The Nigerian Institute of Builders has projected the value of the Federal Government’s abandoned properties at about N230 billion.
This disclosure was made at the recent PwC Nigeria’s executive roundtable on the Finance Act 2020 and Economic Outlook for 2021.
According to the Press release by PWC Nigeria,
- “Nigeria holds as much as US$900 billion worth of dead capital in residential real estate and agricultural land. The value of the Federal Government’s abandoned properties alone, according to the Nigerian Institute of Builders, is projected to be about N230 billion.
- “And about a half of Nigeria’s population live in cities, of which almost 80% of them are living in substandard conditions. Finding the political will to act and unlock Nigeria’s dead real estate assets will have a transformative impact on the lives of Nigerians.
- “Out of the 10 themes, another important theme to consider was Nigeria’s Gross Fixed Capital Formation, which in 2019, stood at less than 20%. And PwC estimates that Nigeria would need an investment rate of at least 26% – 28% of GDP to achieve 7% growth.”
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The virtual event attracted the CEOs, C-Suite executives and MSMEs, and focused on the impact of changes to existing laws by the Finance Act 2020 and other significant government policies, to businesses and taxpayers in Nigeria.
According to Uyi Akpata, Country Senior Partner PwC Nigeria,
- ”Considering the impact the pandemic was having on Nigeria’s economy, it was important for businesses to understand the forces shaping Nigeria’s economy in 2021.
- “’That this knowledge will help them minimize potential risks and take advantage of the fiscal policies the government had enacted to stimulate the recovery of the Nigerian economy”.
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According to the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget & National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed,
- “The Finance Act 2020 is aimed at supporting vulnerable households and businesses while improving fiscal discipline and procurement efficiency, enhancing economic competitiveness, encouraging domestic investors and enhancing macroeconomic stability amid the challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic”.
According to, Andrew S. Nevin (Ph.D.), Partner and Chief Economist PwC Nigeria noted the 10 themes that policymakers and businesses need to consider in 2021 and stated,
“Nigeria must as a priority find its development path. Achieving this will include finding innovative ways to act on the following:
- Unlocking Nigeria’s vast dead assets to stimulate growth
- Harnessing the Power of the Diaspora
- Driving export growth through services
- The need for growth to be spread across the country, and not just in a few urban centres
- Improving on the country’s low investment and gross capital formation
- Moving its thriving informal sector to the formal sector
- Improving on the business environment, and ease of doing business
- Addressing Nigeria’s big 3 distortions (exchange rate, power, and subsidies)
- Shifting its focus from the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) lens to Sustainable Development Goals
- And finally, prioritizing climate change “
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Taiwo Oyedele, Fiscal Policy Partner and West Africa Tax Leader, PwC Nigeria noted that there were no easy choices or a silver bullet given the limited fiscal space for incentives and to deliver on counter-cyclical measures and commended the policy direction of the government not to introduce new taxes or increase the rate of existing taxes.
He expressly commended the federal government for the reduction in minimum tax rate, but advocated for a permanent removal of the tax which often tax companies that are vulnerable especially when they are loss-making.
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What you should know
- The survey was conducted by PWC to provide insights on people’s reactions to the changes in the Finance Act
- There was an overwhelming 92% public support for Nigeria’s Finance Act 2020.
- The majority of respondents were most excited about the reduction of minimum tax from 0.5% to 0.25% of turnover.
- Over half (59.7%) said they did not agree with the idea of transferring unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances to a Trust Fund.
- 2% do not agree with the plan to introduce excise duty on Telecommunications services followed closely by 30.3% who do not agree with the deployment of Technology by FIRS to plug into taxpayers systems.
- On how to support the government to fund the budget deficit and cater for the various tax reliefs, the respondents were asked to indicate which 3 initiatives they would support the government to fund the budget deficit and cater for the various tax reliefs.
- 8% voted for the use of technology to catch tax evaders and aggressive tax avoiders.
- 2% of respondents will support public procurement efficiency and fiscal responsibility by Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government while 46.3% of respondents said they would support the taxation of foreign companies under the Significant Economic Presence and new VAT rules.
- Only 36.9% of respondents agree that the Act addresses their business challenges