THE Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has advised any community intending to fix issues about transformers, cable poles or any other electricity distribution equipment to reach an agreement with the electricity distribution company (DisCo) operating its respective franchise area.
It has become a common occurrence for DisCos and communities to engage in altercations over repairing faulty transformers and erecting electric poles, among other issues.
Owing to the fact that DisCos spend eternity to respond to consumers’ complaints on faulty equipment, many communities take it upon themselves to fix whatever the fault is, and then expect the respective DisCo to effect reimbursement.
At some point, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) stressed the point that DisCos, and not consumers, were responsible for buying, replacing, or repairing transformers and other electrical equipment used in power distribution.
Speaking during an enlightenment and protection workshop for staff of the FCCPC and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) on July 19, NERC’s Principal Manager of Market Competition and Rates, Chigozie Valerie Azikiwe, stated that electricity consumers of a community become investors in the DisCo operating the franchise of their area when they use their own funds to buy or repair equipment.
Azikiwe said such consumers deserve to be paid back through energy units of the same value they spent.
She advised that consumers in such a community intending to engage in such a project should have an agreement on reimbursement with the respective DisCo from the beginning of the project.
“In terms of repayment, there is a process. One mistake a lot of people make is to purchase transformers or poles without discussing with their DisCo. The right process is to talk to the DisCo before purchasing the transformer.”
“The repayment is not cash. What is obtainable now is energy credit, but you must follow the process of engaging the network owner from day one,” she said.
Also, NERC’s Assistant Manager on Consumer Affairs, Chukwunonso Okwuosa, while calling on participants at the workshop to be champions in informing consumers to follow the right process, noted that consumers did not know the regulations that protect their rights.
He corroborated Azikiwe’s position that it is a form of investment for electricity consumers in DisCos when they install or repair their transformers or any other electricity distribution equipment themselves, as the DisCos were expected to repair such equipment in the first place.
Both teachers and pupils in Gombe State, continue to endure difficulties as promised classroom and toilet construction projects remain unfinished, despite the allocation of funds to Cocoon Nigeria Limited by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs). As a result, schools are still lacking sufficient classrooms, forcing students to learn on bare floors in overcrowded classes. Additionally, WikkiTimes’ 2022 investigation uncovered another scandal involving the same OSSAP-SDGs office, where four out of five contractors received over N1 billion for solar streetlight installation in Adamawa State. Allegedly, the projects were never executed, and the contractors were linked to the same individuals.
In May 2021, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), headed by Adejoke Orelope, paid N36,071,552.18 for the construction of one block of six classrooms with VIP toilets at Hammadu-Kafi Primary School, along Biu Byepass in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State.
Cocoon Nigeria Limited got the contract and received the payment, which is part of the 2021 projects of OSSAP-SDGs in the area, according to data from govspend.ng, an open contracting platform.
A view of Hammadu-Kafi Primary School, Biu Byepass, Akko, Gombe State. (Credit: WikkiTimes)
Similarly, in another separate release, the OSSAP-SDGs paid N36,093,998.75 to Musbal Integrated Services Limited for the construction of one block of six classrooms with VIP toilets at Kindiyo Primary School in Balanga Local Government Area.
An investigation by WikkiTimesrevealed that the classrooms and VIP toilets project at Hammadu-Kafi Primary School was not executed, leaving pupils to continue to receive lessons on bare floors in dilapidated classes. Due to classroom shortages, the school runs two shifts – morning and afternoon.
Pupils in primaries 1, 2, 5 and 6 take the morning session, while primaries 3 and 4 pupils have the afternoon session.
When this reporter visited the school on May 16, 2023, only seven classrooms were available for pupils. The last classroom constructed for the school was in 2013.
Data obtained from the office of the head teacher of the school shows that Hammadu-Kafi Primary School has a population of 2,000 pupils and 22 teachers, meaning that the pupil-teacher ratio, PTR, is about 91: 1, more than double the UNESCO maximum ratio of 40:1 and the 35:1 recommended by the Nigerian Education policy.
With its population, the school requires between 40 and 50 classrooms going by an acceptable pupil-to-classroom ratio of between 30 pupils to 50 pupils in a classroom. In the US, for example, the national average of student to classroom ratio is 24. In the United Kingdom and Wales, legislation stipulates not more than 30 pupils in a classroom for kids between five and seven
Each class at the school houses at least 160 pupils against the recommended 50 pupils class. A few desks were littered with available classes. Between three to four pupils sit on a desk designed for two. More than half of the pupils in every class sit on dusty floors.
Pupils receiving lessons on the floor (credit: WikkiTimes)
Khalid Adam, an 11-year-old Primary 5 pupil, said, “Most of us do not have seats. We sit on the floor because there are not enough seats in the school.”
