The founder of Stanbic IBTC and ANAP Foundation, Atedo Peterside has described the Federal Government’s N90 billion subsidy for the 2024 Hajj as a setback for the nation’s economy.

Peterside stated this in an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday.

Recall that the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, said the Federal Government subsidised this year’s hajj pilgrimage with N90 billion.

He stated this while flagging off the 2024 inaugural flight of Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia at Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport, Birnin Kebbi.

According to him, the move has a political undertone ahead of the next 2027 general elections.

He said, “This is not about religion but about politics. We are mixing religion and politics.

“So, what do we now expect Christians to do? To say they want their own share of this subsidy?

“How are you going to refuse them? This is all about politics. Perhaps someone feels that ‘it is time for me to score some cheap political points’.

“You now come and send the wrong signal about our economy at a time when our economy is in deep trouble. We need to bring ourselves out of the hole. 

“Each time you turn around and do something insignificant like this (hajj subsidy) and throw away N90 billion, you set back the process by which investors and others can take you seriously.

“For me, it is not just about religion and pilgrimage. It is the setback of the economy by sending the wrong signals. The government should stop sending the wrong signals.”

Forex saga

Speaking on the depreciation of the naira against the dollar, the economist asked President Bola Tinubu’s administration to take steps for the local currency to rebound.

He warned President Tinubu’s administration that hurrying to make the currency gain strength wouldn’t work out.

According to him, the best approach would be for the central bank to stabilise the naira to a level where they can sustain it for some time and gradually build the reserve.

He said, “I will be fair to this government. They inherited the exchange rate problem and what they have been doing is trying to manage it.

“Recently, I would have thought ‘let’s get some stability around N1,300 or N1,400’. Don’t be in a hurry to appreciate the exchange rate.

“Going to sell dollars to bureau de change at N1,000, N1,050; those guys will turn around two weeks later and sell it at N1,400, N1,500. And they will go away laughing. What’s the point of that?

“It’s better to have some stability they can sustain. Keep between N1,300 and N1,400 which looks to be the natural equilibrium band today. Keep it there for a while, and build up your reserve to let confidence come back.

“So stop trying to appreciate the naira in a hurry. It’s not going to work,” he said.

Vanguard News

The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has filed an amended four-count charge against Binance Holdings Limited and its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, on alleged tax evasion.

FIRS lawyer, Moses Ideho, made this known on Friday before Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court, Abuja.

Ideho informed the court that following the escape of Nadeem Anjarwalla from lawful custody, the agency deemed it necessary to amend the charge to properly reflect Anjarwalla’s position in the instant charge, as being at large.

“We apply to substitute our charge dated 22nd of March, 2024 with an amended charge dated 17th of May, 2024.

“We apply that the charge be read to the 1st and 2nd defendants (Binance and Gambaryan) in order to take their plea,” he prayed.

But counsel for Binance, Chukwuka Ikwuazo, SAN, who also appeared for Gambaryan, opposed to Ideho’s application that the fresh charge be read to his clients.

Ikwuazo argued that the charge was just being filed this morning and he was yet to see it in order to consult with his clients so as to prepare for their defence.

Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter until May 22 for arraignment.

Earlier, the judge, in a ruling, ordered that the FIRS to serve the company (1st defendant) through Gambaryan (2nd defendant) the charge in the matter.

Justice Nwite held that Gambaryan, being the Binance Chief Financial Compliant Officer, ought to be served with the charge as the company’s representative in Nigeria in accordance with the law.

He discountenanced the argument of Ikwuazo that Gambaryan was neither a director, secretary or chief agent of the crypto-currency firm.

The court had fixed their arraignment for April 4.

However, the arraignment could not proceed due to inability of FIRS to effect service of the charge on the defendants..

The defendants are being charged on a four counts bordering on alleged tax evasion in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024.

In the charge dated and filed March 22 by the FIRS, the defendants were alleged to have committed the offence on or about Feb. 1.

Count one alleged that while involved in carrying and offering services to subscribers on their platform, known as Binance, failed to register with the FIRS, for the purpose of paying all relevant taxes administered by the service.

The offences are said to be punishable under Sections 8 and 29 of the VAT Act of 1993 (as Amended), Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007 (as amended) and under provisions of Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended) respectively.

[TheCable]

Agora, a policy think-tank, has advised the federal government to increase funding for public tertiary institutions while implementing the student loan policy.

President Bola Tinubu enacted an initial version of the student loan policy in June 2023 to grant interest-free loans to students.

The scheme was to commence in October 2023 but implementation was repeatedly deferred until a re-enactment in April 2024.

The National Education Loan Fund (NELFund) recently scheduled the opening of the loan application and issuance portal for May 24.

But Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister for youth development and sports, has advised the federal government to rethink the priorities.

Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions currently grapple with perennial strikes occasioned by protests over below-par remuneration, poor infrastructure, and quality assurance issues.

Contributing to the subject matter in Agora’s latest policy paper, Abdullahi said it is not wise to expand access to tertiary institutions through the student loan policy without adequately increasing funding to address subsisting inadequacies.

“Expanding access without expanding funding for the higher institutions undercuts their capacity to deliver quality education,” the policy analyst said.

“Loan or tuition does not substitute for government allocation. But the funding system should be based on per-student costing which should also reflect changes in operating costs on an annual basis.

“Using the per-student costing approach will ensure that our higher institutions have adequate funding to deliver quality education and greater value to the students and the country.”

