₦airaland Forum

Leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and their Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, counterpart are currently meeting with the Federal Government.

Vanguard gathered that meeting is centered on the state of the nation, especially the petrol pricing and its consequences.

According to sources, the meeting is taking place at the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume.

Roll call

At the meeting are Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, NSA; Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Labour Minister; Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

Others are Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Information Minister; Heineken Lokpobiri, Petroleum Minister, State; Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), and representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Limited.

The Nigerian naira has been listed as one of the worst-performing currencies in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, according to the World Bank’s latest Africa’s Pulse report.

As of August 2024, the naira had depreciated by approximately 43% year-to-date, ranking it among the weakest currencies alongside the Ethiopian birr and the South Sudanese pound.

The decline is attributed to surging demand for U.S. dollars in Nigeria’s parallel market, limited dollar inflows, and slow foreign exchange disbursements by the central bank.

The report highlights that financial institutions, non-financial end-users, and money managers driving dollar demand have further pressured the naira. Despite Nigeria’s foreign exchange market reforms, including the liberalization of the official exchange rate in June 2023, these efforts have been insufficient to stabilize the currency.

Broader economic challenges, including limited foreign reserves and inflationary pressures, have exacerbated the naira’s struggle. The currency’s depreciation has significantly impacted domestic prices, particularly for imported goods, worsening conditions for Nigerian consumers.

However, some recovery was noted recently, with the naira appreciating by 5.69% against the dollar on October 14, improving from N1,641.27/$1 to N1,552.92/$1. Despite this, foreign exchange turnover dropped by 44.27% within the same period.

The World Bank projects that Nigeria’s economy will grow by 3.3% in 2024, with slight acceleration to 3.6% between 2025 and 2026 as reforms take hold. However, inflation remains a concern, particularly following the removal of fuel subsidies in mid-2023, which has caused gasoline prices to triple and increased the cost of transportation and logistics across the country.

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, announced that the PDP governors have settled the factional crisis affecting the party’s National Working Committee.

He said this on Tuesday when journalists approached him at the Private Wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

The Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum stated, “The crisis is over. The governors, Board of Trustees, and other organs have resolved that the NWC should revert to the status quo. They are now united.”

The governor, accompanied by the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, while travelling to Ondo State for a PDP gubernatorial campaign rally, announced that suspensions from both factions had been lifted.

Also speaking, Damagum confirmed that the crisis is over, adding, “The party is united, and no members of the NWC left before.”

JAOS:
😀we still have light here
States should generate their own electricity to avoid this national grid whahala

Femeto:
Smuggling is not your problem you guys are bloody thieves

The national electricity grid has collapsed again, The PUNCH reports.

The grid collapsed at about 6:18 pm on Monday, leaving Nigerians in darkness.

Checks by our correspondent confirmed that power generation dropped from 3.87 gigawatts at 5 pm to 3.56GW at 6 pm and 0.00GW at 7 pm and 8 pm.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company confirmed the grid collapse in a statement on Monday evening.


The EEDC informed its customers “of a general system collapse that occurred at 18:48 hours today, 14th October 2024,” saying this has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the EEDC network.


“Consequently, due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide services to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States.

“We are on standby awaiting detailed information of the collapse and restoration of supply from the National Control Centre (NCC), Osogbo,” the EEDC stated in the statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications, Emeka Ezeh.


The Abuja Disco also said, “Dear Valued Customer, Please be informed that the power outage being experienced is due to a system failure from the national grid at 6:58 pm today, affecting the power supply to our franchise areas.

“Rest assured, we are working with the relevant stakeholders to restore power as soon as the grid is stabilised. Thank you for your understanding.”

Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, says petrol smugglers took advantage of the loopholes in the subsidy regime by making around ₦17m per truck in neighbouring countries.

Briefing journalists in Abuja, the NNPCL boss said cross-border smuggling was rampant due to the fuel subsidy, with a 6,000-liter truck smugglers make no less than ₦17 million per trip.

“In the last 47 years, PMS has always been subsidised and subsidy is creating arbitrage that means there is a difference between price in one location, lower than what it should be in another location,” he said.

“And when Mr. President announced the removal of subsidy in June, what he did was recalibrate the price. There is no longer any value in anyone taking the product across the border. If you do, you’re not going to make those profits than you do.

