About 215 students of Obafemi Awolowo University out of 7,368 will graduate with first-class honours during the 48th convocation ceremonies of the Ivory Tower.

Speaking at the pre-convocation press conference held at the university campus yesterday, the vice chancellor, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, disclosed that the events would take place from December 5th to Saturday, 14th December, adding that students from the 13 faculties of the institution will graduate with varying degrees.

The vice chancellor gave the breakdown of the graduating students as follows: Second Class Upper Division: 2,198, Second Class Lower Division: 2,691, Third Class: 755, Upper Credit: 61, Lower Credit:

33, Pass 62, making 6,015 for classified degrees.

According to him, the unclassified degrees are as follows: Distinction: 13, Pass with Distinction: 59, Pass with Credit: 154, Pass: 169, totalling 395. Postgraduate Degrees are as follows: Postgraduate Diplomas: 74, Master’s Degrees: 708, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD): 186, totalling 958.

Bamire also disclosed that the university would confer honorary doctorates on five exceptional individuals for their significant contributions to humanity, uplifting the less privileged and advancing societal progress through their talents, financial resources, and material support.

According to Bamire, these individuals include Senator Oluremi Tinubu, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Dr. Akinade Akanmu Ogunbiyi, Group Chairman of Mutual Benefit PIc; and Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe, a distinguished entrepreneur, academic, and engineer.

Others include Prince Karl Olutokun Toriola, a seasoned business leader and telecommunications expert, and Daere Afonya-Akobo, a prominent figure in the oil and gas sector.

 [Leadership]

State govts borrowed N533bn, generated N1.92tn IGR, serviced debt with N658bn

A total of 29 state governors spent N1.994tn on recurrent expenditures, including refreshments, sitting allowances, travelling, and utilities in the first nine months of 2024, findings by The PUNCH have shown.

It was also gathered that the states obtained a N533.29bn loan, while it spent N658.93bn to service its debts owed to local, foreign, and multilateral creditors.

However, these states fell short in their revenue-generating targets, collecting a total sum of N1.92tn as internally generated revenue but fell short of the revenue target of N2.868tn, recording a deficit of N948.28bn.

The recurrent data utilised in this report did not include personnel costs.

An analysis of the fiscal performance of each state, utilizing data from the Q1 to Q3 budget performance reports obtained from each state’s website, revealed a pressing need for stringent measures to prioritise fiscal discipline, especially amidst growing calls to reduce the costs of governance.

This comes despite a 40 per cent increase in the state’s statutory allocations from the Federation Account.

For the first three quarters of the year, our correspondent examined budget implementation data from twenty-nine states; data for six states was not available.

Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Sokoto, and Ogun states were the ones without the latest data from January to September 2024.

Since the commencement of the current administration, state governments have enjoyed improved monthly allocation mainly due to the elimination of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative recently noted that the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee disbursed N3.473tn to the three tiers of government in the second quarter of 2024.

This reflects an increase of N46.77bn (1.42 per cent) compared to the first quarter of 2024.

The Federal Government received N1.102tn, representing 33.35 per cent of the total allocation, while 36 states received N1.337tn (40.47 per cent), and the 774 local government councils shared N864.98bn (26.18 per cent).

A comparison with the previous quarter shows that the Federal Government’s allocation decreased by N41.44bn (3.76 per cent), while state governments saw an increase of N58.13bn (4.29 per cent), and local government councils experienced a rise of N30.82bn (3.57 per cent).

But this improved funding hasn’t translated to an improved standard of living for its citizens.

A breakdown showed that the 29-state government spent N1.994tn on its recurrent expenditure, which included refreshments for guests, sitting allowances to government officials, local and foreign travel expenses, and utility bills.

The general utilities include electricity, internet, telephone charges, water rates, and sewerage charges, among others.

Lagos, Plateau, and Delta States spent the highest on their operating expenses, incurring a cost of N375.19bn, N144.87bn, and N121.54bn, respectively. This was followed by Ondo and Bauchi spending N107.34bn and N99.31bn.

Niger State, under the leadership of Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, was the highest borrower within the review period, obtaining loans worth N79.09bn. Katsina followed with a loan of N72.89bn. Oyo State also got a loan of N62.48bn.

