The new terminal charges imposed by fintech like Opay and Moniepoint Inc. and the high cost of operation have turned the Point of Sales (POS) business which was very lucrative a few months ago into an unattractive venture.

In Nigeria, millions of people survive and feed their dependents with the proceeds from POS business.

As of November 2022, POS machines deployed by merchants and individuals across Nigeria rose to 1.6 million.

The business saw its peak in February 2023 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) withdrew N1,000, N500 and N200 old notes valued N2trn and printed only N400bn.

During the period, currency circulation was N982bn down from N1.33trn in January.

Operators across the Federal Capital Territory who spoke to THE WHISTLER lamented how the recent review in terminal charges by at least N10 and the cost of buying receipt paper and other expenses have cut into their profit.

Sylvia Ojonne, a resident of Karu who is in her late 20s is an operator struggling to keep her POS business afloat.

She said, “Before terminal charges of N10,000 was N50 now it’s N60 and my customer’s charge rate is N150. So, I make N90, from every N10,000 transaction. We are just financing the rich while getting poor.

“I tried reviewing my charge, and my number of patronages dropped, this is because people have varieties of POS operators to patronize, and with the availability of cash in the system, chances of reviewing the charge rate are slim. Mind you, I transport myself to the bank to withdraw this cash. “

Ojonne also said the industry is saturated, adding that there are issues with the uniformity of charges among Abuja POS operators.

Since the removal of the fuel subsidy on May 29 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the floating of the naira, inflation has spiked across the country. The Bank of America projects that inflation will hit 30 per cent in the coming months.

In Gwarinpa, Ubgon Etim, a father of three, told THE WHISTLER that the cost of financing his POS business is becoming overbearing.

Etim now spends double on transportation, almost 67 per cent more to buy printing papers and he is debited N10 extra for terminal charges.

Etim said, “In January a packet of receipt paper was sold for N900, now it’s N1,500. When I asked why it’s increasing almost every time I visit the market, I was told the dollar has increased.

“Aside from terminal charges, there is still a target that must be met daily, and it’s based on the nature of POS to be used. The government should have removed subsidy during the cashless policy, so we can suffer everything once.”

Elsewhere in Lagos and Enugu, POS operators have readjusted their prices to conform with economic realities.

Udoka Ikemefuna, a resident of New Haven extension, Enugu state told THE WHISTLER that charges on withdrawals and deposits from N6,000 to N9,500 are pegged at N300, while N10,000 to N13,000 is charged at N400.

Just recently, the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, Lagos Chapter reviewed prices for transfers and withdrawals.

The Public Relations Officer of the association, Lagos Chapter, Stephen Adeoye tagged it as a unified price list for Point of Sales (PoS) transactions.

He said “N1,000 to N2,000, will be N100 for withdrawal. N3,500 to N4,000 N200. N4,100 to N6,400 N3,00. N6,500 to N7,900 is N4,000. Also, N8,000 to N10,900, N500. N11,000 to N14,000 is N600. N14,500 to N17,900 will be charged N700 and N18,000 to N20,000 is N800 for withdrawal.

“Like we said, depending on your location, you can also step it down for people depending on the circumstance but it should not go more than this.

“For deposits, N1,000 to N4,900 is N100; N5,000 to N10,900 is N200. N11,000 to N20,900 is N300. N21,000 to N30,900 is N400. N31,000 to N40,000 is N500 and N41,000 to N50,000 is N600 for a deposit or you call it transfer.”

DCP Abba Kyari has been granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges that may involve money laundering.

In addition to being accused of money laundering, Kyari is also being held without bail on a primary accusation of trafficking cocaine.

On Thursday, Hamza N. Dantani, one of his attorneys, said on his Facebook page that the court had granted Kyari bail on the accusations of money laundering.

He wrote: ”Alhamudullhi! Abba Kyari’s Bail Granted by Federal High Court Abuja today.”

Recall that Kyari’s trial centres around the $61,400 cash and 25kg parcel of cocaine seized as evidence and believed to have been used as bribe to influence operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

According to the NDLEA, Kyari allegedly attempted to bribe a senior agency officer with $61,400 at a restaurant in Abuja to prevent testing a portion of the seized cocaine connected to two individuals arrested for drug pushing.

He is also under investigation after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States of America indicted him in the case of fraud involving Instagram celebrity Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi.

Kyari was arrested and has been in detention since February 14, 2022, after he was declared wanted by NDLEA over alleged drug links.

Justice Nwite of the Federal High Court had refused Kyari’s bail application on charges relating to trafficking of cocaine.

The bail application was also rejected at the Court of Appeal.

Ag. IGP Olukayode Adeolu Egbetokun, the acting Inspector-General of Police, has dissolved the police crew that ran over a man in handcuffs in Edo State.

