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Pensions: States Failed to Remit N3.4bn Deducted From Workers’ Pay, Says PenCom

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  • Pensions: States Failed to Remit N3.4bn Deducted From Workers’ Pay, Says PenCom

States operating the Contributory Pension Scheme refused to remit about N3.4bn pension contributions deducted from their workers monthly remunerations into their respective Retirement Savings Accounts with their Pension Fund Administrators.

The acting Director-General, National Pension Commission, Aisha Dahir-Umar, disclosed this during the second quarter consultative forum for states in Lagos on Wednesday.

The forum was attended by pension compliance officers and other stakeholders from different states and pension fund operators’ offices.

She also said that N8.09bn was remitted as pension contributions in the first quarter of 2019.

Dahir-Umar said, “Based on PFAs’ returns, over N3.4bn pension contributions are uncredited into state employees’ RSAs as of May 31, 2019, and the age analysis showed that over 38 per cent of this amount had been outstanding for over one year.

Dahir-Umar, who was represented by the Head, States Operations Department, PenCom, Dan Ndackson, said a major item, which should occupy a pride of place during deliberations, was the recurring issue of uncredited remittances, which denied concerned employees the investment income that should have accrued to them.

She added that it was heart-warming to observe the steady progress of the implementation of the CPS in the states, especially with regards to the remittance of pension contributions.

“Returns submitted to the commission by the PFAs showed that over N8.09bn was remitted to them as pension contributions of state employees in the first quarter of 2019,” she said.

The PenCom boss informed that the second quarter had recorded remarkable achievements in ensuring seamless implementation of the CPS in states.

In this regard, she said the commission, as part of its mandate of supervising the smooth implementation of the CPS and to ensure excellent service delivery, especially in state pension administration, introduced branch inspection of PFAs in states.

Dahir-Umar reported that the commission had so far conducted three of such branch inspections in Edo, Ondo and Ekiti states.

“As more inspections of PFA branches are upcoming, the commission is currently utilising the outcomes of these inspections in ensuring that PFAs take the necessary remedial actions to ensure excellent service delivery in the pension industry,” she said.

She added that the commission’s collaboration and concerted efforts with various states had led to significant in-roads in the areas of stakeholder engagement, capacity development and implementation milestones.

Notable among the many achievements within the second quarter were the meetings held with the governors-elect (now governors) of Lagos and Bauchi states, she mentioned.

Dahir-Umar said, “We are also pleased to note the giant stride taken by the Benue State Government recently by enacting the Benue State Pension Reform Law 2019, in May 2019.

“Besides joining the league of states that have commenced the process of implementing the CPS, the Benue State Law incorporated all the observations made by the commission in the draft bill before passage into law.

“We are, therefore, confident that with this sound and sustainable legal framework in place, Benue State’s implementation will not face major challenges.”

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.

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Economy

President Tinubu Approves Concrete Redesign for Abuja-Kaduna Road Amid Contract Termination

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The Federal Government has announced plans to address the difficulties faced by road users on the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road with the redesign of the dual carriageway.

This announcement was made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi via a statement on Wednesday.

The Ministry revealed that the 127 kilometers project has been approved by President Bola Tinubu.

This development comes two days after the Ministry of Works announced the termination of its contract with Julius Berger for the Section I (Abuja-Kaduna) of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway project in FCT, Kaduna, and Kano States.

Investors King understands that the contract for the rehabilitation of the road was awarded to Messrs Julius Berger (Nig.) Plc on December 20, 2017.

The project, initially valued at N155.7 billion, with a 36-month completion period was further categorized into three sections.

However, only Section II (Kaduna-Zaria) has been completed and partially handed over.

Section III (Zaria-Kano) is partially finished while Section I remains in a severely deteriorated state.

A statement from the Ministry explained that the decision to terminate the contract with Berger was based on non-compliance with reviewed cost, scope, and terms, stoppage of work, and refusal to remobilise to site.

The ministry on Wednesday, November 6, confirmed that Section I has been redesigned and re-scoped.

The statement reads, “The President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has approved that the remaining 127 kilometres of the Rehabilitation of Abuja – Kaduna – Zaria – Kano Dual Carriageway, Section I (Abuja – Kaduna) be redesigned using continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) instead of the present asphaltic one.”  

“The contract, divided into three (3) sections, was awarded to Messrs Julius Berger (Nig.) PLC on 20th December 2017 at an initial sum of N155, 748,178,425.50 billion (one hundred and fifty-five billion, seven hundred and forty-eight million, one hundred and seventy-eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-five naira, fifty kobo) with a completion period of thirty-six (36) months.” 

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Tax Expert Warns Tinubu: VAT, PAYE Hikes Will Deepen Hardship for Nigerians

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Due to Nigeria’s economic situation, tax expert Adebisi Oderinde has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to halt plans to increase the VAT and Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax rates.

Oderinde, who is also the CEO of AOC-Adebisi Oderinde & Co, made the statement during the inauguration of the company’s Head Office in the Kara area of Ogun State.

He said the country’s economic conditions are challenging and particularly unfavorable for SMEs and warned that implementing tax reform could destabilize many small businesses as inflation has already eroded purchasing power in Nigeria.

With over 28 years of experience as a tax consultant, Oderinde noted that new tax reforms would likely worsen hardship across the country.

“My advice is to make hay while the sun shines, as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and slow and steady wins the race. The country is hard! As a tax practitioner, I continue to pray for our President, but he must heed the advice of elders, especially when it concerns tax reform,” he said.

“This is not the right time to reform any tax, nor to adjust rates. Nigerians’ purchasing power is very low. While some may think of VAT reform as beneficial, it would have a negative impact, especially on Lagos State. One part of the reform aims to cancel the consumption tax, which would hit Lagos hard, as the state earns more from consumption tax than any other state in the federation,” he added.

Oderinde further advised northern Nigeria not to support the proposed policy, warning it could disproportionately affect the region.

“They also want to increase PAYE, and recent data from the NBS in 2023 shows that the total IGR from the 36 states plus the FCT is about N2.4tn, with PAYE accounting for about 63%. If PAYE is raised, it will impact many states significantly. Instead of focusing on VAT, the northern states should consider that an increase in PAYE would affect them even more than VAT,” he explained.

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Economy

Power Restored Hours After Lastest Grid Collapse

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Electricity - Investors King

Electricity has been restored in some parts of the states that were hitherto affected by the nation’s power grid collapse.

Investors King gathered that some states including Lagos, Osun, Federal Capital Territory among others now have light.

Recall that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had on Tuesday announced the latest National Grid collapse.

Checks by Investors King, however, revealed that the last disruption was the tenth time Nigeria would be experiencing total blackout due to grid collapse in about nine months in 2024 alone.

The situation has been raising concerns from Nigerians and other stakeholders even as others alleged that the collapse has led to inferno in people’s homes among other property destruction.

The General Manager of TCN Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, had assured members of the public that the grid collapse which occurred at 1:52 pm on November 5 would be speedily fixed.

The GM revealed that the grid collapse was caused by line and generator trippings, adding that efforts were on to rectify it.

Mbah had disclosed how the national grid experienced a partial disturbance due to a series of line and generator trippings that caused instability in the grid and, consequently, the partial disturbance of the system.

Each time the disruption through citizens into darkness, businesses are affected as many Nigerians task the Federal Government to tackle the menace.

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