“In a 6,000-litre truck, you can actually gain up to ₦17 million from just one truck. How are you going to stop someone who with two trips can just easily make ₦17 million times two—which is the price of the truck itself?



“However, when you take a truck legally maybe N8 million, say, to Maiduguri, the legitimate value you have is less than ₦500,000. Why will I see ₦17 million and then take all the trouble go to Maiduguri, keep it in the fuel station for one month and then make ₦3 to ₦4 million.”

Fuel Price Hike
Fuel prices shot up at pumps across Nigeria on October 9, dealing another blow to Nigerians already suffering the worst economic crisis in a generation.

The state oil company has not commented on the sudden increase of between roughly 15 and 20 per cent seen at pumps across the country.


But it marks the second such hike in just over a month, and in early September the NNPCL acknowledged huge debts to fuel suppliers as it announced a roughly 40-percent price increase to help its finances.

Nigerians are already battling soaring inflation and food costs as well as a battered naira currency.


For many, last Wednesday’s hike was the latest measure to eat into their budgets as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government pursues reforms billed as a way to revive the economy of Africa’s most populous country.

At that pump, the price had risen from 855 to 998 naira per litre ($0.53 to 0.62), while elsewhere prices topped 1,000 naira, including in the capital Abuja and the northern city Kano.

Private suppliers already sold fuel at higher prices.

After coming to power last year, President Tinubu said his reforms would revive the economy in the long term and attract foreign investment.

But Nigerians have seen inflation hit a three-decade high since Tinubu ended a fuel subsidy and floated the naira currency.

Before the reforms, petrol was sold for less than N200 per litre.

Immediate Reversal
Reacting, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said it was “dismayed” by the hike and called for its immediate reversal.

But rallies over economic hardship struggled to build momentum earlier this month following a deadly crackdown by the authorities on nationwide demonstrations in August.

On the day of the poorly attended October protests, Tinubu gave a speech once again calling for Nigerians to be patient with his reforms.

There are indications that prices of bread and other flour based food items would continue to rise as bakers and flour millers said there is no end in sight for solutions to the key drivers of the cost in the sector.

Meanwhile the operators told Financial Vanguard that they would continue to pass the costs to final consumers as the market condition dictates.

But Financial Vanguard findings show that leading companies in the sector are recording faster rise in revenue and profit than the rise in their cost of production, apparently indicating they may be passing more than actual cost of production to the consumers.

The three biggest and most dominant companies in the sector recorded combined 45 percent increase in cost of production to N2.2 trillion in the full year 2023 from N1.5 trillion in 2022.


But their combined turnover at N2.5 trillion in the period under review, represents an 47.2% increase from N1.7 trillion in the previous period.


At the backdrop of what the operators see as entrenched cost drivers in the sector they said the price of flour which also drives the price of bread in Nigeria is still rising due to dependence on imported wheat.

According to them Nigeria produces less than 1% of its wheat needs, indicating the local supply quantity is actually decreasing despite the two decades of operating backward integration to building local production capacity.

They said while local output has declined from about 10 percent peak local consumption has increased by more than 40 percent in the past one decade.

They believe this trend is not going to change soon adding that more challenges have now come into the basket of troubles in the industry.

Listing the additional challenges, the industry operators included high exchange rate and scarcity of foreign exchange, rising cost of transportation due to rising prices of petrol and diesel as well as cost of energy in running the factories.


They also added insecurity and instability in wheat producing regions, inadequate storage facilities and poor infrastructure.

Bread prices rise over 76%

Financial Vanguard findings from retail dealers indicate that consumer prices for bread is now higher than inflation rate.

The retail price for premium category as at last week was put at market average of N2,500 for large sizes, about 51.5 percent year-on-year, YoY, increase as against inflation rate of 32.15 percent.

The price increase is even much faster in the low income category where average price is now N1,500 for large sizes, up by 76.5 percent YoY, from N850 a year ago.

Bread vendors in some parts of Lagos who spoke with Financial Vanguard, lamented that even before the recent petrol price increases prices of bread have been going up.

They noted that they have experienced a drop in patronage and that they have also reduced their demands from bakeries.

