🇳🇬 The world is going through it, Nigeria is going through it-er
🇳🇬 The world is going through it, Nigeria is going through it-er
ASUU's work order, Nigeria's economy woes, USSD in danger + more
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Today’s newsletter is 2,222 words (approx. 7mins read)
There is another coup in Burkina Faso.
The coup, Ibrahim Traore, declared last night that they have overthrown the former coup leader, Paul-Henri Damiba.
Paul-Henri Damiba forced himself into power in January after forcefully removing elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
Damiba’s reign came months after Burkina Faso citizens expressed displeasure over Kaboré’s failure to curb terrorism in the nation.
Traore said he is taking over because Dimiba has also failed to resolve the terrorism issue.
In this week’s edition:
ASUU has been ordered to resume work
Nigeria’s export economy takes another hit
Nigeria is no longer biggest oil producer. Giant of Africa in the mud
Banks in debt: Telcos threaten to end USSD service
SERAP sues the FG again
ASUU vs FG part 1,000 🥊
The Federal Government, through the National Universities Commission, has ordered vice-chancellors to re-open schools and allow students to resume lectures.
This is following last week’s verdict from the industrial court instructing lecturers to end their strike.
The strike has been on for 8 months. ASUU members and the FG have organised many reconciliation meetings, but nothing seems to work.
Still, after the industrial court’s verdict, the FG promised that they still intend to resolve ASUU’s issues — unpaid wages, unfavourable work conditions, etc.
One of ASUU’s concerns is the FG’s Integrated Payroll and Personal Information Payment System (IPPIS). The system was integrated in 2007 to simplify salary distribution to federal government workers.
During another strike last year, ASUU reps said the system isn’t transparent and obviously isn’t working since they were still not getting paid. Hence, they proposed their own system: University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
The FG said no and wasn’t willing to budge.
But now, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) says the government is willing to accommodate ASUU’s concerns and update the IPPIS to reflect them.
In August this year, the FG created a committee to “review” IPPIS. No idea what happened there.
The FG isn’t the only one forgetting to pay workers
In 2018, the Ekiti State Government & Kayode Fayemi promised, when Fayemi took office, that they’ll pay staff salaries and pensions owed by past governments. Totalling N57 billion. They have not.
According to the state, the lack of payment is due to the recurrent economic downturn the state is experiencing. As a result, the FG has stopped allocating “Budget support fund, Paris club, excess crude, and other funds”, said the state Commissioner for Information, Akin Omole. He added that the state is “only collecting monthly allocation”. “That’s what stopped us from fulfilling this promise”.
He said though the government hasn’t fulfilled that promise, they’ve done other things:
constructed a total of 139 kilometres of roads in the last four years,
undertook some palliatives on the dilapidated federal roads to make them accessible for motorists,
rehabilitated 14 general and state hospitals and initiated the operation of one primary healthcare per-ward in line with the design of the National Healthcare Policy.
Sorry to the pensioners, I guess.
Security
Weekly terrorism update
The Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU) says on Saturday last week, terrorists attacked Birnin-Gwari local government area in Kaduna.
BEPU reports that the attackers killed 3 people and kidnapped 22.
BEPU chairman, Ishaq Usman Kasai, speculates that farmers are the target of the attacks as most of the victims were ambushed on their farms.
He added that the attackers came back to the community multiple times.
Kasai said still the union will not relent in its continuous call on authorities to intensify efforts to combat terrorist activities in Birnin-Gwari LGA, especially during this early crop harvesting period.
Security cars for the most important people 🎊
The Federal Executive Council has approved N580.5 million to buy 4 armoured cars for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The approval follows heightened attacks on personnel of the NDLEA— they have championed quite a few drug busts recently.
President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, briefed that between January and July 2022, the Buba Marwa-led agency has arrested over 18,940 suspects. Among these, they have secured 2,904 convictions from the court.
This development has reportedly caused reprisal attacks on NDLEA personnel.
Meanwhile, as preparations for the 2023 general elections gain momentum amid a worsening security situation across the country, the demands for bullet-proof Sports Utility Vehicles have increased significantly. So much that it is overwhelming car dealers - Punch.
