Economy
Network, KADIRS Engage Media to Increase Visibility of IGR in Kaduna
Tax Justice Network (TJN), in partnership with the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS), has engaged the media in ensuring possible ways of increasing visibility of Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) through their reportage in Kaduna.
The round table engagement, which was aimed at enlistment of the support of media in Kaduna, was also supported by Christain aid.
The Coordinator of TJN in Kaduna, Mr Simeon Olatunde, described the media as a strategic partner whose contributions in promoting fair, inclusive and citizen driven tax process was paramount.
He noted that the TJN was a loose network of civil society and media advocate for equity and inclusive prosperity in Kaduna State.
It fosters social economic justice through equitable and fair tax system in the state and beyond.
“Over the years, we have been promoting good governance, tax education and awareness to protect and advance taxpayers’ rights and compliance collaboratively with the state government, private sector and development partners to improve and enhance the tax system that is inclusive and citizens driven,” he said.
According to Olatunde, the knowledge of tax is scanty among the media partners in Kaduna, which informed the round table engagement.
“The Network which has a loose coalition with tax concern, discovered that the media who was also part of the network and have very scanty knowledge of tax which sometimes revolves around figures and tax lines.
“Everything we are doing at the network with media is only at the micro level, not at a wider coverage,” he said.
He, therefore, said the engagement was to carry along other media, to expand the scope and educate, build their capacity to bring an end to the issues of tax education.
On educating public on tax administration, Olatunde said the network engaged communities through Community Development Charter (CDC) process to discuss concerns about tax at their community level.
The coordinator stressed the TJN’s committment in advocating development levy and tax for service, to ensure that specific amount of money was going back to the community.
Earlier, Mr Zakari Muhammad, KADIRS Head of Corporate Communication, said the specific objectives of the engagement was to increase the understanding and knowledge of media partners on IGR, and importance as a sustainable source of revenue generation.
He added that it was also to reawaken the media on their roles in empowering the residents to hold the government accountable.
Muhammad also said that the KADIRS was keen about receiving feedback, comments from stakeholders on achievements, challenges, and evidence in relation to the current state of IGR and its budget contribution in the media space.
He therefore emphasised the crucial role of media in reporting and advocating voluntary compliance in Kaduna state, while soliciting their support for a robust reportage of tax system, regime and other related issues within the tax space.
Also, A Media Resource Person, Mr Philip Yatai, said revenue generation, particularly IGR, was one of the key drivers of every development project.
He noted that the sole revenue earning for Nigeria which is the oil, is depleting globally and attached with many issues.
According to him, every developed country has its development tied to its IGR.
Yatai therefore said that the KADIRS had been working, including media engagement, which was not enough.
He, therefore, said the TJN worked in collaboration with the KADIRS to bring onboard the media to carry out sensitisation, advocacy and development journalism on tax administration with emphasis on tax justice and tax for service.
Yatai called on the government and civil society to always respond to the media calls and work with them as partners to achieve the common goal of service to humanity and communities through tax generation.
Earlier, The Acting Executive Chairman of KADIRS, Mr Jerry Adams, said the service was the sole authority mandated to collect and account for all taxes, levies, fees, charges and rates in the state as listed in the first schedule to the Law.
Adams, represented by the KADIRS Executive Director, Revenue Operations, Dr Muhammand Lawal, gave an overview of taxes and reforms since 2015 to date in Kaduna state.
He noted that a lot of transformation and structural reforms, which cut across manual to digitisation in tax administration, had seen improvement in KADIRS operations over the years.
According to him, the transformation over the year had increased the state IGR, which ranked the state among top five in the country on IGR.
Adams, therefore, urged the citizens to imbibe voluntary tax payment, to continue enjoying development across all stratas of the state.(NAN)
To end the week, the stock market rebounded from previous losses, gaining N74 billion.
Investor interest in MTN Nigeria, FBN Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) and other equities lifted the market.
Notably, the market capitalisation opened at N56.014 trillion, adding N74 billion or 0.
13 per cent to close at N56.088 trillion.The All-Share Index also advanced by 0.
13 per cent, or 129.44 points, closing at 97,606.63, compared to 97,477.19 recorded on Thursday.As a result, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return increased by 30.54 per cent.
The market breadth closed positive, with 31 gainers and 19 losers on the floor of the Exchange.
On the gainers’ chart, Consolidated Hallmark Plc and Sterling Nigeria led by 9.
45 per cent each to close at N1.39 and N4.98 per share respectively.Mecure followed by 9.19 per cent to close at N10.10, Regency Alliance Insurance gained 9.09 per cent to close at 72k, while Fidson Healthcare Plc increased by 8.24 per cent to close at N15.10 per share.
Conversely, Deap Capital Management and Trust led the losers’ chart by 9.93 per cent to close at N1.36, NEM Insurance trailed by 9.71 per cent to close at N7.90 per share.
