Nigeria has cleared a backlog of its annual contribution to the World Trade Organisation, WTO, from 2019 to 2022.
The new director-general of WTO Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made this disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja during a meeting with finance minister Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed.
Nigeria did not only clear the areas of 2019; it paid for 2020 and 2021 and paid in advance for 2022, Okonjo-Iweala said.
Though the former finance minister did not disclose the amount paid by Nigeria to clear the outstanding fees, contributions to WTO are determined according to each member’s share of international trade (percentage) based on trade in goods, services and intellectual property rights.
There is a minimum contribution of 0.015 percent for members whose share in all members’ total trade is less than 0.015 percent. WTO record shows that Nigeria’s trade share among member-states has never declined to that level.
According to the WTO record between 2015 and 2020, Nigeria has contributed a total of CHF4,306,865 (N1.8 billion) to the WTO.
Nigeria, recognised as the strongest economy in Africa, contributed CFH 586,500 in 2020, CFH 656,880 in 2019, CFH 742,900 in 2018, CFH 785,910 in 2017, CFH 752,675 in 2016, and CFH 782,000 in 2015.
The amount contributed in 2020 and 2015 shows that Nigeria’s share of international trade has dropped by 25 percent in the last five years.
In the third quarter of 2020, Nigeria economy slid into recession with a decline of 3.6 percent, leading to the second recession in five years.
Though the economy exited recession in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s recovery is expected to be weak and gradual under current policies, the IMF has predicted.
“Real GDP growth in 2021 is expected to turn positive at 1.5 percent. Real GDP is expected to recover to its pre-pandemic level only in 2022”, say Ari Aisen, Jesmin Rahman and Jiaxiong Yao of the IMF, African Department.
TO the surprise of many Nigerians, Babangana Monguno, national security adviser, in an interview last Friday, said money meant for arms were missing under the tenure of former service chiefs. Hours later, he recanted his words in a statement from his office.
As denial shrouds the truth about the missing funds and arms, The ICIR chronicles some occasions where military officers demanded better arms or openly showed concerns about lack of arms and ammunition during the tenure of the former service chiefs.
President Muhammadu Buhari had, on several occasions, emphasised his administration’s commitment to properly equip the military. Putting some of his plans to action, he approved $1 billion for the purchase of military equipment, but Nigerian military officers still lamented lack of adequate weapons after the approval.
Seven months after the approval of the funds, Nigerian soldiers in Metele, Borno State, made a video crying that they were being killed due to lack of proper weapons to fight the insurgents in the region.
While filming the video, a man who spoke as one of the soldiers in the state, called for the intervention of the federal government, saying “these people (insurgents) are killing us.”
Less than a year after, amidst the fierce fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group in Borno State where thousands have been killed and hundreds displaced, a viral video emerged in January 2019, showing Nigerian soldiers pushing an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) as part of efforts to jumpstart it.
The voice in the background of the video encouraged the soldiers to push the armoured tank while lamenting the state of the Nigerian Army.
“Nigerian Army, there is problem o,” the voice said.
See what our soldiers are facing in Borno. Buhari and his inept Government have abandoned these young men to suffer to death. Kai! pic.twitter.com/3eCzVqvFYa
In 2020, a soldier of the Nigerian Army Lance Corporal Martins made a 12-minute video, where he said Nigerians soldiers were being killed due to lack of proper weapons to fight Boko Haram terrorists.
According to Martins, other officers of the army that had spoken against the availability of adequate weapon had been arrested on orders Buratai. He added that sometimes, the soldiers were given guns without bullets.
Also in 2020, an army commander was removed from his position for revealing the inferior military wares and poor equipment of troops in his command.
Olusegun Adeniyi, a Major-General and then commander of operation Lafiya Dole
Olusegun Adeniyi, a major-general and then commander of operation Lafiya Dole, had disclosed the state of the weapon of his troops while briefing the chief of army staff from the combat zone after successfully repelling an attack from Boko Haram insurgents.
Adeniyi was eventually court-martialled, convicted and demoted by three years on grounds of violating some sections of the policy on the use of social media for personnel of the armed forces of Nigeria.
No smoke without fire
The military does not have a clean slate on corruption. While there has been no direct corruption link to the former service chiefs, there have been reported cases where top officials were found guilty of embezzling funds meant for the Nigerian Army.