Economy & Money
Lagos State taxes all tech hubs for safety audits.
The government of Lagos, one of Africa's busiest tech locations, asked all city tech hubs and co-working spaces to remit N100,000 ($231) to the state government annually.
According to the Lagos government, the allowance will be paid to the Lagos State Safety Commission’s (LSC) account to facilitate safety audits. They said the tech hubs also expect a visit from Aquicorn Projects Limited, a safety assessment company, to identify potential hazards and recommend mitigation measures.
Shortly after this announcement, the Lagos government suspended this initiative. They considered that they hadn’t consulted stakeholders before making this decision and have decided to do so before moving forward.
In the meantime, facility owners will undergo safety training.
Nigeria is no longer Africa’s largest oil producer
In August, Nigeria’s daily crude oil production fell below 1 million barrels per day (BPD) to 972,394 BPD, making Angola’s 1.2 million barrels per day the current largest.
The FG disclosed the above number. However, Nairametrics (via Bloomberg) reports that Nigeria’s output in August was closer to 1.13 million barrels.
According to the FG, the drop is due to a growing oil theft problem, which has caused Nigeria to close some of its oil rigs. As a result, the country now actively operates 7 rigs out of the original 16.
In global news, Brent, the global benchmark for crude, has had to reduce the benchmark price of oil despite their attempts to stabilise it.
Exporters are going through it
This year, most export cargos moving from Nigeria have had to leave empty due to no items to carry.
Nigeria is one of the busiest cargos in Africa due to exports. The surge in is due entirely to imports.
According to a GuardianNG source, “it is not for complete lack of exportable goods. Goods are coming in bits, but they are too small for what the airliners require”.
Regulators claim that the lack of exportable goods is due to the business owners’ failure to do due diligence.
However, exporters say it is because the Nigerian regulators have too many regulatory agencies with conflicting guidelines, high cost of export freight and constant extortions even on goods that are not prohibited. (surprise, surprise).
Guardian NG found that there are 16 sundry charges tracked for goods coming in or departing the country via airports. However, among the 16, only five are officially recognised.
But many goods are also facing stricter guidelines abroad.
Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Dr Ezra Yakusak said the cases of rejection had resulted in stricter inspections on Nigerian exports in the importing countries. In some cases, they’ve led to product suspension or ban.
Some of Nigeria’s most significant exports, like catfish (a N22 billion industry), hibiscus, and beans, have been banned from various regular buyers. The Shippers Association of Lagos estimated that the seized or prohibited items make up 82% of Nigeria’s exportable agro-allied produce.
Exporters suspect this is not entirely due to the quality of the goods but to conflict with the government. They claim that some of the prohibited produce are accepted when routed through neighbouring African countries like Ghana, where they are well-packaged, face fewer hassles and are cheaper to export.
In Nigeria, findings show that the export of international air cargo has declined since 2017. Five years ago, the country had an import-to-export ratio of 66:34. It dropped to 84:16 in 2018, 86:14 in 2019, 89:11 in 2020 and 87-to-13 in 2021.
Chairman, Export Group of Lagos Chamber Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Bosun Solarin, said bureaucracy and cumbersome regulations have made it almost impossible for exporters to thrive, adding that “Nigeria should blame itself for rejected goods”, he said.
Managing Director of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, said an aviation cargo guideline should be the starting point to correcting the wrongs plaguing Nigeria’s International trade industry.
CBN’s fave approach
Speaking of the Central Bank’s favourite approaches to things, the apex bank has once again increased interest rates to manage inflation.
We reported in July that the CBN increased interest rate from 13% in May to 14% and explained some of the possible benefits and drawbacks. Recap here.
Now, the CBN has increased the interest rate again to 15.5%. This is the 4th increase this year.
But inflation keeps skyrocketing— from January’s 15.6% to 20.62% August.
CBN president Godwin Emefiele says the apex bank will “keep increasing the interest rate to reduce the high effect of inflation,” as it is “the tested monetary policy theory is that the easiest way to tame inflationary pressure is to raise rates”.
