Omokiri Has Outdone Himself With His Economy On Full Rebound Statement

Wale Alonge, Dadeland, Miami, US-based Nigerian writer and political commentator.

This most valuable asset of a policy analyst, a social influencer and political commentator is credibility. No one respects a lapdog whose mouth is in his principal’s ass leaking his or her sh!t. This Omokiri guy has built a reputation as an unapologetic supporter of the president. Many allege that he has in fact turned it into a cottage industry from which he is smiling all the way to the bank. This is mere speculation but a reasonable one at that. No doubt the president’s reform policies were a much needed tough chemotherapy for the unsustainable Nigerian economy that was on the throe of total collapse from the metastasis of corruption, budgetary indiscipline, oil subsidy and an artificially juiced foreign exchange regime that were bleeding life out of the economy while a few were profiteering like bandits. However it is beyond ridiculous and absurd for anyone to say that the Nigerian economy is on full rebound. That is beyond the pale for even an Omikiri. How ridiculous can Omokiri get to include the statistics of the number of life-streaming of Wizkid’s recent album as a metric for the rebound of country’s economy. Spotify is a global music streaming entity whose subscribers are global. By the way,not all Spotify subscribers are paid subscribers. Spotify offers free subscriptions with advert. I am also a great supporter of President Tinubu, not because he has already turned the economy around. Only time will tell. The legacy of most transformative leaders often come after their tenure has long elapsed when historians look back. That is likely to be the case for President Tinubu who I strongly believe history will judge as one, a transformative leader, if he remains committed to his reform agenda putting the interest of the country above every other consideration. I support him for his courageous leadership. Every president before him knew that our economy was heading toward the abyss of the apocalypse with endemic corruption, budgetary indiscipline, the oil subsidy scam and juicing up our foreign exchange to enrich the well connected while bleeding out and hemorrhaging our economy. They were just too lily-livered to pull the plug. They chose to prioritize their personal political expediency over the future of this country and of generations yet unborn. President Tinubu is not a saint. No one qualifies for the sainthood after playing in the mucky water of Nigerian political pigs pen. He however, has shown the courage to do the needful to safe the country. READ ALSO: NNPCL Uncovers Plot by Mischief Makers to Demarket PH Refinery President Tinubu needs to call Omokiri to order and let the country know that he has his three-person presidential communication team and that Omokiri is not one of them. Like I have said before, there is no better spokesperson for this president than himself. As he busies himself choreographing the reform agenda, he must combine it more and more with his equally important role as encourager, motivator, truth-teller and empathizer-in-chief. The communication role of great leaders is often an underrated but often a most important function. Nigerians know how they feel. They live daily in the reality of the painful economic reform agenda. No amount of sweet-talking Omokiris and his unhinged propaganda machine can make them unfeel their daily reality. It is the job of the president and his team to continue to encourage, reassure and motivate the citizens by their soothing words, their action, and life style of prudence to keep holding on, bear the pain and that a bright glorious future lies behind the dark gloomy cloud. Adewale Alonge, PhD, is Founder & President, Africa Diaspora Partnership for Empowerment and Development. www.adped.org

