Business
LCCI calls FG to investigate theft before fuel subsidy removal
by Omolola Dede Adeyanju
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in a statement signed by its President/ Chairman Dr. Michael Olawale Cole CON has called on the government to make the required effort to identify and investigate the select group of individuals that plundered Nigeria’s national wealth and enriched themselves through the fuel subsidy regime, saying that they should be brought to book to prevent a recurrence of such criminal actions that have destroyed the economy.
The council commended President Bola Tinubu on his second State of the Nation address as the country grapples with the short-term economic hardship resulting from subsidy removal and exchange rate harmonization.
Olawale-Cole stated, “The President’s address showed leadership, responsibility, and accountability, and he demonstrated empathy as he unveiled a broad plan to ease the cost of living pains for Nigerians. He also provided clarity on the palliative measures and strategies for implementation.
“LCCI also commends the President on the palliative plan to support businesses, the working class, and the most vulnerable, as well as a policy intervention to check rising inflation and ensure exchange rate stability. The President covered most of the strategic sectors of the economy, but nothing was said about security, which is a critical factor in national development. The President described the plan to spend the N500 billion ($652 million) package to boost the economy by easing transportation costs, boosting manufacturing, and enhancing food supply. It will also provide conditional grants to at least a million small businesses.”
The President of the Council emphasised that to ensure affordable food prices, it is good that strategic reserves of grains will be released to households, and support for agriculture, including farmland cultivation, will be a priority.
According to him, “These plans demonstrate that the President is listening to Nigerians. The Chamber supports the move to invest in the manufacturing sector. However, it would be pertinent to consider more enterprises as 75 enterprises would not significantly impact the economy. However, we commend the effort to kick-start sustainable economic growth and improve productivity. We believe that if this plan is rigorously pursued, economic growth through the real sector of the economy would be achieved and could revive Nigeria’s sluggish industrialisation and expand the GDP.”
He expressed the wish of the council to call attention to the cost of funds. The plan, he said, “is to offer loans to 75 scalable enterprises with enormous prospects at 9 per cent per annum, repayable over a maximum period of 60 months. The government would need to closely monitor the banking sector in the provision of these loan facilities so that the eventual cost of funds is not above 9 per cent from other banking fees and charges. It may be judicious to stipulate that the total costs of funds is benchmarked to 9 per cent regardless of the charges and fees.
“The focus on improving public transportation, including providing buses to be fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG) for deployment in all the states, is a means to provide affordable transportation across Nigeria. This will help ease the problem of moving persons and goods across the nation. It will also reduce the cost of doing business which burdens most small enterprises.
“The Chamber hereby expresses concerns about the role of the State and Local governments as well as transparency in the implementation of the palliative strategies as the government plans to introduce an Infrastructure Support Fund for the states to invest in critical areas and revamp healthcare and educational infrastructure.”
The chamber urged the government to ensure smooth and promising implementation of the measures and regularly engage the citizens and the organised private sector to ensure accountability.
“There should be proper monitoring and evaluation of the implementation process to ensure benefits to the people.
“We also wish to nudge the government to share in the sacrifice made by Nigerians by reducing the high cost of governance in all its tiers and ensuring fiscal leakages and corruption are strategically dealt with. As we commend the government’s courage in enacting a series of policies, we trust that government would be courageous enough to cut the cost of governance. This will demonstrate to Nigerians that the leaders share in the suffering and sacrifice of the people. The perks available to public office holders are so enormous that it is difficult for the average Nigerian to understand why they suffer so much and those in leadership are unaffected. We urge Mr. President to do the needful, and we expect further announcements on the measure to cut the cost of governance.”
As mentioned, he said, “Security has not been given sufficient attention. It is also of utmost importance to deal with the issue of insecurity because, without security, there can be no prosperity. If the issue of insecurity is not adequately dealt with, the implementation of these strategies could be in jeopardy.
“The issue of oil theft must not be sidelined at this stage, as it has critical implications for the rule of law and our economic well-being as a nation. This will demonstrate that there is a holistic effort to revamp the economy and chart a new path for Nigerians. Government should also track down and apprehend the culprits of oil theft as this will act as a deterrent and communicate powerfully that crime must be punished.
