Nigeria is the second most cyber-secure African country for business in 2023, according to recent research by a leading application security company, Indusface.
Recent research has shown that 68% of high-revenue growth companies have embraced a hybrid model worldwide. With businesses enjoying remote or hybrid working, benefits including reduced maintenance costs, improved flexibility and extended talent pool, cyber security awareness has become more critical than ever.
With this in mind, Indusface said it reviewed the most secure countries for businesses to allow their employees to work from, by creating an index score based on cybersecurity data including DDOS attacks, phishing sites, Malware hosting sites and compromised computers.
Nigeria came second with an index score of 74.68 and the lowest number of compromised computers per 100,000 internet users in all African countries reviewed.
Computers that have been infected with the Gamarue botnet open doors to hackers and make it easier for them to take control of your business data and devices. Nigeria also has the fourth lowest DDOS attacks among all African countries reviewed, with an average of 21 attacks per 100,000 internet users.
With an astonishing average of 5,588 compromised computers per 100,00 internet users, Tunisia ranks as the least cyber-secure African country with a cyber security index score of only 50.92.
In its report, Indusface found out that Senegal is crowned the most secure African country for businesses to allow employees to remotely work from, with a cyber security score of 78.09 out of 100. The country has the lowest number of DDOS attacks in Africa (9) from 2015 to 2021 as well as the fewest phishing sites per 100,000 URLs (80) compared to all other African countries reviewed, making businesses less worried about sensitive information being stolen.
The most cyber-secure countries in the world, according to the security company, are Honduras, South Korea, and Japan. [data] The most secure countries to work from in 2023
Below is the list of the top 8 most cyber-secure African countries in the world:
|
Africa Rank |
Country |
DDOS attacks per 100,000 Internet Users |
Phishing sites per 100,000 urls |
Malware hosting sites per 100,000 urls |
Compromised computers per 100,000 internet users |
Cyber security index score (/100) |
|
1 |
Senegal |
9 |
80 |
1,000 |
1,023 |
78.09 |
|
2 |
Nigeria |
21 |
570 |
970 |
62 |
74.68 |
|
3 |
Egypt |
12 |
150 |
1,030 |
1,622 |
72.85 |
|
4 |
Morocco |
35 |
500 |
1,000 |
1,603 |
66.01 |
|
5 |
Algeria |
17 |
310 |
1,170 |
3,262 |
65.33 |
|
6 |
South Africa |
69 |
940 |
840 |
446 |
62.23 |
|
7 |
Kenya |
600 |
350 |
870 |
620 |
57.38 |
|
8 |
Tunisia |
429 |
310 |
930 |
5,588 |
50.92 |
Vice President Kashim Shettima has decorated the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The brief decoration ceremony was performed jointly with the spouse of the new Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mrs Egbetokun.
The event was witnessed by senior government officials, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume; Imo Governor, who is also the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodinma;
Others are the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu and the outgoing Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba.
On 18 June, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777-200 (registered PH-BQI) operated flight KL588 between Lagos, Nigeria and Amsterdam Schiphol, The Netherlands. While flying over the Mediterranean Sea, the pilots diverted to the airport of Barcelona in Spain.
One of the passengers started labour, and delivered her baby in one of the galleys of the aircraft, much to the delight of passengers and crew.
Spanish air traffic control guided the aircraft down towards runway 02 of Barcelona Airport where the aircraft safely landed. “Both mother and baby are doing well,” air traffic control tweeted, and wished them a speedy recovery.
A few hours later, the aircraft departed for Amsterdam, where it landed with a delay of two hours and twenty minutes.
“Wonderful handling of both the emergency landing in Barcelona plus the baby delivery by KLM crew + medical staff at El Prat airport! Both mother and newborn are safe! We went on to AMS and now heading back home in Madrid,” passenger and Pablo Ruiz-Múzquiz wrote on his social media channel.
