The Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,610 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,600 per dollar last week Friday.

Similarly, the Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,596.6 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1596.6 per dollar from N1,570.14 per dollar last week Friday, indicating N26.46 depreciation for the naira. The volume of dollars traded (turnover) in NAFEM fell by 17.3 percent to $102.93 million from $120.81 million traded last weekend.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rate narrowed to N13.4 per dollar from N29.86 per dollar last weekend.

The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, on Sunday, said underage candidates will no longer be allowed to sit for secondary school leaving examinations.

Mamman stated this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme.

He said the Federal Government has instructed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) which administers the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) which organises the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) to comply with the directive on 18 years age limit for any candidate to be eligible for the two examinations.

Mamman also insisted that the age limit for any candidate to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) remained 18 years.

The minister said, “It is 18 (years). What we did at the meeting that we had with JAMB (in July) was to allow this year and for it to serve as a kind of notice for parents that this year, JAMB will admit students who are below that age but from next year, JAMB is going to insist that anybody applying to go to university in Nigeria meets the required age which is 18.

“For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new policy; this is a policy that has been there for a long time.

“Even basically if you compute the number of years pupils, and learners are supposed to be in school, the number you will end up with is 17 and a half – from early child care to primary school to junior secondary school and then senior secondary school. You will end up with 17 and a half by the time they are ready for admission.

“So, we are not coming up with new policy contrary to what some people are saying; we are just simply reminding people of what is existing.

“In any case, NECO and WAEC, henceforth will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations. In other words, if somebody has not spent the requisite number of years in that particular level of study, WAEC and NECO will not allow them to write the examination.”

The minister went further to give a breakdown of the number of years pupils are expected to spend between child care and senior secondary school.

According to him, early care is expected to last for the first five years. Pupils are expected to begin primary one at the age of six, spend six years in primary school and move to junior secondary school at the age of 12, spend three years, before moving to senior secondary school at the age of 15, to spend three more years and leave for university at the age of 18.

A former National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman has lamented that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is on track to becoming worse than that of the erstwhile administration of Muhammadu Buhari.

He stated that the administration of Buhari was worse than that of former President Goodluck Jonathan, adding that each successive administration has become progressively worse than its predecessor.

Speaking via a statement on Monday, Lukman said that despite the noticeable trend, there is no structured engagements regarding 2027 among leading opposition.

He expressed worry that there was no guarantee that the administration that would take over from Tinubu would not be worse off.

He said, “It is not enough to complain thaut President Asiwaju Tinubu is bad without corresponding initiative to ensure that 2027 results in the defeat of APC at all levels. If APC is defeated in 2027, what is the guarantee that the new government to emerge post President Asiwaju Tinubu will not be worse?

“As Nigerians, we are witnesses of how governments at all levels progressively become worse. With all the confidence many of us had in former President Muhammadu Buhari, arguably his performance failed to meet public expectations, perhaps worse than former President Goodluck Jonathan. Certainly, President Asiwaju Tinubu is on track of becoming worse than former President Buhari.”

German tactician Bruno Labbadia has been appointed the new head coach of the Nigerian men’s national team, the Super Eagles, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Nigeria Football Federation announced the decision to appoint Labbadia early on Tuesday morning following months of searching for a new handler for the former African champions.

In a statement released on their official media space, the NFF confirms that the German gaffer has agreed to take charge of the Super Eagles with immediate effect.

The statement reads: ‘The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that it has reached an agreement with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men National Team, Super Eagles.

‘NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said in the early hours of Tuesday: “The NFF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee to appoint Mr. Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles.

The appointment is with immediate effect.”‘

The Super Eagles had been without a coach since former Ajax winger Finidi George vacated the role following a brief spell in charge.

