TheNewsGuru

Tag: 2019

  • [TNG NASS Snippets] Reps expose how Ayade as PDP Governor co-sponsored Gbajabiamila’s Speakership ambition in 2019

    [TNG NASS Snippets] Reps expose how Ayade as PDP Governor co-sponsored Gbajabiamila’s Speakership ambition in 2019

    By Emman Ovuakporie
    This week’s TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) snippets will focus on how Cross River Governor Senator Ben Ayade co-sponsored Femi Gbajabiamila speakership ambition while in Peoples Democratic Party PDP in 2019. Other issues of the week:
    • Stop giving states monthly feeding bottle, embrace true federalism, Rep Chinda tells FG
    • Gbajabiamila’s Bill seeking to compulsorily recruit disabled persons scales second reading
    • The battle ahead as Senators consider Electoral Act Amendment Bill without electronic transmission of results.
    Reps expose how Ayade as a PDP Governor co-sponsored Gbajabiamila speakership ambition in 2019
    …. insist two defected Cross River lawmakers were never with us since 2015
    …they were PDP only at daylight by midnight they were active APC reps
    It was revelations galore on Tuesday as two PDP members defected to APC leading to the exposure of the roles both lawmakers and their governor played during the 2019 Reps speakership race.
    This came to fore after two Cross River lawmakers defected from PDP to APC last Tuesday as other PDP reps even celebrated their defection as they were both known to be midnight members of APC.
    Some of the PDP Reps who spoke to TNG under the condition of anonymity said unlike when other colleagues defected there was reaction but in their case there was relief that their Midnight’s colleagues had finally pitched their tents with APC.
    One of the lawmakers from the north ce ntral geo-political zone said”we knew from 2015 that they were not part of us that was why we celebrated their exit.
    “In 2015 they both voted against PDP candidate in the person of Yakubu Dogara and in 2019 they voted against the party’s candidate.
    “You must have noticed that when their defection was announced we just ignored them because they were never part of us.
    Another lawmaker from the north east geo-political zone spoke in the same vein declaring that”we have no regrets they were obviously moles since 2015.
    “In the 2019 speakership race one of them took Gbajabiamila to Ayade and Ayade as a PDP Governor co-sponsored the current speaker.
    “We are even celebrating their departure, we wish them the very best with their governor in APC.
    TNG recalls that Femi Gbajabiamila, on Tuesday announced the defection of Lego Idagbo, who represents Beckwara/Obudu/Obanliku Federal Constituency and Michael Etaba of Obubra/ Etung Federal Constituency.

    The two lawmakers, in separate letters read by Gnajabiamila, cited the crisis in the PDP as the reason for the defection

    Also, Ayade had defected to the ruling APC barely three months ago.

    Stop giving feeding bottle to states monthly, embrace true federalism Rep Chinda tells FG
    The House of Representatives caucus leader of the PDP, Rep Kingsley Chinda has advised the Federal Government to stop giving feeding bottle to states as embracing true federalism will make governors stand on their own.
    Chinda said”the way we run this federation is like a feeding bottle approach by the Federal Government as states on a monthly basis are fed like babies.

    He ecplay that “For me that is one thing I also say. I have heard the president passionately talking about local government autonomy, in fact instructing council chairmen to either use their money or go to jail if they release it to their governors, I don’t know whether he said so but I read it on the social media. Wonderful, beautiful, in fact that is the content of our constitution.

    Now when we are talking about restructuring, is the federal government to also do the same when it comes to her relationship with states, not just the states and the local government.

    So if the president is the champion for local government autonomy, the president should also be the champion for state autonomy which is the whole essence of restructuring.

    This is a federation, Nigerian portends to be the federal republic of Nigeria, not unitary republic of Nigeria. So Mr President should act that way.

    The constitution has made it clear when it comes to the powers of the federation, all we are saying is that there are things that we see as unnecessary baggage on the shoulders of the federal government, that federal government should shelve and allow states to run these issues.

    We take things like education, federal government has no business in education. Now go back to history, the west today you see them as people who are advanced in education and the north appears to be slightly backward in education why the allowed education for the regions. If we had the system we have today, the west would not have enjoyed that advantage.

    You know, if these things are moved out of the shoulders of the federal government, the north might even overtake the west when it comes to education.

    The entire society is moving, life itself is dynamic, we cannot continue with this feeding bottle system, states running to Abuja for allocation and then thereafter you go back; and federal government frittering away monies because of projects that they cannot even monitor.

    So let us begin to run a federation that is the essence, that is the entire thing about restructuring. The things that we think are not necessary for the federal government to overburden itself shelve it for states to handle. The ones that local governments can handle, let local governments handle under the constitution.

    We take things like security, we have been battling with insecurity in Nigeria. The structure of our constitution does not help us. The police man in your village will take instruction from the commissioner of police who will take instructions from the IG who will take instructions from the commander I chief and so before those instructions come down, the situation is beyond control.

    All we are saying, things like security let the states that can afford have their own state police. Local governments that can afford should have their own local government police and all of them will have different functions.