Vuelo de Lagos a Ámsterdam se desvía de urgencia esta madrugada a #Barcelona por pasajera en avanzado estado de gestación que se ha puesto de parto. Le facilitamos descenso y maniobra de aproximación a pista 02 mientras coordinamos con el aeropuerto la atención médica. Según nos… pic.twitter.com/wBgF6fZf2u
— ????Controladores Aéreos ???????? (@controladores) June 19, 2023
Caption for image is "Oh! Premature baby incoming!" Wonderful handling of both the emergency landing in Barcelona plus the baby delivery by @KLM crew + medical staff at El Prat airport! Both mother and newborn are safe! We went on to AMS and now heading back home in Madrid pic.twitter.com/tDSldv78tm
— Pablo Ruiz-Múzquiz (@diacritica) June 19, 2023
[aviation24.be]
The boards of at least 14 agencies pulled through Monday’s sweeping shake-up aborting the tenure of the top hierarchies of the Nigerian Government’s agencies, parastatals, institutions and state-owned companies.
President Bola Tinubu’s directive to dissolve the apex decision-making organs of the establishments falls within the ambit “of his Constitutional Powers and in the Public interest,” said the government in a statement Monday night.
The rejig continues a chain of leadership changes in major government institutions since the president assumed power barely three weeks ago.
Godwin Emefiele, the central bank governor, was asked to vacate his seat on 9 May to allow the government to start a probe into the operations of the apex bank under his watch. The State Security Service has since detained Mr Emefiele.
Folashodun Shonubi, the bank’s deputy governor overseeing the operations directorate, has been acting in his stead.
On Thursday, Abdulrasheed Bawa, chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was suspended, later presenting himself to the secret police for questioning.
President Tinubu will temporarily handle issues that, ordinarily, members of the dissolved boards were duty-bound to treat until new boards are in place, the statement said.
Such matters will reach the president via the permanent secretaries “of their respective supervisory Ministries and Offices,” the statement added.
The dissolution does not, however, affect boards, commissions and councils listed in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
PREMIUM TIMES presents the list of the identified boards, commissions and councils, featuring in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution as amended.
They include:
(a) Code of Conduct Bureau;
(b) Council of State;
(c) Federal Character Commission;
(d) Federal Civil Service Commission;
(e) Federal Judicial Service Commission;
(f) Independent National Electoral Commission;
(g) National Defence Council;
(h) National Economic Council;
(i) National Judicial Council;
(j) National Population Commission;
(k) National Security Council;
(l) Nigeria Police Council;
(m) Police Service Commission; and
(n) Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission
[Premium Times]
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund said it has shortlisted over 5,000 applicants nationwide for the award of scholarships for the 2023/2024 academic session overseas scheme.
The Head, Oversees Scholarship Scheme in the PTDF, Mrs Bolanle Kehinde-Agboola revealed this on Monday at a selected interview exercise for the shortlisted candidates for MSc and PhD postgraduate programmes.
According to her, the selection interview was in continuation of the application process which commenced on February 13, 2023, through publications in some national newspapers, inviting qualified Nigerians to apply.
“What is happening here today is the interview for the award of scholarship to Nigerians for the 2023/2024 academic session.
“We have shortlisted over 5,000 applicants to partake in the exercise which is going on in the six geo-political zones.
“The first criteria is that you must be a Nigerian. For the master’s programme the applicant must be a student of any of the oil and gas fields like engineering, geology, computer sciences, environmental sciences and management.
“You must have a minimum of second-class upper in any of these fields for you to be qualified,’’ she said.
Kehinde-Agboola also said the process of applying for the exercise was that the agency would open the application windows at the end of the year for candidates to apply.
She further added that PTDF was an agency charged with the capacity to strengthen and develop the oil and gas sector, indicating that the essence of the programme was to train those who would bring innovation into the sector.
She added that the aim of the exercise was also to offer the applicants the necessary skills required to function effectively in the industry.
“The candidates are sent abroad to study the relevant skills. This scholarship scheme is running in the United Kingdom, while “we also have what is called strategic partnership in France, Germany, Malaysia and China.
“This scholarship interview scheme will run for one week nationwide and the number of successful applicants depends on its budget for this year.
“The agency has two types of collaborations in this programme, the United Kingdom collaboration and the strategic partnership collaboration.”