He explained that only the lucky ones among them secure seats.
“Everybody strives to reserve their desks in the class throughout the session. If you are unlucky, you have to manage by sitting on the bare floor,” he added.
WikkiTimes gathered that seats are allocated to the pupils at the beginning of each academic session. It is done on the basis of first come, first serve.
Like their pupils, teachers at the school do not have the luxury of having an office. The teachers use the shade provided by the only tree planted at the centre of the narrow pavilion of the school premises.
A view of teachers segregated into gender-based clusters welcomes a visitor to the school premises.
Only the headteacher and his assistant share an office. The office is a double-room structure embedded in one of the blocks of classrooms in the school. The headteacher occupies the second room while his assistant uses the first room.
The office also serves as a store for the school. Brooms, books, hoes and chalks are stacked in a corner just next to the table of the assistant headteacher.
The headteacher, Sani Ahmed said he uses his own money to buy chairs and chalk for the school.
“Since the establishment of this school in 2007, we have not received chairs from the government. I have to use my salary to buy chairs and seats for the school,” he said.
Hopes Dashed
Barely three months after OSSAP-SDGs disbursed N36,071,552.18 to Cocoon Nigeria Limited, the contractor handling the construction of one block of six classrooms with toilets project at Hammadi-Kafi primary school along Biu Byepass in Akko local government area of Gombe State, a team of surveyors from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Gombe office surveyed and demarcated an area for the construction of a block of six classrooms and toilets in the school.
A public search on the company at CAC and NG-Check reveals that the company, whose address is given as 10 Sarkin Crescent, Kaduna, has three directors; namely, Moukarim Wajdi, Suly B Mohammed and Amal Bouri, all who appear to be foreigners.
WikkiTimes gathered details of the contract, which is under lot A1, including the construction and furnishing of one block of six classrooms at the cost of N36,071,552.18.
On 28 September 2021, a team of surveyors from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Gombe office surveyed and demarcated an area for the construction of a block of six classrooms and toilets in the school.
This was a great sigh of relief for the school. Excitement and happiness filled the staff and pupils but unknown to them, the project will not be delivered anytime soon. Two years after, neither the surveyors nor officials from the SDGs office returned to the site. No construction work ever took off in the school, to the disappointment of the people.
An infographic showing 2021 beneficiaries of OSSAP-SDGs projects in Akko LGA
A source in the school who does not want to be named told WikkiTimes that “a team of experts from SDGs visited, inspected, surveyed and promised to modernise the school. They surveyed the location with a great deal of energy as though work on the site commences the next day. But up to this moment, they never return.”
He added: “Nobody explained to us why or when work will commence as promised. We were left to our fate.”
One Toilet for 2,000 Pupils
The over 2,000 Hammadu-Kafi Primary School pupils converge on a pit-latrine toilet daily to urinate or defecate. At breakfast, a long queue of pupils widened at the door of the toilet facility, waiting to take their turns, while others are forced to use the back of their classes. According to UNICEF data, only 10 per cent of Nigerian schools have access to requisite sanitation facilities, including toilets.
The only toilet facility at Hammadu-Kafi Primary school (credit:WikkiTimes)
Similarly, teachers in the school use one latrine pit toilet separated only by a wall from that of their pupils.
“I don’t feel comfortable using the school toilet as a woman because other male colleagues use it as well. We were forced to be visiting close by houses to respond to our call of nature,” Aisha Sambo, a female teacher at the school, said.
The toilets are stinky and messy because of the high number of pupils and staff that rely on them, coupled with water scarcity in the school. The only borehole constructed at the school gate has stopped working.
Every day, the school spends at least N300 buying water from vendors. A group of pupils trek about a kilometre to fetch water to help keep the toilets clean. Despite these attempts, the school environment is always unfriendly for the nose.
The headteacher, Ahmed, said keeping the two latrines in the school clean remains a difficult task due to the non-availability of water sources within the premises.
Cocoon Nigeria Limited failed to give an explanation about why the project was not executed. One Jonah Ali, a representative of the company, declined to respond to WikkiTimes‘ enquiry about the project. Instead, he vowed to introduce this reporter to the Managing Director, Moukarim Wajdi, the next day to respond.
“The MD is not available. I am on my way to the town now. I will give him your contact to call you tomorrow,” he said but has not kept to his words as at press time.
Kindyo: Project Diverted
In June 2021, OSSAP-SDGs awarded a contract for the construction of one block of six classrooms with VIP toilets to Musbal Integrated Services Limited at N36,093,998.75.
