₦airaland Forum

Nigeria’s inflation fell to 33.40 percent in July 2024 from 34.19 percent in June on a year-on-year basis.


This is the first time the country’s inflation has cooled down since December 2022 when it stood at 21.34 percent.

The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in its latest Consumer Price Index and Inflation for July released on Thursday.

This represents a 0.79 percent decline compared to the 34.19 percent recorded in June 2024.

The decline was in line with the expectations of Financial analysts who projected that the country’s inflation would cool off from July to August.

“The picture is that the rate of increase in price level has begun to slow. Hence we are projecting that information will begin to decline from July to August”, the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives said in June.


CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso had earlier assured that the Monetary Policy Committee would do everything to tame inflation.

As part of measures to ensure inflation is tame, CBN through MPC has continued to raise interest rates.

The latest was in July when it raised the rate by 50 basis points to 26.75 percent from 26.25 percent in May.


Additionally, the Nigerian government had recently introduced fiscal measures including zero import duties on selected staple foods to tackle inflation.

Also, recall that Defence Headquarters recently said that it had deployed its troops to farmsz especially in the North East and North Central to ensure a hitch-free farming season in Nigeria.

JobAndVacancies:
a nairalander's GTB account was hacked and the 42 million naira in the account was completely wiped off.
The money was a contract recently awarded to him.
His moniker below is Gloriousgbola.
You can quote him and send in your condolences.

Indications have emerged that the total monthly pay of 99 non-principal officers of the Nigerian senate is above N2 billion.

One of them, Senator Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila (NNPP, Kano) yesterday confirmed that he receives about N21 million monthly as his perquisite for representing the people of Kano South Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly.

He however said that he does not know how much goes to the Senate president, the deputy Senate president, as well as each of the eight other principal officers of the upper chamber of the Nigerian parliament.

The revelation by Kawu puts the total monthly package for all the 99 non-principal officers of the Senate at N2.079 billion.

The 10 principal officers of the 10th Senate are: President, Godswill Akpabio; Deputy President; Jibrin Barau; Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; Deputy Majority Leader, Lola Ashiru; Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno; Deputy Chief Whip, Nwebonyi Peter Onyeka; Minority Leader, Abba Moro; Deputy Minority Leader, Akogun Lere Oyewumi; Minority Whip, Osita Ngwu and Deputy Minority Whip, Rufai Hanga.

The earnings of the presiding officers of the National Assembly have been still not been known, with several other lawmakers in the past saying they do not know what those officers receive monthly, and that even the number of aides statutorily allowed for those category of officers were unknown to them.

Efforts by Daily Trust to get the breakdown of their monthly earnings yesterday were not successful as the Senate’s spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, neither answered calls nor replied to messages inquiring about the earnings of the principal officers, where were sent to his mobile telephone line.

There have been controversies in recent times over the actual salaries and allowances of federal lawmakers in the country.

Some former members of parliament like Senator Shehu Sani and representatives Muhammad Sani Zoro and Sergius Ogun had recently quoted different figures as emoluments of lawmakers, and also challenged those who are serving in the 10th National Assembly to make public what they earn.

Ogun, who represented Esan North-East/Esan South-East Constituency from 2015 to 2023, had disclosed last week that each member of the House of Representatives received N8.5 million monthly as running costs while he was in the parliament.

Sani Zorro, who had represented Gumel/Maigatari/Sule Tankarkar/Gagarawa Federal Constituency of Jigawa State in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, however, challenged those currently serving to make public their entitlements.

Senator Sani, who was in the Senate from 2015 to 2019, had said each senator received a monthly running cost of N13.5 million in addition to the monthly N750, 000.00 prescribed by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently criticised the federal lawmakers for allegedly fixing their salaries, describing the practice as “immoral.”

In response to Obasanjo’s accusation, however, the Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu insisted that members of the National Assembly only receive what was allocated to them by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

But reacting to Senator Sani’s claim, the Chairman of RMAFC, M. B. Shehu, had, in a statement on Tuesday, said each senator earns N1,063,860 in salary and allowances per month.

