As Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry eagerly awaits the implementation of the Presidential Executive Order aimed at reducing the cost of essential medicines, and generally revamping the health sector, delays in the implementation process have pushed back the timeline for its takeoff. 

In June, President Bola Tinubu signed an Executive Order to strengthen Nigeria’s health system by exempting pharmaceutical machinery, equipment, goods, and accessories from tariffs and excise duties, reducing production costs and making healthcare products more affordable.

But two months after the pronouncement, checks by Vanguard revealed that the cost of items in the key categories of health equipment covered by the Executive Order remained prohibitively high.

Among these are pharmaceutical medications, medical devices such as diagnostic imaging machines, laboratory equipment, surgical instruments, ECG machines, ventilators, syringes, needles, gloves, medical dressings and diagnostic kits for malaria, HIV, etc.

Vanguard gathered that while the government set a 30-day deadline for development of a harmonisation implementation framework with the ministries of Finance and Industry, Trade, and Investment, the exact timeline for take-off of the Executive Order remains uncertain.

On when Nigerians can expect to start seeing the benefits of the Executive Order, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the government is working diligently to expedite action on the framework that will guide relevant agencies in operationalising and implementing the Executive Order.

What govt is doing, by Alausa

Alausa said: “We are developing a harmonisation implementation framework with the Ministers of Finance and Industry, Trade and Investment.

“Government agencies involved include the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, and the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS.”

He said the government is moving quickly to develop the harmonisation implementation framework within 30 days, adding that once completed, the Executive Order will go into effect quickly.

“We have met with the Attorney-General of the Federation about the need to move quickly on this. We are working night and day to get this effected so that Customs will start implementing the process as well as the FIRS. We are setting up a technical working group on this implementation framework so that the Executive Order will take effect immediately.

Worried by the apparent lack of progress as the 30-day window has elapsed, players in the health industry have expressed concerns about the potential impact of the delays on the cost of medications and the livelihood of Nigerians even as there is uncertainty regarding the immediate effects of the executive order on drug prices and are urging the government to step up action on the policy.

Delay not worth it, people are dying — Oladigbolu

On his part, the Immediate past National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, Pharm Wale Oladigbolu, said the delay in implementation of the Executive Order is not worth it because people are dying, even as prices of drugs have continued to spiral up.

“We haven’t seen the impact of the Executive Order, that’s at the down end where I practice. Prices of drugs at the retail stores are still very high and we see a lot of people not being able to afford the treatment that they need. Health insurance which should have helped the people is not working in the Nigerian context.

“A whole lot of people who are in the informal sector are not covered by health insurance, so the prices of medicine are high. Affordability is not there, and people’s incomes are strained. And when I say strained, I mean strained. They need to choose between food with high costs, fuel with high costs, and drugs with high costs. So they need to juggle those factors. So people only come to the pharmacy for purely essential things.

So things like high blood pressure that does not have a warning, a lot of hypertension patients are dropping their medicines, especially those who have poor health education, they have dropped. They see hypertension as not troubling, so you see a lot of non-adherence to medication because of the high cost of medication. High cost of food. And indeed, high cost of work.

“The delay is not worth it because people are dying. We have not seen an impact or drop in the cost of medicines in Nigeria, so the Executive Order has not had any impact. This speaks to what the Federal Government should be doing.

“Before you issue an order, you need to check the baseline, you need to do a survey, conduct the baseline. And when you issue an order, two months down the line, you need to conduct another survey to compare the former with the new, and that has not been done, but I can tell you wholeheartedly that we haven’t seen an iota of drop in drug prices in this country. “

Implementation details must be properly worked out — Ifeanyi

Responding to the development, the National President of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, AMLSN, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, said while the concerns about the delay are not misplaced, the details of the implementation of the Executive Order should be properly worked out.

Ifeanyi, an Infectious Diseases/Public Health Expert, noted that for effectiveness, the government should put turn-around time when Nigerians can begin to see outcomes.

“The concerns being expressed in certain quarters about the delay is not misplaced. We are equally concerned that the details as per the framework for the implementation of this Executive Order are still very sketchy. They are not readily available, and this leads us to a very big worry about the fate that befell the healthcare fund.

‘’So we are only worried that we hope that this Executive Order will not go the failed route of the $100 billion health fund that was made available, or said to have been made available during the President Muhammadu Buhari era.

“That said, I would also want to think that Executive Order is one thing, fleshing it out and providing the details is another, and therefore, 60 days is not too much a time for us to become overtly concerned and worried.