I was away on vacation for just two weeks only to return to meet fuel queues still on the streets of Nigeria with the fuel stations rationing fuel in Lagos and other parts of the country. It is a big shame, and an embarrassment that the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil cannot refine its own petroleum products. Nigeria has the finest blend of crude- Brent Crude notable for its low sulphur content, but as in everything else, we export the best of our assets, including people, only to buy back the same assets from outsiders. With finished petroleum products, we now import the same petrol that flows in abundance in the creeks of the Niger Delta and the backyard of some people’s ancestors. Reuters reported recently, that NNPC Limited, the sole importer of finished products, enjoying a monopoly in that regard was indebted to gasoline suppliers to the tune of over $6 billion forcing traders to backout, resulting in a scarcity of fuel in the country. Under contract terms, NNPCL is required to pay within 90 days of delivery, failing which the traders collect a late payment compensation of $250, 000 per cargo. So, when Nigeria tenders for fuel, a number of traders now look the other way. Nigeria has no savings to bail it out, instead the government is desperately looking for money. It won’t be long before the Nigerian government begins to tax persons for dying, or having babies or for marrying or engaging in the basic ordinary tasks of living.  In 2023, NNPCL took a loan of $3.3 billion from Afrexim Bank, but it looks like even that has been depleted.  What we are dealing with, those who are familiar with the subject tell us, is simply the failure of policy, the lack of vision at the highest levels and the cumulative effect of the many years of the oil curse. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu worsened the situation. The crisis that non-availability of fuel in the country has now created, with the high cost of living, inflation, loss of time and capital and the widespread angst in the land could have been avoided. We suffer because of Tinubu’s populism, over-excitement and lack of caution. 

On May 29 2023, at his inauguration as President of Nigeria, Tinubu allowed his emotions to get the better part of him when he suddenly announced in his inaugural speech that “fuel subsidy is gone!” Some poorly educated persons in his team must have told him that he should do something radical from the first day, and that after all in Kenya, William Ruto did something radical as soon as he assumed office. Ruto is today rueing the day he caused the tragedy that his exuberance has brought upon him. There may have also been persons around President Tinubu who told him to take a step that would please the IMF and the World Bank, both of which had always argued that Nigeria could not sustain its subsidy regime. What no one told Tinubu was that whereas the removal of fuel subsidy was prescribed in the Petroleum Industry Act of 2023., President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu’s predecessor was happy to claim the credit that it was under his watch that the PIA was passed after 13 years – one of the longest running pieces of legislation in recent times - but he was not willing to implement every aspect of it. Section 205(1) of the PIA states that wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products would be determined by market forces, to encourage competition and private sector investment. As of 2022, almost one naira in every four Naira earned by the Nigerian government was spent on fuel subsidy. Nonetheless, the Buhari administration played smart. It postponed the divine reign of market forces until after 18 months, stating that the removal of fuel subsidy could result in social upheaval, and that the timing would be problematic.  Buhari wilfully disobeyed the same law that he signed. He postponed the evil day and left a booby trap for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who clearly out of over-exuberance on inauguration day proclaimed that “the fuel subsidy is gone”.  His media handlers have said that he was left with no option in the matter, because in any cas,e the extension by the Buhari administration was due to expire. But could Tinubu have considered other options? Could he have chosen the option of a little honeymoon with the Nigerian people? 

The least that he could have done would have been to wait and study the situation and not resort to an impulsive policy making decision to please the Western crowd. The error is not his alone. What happened to the so-called members of the transition, hand-over committee? They should have looked at the situation on the ground and advise the President accordingly.  Buhari thought the removal of fuel subsidy would cause social upheaval, Tinubu’s transition team should have embarked on a rigorous interrogation of why and how Buhari tactfully avoided the storm. He must be laughing at Tinubu in his Daura home. And this is without prejudice to the fact that every economist that I know argued that the fuel subsidy regime was unsustainable. It had become an avenue for corruption and sharp practices, the very reason the Jonathan administration decided in 2012 to deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry. The Mafia, benefitting from the rot in the industry including present occupants in the corridors of power, sabotaged the Jonathan government. They have since eaten their vomit, returning to 2012, and they are shamelessly comfortable about it. In 2012, fuel subsidy gulped just about N1 trillion. Tinubu created a perfect storm by removing fuel subsidy and also abolishing the dual foreign exchange rate at the same time. It is simple common sense. Both moves were populist but the timing and the combination were wrong. Within 15 months, Nigeria is literally on its knees. Between May 2023 and now, the pump price of fuel has gone from N197 per litre to N617 per litre and up to N1, 3000. President Tinubu promised the people that he would renew hope. He told us “e lo fokan bale.” On the contrary. cases of sudden death syndrome have increased. Nigerian youths are fleeing abroad in droves because they cannot find hope in their own country. Nigeria has not even been able to meet its OPEC production quota. When the spot price of Brent goes up as it did during COVID-19, and now in the face of the conflicts in the Middle East, and between Russia and Ukraine, Nigeria is unable to take advantage of given opportunities. The country is also underperforming in Domestic Revenue Generation as the elites in power, after a fashion, are more interested in their own luxury and comfort. The optics are scary. The Tinubu government has left the people in a place of confusion: Fuel subsidy was removed on a whim, without clarity and proper consultation with stakeholders, and apparently no co-ordination with the sub-nationals. 