The RMAFC boss, however, stressed that the commission does not have the constitutional powers to enforce compliance with the proper implementation of the remuneration package of lawmakers. “This lacuna is, however, being addressed by the National Assembly,” he had stated.

I earn N21m monthly running cost – Senator Kawu Sumaila

But in what seemed to be a contradiction of the RMAFC’s position, Senator Kawu Sumaila, in an interview on BBC Hausa on Wednesday, said that he receives about N21 million monthly.

Kawu, a former legislative aide to former President Muhammadu Buhari, said: “The amount that salary that each senator receives per month is less than N1 million. If there are cuts, it comes back to about N600,000.

“In the Senate, each senator is given N21 million every month as the cost of running his office”, he said.

He said the N21 million each senator receives is for all the activities, including domestic trips, purchase of daily newspapers, among other functions.

Former President Obasanjo had, on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while hosting six members of the House of Representatives, led by Ikenga Ugochinyere, who visited him, accused federal lawmakers of fixing their salaries and allowances; a claim both chambers had separately dispelled.

“In your case, with all due respect, you’re not supposed to fix your salaries. But you decide what you pay yourself—the allowances that you give yourselves, including newspaper allowances.

“You give yourselves all sorts of things, and you know it is not right. It is immoral, yet you are doing it, the Senate is doing it, and you are beating your chests about it. In some cases, the executive gives you what you’re not entitled to. You all got N200 million (each),” Obasanjo had alleged.

Adjust your earnings with masses’ realities—SERAP, YIAGA, CHRICED

Reacting to the revelation by Senator Sumaila, some civil society organisations (CSOs) and analysts yesterday raised concerns over the “huge” pays being received by the legislators amidst the hardship in the land.

Executive Director, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Adetokunbo Mumuni, in a chat with Daily Trust, noted that Nigeria operates one of the world’s most expensive democracies without corresponding results.

“We cannot compare ourselves with any other nations in terms of the expenses incurred, whether annually or monthly. Legislators, especially senators, must reassess their earnings in line with the realities of the Nigerian nation,” Mumuni said.

He decried the huge disparity between the earnings of lawmakers and the average Nigerian, saying the N70,000 new minimum wage for Nigerian workers is a stark contrast to the N21 million received by senators.

“This situation needs urgent attention to prevent leaving future generations of Nigerians in a dire financial mess,” he added. Mark Amaza, Senior Communications Officer at Yiaga Africa, said even after 25 years of democratic governance, Nigerians still lack clarity on the earnings of their federal legislators.

He blamed the National Assembly for perpetuating “this opacity”, saying “Transparency and accountability are essential in a democracy, and the earnings of legislators should not be a closely guarded secret.”

Ibrahim Zikirullahi, Executive Director, the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), said the revelation by Senator Sumaila reinforced the need to reduce the cost of governance.

He said it was “unfortunate” that those entrusted with managing the nation’s resources appear indifferent to the needs of the people they represent.

“At a time when the majority of Nigerians are suffering from multi-dimensional poverty and severe hunger, it is disheartening to learn that such vast amounts are being spent on just 109 lawmakers while millions lack basic amenities like roads, electricity, and water,” Zikirullahi said.

He said the funds allocated to legislators could be better spent on public services such as schools and healthcare centres.

“Something drastic must be done to address social inequality in this country, starting with a significant reduction in the funds allocated to the lavish lifestyles of our political officeholders. The frequent calls by the government for citizens to make sacrifices amid Nigeria’s economic challenges will ring hollow if those in power continue to enrich themselves at public expense,” he said.

Fuel marketers in Kano State have jerked up their prices as a litre is being sold at between N900 and N950 per litre.

Following the increase, commercial tricycle operators within the metropolitan local government areas have also increased their fares by about 100 per cent.

This is coming just a few days after the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria# nationwide protest.

It was observed that most of the filling stations in Kano city have also remained shut while the few that were selling the commodity were besieged by a long queue of vehicles.

The few filling stations that were operating, had already jerked up their prices from between N780 per litre and N850 per litre before the anti-hunger protest, to between N900 per litre and N950 per litre.

