Nigeria’s president has directed that all minors detained during protests against the rising cost of living in August be freed and treason charges against them dropped, Information Minister Mohammed Idris has said.
“The president has directed that these children, these minors, be released immediately,” Idris said on Monday.
At least 76 people, including 30 minors, were charged with treason and inciting a military coup after they took part in deadly August protests against economic hardship.
The minors’ arraignment sparked public outrage and criticism of the government after they were paraded in court last Friday.
Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has led to several protests in recent months that demand better opportunities and jobs for young people.
In August, protesters rallied in Abuja, the commercial capital Lagos and several other cities to show discontent with economic reforms that have led to rampant inflation and the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation in Nigeria.
Rights group Amnesty International said at least 22 people died during the demonstrations in clashes with security forces.
President Bola Tinubu has since vowed to pursue the changes, which he says are needed to keep the economy afloat.
In addition to the severe financial crisis, Nigerians are living with widespread insecurity that has damaged the farming sector, with armed gangs kidnapping residents and schoolchildren for ransom in the north.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Nigeria president orders release of minors charged over protests
Monday, November 4, 2024
Video - Nigerian protesters including minors face treason charges
Backlash has erupted in Nigeria over the detention of 30 minors, aged 14 to 17, who are among 76 people charged with treason following August protests against worsening economic conditions. Rights advocates argue that holding minors beyond 14 days violates Nigerian law. In response, President Bola Tinubu has instructed the Attorney General to review these cases, but the minors remain in custody, with a hearing set for January 24.
Video - Nigerians urge government to lower gas prices
Cooking gas prices in Nigeria have more than doubled since 2023, forcing households to rely on cheaper, traditional fuels. Experts warn that this crisis has shifted beyond an economic concern and is now about survival. They are calling for urgent action to prevent a crisis.
Dangote refinery finally reveals petrol prices
Dangote Refinery on Sunday said it sells its petrol at N960 per litre into ships and N990 per litre into trucks.
The company’s Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
The company made this known in reaction to a claim by the marketers that the refinery’s prices are higher than other suppliers, making it difficult for independent marketers to buy from it.
The National Assistant Secretary of IPMAN, Yakubu Suleiman, disclosed this while speaking on the ARISE TV morning show on Friday. He said: “Like last week, Dangote’s price is higher than other places. Because if you can go by the price, the international price of crude has already started coming down. If I could remember, as of last week, he gave N995 per litre, and you have to bring your cargo and load.”
“How much will you pay for the cargo? And how much will go to the depot? And you expect independent marketers to go and sell it. Can we go and sell? Look, we have to pity Nigerians,” Mr Suleiman said.
In its statement on Sunday, the Dangote Refinery said its prices are benchmarked against international rates, ensuring competitiveness.
The company claimed that anyone importing petrol at lower prices likely brings in substandard products, posing health and environmental risks.
“We had lately refrained from engaging in media fights but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations.
“Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote Refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports,” Mr Chiejina said.
He explained that if anyone claims they can land petrol at a price cheaper than the price Dangote is selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low-quality products into the country, without concerns for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles.
The Dangote spokesperson claimed the regulator, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), does not even have laboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.
“Post deregulation, NNPC set the pace by selling PMS to domestic marketers at N971 per litre for sale into ships and at N990 for sale into trucks. This set the benchmark for our pricing and we have even gone lower to sell at N960 per litre for sale into ships while maintaining N990 per litre for sale into trucks.
“In good faith, and in the interest of the country, we commenced sales at these prices without clarity on the exchange rate that we will use to pay for the crude purchased,” he said.
At the same time, he said an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, with the objective of using it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote Refinery’s higher quality production.
This, he said, is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria.
“We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries in order to provide jobs and grow the economy. For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips in order to protect their domestic industries.
“While we continue with our determination to provide affordable, good quality, domestically refined petroleum products in Nigeria, we call on the public to disregard the deliberate disinformation being circulated by agents of people who prefer for us to continue to export jobs and import poverty,” he added.