What I find particularly intriguing is that last week the same Tinubu administration trying to find a way around the fuel scarcity in the country and the fact that fuel now sells for as much as N1, 300 per litre in parts of the country, directed the NNPC to use its 2023 final dividends due to the Federation to pay for petrol subsidy, in other words, the Federal Government wants the payment of dividends to the Federation to be suspended, to boost NNPCL’s cash flow. On its part, NNPCL says it will be unable to remit taxes and royalties to the Federation anyway because of on-going subsidy payments or what it calls “subsidy shortfall and FX differential.” In summary NNPCL says it has been paying subsidy, and the Federal Government says it should pay more. This is enough talk to make anybody have a headache. For, the same Tinubu administration since May 29, 2023, had insisted that there was no fuel subsidy in Nigeria, even when everyone including the IMF reported that fuel subsidy had been re-introduced as far back as December 2023. Nasir el-Rufai and others told us the government had reintroduced fuel subsidy. Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning said this was not true, quoting the PIA, and insisting that in fact the government was saving money from the removal of fuel subsidy, up to about N400 billion monthly. 

The lie is now out in the open.  The minimum that the Tinubu administration can do is stop the continuing cycle of deceit and hypocrisy on the fuel subsidy issue. The deceit should stop. We are in the era of transparency and accountability. The word of the government should be its bond. A government can admit that it made a mistake and it has found cause to change its mind. There is nothing wrong in that. It is not enough for President Tinubu to issue an order to NNPCL directing it to use royalties and dividends due to the Federal Government to manage fuel prices. What is the exact amount that we are talking about? What are the details? For how long? If there has been a change of policy, President Tinubu should be courageous enough to come before Nigerians and use the same energy and enthusiasm with which he pronounced “fuel subsidy is gone” to APOLOGISE to Nigerians, tell them a mistake has been made, and explain how his administration hopes to resolve the problem.   The reason there has been so much turmoil in town is because the people feel betrayed. President Tinubu needs to rebuild public confidence in his administration.  He can start by making the government less ostentatious. He wants the people to make sacrifices. The process must begin with him. He needs to reinvent politics. He must lead by example. The nation needs to know the truth. It is normal to make mistakes. It is nobler to admit one’s errors and seek to make corrections. 

In the face of the fuel scarcity in the land, Nigerians are asking: what is happening to the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna?  It does not require divine intelligence to get the refineries working, but what we are confronted with is an endless circus of lies.  We are told again and again that the refineries will be completed, but we might as well be waiting for Godot. In August 2023, we were confidently informed that Nigeria would restart its four refineries by the end of 2024, so said Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum. We heard the same thing in 2022. Lokpobiri repeated the lie. The Nigerian government should stop telling lies! It is irritating.  Where is the Warri refinery that was supposed to start operation in the first quarter of 2024?  Where is the Port Harcourt refinery that was “technically completed” in December 2023? Dates are set. Deadlines are not met. And we, the people, are supposed to understand that we live in a country where promises are not meant to be kept and leaders can do as they wish, without any explanation.? No. No. No. It is offensive that Nigeria is so blessed with oil and gas resources and all we talk about is crude oil theft, militancy in the Niger Delta and the country’s failure to meet production quota. To all intents and purposes, Nigeria is still dependent on oil resources despite argumentations that the country needs to diversify its economy, and invest more in the non-oil sector. 

