Category: Finance

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Finance Latest News

Nigeria still Oil dependent economy, says NNPC Boss, Baru

A Total Oil Rig
A Total Oil Rig

 

Nigeria still Oil dependent economy, says NNPC Boss, Baru

Despite efforts of Nigerian government to diversify the country’s economy and wean her from dependency on oil, Nigeria remains largely run on oil resources, the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, said on Thursday.

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Baru said this while speaking on investment in the Oil and Gas Industry at the ongoing 7th OPEC International Seminar on Thursday in Vienna, Austria.

Nigeria is working towards mainstreaming taxation and agriculture as alternative sources of revenue to the government.

Maikanti said the NNPC recognised the challenge as well as the opportunity oil demand growth presented for the country.

“The balance of objectives requires that we undertake a paradigm shift in our business model to ensure that we attract capital and sustain flow of investment.

“Much more, the recent fiscal challenge experienced by the nation places a burden for change; hence we have undertaken to broaden the base of investment sources outside traditional government funding.

“To encourage the existing players in the industry, particularly the traditional JV partners, we undertook to settle all outstanding cash call arrears amounting to 5 billion dollars. “This has restored confidence in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“We have also signed third-party financing deals with international banks on new oil and gas development worth over 3 billion dollars,” he said.

Baru said the NNPC had also executed a contractor financing deal of about 1 billion dollars with Schlumberger for the development of 250 Million Barrels of Oil Equivalent fields in the Niger Delta. He also spoke about gas supply to the domestic market which he said had tripled from 500mmscf/d in 2010 to about 1500mmscf/d currently.

“We have completed and commissioned almost 600km of new gas pipelines thereby connecting all existing power plants to permanent gas supply pipeline.

“The recently sanctioned $2.8 billion, 614 Km Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano pipeline projects is a demonstration of commitment to investing in local gas development,” he said.

Also, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, National Oil Corporation, Libya, Mr Mustafa Sanalla, said the 2011 uprising in the country saw production fall by about 450,000 barrels per day. He said between 2012 and 2017, the country had lost an equivalent of 107 billion dollars in oil production. Meanwhile, the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia, Mr Khalid Al-Falih, said the country would not allow a glut to materialise again in the market. He also said he was confident that on Saturday, when OPEC and non-OPEC members meet to decide whether or not to lift the oil production cut, they would reach a consensus. Al-Falih was hopeful of an agreement to boost oil production and that the bone of contention would be the distribution of the increase among participating countries. (With NAN Reports)

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Finance Latest News

Nigeria gets N9.12 trillion budget for 2018; N683 billion for Fashola’s Ministry

President Muhammadu Buhari signs the 2018 budget at the State House, Abuja. BAYO OMOBORIOWO
President Muhammadu Buhari signs the 2018 budget at the State House, Abuja. BAYO OMOBORIOWO

 

Nigeria gets N9.12 trillion budget for 2018; N683 billion for Fashola’s Ministry

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday signed the country’s budget of N9.12 trillion for 2018 spending.

Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has the highest budget of N682,959,550,242; followed Ministry of Transportation, N251,420,000.000. Ministry of Environment has the least budget of N17,492,955,833.

The assent is coming seven months after the spending bill was presented to the National Assembly on November 7th, 2017.

The lawmakers jerked up the original spending list send by Buhari by N508 billion, from N8.26 trillion to N9.12 trillion.

While signing the document, Buhari said he was not happy with the alteration with the original spending plan.

“A few minutes past noon today, I signed the 2018 Appropriation Bill into Law,” Buhari tweeted on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing received N682,959,550,242; Ministry of Transportation, N251,420,000.000; Ministry of Defence, N157,715,439.613; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, N149,198,139.0 37; Ministry of Water Resources, N147,199,614,645; and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, N105,156,176,854.Ministry of Education got N102,907,290,833; Ministry of Health, N86,482,848,198; Ministry of Environment, N17,492,955,833; and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, N58,082,611,977.

Buhari expressed his displeasure with the National Assembly: “I am however concerned about some of the changes @nassnigeria has made to the budget proposals I presented,” Buhari said.

“The logic behind the Constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the Executive is that it is the Executive that knows & defines its policies and projects. Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me.”

Buhari accused the lawmakers of cutting funding up to N347 billion for 4700 projects. He said the National Assembly, instead, introduced a total of 6,403 projects amounting to N578 billion, some of which he said will be difficult to execute because they have not been properly “conceptualized, designed and costed”.

