Business News
Nigeria’s economy can’t survive without diaspora inputs, says PwC Chief Economist
Dr Andrew Nevin, Chief Economist of PwC, disclosed that the remittance inflows into the country show that Nigeria depends largely on the diaspora to survive.
Nigerians in Diaspora have been described as the chief enablers financing the Nigerian economy. The remittance inflows into the country showed that the nation depends largely on them to survive.
This disclosure was made by the Leader and Chief Economist of PwC, Dr Andrew Nevin. While speaking during his presentation at the Africa Institute for Leadership and Public Administration (AILPA) seminar, which was covered by Nairametrics, Nevin said Nigeria was the largest recipient of remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2018.
With migrant remittance to the country rising by 14%, after a brief decline in 2016, from $22 billion in 2017 to over $25 billion in 2018, Nevin explained that the value of migrant remittances in 2018 represented 6.1% of Nigeria’s GDP, 11 times the FDI inflows, and 7.4 times larger than the foreign aid received in 2017.
Nevin further explained that the remittance inflow is not slowing down any sooner, as it is projected to increase to over $29 billion by 2023 undisturbed by the rising migrant population of Nigerians and the declining cost of sending money home. Occasioned by the activities of fintechs.
[READ MORE: Nigeria receives $17.5 billion diaspora remittances in 2019)
Speaking on the topic, ‘The relationship between good governance and economic prosperity,’ Nevin, who is also the Co-founder of Binkabi, said the economic impact of good governance cannot be overemphasized as it is crucial to the economic prosperity of the country.
He made known that the government needs to focus more on delivering adequate services to the people instead of channelling all its efforts on raising the nation’s GDP. He added that a shift towards measuring SDG’s to GDP should be done.
According to Nevin, Nigeria ranks low on the Sustainable Development Goals index compared to other countries globally and across Africa.
Shrinking public fund and low taxation in Nigeria
Over the last two-decade, Nigeria’s expenditure penetration rate has shrunk from 25% in 2000 to 13% in 2018 and it is estimated to decline marginally to 12% in 2020, Nevin explained.
According to him, the country also has the lowest expenditure per capita among countries like Brazil, South Africa and India.
Nelvin stressed that while the Finance Bill aims to improve the fiscal structure of the government, more still needs to be done in terms of making taxation work effectively in the country.
Nevin’s words: “The government needs to focus on delivering services so that the people will be more likely to pay their taxes. In addition to this, the government itself has to be more tax compliant, many of the government organisations withhold taxes from their employees at the end of the month.
“It’ll be easier to pay more taxes if the economy is growing. When the economy is declining, it’s very hard to ask people to pay more but if we were growing faster, then we would find a way.”
[READ ALSO: The diaspora holds the key to improvement in Africa)
Formal versus Informal sector
For Nevin, the informal sector of the economy is directly affecting governance in more than one way. He said that more people choose to work in the informal sector rather than the formal sector of the economy because it is more attractive to them.
He said the formal sector is choked with complexities from the government amidst rules and regulations which are too costly.
Nevin, however, stressed that the informal sector has grown to a large extent. This, he said is detrimental to the economy as the formal sector needs to be growing more.
“For Nigeria economy to become more prosperous we need the formal economy to grow faster than the informal economy. Maybe the informal is doing better because more people are attracted into joining them than the formal and this is obviously because of the poor governance that exist as well as the inequality in the rules and regulations,” Nevin said.
ENDSARS
South-West Governors say attacks in Lagos were attempts to weaken the region’s economy
South West governors have they described the coordinated attacks in the state as an attempt to weaken the region’s economy.
Governors of the South-West states have pledged their supports to their Lagos State counterpart, as they described the coordinated attacks in the state as an attempt to weaken the region’s economy.
This was disclosed by the Chief Press Secretary of the state, Gboyega Akosile, during the visits of the Governors and the Federal Executive Council members from SouthWest to the public assets and private properties destroyed in last Wednesday’s arson in the state.
READ: How to access new N75 billion Nigerian Youth Investment Fund
He tweeted, “Shock! This was the expression on the faces of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) members from Southwest and Governors as they toured the public assets and private properties destroyed in Wednesday’s coordinated arson in Lagos State.
“The delegation of Governors and Ministers was personally received by Sanwo-Olu at the State House in Marina, where the Lagos helmsman showed them the pictorial evidence of the violence before visiting some of the torched assets.”
