Hi,
Here's how the Naira is looking in parallel markets
On Friday, 6th of August = N510/$
On Friday, 13th of August = 515/$
In Today's Issue
The FG is prepping to being toll gates back and people are not happy
World bank is taking names of debtors (Nigeria is 5th)
Shell is finally paying Ogoni reparations
Over 1000 terrorists voluntarily surrendered, the Army is NOT asking you to forgive them *wink*
Global health crisis on the up, Nigeria in the mud
Lai Muhammed is still in "talks with Twitter"
Tolls gates making a comeback?
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, confirmed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved plans to reintroduce tollgates on federal roads.
In 2019, the Minister announced the FG's plans to reintroduce tolls soon, stating that though they were discontinued in the past (By Obasanjo's administration), they were not abolished.
In his speech, he said the structure was developed with input from "stakeholders within and outside the government"; they carried out a "willingness to pay" survey to their stakeholders, and the feedback dictated the toll pricing.
“cars will pay N200; SUVs and private buses N300; commercial buses will pay N150; trucks will pay N500,” he said.
They must have missed some because many civil servants, motorists and unions are not happy. The general conscious is Nigeria at the moment is financially unfavourable for many motorists and commercial drivers and a new bill could really set them back.
But don't worry, the tolls will not be active until "roads are motorable".
Finance
World Bank to major debtors
According to the World Bank's 2021 financial statement, Nigeria is 5th among the top 10 countries with highest debt risk exposure (with a debt exposure $11.7 billion).
This is mostly debt accumulated via the International Development Association (IDA); an arm of the World Bank focused on loans for developing countries.
According to the World Bank, majority of the debt accumulated was to address poverty, inequality, and the impacts of COVID-19.
The top 4 countries are: India ($22 billion), Bangladesh ($18.1 billion), Pakistan ($16.4 billion), and Vietnam ($14.1 billion). Others are: Ethiopia ($11.2 billion), Kenya ($10.2 billion), Tanzania ($8.3 billion), Ghana ($5.6 billion), and Uganda ($4.4 billion).
World Bank Group President, David Malpass, said as of June 2021, “the ten countries with the highest exposures accounted for 66% of IDA’s total exposure”.
The report also revealed that IDA is considering debt relief in return for “future compensation” 👀 from members to protect its financial capacity.
But its all good. The Director of Monetary Policy Department, CBN, Dr Hassan Mahmud is certain that Nigeria's inflation will drop to a single digit by 2022. National Bureau of Statistics reports that inflation dropped from 17.93 per cent in May to 17.75 per cent in June 2021.
Rivers State vs FIRS
Last week, The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt ruled that the Rivers State Government (and not the FIRS) is entitled to collect VAT in the state.
VAT in Nigeria has historically been administered by the FIRS, which is part of the FG budgetary provision usually allocated to states. Currently, the VAT pool is shared 15% to the FG; 50% to states; and 35% to LGs.
The Rivers State Government chose to challenge the process. The council explained that the case was "all about the interpretation of the constitution". (clever)
The court, ruling in Rivers' favour, declared that FIRS has no constitutional basis for collecting VAT (as well as Withholding Tax, Education Tax and Technology levy) from states.
The Federal Government is limited to taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains. Hence, moving forward, the FIRS and FG agents will be breaking the law if they attempt to collect any other form of taxes in the state.
What does it mean?:An analysis by PwC predicts that if it follows through and this ruling is extended across the country, it would most likely be at the expense of other states (except Lagos, Oyo, Kano, Rivers, Oyo, Kaduna, Delta and Katsina), as other states don't make enough in state-specific taxes to survive without FG money. "The federal government may in fact be better off given that FCT generates the second highest VAT (after Lagos)"
The PWC writer does not think they'll go through with it, though; "given the significance of this judgement", they expect that "the FIRS will appeal the decision".
Shell...
2 years after the ruling, Shell has finally accepted to pay the court-ordered N45 billion compensation to Ogoni Communities.
In January 2019, the Supreme Court ordered Shell to pay the people of Ogoniland in Rivers State for loss of livelihood, life and other human rights concerns caused by Shell's relentless oil drilling in the region.
After attempting to reverse the verdict twice (With the Supreme Court and then the Federal High Court, both with zero luck), the The firm's lawyer, Aham Ejelamo (SAN), announced that they'll pay.
Brief Backstory: Ogoniland was originally a fishing and farming community, but since oil was discovered in the region in the 50s, companies like Shell have set up shop, sidelined the community and used drilling practices that destroyed the communities' sources of livelihood. Community dwellers sued Shell over 30 years ago (people's children have inherited this case) before a concrete verdict was finally passed in 2019.
Electricity, National budget
The federal executive council (FEC) has approved $2.5 million and N498.23 million for four power projects to boost the transmission and distribution of electricity supply in Nigeria.
Addressing corespondents during the FEC meeting on Wednesday, minister of power, Saleh Mamman did a budget breakdown: “the supply and installation of motorised portable hydraulic compressor for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in favour of Messrs Intern Equipment Nigeria Limited in the sum of $502,950 plus N15,800,000,”
Last week, the FEC approved the construction of two power substations in Jigawa and Akwa Ibom worth N454 million and US$6.2 million respectively.
The Nigerian Army wants you to forgive terrorists (?)