According to Ifeanyi, the Ministries of Trade and Industry, Finance, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Ministry of National Planning, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Trade and Commerce or Industry, need to work out the details worked out multi-sectorally.

“So you find out that there’s going to be a multi-stakeholder engagement to work out details for the implementation of the executive order, it is no longer on the desk of the president to do. Therefore, we will need to appeal to Nigerians and to stakeholders, to be a little more patient. It is important that people are expectant and excited because the cost of drugs

Lamenting the high cost of diagnostics, medications, consumables and healthcare services rising daily and compromising services, he said they have gone well beyond the means of the average person.

“The scarcity or near-absence of all these Therefore, individuals are using their bare hands to barely manage and care for patients. When things like the Executive Order come, we expect that for effectiveness, the government should set timelines, and there should be an obvious turn-around time when we expect Nigerians can begin to see outcomes.

“I think 60 days or thereabout is too short a time because production of any kind would have a planning phase, incubation phase, and a trial-and-error phase in which we run trials to see if we have got it right or not before you go full-scale for commercialization and distribution. So we need to still be patient. That means perfect time.

“The delay is necessary, but it is not yet time for us to begin to lose breath and become very much overtly concerned because if you hurry into such endeavour, you will feel it is about production and production will take time. You need to set up production lines, you need to allow it to incubate. You need to now turn off your first product. Let me use something to make an example.

“Caution must not be thrown to the wind. Due process and attention need to be paid to details. I do not think the government has forgotten about it. It’s in the works,” he affirmed.

Govt must intervene in high tariffs — Akintayo

On his part, past president, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, Mr. Olumide Akintayo, said the inherent birthing of the Executive Order must trigger off a new pharmaceutical industry couched and laden with possibilities and fruitfulness.

“The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Services must progressively intervene in the matter of unfortunate tariffs and unfriendly policies churned out by some of the key regulators in the pharmaceutical sector if prices of drugs will crash in the interim.

“These tariffs are a major reason drugs availability, accessibility and affordability can no longer be guaranteed in alignment with the National Drug Policy. While congratulating President Tinubu on this feat,it is sacred to once again make a case for the appointment of an Adviser, Pharmaceuticals to the President who will coordinate the plethora of endeavours that are pharmacy-based and inclined in the Tinubu administration.

FG must be more proactive — Okotie

The Managing Director, Engraced Pharmacy Ltd., Mr. Jonah Okotie, posited that the Ministry of Health should create awareness and enlightenment about its policies and how to appropriate them.

“The Executive Order is one thing, the preparedness of everybody, every stakeholder in the industry is another thing, and then the other thing we want to talk about is the people who are concerned. Do they understand how to appropriate the Executive Order, because sometimes the problem we have is not what to do, is how to do it.

“So how much is the Ministry of Health doing to make sure the stakeholders understand how to appropriate it? Because if they really don’t understand how to appropriate these things, they can have the best of policies, which amounts to nothing for everybody.

“Government officials themselves, do they understand that this policy exists, is there awareness on the part of the agents of government to ensure that this policy comes to light? How will implementing this policy bring down the price of drugs? Is it at the importation level, production level or whatever? So it’s about developing a trade or generating a trade that is going to run through the industry to ensure to pull down the prices of drugs to the end user at the end of the day.

“As for the delay, don’t let me preempt anything because sometimes what we don’t know, we can’t speak much to. I presume that at the manufacturer’s level, at the importation level, at the Ministry of Health level, there are engagements that are going on to see how to implement the Executive Order so that the price of drugs is going to come down, because I don’t want to take it for granted that people work to get the Executive Order, only for them to just be watching it.

Okotie said one of the things that led to the Executive Order was the fact that prices of drugs were going up abysmally, and then drugs were going up on the shelves, and these things were going on without anybody addressing it before the government began to pay attention.

“It is the Executive Order, but life does not work in isolation. What about the cost of transportation? What about the cost of so many other things? What about the cost of energy? As much as you want to be talking about the Executive Order, other factors affect the prices that are not constant. So for the Executive Order itself to work, we have to go back, sit down and try to come up with a trade that helps us to ensure that it really achieves what it’s intended to.”

The federal government has disclosed that only eight universities are accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in both Togo and Benin Republic.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, on Sunday.