In terms of revenue, Lagos State collected the highest of  N912.17bn, followed by Rivers State with a collection of N269.18bn. Third on the list was Delta (N97.02bn).

A state-by-state analysis revealed that Abia State, led by Governor Alex Otti, spent N17.91bn on operating expenses and generated N22.15bn in revenue, falling short of the N32.14bn revenue target. Additionally, the state borrowed N3.901bn and allocated N10.91bn for debt servicing.

Adamawa State spent N41.45bn on recurrent expenditure, while it earned N9.16bn income out of its revenue of N22.24bn. This state borrowed N10bn and paid N22.68bn to service its debts.

Akwa-Ibom State recurrent spending reached N85.45bn in nine months, N43.98bn more than its generated revenue of N41.47bn in nine months. The state paid N34.47bn as debt service but didn’t borrow.

Anambra State generated more revenue (N28.296bn) than its recurrent spending of N12.70bn. It spent N4.56bn on debt service and didn’t record any borrowing.

The Bauchi government spent N99.31bn on its operating expenses. This state only got N15.92bn out of its budgeted target of N37.03bn but borrowed N33.64bn and paid N27.54bn as debt service.

Bayelsa state got N57.85bn IGR more than its revenue target of N23.87bn. It spent N75.23bn on its operating costs and spent N30.54bn on its debt service.

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue state approved the spending of N29.45bn for operating expenses while it collected N8.71bn as revenue out of an N23.91bn target. This state didn’t borrow but spent N5.48bn to service previous loans collected.

Similarly, Cross Rivers spent N55.73bn on recurring expenses, collected N32.42bn IGR, borrowed N20.67bn from its creditors and spent N19.99bn on debt service.

Delta state recurrent expenditure reached N121.54bn in nine months while it earned N97.02bn as revenue out of the N110.3bn target. The oil-rich state serviced its debt with N55.9bn and didn’t obtain any loan.

Also, Ebonyi State spent N37.73bn on its recurrent expenses but earned N15.67bn as revenue. The state borrowed N15.65bn and spent N8.46bn on debt service.

Edo State spent N75.78bn on recurrent expenditure but generated N52.68bn revenue. The state borrowed N12.84bn and spent N27.5bn on its debt service commitments.

Similarly, Ekiti State recurrent spending was N74.73bn, generated N23.16bn revenue, borrowed N11.75bn and spent N12.93bn to service its debts.

Enugu State spent N10.88bn on its operating expenses but got N39.98bn in revenue. This state borrowed N1.39bn and spent N6.93bn on its debt service.

Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodinma, spent N42.75bn on its operating expenses but got N15.24bn as revenue. This state spent N15.94bn to service its debts but didn’t obtain any loan.

While Jigawa incurred N35.69bn as operating expenses, it collected N18.41bn as revenue out of its target of N50.65bn borrowed N744.75m, and N2.17bn on debt service.

Further analysis showed that Katsina State spent N40.73bn on its recurrent expenditure while it generated revenue of N29.95bn. This state increased its loan by N72.89bn and paid N12.78bn as debt service.

Kebbi state recurrent spending was N22.42bn while it generated N7.86bn revenue. It also obtained an N24.59bn loan and paid debt service of N3.42bn.

Kogi State spent N84.48bn on its operating expenses but earned N19.86bn in revenue. The confluence state also obtained N51.68bn as loans and repaid N18.12bn debt.

Lagos state spending on recurrent expenses was N375.19bn, while it earned N912.15bn revenue. The state paid N84.53bn as debt service but didn’t obtain any loan.

Within the same period, Nasarawa spent N42.63bn on its operating expenses but got N22.78bn as revenue, Niger state recurrent expenses reached N41.28bn while it earned N29.22bn.

Ondo State spent N107.34bn on recurring expenses but only earned N24.43bn, Osun State spent N48.87bn but earned N28.86bn as revenue while Oyo State spent N51.24 on its recurrent expenditure, N45.79bn was collected as revenue.

Plateau spent N144.86bn on its recurring expenses but only earned N18.03bn; Rivers State’s spending on its operating costs was N72.69bn, but it earned N269.17bn.

Taraba state spending on recurrent expenditure reached N58.39bn, surpassing its revenue generation of N7.84bn,  resulting in a deficit of N50.55bn. This state borrowed N52.63bn and paid N21.19bn.