The army confirmed that over 1000 ex-Boko Haram/ISWAP members and their families surrendered to their troops in Borno State this week.
Army rep, Onyema Nwachukwu, said among the 1000 were the Chief Bomb Expert of the terrorists group, his second in command Usman Adamu a.k.a Abu Darda.
They also identified one of the Chibok girls who was kidnapped in 2014 and a terrorist identified as her terrorist/abductor husband.
The army shared this news along with photos where army officers can be seen distributing clothing to ex-terrorists who are holding cardboards with "Nigerians, forgive us" and other similar pleas written on them.
Naturally, news outlets and bystanders assumed that the army was endorsing this message, but if their response is anything to go by, it is a misinterpretation.
The Army says that they expect that other governmental bodies will do the needful. The terrorists, they said, will "be passed onto the relevant government agencies for further assessment and a final verdict". And they'll "undergo some rehabilitation before reintegration into the larger society"
Note: Nigeria is ranked 2nd highest in deaths by terrorist attacks after Afghanistan. Terrorists have between 2011-2021 killed over 50,000 people in the country.
Health
Cholera
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 311 confirmed cases, more than 30,000 suspected cholera cases and 816 cholera-related deaths have been reported in 23 states between January and August 2021.
While noting that there were considerable efforts to manage the epidemic, the director-general of the NCDC urged the FG to pay closer attention to the underlying issue: the living and sanitation conditions in the affected areas (23 states, including Abuja).
"Cholera is a waterborne disease, and the risk of transmission is higher when there is poor sanitation and disruption of clean water supply", he said (Read more about the symptoms here)
A Cholera Emergency Operations Centre, headed by the NCDC and comprising of reps from the Federal Ministries of Environment and Water Resources, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), World Health Organization (WHO).
COVID-19
The good(ish)
Channels reports that Nigeria received 177,600 single-shot Johnson&Johnson vaccines, and more is expected soon (about 4 million doses in total). According to the Africa Centre for Disease Control, the vaccines are expected to be deployed in hard-to-reach areas, to eliminate the need for travel for a second dose.
Last week, Nigeria received over 4million doses of the Mordena vaccine, and will begin to allot to citizens 18 and above on Monday the 16th of August. So register via the official portal (here), or pop into your primary health center.
Only about one percent of the population has been vaccinated.
The worrying
Last week, Nigeria recorded over 790 cases of new COVID-19 infections, the highest in about six months according to the NCDC.
Remember: resident doctors have been on strike for 2 weeks protesting inadequate and/or no salary payments.
Rather than pay the doctors, the minister of health, Osagie Ehanire, said the ministry has mobilised NYSC corps members as stand ins
Ehanire also "appealed" to the doctors on strike, asking them to "join forces [with the government] to defeat the common enemy". If they don't adhere and return to work, he said, the federation will enforce the ‘No Work, No Pay’ rule.
The Nation reports that the President of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, confirmed that they were subpoenaed by the National Industrial Court to defend why the the no-work-no-pay rule should not be applied against them. They hearing is set for Monday, August 16th.
Another day, another virus
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says health authorities in Guinea have recorded a confirmed case of Marburg virus in West Africa, less than two months after Guinea declared an end to an Ebola outbreak.
WHO says this is the first time the virus — described as “highly infectious” and which results in haemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola — has been identified in West Africa.
The infected patient, now deceased, is said to have had his samples taken and tested at a field laboratory in Gueckedou, which turned out positive for the virus.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats, and it spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.
Fatality rate is reported at between 24 to 88 percent in past outbreaks, depending on virus strain and case management.
According to WHO, efforts are underway to find people who may have been in contact with the deceased patient.
'Twitter?' and other questions
Lai Mohammed claims against their better judgment and in the mix of insecurity and unreasonable government, Twitter has agreed to the FGs condition of opening an office in Nigeria in 2022, in exchange for unblocking the site in Nigeria. Lai says hence, the site should be unblocked (within the next few days or weeks). No comment from Twitter reps yet.
The Anambra State Police Command had vowed to apprehend IPOB members who threatened people of the state to comply with the sit-at-home order as a measure to push for the release of Nnamdi Kanu. The State commissioner also reminded that IPOB is a "proscribed group" and warned civil servants against voluntary participation. Nnamdi Kanu's family claimed that the goal of the stay-at-home order is a fair trial, not disorder in the state (Vanguard)
Minister of sports apologises over 2020 Tokyo Olympics (PremiumTimes)
If you've heard that the Senate is attempting to create more states, the Senate says you've heard wrong. It is not true (The GuardianNG)
Other News This Week
A man in Adamawa is facing 30 months in prison for calling the Governor “father of thieves” (The Cable)
Nigerian Government threatened to "review" the "relationship" with Indonesia last week after a video of a Nigerian diplomat being rough-handled by Indonesian immigration officials went viral. The minister of foreign affairs issued an apology this week (Channels TV)
In Ghana, Interpol arrests Nigerian traffickers and 286 other suspected traffickers from Ghana, Togo, Benin to Nigeria (Punch)
US declares extended detention for Abidemi Rufai, the Ogun State Governor's aide who is in police custody in the US for fraud. His case has been postponed until 2022. The Ogun State government didn't publicly comment but they fired him lowkey (Premium Times)