    There are crimes that will go to federal police, there are crimes that state police can handle, there are crimes that local government police can handle. There is no way there cannot be improvement in the security system.

    You come to the health sector; states should be allowed to manage that sector. The federal government cannot be investing in everything and that is why you have duplication of agencies, functions everywhere because it is so much and so it is not thorough.

    So when we talk of restructuring, perhaps people look at monies and all that, we are talking about states managing their resources. Perhaps the south or Niger Delta that produces oil will now have the whole of the oil money and I think that is the pain, it brings us back to the issue of let us look at Nigeria as a state, as our state and let the interest of the country be uppermost in our minds.

    It will even challenge states if you say look, you get what you generate and pay tax to the federal government; every state will begin to generate resources. Little did we know that we have so much gold in Zamfara, so why won’t that be made a formal thing, let the state get a formal resources from that wealth and pay tax to the government. Every state in this country is blessed but we are only being lazy by the system of government that we practice.

    Gbajabiamila’s Bill seeking compulsory employment for disabled Nigerians scales second reading

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila’s Bill seeking an insertion into the constitution to provide employment for physically challenged Nigerians passed second reading.

    The speaker since he emerged has a passion for the physically challenged and this was displayed as he personally promoted a Bill to provide for the disabled.

    Although the percentage was not expressly stated in the Bill but it was passed though Hon Uzoma Nkem-Abonta had requested that it ought to have been stated.

    Electoral Act Amendment: Senators set to consider Bill without electronic transfer of results

    The Senate is set to consider and adopt the controversial Electoral Act Amendment Bill without electronic transfer of election results.

    TNG feelers point to the fact that just like the PIB that didn’t get any major apposition during consideration last week, this Bill that suddenly appeared without electronic transfer of election results may just fly like other executive Bills.

  • Why I joined politics in 2019 – Al Mustapha

    Why I joined politics in 2019 – Al Mustapha

    Maj. Hamza Al Mustapha, Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late military head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, says he decided to join politics in 2019 to create opportunities for Nigerian youths to actualise their potential.

    Al Mustapha said this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

    “I created the Green Party for the youth, women, the poor and people living with disabilities, it is a party that has to do with the future of Nigeria.

    “Having criss-cross from the North to the South and after meeting this class of Nigerians who are mostly neglected, I decided to form a party that will create opportunities for the Nigerian youths to actualise their potential.

    “I did it for strategic reason of having investments on the younger ones.

    “The word Green Party has many connotations and so I made contacts with green institutions across the world towards creating opportunities for Nigerian youths,” Al Mustapha said.

    He said that the target was to empower Nigerian youths with skills towards self reliance.

    “I spoke with the Green Party in Germany with the aim of getting funding for training of our youths on skills acquisition.

    “I also made contact with individuals in Korea and China towards the same aim of empowering our youths with skills.

    “All these cummulated into the formation of the party,” he said.

    Al Mustapha said however, that he couldn’t feature at the 2019 presidential poll for some reasons.

    “I was to participate in 2019 presidential election on the understanding that certain people were not to contest in the election.

    “I had to decline when I learnt that the people were contesting after given their words,” he said.

    Al Mustapha said since the Green Party was among those affected by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) delisting of parties, he would move somewhere.

    “If you want to hear from me, you have to wait until the end of 2021, you will see us visibly somewhere then,” he said.

  • Okiemute! Okiemute! Okiemute! A clarion call for Urhobo unity post 2019 – Anthony Omowhovo

    By Anthony Omowhovo

    Since time immemorial, there has always been a reason for the existence of every tribe or ethnic nationality, Urhobo which constitute a sizeable percentage of the population of Delta State is not an exception. They are predominantly found in 24 kingdoms in Delta central senatorial zone of the state.

    Urhobo people are culturally and linguistically from a common genre, and share common aspirations, sentiments, values and destiny, hence, it is not uncommon to see people of the Urhobo ethnic nationality benefitting from noble acts of charity from affluent sons and daughters of the Urhobo nation.

    Likewise, persons of Urhobo stock have also been meted with undeserved punishments for the inadvertent or contrived misdeeds and or misdemeanour of some of their illustrious and not so illustrious kinsmen, which they were not privy to.

    In view of the vagaries of human existence, It behoves every person of Urhobo descent, to embark on a critical and holistic review of our social, political and economic standings in Delta state albeit Nigeria, with a view to articulating well thought out and pertinent decisions, expected to impact and change our collective and individual fortunes for the better.

    Uncharacteristically, it seems, and has been observed that the famed uncommon age-long hospitality of Urhobo people is about to be abused and taken for granted by some of our neighbours who are propelled and goaded by inordinate ambition and vile quest to shortchange Urhobo in the clamour to produce the next governor of Delta state come 2023.

    It is pitiable and disdainful to note that our ijaw neighbours have not hidden their obnoxious disdain for equity and fairness in their surreptitious and covertly orchestrated moves to produce the PDP governorship candidate for the state come 2023 irrespective of the fact that the extant PDP zoning arrangement favours the Urhobo ethnic nationality.

    Our uncommon hospitality and sense of fairness is about to be taken for granted by some of our neighbours who are driven by inordinate ambition and insensitivity.