Background
Last Tuesday, Aliko Dangote, founder and president/chief executive of the Dangote Group, said his refinery has more than 500 million litres of petrol in stock, but marketers have not been buying the product.
He questioned why the NNPC and private retailers were still importing petrol when his refinery could produce enough.
“So, I am expecting that the NNPC Ltd and the marketers should stop importing; they should come and collect what they need,” Mr Dangote said Tuesday.
Mr Dangote did not say for how long the 500 million litres of petrol had been refined and stored by his 650,000 barrels per day refinery.
However, PREMIUM TIMES reported that data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed that his refinery was unable to meet the required volume of petrol sought by NNPC Ltd for three weeks.
According to the Dangote Evacuation Report seen by this newspaper, between 15 September and 5 October, the refinery delivered only 148 million litres of petrol, instead of 575 million litres.
Last Thursday, Dangote Refinery said it has not received any payments for the purchase of refined petroleum products from the IPMAN. The company made this known in reaction to a claim by the marketers that they were unable to load petrol from the refinery for days.
By Mary Izuaka, Premium Times
Friday, November 1, 2024
NEC recommends withdrawal of Tinubu’s tax reform bills
The National Executive Council has recommended the withdrawal of the four tax reform bills sent to the parliament by President Bola Tinubu.
The NEC, presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, took the decision at its meeting held at the Presidential Villa on Thursday. Membership of the NEC includes the governors of Nigeria’s 36 states.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who was one of the attendees who briefed journalists after the meeting, said the NEC called for the withdrawal so that “we can have wider consultations and also build consensus around these reforms…”
PREMIUM TIMES reported the controversy the bills have generated with the Northern Governors Forum rejecting them.
President Tinubu sent the four bills to the National Assembly as part of efforts to overhaul Nigeria’s tax system.
The bills seek to, among others, create a central revenue service that will collect all government revenues including those currently being collected by agencies like the customs and the ports authority.
The bills also seek to allocate more VAT revenues to states but would allow states where the VATs are generated to get the lion’s share. It is that latter position that northern leaders believe would not favour states in the region.
At its meeting, the NEC noted the need for sufficient alignment between and amongst the stakeholders for such proposed reforms, Mr Makinde said, noting that, there’s really a lot of miscommunication at the moment.
Earlier, President Tinubu’s spokesperson said the proposed laws will not increase the number of taxes currently in operation. Instead, they are designed to optimise and simplify existing tax frameworks.
“The tax rates or percentages will remain the same under these reforms, as they focus on ensuring a more equitable distribution of tax obligations without adding to the burden on Nigerians,” Mr Onanuga said.
He added that the reforms will not lead to job losses. On the contrary, they are structured to stimulate new avenues for job creation by supporting a dynamic, growth-oriented economy, he said.
“At the moment, tax administration lacks coordination among federal, state, and local tax authorities, often resulting in overlapping responsibilities, confusion, and inefficiency. Without reform, this inefficiency will persist.”
On concerns raised among government agencies, Mr Onanuga said the proposed laws aim to coordinate efforts between different tiers of government, resulting in better tax resource management and greater clarity for taxpayers.
“Importantly, these laws will not absorb or eliminate the duties of any existing department, agency, or ministry. Instead, they aim to harmonise revenue collection and administration across the federation to ensure efficiency and cooperation.”
On the proposed derivation-based VAT distribution model, which the Northern governors oppose, Mr Onanuga said the new tax model is designed to create an even fairer system.
The new proposal before the National Assembly outlines a different form of derivation which considers the place of supply or consumption for relevant goods and services.
“This means that states in the Northern region that produce the food we eat should not lose out just because their products are VAT-exempt or consumed in other states,” Mr Onanuga said, adding that, the ongoing tax reform seeks to correct the inherent inequity in the current derivation model as a basis for distributing VAT revenue.