Yobe State spent N51.29bn on its recurrent costs but earned N8.14bn as revenue. Also, Zamfara spent N36.34bn on its recurrent expenditure but earned N18.46bn.

Commenting in an interview, A professor of Economics at Babcock University, Segun Ajibola, stated that the enduring problem of high governance expenses had persisted at the state level, with inadequate oversight and accountability resulting in minimal economic benefits for grassroots citizens.

Ajibola, a former president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, lamented that state assemblies had also abandoned their oversight duties, leaving the state governors to operate with no iota of transparency and accountability.

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission last week expressed concerns over Nigeria’s current fiscal federalism structure, cautioning that the system may be unsustainable in its present form.

[Punch]

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu flies the world like a mother bird in search of food for the hungry in its nest. He is a tireless traveller traversing the world, signing strings of trade agreements to shore up a troubled economy.

He has embarked on 33 foreign trips in 18 months, visiting 18 countries. His favourite places being the United Kingdom which he has visited four times, and France, of the woolly Emmanuel Macron, which he has visited five times.

Just on Sunday, November 17, 2024 he touched down in Brazil for the two-day 19th Meeting of the G20 Leaders Summit. There, he signed a $1.2 billion cooperative agreement for Brazil to modernise Nigerian agriculture.

President Tinubu was in France for a three-day state visit from November 28, 2024 and then flew to Cape Town, South Africa on December 2, 2024 signing agreements.

Perhaps it is with France Nigeria needs to be most careful because of that country’s predatory politics. It eliminated two million Algerians when their country opted for independence rather than become a province of France. It physically destroyed infrastructure like roads, water pipes and vehicles in Guinea-Conakry when that country in 1958 voted for independence rather than remain a French colony. France on January 13, 1963 carried out the first coup in Africa and in the process, summarily executed President Sylvanus Olympio of Togo. For over 50 years, it forced 14 African countries to keep their foreign reserves in France under its control, ran a French CFA and sabotaged the ECOWAS Eco currency project. When in February 1960 it wanted to test its atomic bomb, it did so in colonised Algeria, not in France so that the French and Europeans would not be affected by its radiation effects.

When a coup took place in Niger Republic in 2023, then French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna arrogantly gave the coup plotters an ultimatum to hand back power or face invasion by a Nigerian-led ECOWAS military force.

Now, France, with its military kicked out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic, asked by pliant Chad to leave and, told by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye that it is inappropriate to maintain its troops in Senegal, is desperately in search of new military bases.

It has its sights on Nigeria; hence its offer to assist our security should be viewed with suspicion. Two countries have accused France of double dealing with Islamic terrorists. Back in 2021, Mali accused France of supplying arms to the Islamic terrorist group, the Ansar al-Din and creating a haven for them in the Kidal area. Burkina Faso President, Ibrahim Traore, claimed in July, 2024 that France “sets up operations with them (terrorists) and helps them to look after themselves.”

On November 25, 2024 at a meeting in Abuja on trade relations between Australia, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico and South Korea under a coalition called MIKTA, and some Nigerians, the question was asked why our trade with these countries seem inequitable; should it not be a partnership of equals? The same question can be asked about the string of trade agreements President Tinubu has been busy signing. But can our trade with those countries be equitable if primarily all we offer is oil in its crude form, minerals in their raw form and begging for assistance?

Ambassador Joe Keshi, President of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, ARCAN, who was at the MIKTA meeting noted that while the five countries reeled out the progress they had made in the past 40 years, Nigeria had no corresponding story to tell. 

He said Nigeria had virtually nothing to trade with, saying we are like the student in a class who does not pass, does not fail and does not leave the class. “We are not retarded, the fact is that we have refused to grow,” he said. His suggestions are that the country invests in the people and human capital development, returns to collective national planning , discipline and punishment for corruption.

I was taught as a kid that it is when a pupil does not know the answer to a question, that he stares at the ceiling; whereas the answer is never hidden there. Similarly, the answer to Nigeria’s myriad of problems is not in the sky. So, frequently taking to the skies will not resolve our problems. I wish President Tinubu would drastically cut his flights and concentrate on providing the answer to our problems.