Black marketers who returned to business recently are also having a field day.

Investigation showed that a litre of fuel at the black market sells for between N1,100 and N1,200 depending on the location where the black marketers are operating.

A cross-section of motorists who spoke to our reporter, expressed concern over the price hike.

Efforts to contact the state Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Gana Girge, failed as his calls did not connect.

forgiveness:
No, that was mutual agreement between the President and governors.

forgiveness:
Who initiates it? The President. The same way the president solved local government autonomy.

forgiveness:
It's what I said earlier. How, only person can instigate that. The President.

forgiveness:
Stronger than President that controls and commands all the enforcement agencies. Hires and fires anyone?

No, it could be that that president has no political will to effect changes.

forgiveness:
How can some few people be more powerful than the President.

The President must have the willpower to effect changes.

Moreover, we must legislate a law that ensures government and private organisation have timeline to respond to letters, enquiries etc to checkmate the unnecessary delays in bureaucracy.

Maximum of 2 official working days shall be enough for a ministry or private organisation to respond to a request.

Just answer yes or no with the ministry or private organization letterhead paper and signature.

This will curb excess of some lazy and corrupt government officials.

I know of a ministry that has not responded to letter for almost 1 year. That's redundancy.

𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐒𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐎𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐨

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that his administration's attempt to partner with Shell Plc to manage Nigeria's… pic.twitter.com/dSYguhYaKV

— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) August 11, 2024

The Federal Government has paid workers of the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company the total sum of N38.9bn as salaries and allowances in 10 years, Saturday PUNCH reports.

This is despite the inability of the company to produce a single sheet of steel since its inception.

The Ajaokuta Integrated Steel Complex, conceived in 1979, was developed to establish a Metallurgical Process Plant alongside an Engineering Complex and various auxiliary facilities.

The complex is meant to generate important upstream and downstream industrial and economic activities that are critical to the diversification of the economy into an industrial one.

On its website, the company said it directly employed about 10,000 workers at the first phase of commissioning while the upstream and downstream industries that would evolve all over the nation would engage no fewer than 500,000 employees.

Ajaokuta Steel Plant, aptly known as the Bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialisation, is more than just a rolling mill—it’s an Integrated Iron and Steel Plant.

It boasts four distinct rolling mills: the Billet Mill, the Light Section Mill, the Wire Rod Mill, and the Medium Section and Structural Mill.


The plant utilises blast furnace technology, which is the most prevalent method for steel production, representing about 70 per cent of global liquid steel production.

By 1994, the plant was estimated to be 98 per cent complete in terms of equipment installation.

While some units of the plant were operational at various times, 40 out of the 43 planned units had been constructed.

However, due to mismanagement, the project remains incomplete over 45 years later.

At the Russia-Africa Summit in 2019, former President Muhammadu Buhari and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on a revitalisation of the steel mill with Russian support and project funding from the Afreximbank and the Russian Export Centre.

But it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the agreement was abandoned.

In January 2024, Tinubu opened discussions with a Chinese steel company, Luan Steel Holding Group, to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company.


That discussion has not yielded any results.

Despite its inactive status and reports of an ineffective workforce, the company continues to receive substantial annual budget allocations from the government.

Furthermore, the salaries of its employees are still accounted for in the government’s annual budget.

A breakdown of the company’s annual budget between 2014 and 2024 showed that it paid a total of N29.11bn in salaries and wages, and N9.8bn in allowances to its staff.

Further analysis revealed that the government disbursed N3.82bn for personnel costs in 2014, reduced marginally to N3.8bn in 2015, N3.55bn in 2016 and N3.84bn in 2017.

In 2018, an unverifiable number of workers at the company received a total sum of N3.76bn for salaries and allowances, N3.2bn in 2019, and N3.5bn in 2020.

The cost increased to N3.89bn in 2021, and N3.94bn in 2022 but dropped significantly to N1.22bn in 2023.


The company didn’t announce any retrenchment exercise during this period. The cost, however, increased by N3.07bn to N4.29bn in 2024.