The Minister also insisted that there is no going back on the decision of the federal government to cancel about 22,700 certificates awarded to Nigerians by some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and Benin Republic.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, Mamman maintained that the decision to invalidate the certificates was not a harsh one as Nigerians who obtained degree certificates from such “illegal” tertiary institutions are denting the country’s image and the authorities in the neighbouring Francophone West African countries also adjudged the concerned schools as fake.

Recalls the Minister, during a press conference on Friday to mark his one year in office, disclosed that over 22,700 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from the two countries and such certificates would be cancelled.

Mamman narrated that the development was part of a report submitted to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) by a committee with a mandate to probe degree certificate racketeering by foreign and local universities in Nigeria following the undercover investigation report in which a Nigerian journalist acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic in under two months and used it to get deployment for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

During the programme on Sunday, the minister said the federal government only recognised three institutions in Togo and five in Benin Republic while identifying others as illegal institutions.

He lamented that most of those parading the fake certificates didn’t even leave the shores of Nigeria but got their certificates through racketeering in collaboration with government officials at home and abroad.

The minister added that the “fake universities” capitalised on the “gullibility” of Nigerians who patronise such fake schools.

According to him, the government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the Secretary of the Government of the Federation, would fish out those in the employment of the government with such fake certificates. He urged the private sector to follow suit.

Mamman identified three universities which the federal government approved to offer degree programs in Togo for students from Nigeria as:

1. UNIVERSITE DE LOME

2. UNIVERSITE DE KARA

3. CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF WEST AFRICA.

He also listed five accredited universities that have been authorized to provide degree programs in the Republic of Benin for students from Nigeria.

1. UNIVERSITE D’ABOMEY-CALAVI

2. UNIVERSITE DE PARAKOU

3. UNIVERSITE NATIONALE DES SCIENCES, TECHNOLOGIES
INGENIERIE ET MATHEMATIQUES.

4. UNIVERSITE NATIONALE D’ AGRICULTURE.

5. UNIVERSITE AFRICAINE DE DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIF.

The five officially recognized universities in Cotonou, Benin Republic, are all public universities.

Reinstated Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has issued a stern warning to Governor Godwin Obaseki, vowing to expose alleged wrongdoings if Obaseki’s surrogates continue to insult him.

Shaibu, who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), made this statement while addressing reporters after attending Sunday Mass at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area.

Shaibu revealed that he had tolerated Obaseki’s actions for over 15 months, but the governor’s recent conduct had crossed the line.

He claimed that the governor had mistaken his silence for weakness and threatened to reveal several misdeeds committed by the governor.

The deputy governor emphasized the need for accountability in governance, urging religious leaders to refrain from bestowing unearned divine titles, such as “God’s Servant Governor,” on politicians.

Shaibu criticized Obaseki’s leadership, accusing him of actions that contradict the principles of servant leadership.

These alleged actions include fighting the church, revoking Certificates of Occupancy from poor citizens, demolishing homes of opposition politicians, and other acts Shaibu described as injustices.

Shaibu also called on the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to avoid political influence and stand against the perpetuation of injustice.

He urged the Christian community to act as a beacon of hope for every citizen and ensure that their faith remains untainted by political affiliations.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has denied claims that over 600 Nigerian pilgrims remained in Saudi Arabia after performing lesser Hajj in the country.

Former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, in a tweet on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, on Saturday, made the claim, raising concerns about the Saudi authorities tightening visa rules.

“Over 600 Nigerians who travelled to Saudia for lesser Hajj refused to return and this will compel the Saudi authorities to tighten their visa rules. Many of those who want to travel will likely be tossed,” Sani wrote.

However, NAHCON’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Fatima Usara, denied the claims, noting that neither the Saudi or Nigerian authorities had a record of such persons.

“We do not have such correspondence or information from Saudi Arabia, neither did we receive such information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Immigration Services of both countries,” she told our correspondent.

Senator Sani’s claim comes days after President Bola Tinubu sacked the former Chairman of the Hajj commission, Jalal Arabi, over alleged mismanagement and diversion of  N90bn Hajj subsidy funds provided by the government.

The PUNCH reports that 51,477 pilgrims from Nigeria attended the recently concluded Hajj exercise in Jeddah and Mina, after paying a total of N6.9m to perform the religious exercise.

While the inaugural flight for the 2024 Hajj exercise departed the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Kebbi with 422 pilgrims on May 15, 2024, the final return flight landed in Ilorin Kwara State, with 286 pilgrims on July 16, 2024.

Senator Sani’s claim would imply that all 600 pilgrims have remained in Saudi Arabia for about six weeks since the end of the pilgrimage exercise.

