Obasanjo proffers solutions to Nigeria’s economic woes

Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo has told President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ramp up activities around production and productivity to tackle Nigeria’s economic woes. Obasanjo disclosed this in a statement by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Sunday, quoting the ex-president as having spoken at a Colloquium: “Nigeria’s Development: Navigating the Way Out of the Current Economic Crisis and Insecurity” delivered at the Paul Aje Colloquium (PAC) in Abuja. Obasanjo blamed fuel subsidy removal, the Harmonization of foreign exchange markets and dealing with a military coup in Niger for Nigeria’s economic hardship. However, as a solution, the former President said the government should focus on production, noting that there is no shortcut to economic progress. “The way forward is production and productivity, which belief and trust in government leadership will engender. No shortcut to economic progress but hard work and sweat. “The economy does not obey orders, not even military orders. I know that. If we get it right, we will begin to see the light beyond the tunnel in two years. It requires a change of characteristics, attributes and attitude by the leadership at all levels to gain the confidence and trust of investors who have alternatives,” he said. Recall that in June last year, Tinubu’s administration announced fuel subsidy removal and the Harmonization of Foreign exchange markets. In April, fuel pump price surged by 176.02 per cent on a year-on-year basis to N701.24 per litre compared to N255.06 last year. Similarly, the country’s Naira dropped to N1482.81 per dollar last Friday from N465.50 per dollar on June 14, 2023. This development has led to a surge in prices of goods and services, as headline and food inflation increased to 33.69 per cent and 40.53 per cent, respectively.

ZACCH ADEDEJI’s PRINCIPLES OF TAXATION: A PATHWAY TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH

Abdulahi Ismaila Ahmad, PhD Since the assumption of Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D to office as the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), I have followed keenly his enunciation of his principles of taxation, which, to my mind, can translate to a pathway to Nigeria’s economic growth. To be sure, Adedeji’s principles of taxation embody some of the normative principles of taxation, which are certainty, flexibility, equity, simplicity, and utmost good faith. At every given forum, Adedeji does not fail to reify his wholesome principles of taxation. He is wont to say that, “we will tax the fruit, not the seed; we will tax prosperity, not poverty.”These are statements of certainty and equity, which are altogether refreshing and reassuring. The reassurance in his statements is underlined by his insistence that his tax principles are focused on encouraging taxpayers to grow their investments or income so that they can yield enough taxable dividends or profits. In his most philosophical best, he compares taxpayers to gardeners and the taxman as one who waters the garden. He says it is the duty of the government to create a conducive environment for taxpayers and their businesses to thrive in the hope that once they have a fulsome yield, they will gladly pay their taxes. That is why he says the taxman is not aiming to tax poverty but prosperity. Adedeji’s principles of taxation anticipate economic boom and discourage tax hikes in times of economic depression. The flexibility principle provides that the amount of tax charged should not be the same all year round; and, that tax rates should be lowered for other social benefits during economic boom, while during economic depression tax rates may be raised to raise maximum funds for developmental projects. Adedeji’s taxation principle does not support tax hikes that will become a burden on the taxpayers or the citizenry. Thus, it is obvious that Adedeji’s taxation principle takes cognizance of the fact that taxation is the lifebuoy of the economy. It is the fecund source of economic development. It follows then that when taxes are collected and properly utilized in grooming businesses, empowering citizens through access to low interest loans and grants, diversification of business activities like the creation of value chains, and provision of critical social amenities, there will be enough income in the pool to tax. In other words, there will be enough fruit from which to pick. Recently, the federal government took the right step in the right direction by establishing the Consumer Credit Scheme, which guarantees access to loans facility for the citizenry to grow their business activities. The logic here is that once there is a boom in economic activities in the informal sector of the economy, there will be a corresponding widening of the tax net without complaint from the tax paying community. It is this veritable connection between taxation and economic growth that Adedeji’s principles of taxation seek to highlight, making them the pathway to Nigeria’s economic growth. In concrete terms, Adedeji’s unwavering commitment to expounding his taxation principles has already raked in more than Three Trillion naira in tax revenue in the first quarter of 2024 for the three tiers of government in aid of the execution of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In addition to raising this much revenue, Adedeji has also reorganised the structure of the service to reflect his taxation principle of customer-centricity. He believes that taxpayers should form the focal point of the operations of the Service, and that regard, they be treated with due diligence. Presently, the Service is structured based on the category of taxpayers: Large Taxpayers Group, Medium Taxpayers Group, and Small Taxpayers Group; as well as five other services groups, viz, Corporate Services Group, People Services Group, Support Services Group, Compliance and Enforcement Support Group, and the Special Duties. This taxpayers-based operational categorisation is purposely to simplify tax payment processes, which is made more so by the introduction of the various automation platforms. And so, it is always both refreshing and reassuring to listen to Adedeji marshals his thoughts around the issue of making taxation the pivot of national development. He often couches his statements in literal parallelism, metaphor, and humour. This rare sagely gift sets him apart as a conscientious taxman. Beneath his jocular mien lies a determination to set Nigeria’s fiscal trajectory and tax system on the pathway of sustainable economic growth. ABDULLAHI ISMAILA AHMAD, PHD Director of Communications and Liaison Department, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Abuja.