Operators give insight

Reacting to the challenges facing the flour milling and bread industries, Comrade Mike Olanrewaju, General Secretary National Union of Food Beverage & Tobacco Employees, NUFBTE, said: “The price of flour in Nigeria is still rising due to dependence on imported wheat. Presently Nigeria produces less than 1% of its wheat needs. Transportation and logistics issues; foreign exchange supply and rising exchange rate; inefficient supply chain management issues; insecurity and instability in wheat producing regions; inadequate storage facilities and poor infrastructure have combined to pressure costs in the industry.”

He added, “Competition from imported flour and smuggled products, policy inconsistencies; technical and technological limitations are part of the problems facing the industry.”


Commenting on backward integration adopted by some companies to deal with the challenges of foreign exchange and imported inputs, he said: “Some Nigerian flour milling companies have adopted backward integration strategies, but challenges persist due to limited local Wheat production and quality issues; high cost of local wheat compared to imported one are the obstacles that have made the program fail in the industry.

Bakers’ comments

Responding to Financial Vanguard enquiries regarding the continued increase in prices of bread President of Premium Bread makers Association of Nigeria (PBAN), Engr. Emmanuel Onuorah, said: “To be very honest, businesses in Nigeria are facing various forms of challenges. All I can say is that the incessant increase in price of flour, which makes up about 60% of our cost is not good for the bakery industry in Nigeria.

“The challenges facing bakers are so numerous; price of our ingredients like flour, sugar, calcium Propionate (preservative), margarine, yeast, bread softener, ascorbic acid etc keeps increasing at alarming rate.

Multiple taxation by Federal, States and Local governments is stifling and almost crippling the bread making business.”


He decried the floating of forex, which he said contributed largely to the increase in the cost of clearing of their ingredients.

He stated: “If the current trend of escalation in price of ingredients continues, coupled with fuel price hikes, we shall have no alternative than to continue passing on the cost to consumers for us to remain in business.”

He called on the Federal Government to utilize the 15% wheat development levy collected from millers to carry out research on the improved seedling for high yield and disease resistant wheat cultivation; support the bakery industry to avoid its going extinct.

He added, “Interest rates by banks is hovering between 30% – 34%, this foes not encourage borrowing for working capital to keep our businesses afloat. The government should grant us single digit loans and grants.”

Flour Mills’ results

Driven by sustained demand across all the Company’s business segments, Flour Mills of Nigeria, FMN, the industry leader, operating revenue grew to N2.3 trillion for the financial year ended March 31, 2024, up 49% from N1.5 trillion the previous year.

Gross profit increased by 54% to N272 billion, apparently reflecting effective pricing and cost optimization measures leading to 61% growth in operating profit to N208 billion.

Commenting, Boye Olusanya, MD/CEO, FMN, said: “Despite the challenging economic environment, we have solidified our position as a market leader in the Food and Agro-allied sector, driven by innovative product offerings and efficient operations.”

A peace agreement has been reached between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and independent oil marketers, following a mediation led by the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adeola Ajayi.

The agreement will see NNPCL allow the loading of products to cover the N15 billion owed to the marketers.

Chinedu Ukadike, the National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), disclosed the outcome during an interview with newsmen.

The meeting, which included a director from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, facilitated a resolution, allowing independent marketers to resume product loading.

Ukadike explained, “We were invited by the DSS Director to mediate the ongoing dispute between IPMAN and NNPCL over issues including pricing and the non-compliance of Dangote Refinery in selling Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to IPMAN. After a successful mediation, NNPCL agreed to reduce some charges and allow marketers to immediately load tickets worth N15 billion.”

Additionally, Ukadike revealed that NMDPRA agreed to issue IPMAN import licenses, enabling the association to embrace full deregulation of the oil sector.

However, NMDPRA spokesperson George Ene-Ita stated he was unaware of the meeting or any license approvals, saying, “I was not part of it.”

Meanwhile, NMDPRA has committed to making a payment of N10 billion to oil marketers as part of the outstanding funds under the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).

•We have to be extremely careful when we push for a complete deregulation – Muda Yusuf

Against the backdrop of the presumed full deregulation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, which was believed to have led to the hike in the price of the product, last week, the price may go up again very soon, experts have warned.

The experts predicted their warning on further depreciation of the foreign exchange rate and an increase in the price of crude in the international market.

“And the increase in the price of crude is a very high possibility, given what is going on now in the Middle East, the geo-political tensions, the looming war between Iran and Israel”, Dr. Muda Yusuf, a renowned economist and Chief Executive Officer of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, said.