    Some of their highly placed leaders have been heard boasting that they would humble the Urhobo nation the way they “walloped” Itsekiri.

    While such boasts cannot be dismissed as fabrications because of the natural boisterousness of the average Ijaw man and their presumptuous posturing against Isoko from their Delta South Senatorial district which they erroneously view as underdogs.

    But for their contempt for everyone including Isoko People, the perverted logic they are touting on the rotation policy of PDP should throw up Isoko as the ethnic group from Delta south to vie for the governorship. This should be the natural sequence of the alphabetical arrangement of the three ethnic groups viz: Ijaw, Isoko, and Itsekiri .

    Having regard to the above order, once the Itsekiri took the first shot at the governorship of the state by dint of zoning , the next on the line in the district to produce the governor should be Isoko by her natural position in the alphabetic sequence.

    Presumably, the proclivity of Ijaw for belligerence and delusion account for why the unscrupulous Ijaw politicians feel that they are entitled to take a shot at the governorship seat before Isoko.

    In the light of the penchant of these unconscionable ijaw politicians to turn their back against decency and fair play, we call on Urhobo sons and daughters to close ranks and view the threats from these ijaw politicians outside the lenses of partisanship but within the compass of patriotism and love for their God-given fatherland.

    May I, therefore, appeal to everyone embroiled in the deep intraparty and inter-party disputations over the rightness or wrongness of zoning of the governorship position in the past 10 years plus, to take an introspective view of the challenges that characterise the issue and consciously wean themselves of all the prejudices and bitterness of the past and tackle this challenge from some unscrupulous Ijaw politicians as an existential threat that deserves a strategic and collective onslaught.

    Urhobo ona o odja . Once again , let us come together and repeat the awesome feat of our forebears who confronted the challenge of education in the early 40S when they established Urhobo College, Effurun, one of the foremost community school in Nigeria to provide education for their kith and kin .

    Dear Kinsmen and Kinswomen, this is a feat that is accomplishable when we come together to show case our potentials . This is a doable that must be done in our time

    Comrade Anthony Omowhovo
    Political activist/ social commentator

  • UBA shareholders ratify N34.19bn dividend for 2019

    The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc shareholders, on Wednesday, commended the bank for declaring a dividend of N34.19 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2019.

    The shareholders gave their commendation at the bank’s 58th and first virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on YouTube in Lagos.

    NAN reports that the shareholders, at the meeting, approved the payment of a final dividend of N27.36 billion, which translated to 80k per share.

    The bank had earlier paid an interim dividend of 20k on Sept. 18, 2019, bringing the total dividend payable to shareholders to N1 per share against 85k in 2018.

    Speaking at the meeting, Dr Farouk Umar, President, Association of the Advancement of the Rights of Shareholders, lauded the bank for increasing dividend payment by 20 per cent.

    Umar said that the bank’s N1 dividend payment was highly commendable in spite of difficulties in the operating environment.

    He noted that shareholders were also pleased with the contributions of the bank’s other subsidiaries and urged them to keep the good work.

    Umar commended the bank for its contributions of $14 million to fight COVID-19 pandemic across Africa.

    He said that the donation would go a long way to alleviate the sufferings of people.

    Mr Sunny Nwosu, Founder, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), appreciated the board and management for making the virtual AGM possible.

    Nwosu, who described the dividend payment as impressive, said it was paramount to shareholders at these challenging times.

    On COVID-19, Nwosu urged the bank to strengthen all its electronic channels for efficient service delivery as nobody knows when the virus would end.

    Responding to the shareholders, Mr Tony Elumelu, UBA Chairman, assured the shareholders of impressive results and dividend in the years ahead.

    Elumelu said the bank would continue to work harder to ensure enhanced earnings and dividend payment.

    On recapitalisation plan, he said that the bank remained very strong to continue on its own with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) in excess of 20 per cent.

    Elumelu, however, said the bank would not hesitate to embrace any opportunity that would aid its expansion.

    “UBA is very strong and will always expand the business when opportunities present itself,’’ he stated.

    The chairman said the bank was very conservative on credit risk appetite and acceptance to avoid a spike in the non-performing loan.

    Also, Mr Kennedy Uzoka, the bank’s Group Managing Director, said the company had activated its business community plan in line with present realities.

    Uzoka added that the bank had invested heavily in technology to ensure seamless service delivery of its electronic channels.

    He stated that the bank had ensured uptime of all its ATMs across the country during the lockdown order.

    NAN reports that the bank’s gross earnings grew by 13.3 per cent to N559.8 billion in 2019 compared with N494.0 billion recorded in 2018.

  • 1,115 children died from acute malnutrition in Borno in 2019 – UNICEF

    1,115 children died from acute malnutrition in Borno in 2019 – UNICEF

    The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday said 1,115 children have died from acute malnutrition in Borno between January and December 2019.

    UNICEF Nutrition Sector Coordinator, Mr Simon Karanja, disclosed this at the inauguration of the Borno Steering Committee on Food and Nutrition in Maiduguri.

    Karanja said that in the year under review, 138,236 children were treated in various Community for Management of Acute Malnutrition centers in the state while 6,399 defaulted treatment.

