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Suspend VAT, other policies impoverishing Nigerians – SMEs tell FG

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2 months ago

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Suspend VAT, other policies impoverishing Nigerians – SMEs tell FG

The National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (NASME) and financial experts have called on the Federal Government (FG) to suspend any new policy that may further impoverish Nigerians.

The unanimous call was made by respondents in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Tuesday.

The interview focused on the need to stabilise the economy as an increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) is being anticipated from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent.

The Oyo State chairman NASME, Prince John Karunwi, said VAT, being a consumer tax, would make prices of goods and services shoot up.

According to him, the increase will deplete consumers’ purchasing power and reduce the quantity of items they can buy.

Karunwi said that the present situation had left most Nigerians without disposable income.

“The situation now is that after transportation, maybe people have little for feeding.

“If they now discover that for some certain products, the prices will go high, the demand for products that are not essential will, definitely, drop,” said the chairman.

He said the government should be patient and allow the economy to stabilise despite its drive to increase its internally generated revenue.

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An economist, Samson Olalere, said the idea to increase VAT at this point would further deepen the hardship of the common man.

According to him, people are already grumbling about the unwarranted fuel price increase and the high cost of living, as the new minimum wage increase is grossly inadequate.

He said the government should look inward and come up with ideas that would benefit the populace and reduce the hunger of common Nigerians.

“I say no to the increase in VAT. It is an abuse of the sensitivity of Nigerians,” said the economist.

Olalere wondered why the common Nigerian would be asked to sacrifice, tighten his belt, and keep faith in the government without enough consideration for him from the same government.

A financial expert, Sola Famakinwa, corroborated the opinions of others that an increase in VAT would amount to an increase in the prices of goods and services.

“There is no way the manufacturing industries would bear the cost of increased VAT; it would be passed down to the consumers.

“If what we hear about the proposed VAT increment is true, I do not think Nigerians can bear to have more burden added to their shoulders now,” Famakinwa said.

He noted that the government needed to reduce the economic hardship by introducing subsidies for necessities that directly affect Nigerians, considering that not all are government workers.

Recall that VAT was increased from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent on Feb. 1, 2020.

However, the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms recently recommended an increase to 10 per cent from 2025, and to 15 per cent by 2027 or 2030.

Suspend VAT, other policies impoverishing Nigerians – SMEs tell FG

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Aviation

Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

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5 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

 

An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.

The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.

All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.

The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.

“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.

“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.

“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”

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Business

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

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6 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).

The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.

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He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.

He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.

On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.

 

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

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FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

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6 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country.

This is contained in a statement issued by Anthonia Eremah, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Thursday, in Abuja.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made his know at the unveiling of the 2024/2025 National Dry Season Farming in Calabar, Cross River State capital.

Kyari explained that with the re-introduction of the national dry season farming to boost year-round agricultural production, the loan would be handy and guarantee national food security in the country.

The minister said the initiative is under the National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.

He said the federal government had declared an emergency on food production to enable all Nigerians to get easy access to quality and nutritional food at affordable rates.

Kyari also said government wants to use the agricultural sector for national economic revival through increase in production of some staple food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava during both dry and wet season farming.

He added that 107,429 wheat farmers were supported under phase 1 of the 2023/2024 dry season, and 43,997 rice farmers under the second phase of the 2023/2024 dry season.

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The minister said recently, government supported 192,095 rice, maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean and cassava farmers under the 2024 wet season across the 37 States including the FCT.

He said Cross River was leading 16 other states in wheat production, adding that over 3000 wheat farmers have been listed to benefit from the support to grow the grain.

Kyari noted the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production.

He said it informed why the federal government is partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing the current 2024/2025 dry season farming.

“The 2024/2025 dry season farming, the project is targeted to support 250,000 wheat farmers across the wheat-producing states with subsidised agricultural inputs.

“This is to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of about 750,000 metric tonnes of wheat to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on importation of the product and also increase domestic consumption.

“Equally the programme will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 states, including FCT, with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tonnes,” he said.

 

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

(NAN)

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