There is the unresolved matter of the Dangote Refinery. This was a project that we all prayed for and hoped for to meet local demands for petroleum products and generate competition and investment. In typical Nigeria fashion, a $20 billion worth of investment and the prospect of a pathway to economic regeneration has been reduced to petty stories about Dangote’s personality and identity, with such questions as why would he, a Kano man, set up such a big project in Yorubaland? Or why would anyone allow an extension of Dangote’s monopoly? How much did he contribute to Tinubu’s election campaign in 2023? As if that should matter? Somehow, the excitement over the proposed 650, 000 barrels of petroleum products per day has been abbreviated by typical Nigerian stories. Some kill joys have even tried to de-market the Dangote project.  And then there are others who are saying that Mele Kyari is the problem. Twice on television, I have said clearly that Engr. Kyari is not the problem. In terms of record, he has done much better than his own predecessors. His spokespersons have given us much information about his efforts. I do not intend to be their megaphone, only to add that it is far too simplistic for Nigerians to seek a fall guy for the same problems that could have been easily addressed through long-term visioning. Nigeria waits for you. While you are busy doing your own thing, trying to make an impact, Nigerians have a good habit of waiting till you get to a significant moment and they would pounce on you, to destroy your dream. We must all be careful not to turn this country into a hostile environment for talent, creativity and good citizenship.  Tinubu has a duty not only to fix the loopholes, but also to embark on an urgent national project of moral regeneration. There is too much toxicity in this land. 

I end this piece knowing that the fuel queues are still out there. NNPCL has given the excuse of distribution challenges and weather conditions, but can they tell us another story please? Even in countries with the most extreme weather conditions, they have fuel at their filling stations. And how about distribution challenges? A government that is determined to help and serve the people will find the political will to address those challenges whatever their colour or shape. There is no limit to how far a government can go to deceive the people, but there is certainly a limit to the people’s anger and frustration. President Tinubu should know this.  

The President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, has called on President Bola Tinubu to revisit his economic policies, noting that Nigerians are no longer at ease with them.

DAILY POST reports that Ugorji, who is also the Archbishop of Owerri, stated that the economic policies put in place by President Tinubu have caused Nigerians more harm than good.

He made the call on Sunday while delivering his welcome address at the opening session of the 2024 Second Plenary Assembly of the CBCN held in Auchi, Edo State.

He said the socio-economic problems of the nation were unmistakably beyond what economic reforms alone can effectively resolve, no matter how well thought-out and how meticulously implemented.

Most Rev. Ugorji, who opined that it seemed that the policies were no longer working, however, advocated for the return to a regional system of government to checkmate corruption and put the nation at the right footing.

He said the calls to return to the regional system was because the problems in the country have gone beyond mere economic reforms.

“When all is said and done, we must admit that the cost of running our military imposed presidential system of government with so many elected officials assisted by numerous support staff is staggering and unsustainable.

“We must also acknowledge that the corruption level of many Nigerian politicians have gone beyond scale and measure and that controlling our national resources at the federal government level creates more opportunities for corruption to flourish.

“Having experimented on the presidential system of government for over 25 years and having groped in the dark in search of solutions to our socio-economic problems, now seems to be the opportune time to heed the advice of some of our best minds canvassing for our return to the former regional system of government as envisaged by the founding fathers of our nation or devolve power to the present six geo-political zones”, he said.

The Archbishop, who said the bishops acknowledged the feats enumerated by President Bola Tinubu on his 4th of August speech, noted that they cannot fail to admit that the present state of the nation was worrisome.

He listed the numerous problems bedeviling the nation to include increased debt burden of $2.25 billion loan facility from the World Bank in June 2024, with a repayment period of 40 years.

He said the debt increased the nation’s public debt profile by 2.46 percent to $93.7 billion.

Ugorji also listed multiple taxation, hunger and hardship induced by insecurity as the major challenges faced by the citizens.

He posited that proactive steps must be taken urgently to address the situation before it snowballed into a huge crisis.

Earlier in his homily, Most Rev. Fr. Gabriel Dunia, Bishop of Auchi Diocese, called on those in authority not to lord it over those whom they have been called to serve.