Musbal Integrated Services Limited has five persons listed as directors, including its current Managing Director, Adamu Bala who is also a native of Kaltungo Local Government Area, Gombe State. The four other directors of the firm include Aisha Abdullahi, Mustapha Aliyu, Jamil Garba and Mariya Shinkafi.
The project was to be executed at Kindiyo Primary School, a community in Balanga local government area of Gombe State, as per payment details for the project available on Govspend.
A view of a block of six classrooms constructed at Kulo, Kindiyo Ward, Balanga. (credit: OSSAP-SDGs)
However, when this reporter visited the Kindyo community on 17 May 2023, it was apparent that the OSSAP-SDGs diverted the project to a different community, Kolu, which is not the original beneficiary of the project.
WikkiTimes’ findings reveal that the diversion of the project worsened the dire need for additional classrooms at Kindiyo Primary School. Similarly, it also denied the school an opportunity of having a toilet for the first time since its establishment in 1978.
Records from the office of the headteacher of the school indicate that while this year alone, it admitted 200 pupils, the school only have six classrooms manned by five teachers, including the head teacher.
Four out of the six classes do not have desks. The classrooms also have no windows or doors, and their ceilings have been torn apart.
Amos Hussaini, Assistant Headteacher, said the lack of a toilet facility in the school exposes pupils to scorpion bites due to the hilly nature of its surroundings.
A collapsed classroom block in Kindiyo Primary School (credit: WikkiTimes)
“Women teachers have to use toilets in houses close to the school thereby losing man hours that would have been channeled to teaching in the process. “As you can see, the walls of classes have been turned into toilets by the pupils. This has contaminated the air around the school. Sometimes, one struggles to breathe because of the bad smell of excrement and urine,” he said while pointing to a pile of pupils’ faeces behind one of the blocks of classrooms.
Work Done
The project, the construction of one block of six classrooms in kindiyo, but diverted to the Nomadic school Kolu was executed and put to use.
The contractor, Musbal Integrated Services Limited, furnished and wired all the classes.
Similarly, both Musbal Integrated Services Limited and OSSAP-SDGs separately confirmed that the project was executed.
Musa Ibrahim, a parent, told WikkiTimes that their children were eager to go to school shortly after the classrooms were put to use.
“At that time, we don’t have to chase our children to school. They simply go to school by themselves without much ado,” he said, noting the impact of the project.
The newly constructed classes provide additional classes for the school. The number of classes rose from just two to seven with an office and a store.
Moses Usman, a teacher at the school, said the additional classes meant that all pupils in the school have a classroom to receive lessons against learning under the tree as it previously used to be.
However, he noted that they are unable to keep the constructed toilets clean because of a lack of water.
“We don’t have sources of water here in the school. We have sent some pupils to fetch water every day,” he said.
He added that sometime this year, thieves broke into the newly constructed classes and went away with fans, wires, bulbs and ceilings.
“After we noticed this incident, we removed all the remaining ceilings and wires to avoid losing everything to the thieves,” Usman said with his voice echoing dismay.
Fake Pictures Claiming Project Execution
When contacted, the media aide to Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Desmond Utomwen claimed that the Hammadu-Kafi Primary School project was fully executed and he said he was ready to share evidence to prove his claim.
One of the misleading pictures OSSAP-SDGs shared
After about 24hrs, he shared 12 photos. He claimed that seven of the photos were for the one block of six classrooms Cocoon Nigeria Limited constructed along Biu Byepss Akko Local Government Area.
It was evident that the pictures were meant to mislead. First, the pictures Utomwen claimed to be classrooms Coocon constructed along Biu Byepass were fake. In reality, the photographs are of a skills acquisition centre project along the same axis.
Similarly, data from govspend.ng shows that the skills acquisition project is different from the one block of six classrooms with the VIP toilet contract, even though both projects were billed to be executed in Akko LGA. “I have given you information as far as that project is concerned. All I know is that the project was fully executed and payment made,” he insisted after this reporter demanded him to further substantiate his claims.
An infographic showing 2021 beneficiaries of OSSAP-SDGs projects in Balanga LGA
When WikkiTimes pressed further to obtain the list of projects for 2020, 2021 and 2022, the media aide to the Senior Special Assistant to President on SDGs dodged, arguing that the questions ‘were abstract.’
He added, “Those questions you asked were abstract, I must tell you, and I cannot respond to abstract questions. Nobody will have time to give details about the budget for projects in 2020, 2021 and 2022.”
Adamu Bala, Managing Director of Musbal Integrated Services Limited, the firm handling project at Kindiyo insisted that the project was executed but failed to give reasons for the diversion of the project from the original community.
In a WhatsApp voice call while in the Holy Land performing this year’s Hajj, the Managing Director dodged questions bordering on why the project was transferred to Nomadic Kolu despite a dire need for additional classrooms in the original community where the project was cited.