Prominent of such case is the ‘dismissal with disgrace’ of Hakeem Otiki, a major-general and former general office commander (GOC) of 8 Division, Nigerian Army, Sokoto, who was found guilty of N100 million fraud.
Before his conviction by the military, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had, on January 23, 2020, ordered the interim forfeiture of the sum of $376, 120 allegedly seized from Otiki to the federal government of Nigeria.
DESPITE health concerns by some European countries, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has assured Nigerians that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine does not cause blood clot.
Faisal Shuaib, executive director of NPHCDA, cited the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)’s recent research that disputed claims on the dangers of the vaccine.
“As you well know, the AstraZeneca vaccine is being used in many parts of the world. Even after the roll-out suspension by some European countries over certain concerns raised, the WHO and its vaccine advisory committee have advised that there is no reason to stop using the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine,” he said.
“Similarly, the UK regulators have also determined that evidence does not suggest that the vaccine causes blood clots.”
Shuaib also said the low cost of the AstraZeneca vaccine did not make it inferior.
“It is important to note that none of the approved brands of COVID-19 vaccines is inferior. Understandably, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine relatively costs less than the other available brands of COVID-19 vaccines,” he said.
“However, this is not because it is inferior. It is because AstraZeneca, which partners with Oxford to produce the vaccine, decided and announced that they would not be making profit during this pandemic.”
Last week, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and some other European countries stopped the use of the vaccine after fatalities were recorded from a blood clot.
The Netherlands has also become the latest country to suspend the administration of the vaccine, citing the same reason.
Nigeria received more than 3.9 million doses of the vaccine two weeks ago and has since begun its vaccination exercise with over 8,000 doses administered across the country so far.
THE Ministry of Aviation has said that the ban on Emirates airline, the official carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was due to its discriminatory policy on the COVID-19 test for Nigerians.
James Odaudu, spokesperson for the Ministry of Aviation, explained this during a telephone interview with The ICIR on Tuesday.
Odaudu explained that the insistence of Emirates airline on bringing passengers into the country and refusing to take them to the UAE was discriminatory and the federal government would not continue to allow that.
Earlier on Monday, Aviation minister Hadi Sirika had disclosed that the federal government placed a ban on Emirates until further notice.
Odaudu told The ICIR that other international airlines had agreed to the guidelines set up by Nigerian regulatory bodies except Emirates airline.
“Emirate has insisted on subjecting Nigerians to extra test other than the one agreed on with other airlines and the guidelines set up by the regulatory bodies.
“Now they agree to fly passengers into Nigeria but refused to fly passengers out of Nigeria, which we consider discriminatory and insensitive,” Odaudu said.
For over one month, there have been continuous bans on flights from and to Nigeria by Emirates and the federal government.
On Thursday, February 11, Emirates announced the suspension of outbound flights from Nigeria to Dubai, stating that inbound flights to Nigeria would still be in operation.
The Emirates is insisting that for passengers to be airlifted from Nigeria into UAE, they are to conduct an RDT test in addition to the PCR test after arrival.
However, the Nigerian government had said Emirates was demanding an RDT test conducted in unapproved laboratories from Nigerians after the PCR had been done against the stipulated directive.
When asked if this could be in connection with reports of alleged fake PCR tests in Nigeria, Odaudu said there were recognised laboratories in Nigeria where authentic tests could be done.
Sirika had also argued that it made no ‘scientific sense’ for Emirates to require a PCR test for passengers within 72 hours of their flight and then subject them to an antigens rapid test at the airport and another PCR test on arrival in their countries.
Checks by The ICIR also show that it takes a flight about seven hours to fly from Lagos to Dubai.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it takes at least five days for COVID-19 virus to incubate and sometimes up to 14 days. Therefore, a passenger that tests negative within 72 hours cannot test otherwise between the time of flight from Nigeria to the time of landing in Dubai, the UAE capital.
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ignored economic slump and growing discontent in the country to introduce a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction every time a customer uses the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service.
The apex bank, in a statement released on Tuesday and jointly signed by the apex bank’s acting director of corporate communications Osita Nwanisobi and director of public affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission Ikechukwu Adinde, said the charges were effective from Tuesday (today).