Tinubu may not present 2025 budget by December 

… as Senate says decision lies with Executive  Signs that the 2025 budget may not be ready for presentation to joint session of the National Assembly  by the  first week of December, are gradually emerging as templates to that effect are not well laid, ten days into November 2024. This is as the Senate declared through its Committee on Finance that, decision on presentation of the 2025 budget strictly lies with the executive arm of government. The 9th National Assembly, in collaboration with then President Muhammadu Buhari established a tradition of budget presentation in the first week of October of the proceeding year, after required templates for that effect like Medium Term Expenditure Framework ( MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), had been presented for thorough scrutiny and  dissection . Under President Buhari, MTEF and FSP were always received in the month of September for required engagements with relevant revenue generating agencies by committees of the National Assembly . Worried by the seeming  delay on getting  the vital documents from the Presidency in the month of November,  journalists, on Friday last week, inquired from the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance , Senator Mohammed Sani Musa when the 2025 budget, would be presented? The senator replied that the decision lies with the executive, not the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly . “The executive should be able to answer that question, because I know they are doing their work, they are working.  “As chairman of Senate Committee on  Finance along with members of the committee, have just interacted  with the minister of finance,  the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) and other top managers of the Nation’s economy on performance of the 2024 budget. “They are definitely working on the 2025 budget and will forward it to us when work on it must have been completed. Decision on that lies with the executive and not us at the National Assembly,” he said . President Tinubu presented estimates for 2024 budget to joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 which delayed its passage by both the Senate and the House of Representatives to Saturday, 30th December, 2023 and signing into law on January 1st , 2024 by President Tinubu. Nigerian Anchor checks reveal that at the level of the Executive, there is no mention of the expected 2025-2027 MTEF that should contain parameters upon which 2025 budget estimates like crude oil price benchmark, projected oil production per day, exchange rate of Naira to US dollar, inflation rate, and other variables would be based. Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, after an interactive session assured assured Nigerians on Friday, that a ray of light is already showing at the end of the long tunnel of economic reforms by government . “I believe in the assurance given by the Finance Minister that our economy is taking good shape through results from the reforms,” Senator Musa enthused. “For example, our debt to GDP ratio is decreasing and not Increasing.  The positive indices are already showing and within the next 16 to 18 months , Nigerians themselves will see the gains in practical terms,” he added. READ ALSO: STATES FISCAL TRANSPARENCY LEAGUE Q1 2024

FG Set to jack up Value Added Tax

The federal government has put forward a proposal to raise the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 7.5% to 10%.  This proposal is encapsulated in an executive bill currently under consideration by the National Assembly.  Reports indicate that the government plans to implement further increments, targeting a VAT of 12.5% by 2026, increasing to 15% starting in 2030.  The legislative document outlines a gradual increase in VAT rates across several assessment years.  Earlier discussions around VAT included insights from Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, who previously stated the necessity for a VAT increase.  In contrast, Finance Minister Wale Edun had clarified that the VAT rate had not yet been modified. In addition to the VAT hike, the bill also suggests a reduction in the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) from 30% to 27.5% by 2025, with a further decrease to 25% in 2026.  Small businesses with annual turnovers below ₦20 million will not be subject to this tax.  The document further stipulates that companies falling under certain categories with an effective tax rate below 15% must pay an additional tax to meet that minimum threshold.  This measure aims to bolster compliance among larger corporations. Furthermore, the federal government recently published new withholding tax regulations, set to take effect on January 1, 2025, as part of its ongoing tax reform agenda.  These proposed changes reflect the government’s intention to adapt the taxation framework to stimulate economic activity while managing fiscal responsibilities.

Wale Edun flags off Commencement Fuel Lifting from Dangote Refinery

History was made this afternoon, Sunday, September 15, 2024 as the the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) commences lifting of fuel from the Dangote Refinery. Flagging off the epoch making exercise, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun thanked Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the initiative that positions Nigeria for the attainment of energy efficiency. Nigeria, a prominent member of the OPEC is currently going through crippling fuel supply emergency running into weeks.      

CBN directs payment service providers to begin PoS transaction tracking

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed all Payment Service Providers to route all transactions from PoS terminals at merchant and agent locations through an approved CBN Payment Terminal Service Aggregator. The Apex Bank explains that this directive is without prejudice to whether such transaction was physical or electronic. It also issued a 30-day deadline requiring service providers to comply with enhanced routing guidelines for Point of Sale transactions. This move aims to strengthen the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria and decentralise PoS transaction routing, addressing concerns about the centralisation of such transactions under a single entity. The apex bank, in a circular signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo on behalf of the CBN’s Payments System Management Department on Thursday, stated that all PoS transactions from merchant and agent locations must now be routed through any CBN-licensed PTSA. The circular read, “To achieve the objective of tracking electronic transactions in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in August 2011, granted a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator license to Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc. In furtherance of the above, the CBN hereby directs acquirers to route all transactions from PoS terminals at merchant and agent locations, whether on physical or electronic PoS terminals, through any CBN-licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregator.” “PTSAs are required to send PoS transactions to only processors certified by the relevant Payment Scheme, nominated by the Acquirer, and licensed by the CBN.” This development follows the expiration of the 5th September deadline for PoS agents to formally register their businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Although the directive was challenged in court, the CAC recently announced that it has commenced taking drastic actions, including shutting down PoS businesses that failed to register. The directive on PoS business registration comes against the backdrop of frequent fraud incidents involving PoS terminals and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s plans to prevent trading in cryptocurrency or virtual currency. According to a report by Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, PoS terminals accounted for 26.37% of fraud incidents in 2023