[Punch]
Retired police intelligence officer, Nuhu Ribadu was appointed as the new National Security Adviser (NSA) to replace Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd).
Naija News reports that Ribadu was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu initially as a Special Adviser on Security but his position was upgraded yesterday to the NSA.
Meet the new NSA:
Nuhu Ribadu was born in Yola, Adamawa State, on 21 November, 1960.
He attended Aliyu Mustapha Primary School, Yola from 1966 to 1973 and Yelwa Government Secondary School, Yola from 1973-1977. Between 1978 and 1980, Mr Ribadu was at the College of Preliminary Studies, CPS, Yola, for his A-level studies.
In 1980, he gained admission to study law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1983. He graduated from the Nigerian Law School and was called to the bar in 1984. He joined the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) immediately after his national youth service.
Ribadu holds an LLM degree with emphasis on the jurisprudence of corruption in Nigeria from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. In 2008, he was at the Harvard Business School where he did a programme on the strategic management of law enforcement agencies.
Ribadu became a household name in Nigeria and beyond on account of his glorious public service record and personal integrity. A trained lawyer and fearless crime fighter, Ribadu has carved a niche for himself as someone who is patriotic, passionate, honest, courageous and compassionate.
He is the pioneer Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the government commission tasked with countering corruption and fraud which he literally transformed into one of the most effective and renowned anti-graft agencies in modern history. Yet, his major contribution to the anti-corruption crusade was his selflessness, resilience and exemplary conduct in his spirited fight against the cankerworm.
With uncommon commitment and dedication to duty, Mr Ribadu worked assiduously to clean the Augean stable created by graft and fraud, Premium Times report.
He courageously brought to book hundreds of fraudsters, scores of high profile looters and economic saboteurs in spite of temptation, booby traps and threats to life.
In three years, the EFCC, under his leadership, built the now most celebrated Crimes Training and Research Institute in the West African region. The agency also recorded over 200 criminal convictions under his leadership.
In acknowledgement of these rare achievements, Mr Ribadu was promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), in March 2007. The African Union (AU) put him on its advisory board on anti-corruption matters; and he was invited to join the advisory board of the Friends of the World Bank/UNODC initiative on Stolen Asset Recovery.
Ribadu is a recipient of several awards as a police officer, prosecutor and chairman of the EFCC. He received the Inspector General of Police Awards in 1997, 1998 and 2000, and the Special Commendation of the President in 2005, for the successful prosecution of several advanced fee fraud cases, banking fraud and sundry economic crimes. He was also specially commended by the Accountant General of the Federation for successfully prosecuting some corrupt public servants in 1999.
Since 2004, notable newspapers and magazines in Nigeria have repeatedly voted Mr Ribadu as Man of the Year, in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a committed crusader against corruption and other related crimes.
In 2008, Ribadu completed the senior executive course of the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies where he was conferred with the Membership of the National Institute, MNI. In June 2010, Mr Ribadu was awarded the Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by the Babcock University, Ogun State, in recognition of his “resolute courage” as well as his “fierce stance against corruption in the face of sponsored disgrace and certain death that has resulted into positive changes and global acclaim hitherto considered impossible.”
In 2012, Ribadu left a United Nations assignment in Afghanistan to take up a special inquest into government’s revenue from the oil sector, an assignment he handled with his characteristic passion and dexterity, turning in a report that has since become a reference point on reforming Nigeria’s oil industry.
In his quest for higher call to service, Mr Ribadu has since 2010 been involved in active politics. He was named NSA today, 19 June, 2023, days after he was appointed the security adviser, security, to the president.
The disclosure by the immediate past Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike that he was poisoned at the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been faulted by Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 PDP presidential candidate.
According to Shaibu, the failure of Wike’s kidney and liver as revealed by the former Governor is a result of excessive alcohol drinking and not food poisoning.
Naija News recalls Wike during a special Thanksgiving service on Sunday organized by his family at the St. Peters Deanery, Rumuepirikom, Obio-Akpor alleged that he was poisoned at the PDP secretariat in 2018, resulting in the failure of his liver and kidney.