“You are one person that I will never forgive for unnecessarily disturbing my Hajj ibadat for no reason. You cannot collaborate with my traitors to spoil my name and think you can go free,” he declared in an emphatic voice.
THE Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission of Nigeria (FCCPC) has delisted two digital money lenders (DMLs) for violating customer privacy.
The Commission said the violating DMLs have resorted to using Android Package Kits (APK) file formats, providing links to consumers to visit unregistered websites using their Android devices/phones.
“In the course of that interaction, consumers’ private information that is otherwise protected and prohibited from access or download by DMLs or their apps is accessed and downloaded,” the FCCPC said.
The regulatory agency added that it has placed digital money lenders that have refused or failed to register under the guidelines on its watchlist for strict surveillance and necessary action.
The FCCPC said it will soon release a list of illegal (unregistered) digital loan apps operating in Nigeria.
The Commission said in a bid to protect consumers and maintain a regulated financial ecosystem in conjunction with the Joint Regulatory and Enforcement Task Force (JRETF), it took decisive actions against two of the companies for their alleged involvement in fraudulent practices.
According to a statement by the Commission’s boss, Babatunde Irukera, on Thursday, July 20, the two companies are Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited and Orange Loan and Purple Credit Limited.
According to the FCCPC, during the Commission’s ongoing investigation and tracking of these illegal DMLs, it was discovered that some registered DMLs had engaged in duplicity.
While appearing on the approved list and Playstore, these registered lenders also used APKs to attract borrowers to illegal and unregulated lending practices, FCCP claimed.
“The companies or apps so far identified, and for which there is supporting evidence of this malfeasance, are Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited and Orange Loan and Purple Credit Limited.
“They are the owners of “Getloan” and “Camelloan” respectively, and occupy Nos. 1 and 65 on the Approved List of the Commission, which is available on the Commission’s website.
“Accordingly, the Commission has now permanently delisted Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited and Orange Loan and Purple Credit Limited, along with their respective apps – “Getloan” and “Camelloan”.
“In addition, the Commission has entered an Order to Google Playstore and other payment and financial service providers, permanently prohibiting the provision of any services associated with digital lending to Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited and Orange Loan and Purple Credit Limited,” the Commission stated.
The FCCPC clarified that the revocation and penalties taken against these offenders were final and would set a standard for handling any other violators found in the future.
In light of these recent developments, the Commission reiterated its advice to consumers to exercise caution when selecting digital money lenders.
It recommended that consumers patronise only DMLs on the Commission’s approved list, as these lenders have undergone regulatory scrutiny, ensuring the safety and privacy of consumers’ information.
The Commission and the JRETF pledged to continue tracking illegal operators employing APKs and other means to interact with consumers.
The FCCPC ask the public to provide reasonable evidence and report any violations through the designated email address, lenderstasforce@fccpc.gov.ng.
The Commission specifically recommended that consumers only patronise digital lenders on its approved list to avoid falling victim to illegal and prohibited lending and recovery practices.
A total of 180 loan applications have been registered (completely or partially) and given the go-ahead by the FCCPC to operate in Nigeria.
In April, the Federal Government, in conjunction with Google, prohibited loan apps from accessing contacts and images of their customers.
In a chat with The ICIR on Monday, April 10, the spokesperson of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Ondaje Ijagwu, said the Federal Government is putting measures in place to enforce the latest policy by Google.
He said the action was consistent with the Nigerian authorities’ move to curtail the invasion of customers’ privacy by loan app firms.
Debt recovery agents of loan apps in Nigeria have continued to shame defaulting borrowers against the nation’s cyber laws while the loan app companies charge borrowers high-interest rates.
In August 2021, The ICIRexplained how Nigerian fintech companies shame, threaten customers for late payment of loans.
Also, in March 2022, The ICIRhighlightedhow loan apps debt recovery agents operate.
The digital loan apps mislead borrowers by posting lower interest rates on the Google Play Store, but borrowers saw their loan tenor increase as the loan apps raised interest rates by more than 50 per cent.
The interest rates can be as high as 75 per cent to 395 per cent per year.
Despite the efforts of the regulating authorities, the Illegal loan apps have ignored Nigeria’s cyber laws and continue to shame their customers.
President Bola Ahmed clocked 50 days in office on Wednesday, July 19, with the populace getting apprehensive as his administration’s economic policies induced unprecedented inflation rates and inflicted agonies.
Tinubu had, immediately after replacing his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, eliminated the fuel subsidy regime, a decision that instantly triggered a 200 per cent increase in the pump price of petrol, a strategic commodity that influences pricing and cost in other sectors of the economy.
