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Tackling Nigeria’s Unemployment Crisis

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Unemployment
  • Tackling Nigeria’s Unemployment Crisis

The increasing rate of unemployment continues to be a source of concern for the country. The effect of the high level of joblessness has been seen in the upsurge in crime and other social vices, such as youth restiveness in almost every part of Nigeria.

Statistics

The unemployment report recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that no fewer than 5.5 million Nigerians became unemployed in the two years of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. The unemployment rate rose to 14.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016, from 13.9 per cent in the preceding quarter. Besides, a recent nationwide survey conducted by BudgIT showed that Kogi, Benue, Bayelsa, Abia, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and 14 other states owed their workers and retirees salaries and pensions ranging from one to 36 months.

According to the latest report released by the NBS, the unemployment rate is 4.2 per cent higher than the rate recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015. Consequently, 61.6 per cent of Nigerians in the labour force (not the entire population), aged between 15 and 24, were either unemployed or underemployed in Q4 2016, compared to 59.9 per cent in Q3, 58.3 per cent in Q2, 56.1 per cent in Q1, and 53.5 per cent in Q4 2015.

The statistical agency also said the population of the unemployed rose from 11.19 million at the end of the third quarter of 2016 to 11.55 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Concern

The country’s rising unemployment rate, especially among the youth, is now a major source of worry for all stakeholders. The World Economic Forum and the Lagos Business School say the country sits on a “time bomb”.

The Nigeria Economic Transformation Map co-curated by the Lagos Business School show that the high rate of unemployment “can be attributed to many factors such as high dependence on oil revenue and limited diversification of the economy.”

Similarly, the Brookings Institution, a non-profit public policy organisation based in Washington, in a report titled, “Youth Unemployment in Nigeria: A Situation Analysis,” noted that several factors might be blamed for the prevalence of youth unemployment in Nigeria. According to the report, the country has a high population growth rate—3.5 per cent per annum—which accompanies its already large national population.

In addition, deficient school curricula and poor teacher training were listed as contributors to the failure of educational institutions to provide their students the appropriate skills to make them employable.

The Brookings Institution’s report said, “Since schools in rural areas are generally more deficient in infrastructure, teaching facilities and teacher quality than schools in urban areas, this may help account for the high growth in rural unemployed youth.

“In fact, some experts suggest that the major jump in rural youth unemployment could be due to the mass failure in national examinations conducted among final-year secondary school students in 2010, which made many of them unemployable in 2011.”

Entrepreneurship Development

To address the worrisome employment situation, experts have stressed the need for youth empowerment and entrepreneurship development as Nigeria’s best option for wealth creation and economic growth.

Focus on SMEs

Executive Director, North, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Mohammed Balarabe, said supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises would bring about economic empowerment and employment opportunities for a lot of youths in the country. Balarabe said the continuing slide in the price of crude oil was a clear warning that it was no longer business as usual for Nigeria.

“It is against this background that I believe that fundamentally the Nigerian economy is going to change and for businesses to succeed going forward, they have to be ingenious and they have to come up with new ideas as to how to engage the environment to be able to success,” he said. “With the drop in crude oil, demand for consumer goods would change, government spending pattern and even that of corporates would also change. Thus, SMEs must change the way they seek to do business.”

Managing Director, Borodo and Co. Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Bashir Borodo, urged governments in the country to initiate friendly policies that will encourage SMEs. He called for development of the transport system across the country to ease the means of doing business.

“We need the support of our government. That is the only way we can move. One key issue for us is railway. Without good railways, production would be very expensive. So, our government must support SMEs,” Borodo, a former president of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, stressed.

Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, described SMEs as critical agents for economic development in any nation. Okonkwo said Fidelity Bank had designed structures that would support SMEs in the country and make them profitable.

According to him, “SMEs account for about 80 per cent of businesses. There are over 40,000 micro, small and medium scale enterprises employing over 60 million people in Nigeria.

“That was why as a bank, in the past three years, we have continued to increase our focus on SMEs. We have a special unit that focuses on the challenges faced by SMEs in the country and we support them by a multi-faceted approach. One of them is capacity building.”

Fidelity Bank’s Entrepreneurship Drive

In line with its drive to promote entrepreneurship, Fidelity Bank Plc has been empowering Nigeria youths with skills needed to thrive in today’s highly competitive business landscape. The bank recently entered into a partnership with Empretec Nigerian Foundation to organise a graduate entrepreneurship programme in Calabar, the Cross Rivers State capital, where over 200 youths were trained in the theoretical and practical aspects of entrepreneurship.

Wife of former Governor of Cross River State and founder of Empretec, Onari Duke, and the state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Peter Egba, inaugurated the programme.

A flagship capacity-building programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Empretec is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) with a view to facilitating sustainable development and inclusive growth.