A question is: why is Nigeria so big on propaganda, but so small in production with a hungry multitude, legion of jobless youths and a combustible army of 18.3 million out-of-school children? I know there are some who will immediately respond that these problems are not Tinubu’s creation, but I am not interested in apportioning blames. My interest is in the solution of our problems which the President out of his freewill offered to lead us to providing. I do not think he has started well as many of his appointments, especially in the ministerial cadre, amount to providing jobs for the ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ rather than appointing the competent, knowledgeable, visionary and, above all, the patriotic. His October 23, 2024 cabinet reshuffle was a mere motion without movement.

Perhaps the most vital direction to take is for his administration to run the country in accordance with the Directive Principles of State Policy as enshrined in Chapter Two of the Constitution and in the interest of the teeming populace. Not in accordance with the sophistry and interests of foreign powers and their enslaving institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Trade Organisation, WTO.

These suggestions are taking an urgent tone, not just because our people are hungry and getting desperate, but also for the fact that the international scene is changing rapidly. For instance, Nigeria on October 24, 2024 in Kazan, Russia joined the Brazil, Russia, India and China, BRICS, alliance of countries as a partner country. This was a salutary move.

However, 38 days later, the eclectic United States President-elect Donald Trump threatened BRICS and its partners with 100 per cent tariff slam and exclusion from selling into the US economy if they either create a new currency or back any other currency to replace the US Dollar.

This seems a mere threat as the US itself cannot survive such a fight; but we must be ready for the consequences were Trump to selectively implement it, picking on perceived vulnerable countries like Nigeria.

Another emergency we need to prepare for is Trump’s November 7, 2024 threat to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants and, Canada’s follow up threat to evict about five million immigrants. If these threats are carried out, a number of Nigerians from both countries will return to Nigeria.

Nigeria has procured 12 pre-owned alpha jets from the French Air Force.

Olusegun Dada, special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on social media, said the jets were acquired through SOFEMA, a French military and aeronautics company.

“All the 12 aircraft are ready for shipping,” Dada posted on X on Thursday.

“As of 2023, the Nigerian Air Force has 11 Alpha Jets in service.”

Developed through a collaboration between France and Germany, the alpha jet is a versatile military aircraft designed primarily as a light attack jet and advanced trainer.

The aircraft is capable of carrying a variety of weapons, including bombs, rockets, and missiles. It is also equipped with a gun pod that can be used for close air support missions.

Dada added that the Nigerian Air Force is also expecting the arrival of 24 M-346FA light attack aircraft ordered by the past administration under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The president’s media aide said the aircraft will arrive early next year.

Hasan Abubakar, the chief of air staff (COAS), said NAF has witnessed a remarkable turnaround, evident in the renewal of its aircraft fleet and enhanced operational readiness with Tinubu’s support.

The announcement of the French aircraft purchases comes days after Tinubu’s three-day state visit to France from November 27 to November 30. The president departed on December 1.

The visit was at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron.

Meanwhile, in October, Abubakar said Nigeria expected 24 Leonardo M-346FA aircraft from Italy, with six units already in production.

The air chief said the initial batch of three aircraft is expected to be handed over in early 2025, with total delivery scheduled for 2026.

Abubakar emphasised the necessity of establishing a maintenance hub in Nigeria to ensure long-term support for the aircraft.

Tinubu has repeatedly pledged to support the armed forces in their fight against insecurity.

[TheCable]

For Dele, Christmas day is coming fifteen days earlier on December 10th. His present ordeal represents a climax of the crucial role he has played in the political firmament of Nigeria. He will be rapturously celebrated on that day.

The first time I encountered him was as the lawyer who perfected the title of a land I bought twenty five years ago. I never knew he was far bigger than that occupation.

The first notion I have of him as a public intellectual was a message I received from him while I was at the University of Oxford in 2020.

He wanted my permission to use a column (I had written on the passage of the erstwhile chief of staff to President Mohammadu Buhari in his book) “Don’t die in their war”. I, of course, had no reservations whatsoever in granting his request.

When I returned to Nigeria and heard him speak on the cable TV network, I realised we have another giant in our vocation of public intellectualism. I sought him out and we became brothers. I subsequently recruited him for the role of spokesperson, Peter Obi presidential campaign.