He added that he had to be flown out of the country for medical attention in order to save his life.
However, Shaibu disagreed with Wike’s submission, positing rather that the former Governor’s love for alcohol, particularly whiskey is what was responsible for his health challenges.
“Governor Wike has always been open about his intense and indubitable love for whiskey. He even said back in March that he was sipping a 40-year-old whiskey with his friends while watching Atiku and others protesting on TV at 11 am.
“Governor Wike has also been seen drinking and dancing in videos, including one he did with former Governor Rochas Okorocha. If Wike was indeed poisoned and his organs failed, he ought to be a teetotaller by now and reduce his drinking.
“I am not a medical doctor, but it is general knowledge that excessive alcohol consumption leads to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, digestive problems; and cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, oesophagus, voice box, liver, colon and rectum,” he said.
Shaibu called on Wike to stop blaming food poisoning but accept his love for alcohol is responsible for his organ failure including his hoarse voice.
“Other ailments associated with excessive drinking include: weakening of the immune system, increasing the chances of getting sick; learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor sexual performance. Wike should look inwards. Let us assume that he was poisoned by food. Was his hoarse and husky voice also caused by food poisoning?” Atiku’s aide submitted.
Sokoto governor, Ahmad Aliyu has disguised himself and visited the State Specialist Hospital to ascertain the quality of services provided to residents.
The governor’s press secretary Abubakar Bawa in a statement on Monday, disclosed that the governor’s decision to visit the facility unannounced follow a series of concerns raised by Sokoto residents over poor service delivery.
The statement added that other concerns that forced the governor to visit the hospital were dilapidated structures, erratic power supply, shortage of staff, and lack of functional medical equipment, among others.
The governor visited the hospital in a tricycle to get first-hand information from its workers.
“I was surprised with what I saw during my visit to the hospital, which lasted for four hours; it afforded me the opportunity to see things for myself,” Mr Aliyu explained.
“Patients and their relatives are subjected to all kinds of hazardous situations owing to the dirty environment and lack of functional equipment in the medical facility.”
The Sokoto governor added, “Patient relatives rely solely on their personal alternative source of power due to the erratic electricity supply in the hospital. Therefore, I have directed the management of the hospital to see me for further discussion on how to remedy the situation.”
The poor state of things at the hospital may not be unconnected with the inability of past administrations to release the monthly allocations due to the hospital.
Sierra Leone’s Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion (ICPNC) and the Political Party Registration Commission (PPRC) held a joint peace meeting in Freetown on Monday 19th June to address complaints by the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) against the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) and security forces, ahead of the 24th June presidential and parliamentary elections.
At the meeting attended by senior officials of the four bodies, as well as top national security figures, diplomats and Election Observers from ECOWAS, AU, Commonwealth, and the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, APC’s deputy leader Dr Richard Konteh, alongside other party officials, listed the party’s areas of complaint to include the ECSL’s Voters Register, Results management system, District level certification and Early voting.
The APC officials claimed that there were duplication of names and under-age voters in the Register, with the majority from the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party’s (SLPP) strongholds, while in some cases the Register only had “the voters’ names and photographs without identification numbers or other details.”
Consequently, the APC “demands an audit of the Voters Register by an independent firm.”
The party also questioned the “eligibility of (ECSL) Commissioners,” and further complained about “violence against APC candidates and supporters, including its presidential candidate and running mate,” as well as attacks on the party’s offices.
In his response, the ECSL Chair Mohammed Konneh said most of the issues raised by the APC had been addressed in the past and appealed for understanding to enable the electoral process to proceed.
He disclosed that the Commission received on Monday the ballot papers for the elections after a delay of the cargo flight from South Africa.
In their interventions, the ICPNC Chair Rev. Shodankeh Johnson and his PPRC counterpart Abdulai Bangura appealed for restraint, but at the same time called for “frank and honest dialogue” for amicable reconciliation and resolution of the issues.
After a closed-door session, Rev Johnson announced that a smaller group of representatives of the four bodies should continue the peace meeting on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, ECOWAS’ Long-Term Observers were deployed to Sierra Leone’s 16 districts on Monday, with those in urban Freetown attending a Police-Media Dialogue on Elections organised by the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG).