The bank has also collaborated with Gazelle (Vocational Centre) Academy to introduce a national youth empowerment initiative. The empowerment programme, which is part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, is primarily targeted at creating a new breed of entrepreneurs among Nigeria’s youth population.

Dubbed the Fidelity Youth Empowerment Academy (YEA), the programme was designed strategically to drive awareness as well as empower undergraduates with requisite entrepreneurial skills that will not only help them establish sustainable businesses but also eventually turn them into bg employers of labour.

In a similar vein, last month, the bank, in collaboration with the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, venture, concluded an entrepreneurship training programme for 400 students in Anambra State. Organised under the YEA stream 3, the week-long training programme was aimed at equipping the students with skills and capabilities needed to start businesses even while in school.

Some of the skill areas participants were trained in included fashion, accessories, cocktail, tailoring, makeup, shoe making, and digital marketing.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the third edition of the Fidelity Youth Empowerment Academy held in Anambra State, Okonkwo noted that the initiative sought to empower the polytechnic community by creating thriving business owners among students.

He explained that this was in furtherance of the financial institution’s quest to not only tackle the country’s unemployment challenges but also improve the wellbeing of communities where it does business.

In the same vein, the founder, Gazelle Academy, Muna Onuzo, noted that entrepreneurship remained the most viable solution to the current economic challenges. He encouraged the students to use the platform to gain financial freedom and self-reliance.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

Economy

Gov Aiyedatiwa Signs ₦96 Billion Supplementary Budget Into Law, Hails Ondo House of Assembly For Swift Passage

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Lucky Aiyedatiwa

The Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has expressed gratitude to the State House of Assembly for the swift passage of the Supplementary Budget as he signs the ₦96 billion budget into law.

Governor Aiyedatiwa spoke on Tuesday, November 15, during the signing of the supplementary budget in Akure.

The governor explained that the supplementary budget is necessary to help his administration address the economic challenges in the state.

According to him, the new budget signed into law is also essential for the state government to implement the new ₦73,000 minimum wage for civil servants and new employees, as well as for the recruitment of workers in the state.

Aiyedatiwa said, “The supplementary budget is necessary because of the time we are in and the trends of what is happening in the state and country in general; the new minimum wage, subsidy removal, and the recent recruitment of workers.”

Aiyedatiwa stated that his administration was grateful to the leadership and members of the House of Assembly for passing the bill.

He highlighted the harmonious relations between the two arms of the state and reaffirmed that his administration will continue to work with the House of Assembly for the betterment of the Ondo people.

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, thanked the Governor, stating that the steps taken by his administration have not only transformed the state but also proven the governor’s ability and capacity to deliver on the job ahead.

He expressed optimism that the bill signed into law would positively impact the lives of the citizens.

“These giant strides have not only transformed the state in all facets but have clearly demonstrated your vision, capacity, intellectual ability, zeal, passion, direction, and a clear understanding of the enormous job ahead.

“It is therefore hoped that the implementation of these laws will meaningfully impact the lives of the good people of the state.”

Oladiji pledged the continuous support of the House to Aiyedatiwa’s administration, saying, “I want to, on behalf of my colleagues, assure you, Mr. Governor, of our continuous support and cooperation to ensure the success of this administration.”

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Economy

MEND Tackles Ex-Agitators For Threatening To Bomb Oil Installations In Rivers 

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pipleline vandalisation

A war of words has ensued between a militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and a coalition of ex-agitators over alleged plan to attack oil installations in the region by the latter group.

Following the political crisis rocking Rivers State, a coalition of ex-agitators and fighters in the region under the aegis of Niger Delta Development Force had last week threatened to blow-up oil facilities in the region over what it termed a plot to seize financial allocations meant for local government areas in Rivers State through the courts.

The former warlords dared the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria, saying if they proceeded in withholding the funds for the state, it would have grave consequences.

Kicking against the threat, MEND’s spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, in a statement on Friday, said it will support security operatives in safeguarding crude oil installations from any attack.

Gbomo also said MEND is not in support of the violence that Rivers State has been experiencing due to the lingering feud between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and his successor and estranged political godson, Siminalayi Fubara.

Describing the attack plan as threat to the economy of the country, Gbomo said it would be most unfortunate for a political dispute between two politicians to cost the state and Nigeria assets that are pivotal to nation’s survival.

Noting that the both feuding political gladiators are sons of the Niger Delta, the spokesman asked those making the threats not to allow themselves be tricked using the present circumstance into carrying arms against the Nigerian state on behalf of any of them, not even for any price.

He said as an Ijaw son, he knows the gains of having an Ijaw man as governor in Rivers, adding that it is an achievement which would not have been possible but for the collaboration of other ethnic groups.

According to him, the current healthy collaboration from the various ethnic groups which produced an Ijaw son as governor was spearheaded by the FCT Minister.

The statement said not only would MEND back the Federal Government in protecting oil facilities, but it would also ensure that the masterminds of the threats to attack oil installations are fished out and meant to face justice.