The uniqueness of Dele does not merely lie in his intellectual flair. He shoots from the hips and takes no prisoners.

Chief Afe Babalola is my uncle from my mother’s side. In the thick of the violation of the Yoruba territories by rogue fulani militia, I got President Olusegun Obasanjo and Professor Wole Soyinka to sponsor a Yoruba political summit.

In our search for a credible Yoruba man of sufficient stature, we easily resolved on Chief Babalola as the convener.

Of all his outstanding attributes, the one I admired most is his unwavering commitment to constitutional reforms with the specific objective of the restoration of federalism.

Hardly a month passes without Babalola advocating for this Nigerian life saver (true federalism) in his regular public interventions.

He is one of Nigeria’s biggest role model in the legal profession, education, community development leader and as an investor.

As my father’s pupil in the senior standard school in the forties. He did so well in an English language test that my dad scored him eleven over ten.

Babalola once told me a tragic experience he would never forget (a first hand experience of how destitute Nigerians had become).

About ten illiterate petty traders came to seek his financial support in Ado-Ekiti. He asked them how much they needed to start off. They said ten thousand naira per person. He said he rushed to the restroom to cry. Ten thousand naira!!!

Dele constantly briefs me on his difficulties with Babalola. When we recently had a ceremony in honour of Professor Jide Osuntokun, we had lined up Chief Babalola as special guest of honour.

Dele expressed reluctance to attend, drawing my attention to the attack he was certain to receive from the legal luminary and potentially two others who were going to play significant roles.

The first inkling I heard of his plight was from Chief Ayo Adebanjo whom he was getting set to visit when the storm troopers struck and bundled him into their vehicle en route to Ado-Ekiti.

Predictably, the backlash came thick and fast and in torrents. It is a public relations disaster for my Uncle (Babalola), the Nigerian police force and the judiciary. Given our contemporary experience with these dysfunctional institutions, this is not the company Babalola should be in active connivance. This is not the resplendent image we have of him.

To the contrary, this is Dele’s finest hour as the nation rose as one to canonise him as the embodiment of resistance to all that is wrong with Nigeria in this season.

ASUE, COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON

“That day will forever be etched in our history as one of our darkest moments, marked by the brazen theft of our mandate and the shameful subversion of the will of the people”- Asue Ighodalo

 At a ceremony I attended a week ago, a side discussion ensued and centred on the recent Edo state governorship election and the experience of a mutual friend, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo.

 I have not seen Asue for a while. But for the participation of Olumide Akpata, governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP, I would have volunteered to join his political campaign. For Nigeran politics to stand a chance of development these are the kind of enlightened people, with unimpeachable pedigree, we would have to recruit into the political system

Human beings are a creation of hope and so despite myself, I prayed that his venture would be the exception to the rule of political depravity that has ceased Nigeria’s jugular. So I cannot claim to be surprised at his predictable fate.

A mutual friend observed that Asue was not looking his robust and vibrant self, the last time he saw him. I suggested that this is attributable to the ‘culture shock’ experience he encountered at the election.

Asue is relatively new to the culture of defiant gangsterism that passes for politics in Nigeria.

It is difficult to estimate just how brazen and blatant the culture has become unless you are a direct witness.The standard playbook goes like this.

The caucus of the status quo candidate (invariably the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC) will prevail on the INEC to declare victory for the candidate no matter the contrary outcome. Shoot first before asking questions.

Knowing fully well its a futile gesture, the practice of Nigerian democracy would now invite the victim to follow the mockery of seeking justice at the temple of a state captured compromised judiciary.

There the fate of the INEC declared losers will be sealed with the imprimatur of the Nigerian judiciary. And all righteousness would have been fulfilled having gone through all the constitutionally required procedure. 

Then the outcome will be rationalised by such idle speculations and gossip that the election couldn’t have gone any other way, because Asue’s principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki has offended the divine king of Benin.

To the question, why would a man of Asue’s pedigree make frivolous allegations on the election, referencing it as “one of our darkest moments, marked by the brazen theft of our mandate and the shameful subversion of the will of the people”.

