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Tinubu committed to judicious utilisation of nation’s revenue – Aide

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The Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Mr Zacch Adedeji, says the President Bola Tinubu’s administration is committed to ensure judicious utilisation of the nation’s revenue and resources.

Adedeji made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja at a one-day hybrid sensitisation workshop on the published “Guidelines for Private Sector Response to Illicit Financial Flow (IFF) Vulnerabilities in Nigeria”

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event was organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Adedeji said, “The President believes in fiscal discipline which rests on the accurate prediction of revenue.

“If the government can’t count your money, the government can’t allocate it and if the government can’t allocate it, it can’t manage it.

“The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will make every kobo of our revenue counts,” he said.

The special adviser added that the government would strengthen the country’s fight against illicit financial flows (IFFs).

According to him, the IFFs have significantly eroded domestic revenues and hampered government’s efforts to mobilise resources, thereby threatening economic stability and sustainable development.

“In Nigeria and across the African continent, we continue to suffer various forms of IFFs, including tax evasion and other harmful tax practices, the illegal export of foreign exchange and abusive transfer pricing,

“Others are trade mis-pricing, mis-invoicing of services, illegal exploitation and under-invoicing of natural resources, organized crimes, and corruption,” he added.

He emphasised that stemming illicit financial flows would address its negative impact on global development agenda as well as governance challenge.

The special adviser commended the Chairman of the ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, for recording successes in the fight against IFFs.

“Some level of progress and successes have so far been recorded in the fight against IFFs.

“These have achieved through the concerted efforts of the ICPC’s sensitisation and capacity building of major players in the various sectors of the economy as well as citizenry on the menace of IFFs.

“These efforts have yielded great results and benefits as the nation through these robust engagements has plugged identified leakages/loopholes that enable IFFs by the relevant circulars issued by the Federal Government,” he stated.

He advised the relevant stakeholders at the sensitisation workshop to key into the government’s efforts to tackle IFFs.

“The published guidelines will set a new trajectory in the fight against IFFs in the private sector, thereby putting Nigeria at the forefront of African countries to achieve this great feat.

“The purpose of the published guidelines is to further assist, guide and strengthen the private sector operators in curbing IFFs.

“The aim of this publication is to set the path for more interventions in the fight against IFFs and IFF-related activities,” Adedeji said.

In his address of welcome, the ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, said that IFFs was a drain on Nigeria’s potential revenue accretion and foreign exchange reserves.

According to him, this has resulted in exchange rate depreciation, inflation and increase in cost of servicing external debts.

“It is negatively impacting on the cost of imported goods like petroleum with its attendant radical consequences on daily livelihood experience of ordinary citizens.”

Owasanoye called for diverse measures to tackle the menace in all its forms, to improve Nigeria’s quest for domestic revenue increase relative to the size of its economy.

He gave assurance that the Commission would continue to focus attention on practical measures to enhance Nigeria’s ability to stem IFFs and reduce capital flight.

According to him, it will also enhance the country’s capacity for domestic resource mobilisation by identifying vulnerabilities and other weaknesses in the systems and processes of agencies and institutions within the public and private sector and advising reforms to mitigate losses.

 Owasanoye said that the workshop was necessitated by the need to get the feedback of the private sector constituency on any possible challenges towards implementation of the recommendations in the guidelines.

He added that a similar platform would be created for public officers and other stakeholders to ventilate the Guidelines for Negotiation of Contracts and Agreements.

Mrs Lola Adekanye, the Programme Director (Africa) of Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE),  gave an overview of the published guidelines while Mrs. Ayotola Jagun,

the Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary of Oando Plc,  outlined the private sector response to the guidelines.

Participants at the workshop were representatives of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria , Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and  Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

 Others are Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Odu’a Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and members of the Inter-Agency Committee on Stopping IFFs from Nigeria.

Also participated were Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria,, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Bureau of Public Enterprises, and members of the Inter-Agency Committee on Stopping IFFs from Nigeria. 

POLITICS

Poverty, Behind Deadly Stampedes Across Nigeria, says Falana

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Missing N500bn: Probe CBN, Falana, Others Tell PMB
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By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday attributed the deadly stampede that claimedmore than 105 lives in stampedes during food and cash distribution events to “poverty-induced neoliberal economic policies” and “criminal negligence.

In a statement released on Sunday, Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond ASCAB, demanded justice for victims of the tragic events, saying, “These tragic events are a national shame, the victims were not just statistics but human beings driven to desperation by systemic poverty and the gross incompetence of those entrusted with their safety.

On December 21, 12 people died and 32 others were injured in Okija, Anambra State, during a scramble for rice distributed by a philanthropist.

On the same day, a stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals, including children, as over 3,000 people jostled for palliatives.

Just two days prior, on December 19, 35 children lost their lives in a stampede at a Christmas funfair at an Islamic High School, Basorun. in Ibadan, Oyo State.

“The loss of these innocent lives is heart-wrenching,” Falana lamented.

“It underscores the indignity that poverty imposes on our people.”