This was disclosed in a statement on Thursday, the force’s spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said this was a brave effort to address the unprofessional behaviour of some police officers assigned to the State Police Command.

In addition to restoring public confidence in the Police Force, Adejobi said that this action intends to regularise and standardise police activities in the axis.

The statement read further, “Additionally, the operatives involved are currently facing disciplinary charges and administrative procedures. This move underscores the commitment of the IGP to hold officers accountable for their actions which will never be tolerated in the Nigeria Police Force.”

He not that the IGP reiterated his commitment to ensuring the highest standards of professionalism and ethics while urging members of the public to always cooperate with Police Officers in the discharge of their statutory duties.

The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Kwarra, on Thursday, revealed that President Bola Tinubu will announce the new date for the national population and housing census that was postponed last April. ⁣

This followed a meeting with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja where the Commission provided him an update on its activities so far.

Briefing correspondents after the meeting, Kwarra said the Commission has submitted its report to the president who will take a decision on the new date after studying it.

The NPC boss affirmed that the Commission, which has already expended N100 billion from the N200 billion requested so far, is likely to incur additional expenses because of the delay in the conduct of the exercise.

On the meeting with the president, he said: “We briefed him fully on the level of our preparedness, the outcomes that we envisage and I’ll like to say that Mr President has graciously approved to support the Commission in the conduct of census and our preparatory activities, though we’re not stuck at all, but he has given us the courage and the impetus to upscale our preparation.

“So, we’ll continue our preparations and we’ll hear from him eventually, the date that the census will take place because we’ve made a submission to him that he will study before getting back to us.

“But as for the assurance of support, he has given that to us and we thank him immensely for this for also realizing the importance of data for the purpose of national planning and development.”

More details to come later…

The acting executive chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol, also said that cybercrime is a major crime, particularly, among undergraduates and fresh graduates of tertiary institutions due to presence of a number of academic institutions in the state.

Speaking at a one-day media training/workshop organized by the EFCC for print/electronics/online reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital on Thursday.

Represented by the zonal head of the anti-graft agency, Michaels Nzekwe, at the workshop on Effective Reporting of Economic and Financial Crimes, the commission said that activities of illegal solid mineral operators posed grave threat to the local and national economy, through non-payment of royalties, taxes and other dues.

“The commission has been active in tackling their criminalities and will continue to ensure that extant laws against illegal miners are enforced”, he said.

The EFCC boss, who said that Nigerians should not wait until they suffer any loss on economic and financial crimes before they move against corrupt practices, added that, “economic and financial crimes remain a threat to our individual and corporate progress.

“It is not only by being a victim of these crimes that we suffer losses. We also suffer limitations when our neighbours, colleagues, institutions and nation fall prey to them”.

He charged the nation’s journalists on patriotism, saying that, “as journalists, we owe our nation and the entire world an obligation of exposing every shadiness and criminal acts through our reporting.

“Journalism is the best gateway to whistle blowing and I charge the media to deploy more time, energy and commitment in exposing all fraudulent activities in our midst”.

In one of the presentations, titled, “New trends in cybercrime: how not to become a victim” by Alex Ocheme of the EFCC, the commission said that cybercrime had eaten over $8 trillion of victims’ hard earned finances in the world.

He, however, said that legal bottleneck is one of the factors hindering cross border corruption investigation in the anti-corruption war.

Ocheme said that not all African countries, for example, had passed the law on cybercrime, adding that since one cannot compel those countries to try corruption offenders with such law, means that, “the money stolen is gone”.

“Each nation is entitled to its laws. They are not necessarily there to work with you. Some countries are fast to assist you in the war against cybercrime while some are not. For instance, if the UAE is not ready to collaborate with you on a cybercrime investigation, it means the money lost is gone”, he said.

Legendary Nigerian Actor Richard Mofe-Damijo, also known as RMD, has surrendered his life to God as he turns 62.

The actor took to Instagram to share a dark-themed photo of himself on Thursday, expressed how overwhelmed and grateful he is.

“SIXTY-TWO! Completely grateful and thankful.

“God I surrender, Use me! I’m ready.

“Again and again. Enable me!,” he captioned.

Osita Chidoka, Nigeria’s former Aviation Minister whose foundation owns the Computer Based Test (CBT) Centre where the embattled Ejikeme Mmesoma sat her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), has spoken up on what he knows about the controversies surrounding the result obtained by the candidate.

Ms Mmesoma and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have engaged in accusations and counter-accusations over the authenticity of the candidate’s claim of scoring 362 in the 2023 UTME.

With the acclaimed 362 score, Ms Mmesoma said she was the highest scorer in the examination as against the 360 reportedly scored by another candidate, Umeh Ukechinyere.

