The Nation Newspaper

Category: Issues

  • Firms sign MoU for Anambra Bonded Terminal

     

    Inland Containers Nigeria Limited (ICNL), the owner and operator of the Inland Container Depots in Kano State, and the Kaduna Inland Dry Port in Kaduna State, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Southeast Amalgamated Market Traders‘ Association [SEAMATA] for the promotion and development of a world-class bonded terminal in Anambra State.

    The project, which will accelerate the rapid industrialisation of the Southeast, is expected to decongest ports in Lagos.

    At the signing in Abuja, the Chairman of ICNL, Mr. Temitope Borishade, disclosed that “the project was conceived as a result of the company`s quest to decongest the ports in Lagos and facilitate seamless door-to-door delivery of cargo to the importers and exporters in the southeast.” He assured that the terminal will be fully equipped with modern state of the art terminal handling equipment comparable to the best terminals in Europe and other parts of the world.

    Read Also: How maritime sector can optimise AfCFTA regime

     

    SEAMATA President-General Gozie Akudolu-Iroko noted that Southeast boasted of a large number of importers. He, therefore, expressed optimism that the project was a welcome development which would meet the yearnings and aspirations of importers who may no longer need to clear their goods in Lagos but have it transferred on bond to the terminal and thereafter delivered directly to their warehouses.”

    H, therefore, promised to ensure that traders and members of the Association cooperate with ICNL to make the project a success.

    ICNL Managing Director Mr. Ismail Yusuf assured members of SEAMATA that ICNL would bring its expertise gained from decades of experience in the development and operation of bonded terminals to bear in the delivery of the project.

  • National Shipping Lines not feasible now

    Recent calls for African countries to establish shipping lines in preparation  for  the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) may not see the light of the day, without some conditions being met. An industry expert and former Secretary-General, Maritime Organisation for West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Magnus Teye Addico, explains why, MUYIWA LUCAS writes.

     

    Former Secretary General, Maritime Organisation for West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Magnus Teye Addico, has warned that African countries,  Nigeria and Ghana inclusive, should forget the idea of  establishing shipping lines at this point in time.

    He said the huge financial outlay needed to purchase and efficiently run vessels, coupled with the changing fortunes in trade at the moment, would not support such gigantic ventures. Rather, in his opinion, governments should adopt other fiscal measures, including generous tax holidays to attract investors into the shipping sector.

     

    Viability of National Shipping lines

    Addico warned that Nigeria and Ghana should not venture into buying ships for national shipping lines. “My position is that shipping is a servant of trade. It is not trade that is serving shipping. Before you go into shipping, you must have a purpose you are coming to serve. Before Ghana started the “Black Star Line”, the volume of cargoes and need to have vessels to move them was very glaring to all; hence, the ships were brought in for that purpose, and it served very well at that time.”

    The former MOWCA scribe clarified that it was wrong to think the Black Star Shipping Line failed due to corruption, inefficiency or mismanagement, saying:  “those were not true. The truth is that the trade is no longer there. When the trade is no longer there, what is the need for the ship? he queried. He said shipping was capital intensive and that it would cost over $60 million to acquire one. “This was why I said shipping is a servant of trade,” he submitted.

    The shipping expert said most of the countries that got involved in the venture had to use scarce resources that should have been deployed to health, road construction, education and others to procure ships, in the hope that ships will reduce unemployment. “This is not the situation anymore. Those days in Black Star Line and Nigeria National Shipping Line, a ship used to have 50 crew members onboard running a conventional ship. Combo vessels that had spaces for containers and bulk cargo had about 40 persons on board. But with modern ships, everything is now automated and all you now need is 13 to 18 crew members running a big vessel,” he said.

    He further warned that no one African country should go into buying ships to compete with multinationals because such ventures are capital intensive. According to him, maritime transportation cannot be branded as no one cares who owns it or where it comes from, adding that the entire cargo owner wants is that he gets his cargo delivered in good time at minimal cost to country of destination.

    “Things have changed so much that the shipping we knew is not the shipping we have now. That is the danger we have with our maritime academies. We are churning out cadets that cannot get jobs, not that they are not competent, the jobs are not enough. The academies should also prepare cadets for entrepreneurial ventures too. This may look difficult because of its capital intensive nature, but it could be worked out. Things have so changed that maritime jobs are not waiting for graduates anymore. The percentage of people who get employed as they leave school is decreasing,” he said.

    Read Also: Shipping firms sabotaging inland ports, says ANLCA

     

    Manpower in shipping

    According to him, African continent has enough manpower in running a shipping line. However, what the various governments are not getting right is taxation. “African governments think taxation will create all the monies needed for development. Shippers have a way of changing trade routes. While our shipping lines were looking at Europe as trading direction, shippers started looking at Asia. Too much bureaucracy kills ship ownership business. Like I said, this is not a terrain for government. We have manpower that should not be boxed into bottlenecks in a competitive sector. Tell investors they won’t pay tax for some years or promise them tax reduction if they take your maritime academy cadets and see how they will rush in,” he urged.

     

    Maritime financing

    “We in MOWCA had agreed that Nigeria should host the Regional Maritime Development Bank. We heard the Nigeria Minister of Transport is working on it. It will do what the average commercial banks cannot do to grow the shipping industry. It will have experts that will help governments and private sector players to reap much from the maritime industry. The bank will understand maritime investment gestation periods and grow the industry better,” Addico said.

     

     

  • Lagos urges safe driving at Yuletide

    By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

     

    Ministries, Departments and agencies of government in Lagos State, have a sacred responsibility of promoting safety on the roads especially as the yuletide beckons, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, has said.

    Omotoso dropped the charge while flagging off the third edition of the Don’t Drink and Drive campaign, organised by the Lagos State Traffic Radio (LSTR) in Agidingbi, Lagos on Friday.

    According to the commissioner, government agencies must be at the forefront of the drive to entrench a safe driving culture at all times on roads, as it made a lot of economic and social sense to do so, stressing that apart from saving lives, it also ensures that the resources of government were being judiciously deployed.

    “Saving lives that could have been lost to alcohol-induced road crashes is a top priority for this government. As a result, initiatives, such as this, aimed at reducing road crashes on account of alcohol-impaired driving are commendable and must be supported by all.

    “As part of efforts to stem the tide of this menace, among other maladies on our roads, Governor Babajide  Sanwo-Olu, upon assumption of office, issued an Executive Order on traffic management, declaring zero tolerance for violation of traffic rules and bad roads. I am happy to say that the enforcement of traffic rules has been stepped up. Offenders are being arrested and brought before the law. This action will continue until all our motorists embrace the culture of patience, tolerance and obedience that is needed to keep our roads accident free,” he stated.

    Read also: PHOTOS: Monitoring of repair as work begins on Lagos roads

     

    He added that the Sanwo-Olu administration was committed to providing a better life for all Lagosians and building a “Greater Lagos” for posterity through its developmental T-H-E-M-E-S agenda, which centre around empowering our citizens in all ramifications.

    Omotosho said the road show was apt and complementary to the efforts of government in transportation and traffic management, especially at this period of the year.

    Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Seyi Whenu said the road show was needed at this ’ember’ month period to sensitise the people to be careful on the road, especially now that “we are confronted with traffic gridlock on the road.