PAST FAILURE OF STUDENT LOAN SCHEMES

Ghana is reported to be one of the first African countries to introduce a student loan scheme in 1971 and later Kenya in 1974.

Nigeria, in 1972, promulgated Decree No. 25, establishing the Nigerian Students Loans Board (NSLB).

By 1991, the NSLB had awarded loans amounting to about N46 million, of which only N6 million (13 percent) was recovered.

Joseph Chuta, former executive secretary of the board, had said the defaulters exploited “loopholes” in the decree to evade responsibility.

He said the NSLB could not meet administrative obligations as the perception of the loan as “national cake” became a disincentive for repayment.

To address these inadequacies, Decree No. 12 of 1988 was promulgated to decentralise the process of award and loan recovery by establishing zonal offices in Bauchi (north), Akure (west) and Port Harcourt (east) to support the NSLB’s headquarters in Abuja.

Academic institutions were further required to confirm an applicant as a “bona fide student” before loans could be granted, suggesting that non-students had at some point successfully accessed the loan.

The administrative changes yielded little results as no evidence showed the loan scheme functioned any better in recovery, Abdullahi wrote in the Agora paper.

The idea of an education bank was proposed to rid the scheme of undue political influence and give the NSLB a corporate outlook.

However, it is documented that the bank never took off. Administrative, legal, and political hurdles thwarted the student loan scheme.

Abdullahi, a one-time commissioner for education in Kwara state, said there are indications that the proponents of the new student loan scheme may be overlooking past mistakes.

RELIVING THE MISTAKES

He said the avalanche of applications that will ensue for the student loan policy could become challenging to deal with.

“In 1972, there were only six universities in the country, which increased to 27 (federal and state) by 1988, with a total enrolment of 159, 677 students. Yet, it was difficult to manage the number of applications to the student loans board,” Abdullahi said.

“Today, with a total of 91 federal and state universities and enrolment estimated at close to two million.”

The analyst said legal loopholes for defaulting that existed in the 1972 student loan policy still exist in the 2024 version of the policy.

“Section 3(b) allows the board to waive repayment for anyone deemed to be incapacitated. If the borrowers of student loans under the military could view it as a national cake, those borrowing under a democratic regime would also see it as dividends of democracy,” he said.

“When and if the government seeks re-election, the temptation becomes higher for people to treat the loans as political largesse.

“Also, making repayment contingent on employment is the right thing to do. But whether it is the sensible thing to do in a country where graduates are likely to be unemployed even after acquiring additional degrees, is a different question altogether .

“It is difficult to imagine that a university graduate would not find a job in the 1970s. Yet, an overwhelming majority of those who took the loans did not pay them back. This suggests that employment or lack of it is not the main factor in repayment.”

‘WEAKNESSES IN PRESENT STUDENT LOAN SCHEME’

Abdullahi said the student loan policy is still replete with loopholes that open it to abuse at both award and recovery levels.

“These weaknesses should be addressed at the policy implementation level. Making the loan available to everyone potentially disadvantages those who actually need it,” he said.

“Some kind of means-testing instruments need to be developed to ensure that loans are targeted at those who need it most and recovery is also tailored to their realities.

“Student loan is a cost-offsetting instrument. It should therefore be tied to the need to increase funding to higher institutions rather than for merely expanding access.”

Federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education have long maintained a tuition-free approach to tertiary education.

Abdullahi said Nigeria must formalise tuition or other fees for public institutions to minimise discretionary charges.

“Loans should be combined with merit and need-based grants to make it more effective and equitable. A deliberate policy of positive discrimination needs to be adopted to reflect the needs of gender, disability and the priorities of the country,” he added.

“The scheme needs to be driven by a robust communication strategy to ensure that those who are culturally averse to loans are not excluded and to drive messages that could aid recovery.”

[TheCable]

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi said the biggest problem of Nigeria’s democracy is the judiciary and not the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Obi stated this at the fifth memorial of late Justice Anthony Aniagolu at the Godfrey Okoye University in Enugu.

According to the former Anambra governor, justice in Nigeria “goes to the highest bidder” and has become “commodified.”

He said, “While the judiciary, today, still boasts of a few outstanding judges, there is an undeniable decline in our judicial system.

“This decline poses a significant threat to the future of Nigeria. Justice is increasingly commodified, and delivered in favour of the highest bidder.

“Whenever democracy is discussed, fingers point to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the problem. But INEC is not the problem, instead, the judiciary is. The judiciary is the biggest threat to Nigeria. If our judiciary is effective, our businesses will thrive.

“When the rule of law is compromised, the most vulnerable members of society are disproportionately affected, and the fabric of our society begins to fray. The integrity of our institutions, the protection of human rights, and the stability of our nation are all jeopardised.

“The rule of law is the highest intangible and most valuable asset of any society, and we must work tirelessly to protect and preserve it. We must prioritise the pursuit of justice above all else.

“I emphasised the urgent need to revitalise our judicial system by safeguarding its independence and promoting the values of character, competence, capability, compassion, and integrity among our jurists, as well as within our political leadership.

“By doing so, we can ensure justice and fairness prevail as we endeavour to build a better Nigeria for all.

“Nigeria has become a country where anything goes. There is no rule of law, there is almost no judiciary. Everybody could be pushed down because there is no rule of law.

“Because the judiciary has become commercialised and depends on how much one pays, it has become difficult to get true justice in the judiciary.

“At any point in time where the judiciary is not working, the society suffers.”