Mr Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, has begged Nigerians to be patient with his administration, assuring that the country is about to enter a new dawn.

Tinubu made this appeal on Wednesday, acknowledging the hardship Nigerians are going through as a result of fuel subsidy removal.

He also admitted that an avoidable lag between subsidy removal and his good and helpful plans compounded Nigerians’ pains.

“Fellow Nigerians, this period may be hard on us and there’s no doubt that it is tough on us but I urge you all to look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture. All our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work. Sadly, there was an avoidable lag between subsidy removal and these plans coming fully online,” he said.

The president assured that the measures his government has taken would get the country out of the lingering economic crisis, urging Nigerians to have faith in his administration.

“I plead with you, please, have faith in our ability to deliver and in our concern for your well-being. We will get out of this turbulence and due to the measures we have taken, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her.

“For example, we shall fulfill our promise to make education more affordable to all and provide loans to higher education students who may need them. No Nigerian students will have to abandon the higher education system because of lack of money.

“Our commitment is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. On principle, we shall never falter, I assure you, my fellow countrymen and women, that we are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn. Now, I must get back to work to make this vision come true," he added

This marks the second time the President would address Nigerians amid the lingering tension in some parts of the country.

Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says Nigeria currently spends $600 million on petrol importation monthly. 

Edun spoke on Tuesday during an interview on AIT’s Moneyline programme.

The minister, however, reiterated that there is no petrol subsidy in the 2024 budget.

“The fuel subsidy was removed May 29, 2023, by Mr President, and at that time, the poorest of 40 percent was only getting four percent of the value, and basically, they were not benefitting at all. So it was going to be just a few,” he said.

“Another point that I think is important is that nobody knows the consumption in Nigeria of petroleum. We know we spend $600 million every month on importation but the issue here is that all the neighbouring countries are benefitting. 

“So we are buying not for just for Nigeria, we are buying for countries to the east, almost as far as Central Africa, north and west. 

“And so we have to ask ourselves as Nigerians, how long do we want to do that for and that is the key issue regarding the issue of petroleum pricing.”

Edun said the nation must take a decisive step to tackle the problem as it impedes economic growth.

‘IMPORT DUTIES SUSPENSION WILL NOT UNDERMINE LOCAL FARMERS’

While speaking on the welfare of Nigerians, Edun said the current administration’s key priority is to ensure food availability and affordability, hence the recent suspension of tax and duties on the importation of food commodities.

He assured that the measure will not undermine local farmers, as importation will only be permitted after exhausting local supplies.

“There is a concerted effort to ensure that we have homegrown food available. In the short term, apart from what is being distributed from reserves, there is a window that has been opened for importation because the commitment of Mr. President is to drive down those prices now and make food available now,” he said.

“So, one of the conditions for this importation will be that everything available locally in the markets or with the millers and so forth has been taken up. We will have auditors that will check that.”

Edun said these interventions seek to reduce inflation, stabilise exchange rates, and lower interest rates, thereby creating a conducive environment for investment and job creation.

“With the kind of food production programme we have, inflation will come down as prices come down. When inflation comes down, exchange rate will stabilise. Interest rates will come down and the economy will have a chance,” he said.

“People will have a chance at reasonable rates to invest in various sectors of the economy, increase productivity, grow the economy and create jobs which is the key to reducing poverty.”

On the issue of the N570 billion recently released to state governments, Edun said it was a reimbursement under the COVID financing protocol.

“This actually refers to a reimbursement that they received from December last year onwards and it was a reimbursement I think under the COVID financing protocol,” he said.

“But the point is that the states have received more money. They have received more money. We have to do our research.”

‘WINDFALL TAX WILL REDISTRIBUTE UNEARNED INCOME’

Edun said the introduction of the 70 percent windfall tax in the banking industry will redistribute unearned income.

The minister said the windfall tax was not peculiar to Nigeria alone, adding that it is “done everywhere else in the world where you have, especially the energy sector as well as banking”.

“Where you have unearned income, where you have a section of the society or an industry or a set of companies that earn money through no dint of hard work of their own, the society deserves a chance to share some of that and it’s just a redistribution of that,” he said.

“So I think that takes care of the issue of the windfall levy.”

Speaking on the recent rise in the maximum borrowing percentage in the Ways and Means advances from 5 percent to 10 percent, Edun said the move does not imply that the federal government will rely on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) financing.

Edun described the approval by the national assembly as a “fail-safe” measure.

He said the government had rather used market instruments to manage its debts.

“We have not gone to the central bank to say, please lend the government money to pay its debt, to pay its salaries. That’s Ways and Means,” he said.

“We have not gone. In fact, we have used market instruments to pay down what we owed, and that is a very, very germane aspect of having a strong economy.

“Sometimes it just gives that extra flexibility so that if a payment needs to be made and there’s a mistiming, there’s a gap between the time at which the revenue will come in and the expenses needed, you can just draw down briefly.”

The minister said the aim is to act within the law.