Many of the projects, according to Buhari, are critical to Nigeria’s economy and may be difficult, if not impossible, to implement with the reduced allocation.

The Guardian listed some of the projects with reduced funding  below:

a. The provisions for some nationally/regionally strategic infrastructure projects such as Counter-part funding for the Mambilla Power Plant, Second Niger Bridge/ancillary roads, the East-West Road, Bonny-Bodo Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail Project were cut by an aggregate of 11.5 billion Naira.

b. Provisions for some ongoing critical infrastructure projects in the FCT, Abuja especially major arterial roads and the mass transit rail project, were cut by a total of 7.5 billion Naira.

c. The provision for Rehabilitation and Additional Security Measures for the United Nations Building by the FCT, Abuja was cut by 3.9 billion Naira from 4 billion Naira to 100 million Naira; this will make it impossible for the Federal Government of Nigeria to fulfil its commitment to the United Nations on this project.

d. The provisions for various Strategic Interventions in the health sector such as the upgrade of some tertiary health institutions, transport and storage of vaccines through the cold chain supply system, provision of anti-retroviral drugs for persons on treatment, establishment of chemotherapy centres and procurement of dialysis consumables were cut by an aggregate amount of 7.45 billion Naira.

e. The provision for security infrastructure in the 104 Unity Schools across the country were cut by 3 billion Naira at a time when securing our students against acts of terrorism ought to be a major concern of government.

f. The provision for the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme was cut by 8.7 billion Naira.

g. At a time when we are working with Labour to address compensation-related issues, a total of 5 billion Naira was cut from the provisions for Pension Redemption Fund and Public Service Wage Adjustment.

h. The provisions for Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and Special Economic Zones/Industrial Parks, which are key industrialization initiatives of this Administration, were cut by a total of 14.5 billion Naira.

i. The provision for Construction of the Terminal Building at Enugu Airport was cut from 2 billion Naira to 500 million Naira which will further delay the completion of this critical project.

j. The Take-off Grant for the Maritime University in Delta State, a key strategic initiative of the Federal Government, was cut from 5 billion Naira to 3.4 billion Naira.

k. About seventy (70) new road projects have been inserted into the budget of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. In doing so, the National Assembly applied some of the additional funds expected from the upward review of the oil price benchmark to the Ministry’s vote. Regrettably, however, in order to make provision for some of the new roads, the amounts allocated to some strategic major roads have been cut by the National Assembly.

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Finance

Whistleblower Policy led to recovery of N13.8 billion from tax evaders, says Presidency

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (in white) with the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Tunde Fowler at the opening of 20th CITN Conference at the NAF Center, recently in Abuja. Photo/FIRS
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (in white) with the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Tunde Fowler at the opening of 20th CITN Conference at the NAF Center, recently in Abuja. Photo/FIRS

 

Whistleblower Policy led to recovery of N13.8 billion from tax evaders, says Presidency

 

A total sum of N13.8 billion owed in taxes by Nigerian taxpayers was recovered via the Federal Government’s Whistle-blower policy introduced by the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2016.

Also, the government made, at different times, recoveries of N7.8 billion, $378 million, £27,800 from public officials by whistleblowers.

These are contained in a document released by Nigeria’s presidency, detailing its three-year achievement (May 2015 to May 2018) and obtained by Discover Africa News.

President Muhammadu Buhari had consistently stated that his administration will face head-on three major issues: the economy, insecurity, and corruption.

The presidency articulated Buhari’s three-year achievements in the report but some Nigerians hold the opinion that Buhari rates  low on the three-pronged deliverables especially on security and economy.

As the government prepares for its third-year anniversary, the presidency  also said the National Economic Council (NEC), under the Chairmanship of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, approved the audit of key federal revenue generating agencies, which has so far yielded a total sum of N526 billion and $21 billion. The money was allegedly underpaid to the Federation Account between 2010 and 2015, under the Peoples Democratic Party governments.

Also, the Buhari Administration said it is addressing the issue of poor levels of remittance of operating surpluses by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government.

The Presidency said from remitting only N51 million between 2010 and 2016, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), went on to remit N7.8 billion in 2017, and is on course to remit a similar amount in 2018.

The presidency equally said Nigeria has signed agreements and MOUs with various countries to boost international cooperation for the “investigation, tracking, freezing and return of stolen assets”.