    “Traffic radio is doing a good work, everyone should be glued to the station. Lagos State government is doing everything possible to tackle the traffic, 1,000 policemen have been deployed to help. Please, be patient, in the next one week, traffic will abate. Don’t drink and drive,” he said

    General Manager, Lagos Traffic Radio 96.1 FM, Tayo Akanle said the whole essence of the campaign was to create the necessary awareness to sensitise motorists on the danger of drunk driving which might affect their vision and sense of judgment while driving and might lead to death.

    “We believe that continuous awareness is needed all year round by all stakeholders and not only towards the end of each year as vehicular movements occur every day. Each year, we continue to raise the bar of the awareness and sensitisation campaign through using our strong platforms both online and off line, including placement of ‘Don’t Drink & Drive’ banners on bill boards at strategic locations,” he said.

     

     

  • Lagos roads: A tale of unending nightmare

    Despite assurances by the state government, it is still long, dark nights for road users, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

     

    Ask any resident, and none, would bait an eyelid before telling you these are the worst times to live in Nigeria’s busiest commercial capital.

    If the bad state of roads had made commuting within the state a huge headache in the past, government’s resolve to bring relief to the people in recent weeks went several notches higher in escalating the road crisis, compounding residents’ nightmare.

    In the last two weeks, almost all parts of the state were practically locked down, as government’s contractors swung into action to rehabilitate some of the roads which have been written off by motorists and other road users.

    Julius Adesanya was one such Lagosian that “practically went through hell” last week. Adesanya lives in Agege and works in Mushin, a distance of about 35 kilometres which ordinarily he makes in 25 minutes if he drives, and about half an hour by public transport.

    Since the penultimate week, Adesanya has been spending between four to five hours on the same road to and from work, spending an average of between eight to 10 hours every day in traffic.

    Of course, his productivity has nose-dived as he spends more hours agonising on the trauma he faces on the road than he spends on the task(s) ahead of him at work.

    James Adewale is one Nigerian who sees himself as tactically jobless today. Reason, he “practically sacked himself” because he could not afford the cost of transportation to and from work. He lives in Ijoko, a border town in Ogun State and works at Ebute Meta, mainland Lagos. Today, he no longer goes to work regularly because according to him, he could not afford the between N1,500 to N2,000 daily he spends on transportation since the nation’s railway corporation suspended train service between Ijoko where he lives and Apapa.

    “I never felt the real impact of the rehabilitation on the roads by the government until the Nigerian Railway Corporation suspended the Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS), now I find that I spend a minimum of N1,500 or about N2,000 daily on transport, I didn’t survive that for a week before I stopped going to work, because I couldn’t afford it.”

    While Adewale may have taken the bitter pill, there are hundreds who out of the fear of losing their jobs have had to relocate to the office. For this category, they go home only weekends, as they sleep in the office for the rest of the week.

    What is becoming more worrisome is that the road crisis appears for now intractable. Dean of the School of Transportation, Lagos State University Prof Samuel Gbadebo Odewunmi  urged the government to make the best use of the dry season to give Lagosians a new travel experience.

    Odewunmi had wondered why government has been failing to see the huge potentials in the almost prostrate transportation sector, with about 90 percent of the states’ 26 million population having the need to move from point A to point B every day.

    Odewunmi said government must work at ensuring that Lagosians begin to enjoy travel time, as it remains one of the ways to unlock the state’s economy.

     

    Problem defying solution

     

    In recent times, Lagosians have come away with the impression that Lagos roads repair have defied all logic as government’s efforts to bring relief have inflicted greater agony  on the people.

    But the Lagos State Government has  urged members of the public to bear with it as it works on bringing them relief.

    Urging patience last week, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr Gbenga Omotoso said government is on top of the traffic situation in the state.

    He said government was aware of the massive gridlock across the state and that it had struck a partnership with the police command to deploy 1,000 policemen to help manage the traffic.

    Omotosho said the problem was more persistent at the Agege Motor Road where construction work was ongoing, saying that government had directed the contractor to put measures in place to alleviate the plight of Lagosians all through the period of the construction.

    The Lagos State House of Assembly blamed the traffic crisis in the state on the absence of such measures.

    Responding to a motion by the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, Hon Temitope Adewale (Ifako-Ijaiye 1 constituency), the lawmakers urged  the government to ask its contractors to focus on “scheduled maintenance.”

    Read Also: Work begins on Lagos roads

     

    Adewale complained bitterly on Thursday, over the current gridlock due to the ongoing road maintenance in the state.

    He asked the Lagos State Public Works Corporation to consider scheduled work everyday, including on weekends, rather than moving to depressed sections at peak period, thereby causing traffic snarl.

    Contributing, Mr Rotimi Olowo (Somolu I Constituency), said maintenance works should be carried out during weekends and off peak periods.

    The Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, called on the state Commissioner for Transport to liaise with contractors handling ongoing Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway line not to disrupt free flow of traffic, especially around Agege, Ikeja and Sogunle intersections.

    He also asked Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and Nigeria Police to desist from causing further impediments that could lead to gridlock on the roads while checking vehicle particulars.

     

    Need for attitudinal change

     

    But some other stakeholders believe Lagos traffic snarls are more as a result of reckless attitude of road users, especially commercial drivers than infrastructural.

    They said that though the roads are largely bad, yet, it could still have been more manageable had the drivers been patience with other road users.

    The FRSC, Lagos Sector Commander, Hyginus Omeje, said penultimate week that the nation roads would witness some sanity and a reduction in gridlock if the drivers obey traffic regulations.

    He canvassed attitudinal change especially from commercial drivers, whose penchant for driving against traffic in the face of the least impediment on traffic free flow is legendary.

    Patrick Adenusi, recently disclosed that apart from driving against traffic more popularly known as “one way traffic”, for which the state traffic law had stipulated the impoundment of such vehicle, as well as medical and psychiatric examination, another preponderant evil causing impediment to free flow of traffic is lane abuse.

    According to him, even when the government gets it right on the roads, Lagos State would continue to experience even more debilitating traffic snarl if road users, especially drivers are not retrained to begin to see how their attitudes and habits on the road constitute to impediments that might clog the roads.

     

    The train connection

    Yet another quarter from which the ongoing crisis on Lagos roads could be viewed is the absence of the Mass Transit Train system (MTTS).

    The railway corporation had on September 30, this year, suspended the MTTS, which shuttles from Iddo/Apapa to Ijoko, doing an eight round trip daily.

    With the train’s capacity to move more than 1,000 passengers on each trip, and 16 round trips every day, the train moves more than one million passengers daily.

    Officials of the corporation said Iddo-Ijoko MTTS is the most lucrative service on the corporation’s western line, but the service was suspended in order to fast track the completion of the ongoing standard gauge train, which requires shifting of the existing narrow gauge and shifting of the alignment of same to accommodate standard gauge rail line.

    The Lagos District Manager of NRC, Mr Jerry Oche, said the corporation was not unconcerned about the difficulties many commuters are presently going through, but urged them to be patient.

    Oche, who had earlier disclosed that the shutdown would last till middle of November, said the line will not be opened for now as work is  still ongoing on the corridor.