Issues covered at the meeting included Police-Media Relations, Challenges and Opportunities for Collaboration on Election Coverage, Police Preparations toward ensuring peaceful elections; Election Coverage: Rights and Responsibilities of Journalists and Ensuring Journalists’ Safety and Security during Elections.
At a separate meeting, the ECOWAS Observers were briefed by officials of the MRCG, Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and the Independent Media Commission (IMC) on the country’s media landscape, ownership, regulation, the status of media freedom, the impact of social media and cybercrimes, and the role of the media in national elections.
The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, has called for a lasting partnership with the National Productivity Centre (NPC) towards the implementation of the Performance Management System in order to promote employees’ accountability in the area of delivery of service.
She made the appeal yesterday, in Abuja, while receiving the National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) from the Director General, NPC, Dr. Raji Mustapha in recognition of her contributions to the growth and development of the Federal Civil Service.
She expressed happiness in becoming the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation at a time when the system was ready for change, stressing on the importance of working together with the NPC on the ongoing implementation of PMS, which she termed as a big task that would instill a culture of productivity and allow a worker to access his work based on given targets, away from the norm of workers getting promoted without working for it.
She expressed joy that the NPC was working towards linking productivity with wages, adding that it would help in measuring workers who really deserve salary increment so as to curb the continuous clamour for increment without commensurate work to show for it. The HoS indicated the willingness of her office to assist in the needed areas.
Speaking earlier at the award ceremony, Mustapha praised efforts of the HoS in bringing creativity to bear on the Service.
He similarly hinted the HoS of the ongoing plan by the centre to come up with a Productivity Wage Link System, aimed at linking the productivity of workers with their wages, adding that it is at a completion stage and that a report would be sent to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), when completed.
While presenting the award to Dr. Yemi-Esan, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ms. Kachallom Daju, lauded her for initiating laudable reforms in the Service.
[Thisday]
More...
The Director, Media and Publicity of the defunct Tinubu-Shettima Campaign Organisation, Bayo Onanuga, has said the appointment of new Service Chiefs by President Bola Tinubu was not based on nepotism.
He made this clarification on Monday through his official Twitter handle.
Recall that Tinubu sacked all service chiefs on Monday and appointed their replacements.
Reacting to claims of nepotism, Onanuga stated that Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff, is from South East – Enugu, and Maj. Gen. EPA Undiandeye, Chief of Defense Intelligence, hails from South South – Obudu, Cross River State.
He said the appointments spread across the major geo-political zones in the country.
“Here is a breakdown of the state/region of service chiefs 1 Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser (North-Adamawa), 2. Maj. Gen. C.G Musa Chief of Defence Staff (North-Southern Kaduna), 3. Maj.Gen. Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja Chief of Army Staff (South West), 4. Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla Chief of Naval Staff (South East-Enugu), 5. AVM H.B Abubakar Chief of Air Staff (North), 6. DIG Kayode Egbetokun Acting Inspector-General of Police (South West), 7. Maj. Gen. EPA Undiandeye Chief of Defense Intelligence (South-South- Obudu Cross River State). For those accusing the Tinubu government of nepotism, the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, is from Igbo Eze North LGA of Enugu State. The Chief of Intelligence is from Cross River. Critics should try to dig for information before rushing to judgment”, he wrote.
[DailyPost]
President Bola Tinubu on Monday took steps to stop ship owners from withdrawing their vessels over what they see as excessive bank charges.
Reports had suggested that at least two ship-owners said they were keeping their vessels away from Nigeria after a series of multimillion-dollar tax bills were sent out, seeking to recover back unpaid duties from 2010 to 2019.
The Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Zacheus Adedeji, led government officials in an interactive session with shipping stakeholders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he warned that Nigeria cannot afford not to have vessels move in and out of the country.
Speaking to correspondents after the meeting, he allayed the fears of the stakeholders within the oil and gas sector, spelling out the agreement reached to avert vessel withdrawal so as not to disrupt the flow of products.