Tinubu announces new appointments

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Chukwuemeka Woke as the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA. Similarly, Mr Tinubu approved the appointment of Dr Adedeji Ashiru, as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority, OORBDA. Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. Mr Ngelale said that Woke is an engineer, environmental specialist and a politician. He said that the appointee holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering, and had served under the Environmental, Safety, and Operations Departments of the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. The Presidential spokesman said Woke was Chairman of Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State and Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, for many years. Mr Ngelale said that Ashiru holds a Doctorate degree in Engineering from the Common Wealth University, UK, and has led a consortium of blue-chip companies, in addition to earning many stripes in his professional endeavour. “The President expects the new Chief Executive Officers to deploy their competencies to these critical agencies for sustainable gains and turnaround, while maintaining utmost transparency in their operations.”

Tax Evasion: Absence of Binance official, Gambaryan, stalls arraignment

For the third time, the arraignment of Binance Holding Limited and it’s official, Tigran Gambaryan, on tax evasion charges brought against them by the federal government failed to hold due to the absence of the defendants at the federal high court Abuja. The company, alongside its officials, Tigran Gambaryan (2nd defendant)and Nadeem Anjarwalla (3rd defendant)who fled the country on March 22, 2024, were dragged to court for tax evasion by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). FIRS, had in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, preferred on them a 4-count charges of failing to register with the FIRS for the purpose of paying all relevant taxes administered by the service. The FIRS also alleged that while it was offering taxable services to subscribers on its trading platform, the company failed to issue invoices to the subscribers for the purposes of determining and payment of its Value Added Taxes. In the last adjourned date, Counsel for the FIRS, Moses Ideh, served the second defendant, Gambaryan with the charges, with the leave of the court, as the case was adjourned for his arraignment. However, in Thursdays proceedings, Gambaryan failed to appear in court The Counsel for the second defendant Chukwuka Ikwuazo (SAN), said he was not in court because the correctional service was yet to bring him. He asked for a stand down to find out what might have happened. Moses Ideh, representing the FIRS, expressed displeasure over the failure of the defendant to show up and opposed a stand down on the matter. He accused the defense counsel of knowing his client was not going to be present in court and not doing enough to make him available. Ikwuazo (SAN), who denied the claims, said the defendant is in the custody of the Correctional service and they are to blame for not providing him. He then asked for an adjournment and promised to ensure that the defendant is present in court on the next adjourned date. The motion for adjournment was not opposed by Ideh or T.J. Krukrubo (SAN), who represented the first defendant. Justice Emeka Nwite therefore adjourned the matter till July 14, for arraignment. It would be recalled that two executives of the company were arrested and detained after they flew into the country as a result of a ban on their website, by the Nigerian government, over allegations of handling illicit flow of cash through their platform. A Federal High Court in Abuja subsequently ordered Binance to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive information on all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform. This led to a spat between Binance and the Nigerian authorities who detained two of Binance’s executives upon arrival into the country. Nadeem Anjarwalla, one of the detained Binance executives escaped to Kenya according to Interpol and was tried in absentia. Documents for his Extradition to Nigeria have been prepared by the Interpol. The Crypto exchange company now faces two separate cases, with that of the EFCC, billed to continue tomorrow.