Idk maybe try something not easy?
Admittedly, major economies in the world are also in an inflation slump right now. So it’s a global and local crisis.
The Senate is considering reducing the powers of the CBN governor
A bill seeking to whittle down the CBN governor’s powers has passed the senate's second reading (the internal review stage).
Sadiq Umar, senator representing Kwara north, led a debate on the general principles of the legislation and said the bill is proposing that another person — outside the CBN — be appointed chairman of the CBN board.
But Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy senate president and James Manager, senator representing Delta south, kicked against the bill.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan referred the bill to the committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions for further legislative input.
The committee is expected to report back in four weeks.
The world is going through it, but, reader, we are going through it-er.
Banks vs Telcos
The dispute between Nigerian banks and telecommunications operators over the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) debt has resurfaced.
According to Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), banks owe telcos N80 billion.
Adebayo says if the debt isn’t settled, telcos may disconnect service to defaulting banks.
Last year, when the debt was N42 billion, the telcos threatened to withdraw their services.
However, due to the CBN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) intervention, the telcos and the banks agreed to pause the dispute and meet with FG reps.
The result of the meeting was to shift the cost of USSD transactions from banks to customers. USSD then went from a cost-per-session that capped at N4.98 to a flat fee of N6.98 charged to customers.
According to telcos, the service actually costs about ₦12 per session, and banks are supposed to pay the rest. But they haven’t been doing their part.
If telcos block this service, bank customers will experience difficulties with transfers and other service-related transactions.
Politics and Governance
SERAP to the Nigerian government:
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami,
The suit is due to a deal struck between Nigeria and the United States to return $23 million stolen by Sani Abacha.
In August, SERAP wrote to the President and AFG, asking them to publicise documentation on how the reparations will be spent for transparency's sake.
The group said they were curious about the processes to prevent funds from being stolen or distributed inequitably.
This documentation was not presented, hence the lawsuit.
SERAP insists that the $23 million in repatriated loot could also be mismanagement, citing the $5 billion in returned Abacha loot that has gone unaccounted for since 1999.
The suit filed by Kolawole Oluwadare and Atinuke Adejuyigbe, who are members of SERAP, is based on the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, and Nigeria's international obligations.
Health
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has said that the new act, signed into law in May, mandates health insurance for all Nigerians.
According to Margaret Moffi, State Coordinator of NHIA in Cross River, this ensures that all Nigerias have access to health coverage.
Because every Nigerian can afford this, Moffi said under the NHIA programme, an individual accessing national health insurance needs to pay N45,000 per year, which allows them to add up to 2 beneficiaries under their plan.
N60,000 allows 3-8 beneficiaries, and N150,000 allows up to 9.
According to the Director General, Cross River Heath Insurance Authority, Godwin Iyala, this policy is a “money saver” for Nigerians.
In Other News
On Monday, the National grid collapsed for the 7th time this year. They sorted it within a few hours, though - Punch.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was absent on Thursday when the presidential candidates of other political parties signed a peace accord ahead of the 2023 elections. Supporters are worried he might have secretly left the country to seek medical attention - Daily Post.
Abuja airport is introducing an automated park and pay policy to checkmate indiscriminate parking and racketeering. This takes effect on the 2nd of October, 2022. - The Guardian
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has vowed to arrest beauticians formulating unauthorised chemicals to apply to their unsuspecting clients - This Day.
The leadership of the National Assembly says they’re “working seriously” to ensure the reduction of gas flaring in Nigeria - This Day.
President Muhammadu Buhari delivered his final address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, calling for debt cancellation for developing countries, noting that it poses "severe challenges" to the nations affected - Vanguard.
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says they’re implementing guidelines on accessing Retirement Savings account (RSA) balance for payment of equity contribution for a residential mortgage by pension contributors - Nigerian Pilot.
Three months after it banned all priests and Catholic faithfuls from attending the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, led by the controversial priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, the Enugu Catholic Diocese lifted the ban on Thursday. - The Nation