    Oche said the corporation and the contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is working round the clock to deliver the project as scheduled.

    “Words cannot express how I feel about what the commuters are going through. Don’t forget, I always say that it is not much about how much we make, but the services we render to the majority of people.

    “We bring succour and alleviate the suffering of thousands of Lagos residents. Now that we have shut down, I know a lot of people are having difficulties commuting but we would just appeal to them to be patience as work is going on to deliver the relocation of the narrow guage,” he said.

    Odewunmi said a state the size of Lagos must always quake if it continues to concentrate on one mode of transportation.

    For him, only a surfeit of intermodal transportation system that would have a train and the other modes, road, waterways and air as adjuncts remains the best way to soak up gridlocks on the roads.

    He said an active intermodal system will not only make travels pleasurable, it would lead to a massive explosion in the economic potentials of the state as direct and indirect jobs would be created to move the various systems.

    He said by making transportation the first pillar of its six points agenda, the Sanwo-Olu government recognizes the significance and centrality of transportation to the development of the state. He therefore urged the government to aggressively pursue the deepening of all channels of transportation.

  • SSA regime: Group drags NPA to National Assembly

    A group, Association of Professionals for Safety in Shipping in Nigeria  (APOSSIN), has petitioned the National Assembly over the pronouncement of the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA) instructing shipping operators to stop paying for personalised security services offered in the Secured Ancourage Area (SAA).

    The SAA is being operated by the Nigerian Navy, in collaboration with a private firm, Ocean Marine Solutions (OMS) Limited.

    APOSSIN noted that the directive was not only ill-advised but also counter-productive. It said that NPA is not empowered by any law to  make such pronouncement on an arrangement by another agency of government to deliver on its mandate.

    This submission, the body claims, is because the SAA is outside the port limits and hence not under the administrative control of the NPA as security of the maritime domain statutorily rests on the Nigerian Navy.

    Its Chairman, Adewale Oluwafemi, regretted that NPA, which has not been able to secure facilities around the port, is now gunning for the SAA. Oluwafemi said the SAA has brought some safety and trust for global shipping lines calling at the nation’s ports in Lagos.

    He said NPA’s inability to provide security at the ports were buttressed by the complaint from the General Manager of Greenview Development Nigeria Limited, Apapa, Lagos, Yakubu Abdullahi, of attack of its terminal by sea thieves.

    The body, therefore,  charged the ports landlord, noting  that it should  concentrate on providing security for ships that are berthed at the ports instead of coming after SAA.

    In similar vein, APOSSIN’s Secretary Emeka Ikechukwu said the SAA is an initiative of the Nigerian Navy and OMS that has brought stability and security to ships.

    He said the  SAA was established as a result of demands from ships making port calls to Lagos to give the captains extra comfort  on anchorage awaiting allocation of berthing space. The facility, he said, is intended to compliment government efforts and not a replacement.

    “Just like on land where organisations and even individuals on their own free will employ private security to secure their assets, in spite of all the available security provided by government; the facility is for those that wish to utilise the services. It is operated by the Nigerian Navy but logistically supported by OMS – a private-sector initiative to add value to government efforts.

    “It was established in collaboration with Nigerian Navy on  February 27, 2013 to offer dedicated security patrols services for vessels that demand extra protection while waiting offshore Lagos for berth allocation or conducting Ship-To-Ship, (STS) operations.

    “It is purely a service rendered on demand and was never made compulsory for vessels making port calls to Lagos. It provides a minimum of three security boats patrolling the area 24/7/365. The boats are operated by the Navy but logistically supported by OMS,” Ikechukwu said.

    Read Also: An open letter to Nigerian Ports Authority

    According to the duo, it is a well-documented fact that in the past six years of SAA, the facility has delivered 100 per cent success as there has not been any successful pirate attack on any vessels using SAA. The success story has made it a comfort zone and preferred location for captains of vessels coming to Lagos.

    Warning the shipping community not xxxbe deceived by the NPA announcement that security is free, it said if the patrol boats OMS is supporting to protect the area are withdrawn without replacements, the vessels would be exposed to attacks.

    APOSSIN admonished that while the NPA is waiting for the arrival of the boats promised, which it terms as a fraction of the solution, the logistics to run, maintain and keep them in water all the time is very huge and even much greater.

    “Experience has shown that this is seldom provided in sufficient quantities to the services, of course because of other competing needs of national importance. This is the gap OMS is filling for the Navy to maintain the required presence at the SAA. OMS is working under the Nigerian Navy (not NPA), who operates the Secure Anchorage Area, a relationship that has been communicated and NPA duly acknowledged the occurrence by publishing the Marine Notice in 2014. The SAA arrangement is working and has helped to reduce the piracy occurrence in the region (check the IMB latest report on the Gulf of Guinea) and most importantly, at no cost to government,” Ikechukwu added.

    Oluwafemi said the $2,000 charged  daily is not anchorage dues as described by the NPA but meant to offset the cost of acquisition of the patrol boats, and provision of the logistics to operate them to achieve the 24-hour presence for detering the criminals.

    It will be recalled that the NPA, through its Managing Director, Hadiza Bala-Usman, at a quarterly stakeholders’meeting, said the agency was set to take delivery of patrol vessels to enhance waterfront security at the ports, therefore directing shipping firms not to pay any anchorage dues to private security firms as it would take responsibility to secure vessels at the ports anchorage.

    Bala-Usman, who was represented at the meeting by the Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Sekonte Davies, assured that it would soon acquire three platforms for the Navy to enable it provide the needed security.

  • Employers groan under multiple charges on workers’social benefits

    BY OMOBOLA TOLU-KUSIMO

    Employers are screaming blue murder over multiple charges by various agencies in the Federal Government’s social benefits scheme. They are literarily up in arms against the Federal Government’s agencies, such as Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, National Pension Commission, and National Insurance Commission, which they alleged, forced them to pay exorbitant and multiple charges on all the social plans for their workers. This, according to them, is impacting negatively on their balance sheets. The aggrieved employers are, therefore, calling for streamlining of the charges, writes OMOBOLA TOLU-KUSIMO.

    By law, employers in the private and public sectors, with a minimum of five workers, are supposed to provide social benefits for their employees, such as pension, group life insurance, Employee’s Compensation Act (ECA) and health insurance.

    Although in other climes, governments provide these social benefits for their citizens, including workers, this is not the case in Nigeria, where the government mandates employers to provide social benefits for their employees.

    •PenCom DG Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar

    As if this seeming lop-sidedness is not enough disincentive to employers, the  various charges they are forced to pay on all the social benefit plans by various agencies in the Federal Government’s social benefits scheme may have become a burden too heavy to bear.

    Already, the employers are lamenting that the various layers of charges they are mandated to pay by the agencies, including the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), are not only costly,  they are also impacting negatively on their balance sheet.

    That is not their only grouse. The employers are also peeved that the charges are multiple. Besides, the schemes, they claim, offer similar benefits that can be packaged into one to lessen the burden of payment of the social benefit plans for their workers.

    The employers are mostly concerned about the Employee Compensation Act (ECA).

    For instance, an employer based in Lagos with over 1, 000 employees, said ECA and Group Life, including pension, cover death. He wondered why employers are made to pay three different charges for the same cover.