Meanwhile, a former Grand Kadi in the the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Abdullahi Haroon (retd.), has urged the Federal Government to ensure a thorough probe of the N90bn Hajj subsidy mismanagement.

The retired jurist said as a guest of the King of Saudi Arabia during the just concluded Hajj rites, some pilgrims confided in him that they were paid $200 instead of $500 as a travelling allowance.

He said, “This matter is yet to be decided, but I want it to be thoroughly investigated and whoever is found to be part of this act of dishonesty that caused suffering to our pilgrims should not be spared.

“I was in Makkah during the last pilgrimage as a guest of King Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and some pilgrims confessed to me that many of them were only given $200 instead of $500 and when they got to Saudi, they were only given the equivalent of $200 in Riyal. That was how they took money from pilgrims.

“In fact, it is embarrassing that people who travelled to serve God will be the ones to violate God’s law. You must be just and transparent,” he said.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, challenged President Bola Tinubu to be brave and admit the return of fuel subsidy months after the President declared that subsidy was gone.

Atiku, who lost to Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, insisted that fuel subsidy had returned and alleging that it “has become an even wider conduit pipe through which money for funding the 2027 election will come from.”

The ex-Vice President stated this in a statement released on Sunday by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu.

“Tinubu visited the FMDQ in New York, Qatar and France, where he told lies about removing petrol subsidies. This is not a man who is serious about attracting FDI.

Meet Samuel Jubril, The Incredible Five-Year-Old Pianist0.00 / 0.00

“More worrisome is that he is not even brave enough to admit that subsidy is being paid. The NNPCL admits that N7.8tn is owed to the national oil company by the Nigerian government.

“IMF estimates that subsidy payments this year will constitute three per cent of GDP, which is about $7.5bn. This will be about N11.8tn. Yet, the petrol scarcity continues to linger while the Tinubu administration continues to frustrate the Dangote Refinery and even its own NNPCL facilities.

“Obviously, the subsidy regime has become an even wider conduit pipe through which monies for funding the 2027 election will come from,” Atiku said.

The Adamawa politician also challenged the Federal Government to clarify how Oando Plc, owned by President Tinubu’s nephew, Wale Tinubu, received accelerated approval to acquire the onshore assets of AGIP and ENI.

On Thursday, Oando PLC announced the successful completion of its acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares in Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited.

In a statement released on Thursday, the company stated, “Today marks a significant milestone for Oando Plc as we proudly announce the finalisation of our agreement with Eni to acquire the entire shareholding of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC Ltd).”

In a response issued on Sunday, Atiku alleged that Oando received unfair and preferential treatment in the oil and gas sector, which he claimed harmed more capable investors.

“Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Federal Government to explain why Oando Plc, owned by the President’s nephew, got an accelerated approval to buy the onshore assets of AGIP and ENI, while other transactions such as the Shell/Renaissance deal and the Mobil/Seplat continue to suffer delays,” he said.

Atiku also condemned the House of Representatives for failing to act properly on the NNPCL, which has allegedly moved to “mortgage the country’s national oil assets to vested interests.”

Atiku said, “Within just eight months, the Nigerian Upstream Production Regulatory Commission approved a deal which saw the divestment of ENI/AGIP onshore assets to Oando.

“Within that same period, Nigeria controversially withdrew all litigation against Shell/ENI in the OPL 245 scandal in what has been described as a quid pro quo.

“However, the attempt by Seplat to buy Mobil’s onshore assets has continued to stall for the last three years, even as the consent letter remains on Tinubu’s table. The deal between Renaissance and Shell continues to stall.

“In fact, the only deal that has fully scaled through so far is the one involving Oando. We now know why it got accelerated approval.

“Ideally, democracy ought to be the government of the people, for the people, and by the people. But democracy in Nigeria has become the government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu and his family members.”

He noted that in July 2023, the House of Representatives, following a motion by Miriam Onuoha, instructed the NNPC Ltd to halt the acquisition of OVH assets until its committee completed an investigation.

According to the former Vice President, the committee requested detailed information from NNPC Ltd, including registration documents, board resolutions, audited financial statements, management accounts, and evidence of tax payments.

He alleged that despite these requests, the oil company ignored them and proceeded with transferring ownership and properties in its retail arm to OVH, thus compromising the future of Nigerians.

“Despite the rot in the oil sector, the head of the NNPC, the head of the NUPRC, and the head of the NMDPRA continue to keep their jobs. This is clear evidence that they are fulfilling the mandate given to them by Tinubu.