JAMB said that based on its record, Ms Ukechinyere scored the highest mark in the 2023 UTME and not Ms Mmesoma.

In a video which has since gone viral on social media, Ms Mmesoma displayed a notification of a result slip containing the 362 score, which she claimed was generated from the JAMB portal. But the examination body has since disclaimed the document, saying it stopped using such format for result slips in 2021.

Meanwhile, JAMB has announced the withdrawal of the candidate’s 249 score, and suspended her from taking the examinations for the next three years.

But in what seems to be in defence of JAMB, Mr Chidoka has raised some questions that suggest that the candidate’s paraded score is fake.

Red flags

Mr Chidoka said he observed two red flags from the result presented by Ms Mmesoma. First, he said the centre’s name, as spelt on the slip the candidate presented, was last used in 2021.

He added that the result format was also last used in 2021, a position earlier maintained by the examination board.

“Since 2021, the JAMB portal stopped referring to our centre as Thomas Chidoka Center for Human Development,” he wrote in an opinion piece.

“The correct name on the JAMB portal and the Main Examination Slip is Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Center for Human Development).”

He said JAMB had in 2021 insisted that the centre should change its name to reflect the name on its Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration. This, he said, was implemented in 2021.

“Due to the difference in our CAC registration details, JAMB insisted we change to Nkemefuna Foundation with Thomas Chidoka in a bracket as an identifier,” he said.

According to Mr Chidoka, all examination slips for the centre now bear ‘Nkemefuna Foundation’ with ‘Thomas Chidoka Centre’ in a bracket.

“But the result she (Ms Mmesoma) presented had just Thomas Chidoka Centre without the prefix, Nkemefuna Foundation. This error raised my suspicion about the genuineness of the presented result,” he added.

The second red flag, he said, was the same one that JAMB has repeatedly flagged in this controversy.

He said a look at the result slip showed that it was different as “those who took the last examination at our centre showed a different result slip template with the candidate’s passport picture, JAMB watermarks, and no mention of the name of the examination centre.”

He said he waited for the candidate to explain how she got the result, which he said was obviously not approved by JAMB.

He said: “I gave the young Mmesoma the benefit of the doubt and waited to see if she would explain how she got the result, which is obviously not the approved JAMB result template used in 2023. Without that explanation, I knew it was a fake result.”

Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria, has signed four Executive Orders, among which is the suspension of the five percent Excise Tax on telecommunication services as well as the Excise Duties escalation on locally manufactured products.

Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, announced this on Thursday while briefing journalists at the State House in Abuja.

He stated that the President also signed the Finance Act (Effective Date Variation) Order, 2023, which now defers the commencement date of the changes contained in the Act from May 23, 2023 to September 1, 2023.

According to the presidential spokesman, this is to ensure adherence to the 90 days’ minimum advance notice for tax changes as contained in the 2017 National Tax Policy.

President Tinubu also signed The Customs, Excise Tariff (Variation) Amendment Order, 2023, shifting the commencement date of the tax changes from March 27, 2023 to August 1, 2023 and also in line with the National Tax Policy.

Tinubu also ordered the suspension of the newly introduced Green Tax by way of Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics, including plastic containers and bottles as well as the suspension of Import Tax Adjustment levy on certain vehicles.

Alake equally explained that the President issued these orders to ameliorate the negative impacts of the tax adjustments on businesses and chokehold on households across affected sectors.

He however reiterated the President’s commitment to reviewing complaints about multiple taxation, local and anti-business inhibitions.

He also noted that President Tinubu’s administration will, therefore, continue to give requisite stimulus by way of friendly policies to allow businesses to flourish in the country.

The President assured Nigerians that there will not be further tax raise without robust and wide consultations undertaken within the context of a coherent fiscal policy framework.

 [hallmarknews]

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken steps to tackle the issue of arbitrary multiple taxation in the country by signing four Executive Orders into law.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that during an interactive session with State House Correspondents on Thursday, Dele Alake, the Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication, and Strategy to the President, announced this policy directive.

Alake provided a breakdown of the specific interventions outlined in the Executive Orders.

One of the Orders, known as the Finance Act (Effective Date Variation) Order, extends the commencement date of changes in the Act to September 1, 2023. This move ensures that the required 90-day notice for tax changes is adhered to.

Another Order pertains to the Customs, Excise Tariff (Variation) Amendment Order, which shifts the start date of tax changes to August 1, 2023.

Furthermore, the President has suspended the 5% Excise Tax on telecommunication services, the escalation of Excise Duties on locally manufactured products, and the recently introduced Green Tax on single-use plastics.

To ease the burden of tax adjustments on businesses and households, the President has also ordered the suspension of the Import Tax Adjustment levy on certain vehicles.