The CBN said that it was part of the agreement reached when banks and telecommunication operators met on Monday to discuss the N42 billion debt owed by the banks to mobile operators.
“Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs and all CBN – licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction. This replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion. This approach is transparent and will ensure the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.”
CBN added that the new development was targeted at ensuring transparency in its administration, adding that the new USSD charges would be collected on behalf of mobile network operators (MNOs) directly from customers’ bank accounts.
“A settlement plan for outstanding payments incurred for USSD services, previously rendered by the MNOs, is being worked out by all parties in a bid to ensure that the matter is fully resolved.”
It also stated that the MNOs and DMBs would discuss and agree on the operational modalities for the implementation of the new USSD pricing framework, including sharing of Application Programme Interface (API) to enable seamless, direct and transparent customer billing.
CBN, however, said that the USSD channel was optional, adding that several alternative channels such as mobile apps, internet banking and ATMs might be used for financial transactions.
There is a growing discontent in Nigeria as unemployment rate reached 33.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, from 27.1 percent in the second quarter of the same year. Inflation hit a four-year high of 17.78 percent in February 2020, with food inflation hitting 21.79 percent. Nigeria is world’s poverty capital, with 87 million living in extreme poverty. Prices of staples from bread to biscuits have risen sporadically in the last six years when President Muhammadu Buhari came in power.
SINCE the constitution of special judicial panels across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to look into cases of police brutality, some police officers have refused to appear before the panels, frustrating victims’ hope of getting justice. Reports say that the attitude is commonest in Abuja.
Garba Tetengi, member of the Independent Investigative Panel on Defunct SARS and other Units of the Nigerian Police Force, representing chairman of the panel, said the police were trying to frustrate quest for justice for victims of brutality.
Tetengi said on Monday during the resumed hearing of petitions that police officers had repeatedly failed to appear before the panel as requested.
According to him, the trend had become ‘worrying,’ making it difficult for the force to execute directives of the panel with regard to appearances in answering allegations levelled against them.
The panel had ordered for the appearance of two police officers Raymond Eku (aka ‘Death’) serving in the Lagos State Police Command and IPO Sylvester in Nassarawa State police command who were both of the defunct SARS.
Asaph Aristole, liaison officer between the Nigeria Police and the IIP-SARS, told the panel that the notice for appearance was sent to the concerned police commands, but the officers chose not to appear on their own personal volition.
Eku and Sylvester were summoned by the panel to answer questions on allegations of unlawful arrest, detention, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment of one Richard Augustine.
Apart from the refusal of the officers to appear before the panels, the representative and counsel of the police in the Abuja panel has also been accused of negligence by the panel.
During the Monday sitting, counsel to the police respondents Malik Taiwo told the panel that the other counsel assigned to a petition was absent at the proceedings, thereby stalling the cross-examination of a petitioner.
Reacting to the counsel’s statement, Tetengi rejected what he deemed as an ‘unserious excuse’ by the police.
He argued that the police was one entity and ordered that it should “either cross-examine petitioner or forego that right and get ready for defence.”
Many police officers refuse to appear before panel
The ICIR gathered that apart from Eku and Sylvester, there have been several other police officers that have refused to appear before the panel.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had, in November, ordered the appearance of James Nwafor, a former commander of the Akwuzu SARS unit in Anambra unit, who was accused of supervising killings of more than five persons. The said Nwafor has since failed to appear before it.
Also, three police officers from Delta State police command have refused to honour the invitation of the panel in the state, thereby stalling the hearing of an alleged case of police brutality.
The police officers include one Sergeant Musa Sunday, Lucky Kehinde and Lucky Okuku who the police had earlier testified were sitting in the same vehicle the day a victim allegedly jumped off a moving van and got injured in the process. However, the panel has ordered the arrest and appearance of the three officers.
The ICIR contacted Frank Mba, spokesperson for the Nigeria police through phone calls and text messages, but he did not reply as of the time of filing this report.
AFTER hitting $1 billion valuation, Flutterwave, a leading fintech firm, has announced a strategic partnership with PayPal, an online global payment platform. The partnership is geared towards facilitating online payments in Africa.
With the partnership, Nigerians and other Africans can now receive payments with their PayPal account through Flutterwave.