Again, Labour rejects FG’s minimum wage proposal 

Organised Labour has on Tuesday rejected the N54,000 proposed by the Federal government as new minimum wage. FG had in a meeting with Labour proposed N54,000 as against its earlier N48,000 offer. One of the leaders of the Organised Labour who attended the meeting revealed this to Vanguard in a telephone conversation. Recall that Organised Labour comprising of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, walked out on the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage following the proposed N48,000 as minimum wage by the Federal Government. Last week Organised Labour told FG to perish any thought of offering N100,000 as the new minimum wage. It also asked the government to be serious with negotiations on the issue of workers’ wages, insisting that it used the lowest minimum in arriving at N615,000 as the new minimum

FG Proposes New Minimum Wage

The Federal Government has reportedly proposed N54,000 as a new minimum wage. This follows a walkout by the Organised Labour comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress during the last meeting with the Tripartite Committee over the proposed N48,000 as minimum wage. However, a source from the ongoing meeting with the FG in Abuja told Punch that the government has agreed to increase the minimum wage to N54,000. The source said, “The Federal Government has now proposed the sum of N54,000.” However, it is uncertain whether Labour would accept this offer, as the new proposal is far from the N615,000 proposed by the organized Labour.

BREAKING: CBN raises interest rate

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has increased the benchmark interest rate to 26.25 per cent. This was disclosed by the Governor of the CBN who doubles as the Chairman of the MPC at the end of the 295th MPC meeting held in Abuja. At the March MPC meeting, the benchmark rate had been increased by 200 basis points from 22.75 per cent to 24.75 per cent. The MPC has maintained a hawkish stance since it resumed meetings this year in a bid to tackle Nigeria’s persistent inflation. As of April, Nigeria’s inflation rate had risen to 33.69 per cent. A number of analysts have projected a rate hike while some suggested that the apex bank may consider a hold stance as the growth rate of inflation moderated month-on-month.

Why we rejected N48,000 minimum wage, Organized Labour

The Organised Labour has said it rejected the proposed N48,000 minimum wage because the Federal Government did not reveal how it arrived at the amount. Mr Etim Okon, the Vice President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) said this while confirming that labour will attendn the negotiation meeting of Tripartite Committee on the Minimum Wage slated for Tuesday. According to Okon, the government’s failure to provide any substantiated data to support its offer exacerbates the situation, adding that lack of transparency and good faith undermines the credibility of the negotiation process. “The proposal falls significantly short of meeting our needs and aspirations. “The Federal Government has apologised and the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and we are going to appear and present our demand.  “We will still be presenting the N615,000. It is what we presented before we walked out, though our submission was not rejected by the government. “We only rejected the N48,000 that government presented because they did not show us how they arrived at that amount. “That is taking cognizance of transportation, housing, food, utilities, health, education among others which are basic needs of the people. “So government should come out clearly with what they are offering with the indices and variables and also how they arrived at that. This is all what we are saying,” Okon said. Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC had walked out on the negotiation meeting after the Federal Government proposed N48,000 as new minimum wage for workers in the country.

BREAKING! Court denies Binance executive, Gambaryan bail …see why

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday denied the bail application of a crypto currency firm executive, Tigran Gambaryan. Justice Emeka Nwite, while delivering the ruling, held that the bail application is refused as he has carefully gone through the application submitted before him and resolved that the defendant will jump bail if granted. Gambaryan, his company, Binance Holdings Limited, and a fellow top executive currently on the run, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, with money laundering and terrorism financing .

JUST IN: EFCC arraigns Emefiele for printing N684m notes with N18.96bn

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, arraigned a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele for approving the printing of N684.5 million at the rate of N18.96 billion. Emefiele was arraigned before Maryann Anenih, judge of a federal capital territory (FCT) high court, and pleaded not guilty to all the counts. In the four-count charge filed against him, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele disobeyed the direction of law with intent to cause injury to the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. The anti-graft agency also accused Emefiele of unlawfully approving the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.