He said the problem arose from the demand notice to the vessel owners issued in accordance with extant tax laws to make their remittances.
The presidential aide assured that a technical committee has been set up to resolve the issues in contention.
He noted that no vessel would be arrested or detained as the committee works to reconcile the back taxes.
Adedeji, however, warned that Nigeria would not succumb to blackmail as its laws must be obeyed.
He stated: “So, we have agreed to resolve this issue. And what is the issue? There was a demand notice, which was issued to the vessel owners or chattered, as it were, which is in accordance with the Nigerian tax law, that they should remit the tax deal to them for the last ten years and that there were concerns about the timing of compliance or afraid of the enforcement.
“So, we’ve now resolved within ourselves to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, just to make sure that we don’t affect the flow of the products, in and outside the country.
“We also made it clear that Nigeria will not accept any blackmail by defaulters who are not complying with our laws. We have laws, and the laws must be respected and obeyed.
“However, we will not detain or arrest any defaulting ship or vessel because this is what is causing panic.
“We’ve sent them demand notice, and then they’ve also come, and the agreement is that we should give them time. So, we’ve agreed to set up a technical committee to resolve these issues.
“The technical committee will comprise the regulator, which is NUPRC, NMDRA, NNPC, Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Presidency, in the Office of Chief of Staff, SA Energy and SA Revenue, and the Secretariat will be the Federal Inland Revenue.
“The technical committee will look at the concerns and reconcile the back taxes and set a process that will ensure compliance going forward.
“So, we’ve agreed to give the parties three months to come to the conclusion, and we will also give a grace period of six months, when we will not enforce any of these laws, just to allow for reconciliation.
“In essence, no vessel or ship will be detained or delayed. So, we give this six months break for them so that they can reconcile with this technical committee that we set up.
“Nigeria, as you know, is open for business, and we are business-friendly, as you’ve seen from what we’re doing and what we will do.
“So, we are open, but that is not to say that anybody will take advantage of the country. We have the law, and the law must be respected.”
Meanwhile, six companies have received approval to import petroleum products in the month of July.
The Managing Director of Nigeria Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDRA), Farouk Ahmed, revealed this to correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.
He said apart from the six, several companies applied for permits to import petroleum in due course.
Ahmed also debunked the insinuation that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had given approval to the Dangote Group to import petroleum, saying that the company has no power to give such approval.
The Managing Director stated: “There are several companies that applied for a fuel importation permit. So, you can apply for importation to get access to the port. And by the way, we are open to all those who are interested in importing.
“We have guidelines which are not very stringent because we’re trying to encourage importation.
“There are six companies who said they want to import fuel in July. Of course, all the others may import in December, November, or anytime but for those who expressed interest to bring in fuel in July, there were six of them as of this morning.
“The beauty of it is that there are interests which means that they have been able to have access to foreign exchange in order to import.
“Now, as we go along, of course, we’ll be briefing you on the progress or the achievements so far, but the important thing is that NNPC has 30 days of fuel sufficiency, so we do not anticipate any gap in supply or in distribution.”
[Tribune]
Palm Oil imports from Malaysia – a top global producer to Nigeria have surged by 353 per cent in the first four months of 2023 despite local players ramping up production, data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Council shows.
The Nigeria’s palm oil import from Malaysia increased to 92,961 metric tons (MT) between January-April 2023, from 20,513 MT in the corresponding period of 2022, indicating a 72,448 MT increase.
In 2022, the country imported 227,035 MT of palm oil from Malaysia.
Despite moves by the government, in listing crude palm oil alongside other 40 items restricted from forex access, and closing the Nigerian borders, oil palm imports into the country are still on the rise owing to the huge demand-supply gap, according to experts.
“Nigeria’s oil palm imports from Malaysia will continue to increase for the time being because our investment in the industry is still very insignificant,” managing director, Palmtrade and Commodities Development Nigeria Ltd, Henry Olatujoye, said according to reports by BusinessDay.
“We estimated that our local/domestic consumption is averaging 2.4 million tons in a year, and our first-class developers – Okomu, Presco, and others, do not annually produce up to 800,000 tons.