Dunia noted that the led must know that they were duty bound to respect those in authorities because God had placed them there to lead

He contended that banditry, corruption, and bad governance can come to an end through fasting and prayers.

The Bishop of Auchi Diocese, who disagreed with the insinuation that God has stopped hearing the prayers of His people, assured that He hears but that Nigerians have to pray more.

He explained that the bishops were in Auchi to pray for the country and that they believed that God in His infinite mercy would turn the fortune of the country around for good.

The Federal Government has said it is practically impossible to put an end to the twin challenges of petrol smuggling and oil theft.

It disclosed that the problems are caused by the products subsidy and corroded expired pipelines.

Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri made the disclosure at the just-concluded Energy and Labour Summit 2024 organised by Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria in Abuja.

According to him, fuel smuggling from Nigeria to neighboring West African countries continues to thrive because the Nigerian Petroleum Company Limited sells the product below the landing cost.

“Nigeria plays a very critical role in the energy security in Africa. That is why whatever PMS we import into Nigeria finds its way to the whole of West Africa. That is why smuggling cannot stop”, he said.

He added, “If NNPC imports PMS and sells to marketers at perhaps N600 or below, there’s no way that smuggling can stop”.

Speaking further on the menace of pipeline vandalism and oil theft, Lokpobiri said that most of the country’s crude oil pipelines were too old and worn out.

“The reason why pipeline vandalism is very easy to do is that the pipelines have all expired; they completely corroded and so, anybody can just go and tap it and the thing is busted.

“But there are better technologies which are more expensive, there are better pipelines that other people are using in other countries, but they are not cheap, We also need to change our model”, he stated.

Consequently, Lokpobiri called for public-private partnerships to fix the old pipelines.

“That is why we have to go for the global model – PPP. We have to get the private sector to come in”, he said.

In July, Nigeria Customs intercepted and confiscated a total of 41,425 liters of petrol from smugglers operating in the country’s border.

Recently, NNPCL announced that it destroyed dozens of illicit oil pipeline connections and uncovered 63 illegal refineries in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Controversial Nigerian crossdresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, has stirred up new discussions online with his claim of having fed 2,500 inmates during his time in prison.

In a recent post, Bobrisky shared details of his experiences and the unexpected acts of kindness he extended to fellow inmates

According to Bobrisky, he went to great lengths to support the 2,500 inmates at Kirikiri prison.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Bobrisky revealed that he arranged a large donation consisting of five giant cows, ten bags of rice, and five baskets of tomatoes to provide meals for the prisoners.

Bobrisky also mentioned that he distributed money to the inmates. He expressed his heartbreak over the poor conditions in Kirikiri prison and shared images of the cows he had purchased during his imprisonment.

This revelation has come amid recent criticism from VDM, who condemned celebrities like Don Jazzy and Funke Akindele for their financial support towards Bobrisky, calling their contributions “disgusting.”

The Naira depreciated by N72.58 against the dollar as Foreign Exchange turnover transactions hit $7.39 billion at the close of the official trading window in July 2024 compared to June.

This is according to the FMDQ financial market report in the period under review.

In Naira terms, the country’s FX turnover stood at N11.48 trillion in July, which is higher than N10.01tn that was traded in the previous month.

In dollar terms, FX market turnover in July recorded a 10.02 percent ($0.67bn) month-on-month increase from $6.72bn in the prior month.

Similarly, the naira depreciated against the dollar, with the spot exchange rate increasing by 4.88 percent to close at an average of 1,560.32 per dollar in July from 1,487.74 per dollar in June.

The implication is that the exchange rate volatility also increased in July as the local currency traded around N1,500.32 – 1,621.12 per dollar compared to N1,473.66 – N1,510.10 per dollar recorded in June 2024.

This comes as the value of the Naira to the dollar appreciated by 62 basis points to N1570.14 per dollar to close last week at the official market.

Meanwhile, the turnover stood at $120.81 million with an intra-day high and low of N1606 per dollar and N1496 per dollar, respectively.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Business Expectations Survey report released last week shows Naira depreciation against the dollar in the next three months, but expects appreciation in six months.

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.”