In a series of tweets on Twitter, Flutterwave said the partnership would enable over 377 million customers to bridge infrastructural weakness in doing business within Africans and the world.
The firm, in a tweet, said: “As we build the largest payment infrastructure in Africa @theflutterwave, we also know that Africa does not exist in isolation.
“We need to connect Africa to the world when it comes to payments and we took a closer step to that today.
“All Paypal users can now pay African businesses from anywhere in the world, on our gateway. We’re excited to be opening up a world of opportunities for businesses in Africa!”
This latest announcement is another big step in the fintech industry after Paystack was acquired last year.
Flutterwave secured $170 million from investors last week to expand its customer base. The fintech firm hit $1 billion valuation last week, putting it in the class of unicorn start-ups.
“We are thrilled to share news of our 170 million dollar #SeriesC funding which will be crucial in improving our technology, product, customer support, and expansion drive,” Flutterwave said on its Twitter handle last Wednesday.
“The company’s valuation is now more than 1 billion dollars. The fundraise brings the total investment in Flutterwave to $225 million,” the company said in a separate statement seen by The ICIR.
THE Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said that the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) has not been licensed for the collection of stamp duty charges.
FIRS, in a statement signed by its executive chairman Muhammad Nami, on Tuesday, said communications minister Isa Patanmi was earlier misquoted on the subject.
“The Honourable Minister was misquoted as saying that administration of Stamp Duty was granted to NIPOST by the Finance Act 2020. The speech attributed to the Honourable Minister was definitely quoted out-of-context,” Nami said in a post on FIRS Twitter handle on Tuesday.
He stated that what the minister meant was that NIPOST would produce adhesive stamps required by FIRS to denote stamp duties, adding that the statement was in line with “S.2 of the Stamp Duties Act (as amended by Section 46 of the Finance Act 2020).”
Nami, however, urged taxpayers, tax practitioners and the general public to ignore the earlier information in circulation, saying it was an unfortunate attempt to cause confusion.
“FIRS therefore urges Taxpayers, Tax practitioners and the general public to ignore this unfortunate attempt to cause confusion by twisting the Honourable Minister’s speech.
“The Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy is a patriot whose passion for the rule of law and Nigeria is never in doubt,” he said.
IN the South-Eastern part of Nigeria, several groups are seeking the actualisation of a nation called Biafra. The frontrunner of these groups is the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB has emerged as a powerful force, founding an online radio and winning the hearts of many Igbo-speaking people in Nigeria and abroad. However, there are cracks in IPOB’s wall as a splinter group has emerged.
The splinter group, called Biafra Customary Government, is led by Asari Dokuba, an activist for the Niger Delta and Uche Mefor, a former deputy leader of IPOB. But why did IPOB split?
SB Morgan, an organisation focused on geopolitical research and strategic communications consulting firm focused around Africa, explains the reasons in a report titled ‘Discord at Sunrise: What does Split in IPOB mean?’
During the inauguration of Dokubo, Ralph Uwazuruike, founder of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), another prominent group agitating for a Biafran state, was present at the venue. However, as expected, Kanu was absent, the report says.
Before the resignation of Mefor from IPOB, a faction in the United Kingdom had demanded a financial account of the funds raised for the organisation, an action that did not go well with Kanu, SB Morgan notes.
Nnamdi Kanu
In response to the demand, Kanu abolished the position of deputy leader being held by Mefor and subsequently scrapped the UK IPOB faction, which was loyal to the latter.
Apart from the conflict that arose from lack of financial accountability, Mefor and his loyalists were reported to be against the ‘violent approach’ of the Kanu- led IPOB, which had led to a various crisis between the Nigerian military and Eastern Security Network (a subsection of IPOB in Eastern Nigeria), the report further says.
At least two violent disputes have occurred between the Nigerian military and the ESN in 2021 that left people dead in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State.
Having crippled an organised loyalty to Mefor, Kanu sought the support of Dokubo, who is from the South-South region of the country, where some have reportedly distanced themselves from collaborating with the Igbo who they say are in the majority.
File Photo
“Kanu, uncharacteristically, has not mentioned Mr Mefor’s name since the fallout between them happened last year but constantly attacks Asari Dokubo and Mr Uwazuruike during his broadcasts. It remains to be seen how he will respond to this new movement headed by people he considers enemies,” the SB Morgan report says.