    He also said that 1,877 children did not recover or relapsed.

    He said that at least three cases of death were recorded every day in the state.

    The official attributed the rising cases of malnutrition to include poor dietary consumption trends, high prevalence of diseases such as diarrhea, measles, and food insecurity.

    Other factors, he said, included poor funding of prevention interventions, duplication, and gaps in services, critical medicine shortages for such persons.

    “In 2020, the programme targeted 533,000 children in need of treatment.

    “Also, an estimated 138,000 are expected to receive treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition while 182 will receive treatment for Moderate Acute Malnutrition,” he said.

    Also speaking, the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Manager for UNICEF, Mr Kabuka Banda, attributed rising cases of malnutrition especially in the IDPs camps to lack “adequate utilisation of the environment”.

    Banda said that children only got the best type of food when they were living in a healthy and conducive environment and not in a hazardous settlement.

    “The practice of open defecation poses a big threat and has remained a big contributor to malnutrition, especially in IDPs camps which can alter the children’s growth and affect their performance.

  • ICPC recovers N77.04b assets in 2019

    ICPC recovers N77.04b assets in 2019

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Thursday said it recovered N77.04 billion assets from suspects in 2019.

    The commission also said it received 1,934 petitions out of which it concluded investigations on 580.

    The remaining petitions, which were not within its jurisdiction, were referred to relevant anti-graft agencies.

    But it said out of the 580 concluded investigations, 83 cases were filed in court and 25 convictions secured.

    The commission insisted that the former Chairman of the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, is still wanted by the commission.

    ICPC spokesperson Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa announced these at a media briefing yesterday in Abuja on the activities of the commission in the last one year.

    She said: “In the last one year, we have recovered over N77.04 billion assets, including N1.16 billion in Treasury Single Account (TSA); immovable assets worth N32.038 billion and about N41.98 billion restrained after the review of MDAs Personnel Cost Expenditure.

    “Others were recoveries from project tracking (N0.767b) and N1.097 billion, being the value of constituency projects completed after we forced contractors to sites.

    “ICPC has also received 1,934 petitions and concluded investigations on 580 cases. All petitions were duly registered and captured. Quite a good number of the petitions were not within ICPC jurisdiction because they bordered on some issues, like pensions, estate, economic and financial crimes.

    “Several of those petitions have been forwarded to the relevant agencies. After those concluded investigations, 83 cases were filed in court. We had 25 convictions in 2019 but some of them were carried over cases.”

    Responding to a question, Mrs. Okoduwa said: “ICPC is not shy about naming and shaming of those suspected of corrupt practices but we have to work within the ambit of the law.

    “We have named certain corrupt persons when we have reasons to go to court. We are not shy of exposing those who engage in corrupt practices; we only follow the law.

    “Our ultimate goal in this anti-corruption war is about the betterment of the people. We believe that anti-corruption campaign should not happen in a vacuum; it should increase development; it should increase growth. It shouldn’t be about how many people you have thrown into prison.

    “Since the bottom line is allowing people to derive benefits from anti-corruption measures/ investigations, if we embroil ourselves in cases, it may take years for people to reap from what we may recover from corrupt elements.”

    On the fate of Obono-Obla, who was sacked as chairman of the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Mrs. Okoduwa said he was still wanted.

    She added: “Yes, we have read in the media about his being available in the country, that he is making statements on social media platforms.

    “We have also made statements to the effect that he should come out from hiding and present himself to ICPC. That is the only way he can clear his name, the only way to move forward.

    “We have also heard from media sources how he has been calling ICPC names, saying that commission is in rivalry with his office, and a lot more. That is a lot of hogwash. I have had people call me to say: what do you have to respond to Obono Obla, saying your chairman is a rival to him? It is hogwash.

    “The decent thing is for the gentleman to come to ICPC to clear his name. We are giving him an opportunity to clear his name. After all, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty…”

    On a petition before the ICPC against the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the spokesperson said the petition must have been attended to.

    Mrs Okoduwa promised to find out the status of the petition.

  • JUST IN: NECO releases 2019 NOV/DEC results

    JUST IN: NECO releases 2019 NOV/DEC results

    The National Examination Council has released the results of the 2019 November/December Senior School Certificate Examinations.

    Abubakar Gana, Acting Registrar of the council, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

    The National Examination Council (NECO) has released the results of the 2019 November/December Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE).

    Abubakar Gana, Acting Registrar of the council, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

    Gana said that a total of 70,140 candidates registered for the examination, and 65,207 sat for the English Language out of which 41,214, representing 63 per cent, got either Distinction or Credit.

    He added that 66,398 candidates sat for Mathematics, out of which 54,565, representing 82.18 per cent, got either Distinction or Credit.

    The acting registrar said 33,576 candidates, representing 48.68 per cent, got five Credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics.

    “On the other hand, 50,057 candidates, representing 72.57% got five Credits and above, irrespective of English Language and Mathematics.

    “A comparative analysis of candidates who scored five Credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics for 2018 and 2019 shows 62.48% for 2018 and 48.68% for 2019,” he stated.