At an investigative hearing recently, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, took up the Sole Administrator of the Steel Company, Summaila Akaba, on several workers collecting salaries from the N4.2bn appropriated for personnel costs in the 2024 budget.


She said being an indigene of the area and desirous to get the steel company revamped and working, she made unscheduled visits to it and hardly found 10 people.

The lawmaker lamented further that despite spending money on personnel costs, no steel had been manufactured and no mill rolled.

She said, “The sum of N4.2bn was appropriated for personnel cost in 2024, but from several visitations I’ve made to the complex, hardly were 10 people sighted to be around or doing anything.

“So, who are the workers collecting monthly salaries from the appropriated N4.2bn?”

In the 2024 budget, the National Assembly increased budgetary allocation from N4.45bn in the proposed 2024 budget to N5.18bn in the approved version for the dormant Ajaokuta Steel Company.


This is an increase of N730m as the Federal Government plans to revive the moribund steel plant, which has been dormant for over 42 years.

At a briefing three months ago, the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, stated that the government was at an advanced stage of raising more than N35bn required to restart the Light Mill Section of the Ajaokuta Steel Company.

He also said data on technical analysis and evaluation by experts indicated that the government required between $2bn and $5bn to revive the Ajaokuta steel company within three years.

However, experts insisted that the best option was to privatise the company for effective maximisation of its potential.

Waste of resources – Economist

Reacting to the payment of workers, an economist and researcher, Paul Alaje, said it amounted to a waste of the country’s resources, calling for a public-private partnership to revamp the company.

Alaje, who is the chief economist at an economic development research firm in Lagos, SPM Professionals, said, “It is wastage. But the truth is that labour has to be paid. It is not their fault that the place isn’t working. It is the government that doesn’t have work to give them.
It is the work of the employer to provide what labour will do. But when the employer is laid back, there is an issue.

“That is why the Federal Government needs to engage in public-private partnership immediately or allow the foreigners who started the projects to partner with the Federal Government for the completion of the Ajaokuta steel mill.

“The billions of naira spent were not just in Ajaokuta, I imagine they are spending tens of billions to pay salaries in four refineries that are not working. How can you pay people for not working?

“We lose hundreds of millions of naira at different offices of government to people not working. It is not that they don’t want to work, but there is no work for them to do.

“I will not support a total disposal of the Ajaokuta steel mill. I will support a situation where we partner with the private sector. We can do 60-40, or partner with the foreign company that started it.

“The best thing to do is to move the workers at the company to agencies in need of workers, but that will also mean that there are no more eyes on Ajaokuta steel mill. Some of the fixed equipment will disappear overnight. Why can’t we make it work? Some people are in the steel business in Nigeria. Can’t we give part of the shares to them?”

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, a professor of Economics at Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, Abayomi Adebayo, said paying such an amount would translate to throwing the country’s scarce resources into the drain.


He added that the Federal Government should rather terminate the workers’ appointments and stop paying them salaries for work not done.

He said, “Anytime you are paying a worker that is not producing anything, you are throwing your money into the drain. It’s simply a drain on the Nigerian economy and a manifestation of absurdity in governance because if you know that the place is not functioning, why not terminate the appointment of the workers there?

“They have to rationalise the staff. You can’t continue to pay people who are not working because so many issues about that job are not yet resolved. I can’t understand why somebody will continue to pay like that.

“It’s a show of irresponsibility. It’s a show of the fact that they don’t have the love of Nigeria at heart and some of the workers would have found their way out of the country and be working elsewhere. It shows how much we love our country.”

DANGOTE
PRESS STATEMENT

CLARIFICATION ON CRUDE SUPPLY

Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging that the Dangote Refinery has backtracked by acknowledging that NNPC supplied about 60% of the 50 million barrels we lifted.

To clarify, we have never accused NNPC of not supplying us with crude. Our concern has always been that NUPRC is pushing but IOCs are not following the instructions to enforce the domestic crude supply obligation and ensure that we receive our full crude requirement from NNPC and the IOCs.