The document reveals that the government has also set up the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), which is aimed at strengthening controls over government finances through a continuous internal audit process across all MDAs, particularly in respect of payroll.

“Through the activities of PICA, 54,000 fraudulent payroll entries have been identified, with payroll savings of N200 billion,” the government said.

The APC administration said Mr Buhari on August 7, 2015, issued a directive to all MDAs to close their accounts with Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and transfer their balances to the Central Bank of Nigeria on or before September 15, 2015 as part of the expansion coverage of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy of the administration.

“The TSA system was launched in 2012, but failed to gain traction until President Buhari’s executive order in August 2015.

“As at March 2018, 1,674 MDAs had enrolled into the TSA, up from 766 in December 2016,”it said.

It also said that as at March 2018, the TSA had recorded inflows of N8.9 trillion from MDAs.

“The TSA allows the managers of the Government’s finances, including but not limited to the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, to have, at any point in time, a comprehensive overview of cash flows across the entire Government.

“This decision to fully operationalise the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system—a public accounting system that enables the Government to manage its finances (revenues and payments) using a single/unified account, or series of linked accounts domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria — has resulted in the consolidation of more than 17,000 bank accounts previously spread across DMBs in the country, and in savings of an average of N4 billion monthly in banking charges associated with indiscriminate Government borrowing from the commercial banks,” the government said.

The government also said the TSA has ensured increased transparency in public financial management, as well as preventing a scenario in which some MDAs have idle cash while other MDAs are compelled to borrow exorbitantly from commercial banks.

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Finance Latest News

Nigeria: 5 Tax Amendment Bills, 2 Executive Orders Coming, Says VP Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (in white) with Tunde Fowler at the opening of 20th CITN Conference on tax at the NAF Center, Wednesday in Abuja. Photo/FIRS
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (in white) with Tunde Fowler at the opening of 20th CITN Conference on tax at the NAF Center, Wednesday in Abuja. Photo/FIRS

 

Nigeria: 5 Tax Amendment Bills, 2 Executive Orders Coming, Says VP Osinbajo

Five Tax Amendment Bills and two Executive Orders are coming, Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo announced Wednesday in Abuja.

The tax Bills and Executive Orders are aimed at simplifying tax payment process and reducing tax burdens on Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in the West African country.

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The Vice President said the Federal Government’s Committee on the National Tax Policy (NTP) had drafted the five amendment bills and two Executive Orders all of which will be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval. This is in collaboration with states and other stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria’s tax laws and the NTP are friendly and realistic.

A statement on Wednesday by the Head, Communication and Servicom Department of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Wahab Gbadamosi, quoted Osinbajo to have said: “Our tax system requires review, to among others, ensure removal of obsolete and contradictory clauses. That was why we raised a committee in 2016. The committee’s work has produced five amendment bills that will soon be sent to National Assembly. Our aim is that no one is left at the mercy of bad tax regime.

“I am happy at new levels of cooperation between states and the Federal Government which we have seen in the implementation of VAIDS. I am pleased to note that the number of registered taxpayers is now in excess of 19 million”.

The Vice President, according to the statement, said the embrace of technology to collect taxes and to block leakages in public expenditure—like the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and accompanying transparency in public expenditure, — are significant game changers. He compared the changes this brought about to the impact which invention of electricity had on people’s lives when it was invented.

“Osinbajo who spoke ex-tempore noted that the CITN conference held on the day when Chief Obafemi Awolowo died some 30 years ago. He noted that free education, which was funded solely from revenue from taxes, ensured a spiral in school enrolment in the old Western region-from 355,000 in 1952 when it was introduced to 811,000 in 1959. It was the highest in Africa at the time.

The Vice President noted too that key infrastructural provision in Western Nigeria: University of Ife, Airport hotel in Ikeja, 25-storey building Cocoa House building in Ibadan, several industrial estates in many parts of the Western Region, were made possible by tax money from people’s pocket.

Citing further statistics about national revenue collection, the Vice President observed that Lagos alone generates more Internally Generated Revenue than over 30 states combined. “Of the 70 million taxable individuals, only 14 million pay any form of tax. Of the 943 individuals who pay any form of Self-assessment and who pay above N10 million, 941 live in Lagos State. Two live in Ogun State.

