains on delivering good governance and fulfilling the promises I made to Ekiti people.

“God is in charge of everything including the 2026 that many people are anxious about. He will take care of everything. For now, let us concentrate on the work that has been given to us and let us do it very well.

“For those that are worried about 2026, sending me text messages every day, don’t bother yourselves. God that did the last one will do it again. Don’t bother yourselves. Some complain that I am not a politician and that I don’t understand politics. I am not bothered about this, nothing is going to stop my peace because I serve the God of peace,” the governor said.

[Punch]

By the time you are reading this, the final event at the second African Military Games will be taking place. Soldier-athletes from the over-20 African countries that finally participated will be preparing to return home after the closing ceremonies today that will bring down the curtains on a very successful AMGA 2014.

When the games began on November 18, 2024, only few could have envisaged the level of success it finally attained.It has been 22 years since the first Games were held, indicating the challenges inherent with hosting. It is not a stroll in the park. It takes courage, resources, determination, commitment and a clear vision.

When the games began on November 18, 2024, only few could have envisaged the level of success it finally attained.

It has been 22 years since the first Games were held, indicating the challenges inherent with hosting. It is not a stroll in the park. It takes courage, resources, determination, commitment and a clear vision.

Since COJA in 2003, the concept of hosting any such continental event is greeted with a stonewall of objections. COJA 2003 was a disaster, the story of squander-mania and financial brigandage, obscene scandals and blatant recklessness, all unmatched in Nigerian sports history.
It is the story of how some persons enriched themselves and impoverished sports and sports development. Their misadventure left carcasses everywhere. The Games Village was sold to cronies, not sports heroes that needed and deserved it. The stadium complex became a shameful White-elephant project that should have been a national monument in the heart of one of the the most idyllic and beautiful capital cities in Africa, but became a dead zone, a beautiful flower idling and wasting away in a desert place.

The entire shenanigans of COJA confronts Nigerians every time they drive into the city of Abuja from the airport – an accursed edifice that could have been the City’s number One tourist destination, a social, cultural, business and entertainment hub that will not sleep 27 hours every day and eight days a week, but is rather under the spell and stranglehold of an ugly, cursed past.

This week, there are signs that things may be about to change. At least the opportunity is here now, presented by the seeds of AMGA 2024.He surely did not set out to be a Hero of AMGA 2024, but circumstances have now thrown him up as the champion of a new dawn in the checkered story of Nigerian Sports.

The story of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, may be changed through the man’s singular decision to dare where angels fear, to host the military Games at the MKO Abiola National Stadium.

General Christopher Gwabin Musa, OFR, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces, must have seen what few others did not in choosing to undertake what no one had dared to do in two decades. His being a product of a well-established sports tradition and grounded in basketball and volleyball as a national player, must played a big role in his courage to host the African Military Olympics in Abuja at a period that several regional and even continental security crisis are everywhere.

He may not have anticipated it, but the success of the Games is resounding. AMGA 2024 was a superb management of little resources, prudent management and great organization.

The product is a first class event with many take-aways for sports development into the future in Nigeria. To have organised at all at the national stadium confirms the saying that in sport ‘impossible is nothing. Once you can dream it and believe it, you can achieve it.’

AMGA 2024 is a testament to the vision, courage and hard work of the military leadership under General Christopher Musa. With the support of the Minister of the Federal Capital City, the host city, within two months the damaged facilities and basic utilities in one of the most modern stadiums in Africa were restored for usage. It is a miracle.No one could have envisioned the final outcome of the games. Here we are after 12 days of AMGA 2024. The verdict is here for all to see. There is physical and spiritual revival of the MKO Abiola Stadium with the success of the Games.

Two weeks of sports action has fired the imagination into a new possibility, and brought life back to sports in the military, to the place of the military in Nigerian sports architecture, to the fate of the national stadium, and to rekindling of hope for sports development.I commend the leadership of the Nigerian Military under General Christopher Musa.The organisation of the Games was almost flawless, a clear demonstration of the invaluable traditions of the military in sports organization and development.Has AMGA 2024 been a perfect Games? Far from it, but it was close to it in the harvest of the envisaged dividends for hosting it.The Federal Government must now take lessons from it, examine what the military authorities did right, borrow from it, consider very quickly what to do in the short term to sustain the traffic of the public into the sports complex, and open up the beauty and viability of the environment to private sector investors in leisure, culture, entertainment and the arts.I join all Nigerians in celebrating the success of AMGA 2024, and in congratulating the Chief of Defense Staff, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee and his team of officials, the entire Nigerian military for presenting Africa with a ‘Games’ that has all-round ‘success’ written all over it.Thank you General Christopher Gwabin Musa OFR.