Ministers give Tinubu pass mark amid rising inflation, subsidies, insecurity

Source: The Guardian

* Alake: Nigeria generates N16.3b from mining royalty in 12 months

*⁠ FG targeting tax collection efficiency, not increasing tax burden, Shettima assures

Despite the wobbling state of the nation's economy, rising inflation and cost of living, as well as the depreciation of the naira, Ministers across different sectors of the nation's economy yesterday in Abuja gave themselves a huge pass mark and rated the performance of President Bola Tinubu's administration in the last one year high.

As the Ministers converged to account for their stewardship across several ministries as a build-up to the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration, issues surrounding the continuous payment of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) as well as the low oil production, which has starved local refineries in the country became a key highlight when the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, denied knowledge of the issue.

Though President Tinubu halted subsidies on petrol a year ago, The Guardian reported that the country has been paying nearly N1 trillion monthly on subsidy even as traders supplying products to Nigeria are being owed about N3 billion.

With low oil production, which has also plunged the economy into a foreign exchange crisis, Lokpobiri said he does not know that the Dangote Refinery is importing crude oil from America.

Although Nigeria produces one of the lightest and most environmentally-friendly crude oil in the world, local refineries, especially Dangote Refinery, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NUPRC) imported over seven million barrels of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) as of March this year. NUPRC is directly under the watch of Tinubu, who doubles as Petroleum Minister and Lokpobiri.

The six cabinet ministers, who presented the scorecard of the President described the first year in office as not only eventful but also a harvest of unprecedented achievements. The ministers who featured in the first phase of the Ministerial Press Briefing insisted that if the government continues at the speed it is moving, Nigerians would in no distant time begin to enjoy a good life.

Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Youth and Sports Development; Steel Development; Solid Mineral; Petroleum Resources (Oil), and Defence took their turns to brief the media on their activities in the last year.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, said Nigeria in decades past, failed woefully to efficiently utilise the revenue that are accrued from the sector. He noted that the ministry has generated N16,395,640,771.58 between May 2023 and April 2024 from mining royalty and fees through the Mining Cadastral Office (MCO).

Alake noted that the country failed to use its "petrodollars" to develop other critical sectors of the economy, such as solid minerals and agriculture

"In other climes, the money derived from oil is used to develop other critical sectors of the economy, such that as revenue flowed in from oil, it was also flowing in from the other critical sectors."

The Minister said under his watch in the last 10 months, there have been significant positive changes to rejuvenate the solid mineral sector in Nigeria.

"One of the first things we did was to revoke 1,619 mining licences of operators who were not remitting anything to the country. We also revoked another 900 licences that the owners just allowed to remain dormant."

Alake said because of the great work that has been done in the last year, more companies are developing interest in the Nigerian mining industry. In his words, "We have received a total of 10,000 fresh applications for licences and so far, and we have granted 4,000."

The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, said the National Youth Investment Fund has been restructured with a capital of N110 billion for startups and early-growth businesses.

Also speaking, Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, said Nigeria is working with regional security agencies and neighbouring countries to fight insurgency and improve the security situation in the country.

He noted that the Nigerian military, in conjunction with those countries, has arrested many terrorists and confiscated many weapons, adding that the collaboration Nigeria has with other countries is helping it to prevent the influx of small arms into the country.

Abubakar recalled that the president signed the DICON Bill, which has helped the military produce small arms locally, especially what is needed in the fight against insurgency.

He added that there are ongoing discussions on the production of weapons while the Nigerian military is in touch with more than 50 private firms that are interested in producing weapons, stressing that 13 of them are about to start production, including manufacturing of armoured carriers and safety equipment.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kashim Shettima has restated the commitment of the Tinubu administration to revamping the nation's tax system without overburdening Nigerians. Specifically, he said the fundamental motive of the administration is not to increase the tax burden on Nigerians but to improve the efficiency of tax collection.

Shettima spoke Thursday when he received a delegation from the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, noting that no Nigerian is pleased with the illegal tax collection happening across the entire country by non-state actors.

He solicited CITN's insights on attracting foreign direct investment through competitive company tax rates and stressed the importance of collaborating with CITN to adopt global best practices in tax administration.

In his remarks, CITN President, Samuel Agbeluyi, commended the Federal Government's efforts to address the needs of Nigerians, citing the recent suspension of the Cyber Security Levy as a prime example.

He applauded the administration's initiatives, including unifying exchange rates, attracting foreign investment, establishing the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, as well as deploying monetary policy measures to stabilise the naira, combat inflation, and recapitalise banks.

The CITN boss pledged to provide technical and professional advice to the government at all levels, contributing to the development of an efficient tax system that fosters ease of doing business, accountability and prudent utilisation of taxpayers' resources.

Similarly, the Vice President called on leaders in Nigeria's capital market to restructure the system to deploy strategies that would attract more youths to leverage opportunities in the sector.

The restructuring of the sector, he said, should include, among other things, the strengthening of internal mechanisms to checkmate unwholesome practices by unscrupulous persons in the market.

Shettima made the call when he received management of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), led by its 13th President and Chairman of Council, Mr Oluropo Dada, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Speaking on the contributions of CIS to the nation's economy, Shettima observed that while the institute's position in the economy is critical, it has been grossly underutilised over the years. He called for the complete overhaul of the system and deployment of innovative measures for potentials in the space to be fully harnessed.

Shettima stated: "There is a need to think outside the box to get more people to participate in the stock market. How do you get more youths to be interested in the Nigeria capital market? You need to develop and put in place strategies to engage more youths to take advantage of the opportunities in the capital market."

Earlier, the President of CIS, Dada commended the administration for its bold and courageous policies, and programme, including the petrol subsidy removal, banking sector recapitalisation and reforms in the foreign exchange market.

He called on Nigerians to show more understanding and cooperate with the administration, assuring that the Federal Government will meet and even surpass the expectations of Nigerians in the key sectors of the economy.