    The acting registrar said the figure represented a decrease of 13.8 per cent in 2019.

    “This is coming exactly 49 days after the last paper was written. A total of 29 subjects were examined.

    “Like we always point out, this is an examination conducted for external candidates wishing to acquire the minimum requirements for admission into various tertiary institutions,” he added.

    Gana, however, noted that not all candidates required Credit in either English Language or Mathematics or both.

    On candidates’ involvement in examination malpractice in 2019 as against 2018, he said there was an increase as 12,084 cases were recorded in 2018 as against 17,004 recorded in 2019.

    “This came about as a result of the comprehensive monitoring by senior staff. This also resulted in the decline in number of candidates with 5 Credits and above,” he said.

    He called on candidates to log on to www.neco.gov.ng, and click on ‘NECO Results’ and follow the prompts to access their results.

  • How Buhari led FG persistently assaulted rule of law in 2019 – NBA

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the “executive misbehaviour and high-handedness” of the federal government in 2019.

    The president of the association, Paul Usoro, said this in his New Year’s message saying peace and justice cannot reign in the country if the government continues to pay lip service to the rule of law.

    He said; “In 2019, the rule of law in Nigeria was persistently assaulted and lay prostrate, thanks mostly to executive misbehaviours and high-handedness/ 2019 marked the year that removal of public officers through nebulous and reprehensible ex parte orders of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) gradually became the norm in our national life.

    “It started with the removal of Justice Walter Onnoghen through a purported CCT ex parte order in the first quarter of 2019 and, towards the end of the year, this abnormality was repeated with the removal from office of the acting Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Lady Azuka Azinge, through a questionable ex parte order,” he added.

    The NBA president also condemned the invasion of the court by agents of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the case of Omoyele Sowore, saying “it was a horrifying assault on the rule of law and the sacred sanctum of our courts and judicial processes”.

    Usoro added; “It was somewhat reassuring that in the dying days of 2019 and at the instance of the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, (SAN) both Omoyele Sowore and Sambo Dasuki were finally released from confinement by the DSS, after being detained for prolonged periods against the orders of courts. It is our hope that, in 2020, we would build on this new resolve by the government and ensure that court orders are obeyed across the board by our state officials and agencies.”

    “We must remind our leaders of the pledges that they made when they courted us in 2019 for our votes. We must demand those rights that are guaranteed to us in our Constitution and in the social contract with elected officials.”

    Usoro also said in 2020, the Nigerian Bar Association will continue to speak for Nigerians. “We will persist in holding governments to account, particularly as it relates to the promotion and protection of the rule of law and the delivery of democracy dividends to our people,” he said

  • Buhari made 2019 unsuccessful year for many Nigerians – Atiku

    Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar says the President Muhammdu Buhari-led government, in 2019 plunged the nation into throes of economic instability, with more people losing jobs and the attendant outcome of more children being out of school and more families having hard time in accessing basic needs of life.

    He said he did not share the sentiment when some people claimed that the out-gone 2019 was a successful year for Nigerians, saying such sentiments were reductionist and did the harm of making the people have a false sense of victory.

    “The bitter truth is that Nigeria is still in the throes of economic instability, with more people losing jobs and the attendant outcome of more children being out of school and more families having hard time in accessing basic needs of life,” Atiku said in his New Year message on Tuesday.

    According to him, “The coming of the New Year 2020 is symbolic in many ways. First, it heralds a brand new decade. Secondly, and probably more important, is that this New Year will require us all to stay together more than ever before to take on, head front, the common enemy of insecurity that challenge our everyday lives as Nigerians

    “In this New Year, however, I will rather ask that Nigerians stand together with renewed vigour and determination to battle the hydra-headed demon of insecurity that has plagued us in the past decade.

    “We must challenge the inadequacies that made us become the global headquarters of extreme poverty; much as we must work hard and fast enough to eliminate the scourge of out-of-school children in the country. These are the challenges that this new decade has thrown at us and we cannot afford to slumber and submit to defeat.

    “The problems of extreme poverty and scant investments in education play huge roles in fueling the problems of violent extremism that we spent the past decade contending with. We cannot win the fight against terrorism if we do nothing to reduce or eliminate poverty and illiteracy,” he stated.

    Atiku added that the reality of this new decade required of Nigerians to recalibrate their approaches and to pursue some tough choices, saying if failure was not an option, then “we must let go of our egos and conveniences.”

    “In this new decade, we must start to do things differently if we are honest about our desire for a better and prosperous future. There must be a deliberate effort to improve the material wellbeing of the people, by lifting millions of Nigerians out of the extreme poverty belt at a start, and to prosperity. Government must rethink many of its policies that is sinking more people into the abyss of extreme poverty.

    “It is incumbent on government at all levels to pursue policies that will provide decent housing to the mass majority; put food on the table; provide healthcare and education. We cannot continue to do things the same way and expect a different outcome. It is therefore high time we caused a rejig of economic policies that will promote an expansion of the economy and create jobs opportunities aplenty,” he said.