On his part, another economist, Mr Teslim Shitta-Bey, Managing Director of Proshare, said: “The escalation of conflict in the Middle East could lead to rising global oil and gas prices, which could further raise the local retail price of petrol in Nigeria”.

Also speaking, Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, CSJ, said the rising cost of PMS will increase the misery and poverty in the country

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, had, on Thursday, raised the pump price of PMS by 15 per cent across Nigeria.

The development confirmed Vanguard’s report that plans were underway to fully deregulate the sector and that subsidy would no longer apply.

However, the complete deregulation effect pushed the price of the product to N1,030 per litre, from N897 in Abuja, while the price rose to N998 per litre, from N855, in Lagos.

Checks by Vanguard indicated that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery price also increased by 8.8 per cent to N977 per litre, from N898 per litre.

The latest price increase made it the second time the petrol price had been hiked in the past month.
This showed that the pump price of petrol has risen by more than 411 per cent since President Bola Tinubu came into office in May 2023.

Specifically, from N195 per litre before the President assumed office on May 29, 2023, the price of the product was increased to N448 (Lagos) and N460 (Abuja) in May 31, 2024; N557 (Lagos) and N617 (Abuja) in September 2024; N610 (Lagos) and N897 (Abuja) in September 2024 before the latest increase to N998 (Lagos) and N1,030 (Abuja) in October 2024.

The latest increase, which came against expectations that the crude-for-Naira deal between the Federal Government and Dangote Refinery might lead to a reduction in the pump price beginning from October 1, 2024, has left many citizens, especially motorists, in anger.

Oil markets
Oil markets were on edge throughout last week, dealing with rumors of an imminent Israeli attack on Iranian oil infrastructure. Ultimately, Israel’s attack failed to materialize. Consequently, Brent futures settled just below the $79 per barrel mark. “Prospects of further PMS price hikes are high if some of the major variables driving prices go up”, Yusuf told Sunday Vanguard at the weekend.

“If we see a further depreciation in the exchange rates, that may cause a further hike in price. “If there is an increase in the price of crude in the international market, that may also cause a further hike in price.

“And the increase in price of crude is a very high possibility, given what is going on now in the Middle East, the geo-political tensions, the looming war between Iran and Israel. “So, those geo-political concerns are things that can lead to a further hike in crude oil price which will invariably lead to an increase in PMS price. “These are the risks that we face when we talk about complete deregulation of PMS price. The risk and the possibilities are very high at this time”.

Caution

Yusuf, who is the immediate past Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, cautioned, “That is why we have to be extremely careful when we are pushing for a complete deregulation of PMS.

“The economy is highly sensitive, you know, to increases in PMS price. The citizens’ welfare is highly sensitive to movements in PMS prices.

“So, there’s a need to be extremely very careful because of the social consequences of further increases in PMS price”.

Dangote Refinery intervention
On the extent to which Dangote Refinery can ameliorate PMS price hikes, the economist said: “As to what Dangote can do, this is beyond Dangote. “Dangote Refinery is a business entity. It is the condition that we create either in terms of the foreign exchange environment or in terms of the crude oil sales to Dangote, that is what can make any difference in terms of price. “Dangote Refinery, on its own, cannot significantly determine the direction in which prices will go. “The best it can do is to try to be more efficient, try to be more competitive, and take advantage that the refining is taking place here.

“I think that is the best that can happen from Dangote. “If we want any significant impact on price through Dangote, then, the government policy must come into play.

“As to what the government should do with the removal of the subsidy, well, my take is that we should just relax all the pressures the citizens are facing, which may entail a trade-off in revenue.
“We should relax measures, especially around trade, around importation, around taxes.

“If you look at sectors that can impact welfare, on productivity, let us reduce their taxes drastically. Look at sectors that can impact the welfare of the people and business productivity.
“Let us reduce the import duty drastically. So whatever we are getting from this hike, let us give it back. Not through the Federation Account.

“But through concessions, through fiscal policy channels, that way I think the economy will be better. “There is no guarantee that if the government puts this money in the Federation Account, the benefits will cascade down to the people, there is no guarantee. “Many of these state governments have different priorities. Don’t forget, we are talking about the three tiers of government, not just the Federal Government.