“Furthermore, Atiku pointed out that the NNPC lied in its vacuous response to their statement last week, as it is on record that the Kyari-led management appointed Huub Stoksman, a former Chief Executive Officer of OVH Energy, as Managing Director of NNPC Retail, and Mumuni Dangazau, the former Chief Operating Officer of OVH Energy, as his Special Adviser Downstream, long before the consummation of the incestuous marriage of the entities.”

Also, Atiku criticised the Tinubu administration for allegedly increasing human rights abuses.

He said the President betrayed his claims of being a freedom fighter by allowing the Department of State Service, police and the military to violate citizens’ rights without accountability.

The former Vice President also argued that the Cyber Crime Prevention Act 2015 had been misused by Tinubu’s officials to detain citizens, with the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre effectively becoming a replacement for the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Atiku added, “The dangerous trend of enforced disappearances has become a national embarrassment for a country which claims to be practising democracy.

“On May 1, 2024, Daniel Ojukwu of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism went missing and was presumed abducted by kidnappers until he was later discovered to be in police custody on the orders of IGP Kayode Egbetokun. Ojukwu’s crime was that he exposed the corruption of a government official who currently serves in Tinubu’s administration.

“On July 23, the DSS arrested one Aliyu Sanusi in Sama Road of Sokoto, the state capital, for printing and distributing materials ahead of the #EndBadGovernanceProtest.

“Even the arrest and release of the former BBC Pidgin Editor and current West Africa Regional Editor of the Conversation, Adejuwon Soyinka, clearly show a pattern, whose objective is to intimidate journalists for speaking truth to this government.

“Now, the police have arrested Bristol Tamunobiefiri, who owns the PIDOM Nigeria blog on X, formerly Twitter. After detaining him for over two weeks, he was granted an administrative bail, which would be impossible to meet.

“This is despite the fact that the Appeal Court, in the case of EFCC V. Emem Uboh (2022) LPEIR – 57968 (CA) held that administrative bail is illegal. Bristol should, therefore, be arraigned in court immediately or released.”

The Enugu State Government, on Sunday, announced the commencement of the payment of local government retirees’ pensions.

A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said over 7,000 eligible pensioners had received their payments following a thorough biometric verification process.

Onyia said the verification exercise, conducted by the Local Government Pensioners Biometric Verification Committee, had identified and eliminated 2,640 ghost and deceased pensioners who were still receiving payments.

The move was part of the administration’s efforts to clear outstanding pensions and gratuities inherited from previous governments, ensuring that legitimate retirees receive their deserved benefits, the statement indicated.

“Recall that Governor Peter Mbah had earlier promised that his administration was poised to eradicate poverty in the state by clearing inherited backlog of pensions and other liabilities, and also keep up with its current fiscal responsibility to the citizens, among other measures. This will improve our people’s standard of living, raise purchasing power and promote strong and sustainable economic growth in the state,” the SSG said.

He added that a total of 7109 local government pensioners received monthly payments of close to half a billion naira in July, including 989 newly captured entrants who retired between April 2022 and April 2024 but were not accommodated in the pension scheme.

The SSG, who frowned on the level of fraud in the pensions system, said the record provided by the Local Government Pensions Board indicated that the state had been paying over 8,760 local government retirees as of April 2024 against the 7109 verified pensioners.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to clearing all pension arrears, Onyia stressed that the payment mode adopted by the state would guarantee that backlogs were phased out within the timeline set out by the government.

“This administration will continue to support our citizens, particularly our senior citizens who dedicated their time and energy to serving the state. We will soon phase out all arrears inherited by the administration.

“We are reforming the pensions system through strong institutional policies that would make it difficult for corrupt elements to find their way into the scheme. We have been able to digitalise the institution with measures that would make every transaction and payment transparent, accountable and traceable,” he added.

The Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has stressed the urgent need for Nigeria to move beyond political infighting and inconsistent policies that have hindered the country’s development since independence.

She asserted that collective efforts, rather than a blame game, were needed to move the nation forward.

Okonjo-Iweala spoke on Sunday at the Nigerian Bar Association Annual Conference held at Eko Hotel, in Lagos, where she delivered a keynote address titled “A new social contract for Nigeria’s future” .

“Nigeria today is not where it should be, and our country has not progressed as it should have.

That is why, more than 60 years after independence, we are still discussing nation-building. But we must shift our focus from blame games to concrete actions that tackle present and emerging challenges.”