The Tinubu administration jacked the fuel price from a range of N187 to N255 per litre obtainable in Lagos and Abuja, respectively, to a new price of N488 per litre in Lagos to N560 in Abuja. The prices were higher in some other states across the country.
Infographic describing sharp rise in petrol price following subsidy removal by Tinubu administration
On Tuesday, July 18, the administration effected another round of fuel price increases. A litre of petrol now sells for N570-N620 in Lagos and up to N700 in Abuja. The price is higher in some states across the country.
Another key policy pronouncement of the administration is the foreign exchange rates unification, by which forces of demand and supply determine the rates, with direct consequences, especially on prices of imported goods.
Policy impact
The astronomical spike in transportation costs is a crippling result of the fuel subsidy removal. Fares have gone well over 100 per cent on many routes across the country, with multiplier effects on passenger commuting, goods movement, and prices of foodstuffs.
File Photo: A market in Nigeria
This has further worsened, for most Nigerians, the poverty level and quality of living generally. More commuters have taken to the roads trekking long distances as they cannot afford the new high fares.
The unification of forex rates hits the national economy through debts, with the profile rising to N81trillion following the floating of the naira and the resultant devaluation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The devaluation saw the local currency, which was exchanged at N430 to the dollar at the official window before Tinubu assumed office and as at the end of the first quarter when the Debt Management Office (DMO) last published the national debt profile, shoot over N750 at the close of trading at the import and export window on Tuesday, July 18.
A June 6 report by The Guardian newspaper highlighted trouble in the health sector as drugs and cost of care generally increased by 150 per cent, arising from the inflationary impact of floating the naira.
The Guardian report revealed that drugs were fast getting out of stock or unaffordable. The Federal government disclosed its plans to reduce the importation of drugs in the country from 60 per cent to 40 per cent to promote the local manufacturing of drugs. For now, 70 per cent of medicines consumed in the country is imported.
Fears over proposed electricity tariff hike
Despite assurances in June by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and electricity distribution companies (DisCos) that electricity tariffs would not be raised, there are indications that the tariff will go up latest August as the Tinubu administration pushes to completely hands-off power sector subsidy, as it did petrol.
The president of Nigeria Consumer Protection Network and coordinator, Power Sector Perspectives, Kunle Olubiyo, believed the tariff would soon be increased.
Olubiyo told The ICIR, “Tariff adjustments happen every six months. However, most of us just concluded that the six months period was supposed to end on June 30, 2023, and that with effect from July 1, there might be an upward review.
“However, that is not sacrosanct; there is nothing in the books that says it has to be July 1. But, of course, in this month of July, somewhere along the line before this month ends, you may load credit and notice some adjustment.”
Food prices going out of reach
The sharp increase in fuel prices on May 29, when Tinubu assumed office, has greatly affected prices of foodstuffs. Distributors and dealers of food items complain of high transportation costs following an increase in petrol price.
Checks in most markets in Abuja revealed that the price of a mudu of garri has risen from N300 to N600 between May and June. A six-piece bunch of plantain that sold for between N600 and N800 two months ago is now selling for N1,400.
Consumers are worried prices of foodstuffs are likely to go higher following the fresh increase in fuel price on Tuesday.
The worry is heightened by the possibility of prices going through the roof, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) maintaining that market forces would determine the fuel pump price. Nigerians do not see market forces as favouring the local economy now.
Price of garri gradually going out of reach.
What economic analysts are saying
To many key economic watchers, the government’s direct announcement and strict implementation of its key policies without unveiling mitigation strategies is not pro-poor, as the poor have been left to absorb the shocks.
“Let us not be carried away by the positive reactions in the capital markets by these policies. Above all, we should remember that the economy is meant to serve the Nigerian people.
“The reality is that Nigerians are suffering greatly because the cost of living has risen beyond their means,” a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Muoghalu, said.
Muoghalu: The poor are left to absorb shocks of the government’s policies
Muoghalu noted that the Federal government should have moved faster on the matter of a new minimum wage and should have had a way of subsidising transportation.
“All these should have been addressed with the same determination that we have seen in the government’s reforms,” he said.
The Lead Director of Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, saw the steps taken so far by the Federal government as signalling no hope for poor Nigerians.
Onyekpere believes the renewed hope mantra of Tinubu’s administration offers no hope to the poor.
“Implementing policies has been a problem for this new government. Announcing these policies when it had not been thought through is not giving any hope. The poor are now bearing the brunt,” Onyekpere said.
He added that continued devaluation of the naira would further affect the prices of goods in an upward swing.
Onyekpere is foreseeing the likelihood of prices of petroleum products continuing to rise with the imposition of a 7.5 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on their importation.
He advised the government to think out measures that would sustain forex inflow to match demand, or there would be a run on the naira, which he feared could see it exchanged for N1,000 against the dollar.