“There’s a limit to which the Federal Government can dictate to the states and local governments on how they will spend their money. “So, the chances that the benefits will cascade or trickle down to the ordinary citizens that are bearing the burden of this hike in energy are very slim. “This is why I believe that it’s better to give concessions in other areas, particularly around taxes, around importation”.

Disposable incomes
Also weighing in on the issue, Shitta-Bey, addressing how PMS price hikes will impact Nigerians, said: “Rising energy costs have fed into domestic inflation with headline inflation rising to 27.5% in September 2024, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures.

“Globally, energy costs have been volatile as a result of geo-political conflicts and changes in demand from economic powerhouses like China. “In Nigeria, rising petrol cost will raise transport and food costs as distribution and logistics expenses rise. “Monetary policy tightening will be unable to deal with these issues because they are supply-side challenges rather than the consequences of excess money supply.

”Households are in for a harsher spell of falling real disposable incomes. This is Murphy’s law at work, that what can go bad can get worse!” The Managing Director of Proshare projected that the escalation of conflict in the Middle East could lead to rising global oil and gas prices, which could further raise the local retail price of petrol in Nigeria. However, according to him, if Saudi Arabia and Russia raise their outputs, the rise could be tempered and domestic retail prices in Nigeria may not rise significantly. He said, “If we can trust public officers, Nigeria’s oil output has increased from 1.4m/bpd to between 1.6m/bpd and 1.7m/bpd.

“The target is 2.3m/bpd in 2025, if this works as desired, rising dollar revenues should increase foreign reserves (roughly at $38bn) and strengthen the naira to dollar exchange rate, which should reduce domestic prices and pull down the domestic cost of PMS, other white oils and gas. “The probabilities of any set of events occurring must be assessed independently, and objectively. Local factors will be just as important as global.

“I support those calling for a swap arrangement with Dangote Refinery. “The government can pay for Dangote’s refined crude with unrefined or raw crude oil. “This means that the government would not need to pay Dangote in naira, and Dangote can hedge against volatility in crude oil prices by having forward contracts in the sale of crude or refined oil with foreign third parties.

“This helps the Dangote Refinery protect itself from exchange rate and price volatility but also helps reduce rapidly changing domestic refined oil prices. “With stable domestic prices for PMS and gas, domestic households are protected from the ‘noise’ of global events as foreign reserves build up slowly, possibly rising to between $48bn and $52bn by H2 2025. “Dangote Refinery is a for-profit enterprise, in Nigeria’s long-term interest, it should be allowed to operate commercially and viably.

“With the removal of toll-collecting non state actors from roads, transportation and logistics costs can be reduced without disrupting the economic logic of domestic oil refining by Dangote and others. ”Only the government can say how much will be saved from subsidy removal. Any other person would be engaging in speculation.

Nobody outside the government’s inner circle of knowledge knows the cost of subsidy, so it may be fool hardy to give a figure. “However, less spending on supporting PMS consumption could be redirected to improve strategic roads to reduce farmgate-to-city travel time, increase gas powered public transportation, and improve educational and healthcare infrastructure, simple things. “Nigerians are hardworking, smart, and entrepreneurial; with the right infrastructure and policy support, they will beat their own paths to prosperity”.

From stagflation to recession
Onyekpere, faulting the NNPCL’s increase of the price PMS, described it “as an exercise founded on dubious and mischievous foundations.” The CSJ Lead Director, who is a lawyer with specialization in development law, electricity reforms and fiscal governance, added, “To state that the increase arose from increased price of crude oil in the international oil market is a specious argument considering that when the price of crude oil falls, Nigerians have never enjoyed a decrease in price.

“Pray, the deregulated market only applies to increase in price and can never lead to a price reduction when the price of crude oil falls. “The rising cost of PMS will increase the misery and poverty levels in a country where over 133 million citizens were suffering from multi-dimensional poverty in 2022 before the twin policies of increase in PMS and floatation of the naira started wreaking havoc on the standard of living.

“If the geopolitics of the Israel-Iran conflict escalates, the price of crude oil is likely to increase in the international oil market, meaning that Nigerians will be required to pay more for PMS.

“A government states that it is fighting inflation through monetary policy rate/benchmark increases while at the same time increasing energy costs in PMS and electricity tariffs and still expects reduced inflation figures.