Finance Minister, Wale Edun, Speaks After Meeting Tinubu over Minimum Wage

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that “there is no cause for alarm” following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Edun was accompanied by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu. The development comes two days after Tinubu directed the finance minister to present a proposed new minimum wage figure and analysis of associated costs to him within 48 hours. Although the agenda of Thursday’s meeting was not disclosed, it is believed to be connected to the President’s directive on Tuesday. It can be recalled that the Tripartite Committee on new minimum wage met on Wednesday. The meeting was inconclusive due to the federal government team’s failure to present a new figure, despite proposing N60,000 as the new minimum wage, which was rejected by the organized labour. It is understood that the government team is expected to present a fresh figure at today’s meeting scheduled for 2 pm.

Tinubu’s anniversary: FG begins N75,000 cash payment to 75 million Nigerians

The Federal Government announced on Tuesday the reinstatement of the suspended social investment programme, aimed at providing direct payments to 75 million Nigerians across 50 million households. This initiative is intended to alleviate the hardships faced by citizens, particularly vulnerable groups, as disclosed during a ministerial sectoral briefing marking President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, revealed that the cash transfer programme had undergone significant overhauls to address and mitigate fraud. This announcement follows the suspension of all National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) activities by President Tinubu on January 12 for a six-week period, due to alleged mismanagement. Concurrently, Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, was suspended on January 8. The intervention programmes affected by this suspension included N-Power, the conditional cash transfer scheme, the government enterprise and empowerment programme, and the home-grown school feeding initiative. On March 13, the House of Representatives urged the federal government to resume these social investment initiatives. To revamp the programme, President Tinubu established a Special Presidential Panel, led by Edun, to conduct an intensive review and audit of the existing financial frameworks and policy guidelines of the social investment programmes. Providing an update on the committee’s progress, Edun emphasised the government’s commitment to providing relief for poor Nigerians. “I am duty-bound to give you an overview of the strategy, policies, and implementation of Mr President’s reform programme,” Edun said. “Immediately upon assuming office, Mr President launched macroeconomic reforms to restore stability to the Nigerian economy, including subsidy reforms and foreign exchange market reforms. “These reforms caused a spike in costs for individuals and businesses, but Mr President is committed to counterbalancing the negative effects with interventions across the social spectrum.” Edun outlined the government’s restarted social investment programme, which includes direct payments to 75 million Nigerians in 50 million households. He also mentioned improvements in access to credit, with ₦1 billion allocated to consumer credit and grants of ₦50,000 being provided to 1 million nanoindustries.

Presidency Reacts To Reports Of Tinubu Advising Buhari To Print More Money

The Presidency has refuted claims suggesting that President Bola Tinubu advised the Muhammadu Buhari administration to print N22.7 trillion.  This denial comes in response to statements made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Wale Edun, during a session with the Senate Committee on Finance. Edun attributed Nigeria’s current inflationary pressures to massive currency printing during Buhari’s tenure, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability in economic management.  He disclosed plans for a comprehensive audit of the reported N22.7 trillion printed without productivity. In reaction, Paul Ibe, spokesman for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, criticized Edun’s remarks, alleging Tinubu’s encouragement of such actions in 2020.  However, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga rebutted these claims, asserting that Tinubu never advised the government to print money. Onanuga clarified that Tinubu’s statement in 2020 did not advocate for Naira printing, as erroneously reported, and provided a clarification in Thisday a day after the false report emerged.