These Executive Orders, as outlined by the presidential aide, aim to mitigate the adverse effects of tax changes on both businesses and households.

Refer to the full text of the speech delivered by the presidential aide below for the details of these orders.

TEXT OF STATE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING ON PRESIDENTIAL INTERVENTIONS ON MAJOR CONCERNS OF MANUFACTURERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS REGARDING SOME RECENT TAX CHANGES ADDRESSED BY MR. DELE ALAKE, SPECIAL ADVISER ON SPECIAL DUTIES, COMMUNICATIONS AND STRATEGY ON THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2023

Gentlemen of the press, I welcome you to this media briefing which essentially is a further demonstration of the avowed commitment of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to constantly dialogue with Nigerians and lend a listening ear to their concerns.

2. Upon taking over the reins of government, the President promised to run a government that will not make life difficult for Nigerians or asphyxiate corporate entities. The Federal Government is irrevocably committed to this pledge.

3. You will all recall that prior to the advent of this Administration, certain tax changes were introduced via the Customs, Excise Tariff (Variation) Amendment Order, 2023 (henceforth referred to as “the Order”) published on the 8th of May 2023 and the Finance Act, 2023, which was signed into law on the 28th of May 2023.

4. Among others, the Order introduced new Excise Duty on Single Use Plastics (SUPs), higher Excise Duties on some locally manufactured products, including alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, and Green Tax by way of Import Tax Adjustment on certain categories of imported vehicles.
5. The Tinubu Administration has since noticed that some of the tax policies are being implemented retroactively with their commencement dates, in some instances, pre-dating the official publication of the relevant legal instruments backing the policies. This lacuna has created some challenges of implementation.

6. We wish to state that the intentions behind upward adjustments of some of these taxes are quite noble. They were designed to raise revenue as well as address environmental and public health concerns. However, they have generated some significant challenges for affected businesses, and elicited serious complaints amongst key stakeholders and in the business community.
7. Let me mention some of the problems we have identified with the aforementioned tax changes. A document known as the 2017 National Tax Policy approved by the Federal Executive Council of the last administration prescribes a minimum of 90 days’ notice from government to tax-payers’ entities before any tax changes can take effect.
8. This global practice is done with a view to giving taxpayers and businesses reasonable time to adjust to the new tax regime.
9. However, evidencing part of the gaps pointed out earlier, both the Finance Act 2023 and the Customs, Excise Tariff Order 2023 did not give the required minimum notice period, thus putting businesses in violation of the new tax regime even before the changes were gazetted.

10. As a result of this, many of the affected businesses are already contending with the rising costs, falling margins and capacity underutilization due the various macroeconomic headwinds as well as the impact of the Naira redesign policy.

11. Gentlemen of the press, you will also recall that Excise Tax increases on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages from 2022 to 2024, which had already been approved, are also being implemented. But a further escalation of the approved rates by the current Administration presents an image of policy inconsistency and creates an atmosphere of uncertainty for businesses operating in Nigeria.

12. The Excise Tax of 5% on telecommunication services has generated heated controversy. There is also a lack of clarity regarding the status of this tax, just as players in the sector also complain about the imposition of multiple taxes on their operations.
13. We have also seen that the Green Taxes, including the Single Use Plastics tax and the Import Adjustment Levy on certain categories of vehicles require more consultation and a holistic approach to the country’s net zero plan in a manner that does not impact the economy negatively.

[PoliticsNigeria]

The National Examination Council (NECO) has tightened its noose in the verification of results as it moves from analogue to digital with the introduction of its e-verification portal.

The portal, which is expected to increase confidence, reduce risks and improve efficiency, will also include flexible payment module, end to manual filing of forms, access from any part of the world, reduce stress and save time among others.

The Registrar of the council, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, at the unveiling of the platform Thursday in Abuja, said the movement was as a result of requests for verification and confirmation of results from 64 institutions across 37 countries over a two-year period from 2020 to 2022.

Similarly, he revealed that there were also requests from 72 institutions in Nigeria within the same period, adding that this was besides requests from individuals which were numerous. 

“Due to the growing need for verification and confirmation of results by institutions, both home and abroad, the council decided that now was the best time to introduce the e-verify platform.

“From available records at our disposal, we have observed that there were

requests for verification and confirmation of results from 64 institutions across 37 countries over a two-year period from 2020 to 2022.

“Result verification is an important process that helps to ensure the accuracy of academic credentials. By verifying the authenticity of candidates’ results, academic institutions and employers will be more confident that they are admitting and hiring persons who have the required qualification for further studies and specific job schedules,” he said.

In the same vein, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. David Adejo, who unveiled the portal, has directed all educational institutions to make use of it in the confirmation of results, adding that refusal to do so will lead to dire consequences.

[ThisDay]