“This is a contradiction; it is absurd and shows the lack of harmony in economic policy planning and implementation. “It is imperative to reaffirm that for an economy to create value, grow consistently and in a sustainable manner, there should be harmony between fiscal, industrial, labour, monetary, trade, etc., policies. “This increase in the price of PMS would likely continue the gravitation from stagflation to a real recession

“Dangote Refinery can be managed to reduce the price of PMS if the government offers the refinery a production subsidy – through a slightly reduced price of crude feedstock it buys from NNPC.

“This proposed subsidy is a positive one that is different from the consumption subsidy paid on imported refined petroleum. “Now that all subsidy is gone, it is expected that government will save not less than $7 billion every year.

“It is expected that FGN, states and local governments should invest the savings in critical sectors like education, health and infrastructure rather than increased frivolities expenditure in the executive and legislature”.

The torment of incessantly escalating petrol prices and the consequent surge in the cost of everything have plunged Nigerians into a precipitous decline in quality of life. This dire situation is exacerbated by insensitive, almost mocking remarks from those responsible for inflicting this pain.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, aptly nicknamed “T-Pain,” recently stated from London that Nigerians would, in the future, appreciate the wisdom of his “reforms.” Such a statement is both callous and mendacious.

It is callous because these “reforms” are literally destroying the livelihoods of millions and causing the deaths of many. What possible benefit could the deceased derive from economic reforms that precipitated their untimely demise?

It is mendacious because, as evidenced by the history of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) in Nigeria—and the experiences of other nations implementing similar neoliberal economic reforms—such policies invariably erode the middle class, exacerbate poverty among the lower classes, yet please the markets, thereby benefiting the upper classes.

Almost without exception, neoliberal policies—such as the elimination of subsidies, deregulation, reductions in social spending, and fiscal austerity—exacerbate economic inequality and hinder sustainable development in developing economies. These policies often benefit large corporations and the wealthy, which creates an inequitable concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and widens the chasm between the rich and the poor.

Thus, the deferred benefits for which Tinubu wants Nigerians to endure mass deaths and hopelessness are the opening of Nigerian markets to international competition—which may please global markets but will overwhelm local businesses lacking the resources and technology to compete—and the freeing up of resources to invest in infrastructure.

However, the reality is that contemporary Nigeria is inhospitable to foreign investment due to the absence of security, social, and physical infrastructure, and because Tinubu’s policies have so impoverished the majority that they cannot afford to purchase what foreign businesses produce. This explains the mass exodus of foreign companies since 2023.

Furthermore, given the culture of endemic corruption entrenched within the upper echelons of power, most of the funds saved from subsidy withdrawals, tariff increases, intensified taxation, and cuts in social programs will likely be misappropriated. The government will still resort to borrowing from the World Bank and the IMF to finance its operations.

We are already witnessing this phenomenon. Despite massive inflows of cash into government coffers, no new projects are being constructed or even initiated. In fact, governments at all levels are procrastinating over implementing the ₦70,000 per month minimum wage. State governors convert the excess funds they receive from federal allocations into dollars and stash them away, thereby putting pressure on the naira.

Now, the vast majority of Nigerians have resigned themselves to the fact that death, starvation, and hopelessness are the only certain outcomes of Tinubu’s “reforms” and are seeking a way out. Middle-class citizens are saving up to leave the country, and, for the first time ever, even the majority of northern Nigeria’s middle class is investing in plans to escape from Nigeria.

In response, Senate President Godswill Akpabio declared that Nigerians fleeing the blazing neoliberal hellhole that Tinubu has created are ungrateful and unpatriotic cowards who should be stopped. “I believe people should place love for their country above financial gains. That is why many of us choose to remain here,” he said.

Akpabio and his ilk choose to stay in Nigeria not out of love for the country but because they thrive off it and are insulated from the harm they inflict upon it. The professionals leaving Nigeria in droves are not doing so because they lack love for their country. They love their country; they simply abhor the raging neoliberal inferno it has become. It is insulting to suggest, as Akpabio did, that Nigerian emigrants are motivated by base and unpatriotic motives. Even more insulting is Akpabio’s proposed solution to halt emigration: that dissatisfied Nigerians should reduce the number of cars they own.

At times, one wonders whether Akpabio retains any functioning brain cells.