If we are agreed that Atedo Peterside is a credible third party, then he could not be reasonably expected to associate himself with a bogus claim of that magnitude. Yet here is:

“Ever since the election in Osun, where INEC came out with credible result sheets on IREV, it is as if something has changed right from the presidential election, they went rogue. I hope that I will be held accountable,”said Peterside

For personal and Party records purposes. I will not dissuade Ighodalo from going to court. Whatever the veracity of the claims, the Nigerian Supreme court is guaranteed to come down on the side of the party with the biggest machete. It has become a vicious cycle.

In the belief of our host, we might as well abandon the field to the APC and withdraw from participation in further elections altogether, if the role designed for our participation is lending legitimacy to the premeditated charade.

As noted by the American based Council on Foreign Relations, CFR, “The problems for champions of democracy run deep. The very meaning of the term has been called into question for too many populations who have experienced plenty of elections, but little in the way of real political choice or accountability.. when democracy is understood as a label applied to governments that simply stage elections, or a fig leaf that conceals corruption and repression, it is easy to devalue democracy”.

The perspective of President Olusegun Obasanjo is “Let me go back to the beginning where we got it wrong—the western liberal democracy, that is what the Europeans have. When you look at the western liberal democracy, it is a product of their history, a product of their culture, a product of their way of life”

“I have looked into most African languages, western democracy has what they call loyal opposition. What is opposition in African languages? Enemy. Western democracies called oppositions “loyal” because the oppositions are loyal to the monarchy. That’s where their loyal democracy began. They used to have monarchies”.

He believes that the notion of liberal democracy is alien to Africa and it is not consistent with the spirit of African communalism hence its contextual failure in the continent.

What I think the former President meant to articulate as the bane of post colonial African states is the absence of autochthony, (in which regard, it is the totality of the colonial transition that has failed) of which the bastardisation of democracy is an epiphenomenon.

The concept of autochthony is the Greek word translated ‘as springing from the land. It usually means the assertion of not just the concept of autonomy, but also the concept that the constitution derives from their own native traditions’.

Peter Ekeh illustrates “Take the Japanese, the Taiwanese, The Indian and the Chinese. They have evolve with their culture and tradition intact. They evolved, wearing their own clothes, speaking their own language, teaching every subject up to university level, on their own language, keeping their values, their gods, their own religion…

“They have all come out better for it. Their economy, education, health, orientation, better than that of the Blackman and in some cases, better than the whiteman’s”.

The biggest political challenge Tinubu confronted was the Buhari legacy of divisive and primitive nepotism bordering on apartheid rule. If this is the case, why does he want to travel the same road?. To become a Yoruba hero the way his predecessor remains the Hausa-Fulani folk hero?

That would be a wrong lesson to learn from the precedence of the Afenifere choice of Olu Falae over the late Chief Ajibola Ige as the AD candidate in the 1999 presidential election.

Professor Bolaji Akinyemi deems it ironic, that Afenifere college of electors, actually predicated the choice on the logic that Ige was the personification of Yoruba irredentist politics which may be a disability in the context of national elections.

Coincidentally the President was a member of that college and I have not seen a divergence from this position by Yoruba intelligentsia. 

One major takeaway from the ongoing controversy over the tax reform bills is that Nigeria’s democracy is maturing. Although the debates initially evoked ethnic and regional emotions, the contestations have gradually moved towards discussing facts and figures, which should be central to the issues ab initio.

Signs of trouble emerged two weeks ago when 19 Northern governors and their top traditional rulers rose from a meeting, raising objections to one of the four bills because it was against the region’s interest. Somehow, they managed to convince the other 17 governors from the South to block the bills at the National Economic Council presided over by Vice-President Kashim Shettima.

The Council, which comprised the 36 state governors, Ministers of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Budget and Economic Planning, and Federal Capital Territory, and the governor of the Central Bank, resolved to advise the President to pause the legislative process on the bills pending further consultations with relevant stakeholders. Of course, the Presidency initially rejected the advice, saying those opposed to the bills should engage with the legislative process to make their case.

Not a few people felt that the Presidency’s initial reaction was impolitic, given the governors’ influence on federal legislators, many of whom derived their positions from the benevolence of the state executives. It was not long before it became apparent that a hard time awaited the bills at the federal legislature, where they were headed for approval.

Despite passing the second reading in the Senate, the bills ran into a brick wall in the House of Representatives, which had to suspend their consideration to avoid being killed. Even the Senate has paused further consideration pending the outcome of negotiations by its 10-man committee, which was set up to consult with stakeholders over the bills’ grey areas.