For September, our requirement is 15 cargoes, of which NNPC allocated six. Despite appealing to NUPRC and their intervention, we've been unable to secure the remaining cargoes. When we approached IOCs producing in Nigeria, they redirected us to their international trading arms or responded that their cargoes were committed.

Consequently, we often purchase the same Nigerian crude from international traders at an additional $3-$4 premium per barrel which translates to $3-$4 million per cargo. We, therefore still insist that we are unable to secure our full crude requirement from domestic production and urge NUPRC to fully enforce the domestic crude supply obligation as mandated by the PIA. It is a law and they just need to comply.

Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief, Branding and Communications Officer.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has revealed that the country currently spends $600m on fuel importation monthly.

He stated that the high import bill is due to neighbouring countries, up to Central Africa, benefiting from the country’s fuel imports.

The minister stated this during an interview on AIT’s Moneyline programme, which was posted on its Youtube channel on Wednesday.

Edun explained that the situation was the reason President Bola Tinubu removed fuel subsidy, as the country does not know the exact amount of fuel consumed internally.

According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s petrol import was reduced to an average of one billion litres monthly after President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy on May 29 last year.

He said, “The fuel subsidy was removed May 29, 2023, by Mr President, and at that time, the poorest of 40 per cent was only getting four per cent of the value, and basically, they were not benefitting at all. So it was going to be just a few.

“Another point that I think is important is that nobody knows the consumption in Nigeria of petroleum. We know we spend $600m to import fuel every month but the issue here is that all the neighbouring countries are benefitting.

“So we are buying not for just for Nigeria, we are buying for countries to the east, almost as far as Central Africa. We are buying. We are buying for countries to the North and we are buying for countries to the West. And so we have to ask ourselves as Nigerians, how long do we want to do that for and that is the key issue regarding the issue of petroleum pricing.”

He added that the nation must take a decisive step to tackle step the problem as it impedes it’s economic growth.

Of great importance to the government, Edun said, is the welfare of the people, particularly the vulnerable.

One of the key areas of focus is ensuring food availability and affordability.

Speaking further in the interview, the finance minister clarified that the N570bn fund release to state governments was implemented last year December.

He said, “This actually refers to a reimbursement that they received from December last year onwards and it was a reimbursement I think under the COVID financing protocol but the point is that the states have received more money. They have received more money. Mr President has charged to ensure food production in the states.”

Edun also clarified that the recent decision to raise the maximum borrowing percentage in the Ways and Means from five to 10 per cent does not imply that the Federal Government tends to rely on the Central Bank of Nigeria financing.

He said the government had rather used market instruments to manage its debts.

The minister said, “We have not gone to the central bank to say, please lend the government money to pay its debt, to pay its salaries. That’s Ways and Means. We have not gone. In fact, we have used market instruments to pay down what we owed, and that is a very, very germane aspect of having a strong economy.

“It was raised to 10 per cent, but that doesn’t mean it will be used. It’s there as a fail-safe and just gives that extra flexibility so that if a payment needs to be made and there is a mistiming or gap in when revenue would come in and expenses, we can just draw it down briefly.”

He described the approval by the National Assembly as a fail-safe measure.

The minister added, “Sometimes it just gives that extra flexibility so that if a payment needs to be made and there’s a mistiming, there’s a gap between the time at which the revenue will come in and the expenses needed, you can just draw down briefly.

“So, the aim is to keep within the letter of the law, I think that’s the main point.”

He also said the welfare of Nigerians remained a key priority for the current administration, particularly ensuring food availability and affordability.

Edun said, “There is a concerted effort to ensure that we have homegrown food available. In the short term, apart from what is being distributed from reserves, there is a window that has been opened for importation because the commitment of Mr President is to drive down those prices now and make food available now.”

He assured all that the measure would not undermine local farmers, as importation would only be permitted after exhausting local supplies.

He said, “So, one of the conditions for this importation will be that everything available locally in the markets or with the millers and so forth has been taken up. We will have auditors that will check that.”

He said these interventions seek to reduce inflation, stabilise exchange rates, and lower interest rates, thereby creating a conducive environment for investment and job creation.