Bashir Adeniyi, the comptroller general (CG) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), says the duty waiver on imported foods would be implemented within the next one week.

Adeniyi spoke on Tuesday in Abuja during a news conference by the heads of security agencies and service chiefs, convened by Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff (CDS) at the Defence Headquarters.

On July 10, the federal government announced the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of food commodities to reduce inflation.

The CG said the duty waiver has not been implemented because the ministry of finance is still working out the guidelines.

“But I also like to remind Nigerians that we need to be very, very careful in implementation of this and this is why the guidelines for implementation is being meticulously worked out at the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

Adeniyi said there is a need to understand what the intervention means for the local markets as most of the food items that enjoy duty waivers and concessions are also cultivated by Nigerian farmers.

He said the federal government is trying to address the interests of all stakeholders.

“There is the issue of striking a balance between the long-term interest of Nigerian farmers and stakeholders who are involved in the production of these items and the short-term interest of addressing food inflation,” Adeniyi said.

“So the guidelines are being worked out at the Ministry of Finance and I can assure you that within the next one week these guidelines will be ready and Nigeria customs will begin implementation of these particular fiscal policies.”

‘FG MAKING EFFORTS TO MEET PROTESTERS DEMANDS’

Adeniyi said the demands of the protesters, especially those relating to food inflation and cost of living, are being addressed.

“I like to let Nigerians know that there has been a lot that is going on to address these issues that are related to ameliorating this situation.

“This is through a mixture of fiscal policies of government and a number of strategic interventions from the government.

“The federal government’s effort as part of intervention is the distribution of strategic food items which was released from the national grain reserves about a month ago.

“This was released to all states of the federation. We also recall that a number of the food items that are consumed in Nigeria are imported.

“Better parts of the components are imported and importations are not done of the shelf, it takes some time before they are done.

“So, one of the things that the president has done is to reduce the cost, to push on the effects of the cost inflation by suspending customs duties and taxes on imported food items for a period of time.”

Adeniyi said the implementation of the tax waiver will reduce the price of food items in the market.

Team Nigeria faced a setback in their pursuit of a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday as two medal prospects failed to live up to the expectation.

Favour Ofili’s performance in the women’s 200m final and Blessing Oborududu’s loss in the bronze medal match of the women’s 68kg freestyle wrestling left Team Nigeria without a medal four days to the end of the tournament.

In the women’s 200m final, Ofili finished sixth with a time of 22.24s, as USA’s Gabby Thomas clinched the gold with a time of 21.83s. Julie Alfred secured second place with a time of 22.08s, while Brittany Brown claimed the third spot with a time of 22.20s.

Despite running a new season’s best of 22.05s in the event and making it to the final, Ofili was unable to secure a medal.

On the other hand, Blessing Oborududu lost 3-0 in the bronze medal match of the women’s 68kg freestyle wrestling to Japan’s Nonoka Ozaki. This came after her narrow 3-1 defeat to Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova in the semi-finals the previous night.

With the disappointment in these events, Team Nigeria’s hopes now hinge on women’s 100m hurdles record holder, Tobi Amusan, who qualified for the semi-finals of the event earlier today, August 7, 2024.

The team is also looking to other athletes competing in athletics, weightlifting, and wrestling to secure medals for the country as the 2024 Olympics ends on August 11.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa on Wednesday, hosted the ECOWAS Chief of Defence Staff Meeting at the Defence Headquarters Abuja.

The meeting was necessitated by insurgencies, coups, proliferation of arms, proxy wars amongst others which have threatened the peace and existence of African countries.

However, the ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs and security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Mussah, disclosed that the 42nd ordinary meeting of the ECOWAS committee of chief of defence staff was inevitably delayed due to the buildup of crisis in most African countries including coups that disrupted the democratic system of these countries.

“The 42nd ordinary meeting of The ECOWAS committee of chief of defence staff was inevitably delayed as a result of coups, security upheavals in the region and the announced withdrawal of the alliance of the Sehalian states from our community which requires special interventions,” the commissioner said.

The meeting is expected these critical issues by providing lasting solutions for the safety and wellbeing of Africans

During the first session of the meeting, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa implored security operatives to initiate ideas and strategies to be employed during the course of the meeting

“As we embark on today’s discussions,I encourage everyone to exchange ideas and strategies for the benefit of all” General Christopher said.

Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said the actual quantity of petrol consumption in Nigeria is not known.

Wale Edun said the federal government did not make provision for fuel subsidy in the 2024 budget.

The Minister of Finance stated this while speaking on AIT Money Line with Nancy programme on Tuesday, monitored by our reporter.

Speaking on how the cost difference between the landing price and the selling price is covered, he said subsidy has gone technically.

He disclosed that some organizations are ensuring fuel availability at a lower cost than what the normal cost should have been for security reasons.

Edun said at the time the administration of President Bola Tinubu took over, fuel imported for Nigerians using subsidy was moved to other African countries. He explained that if Nigeria pays for fuel import at 40 percent, the country only gets 4 percent.