The MEND spokesman, however, urged the elders and traditional institutions in the region to intervene in the face-off between Governor Fubara and the FCT Minister.

He also urged parties in the festering political crisis to seek judicial redress if peaceful dialogue fails.

 

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Economy

Northern Governors Oppose New VAT Model as FG Defends Tax Reform Bills

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Value added tax - Investors King

The Federal Government has addressed concerns raised by the Northern Governors’ Forum regarding the proposed tax reform bills before the National Assembly.

Investors King gathered that Governors of 19 Northern States of Nigeria, under the platform of the Northern Governors’ Forum met with the traditional rulers from the region to agree to disagree with the Federal Government’s new value-added tax model.

In a communiqué read by the chairman of the forum, Governor Muhammed Yahaya of Gombe State, the governors strongly opposed the new derivation-based model for Value-Added Tax (VAT) distribution in the new tax reform bills proposed by President Tinubu’s government.

Addressing the governors’ concern, the FG in a statement on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga stated that the proposed bills will streamline Nigeria’s tax administration processes, enhance efficiency and eliminate redundancies across the country’s tax operations.

According to Onanuga, the bills which is currently before the National Assembly for consideration emerged after extensive review of existing tax laws.

The statement reads, “While we commend the Governors and traditional rulers for supporting President Bola Tinubu over the success recorded in addressing the country’s security challenges, we consider it necessary to address the misunderstandings and misgivings around the tax reform already embarked upon by the administration.

“President Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council recently endorsed new policy initiatives aimed at streamlining Nigeria’s tax administration processes, enhancing efficiency and eliminating redundancies across the nation’s tax operations.

“These reforms emerged after an extensive review of existing tax laws. The National Assembly is considering four executive bills designed to transform and modernise Nigeria’s tax landscape.

“First is the Nigeria Tax Bill, which aims to eliminate unintended multiple taxation and make Nigeria’s economy more competitive by simplifying tax obligations for businesses and individuals nationwide.

“Second, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill (NTAB) proposes new rules governing the administration of all taxes in the country. Its objective is to harmonise tax administrative processes across federal, state and local jurisdictions for ease of compliance for taxpayers in all parts of the country.

“Third, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill seeks to rename the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to better reflect the mandate of the Service as the revenue agency for the entire federation, not just the Federal Government.

“Fourth, the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill proposes the creation of a Joint Revenue Board to replace the Joint Tax Board, covering federal and all states’ tax authorities.

“The fourth bill also suggests establishing the Office of Tax Ombudsman under the Joint Revenue Board, which would serve as a complaint resolution body for taxpayers.

“It is instructive to note that these proposed laws will not increase the number of taxes currently in operation. Instead, they are designed to optimise and simplify existing tax frameworks.

“The tax rates or percentages will remain the same under these reforms, as they focus on ensuring a more equitable distribution of tax obligations without adding to the burden on Nigerians.

“The reforms will not lead to job losses. On the contrary, they are structured to stimulate new avenues for job creation by supporting a dynamic, growth-oriented economy.

“Importantly, these laws will not absorb or eliminate the duties of any existing department, agency, or ministry. Instead, they aim to harmonise revenue collection and administration across the federation to ensure efficiency and cooperation.

“At the moment, tax administration lacks coordination among federal, state, and local tax authorities, often resulting in overlapping responsibilities, confusion, and inefficiency. Without reform, this inefficiency will persist.

“The proposed laws aim to coordinate efforts between different tiers of government, resulting in better tax resource management and greater clarity for taxpayers.

“Under existing laws, taxes like Company Income Tax (CIT), Personal Income Tax (PIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT), Tertiary Education Tax (TET), Value-Added Tax (VAT), and other taxing provisions in numerous laws are administered separately, with individual legislative frameworks.

“The proposed reforms seek to consolidate these multiple taxes, integrating CIT, PIT, CGT, VAT, PPT, and excise duties into a unified structure to reduce administrative fragmentation.

“On the proposed derivation-based VAT distribution model, which the Northern Governors oppose, it must be stressed that the new proposal, as enunciated in the Bill, is designed to create a fairer system.

“The current model for distributing VAT is based on where the tax is remitted rather than where goods and services are supplied or consumed. The ongoing tax reform seeks to correct the inherent inequity in the current derivation model as a basis for distributing VAT revenue.

“The new proposal before the National Assembly outlines a different form of derivation which considers the place of supply or consumption for relevant goods and services. This means that states in the Northern region that produce the food we eat should not lose out just because their products are VAT-exempt or consumed in other states.

“These reforms are critical to improving the lives of Nigerians and were not put forward by President Tinubu to undermine any part of the country. There is no better time than now for the National Assembly to give due consideration to these bills that will overhaul our tax systems and create the revenue all the tiers of government require to fund the development our country and people urgently need.”

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