[Leadership]
Federal Government, on Monday, confirmed that it had commenced the implementation of the payment of 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax on Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel.
Officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and Federal Inland Revenue Service confirmed this in Abuja, stressing that AGO was not exempted from the payment of VAT based on the VAT Modification Order 2021.
The development was, however, condemned by Nigerians, who pointed out that citizens were still trying to adjust to the hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, not knowing that plans had been perfected to further raise payments for diesel.
When asked by our correspondent if the NCS was now collecting 7.5 per cent VAT on the imports of AGO, the spokesperson for the service, Abdullahi Maiwada, replied, “Yes.”
He continued, “If you ask me whether Customs collects 7.5 per cent VAT on AGO, I will tell you yes and I’ll give you the reasons. There’s what we call VAT Modification Order 2021, which exempts petroleum products of Harmonised System Codes.
“But the HS Codes for Petroleum products that are exempted from paying VAT are those in the region of 2709.00.00.00 – 2710.19.12.00. The HS Codes are what we use to classify commodities. But AGO is classified under HS Code 2710.19.21.00, which is not exempted from the payment of VAT. Now, this is based on the VAT Modification Order 2021.”
An official of the FIRS, Tobi Wojuola, also confirmed the development, stressing that it was the position of the VAT Modification Order.
“The position of the VAT Modification Order 2021 is that VAT is chargeable on diesel,” he told our correspondent in Abuja.
In a letter from the NCS to some of its personnel, on the matter, with reference: NCS/T&T/T/899/217/VOL.I, sighted in Abuja, and dated June 8, 2023, the service made it clear that VAT must be paid on diesel.
The letter was signed by the Assistant Comptroller-General (Tariff and Trade), Mba Musa, on behalf of the Deputy Comptroller-General (Taritf and Trade).
[It read in part, “I am directed to forward a letter from Federal Inland Revenue Service on the above subject matter. The VAT Modification order 2021 only exempts petroleum products of HS codes 2709.00.00.00 – 2710.19.12.00 from payment of VAT. AGO or diesel falls classifiable under HS Code 2710.19.21.00 and is not exempted from paying VAT.
“Subsequent upon the above, all future importations of the product should assess and pay VAT at the point of entry into the country. Also note that AGO or diesel are not exempted from destination inspection or import guidelines and as such are expected to process Form M and PAAR as well as make declarations appropriately in the NICIS II system.
“A copy of the letter from FIRS is attached for your information. Take note and be guided accordingly, please.”
Nigerians groan:
Nigerians lamented the effects of the introduction of the 7.5 per cent Value-Added Tax on the price of diesel.
This comes barely a month after President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidy on petrol during his inaugural speech on May 29, raising the price of PMS from N188 to about N580 in different states of the federation.
Recall that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, announced that the Finance Act 2020 raised the previous five per cent VAT of the country to 7.5 per cent on commodities including automobile gas oil and it was implemented on February 20, 2020.
But the VAT-exempt items include honey, bread, cereals, cooking oils, culinary herbs, fish, flour, starch, fruits, meat, poultry, milk, nuts, pulses, roots, salt, vegetables, water, sanitary pads, tampons, tertiary, secondary, primary and nursery tuition.
While other commodities have been VAT-compliant, diesel was not until recently.
However, the new development has hit Nigerians hard, as many have called for an utmost review of it, especially because of the recent removal of fuel subsidies.
A Twitter user, Ingawa said, “That means for every litre of AGO you will buy, you have to pay 7.5 per cent VAT of the pump price. For example; If one litre of AGO is N650 at the filling station, then you have to pay an additional N48.75 being payment for 7.5 per cent VAT. The total price per litre will be N698.75 per litre.”
Another user, Angry Non-Nigerian, said, “When Tinubu said ‘widen the tax net, you people thought he was joking. The only thing that man knows is tax, tax and tax. As Lagosians.”
One Oyo said, “The Citizens will be the main IGR for this government. There is no single move to cut the cost of government from the Senate to the House to other departments.
“They went to education first by trying to add tuition fees, now 7.5 per cent VAT on PMS. Everything directly to the common man.”
[Punch]