He said, “The fuel subsidy was removed on May 29, 2023 by Mr President. At that time, the poorest 40 percent, we were only getting 4 percent of the value. So basically we were not benefitting at all. It was going to just a few. Another important point to make is that nobody knows the consumption of petrol in Nigeria. We know we spend 600 million dollars every month on importation.

“The issue here is that all the neighbouring countries are benefitting. So we were buying not just for Nigeria, we were buying for the countries to the east, as far as Central Africa Republic, we are buying to the West and for the North. So we have to ask ourselves as Nigerians, how long do we want that to do that for, that is the key issue regarding this issue of petrol pricing.

“There is no fuel subsidy in the budget. That is the truth. That is the technical fact. There are organizations that have the responsibility to make sure for security reasons that there is fuel, but that doesn’t mean there is fuel subsidy in the budget. The real issue is how can we be subsidizing all our neighbours and expect the people of our own country to progress.”

When asked why government did not take action to stop fuel bought on subsidy from going to other African countries, the Minister of Finance said that would require closing the border.

“What it means is that we should block our borders. That is really it. We should block our borders,” Edun said.

Tobi Amusan has made Nigerians proud again as she qualified for the 100-meter hurdles semi-finals in the ongoing 2024 Olympics in Paris on Wednesday.

Naija News understands that the track and field athlete specialises in the 100-metre hurdles

Amusan, the reigning world record holder, outpaced the USA’s Alaysha Johnson, who finished second with a time of 12.61 seconds, and Janeek Brown, who clocked in at 12.84 seconds in Heat 1.

This performance positions Amusan as the second-fastest qualifier overall, trailing only the defending Olympic champion, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn from Puerto Rico.

It is noteworthy that Nigeria has not yet secured a medal in this year’s Olympic Games.

Naija News reports that the semi-finals are scheduled to take place on Friday, August 9, with the final event planned for the second-to-last day of the athletics competition, Saturday, August 10.

The 27-year-old athlete has demonstrated exceptional performance leading up to the sporting event, achieving a season-best and world-leading time of 12.40 seconds (0.9) at the Jamaican Athletics Invitational held in Kingston in May.

Prior to this, she established the indoor record for the African 60m hurdles on two occasions in January and February.

In March, she secured her third consecutive title at the African Games in Ghana, while also contributing to the women’s 4x100m relay team that won gold in Accra, in addition to her victory at the African Championships in Cameroon three months later.

Throughout this season, Amusan has participated in 17 competitions, which encompass the 60m, 100m, 100m hurdles, and the 4x100m relay.

Amusan, a three-time consecutive Diamond League champion, two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, two-time African champion, and three-time African Games gold medalist, has represented her country in two Olympic Games (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020)

The Dangote Refinery is reportedly set to divest a 12.7 per cent stake in 2024 to facilitate loan servicing.

This development was disclosed in a recent report published by Fitch Ratings, a credit rating agency.

Fitch noted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had previously intended to purchase a 20 per cent stake in the refinery.

Nevertheless, the agency pointed out that the national oil company’s choice not to pursue its option of acquiring an additional 12.75 per cent by June 2024 could adversely affect the group’s capacity to manage its loan obligations.

In 2021, the NNPC secured a 7.25 per cent stake in the refinery for $1.0 billion, with the option to acquire the remaining 12.75 per cent by June 2024. However, the national oil company has since withdrawn from this commitment.

“Since the option has not been exercised, the group plans to divest a 12.75 per cent stake in DORC in 2024.

“The group intends to service its significant syndicated loan maturing in August 2024 from the equity divestment. However, timely divestment and meeting the imminent maturity are highly uncertain in our view,” Fitch said.

Naija News recalls that in July, the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, revealed that the NNPC holds only a 7.2 per cent stake in the refinery, contrary to the common belief among many Nigerians that it possesses a 20 per cent stake.

Dangote said: “The agreement was actually 20 per cent which we had with NNPC, and they did not pay the balance of the money up till last year; then we gave them another extension up till June (2024), and they said that they would remain where they have already paid, which is 7.2 per cent. So NNPC owns only 7.2 per cent, not 20 per cent.”

In a subsequent statement, the NNPC revealed that it has decided not to invest further in the refinery.

“NNPC Limited periodically assesses its investment portfolio to ensure alignment with the company’s strategic goals.

“The decision to cap its equity participation at the paid-up sum was made and communicated to Dangote Refinery several months ago,” the NNPC said in a statement by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.

In the meantime, Nigeria’s former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has advocated for an independent audit to investigate the reasons behind the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s decision to limit its investment in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to 7.2 per cent, rather than the initial intended 20 per cent.

“Did the Nigerian government not tell us it borrowed $3.3bn from Afriexim-Bank to take a stake in the Dangote refinery?” Ezekwesili asked, calling on President Bola Tinubu to immediately launch an independent audit of the Dangote refinery-NNPC transaction to offer the public the true state of play.