Daar Communications also lost 9.52 per cent to close at 57k, Tantalizers shed 9.09 per cent to close at 60k, while Dangote Sugar declined by 3.31 per cent to close at N31 per share.
Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 20.33 per cent.
A total of 304.43 million shares valued at N5.60 billion were exchanged in 6,950 deals, compared with 277.75 million shares valued at N4.65 billon in 7,091 deals traded in the previous session.
Meanwhile, Access Corporation led the activity chart in volume and value with 68.26 million shares valued at N1.34 billon.(NAN)
By David Torough, Abuja
The Nigerian Economic Society (NES) has decried Nigeria’s socioeconomic dilemmas, including; low personal incomes, dysfunctional education, healthcare systems, unemployment, rising inflation, poverty, amidst other critical issues.
This was part of the communique at the end of the association’s 65th annual conference held recently in Abuja with the theme: Socioeconomic Development in Nigeria: Imperatives, Implications, and Impacts.
It emphasised that the factors greatly contribute to insecurity, food scarcity, energy poverty, widening social inequality as macroeconomic instability and called on relevant stakeholders to urgently address the challenges.
President Bola Tinubu who was represented by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima through
Dr. Tope Fasua, underscored the
pivotal role of economists in shaping national development.
Tinubu reiterated the importance of their role to make the citizens feel integral and empowered, knowing that their contributions were crucial to the country’s development.
He urged them to approach the economy optimistically, stressing that their work was crucial, and that improvement was
always possible.
In his remarks, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu underscored the importance of socioeconomic resilience amidst global economic challenges.
He acknowledged the relevance of the conference theme, stating its timeliness in addressing Nigeria’s development needs.
On his part, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun who delivered the keynote address on “Leveraging Economic Reforms to Leapfrog Nigeria’s Socioeconomic Development,” underscored the potential benefits of these reforms and stressed the need to better utilise Nigeria’s human and natural resources to spur socio-economic development.
He predicted that while structural reforms might cause short-term economic shocks, they would stabilise the economy in the long run, bringing hope for a brighter future.
In his presentation, the NES President, Professor Adeola Adenikinju who presented “Nigeria’s Socioeconomic Challenges: Lessons from the Structural Adjustment Programmes,” recommended:
Instituting an economic governance structure for the country, designating
some Ministries as economic ministries that qualified economists and allied professionals
must staff, adopting macroeconomic models to analyse the impacts of policies and assess
alternative scenarios.
Adenikinju also recommended; implementing export-led growth strategies by promoting value-
added exports and incentives for export-oriented industries and infrastructure, prioritising agro-allied industries to boost socioeconomic outcomes, implementing targeted subsidies or social safety nets to cushion vulnerable populations against the immediate impacts of reforms, amongst others.
The 65th NES Conference provided significant insights into Nigeria’s socioeconomic
development challenges and proposed actionable recommendations.
Participants emphasised the need for visionary leadership, policy synergy, and a commitment to long-term economic transformation to ensure sustainable development for Nigeria.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) says it will henceforth issue Outline Business Case (OBC) Certificate of Compliance and the Full Business Case (FBC) Certificate of Compliance within seven days.This follows the charge by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Director General of the Commission, Dr Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh “to accelerate investment in National Infrastructure through innovative mobilization of private-sector funding”.
President Tinubu also charged him to work assiduously to boost infrastructure development in Nigeria as part of the renewed hope agenda of the current administration.In view of the above, Dr Ewalefoh-led management team of the ICRC has streamlined the approval processes of the commission to issue its certificates of compliance within seven days. This will accelerate the turnaround time for approvals by the Commission.“In line with the charge of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and following his Renewed Hope Agenda, we have streamlined and updated our approval processes to issue either of the Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance (OBC) and the Full Business Case Certificate of Compliance (FBC) to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that meet the requirements within seven days.“This is part of efforts by the current administration to accelerate infrastructure development, bridge the infrastructure gaps and stimulate the economy through investment of private sector funds in Public Private Partnership endeavours.“By streamlining our processes, the Commission is in no way foregoing any of its stringent approval steps or key requirements, therefore, only business cases that are viable, bankable, offer value for money and meet all other requirements will be approved.“The ICRC cannot do it alone, therefore I implore all chief executives of MDAs to match our momentum and align with this charge of Mr. President to accelerate Infrastructure development and ensure that PPP projects are not stalled at any point but delivered within record time.“The Commission is ready to partner and collaborate with all MDAs to actualize this,” he said.In a statement by Ifeanyi NwokoActing Head, Media and Publicity on Monday the ICRC DG in August rolled out a six-point policy direction which among others, focused on accelerating PPP processes, boosting inter-agency collaboration and ensuring innovative financing.The ICRC was established to regulate Public Private Partnership (PPP) endeavours of the Federal government aimed at addressing Nigeria’s physical infrastructure deficit which hampers economic development.
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