Meanwhile, Remi Tinubu, Bola Tinubu’s wife, continued this pattern of insulting Nigerians amidst their suffering. On Thursday, she told the Ooni of Ife that her husband is not responsible for Nigeria’s current travails, which contradicts her husband’s own acceptance of responsibility for the hardships Nigerians are enduring—with a promise of an illusory better tomorrow as compensation for the pain he is inflicting.

“We are just 18 months into our administration,” she said. “We are not the cause of the current situation. We are trying to fix it and secure the future.”

She then inverted logic, implying that Nigerians are suffering not because her husband has increased petrol prices more times and at higher rates than any previous president, but because prior presidents did not do what her husband is doing.

“We know that subsidy has been removed, but with God on our side, in the next two years, Nigeria will be greater than this,” she said. “Those who attempted removing subsidies before could not see it through. But with your prayers in the next two years, we will build a nation for the future.”

The rage that overcame me upon reading this is beyond description. Do these insensate individuals utilize their cognitive faculties at all?

I have long harbored a suspicion that the upper echelons of Nigeria’s power structure have been displeased with the emergence of a middle class since 1999. The markers of middle-class status—such as car and home ownership, fine dining, foreign education, and sartorial sophistication—have deprived the upper class of privileges they believed should remain exclusive to them.

In the early 2000s, they used to speak derisively of “Obasanjo drivers”—individuals who could afford to own cars due to minimum wage increase and arrears of the minimum wage during Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency. It isn’t Obasanjo who gave people cars or created the middle class, of course. By its nature, practice of democracy creates certain jobs and circulates opportunities that foster the middle class.

Now, Tinubu’s neoliberal policies are eradicating the middle class and plunging the poor into deeper, more excruciating poverty, reminiscent of the days of military dictatorship. I wonder how much longer this can continue. Yet we will be observing from afar, as nothing that is happening now comes as a shock. I forewarned that this would occur even before Tinubu assumed power.

Senator representing Borno South, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider the plight of Nigerians and reduce fuel and food prices.

Ndume said the astronomical increase in the prices of fuel, food, essential goods and services in the country is threatening the very existence of Nigerians.

Dinosaurs Spine at Hang Dong, Ta Xua, Son La seen from above

In a statement on Friday in Abuja, the Senator however, blamed the situation on “bad elements sabotaging the administration of President Tinubu.”

The alleged that they were pushing for “harsh reforms and bad policies” instead of tackling the issues of inflation and exchange rate.

Recall that fuel pump price was raised at NNPC fuel stations to N1,030 per litre, on Wednesday, despite the already existing hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and other economic policies of government.

Ndume lamented that families in Borno were suffering, stressing that farmers could no longer transport their goods to the market for sale due to high cost of transpiration.

The ranking senator said, “I personally believe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu mean well for Nigeria and Nigerians. I know this because I know what he stands for. But some of his advisers who don’t mean well for the people of this country give him wrong advic3.

“I’m appealing to him to resist these bad people who want to pitch the people against his administration. The hardship these people are inflicting on Nigerians is becoming unbearable.

“As soon as the President returns to Nigeria, I urge him to look into these issues and address them urgently. The purchasing power of Nigerians is too poor, and they can’t afford the things that are being pushed on them every day by enemies of state.”

THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has observed that the full deregulation of petrol pricing, along with the withdrawal of NNPC Limited as the sole off-taker of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, means that marketers are now free to source products from various suppliers, including through imports.

This is even as an expert said the NNPCL does not deal with associations, including IPMAN but with companies that applied and paid for their petroleum products.

The IPMAN position came a day after the NNPC increased the pump price of petrol by 15 percent to N998 per liter in Lagos and N1,030 per litre in Abuja.

Speaking to Vanguard, the Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said marketers would source their products from wherever they feel is cheaper and make them (IPMAN) competitive.

Ukadike pointed out that the current business environment in terms of petrol pricing is shrouded in secrecy with marketers not adequately informed about decisions before they were taken.

“The happening has been shrouded in secrecy but with time everything will come out because full deregulation has come into play. Marketers can now import and so let’s see what they will do. Then we will know whether we will go with Dangote or elsewhere where the price is better”, he stated.

Earlier in the day, IPMAN President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi Shettima, demanded a refund of N15 billion from NNPC Limited for petrol orders placed by independent marketers but were not supplied.