However, it is important to note that only two clauses in one of the bills, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill 2024, have attracted controversy, which threatens to endanger the remaining bills: the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill 2024, and the Joint Board Revenue Service Bill.  The culprits are Sections 77 and 12 (12), which seek to increase the Value Added Tax from 7.5% to 10% in 2025 and 15% in 2030. They also seek to adjust the sharing formula by increasing the derivation criteria from 20% to  

  60%. Besides, there are complaints about attribution.

The Northern governors felt that these clauses would further impoverish their region and tilt the advantage in favour of a few states in the South, particularly Lagos, Ogun and Rivers, which host the headquarters of most of the VAT-paying companies. Interestingly, Lagos and Rivers have argued that they would lose 80% of their earnings, contrary to the North’s claim. Significantly, the debate has been engaging, shifting from emotional to rational arguments as stakeholders are challenged to state and defend their cases.

It is noteworthy that despite the complaints of the Northern governors, many people from the region have supported the bills, contending that they would challenge them to be more creative and productive. Some even argue that the governors’ position was baseless because the North stands to gain more from the overall intent of the bills.

Ironically, the bills aimed at fixing the economy to engender shared prosperity for all citizens have become enmeshed in steep controversy. Many analysts have argued that they contained more beneficial provisions to increase the country’s revenue base and move it closer to fiscal federalism. For instance, S77 of NTAB seeks to reduce the federal government’s share of VAT revenue to 10% while increasing the state and local governments’ share to 55% and 35%, effectively putting 90% in the pockets of the subnational governments.   

In addition, the bills seek to reduce the tax burden on the poor and low-income earners while enhancing the environment for businesses to thrive. Subsequently, low-income earners will be exempt from paying income tax. This tax exemption would benefit about 90% of government and private sector workers. To cushion the poor, there will be 0% VAT on over 600 food items, education, health, electricity generation and distribution, and fuel. As for businesses, over 60 taxes have been collapsed into about 11. So, there is something in the bills for everyone. Yet, they have now been threatened by the ongoing bickering.

It remains to be understood how the product of an over 100-member committee, including 40 students, government officials, private sector players, and trade union organisations from the country’s six regions, has become so controversial that it has even been accused of lack of widespread consultation.

The good news is that all the warlords realised the need to approach the table for intelligible conversations that would engender trade-offs. This is commendable and shows that the nation understands that democracy is about dialogue to resolve issues of common interest. The Tayo-Oyedele-led Presidential Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Reforms should be commended for owning the bills and stepping forward to engage. Its chairman, Tayo Oyedele, a professor and tax expert, deserves special commendation for his calmness and articulate responses to stakeholders’ queries. It is reassuring that he has left no one in doubt that his committee’s proposals are not resistant to informed review.  

The bottom line has to be the overall interest of Nigerians groaning under the weight of the prevailing economic hardship brought about by decades of mismanagement of the nation’s resources. President Bola Tinubu now has the mandate and responsibility to reverse this. As part of discharging that responsibility, he set up the Oyedele Committee to put the nation’s fiscal framework in shape for the revival of the economy. Now that the job is almost done, the President must take personal responsibility to engage and negotiate the grey areas for a fruitful outcome.

Adebiyi is the media aide to the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu  

The Academic Union of Universities (ASUU) has condemned the student loan programme of the federal government disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

The President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, said the government should increase budgetary provision to the education sector or run a grant for the children of the poor.

Professor Osodeke stated this on Thursday while speaking on Channels TV.

He stressed that higher institutions have resorted to increasing school fees because of student loan.

“Our issue with NELFUND is that in a country like Nigeria, it should be grants; and not a loan.

“All the universities are increasing their fees now; jerking up their fees so that the students will borrow more loans from this NELFUND, encumbering the children of the poor.

“In my university, in my department, I now have less than 10 students in the department, many have dropped out. Apart from some of these big courses like Medicine, Law and what have you, students are dropping out. The children of the poor are dropping out,” he said.

Osodeke explained that the student loan scheme had failed on two occasions because students were not able to pay back upon graduation.

He explained many graduates may not get work because of the economic situation of the country. He emphasized that the students may be morally demoralized upon graduation.