Despite the agonies the Tinubu administration’s reforms seem to be inflicting on the people, analysts like Tilewa Adebajo of CFG Advisory are urging the President to ensure policy consistency.
Adebajo said keeping at it would put investors on alert on “how serious Nigeria is,” which he viewed as having the potential to attract more private capital into the Nigerian economy.
“Consistency in policy reforms is key. We need to show long-term commitment to our policies such that both local and international investors can take us more seriously,” he said.
According to Adebajo, Tinubu must use the meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in September to market Nigeria’s policies and show commitment on transparency and accountability.
“The President is to go to the United Nations General Assembly in September, and he is to deliver a major speech with respect to the policy direction of Nigeria.
“We need a budget that is clear and transparent, devoid of ways and means, so that by the first quarter of next year, when the International Monetary Fund comes up with its Article 4 report on Nigeria, we can see credit rating agencies begin to upgrade Nigeria and pull us out of junk status,” he said.
THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has confirmed business discussions with seven commercial banks as it seeks alternative solutions to the high cost of petrol.
The discussions, according to the IPMAN chairman, Chinedu Okoronkwo, revolved around providing funding for a compressed natural gas (CNG) facility as an alternative solution to petrol.
IPMAN would prefer to keep the identities of the financial institutions under wraps until it reaches a concrete agreement with them.
The Federal government had on Tuesday, July 18, again increased the price of petrol from about N448-N560 per litre to over N600 per litre. The product’s price goes as high as over N700 per litre in some states.
Okoronkwo said on Wednesday, July 19, that the federal and state governments must create an enabling environment for the business of CNG to thrive as a viable alternative to petrol.
“The government needs to see how to bring in marketers and other oil & gas players into the CNG business for find an alternative to the rising fuel cost. There is no better alternative than gas, and Nigeria is abundantly blessed with it.
“We expect our banking partners to make a down payment of 15 per cent to enable us get down to business. CNG is much more cheaper and can compete favourably with PMS of the enabling environment is created by the government,” he said.
He posited that with Nigeria gifted with abundant 200 trillion cubic feet of gas, there is a plethora of opportunities to maximise gas production for vehicles as a good alternative to petrol.
“Instead of international oil companies flaring the gas, the government can come in and create a market to attract investors into the CNG market. Our thinking is that the moment the market is developed, the man putting his investment in gas would be assured of his returns,” he said.
The IPMAN president further disclosed that the association had started data capturing to know the target base of its market and to reach out to vehicle owners.
President of the Petroleum Retail Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy-Gilly Harry, told The ICIR that the association had similar plans to provide alternatives to Nigerian motorists to cushion the harsh effects of the high petrol price.
“We are working hard to get money and invest in the modular refinery business. We have got an investor that is willing to invest $1.6 billion in modular refineries that have processing plants and CNG plants.
“We are working on that, and we hope that the banks here, whether the Central Bank or merchant banks, would give us the back-up support,” Harry said.
Already, Nigeria has some CNG retail outlets that include Green Gas Limited (NIPCO CNG), and Power Gas Ogbele CNG compression station, both located in Ibafo (Ogun State), and Abua (Rivers State), respectively.
In Abuja, some Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) retail outlets also sell the product to vehicles.
Most oil exploration companies operating in Nigeria are known to be flaring gas to the detriment of the environment rather than converting it to efficient use.
Despite being a signatory to Clean Energy and Paris Climate Accord, the World Bank indicted Nigeria in its Global Flaring Tracker as one of the countries that contributed highest gas flaring in 2022.
Nigeria has approximately 200 trillion cubic feet of gas, and despite being the largest producer of gas in Africa, it is developing only 25 per cent of its reserves.
In May, the African Development Bank announced its support for the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project, which will connect Nigeria’s gas fields (from Wari on the Niger River) to the Algerian border, to connect the Algerian network and sell Nigeria’s gas, particularly in the European markets.
THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says efforts to sensitise the populace and mitigate the impact of predicted flooding have been stifled by the non-functional emergency management committees at the state and local government levels.
Speaking at The ICIR Twitter Space on Thursday, July 20, the NEMA Assistant Chief Information Officer, Abdulkadir Ibrahim, said emergency management structures at the local and state levels are mostly weak or non-existent.
A few months after the 2022 flood crisis that displaced over 1.3 million people and killed about 603 persons, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET) predicted another flood would likely occur this year.
The agency warned Nigerians to prepare for earlier onset of heavy rains and flash floods in parts of the country.
Commenting on the implications of the prediction, Ibrahim said the weakness of emergency management committees at the sub-national level had made efforts by NEMA to enlighten people at the grassroots difficult and also impeded the Federal Government’s efforts to mitigate the impact of flooding.