Shettima who made the demand in an interview with Channels TV stated that if NNPC’s current pricing is higher than that of Dangote Refinery, the national oil company must refund the payments made by independent marketers.

He criticized the NNPC for requesting additional payments from marketers despite not supplying the product for which they had already paid.

However, an expert that preferred to be anonymous faulted the oil marketers, stating that the NNPCL does not do business with oil marketers, including IPMAN.

He said: “NNPCL does not have a business relationship with IPMAN because the association did not fill a form and paid to lift petrol from the company. Rather, the NNPCL is dealing with many companies.

Boko Haram Terrorists Take Almost Half Of Crops Produced By Farmers In Borno Communities –Senator Ndume


Senator Mohammed Ndume, representing Borno South senatorial district, has expressed concerns regarding the looting of crops by terrorists in the Gwoza communities of Borno State.

Ndume on Wednesday disclosed that he had been reliably informed by village heads from the affected areas—specifically Ngoshe, Kirawa, Ashigashiya, and surrounding communities—about the dire situation facing local farmers, who are now left frustrated and hungry due to the loss of nearly half of their agricultural produce.

“Regarding the renewed Boko Haram killings, especially targeting farmers while harvesting their crops, I was reliably informed by the village heads of the affected Gwoza communities that almost half of the crops produced by resilient farmers in Ngoshe, Kirawa, Ashigashiya, and other surrounding communities around the Mandara Mountains were looted by terrorists, leaving local farmers frustrated and hungry,” he was quoted by Vanguard as saying.

Ndume, a former chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, called on the Nigerian government to enhance military capabilities by providing adequate equipment and motivation to Nigerian forces.

He noted a conversation with the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who assured him of plans to deploy additional troops to Gwoza to enable farmers to protect their crops.

"The military is determined and committed to ending Boko Haram’s madness, but this cannot be possible if they are not fully equipped, armed, trained, and motivated," Ndume said.

The senator also addressed rumours circulating on social media regarding an ambush of his convoy by suspected Boko Haram terrorists, stating that he had safely returned from a condolence visit to families of those recently killed in the region.

He explained an incident from Tuesday, where his convoy, escorted by military personnel, was en route to Ngoshe when they received alarming reports of an ambush on Cameroonian soldiers along the Pulka-Kirawa Road.

He said despite the threats, he and his team proceeded to Kirawa, where they offered condolences to the families affected by previous attacks.

He encouraged residents to remain resilient amidst the ongoing violence, which has seen an increase in Boko Haram activities in the area.

Ndume said the ambush on the Kirawa road targeted a Cameroonian businessman, Alhaji Kadi, who was killed alongside an unidentified woman, with several others sustaining injuries.

The Nigerian Communications Commission has withdrawn its recently issued press statement regarding the operations of Starlink, a satellite internet service provider.

In a brief message addressed to media outlets on Tuesday, the NCC acknowledged that the statement was released in error, urging editors and journalists to retract any related publications.

“Kindly note that this press statement on Starlink was issued in error. It is hereby WITHDRAWN. If already published, kindly BRING DOWN,” the message, signed by the NCC’s Manager of Media Relations, Kunle Azeez, stated.

The commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, had announced plans to take enforcement measures against Starlink, for raising its subscription prices in Nigeria without the regulator’s approval.


In a message sent to its customers last week, Starlink said the price hike would affect both existing and new customers.



Additionally, new users will face a higher cost for the Starlink kit (the hardware needed for installation), which is now priced at N590,000, up 34% from the previous price of N440,000.

However, the NCC stated that it had not approved the price increase.

“The decision by Starlink to unilaterally review its subscription packages upwards did not receive the approval of the Nigerian Communications Commission,” Muoka said.

He explained that the commission was “surprised” when the company announced the price changes, despite having filed a request with the NCC for a price adjustment, which the regulator had yet to approve.

Lifemanage:
Was that not how they were insulting Jonathan and foisted Buhari on us Let them use their powers well

Godfullsam:
I hope this bastards will not force governor to clamp down on these virtual banks?

Maybe the money was paid to their informants and accomplices as compensation.

iwaeda:
More than half a billion naira in a day, when hunger and hardship is hitting the thumbs of those who voted for is ewa, ebay and garri, Nlfpmod.