While saying that Nigerians were not alone in economic hardship, she said, “It’s not in recrimination or even in futile regret, but rather as part of moving our country and advancing its interests. We are living in very difficult times, locally here in Nigeria, but also globally.

“I’m not here to castigate or blame anyone, I’m here to speak to all governments of my country, all political parties, all Nigerians, about a positive way forward for the country,” she said. 

Drawing comparisons between Nigeria and other countries,  Okonjo-Iweala highlighted how nations like South Korea, Peru, and India had outpaced Nigeria in economic growth and development despite having similar starting points decades ago.

She pointed to South Korea’s rapid industrialisation and Peru’s economic resilience as examples of what Nigeria could achieve with consistent and sound policies.

“Back in the 1960s, Nigeria’s per capita income was comparable to that of South Korea but today, South Korea’s per capita GDP is 20 times higher than ours.”

This stark contrast shows that while other nations have taken bold steps to diversify and grow their economies, we have been left behind,” she said.

Okonjo-Iweala further stated that Nigeria’s inability to sustain growth was largely due to a lack of policy consistency and political will.

“If we look back to the early years of independence, it’s clear Nigeria had what it takes to succeed, and yet we’ve fallen behind countries that were on par with us back then.

“I want to remind people that in the first half of the 1960s, our per capita income in 1960 dollars was roughly equal to that of South Korea, in the neighborhood of 100 to 120 dollars per capita, according to World Bank data. But then South Korea’s growth took off, as it went from exporting primary products like tungsten oil and dried seaweed to manufactured goods.

“Back then it was textiles and footwear, compared to today’s integrated circuits, electronics, ships and autos, not to mention services exports, such as gaming, entertainment, etc., where South Korea is also strong.

“Meanwhile, Nigeria’s export basket went in the opposite direction and became less diversified. In the early 1960s, mining exports made up half of our exports, and food and animal or vegetable oils together about a third, with manufacturers accounting for five to seven percent.

“But since 1974, oil has dominated, often accounting for 97 to 100 per cent of Nigerian exports, with its share rarely dipping below 90 per cent.

“The good news is that our economy itself is quite diversified, and with the capacity to do much more in terms of agricultural exports, critical minerals, services such as entertainment, etc., and I want to commend ongoing efforts by this government to diversify the exports of our country.

“Last year, Nigeria’s per capita GDP was 1,620 US dollars, while South Korea’s was 33,000,” she said.

Okonjo-Iweala, further stated that Korea’s growth miracle was exceptional and world-beating, but even more modest performers had outpaced Nigeria.

“Thailand’s per capita GDP was comparable to Nigeria’s in the early 1970s and is now $7,200. Peru, a country I will come back to, was about even with Nigeria in the early 1980s, but now has a per capita GDP of nearly $7,800.

“Even India, which into the 1990s and 2000s had a per capita GDP well below Nigeria’s, recently surpassed us on that mark and is now $2,484.

“India is now the third largest economy in the world, one of the fastest-growing and modernising economies.

“I cite all these numbers not because GDP is a perfect measure, but because, as Daniel Susskind, a scholar on economic growth at King’s College London, recently put it, and I quote, GDP is correlated with almost every measure of human flourishing.”

She criticized the “not-made-in-my-administration syndrome,” where successive governments fail to build on the successes of their predecessors, leading to economic stagnation.

“To minimise the volatility of economic and social policy and to set our country on a steady growth and development path, Nigeria needs a social contract.

“By this, I mean a fundamental agreement across political parties and society that certain policies and principles are sacrosanct and must not be altered with each change in administration,” she explained.

In his remarks, President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, reiterated that his administration was working to address the numerous social and economic challenges facing the country.

Tinubu said he was “providing clarity and eliminating the opaqueness that fostered corruption.”

He added, “While I acknowledge the temporal existence of some daunting challenges besetting us as a nation, I want to assure you that this government is poised to address all the developmental challenges facing this country and rest assured that in the fullness of time, this nation shall overcome.

“I want to assure you that this government will continue to uphold top priority to the welfare of the judiciary, to ease avoidable burden on their lordships, and speed up the adjudicatory process which is a sine qua non for social order and economic development.”

The Kogi State chapter of the People Democratic party has asked the local executive committee in Ijumu to initiate immediate suspension proceedings against Senator Dino Melaye,  following his recent outburst when he declared the party dead.

