Nigeria loses $235bn to non-passage of PIB – Omo-Agege – Newstrends
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Nigeria loses $235bn to non-passage of PIB – Omo-Agege

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Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has said Nigeria has lost $235 million due to the long delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

Omo-Agege, while delivering a keynote address on the Virtual #TNGPIBConfab, stated that an estimated $15 billion was lost annually as a result of the delay in passing the PIB.

Quoting from a recent report by Nigeria Natural Resource Charter, the Deputy Senate President stressed that the delay, through different administrations, in enacting the PIB had cost the country an estimated $235 billion.

He said, “All these underscore the urgent need to do what we should have done in 2008 to give Nigeria the great oil industry it deserves, when President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua saw the need to overhaul the existing petroleum laws. These include the Petroleum Act of 1969, the Petroleum Profit Tax Act of 1959, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Act 1977, among other legislations”.

Omo-Agege said before the pandemic and oil slump, the petroleum industry was the backbone of the Nigerian economy.

According to him, it is the highest contributor to the national wealth, accounting for about a third of our GDP, over 75 per cent of government revenues and 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings.

Omo-Agege said, “The good news today is that help is on the way as the ninth assembly and the government of President Muhammadu Buhari have boldly taken up the gauntlet and will soon enact the Petroleum Industry Bill 2020 into an Act.

“On the 29th of September last year, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari took a giant step forward in reforming the industry when he returned the Petroleum Industry Bill as an executive Bill to the National Assembly.

“Subsequently, the bill was read for the first time on the 30th of September, 2020; second reading on 20th of October, 2020 and public hearing was held on 27th January this year. Now we await the report on the public hearing from the Senate committees namely: Petroleum Downstream, Petroleum Upstream and Gas Committee, to be put forward for consideration by the Senate.”

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Tinubu orders creation of single-digit tax system

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Tinubu orders creation of single-digit tax system

President Bola Tinubu has directed a creation of a single-digit tax system with a maximum of nine taxes for a company or an individual.

Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, disclosed this in Abuja while speaking with the management team of Guinness Nigeria who paid him a visit.

A statement on Wednesday by Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman, quoted Adedeji as saying, “The President gave a directive that he wants a single-digit tax in the country, meaning that the maximum number of taxes we will have after the work of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms will be nine taxes.”

The statement added that the plan was aimed at having a conducive environment “created for businesses to flourish and grow the economy.”

 

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Naira gains further against dollar

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Naira gains further against dollar

The Naira rose further in the official market on Tuesday, trading at N1,382.95 to the dollar.

According to data from the FMDQ’s official trading portal, the Naira rose by N25.09, or 1.78 percent, from the previous day’s rate of N1,408 versus the dollar.

On Tuesday, total turnover was $245.58 million, up from $222.15 million on Monday.

Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporters (I&E) window, the Naira traded between N1,486 and N1,300 against the dollar.

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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had, earlier on Tuesday at its 294th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), raised Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 200 basis points from 22.75 per cent to 24.75 per cent.

CBN governor Yemi Cardoso said that was meant to tackle the nation’s rising inflation.

Naira gains further against dollar

(NAN)

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CBN jacks up interest rate amid soaring inflation

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CBN jacks up interest rate amid soaring inflation

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday raised the interest rate from 22.75 per cent to 24.75 per cent amid soaring inflation.

Governor of the central bank, Olayemi Cardoso, made this known after the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on Monday and Tuesday.

The country’s latest annual inflation rate jumped to 31.70 per cent from 29.90 per cent for last month, fueled by a continuous rise in food prices.

Cardoso disclosed that the MPC voted to adjust the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +100 to -300 basis points.

He said the committee voted to retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 45 per cent for commercial banks and adjust the CRR of merchant banks from 10 per cent to 14 per cent.

The committee also voted to retain the liquidity at 30 per cent.

He said, “Members noted the continued rise in headline inflation driven largely by food prices, because of supply shortages, and high cost of Logistics and Distribution.

“The committee, therefore, was of the view that addressing food insecurity is key to containing current inflationary pressures.”

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