The Vice President who observed that tax is not a subject that excites most people in the world, said tax is a social-contract question that should bind citizens and trigger robust interest in governance, accountability and democracy. He recalled that it was tax that triggered the slogan “No taxation without representation” that was the rallying cry for the American War of independence. Tax, he said, was also at the root of the riots in Aba and Abeokuta- both led by women.

He noted the gains of over N200billion which the Federal made from the deployment of technology to track ghost workers and the Treasury Single Account (TSA) from whence the Federal Government has made savings of about N4 billion monthly. This has strengthened its ability to spend more on infrastructure, he said.

The VP said the economic prosperity of Nigeria will come from taxation and encouraged taxpayers to always tax right taxes at the right time as that is the fulfilment of their responsibilities as citizens.

At the same event, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Tunde Fowler, said the Service is building a robust that system that is making tax payment convenient to taxpayers both at the federal level and at the states and local government levels.

“What we are doing is to build a tax system that will not only be effective at the Federal level but also at the states and local government levels. Nobody wants to pay taxes. Not even the tax administrator. So, we have to make tax payment convenient and attractive. Attractive in the sense that people must see what you are doing with the tax money. That is what the FIRS and the Joint Tax Board (JTB) are doing”, he said.

Fowler said it is the culture of the JTB to go to the states to inspect projects that state governments are handling. By doing that, he said, “states which are not doing well get inspired by their counterparts who are using money from taxes well to build facilities for their people.

 “The only way you can improve the tax system is through technology. FIRS has rolled out six-online solutions through which you can pay your taxes online (e-payment), e-receipt. You can download your receipts and authenticate the receipts using your smart phones. We have e-Stamp duties, e-filing, e-Withholding Tax e-alerts, e-payment, e-Tax Clearance Certificates, (etc).

“Our job is like that of a medical doctor, we ensure that businesses are healthy. It is when businesses are healthy that they can make profits and pay taxes.

We have changed the orientation of our staff to make them see their jobs as stewardship. We let the staff know that they are there to serve the taxpayers”.

The theme for this year’s CITN conference is Institutionalising Taxpaying Culture in Developing Economies.

CITN President, Cyril Ikemefuna, said theme for the year was crafted given the need for a change in the taxpaying culture in Nigeria”, said the statement.  

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Taxation: Self-Assessment regime has failed in Nigeria, says Fowler

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (in white) in handshake with Tunde Fowler at the 20th CITN Conference on Wednesday at NAF Center, Abuja, Nigeria. Photo/DAN
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (in white) in handshake with Tunde Fowler at the 20th CITN Conference on Wednesday at NAF Center, Abuja, Nigeria. Photo/DAN

Taxation: Self-Assessment regime has failed in Nigeria, says Fowler

 

The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Williams Babatunde Fowler, has said Self-Assessment tax regime has failed in Nigeria, opting for elements of force to get taxpayers comply with the civic responsibility.

Self-Assessment is the system of tax administration where taxpayers are given the liberty to self-assess themselves and file returns based on their income. Under Self-Assessment, tax administrators will only go after the taxpayer if the self-assessment is not realistic with the expected income of the taxpayer.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria is working out friendlier tax regime “to ensure that no one is left at the mercy of a bad tax regime”

Osinbajo said: “Our tax system requires reviews. The Government has set up a committee on the implementation of the National Tax Policy…Our aim is that no one is left at the mercy of bad tax regime”, Osinbajo said.

Osinbajo said the committee has marked five tax amendment bills and two executive orders that will go through approval process. 

Both spoke at the opening of the 20th conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) Wednesday in Abuja.

Fowler said there has to be elements of coercion to get taxpayers to pay their taxes in Nigeria.

“In FIRS, we have self-assessment but we cannot rely on self-assessment. People believe that if there are no consequences to tax evasion, there will be no tax payment”.

Fowler, who doubles as the Chairman of the Joint Tax Board said FIRS experimented on Self-Assessment. But during tax audit, it was realised that the first 200 firms which were audited did not comply with the tax laws.

“Out of the first 200 firms we audited, none of them was tax complaint”.

As a way of encouraging professionalism, Folwer said from January 2019, only tax returns filed by members of CITN as tax consultants will be acceptable.

“Effective from January 1st, 2019, FIRS will not accept tax returns filed by non-CITN members”, he said.