“We are the academia, we do our research, we have searched all over the world, we have not seen. In most countries where you are having student loans when they graduate, they become problems in society. Some of them are demoralized.

“Imagine a student graduating from the university with a loan of five million naira. Even me as a professor, I can not pay back such a loan in 20 years’ time. Then student who graduates you have a loan of 5 million and you are getting a job in next 20 years.

“And we are saying if you loot at what happened in the 60s and 70s you can go to that level. The children of the poor assist them, increase budgetary allocation to education and this issue of loan will not come out.

“This is the third time they are introducing it, the last two times it collapsed, nobody benefitted. Those that benefitted didn’t pay back because it collapsed. So how are we sure this one will survive?” Osodeke stated.

[NaijaNews]

Max Air, bound for Abuja made an emergency landing back at Muhammadu Buhari International Airport Maiduguri, on Wednesday after its engine damaged following a suspected bird strike, officials reported.

Borno State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Usman Kadafur, was among the over 100 passengers that escaped death, and successfully landed in the airport.

Daily Trust gathered that the incident occured 10 minutes after the plane took off from the airport.

The airline official, who is not in position to speak, said another plane was deployed from Lagos that conveyed the passengers to Abuja.

“About 10 minutes after the take off, the Aircraft hit a bird in the sky, which led to one of the engines to be severely damaged. Engineers were deployed from Kano, now working on the aircraft,” he said.

When contacted, the Manager of Max Air in Maiduguri, Mr Musa Bawuro, said he was aware of the incident, but could not comment until he got details of what actually transpired.

“Please give me time to find out from the captain,” he said.

[DailyTrust]

The Federal Government has confirmed that it has commenced sacking workers with certificates from unaccredited private tertiary institutions in the Benin Republic and Togo.

The Federal Government workers that are being dismissed are those who graduated from the institutions from 2017 to date.

The spokesperson of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, confirmed the development on Wednesday.

The government said the exercise is part of an effort to rid the country’s civil service of bad eggs.

Recall that in August, the Federal Government announced that only eight universities had been accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and the Benin Republic.

The development followed an undercover investigative report in which a Daily Nigerian journalist, Umar Audu, acquired a degree from a university in the Benin Republic in two months and used it to participate in the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, scheme.

Acting on the revelation, the Nigerian government banned the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from tertiary institutions in Benin Republic, Togo, and other foreign universities.

Consequently, the Federal Government set up an interministerial investigative committee on degree certificate milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers.

Thereafter, the then Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo. He announced that such certificates would be cancelled.

In a fresh update, DAILY POST gathered that some ministries, departments, and agencies, MDAs, such as the National Youth Services Corps, have commenced the implementation of the directive.

For instance, the NYSC Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirmed that five members of staff had been sacked in line with the SGF’s directive.

She said, “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the Office of the SGF.”

This comes weeks after former Nigerian senator, Shehu Sani, in November 2024, raised the alarm that the Federal Government had commenced sacking workers with unverified Benin Republic and Togo degrees.

[DailyPost]

In celebration of its 48th convocation, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun state, is set to confer honorary doctorate degrees on notable individuals, including the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Prince Karl Toriola.

Speaking at the convocation press briefing on Thursday, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simeon Bamire, announced that three other exceptional Nigerians will also be honoured.

The recipients include Dr. Akinade Ogunbiyi, group chairman of Mutual Benefit Plc, which employs over 5,000 youths; Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe; and Daere Afonya-Akobo.

He explained: “Oluremi TinubuI is an advocate for the underprivileged, particularly women and children. She founded the Yeye Asiwaju Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to women’s and children’s empowerment, and the New Era Foundation, focusing on youth development, environmental health, and community service.

“She gave grants for the spelling bee, and petty traders and even sponsored prizes in the Faculty of Education with N50 million. She donated N1billion for the school recently.” 

Speaking about the graduates, he said: “215 graduated with First Class, 2,197 bagged Second Class Upper Division while 2,691 finished with Second Class Lower, 755 are in Third Class category. 

“61 of them finished with Upper Credit, 33 bagged lower credit and 62 have pass grades. In total 6,015 will graduate for classified degrees, 395 for unclassified, and 958 for postgraduate degrees.” 

[TheNation]