    He stated that at the individual level, this moment called for more empathy and sacrifice, as the New Year and a new decade come with the opportunity to make better impressions in lives Nigerians and in the lives of people around them.

    “I wish to restate that our collective call for rule of law and our history about the struggle for democratic rule did not envisage a situation where judicial pronouncements would be worth less than the paper upon which they are rendered.

    “It is a bad advertisement for the country and its democracy if declarations made by the court are not respected without the executive arm of government agreeing to same. Any democracy is not worth the appellation if the principle of separation of power is not ingrained in it. In the new year, government should not pretend to be democratic, but rather act according to the fundamentals of a democracy,” he explained.

    Atiku said he expected that in the New Year, there would be a better observance of rule of law and greater respect for citizens’ democratic rights.

    “While we anticipate a change of attitude across board in the new year and new decade, I wish every Nigerian a happy and prosperous 2020,” he added.

  • TNG Review: People, policies that shaped Nigeria’s economy in 2019

    With the year 2020 just a matter of hours away, Nigeria like other countries around the world is gradually counting its gains and losses in the outgoing year, 2019.

    While it can be said that the country barely made any appreciable progress economically, however, going forward, the challenges of a struggling economy still stares us in the face.

    Despite the peculiar challenges of an election year and consequential effects on the economy, recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.28 per cent in the third quarter of 2019, compared with 2.12 and 1.81 per cent in the preceding and corresponding quarters, respectively. The improved growth was driven largely by the performance of the oil sector, which grew by 6.49 per cent, while the non-oil sector grew by 1.85 per cent.

    The Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMI) also expanded for the 31st and 30th consecutive months at 58.2 index points apiece in October, 2019. Further projections indicate that real GDP in fourth quarter 2019 is expected to grow by 2.38 per cent, also driven by the oil sector.

    On the contrast, crude oil price, Nigeria’s major source of revenue remained soft in 2019.

    In its 2019 economic review and 2020 outlook released on Thursday, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) projected a high cost of doing business in 2020.

    The Chamber attributes the projected high cost to poor infrastructure, multiplicity of levies, excessive regulations, among others.

    It said the nation may have recorded improvement on the Ease of Doing Business Ranking due to some recent policy measures, realities on ground would continue to differ if the highlighted challenges facing the country were not properly and immediately addressed.

    Notable policy action of some government officials that helped shaped economy in 2019

    The Nigerian economy survived a bumpy ride in the outgoing year courtesy of the actions of some public officials. Some of them are listed below:

    Finance Minister Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed

    Finance Minister, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, had within the year, announced the Federal Government’s plans to borrow $3 billion from the World Bank to revive the ailing power sector. She has consistently defended the Federal Government’s plans to take more loans.

    She said the World Bank and Nigerian team identified the imperative of solving operational efficiency problems in the power sector and revamping associated infrastructure to ensure that the overall success of the intervention in the sector is achieved.

    Continuing, she said the $3 billion loan is for financing the power sector.

    “This financing will include right now, the gap between what is provided for in the current tariff and the cost of the businesses themselves. There is a tariff shortfall but it would also enhance our ability to pay the previous obligations that have crystallised that we have not yet been able to pay.

    Some portions of it will be for the transmission network and if we are able to expand the facility to $4 billion, the additional $1 billion is for the distribution network. It will help us to exit the subsidy that is now inherent in the power sector.

    It is supposed to be to reform the sector, to restore the distribution business side of the sector, especially on a stronger footing so that they are freed up enough to go out and raise financing to invest in expanding the distribution network,” she stated.

    Mrs. Ahmed also disclosed the Federal Government’s plan to issue Naira- denominated jolly Bond, which will come with the support of the United Kingdom authorities to support Nigeria’s infrastructure financing.

    She said a working committee is being set up to interface with Nigeria on this possible naira denominated bond. “The CBN will be leading in this efforts we will also explore all options in this regard at the next UK investment summit that will be holding in January 2020. She said the Jolly Bond will be issued offshore but denominated in the local currency and the importance of such a bond is that it protects the country, the issuer from exchange rate exposure.

    On the border closure, she said the exercise was not meant to be vindictive. She said that since Nigeria was committed to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), there was need to ensure that rules are obeyed, otherwise local industries will be greatly affected. “Businesses have been suffering due to the activities of smugglers but with the more opening up following our commitment to the AfCFTA, this will get worse unless we make sure now that everybody comes back to obey the rules as agreed”.

    The minister said the border closure was not permanent, adding that there are lots of discussions going on at the technical level and at some point, it will be at the level of presidents and then real commitments will be made and hopefully, everybody will comply to own side of the agreement.

    CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele

    The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele is a major player in the country’s economic boardroom.

    Emefiele started the year and subsequently his second tenure of five years, canvassing for the use of home-grown heterodox policies to successfully achieve substantial macro-economic stability in 2019.

    He pushed for the use of the Global Standing Instruction (GSI) to address the predatory impact of serial borrowers in the banking system, a phenomenon that reduced the level of bad loans over time.

    This was followed by the Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) policy meant to boost credit delivery by the deposit money banks (DMBs) to the real sector, Development Finance Initiatives in agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and other real sector activities, including restriction of patronage by local corporate and individual investors in CBN Open Market Operation bills.