    According to the employer, who declined to be mentioned, the three payments include a minimum monthly contribution of one per cent of the total monthly payroll for ECA, 0.6 per cent premium for Group Life, 10 per cent of monthly emoluments as pension contribution, among other charges to different organisations and government agencies.

    As far he is concerned, this amounts to multiple taxations on the employers. He said: “The Group Life law says if you employ more than five workers, they should buy group life insurance cover for them.

    “What this means is that we prepare all the staff on our payroll, give them their yearly emolument and we pay a premium on it to an insurance company. So, in case of death, the beneficiary gets paid.

    “Then we now have NSITF, which states that if you employ 25 or more staff, you should pay for ECA. You know that NSITF used to be Workmen Compensation, which takes care of accident when you are at work.

    “So, why do we have to pay multiple charges? Group life covers death, Workmen Compensation, though covers injury at work, also covers death. We should have an option by complying with one because the two cover death.

    “For us, this is double taxation. We also have to pay 10 per cent for pension. This is too much; it’s an overkill.”

    A life insurance expert and Director-General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr. Richard Borokini, took the issue beyond employers’outcry over multiple charges. He said the ECA, since its takeover by NSITF, has not made much impact.

    The ECA, under the Employee’s Compensation Scheme, is regulated by the NSITF established vide Decree No. 73 of 1993 to succeed the defunct National Provident Fund (NPF), which had been in operation since 1961.

    The ECA, which was offered by insurance companies, was replaced with Workmen Compensation Act in 2010 and taken over by the NSITF.

    But, Borokini believes that the ECA, since its takeover by NSITF, has not made much impact. He stated that the one per cent charged by the NSITF should be negotiated by the employers as it is quite high.

    He said: “The one per cent needs to be contested because when we were offering the product, we were not charging one per cent. It wasn’t even up to one per cent

    “Before they (NSITF) took over the product from us (insurance companies) in 2010, we were charging 0.3 per cent and not one per cent. So, what the employers are paying is over 300 per cent of what we were charging, yet they are not getting the kind of value they should get, which is probably why they are complaining.

    “But I think that the Federal Government should just return it to the insurance companies and let them handle the business.”

    Another employer, who spoke with The Nation on condition of anonymity, also lamented the multiple charges. He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to support employers in providing social benefits for workers.

    However, a senior staff member of the NSITF explained that the ECA and Group Life are not the same. According to him, Group Life takes care of death benefit, while NSITF is for accident during work and, to an extent, the next-of-kin to the dead.

    “The scheme does not offer group life and as such, they are not the same. We are aware that some employers don’t want to do the two, but the ECA is compulsory because it is an act of the parliament. The NSITF’s primary objective is to make sure that there are no destitute on the street.

    “So, for us, it is a win-win situation for employers and the employees. The employee will be happy because they know that they have every protection they need and the employer only need to pay one per cent,” the NSITF staff member said, under the cover of anonymity.

    The Director-General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Timothy Olawole, aligns with him. He said employers who pay these charges on their employees were able to attract and retain the best talents possible.

    Olawole, who admitted that the charges employers pay on their employees could sometimes be overwhelming, however, noted that it is the law and they are meant to obey. He stressed that the law permits the NSITF to compel employers to secure ECA for their employees.

    The NECA chief said: “It is sad that it is the employer that is burdened with all kinds of social security benefits that the government should provide. In other climes, the government takes care of social security issues, but this is what we find in this country.

    “But if we are not satisfied, there could be an amendment to the law because the welfare of workers is the responsibility of the government.

    “On the other hand, the environment in which the employer is operating is very unfriendly and overwhelming. For instance, the new increase in tax is another burden that they have to deal with and many other charges on their business.

    “But the government can help ensure that employers operate in a friendlier environment. I don’t think they will complain.”

    The Nation’s checks show that employers are mostly aggrieved with the Group Life Policy and Employee’s Compensation Scheme.

    Group Life is a law under the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 as repealed by PRA 2014. It is jointly regulated by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and NAICOM and sold by insurance companies.

    However, while Group Life has been mostly accepted by employers along with pension under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as established by PRA 2014, they, however, frown at the ECA.

    Many of them argue that the ECA is similar to Group Life. They complain that both offer similar benefits that can be handled by one body or agency.

    As far as they are concerned, making contributions for employees under both policies amount to multiple charges. According to them, ECA covers injury and death while active at work, while group life also covers death.

  • Closing agric sector’s skills gap to boost production

    Globally, the future of large scale agriculture lies in the adoption and integration of modern technology to boost food production. Consequently, there is need for more skilled and qualified workforce to adopt and make use of budding tech innovations designed to boost food production. The increasing demand for tech-savvy specialists across the food production value chain has put authorities in agric sector on their toes. Already, efforts to equip the next generation of Nigerians with relevant skills have taken centre stage, Agriculture Correspondent, DANIEL ESSIET, reports.

    For Nigeria’s agric sector, a new dawn beckons. This is coming on the strength of a strategic partnership between Nigeria and Morocco in the provision of quality education, research, and training to support a world-class fertiliser industry.

    It was learnt that as part of this promising collaboration between both countries, at least, three Nigerians are already participating in an International Masters in Fertiliser Management Programme in Ben Guerir, Morocco.

    One of the lucky participants, Mr. Nnaemeka Odionye, is currently being exposed to new automation technologies designed to boost productivity in the agricultural sector, from software that can assist with early pest detection, robotics, and artificial intelligence systems to grow crops,

    Odionye is optimistic that his training will prepare him for the job of the future, especially in Nigeria where the adoption and integration of modern technology to boost food production has become imperative.

    Speaking, an expectant Odionye confirmed that he and other post-graduate students enrolled in Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Morocco, are exposed to world class education that will equip them to pursue global careers in agriculture.

    “We are exposed to several agricultural and food industry technologies e.g. fertigation (when nutrients are incorporated into irrigation water) and precision agriculture (the use of technology to obtain environmental and crop data so as to deliver the right dose of nutrients to plants to increase productivity),” he said.

    He also said the university’s laboratories are equipped with lots of equipment for real time analysis.

    He said: “I am also aware that new laboratories are being set up for the new masters’ students in molecular biology.

    “Academically, it has also been fantastic. The curriculum, seminars, workshops and teaching aids are well tailored to meet the programme’s description. The laboratories are as good as you find in prestigious universities in the world, with cutting edge technologies to carry out the latest research in soil fertilisation and related fields.”

    Under the partnership, graduates under the agriculture faculty also deal with automation in agriculture and the demand for technology in greenhouses. They are taught how to use robotics and automation in greenhouses to create a positive impact on the sector and emerging technologies, including robotic harvesters and decision support systems.

    These must be why Odionye described the programme as “a game changer.” According to him, the opportunity for networking has been awesome, as he and he and other participants have had the opportunity of meeting experts not only in the fertiliser industry, but in the global food industry.

    He also said UM6P is the only school in the world with a specific programme in fertiliser science and technology. “I believe the opportunities out there for us are limitless. I have developed a passion to contribute to reducing global hunger and poverty.

