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Reps worry over Nigeria’s loss of $8.8tn to capital flight
The House of Representatives has expressed worry that Nigeria is losing huge amount of money to capital flight, especially medical tourism.
Indeed, the House said it was aware of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s bulletin in 2015, which showed that the net flow of capital flights from Nigeria from 1986 to 2015 was quite worrisome, with Nigeria losing over $8.8tn.
It therefore urged the Federal Government to develop an effective mechanism and strategy to prevent the persistent occurrence of capital flight in Nigeria
It also advised the Federal Government to partner private institutions to build world-class medical facilities in major cities in Nigeria or upgrade and equip the existing ones with adequate facilities.
It said the agreement should be based on a build, operate and transfer policy by private investors in a way that would allow the investors to manage same for an agreed period.
The Committee on Legislative Compliance was mandated to ensure implementation.
This followed a motion on the Urgent Need to Address the Menace of Capital Flight in Nigeria by Hon. Afolabi Rasheed Olalekan on Tuesday.
The House noted that capital flight had been one of the unresolved and persistent macroeconomic problems plaguing the nation for over four decades.
The House also noted that ironically, Nigeria is ranked among the highest producers of crude oil in the world and earns a huge amount of foreign exchange from its exports but still falls short of capital to develop, maintain and upgrade her infrastructure due to the magnitude of capital flight from the country when compared to accumulated domestic investments.
The House further noted that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated that about $88.6 billion per year leaves the African continent through money laundering, tax evasion, diverted revenues, offshore investments and other forms of capital flights, with Nigeria accounting for an estimated 46 per cent of the total capital flight or $40.7 billion per year.
It worried at the alarming rate of foreign medical services being sought by Nigerians, both private individuals and government officials, amounting to more than $6.5 billion based on the statistics released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2015, while expenses on foreign education amounted to more than $3 billion based on estimates released by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) in its 2014 annual report.
“The House is cognizant of the recent series of pleas by successive governments to foreign banks and other international financial institutions to release and repatriate stolen and diverted funds in millions of dollars stockpiled abroad by corrupt leaders;
“The House is concerned that capital flight exerts detrimental effects on both short and long term growth of the economy by reducing domestically available investable capital as it represents a foregone investment in manufacturing plants, infrastructure, social welfare, reduction of a country’s tax base and a contribution to the high debt profile, among others,” the lawmakers said.
News
Drama as Delta workers boo Gov Oborevwori over minimum wage
Drama as Delta workers boo Gov Oborevwori over minimum wage
Delta State workers expressed their disappointment with Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on Wednesday as he failed to address the issue of minimum wage during the 2024 May Day celebration in Asaba, themed “People First.”
Anticipating news on the minimum wage, the workers were disheartened when the Governor concluded his speech without mentioning it, prompting them to chant, “no, no, no, we no gree, pay us our minimum wage.”
Despite the interruption, Oborevwori stood firm, stating, “Listen to me, listen to me, calm down, calm down, you cannot cajole me.”
The celebration, which included a march past by various affiliate unions, turned sour due to the workers’ dissatisfaction with the governor’s silence on the wage issue.
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According to a union leader, previous attempts to address the matter with the Governor proved futile.
In response, Governor Oborevwori announced plans to establish a committee to address the workers’ demand for salary increases amidst prevailing economic challenges. He praised the workers for their support and assured them of his administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare.
“I have listened attentively to your requests, and I have taken note of them; they are, no doubt, legitimate demands and as a responsible government, I will deliberate with my team on how best to address them within the limits of the resources available to us,” he affirmed.
In a statement delivered by Comrade Goodluck Ofobruku, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, he emphasized the importance of politicians keeping their promises, stating, “We want promise keeper politicians because, as workers, we keep records of promises.”
Drama as Delta workers boo Gov Oborevwori over minimum wage
News
Two million bank accounts closed over BVN, NIN, others
Two million bank accounts closed over BVN, NIN, others
Commercial banks in Nigeria closed 2.021 million bank accounts in the first quarter of 2024, Q1’24, to clean their books of questionable accounts and comply with regulatory orders on the linkage of bank accounts to the National Identity Number, NIN.
This is contained in a report by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, NIBSS, which also indicated that the number of inactive bank accounts grew month-on-month, MoM, by four million or 2.0 per cent to 19.7 million in March 2024 from 19.3 million in the previous month, February.
A bank account is classified inactive when it records zero transactions including deposits, withdrawals, transfers or point-of-sale transactions for six months.
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However, details of the “Industry Bank Account Database”, a monthly data reported by banks, and compiled by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, NIBSS, also indicated that the number of active bank accounts grew by 6.62 million or 3.0 per cent to 219.64 million from 213.02 million in February.
Recall that in December 2023, the CBN issued a directive to all commercial banks in the country to restrict tier-1 accounts without proper Biometric Verification Number, BVN, and National Identity Number, NIN, that are not linked by Thursday, March 1st, 2024.
According to NIBSS data on BVN enrollment count, 61.6 million Nigerians have BVN as of April 2024.
Two million bank accounts closed over BVN, NIN, others
News
Senate insists on 16 years as requirement for tertiary institution admission in Nigeria
Senate insists on 16 years as requirement for tertiary institution admission in Nigeria
The Nigerian Senate has moved to clarify recent discussions regarding the minimum age requirement for admission into tertiary institutions.
The red chamber assured Nigerians that the current age requirement of 16 years has not been altered and that recent comments suggesting an increase to 18 years were personal opinions.
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Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Adeyemi Adaramodu, emphasised that any changes to the age requirement would require legislative action following due process.
Adaramodu explained in an interview with journalists that comments made by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, about increasing the minimum age limit were not legally binding but rather personal opinions.
The Minister of Education had previously hinted at plans to review and raise the minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions to 18 years.
Senate insists on 16 years as requirement for tertiary institution admission in Nigeria
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