    The economy under Emefiele also faced some headwinds such as continued high level of unemployment, mild resurgence of anticipated inflationary pressures towards the December festive season, rising public debt, high level of insecurity, and slow pace of oil price recovery.

    Also disturbing was the rise in inflation within the year (year-on-year) from 11.24 in September to 11.61 per cent in October 2019.

    Despite these challenges, growth is expected to pick on the back of recent actions to boost credit to the private sector through the recent Loan-to-Deposit Ratio (LDR) and Global Standing Instruction (GSI) initiatives, sustained interventions by the CBN in selected employment and growth-enhancing sectors, as well as fiscal policy measures to support growth.

    The CBN’s continued intervention in the agricultural sector is expected to improve medium-term food supply. Indeed, there has been reports of bumper harvests in some staples like rice, maize, among others. The announcement this week of a new Guide to Bank Charges which reduced many bank charges as high as 50 per cent is expected to boost bank customers’ confidence in the financial system and promote economic stability.

    Ex-FIRS Chairman Tunde Fowler

    The immediate past Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Tunde Fowler, this month quit at the expiration of his five-year term.

    The former FIRS boss had within his tenure raised tax collection from N3. 3 trillion in 2015 to N5.32 Trillion in 2018.

    Although petitions alleging under-performance were written against the administration of Fowler but the tax expert fired back with facts and statistics to show the level of improvement he brought to the tax body.

    Fowler helped in the implementation of the Tax Amnesty Programme (VAIDS), increased the number of taxpayers nationwide to over 20 million and began placing lien on the account of taxpayers.

    He also fostered collaboration among the states through the Joint Tax Board and called for more tax payment by multinational technology companies.

    He also fostered collaboration among the states through the Joint Tax Board and called for more tax payment by multinational technology companies.

    He believed that taxing mult-inational companies like Google, Apple, Twitter, Amazon, Facebook, Uber, eBay and banking software manufacturers will require new tax laws that capture their mode of operations.

    He said these firms deploy the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) rule to shift profits from the spots where economic activity and value creation occur into low or no-tax locations. The BEPS practice and absence of suitable tax laws have constrained the Nigerian tax authorities from taxing the digital economy.

    To reverse this trend, the FIRS under Fowler began engaging the National Assembly to amend the tax laws to align with changing technological advancement and halt tax revenue leakages from the digital space.

    DMO D-G Ms. Patience Oniha

    Director-General of Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms. Patience Oniha, within the year also introduced a 30-year FGN Bond.

    The bond was a design to increase the tenor of bonds available in the market and help create securities that would suit investors’ activities.

    The 30-year bond was issued in April as the usual FGN bond auction.

    Oniha said part of the considerations for the introduction was that while it borrows on behalf of the government subject to necessary approvals, the government, through its borrowing activities, also supports market developments trying to create securities that investors want to invest in to match their activities.

    “We introduced the 30-year bond to increase the tenor of bonds available in the market. The longest tenure we have had before now was the 20-year FGN bonds.

    The 30-year bond benefits government in two ways; one, it extends the tenor for proper management of our maturity so that debt service is easier and smoother.

    “But more importantly it’s actually the best form of money to use to finance infrastructure which the government is focused on to support the recovery that we have achieved, managing liabilities and financing infrastructure,” she said.

    Economic Highs and lows of 2019

    As noted in the opening paragraph of this report, all were not entirely low for the economy in 2019. Some modest achievements were recorded notwithstanding the numerous challenges.

    Economic Diversification

    The economic diversification policy of the incumbent administration away from its mainstay, oil though still fresh is beginning to show off positive outcomes especially in the agricultural sector.

    Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari recently banned the use of foreign exchange especially to food importers, an attempt to boost local agriculture across the country. If followed through by this administration and subsequent ones, the Nigeria might in no time declare sufficiency in food production.

    The country also recently declared whopping 5.2 billion naira (about 14.4 million U.S. dollars) trading surplus through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the month of August. The figure is a 22 percent increase on the 4.26 billion naira surplus posted in July and this, experts believe, is a clear indication that the national oil company can indeed operate profitably.

    The value of Nigeria’s total trade in third quarter of 2019 stood at 9,187.6 billion naira, representing a 6.77 percent increase over the value recorded in second quarter of 2019 and a 1.33 percent increase on third quarter of 2018.

    Although there was a slight decline in import figure, the increase in export led to a positive trade balance of 1,389.3 billion naira during the period under review.

    Global Rating Agencies’ red flag on Nigeria’s economy

    Nigeria’s current account (CA) balance has shifted to deficit from a long-standing surplus, pointing to deteriorating macroeconomic imbalances and adding to external vulnerability.

    Owing to this and some other concerns, Fitch, one of the leading global rating agencies, anticipated that the CA in Nigeria would record a deficit of 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2019, its second-weakest level in 24 years, after a surplus of 2.6 per cent in 2018.

    “Fitch forecasts the CA deficit will moderate to an average of 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2020-2021,” it stated this in its latest rating on Nigeria, where it revised the outlook on Nigeria’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) to ‘Negative’ from ‘Stable,’ but affirmed the country’s rating at ‘B+’.