    “I intend to increase small holder farmer’s income in Nigeria and Africa by improving fertiliser use efficiency through the recommendation of specific soil nutrients for different regions and crop varieties across Africa,” Odionye said.

    Toyib Aremu, another beneficiary of the Nigeria/Morocco partnership, is also enjoying a full scholarship at the Moroccan university. He said he hopes to deploy knowledge gained from the programme to help revolutionise Nigeria’s agriculture and enhance food security.

    According to him, the school brings international academics and industry experts to take participants through various aspects of tech innovation in the agric sector. He added that studying with students from other African countries such as Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Malawi, Liberia, Rwanda and Morocco exposed him to the cultures of other people.

    Aremu said UM6P, which is funded by the state-owned Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), provides an example for Nigeria in terms of building quality human capital and equipping the next generation of Nigerians with in-demand skills at the tertiary education level.

    He said although, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is currently sponsoring students abroad, he is looking forward to a time when it will invest more in local institutions.

    Aremu said such investment was necessary because tech innovation in agric had the potential to drive Nigeria and indeed, Africa’s economic transformation through more formal and efficient smallholder farmer value chains. It will also reduce food imports and increase agric exports.

    Odionye and Aremu personify the renewed thinking by industry experts and authorities in the agric sector in favour of the adoption and integration of modern technology to boost food production. This,  it was gathered, is in line with global trend that supports skilled and qualified workforce to adopt and make use of budding tech innovations to boost food production.

    Experts speak

    For instance, the Director-General, Premier Agribusiness Academy, Mr. Toromade Francis, said agric businesses are increasingly looking to groom future specialists, especially at a time when technology is disrupting businesses faster than companies can cope with.

    Francis, who spoke at a forum in Lagos, noted that the integration of technology into agriculture industries is already having a significant effect on the sector in terms of both the structure of the workforce and the increase in productivity that tech innovations facilitate.

    According to him, technology is a significant factor in increasing the industry’s ability to grow more food. As a result, there is a big demand for specialists across the agricultural production systems with skills in managing the technological system used in food production.

    Francis said attaining a high level of skill in the new redefined specialties could be the best way to secure a dynamic, rewarding career in the future.

    He said the agric industry needs professionals exposed to efficient operating practices, new technologies, and increased levels of partnership and collaboration across the supply chain.

    Francis said employers are hungry for well-trained supply chain graduates, with skills that are continually growing and changing, adding that technology is having greater impact on agribusinesses.

    The Country Manager, HarvestPlus Nigeria, Dr. Paul Ilona, also in the agric sector, said there are many Nigerians who lack the technical proficiency needed to do certain jobs.

    According to him, this is despite the fact that the agric sector presents tremendous opportunities for personal, enterprise and national growth and development.

    This is more so considering the fact that as more companies expand globally, they are also increasing their international assignments and relying on expatriates to manage their global operations.

    The belief is that there is a labour market failure that results, in part, from the accelerating rate of change in the global economy–making it harder for the skills supply system to keep up with rapidly changing demand.

    According to development experts, the education and training system continue to turn out graduates whose skills are not always a match for available opportunities.

    While there is shortage of locals to help international companies successfully launch new ventures and gain advantage over competitors, most of them generally bring in their own experts from other locations to lead projects on a short-term basis, rather than rely on local talent.

    This is perhaps, why Ilona noted that the Nigerian economy is currently experiencing a structural and long-term talent development issue. This is not limited to Nigeria though, as most countries in Africa are facing the same challange.

    Impulse accelerator programme to the rescue

    An international non-profit organisation, Mass Challenge and UM6P in Ben Guerir, Morocco, has launched the “Impulse Accelerator Programme” to support start-ups in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

    The global programme aims to pool resources, integrate and accelerate start-up projects the incubator will be fostering across the continent. It was designed to equip young entrepreneurs with the skills set to develop and grow start-ups.

    Impulse Programme Director, Adnane Soulimani, said: “The programme was dedicated to start-up businesses, fostering innovation and supporting entrepreneurs with their projects through its acceleration programme.”

    The programme is going to groom African start-ups and create opportunities for talented Nigerian and international students interested in tech jobs.

    Soulimani said the programme was determined to instil entrepreneurial spirit through outreach programmes in different parts of Africa where youths will be exposed to inspirational talks and workshops teaching skills necessary for entrepreneurship.

    The start-up journey, under the guidance of seasoned entrepreneurs and network of corporate partners and investors, doesn’t only give students and graduates the confidence required to jump-start their entrepreneurial ambition, but also helps position their venture for long- term success.

    It was gathered that Morocco’s tech sector has matured radically, especially in agri-tech, which has skyrocketed in the region. With new start-up incubators and accelerators, the north African country has made a name for itself as Africa’s start-up powerhouse.

    Performance Manager, OCP SA, Sara Sabor, said the goal was not only to open up possibilities for entrepreneurs, but also cultivate a new generation of active job creators rather than job seekers.

    According to her, Morocco has made significant economic and social progress, which has raised the aspirations of Moroccans, especially its young people.

    OCP, she noted, was investing in youths to ensure they have the skills needed to drive the economic transformation, while unleashing the job-creating dynamism of the private sector.

    The immediate past Director, Agriculture School, UM6P, and coordinator of Agro Biosciences Research in Benguerir, Morocco, Prof. Faouzi Bekkaoui, said with more mouths to feed, the need to churn out more innovators to work in crop agriculture has never been more compelling.

    He said there is the urgent need for African countries to figure out how to grow more food faster, with fewer resources, by developing new technologies to scale up the planet’s food production mechanisms on a sustainable basis.

    Bekkaoui believes the country and the rest of Africa need competent hands to facilitate production of high-value crops. And to help the continent achieve this, he said the university created an agriculture department.

    According to him, the department includes a new school of agriculture, fertiliser and environment sciences (ESAFE), focused on both education and research, alongside an experimental farm featuring a 110-hectare living lab in Benguerir, with nurseries and greenhouses.

    To create tailor-made solutions adapted to the diversity of all African soils, the institution is also creating an experimental farm in Yamoussoukro in the Ivory Coast, while also exploring similar centres in different areas in the continent.

    The goal of ESAFE, according to Bekkaoui, was to train students and professionals in agriculture who will contribute to food security by advancing research and improving fertiliser, crop products, water and soil management.

    According to him, the Executive Master’s Programme in Fertiliser Science and Technology has been developed in collaboration with the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), alongside contributions from the International Plant Nutrition Institute, the University of Georgia and Morocco’s OCP.

    The aim, he explained, was to give employees a thorough understanding of all aspects of the fertiliser industry.

    An important pillar of the university’s agricultural research is an ongoing project to analyse and map soils in countries throughout Africa to better understand their needs and help make more appropriate fertiliser for them.

    Under a pact with African universities, teachers and professionals across the country are benefitting from world class educational investment, gaining tangible, in-demand skills and knowledge that will re-shape the country’s workforce and boost economic growth.

    Commenting on the multi-year partnership agreement the OCP sealed with IFDC and UM6P, OCP Chairman and CEO Mostafa Terrab said: “This important partnership with IFDC confirms and advances our ambition to mobilise world-class resources in research and innovation for the benefit of Africa in general.”

