Nigerian economist Idris Shuiab says the proposal to lift the country's tax take to 18% of gross domestic product within three years from 11% currently is an uphill task but not an impossible one. Shuiab says Nigeria can make enormous progress by simply improving the tax collection process rather than increasing and imposing taxes.
Monday, October 2, 2023
Video - Economist shares views on tax hike in Nigeria
Nigerian government offers wage rise to state workers as strike looms
Nigeria on Sunday announced a temporary wage increase for government workers, a three-month income subsidy for 15 million poor households and a pause in a value-added tax on diesel as the government sought to prevent an indefinite strike in two days.
After meeting with the government on Sunday, unions will on Monday take the proposals to their affiliates, who will decide whether to press on with the strike or suspend it, Joe Ajaero, president of the largest labour federation, Nigeria Labour Congress, told reporters.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said government workers would receive an additional 25,000 naira ($32) a month for the next six months, a smaller raise than the 200,000 naira that unions demanded. Tinubu said this was necessary to avoid pushing up double-digit inflation.
That would mean the lowest paid government worker in Nigeria will now earn 55,000 naira a month, up from 30,000 naira.
Poor households would also receive 25,000 naira a month for three months and a value-added tax on diesel will be paused for the same period, the president said.
The government also announced that mass transit buses would begin running on compressed natural gas.
At his inauguration in May, the president scrapped a decades-old fuel subsidy and ended foreign exchange restrictions, which has led to soaring cost of living, angering unions.
In a national broadcast earlier on Sunday marking 63 years of independence, Tinubu defended the reforms as necessary to put Africa's biggest economy on the path to recovery.
"I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I wish today's difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future," said Tinubu.
By Felix Onuah, Reuters
Related story: Oil workers in Nigeria to join nationwide strike next week
Friday, September 29, 2023
Video - Naira plunges to record low against U.S. dollar
The Nigerian currency Naira weakened to record low against the U.S. dollar this week, falling to 1,000 Naira per dollar on the parallel market, 29 percent weaker than the official rate of 775.37 per dollar. So, how much is the uncertainty at the CBN driving the Naira's performance in comparison to other economic fundamentals?
Britain urged to return James Ibori's loot to Nigeria
In a letter to Britain's home and foreign affairs ministers, a coalition of close to 50 NGOs said the long-delayed confiscation process had undermined the strong anti-corruption message sent by Ibori's conviction over a decade ago.
"The years of disruption and delay in recovering and returning these stolen assets means this message has so far rung hollow for the Nigerian people," said the letter, made public on Thursday by one of its signatories, Spotlight on Corruption.
A former governor of oil-producing Delta State in southern Nigeria, Ibori pleaded guilty in a London court in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering and was handed a 13-year jail sentence, of which he served about half before going home.
Still influential in Nigeria, Ibori has had meetings with President Bola Tinubu in recent months and has friends and associates in other powerful positions.
The NGOs, which also included Transparency International and Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, said funds confiscated from him should go to projects benefitting the people of Delta State and implementation should be subject to civil society monitoring.
Efforts by British prosecutors to confiscate Ibori's assets began in 2013 but have run into repeated obstacles and delays in the London courts.
In July, a judge ordered the confiscation of 101.5 million pounds ($123.9 million) from him, one of the biggest orders under Britain's Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 since it came into force.
He has applied for leave to appeal against the order and his application is at the early stages of the appeal process.
By Estelle Shirbon, Reuters
Related stories: Former Delta state governor James Ibori pleads guilty to money laundering
Oil workers in Nigeria to join nationwide strike next week
One of Nigeria's main oil and gas unions will join a nationwide strike starting on Oct. 3 to protest against government policies that are causing economic hardship for Nigerians, union leaders said on Thursday.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer and relies on the commodity for around 90% of foreign exchange earnings and about half its budget.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) directed its members to ensure "unwavering compliance" with the indefinite strike called by Nigeria's two biggest workers union federations.
NUPENG represents a myriad of workers across the entire value chain in the oil and gas sectors, including upstream oil platform workers, fuel tanker drivers and pump attendants, and its decision to join the strike is a significant escalation of the unions' dispute with the government.
NUPENG President Williams Akporeha said the government's policies have caused "excruciating and debilitating socio-economic pains" for Nigerians without any accompanying measures to cushion "the immediate effects and impacts."
President Bola Tinubu has been under pressure to reverse his decision to scrap a popular petrol subsidy that had kept fuel prices low but was costly on government finances.
While his policies have cheered investors, unions say they have led to soaring costs for Nigerians - an estimated four in 10 of whom live below the national poverty line- as they grapple with the highest inflation in nearly two decades.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
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