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Finance Latest News

GE led Consortium Signs Interim Phase Agreement with Nigeria for Rail Concession

Abuja-Kaduna Railway
Abuja-Kaduna Railway

 

 GE-led Consortium Signs Interim Phase Agreement with Nigeria for Rail Concession
 

Following its award of preferred bidder status by the Federal Government of Nigeria in May 2017, the International Consortium led by GE (www.GE.com) last Friday in Washington D.C, signed an agreement to proceed with the Interim Phase of the Nigerian narrow-gauge railway concession.

Initiated by General Electric, the world’s premier digital industrial company, the Consortium is comprised of SinoHydro, a leading infrastructure construction services corporation, Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management and APM Terminals, a global port, terminal and intermodal inland services provider.

In the interim phase of the rail concession, Remedial Works will be carried out on part of the narrow-gauge rail line system to make it technically and economically operable. Additionally, a joint operation will be established between the Consortium and the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) with an initial supply of 10 locomotives and 200 wagons to augment the existing rolling stock in Nigeria.

This program is expected to deliver an increase in the number of available locomotives, thus increasing the frequency of passenger and freight rail services. In addition, freight haulage capacity by the end of the first 12 months of the interim phase is expected to increase roughly ten-fold, from its current less than 50,000 metric tonnes per annum to about 500,000 metric tonnes per annum.

Speaking on the occasion, Lazarus Angbazo, CEO of GE Nigeria said “GE is committed to the sustainable development of Nigeria and as such we are delighted to have reached this crucial stage of the project to revamp and revitalize the country’s legacy rail infrastructure system. The Consortium looks forward to commencing execution of this Interim Phase with the continued support of the Federal Government and the Ministry of Transportation. As operations begin, our strong partners, such as Transnet and SinoHydro, will bring their strong operating and development skills to the forefront.”

Following the commencement of the Interim Phase, the Consortium will conclude negotiations with the Federal Government on the terms of the substantive phase of the concession agreement that will expand service to up to 200 locomotives and associated rolling stock.  This will see to the comprehensive rehabilitation of Nigeria’s narrow-gauge rail infrastructure and the return of rail transport as a key element in enabling the country’s socio-economic development.

Chief Executive of Transnet International Holdings Mr Petrus Fusi said, “We are pleased to be a partner in this ground-breaking concession and look forward to the successful execution of the Interim Phase with the government and the opportunity to add value.”

Similarly, SinoHydro Chairman, Mr. Ding Zhengguo mentioned, “This announcement is a step closer to the opportunity to transform rail infrastructure and transportation logistics in Nigeria; a country with huge potential.” He added “We are very excited to partner with this resourceful consortium to deliver value.”

APM Terminals has been actively investing and participating in Nigeria’s logistics infrastructure since 2006, and we are proud to be a part of this project to improve access for the Nigerian hinterland to the global logistics chain.” – David Skov, Head of Terminals IMEA added to the statements.

According to the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, “This milestone project is an unprecedented commitment by the Federal Government of Nigeria, which, combined with the GE-led Consortium’s drive to modernizing Nigeria’s rail infrastructure, will add immense value to Nigeria’s long term economic growth and productivity.” “This will be an important catalyst for small and medium enterprises and a key provider of almost incalculable socio-economic benefits for the many Nigerian towns and villages through which the rail network passes. “he added.

 

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Africa Finance

Nigeria extends tax amnesty with more 3 months

VAIDS extended to June 30th, 2018
VAIDS extended to June 30th, 2018

Nigeria extends tax amnesty with more 3 months

Nigerian government on Wednesday approved the extension of tax amnesty programme—the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS)—to June 30.

VAIDS is an opening for defaulting taxpayers to come up and pay the taxes owed without facing additional charges as stipulated by law. Nigeria started the VAIDS programme on July 1st 2017 and said it would end on March 31st.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo communicated the approval at the Federal Executive Council meeting (FEC) held today, noting that no further extension of time will be approved after June 30.

Quoting President Muhammadu Buhari as cited by the official tweeter handle @NGRPresident, “For a nation of people who are competitive and driven, it is not a pride that we are the lowest performer in tax to GDP, not just in Africa, but in the world.

“Nigeria’s growth needs are such that every Nigerian must do his duty to his nation, to his neighbour, and to himself.

“Hiding monies overseas, evading taxes by manipulation, and other unwholesome practices, have never developed a country, and for Nigeria to attain her true potential, these must stop.