    For President and CEO of IFDC, Albin Hubscher, the partnership “will accelerate the development and large-scale production of more efficient fertiliser to increase smallholder productivity and incomes while respecting the environment.”

    He added that the partnership was unique because it invests in public good, which is the building of the next generation of African scientists and professionals to drive the growth of the agric sector and feed the continent.

    The collaboration will develop science-based interventions, produce a large body of scientific publications, and create the next generation of trans-disciplinary trained scientists who can bridge the gap between science and implementation.

    Digital jobs

    This is a $100 million initiative by the Rockefeller Foundation that seeks to impact the lives of one million people in six African countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, and Egypt.

    The initiative does this by catalysing Information Communications Technology (ICT)-enabled employment and skills training for high-potential African youth who would not otherwise have access to sustainable employment.

    Launched in 2013, the initiative works in close partnership with stakeholders from the private sector, government, civil society, and the development community.

    In partnership with the Digital Jobs Africa Initiative, the World Bank has undertaken a number of activities to increase and enhance opportunities for digital job creation in Africa.

    This includes the development of an Information Technology (IT) park in Ghana, capacity building for digitilisation of public records, and online work/micro-work awareness building and training in Nigeria.

    Experts say the recipe for success in the country lies in its ability to increase investments in innovation, equip the workforce with relevant skills, produce higher-value goods and services, and expand trade.

    This, according to them, means ensuring that Nigerians, particularly youths, are well prepared to succeed as skilled workers and entrepreneurs in an increasingly digital and global economy.

    The consensus is that if the country does not address her talent and skills gap, it could cost the economy billions loss productivity, tax revenues, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    In other words, it has become imperative to address the skills gap, if the country wants to secure its place as a competitive player in the global economy.

    To make this happen, the Chief Executive, Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre, Bankole Oloruntoba, believes the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies would create employment opportunities across the supply chain.

    According to him, there is the need for policy makers and businesses to recognise the broad socio-economic opportunities and benefits that renewables can bring.

    Indeed, globally, the renewable sector employed 11 million people at the end of 2018, according to the sixth edition of the Renewable Energy and Jobs series of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

  • Tackling air navigation infrastructure deficit

    The parlous state of aeronautical facilities at the airports has become a pain in the neck of operators and stakeholders in the aviation sector. Pilots, airlines, ground handling firms, concessionaires and other airport users are agonising over the issue. They have called on the government to scale up efforts at closing the infrastructure gap, saying, it is threatening safe flights, KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.

    If the state of air navigation and airport facilities is subjected to international scrutiny, it is unlikely that Nigeria will score a high mark. This is because efforts by the Federal Government to scale up aeronautical equipment and facilities at the airports have, so far, failed to close the huge infrastructure necessary to propel Nigeria to sub-Saharan Africa’s aviation hub.

    The result is that at the moment, the airports still parade obsolete and ageing facilities that are raising serious concerns by foreign and indigenous carriers that utilise the aerodromes and airspace.

    Nigeria, according to experts, remains an attractive destination for many foreign carriers. Because of its strategic geographical location, it requires about six hours to connect either into Europe, Middle East, or a little more into other parts of the world. The snag, however, remains decrepit infrastructure at the airports.

    Although this has forced the government to embark on a radical air safety and airport and air navigation modernisation programmes in the last few years, experts said that despite the huge funds released for such programmes, Nigeria is yet to meet the required standards by global aviation bodies.

    Some of the modernisation programmes include the Safe Tower Project, Airports remodelling, and the State Safety Projects. The programmes were aimed at improving facilities at the airports to meet required global standards and put Nigeria in the elite league of civil aviation nations.

    However, the intervention programmes appear not to have delivered on the expected outcomes. Consequently, there have been lamentations by various stakeholders over inadequate facilities.

    The complaints range from poorly designed airport terminals to lack of facilitation equipment, deplorable state of runway, and ineffective radio communication in the airspace for pilots and control tower personnel. Air field lighting system at some airports is also lacking. There are also poor storage facilities for cargo and absence of security and airport perimeter fences.

    Some stakeholders also accused the Federal Government of failing to install critical airport infrastructure to ease the pains of air travel. They note, for instance, that for several years, the majority of the airports cannot allow flights to land at night because they lack airfield lighting and instrument landing system.

    For example, of the 22 airports under the management of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), 18 do not have airfield lighting. This means that flights cannot land at those airports after 6:30 pm.

    According to experts, deficit airports and air navigation facilities constitute an infraction to the standards and recommended practices prescribed by the apex civil aviation regulator – International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Airports Council International (ACI), International Air Transport Association (IATA), and Council of Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO)

    .Poor runway facilities at Enugu Airport 

    The poor state of airport and air navigation facilities is having ripple effects on the operations of airlines as some operators are experiencing bird strikes on their aircraft because of the alleged FAAN’s failure to put in place bird control measures at some aerodromes.

    The latest of such incidence occurred last week, forcing an Air Peace aircraft to initiate an air return after one of its aircraft engine was struck by birds at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

    Besides this incident, other carriers, including Ethiopian Airlines, have complained of the poor state of facilities at the same airport.

    This ugly development forced the government to propose a shutdown of Enugu Airport and its downgrade for international operations.

    Minister of State for Aviation Hadi Sirika said the government had to shut the airport because of the deplorable state of the runway, noting that any responsible government would take such decision in the interest of flight safety.

    He said consistent complaints about the state of the facility were not safe for flight operations. He, therefore, said the airport will be degraded for international operations, because the runway length was not ideal for such operations.

    The minister said: “We may downgrade Enugu Airport in terms of its status as an international airport. The runway is terrible. I have been there three times, seen the governor of the state and told them what to do, but nothing has happened.

    ‘’There is a market and an abattoir at the side of the runway and these attract birds. Of recent, Air Peace suffered a bird strike and this affected the airline. Thank God there was no major incident.

    “At the end of the runway, you have the government establishing a free trade zone at the centre. Enugu is to the East what Kaduna is to the North.

    “When the government wanted to expand the runway to 60 metres long and 71 metres wide, there were few houses there and we were promised that they would be demolished and the owners compensated so we can have the improvement.

    “But now, they have built more houses. Enugu airport would have to be closed down; that is the honest truth.”

    Ground handlers’ complaints  at Lagos airport 

    A few weeks ago, Skyways Aviation Handling Company (SAHC) Plc Managing Director Mr. Basil Agboarumi complained about the state of airport facilities, which he said, are having negative impact on the operations of ground handlers.

    Agboarumi, who listed other challenges confronting ground handlers to include inadequate and obsolete airport facilities, accused FAAN of parading inadequate infrastructure.

    He said: “We have to pay through our noses most of the time. We pay a lot to be in business; everybody is collecting. I don’t want to go into controversy, but it becomes so bad that before you can even sneeze around the airport, you must pay; everybody is squeezing. That’s a challenge.”

     

    Air traffic controllers also

    A few weeks ago, the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) decried the deplorable state of control towers at some airports, describing them as threat to safety of flights.

    The body listed the airports with deplorable control towers to include Kaduna, Maiduguri, Ilorin, Yola, Sokoto, Benin and Katsina.

    Its President, Abayomi Agoro, said communication between air traffic controllers and pilots remained a huge challenge.