Ibrahim said, “Natural disasters like floods cannot be stopped. It can be prevented and mitigated against, but it cannot be stopped.
“A lot has to do with the attitude of our people.Presently NEMA has already released climate disaster-related preparedness and migration strategy, which it is trying to downstream to the local government level.
“The major challenge we have in this is that most of the state emergency management agencies are not as functional as they should be. According to the Act which set up the National Emergency Management Agency, we have to work with the state and local disaster management agencies, which of course is virtually not available in most of the local governments.”
Ibrahim said state governments fail to carry out their duties and provide funds for local disaster management agencies.
He noted that states would be unable to tackle disasters proactively if emergency committees at the local level are ignored.
“These people will be responsible for taking it to the community level because disasters occur at the community level. We are trying to make sure that both the local and state emergency management structures are strengthened. So any disaster can be dealt with.
“We are trying to make sure that all the emergency management structures are in place. The local government emergency management committee should be functional; the state agencies should also be functional.
“We have been embarking on enlightenment and sensitisation to state governments and local governments. We have been writing letters to them to ensure these structures are in place,” the NEMA spokesperson added.
CLIMATE change experts who participated in a Twitter space organised by The ICIR have highlighted some possible solutions to perennial flooding in Nigeria.
The Twitter space themed ‘Providing Sustainable Solutions to Nigeria’s Perennial Flood Crisis,’ was held on Thursday, July 20.
In 2022, Nigeria experienced one of the worst flooding incidents in decades as 35 states and the FCT were affected by floods, leading to loss of several lives and damage of properties. Thousands of people were also displaced from their homes and hectares of farmland were destroyed in the process.
Speaking on solutions to the perennial flood crisis, a flood risk consultant, Taiwo Ogunwumi, explained that the Federal Government needs to emphasise the importance of domesticating the climate change policy to the states.
“It’s true that the climate change policy was signed a few years ago, but then when you look at it, you will realise that most of the states are yet to practice that, even in terms of tree planting, creating programs that support teaching towards renewable energy, that is not highly common in most of the states.
“There is a lot that the Federal Government needs to do to ensure that this law is effective in each of the states. I believe that the Federal Government still has supremacy power over some of the states and if this is part of the targets that they give the states to accomplish, I believe the state will have no other option than to ensure that they are meeting up with this.”
He also noted the need for federal ministries to collaborate with the state ministries in mitigating the effect of flooding.
Speaking further on flood prevention measures, Ogunwumi said the problem must be addressed from the grassroots, adding that the government should work on sensitisation and providing alternative solutions to the locals.
“I think we don’t start from the grassroots when it comes to reducing emissions; we must start from the grassroots and that is the state and local levels. You will still find out that some of the local communities still burn fossils, they still go to the forest to cut trees and some of these create emissions. If there is no sensitisation on what this activity causes and no other alternative is provided to the people, it will be difficult for us to achieve some of these goals.”
Ogunwumi, however, advised the government to work with private enterprises and non governmental organisations (NGOs) to effectively develop policies and regulations to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“I think there are many resourceful private organisations in Nigeria who really want to do more but you realise that the state and federal governments don’t allocate funds to them to bring out the best.”
The Chuef Executive Director of International Climate Change Development Initiative, Olumide Idowu while speaking on the effects of climate change in Nigeria, said Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) need to start looking at ways they could influence important decisions and policies.
He also bemoaned the lack of proper implementation of policies by the government, adding that CSOs should collaborate to bring an end to perennial flood crisis.
“It’s very important for CSOs to leave the conversation of competition and start looking for a collaborative effort so that we can demand justice for flooding issues in Nigeria.
“The civil society also has to come together and talk more on the kind of emergency response that’s needed for people rather than giving N3,000 to displaced people.”
On February 17, 2023, the Federal Government revealed that 32 states, 178 local government areas (LGAs), and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) may experience heavy flooding in 2023.
The states with the highest likelihood of facing flooding include Adamawa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, and Edo.
Following the forecast, The ICIR did a series of investigations, visiting Niger, Jigawa, Benue, Bayelsa and Kogi states to investigate the measures being taken by state governments and local communities to address and mitigate the looming threat of flooding. Read the investigations here.
THE National Economic Council (NEC) has decided that palliatives to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal will be implemented using new registers created by states rather than those utilised by the last administration.
The decision was taken at the NEC meeting held on Thursday, July 20, presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The Council agreed that the register used by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to implement the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) lacked integrity as the criteria for its compilation were ambiguous.
Anambra State governor Charles Soludo noted after the meeting that many of the poorest Nigerians are unbanked, which makes it impossible to digitally transfer money to them.