Falana also criticized the elite for their treatment of the poor during such events, stating, “No member of the elite invites others to lunch by throwing the food,” and condemned what he termed “class prejudice” in the distribution of humanitarian aid.

He also announced plans to mobilize lawyers to pursue civil suits against the organizers of these events.

“We will ensure survivors and families of the deceased are adequately compensated,” Falana affirmed. “Those responsible for these avoidable tragedies must be held accountable.”

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POLITICS

2025 budget: LP Chieftain Lauds Tinubu for Diving Priority to Security, Others

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Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, National Deputy Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) ,has commended  President Bola Tinubu for giving  priority to security and other key sectors in the 2025 Appropriation Bill .

Olorunfemi gave the commendation while speaking with newsmeon Thursday in Lagos.

NAN reports that the President had on Wednesday  presented  the N47.

9 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill , christened “Budget of Restoration, Securing Peace and Rebuilding Prosperity” , to a joint session of the National Assembly .

The President listed highlights of the 2025 budget allocations to include: defense and security: N4.91 trillion; infrastructure: N4.06 trillion; Health: N2.

48 trillion and Education: N3.52 trillion.

Reacting , Olorunfemi  described security as an enabler of development.

He called on the President to ensure proper implementation ,saying budgets had always been well-crafted but usually lacked monitoring and implementation.

“There is nothing that can happen if there is no security. This is good if the budget is properly utilised for the purpose.

“Our problem is not about policies and budgets, it is about monitoring and implementation.

“There is nothing wrong in bringing a budget proposal forward in terms of expectation, what we want to do, how we want to do it, and how much we want to spend.

“Now, the most important thing is the implementation,, budgets in Nigeria have always been properly crafted,” the LP boss said.

Olorunfemi called on the President to build strong institutions to prevent sabotaging of his policies.

“If this government wants to do anything, it must wake up to the responsibility of monitoring policies and ensure  severe penalty for anyone who attempts to sabotage such policies.

“We need institutions that no one will be able to interfere with. We must allow these institutions to work, that is what we expect.

“Once we have strong institutions, most of our problems are solved,” he said.

He  also called on the President to take steps to address  the problems experienced by Nigerians in the banking sector.

Olorunfemi  decried the inability of many Nigerians to get cash at  bank’s Automated Teller Machines and the high charges paid  to get cash from Point of Sales (POS) operators.

The LP boss also urged the President to devise ways of  ending multiple taxations and high fuel price, describing them as major causes  of  hardship .

Recalled that the President said that the budget was a demonstration of government’s commitment to stabilising the economy, improving lives and repositioning the country for greater performance.

He also said the budget sought to consolidate the key policies instituted to restructure the economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments and bolster oil and gas production. (NAN)

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POLITICS

Atiku hails Ndimi’s Oriental Energy on commissioning of first FPSO 

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By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

The former Vice President of Nigeria and PDP Presidential flag bearer in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar has congratulated the Chairman of the Nigerian Independent producer, Oriental Energy Resources (OER), Muhammadu Indimi, on the successful completion and commissioning of the Okwok Field’s Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel/platform in Dubai.

In a statement in Abuja by his Media Office in Abuja on Wednesday, the Former Vice President described the commissioning of the FPSO as one of the most gladdening news coming out from the upstream subsector of Nigeria’s oil industry in recent times.

“The vessel’s deployment at the Okwok field is expected to significantly increase Nigeria’s crude oil output, contributing to the government’s revenue growth and economic development objectives,” he said.

According to Atiku, “This is the first FPSO entirely funded by an indigenous Nigerian company and this landmark achievement being championed by OER showcases the rising capability of Nigerian firms in conceptualising and successfully executing complex projects in the nation’s upstream oil industry.

The successful building and commissioning of the FPSO marks a significant step toward enabling an indigenous oil and gas company to independently develop a marginal oil field. 

This development marks an important milestone for Nigeria and its indigenous energy sector, he said.

“No doubt, this latest investment would boost economic growth, generate job opportunities for Nigerians, and ensure steady growth and development of not only the oil sector but the nation’s economy in general.”

He described Indimi as a man who so much believes in the capabilities that exist in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“From onset of his foray into the nation’s oil sector, his vision of standing out as a player of reckon in the nation’s upstream oil business has been top-notch,” he said.

As he said, Oriental Energy’s significant investment in the oil sector has set a new standard in local investment and operational excellence in the nation’s oil business, benefiting both the company and its partners.

The 40,000 barrels per day capacity facility constructed by the Singaporean firm HBA Future Energy will commence sailing to Nigerian waters beginning February 2025 for hook-up on the Okwok Oil Field. Production is expected to commence on the oil field in the first half of next year.

Okwok Oil Field, discovered by ExxonMobil in 1967, is located in Oil Mining Lease(OML) 67, in 31 metres water depth in shallow marine, southeast offshore Nigeria with estimated recoverable reserves of 45 million barrels. OER has an ongoing multi-well drilling campaign on the field that commenced in October 2023.

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