READ: President Buhari approves N13.3 billion for Community Policing in Nigeria
At a joint press conference held after the tour, Chairman of Southwest Governors’ Forum and Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, compared the scenes to a war zone, given the extent of the destruction.
According to him, the violence that resulted from the EndSARS protest left much to be desired, stressing that there was an agenda beyond the youth demonstration against police brutality.
READ: FEC approves $40 oil benchmark for 2021 budget
He said, “We are deeply concerned with the ease with which public buildings, utilities, police stations, and investment of our people have been burnt despite the proximity of security agencies in those areas.
Shock! This was the expression on the faces of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) members from Southwest and Governors as they toured the public assets and private properties destroyed in Wednesday's coordinated arson in Lagos State. pic.twitter.com/TahuPIWkcQ
— Gboyega Akosile (@gboyegaakosile) October 25, 2020
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What this means: From all indications, it is obvious that the South-West Governors believed that the said attack, which were rumoured to have been carried out by suspected hoodlums, were sponsored by some people to deliberately disorganize the region’s economy.
Business
#EndSARS Protest: 80 BRT buses worth N3.9 billion were destroyed by hoodlums – LASG
The Lagos State Government disclosed that the 84 BRT vehicles destroyed by the hoodlums cost a total of about N3.9 billion.
The Lagos State Government has revealed that 27 of the burnt Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles in the Oyingbo and Ojodu Berger areas of the state cost $200,000 each, while 57 of them cost $100,000 each, all totaling about N3.9 billion.
This statement was made by the Lagos State Government on Friday, after evaluating the extent of damage made to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles.
READ: Arik, Dana Airlines to resume flight operations after curfew
What you should know
Few days ago, hoodlums hiding under the cover of #EndSARS protests allegedly attacked and razed the Oyingbo BRT terminal, with several buses burnt. Nairametrics reported that Primero Transport Services Ltd (PRT), the owners of BRT buses said they have lost over N100 million in 6 days due to the #EndSARS protests.
READ: Lagos Bus Service records 10 million passengers in 10 months
The State’s Commissioner for Information, Mr. Gbenga Omotosho, in an exclusive interview with Punch, disclosed that:
- 23 big BRT buses were razed down, while 57 medium-size BRT buses were affected by the violence, which brings the total of the BRT vehicles destroyed to 80.
- 23 of the 80 BRT buses burnt by the hoodlums were at Ojodu, while the remaining 57 were at the Oyingbo area.
- The big buses cost around $200,000 each, while the medium-size ones cost around $100,000 each.
READ: #EndSARS: Lagos orders investigation of Lekki Toll Plaza shooting
What they are saying
Mr. Omotosho said, “As I speak, the Governor and some of us are going around the state from one facility to the other. We are also visiting private facilities. Some of the places were the Oregun Vehicle Inspection Service office, the BRT park at Oyingbo, and the terminus at Ojodu Berger.
“I don’t know how they planned it; the hoodlums left the old buses and went for the new ones. The new ones were worth billions of naira.
READ: Operators of BRT suspend operations on Ikorodu-TBS route
“However, the cumulative losses incurred by the state are not ready yet. But it will be mind-boggling. It came on a scale beyond belief. We know that the police have apprehended suspects.”
What this means
The vehicles were purchased in dollars; So, the consistent decrease in the value of Naira is expected to edge the cost of these buses up, when denominated in Naira.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Mr Gbenga Omotosho explained that with the current foreign exchange rate, the 80 destroyed BRT buses are now valued at N3.929 billion.
Business
BREAKING: Lagos State reviews curfew again, now from 8pm to 6am
Governor Babjide Sanwo-Olu has once again reviewed the curfew in the state to now commence between 8 pm to 6 am.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has further reviewed the curfew earlier imposed on the state to help contain the large scale violence following the hijacked #EndSARS protests against police brutality and extra-judicial killings. The curfew now starts at 8 pm and ends at 6 am daily.
This is coming 2 days after the Governor had eased the 24-hour curfew to start from 6 pm to 8 am daily.
This disclosure was made by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, on Sunday, October 25, 2020.
The Commissioner in his statement said, “The curfew in Lagos State has been reviewed. Restriction time is now 8 pm to 6 am. Lagosians are enjoined to plan their journey times as they go about their lawful businesses. Public schools remain shut till further notice.”
What this means
This new review gives Lagosians an extra 4 hours to go about their daily activities.
What to expect
The Lagos State government will keep on reviewing and relaxing the curfew, as long as the security situation does not spike again.
Details later…
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BREAKING: Lagos State reviews curfew again, now from 8pm to 6am
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