“The fuel subsidy regime is sometimes described as a scam due to the opacity and lack of integrity of the arrangement, and it has indeed become a burden on the economy and a source of enrichment for a select group of individuals. Therefore, the Chamber calls on the government to make the required effort to identify and investigate the select group of individuals that plundered our national wealth and enriched themselves through the fuel subsidy regime. They should be brought to book to prevent a recurrence of such criminal actions that have destroyed our economy. Going forward, the system should also have sufficient transparency, accountability, and integrity, particularly with product pricing.”
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr. Ola Olukoyede has disclosed that public corruption is the bane of development in Nigeria.
He made this disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 while receiving the management team of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, led by its Chairman, Mohammed Bello Shehu who came on a courtesy visit to the Commission.
According to Olukoyede, public corruption ranks as the biggest cause of corruption in Nigeria. He pointed out that if public corruption was taken out of the polity, the country would fare better than many countries of the world.
“A situation where somebody would hold a public office or position of trust for years and you call him to account and he says No, he would not account, is not acceptable,” he said.
He stressed that transparency and accountability should be embedded in both the public and private sectors for optimal development of the country.
He decried the magnitude of stealing by corrupt elements in the country, especially stealing of unspent allocation in government agencies.
“When I look at some case files and see the humongous amount of money stolen, I wonder how we are still surviving. If you see some case files you will weep.
“The way they move unspent budget allocation to private accounts in commercial banks before midnight at the end of a budget circle, you will wonder what kind of spirit drives us as Nigerians,” he said.
While noting that corruption posed a huge challenge to the country, Olukoyede expressed optimism that the prevention mechanisms of his leadership would ensure that the Commission stays ahead of the devices of the corrupt to ensure that Nigerians have good governance experiences. He insisted that the preventive framework of tackling corruption offers more prospects of results and impact. To this end, the EFCC now has a Department of Fraud Risk and Assessment and Control.
The EFCC boss also described corruption in the country as systemic and entrenched, pointing out that the nation would fare better with improved systems of doing things.
“Let’s look at our system of revenue generation. It is a system that allows leakages in mobilisation and appropriation of funds. If we don’t look at the system, we will continue to chase shadows. In this direction, we are not just going to investigate and recover; what we have decided to do in the EFCC is Policy Review.
“If we can block some of these leakages and have a 50 per cent of capital project execution in Nigeria, the country would be fine”, he said.
While assuring RMAFC of enhanced EFCC collaboration, Olukoyede tasked the delegation to continue to support President Bola Tinubu’s efforts geared towards repositioning the country.
“The President relies on you and me and all the people he has put in a position of trust and responsibility for success,” he said.
Earlier in his address, Shehu lauded the longstanding collaboration between RMAFC and the EFCC and stated that the visit was motivated by the need to explore more areas of collaboration between the two agencies of government, especially in the direction of recovery of unremitted or lost revenues of government.
“It is important to bring to the fore that the collaboration between RMAFC and EFCC is crucial in addressing the challenges of unremitted revenue to the Federation Account. On this note, we are calling on EFCC for more collaboration, not only in the area of enforcement but also intelligence gathering and data sharing as regards government revenue from any source.”
He also called on the EFCC to further assist his Commission in the area of capacity building of its staff on revenue monitoring.
Business
Adelabu woos investors to make additional investments to fast-track energy transition targets
…Says Development banks have leveraged over $1bn in renewable energy
By Matthew Denis, Abuja
In a bid to enhance electricity supply and distribution across the country, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu has wooed investors to make additional investments to grow Nigeria’s energy sector and achieve the targets for the nation’s energy transition targets.
Speaking at the ongoing significant Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja, the Minister noted that Nigeria continues to embark on an extraordinary journey towards net zero carbon emissions, it is crucial to ensure that a more just, affordable, and sustainable energy system is adopted to address the industry’s most pressing challenges and unlock limitless potential in achieving energy security and a secure, sustainable, and equitable energy transition for Nigeria.
He stressed that “the power sector in Nigeria consumes the largest share of the country’s domestic gas supply. I am here to advocate for increased investment in Nigeria’s gas development to unlock the full potential of our power sector and achieve the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan.”
“The domestic gas-power market accounts for 60 percent (approx. 700 MMSCF Daily) of the total domestic gas supply. This gas quantity currently sustains Nigeria’s 4GW average grid generation capacity.
“In line with the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan vision 30:30, which seeks to achieve 30GW by the year 2030, our energy mix is projected to be 70% (or 21GW) thermal source (most likely gas considering the country’s gas potential) and 30% (or 9GW) renewable source.