The party said the move was necessary to restore its integrity and focus on viable leadership.

 The party’s elders, led by Alhaji Ibrahim Dansofo, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday made available to newsmen in Lokoja.

 “Melaye’s political ambitions have crumbled to the point where he can no longer secure even a local councilor position

“Senator Melaye has become a burden to the party. His accusations against the current leadership are hypocritical, as he himself was granted a governorship ticket despite the party’s awareness of his inability to win even a primary election.”

The Kogi PDP placed the blame for the party’s current struggles squarely on Melaye’s shoulders, claiming that his nomination was a significant misstep that led to the party’s present predicament.

They called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to reevaluate their support for Melaye, urging them to distance themselves from someone they described as a “bondage” and a “big-time liability” for the party.

Victor Osimhen’s potential move to Chelsea is threatened by the striker’s outrageous wage demand of £500,000 a week, Punch Sports Extra reports.

The Nigerian international is expected to leave Napoli this summer after he reportedly handed a transfer request to the club.

However, his move to Stamford Bridge largely depends on whether he would reduce his wage demands.

Paris Saint-Germain are also keen on signing the forward, while Arsenal are said to be monitoring the situation, looking for an opportunity to concretise their interest.

Osimhen, who joined Napoli from Lille in 2020, signed a new contract with the Azzurri in December 2023, which earns him a monthly salary of £1.29m, almost doubling his previous earning.

The Nigerian’s new salary was a reward for his performance in the 2022/23 season, where he inspired Napoli to a first Serie A title in 33 years and also capping it off with the league top scorer award with 26 goals.

Despite his desire to leave Diego Maradona Stadium this summer, Osimhen, according to reliable transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, will not take a pay cut to facilitate his move to Chelsea.

The Italian earlier this month hinted that talks could go down to the final week of the transfer window and that the future of the Super Eagles striker was yet to be sorted out.

According to The Sun, Osimhen has reportedly asked for £500,000-a-week wages before he completes a move to Chelsea, a salary the Blues may be reluctant to pay as they look to reduce their wage bill this season, which is one of the main reasons they have decided to offload Raheem Sterling.

If the London club agreed to the striker’s demands, it would make him the highest-earning player in the Premier League.

Chelsea have signed Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid but are still in dire need of a striker capable of guaranteeing them goals. They are intensifying their search with less than a week until the close of the transfer window.

The club has been negotiating with Napoli and Osimhen’s representatives in the entire summer but has failed to reach an agreement. They initially proposed a loan deal to Napoli, being unwilling to match the player’s release clause, which is set at €130 million.

However, Osimhen’s £500,000-a-week demand has truncated talks between both parties, and Chelsea may end their interest in the striker.

Representatives of state governments at the last Federation Accounts Allocation Committee meeting have bemoaned the decision by the Federal Government to save additional revenue for the payment of the new minimum wage.

This development, which affected their revenue distribution from the federation committee, was received with opposing views when an update on statutory allocation showed that the government transferred a sum of N200bn into the non-savings account at the August FAAC meeting, making a total of N595bn.

The Commissioners of Finance, Akwa Ibom, Dr Linus Noah; Delta, Okenmor Tilije and Ekiti, Akintunde Oyebode raised the observation at the last FAAC meeting held August 16, 2024, minutes of which our correspondent obtained.

At the meeting, it was learnt the committee distributed a total sum of N1.36tn to the three tiers of government, N1bn less than N1.35tn shared in June.

This is despite recording an increase of N13bn between the gross total of N2.61tn in July and N2.48tn in June.

In his opening address, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, applauded President Bola Tinubu for signing the National Minimum Wage Act into law, adding that its implementation will be of immense benefit to all Nigerians.

He further disclosed that discussions were still ongoing on the consequential adjustments. 

The minutes quoting the minister read, “Work on the new minimum wage is still in progress, adding that government had continued to dialogue with the organised labour and the private sector with a view to reaching an agreement.”

But after a presentation by a representative from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on the gross statutory revenue and necessary deductions of N1.29tn, the commissioner took turns to question the reasoning for such deduction.

Reacting, the Commissioner of Finance, Akwa Ibom State, Dr Linus Noah faulted the move, stressing that the income should be shared in view of the current financial challenges faced by the states.

Additionally, Dr Noah’s counterpart from Delta State, Okenmor Tilije, disagreed with the proposed idea of saving the money for the benefit of the central government only and asked that it be shared to augment the distributable allocation.