    Besides the poor control towers, he said there was need to look into other challenges air traffic controllers grapple with, including the Abuja Airport Tower Elevator, that dropped from its topmost floor to the ground.

    Agoro said more worrisome was the health hazard to air traffic controllers, who go through the agony of climbing 232 flights of stairs daily.

    The NATCA boss also lamented the poor controller–pilot very high frequency radio coverage of airspace. Noting that it was a far cry from the required international standards, he described the situation as work in progress for National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

    He said NAMA was experiencing enormous loss of revenue in foreign exchange because many foreign aircraft avoid the airspace and, consequently, operate in contiguous airspace.

    Agoro said: “Over the years, it has been quite herculean for air traffic controllers to communicate effectively with pilots.

    “The limited or inadequate number of air traffic controllers in the country to effectively man all air traffic control units across the country is not only hampering service delivery, but leading to a situation where the staff are overworked and may lead to significant safety implication.”

    Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) Managing Director Captain Fola Akinkuotu admitted that radio communication over the airspace remained a challenge to pilots and Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs), despite efforts made by the agency to address it.

    Akinkuotu stated that part of NAMA’s duty was to provide communication in the airspace, but that the agency has not achieved that 100 per cent.

    His words: “Radio communication is not the best. I have spent two years in NAMA and I thought I would have fixed this problem, but I haven’t. Effort is being made and we are not going to stop because any air traffic communication that is not crisp clear is a recipe for confusion.”

    Akinkuotu said, for instance, that in the South-east, a lot of pilots have had issues with ATCs because of poor communication. “If you are foreign to the clime, that may make you categorise our airspace as unsafe.

    “Part of NAMA’s job is communication, but we have not achieved what we set out to do. And so we are asking for feedback from the users. We are not afraid of criticism, but we enjoin you to make it civil.

    “We beg in the interest of safety to take things seriously and for our pilots to be more patient and understanding with the ATCs,” he stated.

    Flight Crew Association of Nigeria (FCAN) Coordinator Captain Robert Roland urged stakeholders to address poor or non-existent communication facilities.

     

    Operators’ verdict 

    The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said there was need for upgrade of airports infrastructure nationwide.

    He said: ”There is no way you can optimally use your planes in Nigeria. The airport infrastructure do not support that. And that is why we are saying the first thing we should do in this country is to improve on our airports infrastructure.

    “From check-in to flight navigational aids, making airport environment conducive both for operators and passengers is necessary. The infrastructure is poor. There is no way airlines will optimally use their equipment.”

    Onyema said poor airports infrastructure had contributed to failure of airlines. “It is a capital intensive business. Every kobo counts. We must get our airport infrastructure right. It is not about saying Nigerian airlines are weak. I hate it, especially when it comes from government officials. I do not find it funny.

    “We should promote our own. Bring the legacy airlines of this world to come and do domestic operations in Nigeria, they will pack up in 72 hours. We know what we go through. The first thing is the improvement on airport infrastructure and aviation infrastructures generally.

    “It is key. Don’t let anybody deceive you. This country will never be a hub to anybody or for anybody, except our airports infrastructure are improved upon,” he said, adding that poor airport infrastructure also contribute to flight delays as over 1000 passengers sometimes have to use one security screening point.

     

    Govt’s efforts 

    Worried by the development, NAMA said it has put machinery in place to accelerate the upgrade of the airspace radio communication infrastructure across the country.

    Its General Manager Public Affairs, Khalid Emele, said it was part of efforts by the government to address the challenge of poor communication.

    According to him, the ongoing programme was to ensure that communication challenges experienced by pilots in some parts of the airspace were eliminated.

    He said to boost the clarity of radio communication, especially at the upper airspace, the agency has taken steps to replace all the Very High Frequency (VHF) radios at the eight remote sites in Lagos, Kano, Wukari, Sokoto, Ilorin, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Maiduguri.

    Emele said the agency has also added six new sites in Jos, Kaduna, Yola, Enugu, Benin and Calabar, bringing the number of VHF sites nationwide to 14.

    The VHF remote sites, he explained, are operated in a network, which will have signal pattern that covers the airspace.

    Emele said the agency has also taken delivery of the VHF radio equipment under the “Extended Range VHF Coverage” project, affirming that its installation would start soon.

    He said last year, NAMA deployed four stand-alone Jotron High-power long range VHF radios at Lagos East and Lagos West, as well as Kano East and Kano West Area Control Centres (ACCs).

    He said it was a backup aimed at addressing Remote Control Air to Ground (RCAG) communication challenges in the upper airspace by providing reliable backup in the event of loss of VHF radio communication on the main system.

    Continuing, Emele said: “Plans have been completed to extend the range of the above-stated long-range backup radios and is only awaiting the passage of the 2019 budget by the National Assembly for the implementation to commence.

    “When completed, the backup radios would also have sufficient overlap of propagated signals to cover the entire airspace.

    “As an agency, one of our overriding priorities is to provide reliable communication link between the air traffic controller and the flying pilot at all phases of flight and this we are continuously committed to doing.”

    Indeed, Sirika had reiterated that the  administration was providing critical infrastructure at the airside of the airports, which include landing aids like instrument landing system, airfield lighting and others.

    He stressed that the administration was not interested in terminal building, but in upgrading and providing those facilities for safe flight operations.

    But at the twilight of this administration, none of the airports has had its airfield lighting installed.

    The Accountable Manager, Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo, said the airlines face a lot of challenges daily, due to delays caused by inadequate infrastructure.

    He said: “We go through day-to-day operational challenges. In some airports the landing aids are not there; in some places the power is epileptic.

    “There are agencies’ challenges, with some doing better than others. There are lots of deficiencies in different places.

    “When you say the environment is harsh, imagine a place where you can’t land after 6:00 pm or where maybe a state government has tried to help the system or the environment by providing equipment and then sometimes the people who are supposed to look after them vandalise them.

    “Airports are not places where anyone on the street can get access to, so telling me that someone outside the airport environment has stolen the landing aids is not possible.”

    The minister reiterated that the government was conscious of the decay in airports and air navigation facilities hence, it initiated efforts to fix some of the gaps.

    He said of the over 157 safety projects inherited from the previous administration, about 130 were completed.

    Sirika said: “We have completed the Kano Tower Automated Air Traffic Management and Meteorological Systems, installed the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) Category II (CAT II), Doppler VORs (DVORs), Distance Measuring Equipment (DMEs) at four airports.

    “They are Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, while that of Minna, Jos, Yola, Maiduguri, Benin and Akure are still on-going and nearing completion.

    “You will also recall that almost two years ago, NAMA installed CAT III Instrument Landing System in Lagos and Abuja, which has helped in great deal to improve operations during inclement weather conditions.”

    The minister added that the government has installed the VHF radios for aerodrome and approach air-ground communication in 18 airports.

    The airports are Maiduguri, Enugu, Jos, Calabar, Yola, Ilorin, Sokoto, Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Zaria, Katsina, Owerri, Yola, Calabar and Kaduna.

    “Besides, we have installed the high power Very High Frequency (VHF) stand-alone radios in Lagos and Kano Area Control Centres (ACC) as backup for air-ground upper airways voice communication.