“We need to face the problem of the fact that we don’t have a credible register,” Soludo said.
He added that through formal and informal strategies, states could easily identify recipients of the palliatives.
The Council agreed that integrity tests would be carried out on the proposed registers.
In the same vein, government officials were urged to reduce the cost of governance in their various organisations.
In June, NEC recommended palliatives for workers and poor Nigerians during its inaugural meeting, under the President Bola Tinubu administration, to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal in the country.
The recommendation came sequel to Tinubu’s directive that the Council should come up with options to ease the effects of subsidy removal.
Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed disclosed after the inaugural meeting that the Council considered paying the sum of N702 billion as cost of living allowances to civil servants.
“Various scenarios were given by the presenter on the issue of national salaries, income and wages, and this N702 billion-plus was suggested as cost of living adjustment allowance by the organised labour, and the other one is a petroleum allowance,” Mohammed said in June.
Tinubu had asked the National Assembly to approve an $800 million loan to ease the hardships caused by the subsidy removal.
He had initially decided that 12 million poor households would receive N8,000 monthly over six months from the loan to assist with the rising cost of living resulting from the hike in fuel prices.
However, most Nigerians widely criticised the N8,000 sum, describing it as meagre, and as well condemned the general idea as unsustainable and prone to corruption, after which Tinubu ordered a review of the directive.
THE Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced a total tax revenue collection of N5.5 trillion for the half-year period of January to June 2023.
The executive chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami, disclosed this while presenting the 2023-2024 tax revenue outlook to the National Economic Council (NEC) at the latter’s meeting on Thursday, July 20, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The presentation, which contained the FIRS 2023 Half-Year Collection Report, showed that the Service achieved over 100 per cent of its target for the first-half of the year, when compared with a mid-year target of N5.3 trillion.
According to the report, tax revenue collected from the oil sector from January to June 2023 stood at N2.03 trillion as against a target of N2.3 trillion, while non-oil tax collection was N3.76 trillion, as against a target of N2.98 trillion.
Nami stated that the Service collected a total of N1.65 trillion tax revenues in June 2023 alone. This sum is the highest tax revenue collected by the Service in any single month.
“This is a good head start as we work towards meeting our target for the year. And it was achieved despite stubborn headwinds such as the impact of the currency redesign and 2023 general elections on the economy in the first and second quarters of 2023.
“This half-year performance was achieved as a result of improved voluntary tax compliance by taxpayers and the continued improvement of automation of our tax administration processes, including the updated VAT filing processes, as well as our dogged engagement with stakeholders in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy,” he explained.
Nami assured that the country should expect “better days ahead” in terms of tax revenue collection.
“We believe that the performance in the second half of the year would be better considering the continuing improvement of our tax administration processes and positive impact of current government’s policies on the economy,” he said.
The Service had achieved a total collection of N10.1 trillion in the year 2022, being the highest tax collection ever made by the FIRS in a single year.
AMID rising unemployment in Nigeria, the Senate have resolved to abolish age limits set for job applicants by employers in the country.
During plenary on Wednesday, July 19, the Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to restrain public and private employers from including age limits in job advertisements, which deprives several unemployed citizens of opportunities.
This resolution was reached following a motion by Senator representing Benue South Abba Moro titled ‘Age Requirement Precondition for Employment in Nigeria, Urgent Need for Intervention’.
The upper house of the National Assembly also asked the Federal Government to create policies that allow equal opportunities for qualified job seekers.
Moro, while presenting his motion, noted that setting age limits as a condition for employment was against Section 42(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantees a citizen’s right to freedom from discrimination.
“A graduate in this country can serve in the National Youth Service Corps programme at age 30 but cannot be gainfully employed, thereafter on the fact that he/ she is now above 30 years, a situation that is a flagrant breach of his fundamental rights,” Moro said, describing the situation as ironical.
“The circumstances described in the foregoing presents the predicament of the Nigerian youth who has the requisite qualification, knowledge, skills and is ready to work but disqualified or excluded on the sole and unjustifiable ground that he/ she is above the age limit by reason of his/ her birth,” he added.
Nigeria’s unemployment rate projected to continue rising
Currently, the unemployment rate in Nigeria is 33.3 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), with Youth Unemployment at 42.5 per cent.
Multinational firm, KPMG, in its ‘KPMG Global Economy Outlook report, H1 2023,’ predicted that the unemployment rate would increase to 40.6 per cent in 2023.
“Unemployment is expected to continue to be a major challenge in 2023 due to the limited investment by the private sector, low industrialisation and slower than required economic growth and consequently the inability of the economy to absorb the 4-5 million new entrants into the Nigerian job market every year,” the KPMG report stated.