Newsmen equally gathered that the short extension after the original March 31 date was based on the appeals of professional bodies and individual taxpayers.

However, ‘no further extension of time will be approved after June 30’Presidency said.

The President added that a new date was also given, based on the conviction of @FinMinNigeria that the overall objective to increase compliance will be attained, and additional revenue will accrue.

A fresh Executive Order will be made to give legal backing to the new timeline.

The President urged Nigerian companies and individuals to join government in the rebuilding mission, “and do the right thing by taking this window of extension to regularize.”

He added that the right thing may not be convenient or comfortable, “but in the long run, we will all have a nation we can be proud of.”

President Buhari further urged tax authorities to use the extension window to perfect plans to prosecute those who fail to regularize their tax status.

He further said that ‘VAIDSNG’ is one of the key policies being used by the Federal Government to reposition the Nigerian economy and correct inherited underdevelopment.

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FIRS details EFCC on tax evaders as tax amnesty ends

L-R Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Tunde Fowler and Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu during FIRS courtesy visit to EFCC headquarters on Tuesday, April 10, 2018
L-R Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Tunde Fowler and Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu during FIRS courtesy visit to EFCC headquarters on Tuesday, April 10, 2018.

 

   FIRS details EFCC on tax evaders as tax amnesty ends

 

Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may soon go after recalcitrant taxpayers who also failed to use the opportunity of a tax amnesty, Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) to offset their tax liabilities.

The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS, Tunde Fowler, recently confirmed that government will not extend VAIDS which ended on March 31st, adding that the next approach to it will be for the FIRS, partnership with law enforcement agencies, to prosecute defaulters.

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VAIDS: Mercy Ends April 1st, 2018, Says Fowler. This implies that people expecting extension of the programme will be the ultimate April Fools.

Discover Africa News learned that Fowler had a meeting with the EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, today in Abuja where Fowler detailed the EFCC on list of non-conforming businesses and asked the EFCC to deploy all lawful means to bring the tax defaulters to justice.

The FIRS confirmed Fowler’s meeting with Magu in a statement signed by FIRS head of Communications and Servicom Department, Wahab Gbadamosi.

The statement said FIRS and EFCC are working together to deepen and strengthen their collaboration to track both individuals and organisations who refuse to pay the right taxes.

It said the partnership will beam searchlights on defaulting taxpayers who also refused to rely on the Federal Government’s tax amnesty programme: Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) to offset their tax liabilities.

Already, the FIRS-EFCC partnership, the release said, has led to the recovery of the sum N29 billion Withholding Tax from banks and other financial institutions in the country only between November 2017 and March 2018.

 

At the meeting which took place at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Tunde Fowler said Nigeria, just like other countries across the world, is looking inwards to raise the economic base and would not tolerate tax defaulters. The FIRS Executive Chairman was at the EFCC headquarters on a courtesy visit.

Said Fowler: “There are some issues of non-remittance of Withholding Tax, Value Added Tax and Personal Income Tax. The EFCC has shown support before. When tax defaulters are invited to your office (EFCC), we see result. I don’t know how you do it but we see result. Recently, two banks came forward to comply on their own. I think that they must have heard words. We want joint assistance with the EFCC, especially now that VAIDS is over, to make sure that all tax defaulters get the lawful treatment.

“I want to let every taxable person in Nigeria know that we are ready to deploy all powers within our disposal to ensure that every tax defaulter is punished according to the law”.

The Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, said the EFCC is ready to do more to bring culprits to book.

 

Magu said: “People are in a hurry to collect taxes but are reluctant to remit them. It is very distressing. We may put a team together to ensure that whatever taxes collected by anybody is remitted and on time. I also want to congratulate you (FIRS) because of the change in the narrative. There is no doubt that there is a real improvement in our tax system. We will collaborate. We had done this in the past when we had a joint training in Kaduna. We will make sure that we do anything you ask us to do as far as it is lawful “, he said.

The EFCC boss urged every Nigerian to join in the fight against corruption, saying everyone has a role to play.

“Everyone has the responsibility to fight corruption. You may not do it the way Magu does his own. The best approach is for us to agree that corruption is bad. I appeal to everyone to fight corruption even at home. Tell the children that corruption is bad”, Magu said.

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AfDB approves $50m to address Africa’s trade Finance

AfDB President, Akinwunmi Adeshina
AfDB President, Akinwunmi Adeshina

 

AfDB approves $50m to address Africa’s trade Finance

 

Board of Directors, African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved 50 million dollars unfunded Risk Participation Agreement for Commerzbank to address Africa’s trade finance market.