The minutes read, “The HCF, Akwa Ibom State, referred to the provision made in the month for transfer to Non-Oil Savings Account. He proposed that given the financial challenges facing the states, the amount should be used to augment the distributable revenue for the month.

“In addition, the HCF, Delta State, agreed with his counterpart from Akwa Ibom State on the need to share the N595bn in the Non-Oil Savings Account to augment the distributable revenue.”

Responding, the AGF explained that the decision was taken to save for the rainy day and upcoming financial obligations, including payments of the N70,000 minimum wage.

The minutes added, “On the issue of the N595bn, Non-Oil Savings, the AGF advised members on the need to save for the rainy day, adding that the Federal and State Governments might require more funds to meet their future obligations, among which was payment of new minimum wage to workers.”

But reiterating its stance, the Chairman of Commissioners’ Forum/HCF, Ekiti State, Akintunde Oyebode, stated that the authority should have allowed sub-nationals to decide how to use their portions, as they were not benefiting from the interest on the saved funds.

“Commenting, the Chairman, Commissioners’ Forum/HCF, Ekiti State opined that since the Sub-nationals were not benefiting from the interest on the saved amount, they should be allowed to make decisions on what to do with their respective portions,” the minutes added.

He stated that the time value of money was also a factor to consider in deciding to save for a rainy day.

But the Permanent Secretary, Finance Ministry, Lydia Jafiya, who acted as chairman of the meeting after Edun’s departure, while noting the various contributions by members, overruled the discussion and called for the adoption of the revenue distribution for the month.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage into law July 29 after meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria. This was after months of deadlocked meetings.

Although the government is yet to begin implementation, organised labour has called for patience while expressing optimism that the process may be concluded by the end of August.

The Deputy President, Nigeria Labour Congress Political Commission, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, in an interview with The PUNCH, said, “We have no reason to suspect that (deliberate delay). In a real sense, signing the wage is just a small component of the main activity. There is something we call consequential adjustment. That involves the calculation of the minimum wage from level one, step one. From there, we will move from stage one to 13 all the way to level 16.

 “So, it is something that may take some time. Again, they are not going to compile them alone. There are templates for compiling it. But they must also carry us along. I believe you are aware there is a committee that is supposed to carry out the necessary adjustments. We expect it should be completed before the end of the month.”

So far, only Adamawa, Lagos and Edo have claimed that they have begun paying the minimum wage.

Meanwhile, the state finance commissioners have sought more clarifications on the federation’s indebtedness to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, stressing that the company must begin to carry out its transactions independently as a company without recourse to the Federation Account.

Stating their displeasure after a presentation by the Chairman Post Mortem Sub-Committee and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Mohammed Bello, Delta, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states commissioners said the oil company must be transparent and accountable in its operations.

Specifically, the HCF, Delta State, raised concerns on why NNPC Ltd had to source for US dollars when the crude oil that was sold was being transacted in the same currency.

They were reacting to information by the RMAFC chairman that outstanding claims against the federation had reached N4.34tn as of June, 2024 as a result of exchange rate differentials.

At its May meeting, the amount on exchange differentials was N2.69tn, indicating an increase of N1.65tn.

The minutes read, “NNPC Limited Exchange Rate Differentials on PMS Importation and Other JV Taxes for the Period August, 2023 to April, 2024: The Federal Commissioner, RMAFC, informed the meeting that NNPC Limited reported to the Sub-committee that it had an outstanding claim of N4,344,519,176,167.32 against the Federation as a result of exchange rate differentials as of June 2024.

“He stated that the sub-committee observed that the details of the PMS volume, price and sales value were not provided in the June, 2024 Report of NNPC Limited to justify the exchange rate differentials recorded.

“He concluded that the Sub-committee had resolved to request NNPC Ltd to provide the relevant information for further consideration.

“The Chairman commended the PMSC for the presentation and requested comments from members.

“The HCF, Akwa Ibom State referred to paragraph 3.3 of the report, in respect of NNPC’s claim of N4,344,519,176,167.32 indebtedness against the Federation. He sought for more clarifications on the indebtedness and how it could be resolved.”

The minutes added, “Responding, the Accountant-General of the Federation recalled that the matter was discussed at the FAAC Technical Session, held earlier in the day and the representative of NNPC Ltd explained that the company had approval to apply the “weighted average rate” on PMS transaction in order to maintain its current price. She stated that the representative of NNPC Ltd also explained that, if the “floating rate” was to be applied, the price of PMS would be higher than the current price.