“The power sector would require over five times what the industry currently utilises from the domestic gas market to achieve our 70% thermal energy target with gas-powered generation.
“Additional investments would be needed to increase the country’s gas production to achieve this level of gas supply to the power sector without compromising the export obligations. To this end, I call on the investors here today to strongly consider the investment in the further development of gas production in the country, especially our abundant unexploited Non-Associated Gas reserves,” he advocated.
Speaking further, Adelabu enumerated the Government’s commitment to ensure liquidity in the Nigerian power sector.
“To briefly spotlight the Federal Government of Nigeria’s recognition of the need for adequate liquidity in the Nigerian power sector to catalyse the much-needed investments across the value chain.
“The government recently introduced a cost-reflective tariff for the sector’s most served grid-tied customer segment. In addition, presidential approval was granted to resolve the power sector obligations to defray legacy debts to generation and gas companies.
“These actions speak to the government’s commitment to allowing efficient gas supply for the Nigerian power sector and ensuring there’s a clear line of sight for investors to recoup their investments in the country. I am confident that the Federal Government of Nigeria is committed to ensuring a viable and bankable power sector, and we are convinced that the industry is investment-ready,” he explained.
“To achieve our 30 percent Renewable Energy target, I urge you to consider the significant benefits of investing in renewable energy projects in Nigeria. Our country boasts abundant resources, particularly solar, wind, and hydro energy, providing a remarkable opportunity for sustainable growth. The renewable energy market has grown tremendously in the last decade, with over $1 billion leveraged by Multilateral Development Banks,” the Minister added.
He further emphasised that by channelling investments into these renewable sources, we can effectively meet our carbon emission targets while playing a crucial role in combating climate change.
“As demonstrated by our recently completed $550 million Nigeria Electrification Project, investing in renewable energy helps reduce carbon emissions, enhance energy security, and support economic development.
“Additionally, to complement the NEP, the $750 million DARES project would provide electricity to 2.5 million people in Nigeria by deploying solar home systems and mini-grids. These investments will propel Nigeria toward achieving its desired energy mix and transition targets.
“I reaffirm our unwavering commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2060. I sincerely thank all participants and stakeholders for your continued support and collaboration. Together, we can chart Nigeria’s course toward sustainable energy security and robust economic development,” he said.
…As Sanwo-Olu assures of working relationship
FirstBank of Nigeria has expressed its willingness to partner with the Lagos State Government to develop power projects in the state.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Mr. Olusegun Alebiosu made this known when he led the Executive Management of the Bank to visit the Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday.
Speaking, Alebiosu said, “Power infrastructure is important, and we know what happens in Lagos is what everybody in Nigeria copies. So, we look forward to the framework that the Lagos State Government will set up.
“We are sure that there are so many people in Lagos who want to provide power. Even if Lagos is not setting up any one on its own, we are sure that there are many private investors that will set up massive power projects that will fit into Lagos, and the cost of production will drop.
“We believe that with that, there would be more employment, tax revenue, and many other things. We believe that not only Lagos State but the entire Nigeria will benefit from those projects.
“There are many special projects the Lagos State Government is doing, and First Bank will continue to support the Lagos State Government to develop the projects.”
In his remarks, the Lagos State Governor on Tuesday said his administration will sustain deep mutually beneficial transformative relationships with financial institutions, particularly the First Bank of Nigeria, to meet the needs and yearnings of the citizens of Lagos.
He said the relationship Lagos State is creating with banks is to enhance and improve the quality of life for Lagos residents, as well as improve the socio-economic situation in the country.
Sanwo-Olu, who congratulated Alebiosu on his new appointment as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, charged him to create value for shareholders and other stakeholders of the bank.
He said, “Part of the consequences of our position in Lagos State is that we are home to many people. And since we are the commercial, economic, and financial nerve centre of our country, there will always be a need for the Lagos State Government to be pulled here and there by different stakeholders.
“We have a special space for First Bank because we have identified relationships that have been mutually beneficial. We have had banking relationships over the years, and both the state government and your institution have seen value created. We have seen extreme economic movement.
“We are building deep, mutually beneficial, transformative relationships. We will continue to nurture the relationship. We will continue to give it its rightful place, and we will continue to ensure that, as fair as we can be, First Bank truly receives a decent amount of our business.
“We have enjoyed a very cordial and forward-looking relationship with First Bank, and we believe that during your (Alebiosu) tenure, the relationship will be further enhanced and improved upon.”
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