FG is not increasing taxes, Udoma tells National Assembly

The Federal Government does not have any intention of increasing taxes but is working towards increasing its internally generated revenue through the broadening its tax base.

Responding to a comment by Senator Ben Bruce at the public hearing of the Joint Session of the National Assembly on the 2017 Budget, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma said “a view has been expressed that we should not increase taxes, that we should broaden tax collection instead, that is precisely what is in the budget.”

Senator Bruce had given the impression that the Federal Government was about to increase taxes, a development he said will further worsen the economic fortunes of individuals and businesses, but the Minister said “there is no increase in VAT, there is no increase in company’s income tax, there is no increase at all in taxes, but people who are not paying taxes must be made to pay. So the idea is to increase revenue by broadening the tax base, not by increasing taxes.”

IMF Gerry Rice praises Central Bank of Nigeria’s flexible forex ploicy - TVC

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has hailed the decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to abandon its currency peg and adopt a flexible exchange rate policy, saying this was important to reduce fiscal and external imbalances.

IMF spokesman, Gerry Rice, said that the Fund wanted to see how effectively the Naira exchange market functions once the new float system is put into effect next Monday (today).

Facts and fallacies of fuel subsidy

Umana Okon Umana, an economist, is the former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State. In this piece, he highlights the fallacies associated with the fuel subsidy and what can be done to guarantee regular fuel supply for domestic consumption.

Many boisterous and healthy debates have broken out on social media platforms and, indeed, other fora on the recently adjusted price of petrol. But quite unexpectedly, some of the arguments are grounded in myths. Here are a few and my attempt to burst them.

Pius Adesanmi - It Will Get Worse Before it Gets Better

One argument being pushed by the Federal Government (via Osinbajo et al) and supporters of fuel subsidy removal (appropriate pricing, deregulation, downstreaming, market remedy - they have called the beast so many names my head is spinning) borders on the idea of the impenetrable darkness which always looms before the glorious light at the end of the tunnel. This is a very seductive argument, supported by the great spiritual and literary texts of the world. It is a powerful motif in literature, a recurrent theme in myths and legends: great difficulties, pitch darkness, then, light!

In the great literary mythologies, from the Greeks to the Romans, via Ananse in Ghanaian folk tales and the Tortoise in Yoruba folktales, pitch darkness and the light that follows it at the end of the tunnel are always moderated by one inescapable element: sacrifice. So here is the basic plot of one of the greatest motifs in human imagination: darkness + sacrifice = light. The emphasis is on sacrifice.

CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA: TEACHER CAMERON DONT TEACH ME NONSENSE

If we don't know our history, if our past are totally covered in an absolute darkness,if the hand written are not so clear on the wall that looted money from Nigeria and many other countries reside and boosted your economy, then the British Prime Minister, David Cameron or anyone for that matter from Britian would be free and even consience free to call Nigeria a fantastically corrupt country or any other derogatry name.

Corruption in Nigeria is a British legacy, the British colonial masters forcefully merged hitherto independent and peacefully coexisting nations together in order to gain economic advantage. At independence they consciously handed over power to the most backward section of the Nigerian ruling elite to maintained our neo-colonial status.

Way Forward Against Corruption: What I want President Buhari to Do

Dear President Muhammadu Buhari,

Let me start by stating that the decision on what to do with this piece of advice will be solely yours. It is only an advice; it does not suggest that you didn't have strategy on how to fight corruption. You may as well discover that it tallies with your plan or reinforces your agenda on corruption. But note that there is varied information available on how to solve any problem in society, we may only differ on what is head or tail over the matter.

Corruption did not originate from Nigeria and we are not the only nation that has been confronted with this ugly culture. Many countries from primordial history have had to do battle with this deadly monster. Indeed, corruption is the real hindrance to the proper economic and political development of mankind.

5 Quick Suggestions for Nigerian Relation with the International Community -

Our President has travelled a lot to parley the international community. No doubt his integrity has earned him and the country greet respect from various “world leaders”. We wish him well and do not intend to join the debate as to if he should travel less or travel more. Rather, we want to offer some little points with regards to how to earn respect from the International community. Enjoy.                                                                                                                                  

President Muhammadu Buhari In Chin

1. Promote your Culture and Values

A large hunk of the greatness of the Western world is promotion of its culture. America owes more thanks to Michael Jackson, James Bond, 2Pac, and Hollywood than it owes its graduate in terms of the world view of America as a super power. Unfortunately these are the people who taught the world to dress, talk, think, and act like Americans. This is why it was more fanciful in Africa to use American products and operate American system of Government, both of which puts you under the country in terms of economy and leadership respectively.

NIGERIA DERIVED NO BENEFIT FROM PREVIOUS DEVALUATIONS OF THE NAIRA - PRESIDENT BUHARI

President Buhari and Council of Retired Federal
Permanent Secretaries

President Muhammadu Buhari insisted Friday in Abuja that he was yet to be convinced that the vast majority of ordinary Nigerians will derive any tangible benefit from a devaluation of the Naira.

Speaking at a meeting with members of the Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries, President Buhari said that he still held the conviction which motivated his principled resistance to devaluation in his first tenure as Head of State.

"When I was military Head of State, the IMF and the World Bank wanted us devalue the Naira and remove petrol subsidy but I stood my grounds for the good of Nigeria.

"The Naira remained strong against the Dollar and other foreign currencies until I was removed from office in August, 1985 and it was devalued.

Transactions: NSE market capitalisation drops N22bn

Transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) opened on Monday on a negative trend with the market capitalisation dropping by N22 billion.
Market capitalisation which opened at N8.50 trillion lost N22 billion or 0.26 per cent to close at N8.48 trillion.

Similarly, All-Share Index lost 66.75 points or 0.27 per cent to close at 24,652.52 points against 24,719.27 achieved on Friday.

A breakdown of the price movement table showed that Nigerian Breweries topped the losers’ chart, dropping by N1.50 to close at N104.50 per share.

Guinness came second with a loss of 41k to close at N99.49 and Oando lost 38k to close at N4.18 per share.

Economic Crisis: Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun Says Nigeria Has Not Applied For An IMF Loan Because It Is 'Not Sick'

Kemi Adeosun

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria, which is going through its worst economic crisis in years, has not turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance because it is "not sick", its finance minister said.

Africa's top oil exporter, which has the continent's biggest economy, has been hit hard by the fall in crude prices since oil sales account for around 70 percent of its income.

The economy grew 2.8 percent last year, its slowest pace in decades, and in March annual inflation rose to a near four year high of 12.8 percent.

Ex Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala speaks on reason for Nigeria's current challenges & profer solutions

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Minister of Finance on Thursday said the zero political will to save under former President Goodluck Jonathan is responsible for the challenges the country is facing.

While speaking at the George Washington University, on "Inequality, growth and resilience," former Minister said the zero political will to save under former President Goodluck Jonathan is responsible for the challenges the country.

The two-time finance minister said the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) must seek means to embed savings in national constitutions devoid of political manipulations, adding that Nigeria was able to save $22 billion under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which saved the country in 2008, when there was global economic meltdown.