    It also pointed out that general government (GG) debt in the country remains on an upward path, while particularly low fiscal revenues and structural shortcomings in public finance management (PFM) constrain its ability to support a rising debt burden.

    According to Fitch, the GG debt/revenue ratio is particularly high, at 333 per cent (Federal government (FGN), debt: 777%) in 2019, and will rise close to 400 per cent (FGN debt: 922%) in 2021, well above the forecast ‘B’ median of 248 per cent.

    As a result of this, it stated that Nigeria’s medium-term economic outlook was subdued. Fitch also projected an average GDP growth of 2.4 per cent for the country between 2019 and 2021.

    This, it stated would be well below the ‘B’ median of 3.4 per cent and the five-year average demographic growth rate of 2.7 per cent.

    “The prospects for supply-side, fiscal and exchange-regime reforms that could tackle the major constraints for Nigeria’s credit profile are weak, as reflected by the record in recent years. Emerging rivalries within the ruling APC party, possibly sparked by early dissensions over the 2023 succession to president Buhari, could hamper policy-making,” it stated.

    Prior to the Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, another global credit rating agency, had also changed its outlook on Nigeria’s ratings to negative from stable.

    According to the rating agency, the negative outlook reflected Moody’s view of increasing risks to the government’s fiscal strength and external position.

    It explained: “Already weak government finances will likely weaken further given an extremely narrow revenue base and persistently sluggish growth that hinders fiscal consolidation.

    “As pressure mount, there is a risk that the government resorts to increasingly opaque and costly options to finance a moderate but rising debt burden.

    “Moreover, vulnerability to an adverse change in capital flows is building in light of Nigeria’s increasing reliance on foreign investors to fund the country’s foreign exchange reserves.”

    Explaining the reason for the drop, Moody said: “Concurrently, Moody’s has maintained Nigeria’s country risk ceilings at their current levels: Foreign Currency bond ceiling at B1, Foreign Currency deposit ceiling at B3, and Local Currency bond and deposit ceilings at Ba1.”

    Depleting External Reserves

    So far, in 2019, the country’s external reserves have depreciated by 10.5 per cent or $4.105 billion, from the $43.075 billion it was at the beginning of the year, to $38.970 billion as of December 19.

    The decline was attributed mainly to foreign exchange market interventions and direct payments. The external reserves position could finance 5.3 months of imports of goods and services, or 9.3 months of goods only, using the import figure for second quarter 2019.

    A breakdown of the external reserves by ownership showed that the share of the Federation reserves was US$0.32 billion (0.8%); Federal Government, US$6.09 billion (15.7%); and the CBN, US$32.37 billion (83.5%)

    Hovering Inflation

    The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is used to gauge the level of inflation in the country hovered around 11 per cent in 2019, despite concerns of inflationary pressure since the closure of all the country’s land borders. From the 11.35 per cent it was in January, the CPI stood at 11.85 per cent at the end of November 2019. The CPI for November released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had shown that food inflation rose to 14.48 per cent compared to 14.09 per cent in the preceding month The CPI report attributed the rise in the food index to increases in the prices of bread, cereals, oils and fats, meat, potatoes, yams and other tubers, and fish.

    The average annual rate of change of the food sub-index for the 12-month period ending November over the previous 12-month average was 13.65 per cent, 0.11 percentage points from the 13.54 per cent in October.

    Tight Monetary Policy

    The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met a total of six times this year. The benchmark monetary policy rate (MPR) which was at 14 per cent at the beginning of the year, was lowered to 13.5 per cent after the first two months, and was left at that rate throughout the year.

    The central bank deployed a lot of unorthodox monetary policies, using its development finance mandate, in its quest to reflate the economy.

    The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who during the year, was reappointed for a second term of five years by President Muhammadu Buhari, has continued to defend the central bank’s unconventional monetary policy.

    The CBN governor explained that just like fiscal policy, monetary policy could, at a time when development challenges abound, complement the efforts of fiscal policy in employment generation, wealth creation and attainment of other growth objectives.

    He highlighted countries such as the United States of America, Brazil, among others, that had to rely on unconventional monetary in times of economic difficulties to resuscitate growth.

    “Within the CBN, our unconventional methods (especially in the management of the forex market and our development financing) supported by the orthodox approaches (in the form of our timely adjustments of monetary policy rate) have been able to optimally balance the delicate objectives of price stability and real output growth.

    “We will continue to develop policy instruments and device ways of ensuring that an optimal mix of heterodox policies is continually deployed to engender the overall wellbeing and prosperity of the Nigerian economy. Our overall aim remains the concurrent attainment of price stability, real growth, full employment, and poverty reduction,” he added.

    The movers and shakers of the economy in the outgoing year as seen in different sectors contribute in no small measure to sustained economic growth within the year.

    Nevertheless, Nigerian banks’ non-performing loans (NPLs) reduced to 6.6 per cent at the end of October compared to the 14.1 per cent it was in 2018.

    This was the first time the NPLs would drop to a single digit in the past 42 months.