The bank announced this in a statement signed by its Principal Communication Officer, Mrs Olivia Obiang on Thursday in Abuja.

The Bank said the risk participation would leverage ‘Commerzbank’ support to African issuing banks seeking to expand their trade finance operations.

“The facility will help address trade finance market demand in key economic sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.

“It will also foster financial sector development, regional integration and boost government revenue generation.’’

The statement also quoted the bank’s Financial Sector Development Director, Stefan Nalletamby as saying “Commerzbank was a strategic partner for implementing the bank’s development mandate.’’

Nalletamby said the intervention would improve market access by African issuing banks, corporate and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

He said most African banks were small and struggle to obtain adequate trade finance facilities from international confirming banks to support African importers and exporters.

Nalletamby said the bank’s addition depended on the use of its “AAA” credit rating to provide comfort to Commerzbank to increase its trade finance exposure to local African banks.

“The portfolio of trade transactions support will represent various economic sectors. The facility is thus well aligned with the bank’s strategic priorities, the High 5s that are aimed at transforming Africa.

“The Risk Participation Agreement will run for three years as a 50/50 risk sharing arrangement.

“Counting rollovers, it is expected that the facility will support approximately 700 million dollars of trade in Africa over the period.

“This will be the AfDB’s second Risk Participation Agreement with Commerzbank, a major player in the global trade finance market with a significant Africa footprint.’’ By News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 

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Finance Latest News

Ghana leads Sub-Saharan Africa in resource governance ranking

President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Ado
President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Ado

 

Ghana leads Sub-Saharan Africa in resource governance ranking

Ghana has scored 67 of 100 points, in the 2017 Resource Governance Index (RGI), making it the best performer in sub-Saharan Africa.

Nigeria scored 42 out of 100 points and ranks 55 among 89 assessments.

The Guardian notes that Ghana has a favorable enabling environment and also performs well in revenue management, while its sovereign wealth fund is the second-best governed among 34 funds assessed in the index.

RGI noted that Ghana’s Petroleum Revenue Management Act allocates oil revenues transparently between the budget, the national oil company and two funds, yet accumulated a large budget deficit and borrowed heavily against future oil revenues, even though oil revenues presently constitute only four per cent of total government revenues.

RGI said that value is lost particularly in licensing and in the sales of government oil by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as well as when revenues from oil and gas are shared and saved.

It said that a history of scandals involving top officials and the NNPC has plagued the sector and drawn public attention to corruption and asset recovery.

Licensing, the report admitted, is the weakest link in Nigeria’s value realisation component, with a score of 17 of 100, placing it 77th among 89 country-licensing assessments.

RGI explained that this score and ranking reflect high levels of opacity in key areas of decision-making, including qualification of companies, process rules and disclosure of terms.

It disclosed that despite some progress in transparency of revenue collection over the past five years, tracking payments from oil and gas companies remains challenging.

“In terms of revenue sharing, Nigeria ranks 11th, alongside the United States (Gulf of Mexico) and Ecuador. The public lacks access to audited information on revenue flows to lower levels of government, and this contributes to the gap between the quality of the legal framework and actual implementation.

“The corporation mainly scores well on indicators that measure elements of transparency required by EITI reporting, such as transfers to government and production volume disclosure.

“NNPC has recently strengthened some of its reporting practices, particularly for high-level financial data. However, the company does not disclose detailed annual reports on its finances, despite top officials having made a commitment to do so.

“Little information is publicly available, particularly concerning some of NNPC’s least efficient and most questionable activities, notably earnings by its subsidiaries, the costs of its operations and its significant spending on non-commercial activities.

“Government agencies and external auditors have disputed NNPC’s interpretation of rules set in the constitution and the NNPC Act governing monetary transfers between NNPC and the government.”

Officials exercise significant discretion around how NNPC sells the government’s share of oil production—for example, when selecting buyers, pricing exports or transferring sales proceeds to the government,” it added.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said that new acreages will be awarded for exploration and production under the new Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), especially offshore, which is likely to account for much of the growth in the nation’s reserves.

“For too long we have waited for this moment with bated breath and sheer excitement, knowing that the bill disentangles us from the manacles of inefficiency, low investment drive, and opacity,” he added.

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