“IPOB at the moment is seriously fractured, with many erstwhile key members now either with Mr Mefor or charting their own course. Mr Kanu is presently believed to be operating out of the United States, where a new bank account was recently unveiled, ostensibly to collect contributions for ESN,” it adds.
SB Morgan report concludes that the major challenge of the Dokubo – Mefor alliance will be to work out a mutually beneficial narrative that could suit both the South-East and South-South, following the injustices allegedly suffered by the people of South-South in the hands of Biafran soldiers some 50 years ago.
AS Nigeria’s unemployment rate continues to rise, its inflation rate has jumped to 17.33 percent (year-on-year) in February 2021, indicating the highest level in four years, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of February 2021 has shown.
Inflation in Nigeria has consistently been on the increase for 12 months, rising from 12.2 percent in February 2020 to 17.33 percent in February 2021, the report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday shows.
Food for the increasing number of poor Nigerians is not getting cheaper. The report revealed that food inflation increased to 21.79 percent, the highest point since the 2009 data series.
“This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, food products, fruits, vegetable, fish and oils and fats,” NBS explains.
Inflation Rate from February 2020 to February 2021
According to the report, increases were recorded in all 12 Classification of Individual Consumption According by Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index.
The COICOP includes food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic, and beverages, tobacco, and kola, clothing and footwear, housing, water, electricity, and gas; furnishings and household equipment.
Others are health, transport, communication, recreation and culture, education, restaurants and hotels, miscellaneous goods and services.
The NBS reported yesterday in its ‘Labour Force Statistics: Unemployment and Underemployment Report’ that about 23.18 million Nigerians were currently unemployed.
The report indicated that the country’s unemployment rate rose to 33 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, from 27.1 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2020.
Inflation in states
According to the NBS, all-items inflation on year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi at 24.73 percent; Bauchi at 22.92 percent; and Ebonyi at 20.45 percent. In comparison, Enugu at 14.73 percent rate; Kwara, 14.25 percent; and Cross River, 12.97 percent, recorded the slowest rises in year-on-year headline Inflation.
Year-on-year, food inflation was highest in Kogi which reported 30.47 percent inflation rate; Ebonyi, 25.73 percent; and Sokoto, 25.68 percent. In comparison, Gombe (19.32 percent), Bauchi (18.74 percent), and Akwa Ibom (18.70 percent) recorded the slowest rises of year-on-year inflation.
Why Inflation is on the rise
In an earlier report by The ICIR, experts said inflation was on the rise for several reasons. According to Nonso Ihuoma, a finance expert, COVID-19 had dislocated businesses and supply chains while driving up production costs.
“It was easier to get input supplies before COVID-19 struck, but it is becoming a bit difficult now due to COVID-19 measures put in place by many countries. If you were getting your raw materials from the UK or the USA, imagine what happens to you now that they are on lockdowns. That situation will either make you seek expensive alternatives or stop production,” he explained.
Another reason was the preponderance of floods, which hit farmers hard, leading to lower food production and higher prices. Experts also say that Nigeria is also hit by imported inflation, resulting from naira devaluation and exchange rate risks.
In its 2021 economic outlook released recently, the LCCI predicted increases in the inflation rate this year.
“Looking forward into year 2021, we expect headline inflation to remain elevated as the combination of food supply shocks, foreign exchange (FX) policies, higher energy costs, FX illiquidity, heightened insecurity in major food-producing states, will continue to mount pressure on domestic consumer prices,” Muda Yusuf, director-general of the LCCI, noted.
“We believe a broad-based harmonisation of fiscal and monetary policies towards addressing the identified structural constraints will significantly help to moderate inflationary pressure in the medium term,” Yusuf further said.
According to the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria has the highest number of poor people globally, with 89.8 million living in extreme poverty. Also, the country is home to one of the largest unemployment rates globally, with 33.3 percent of its working population out of jobs. An increase in the inflation rate means that cost of living is high and most poor Nigerians lack the purchasing power to feed themselves and their families.
The amount contributed in 2020 and 2015 shows that Nigeria’s share of international trade has dropped by 25 percent in the last five years.