    “We also embarked on the deployment of Controller-Pilot-Data Link Communication (CPDLC) in Lagos and Kano to enhance communication in the oceanic region and the remote areas of the north,” Sirika stated.

    The government has also started the Aeronautical Information Management Automation Project, which comprises a network of 26 VSAT facilities at all Nigerian airports as well as Search and Rescue (S&R), with coordination domiciled in Lagos.

    ”This will enable Nigeria to comply with the mandatory transition from Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) to Aeronautical Information Management (AIM). We also developed and published Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) Procedures for 18 airports across the country.

    “We have also introduced Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) and Standard Arrival Routes (STARs) at Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt as an improvement on the procedures,” the Minister added.

    He said government will continue to develop its capacity to design and fabricate automatic weather equipment and meteorological satellite system.

    According to him, government has installed Low Level Wind Shear Alert System (LLWAS) at Katsina, Ilorin and Kaduna Airports, just as it has completed the modernisation of NiMet forecast office and construction of zonal office at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.

    It has also installed Tidal gauge at NiMet Marine Station in Eket, Akwa Ibom State. Besides, it has constructed additional hydrogen gas generation building and remodelled synoptic offices at Lokoja Station and Gombe.

    “We have also continued with the Doppler Weather Radar project, which was started in 2007, but abandoned. The weather radar systems will soon be commissioned in Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Yola.

    “We have undertaken rehabilitation of several meteorological enclosures, recording equipment, forecasting facilities and associated infrastructure nationwide to enhance weather recording and use in support of safe air navigation,” Sirika said.

    Meanwhile, stakeholders under the aegis of the Airport Business Summit and Expo, have urged the government to address the problem of infrastructure deficit to restore passenger confidence.

    Its convener, Mr. Fortune Idu, said adequate funds should be mobilised for the agencies to fix the sore points, including poor baggage handling, poor cooling systems and lack of logistic facilities at the airports.

  • Lilypond Terminal: A colossal waste

    With a capacity for over 15, 000 containers, the Tin Can 11 Terminal at Lilypond, Ijora, is there to ease the Apapa Port congestion. Besides, it can generate over N60 billion monthly. However, the facility has been idle for long, despite its concession over 10 years ago. The owner appears unsure of what to do with the terminal. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is contemplating converting it to a trailer park. Assistant Editor MUYIWA LUCAS writes on the intricacies of the matter.

    Their forlorn looks say it all. A group of people, whose sources of livelihood have been impaired by those that should be their business partners. But for unknown reasons, they have become their “albatross.”

    Welcome to the world of agonies and disillusionment of the Customs licensed freight forwarders at the Lilypond Terminal, Ijora.

    The Tin Can 11 container terminal, also known as Lilypond Terminal, was designed as a depot to accommodate containers that could not be harboured by Tin Can and Apapa ports.

    But following its concession in 2006 to Maersk Line, a sister company to AP Moller Terminal (APMT), for a 10-year period by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the scope of things changed for the facility, likewise the fortunes of stakeholders in the terminal. APMT Apapa is the largest container facility in terms of capacity in Lagos. It is also the largest container terminal in the West African subregion, having doubled container traffic after concession began in 2006. It handles nearly 90 per cent of the country’s inbound containers.

    Their troubles, they claim, were not unconnected with the non-stemming of containers from Apapa ports to the facility by APMT, making it impossible to get jobs. This situation, according to the Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANALCA), Lilypond Chapter, Femi Olabanji, has persisted for about four years. This situation, he further said, has left his members at a loss as to why and how the terminal has been brought on its knees, especially when it is considered that the terminal is the closest to Apapa ports, which should make the flow of containers to the facility easy.

    “The terminal had remained idle since and even transit containers that were to be sent there were not delivered; we don’t know what the problem. This thing has been going on for over four years, and no vessel has been stemmed to Tin Can 2 Lilypond Terminal. No vessel has been stemmed here,” Olabanji said, adding that more than 300 clearing agents have suffered job loss as a result of the situation.

    More worrisome, he said, is that as agents, they advise their clients to ship their cargo to Lilypond from the port of loading, but upon arrival in Apapa, it stops there. “On transit, for instance, if I want my goods to go to Tin Can 2, Lilypond Terminal, I would do that from the port of loading and I would pay $300 extra. When it gets to Apapa, because Apapa and Lilypond Container Terminal are sister companies, they will just stop it there. They will not bring it down here. And before you can change that clause of transit to Lilypond, it would cost you N60, 000 per container in Apapa. So, it is a serious problem,” Olabanji told The Nation, adding that if the terminal is well utilised, it can reduce the problem of congestion in Apapa.

     

    Is Lilypond doomed?

    The problems of Lilypond, sources say, was compounded by the economic downturn of the successive years after the concession, dropping business activities to a low level, in the maritime sector. At some point, the concessionaire was said to have withdrawn from the agreement owing to the protracted losses being incurred by the company as a result of poor availability of containers, irrespective of its investment in developing the facility.Besides, it was gathered that the business model upon which the concession was granted could no longer be sustained.

    The government has tried without success to make Lilypond also functional. For instance, in 2017, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, was at the facility to flag off yam export. Therefore, by implication, in addition to being an overflow container depot, it also became an export processing centre to boost agricultural export.

    This initiative is believed to be in tandem with objectives of domestic food security and agro-export for enhanced foreign exchange earnings, thereby encourage non-oil exports. For instance, in the short term, Lilypond was to become the Lagos agro perishables hub, linked directly with other cold chain investments; it was also be used both as a local distribution centre and export-processing hub. In the medium term, the facility was to being touted to add value to specific cargo segments by providing specialist bonded warehousing and distribution services through partnerships; while the long-term focus, mainly for export, is to aid economic diversification through logistics services aimed at growing exports. Cargo delivered to the facility can be stored before container stuffing and shunting to the port through the rail line. Sadly, the outcome of these initiatives are not likely to see the light again given the new designation the facility is being considered for.

     

    Will Lilypond work again?

    According to the National Council of Managing Directors of Customs Licensed Agents (NCMDCLA) President, Lucky Amiwero, if Lilypond is concessioned to function independently, it will not work, because it is an off-duck terminal and so must be linked to a wet port to get its cargo.

    “Lilypond cannot work until it is tied to APMT. Lilypond was created by NPA as an off-duck terminal. It is an off-shoot of Apapa port and was created and concessioned to accommodate the overflow from Apapa port. Lilypond will not work because it is not a seaport. It is an off-duck process because it is supposed to be tied to APMT. So, there is need for them to go back to that concession. As a port expert, you cannot give that Lilypond out if it is not tied to a port,” he said.

    Amiwero’s position was corroborated by the Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Co-ordinator, Dr. Osita Chukwu. He explained that before Lilypond will work, there must be a effort towards that. For instance, Chukwu contends that some cargoes must be destined for Ijora by shippers for it to have enough cargo to clear. “Ijora terminal was a booming terminal before the concession. It was just after the concession that we began to see some conflicts of interest. Before Ijora (Lilypond Terminal) will work, certain vessels will be destined for Ijora. Ijora is supposed not to be Tin Can Two. Ijora should be an extension of APMT. Ijora cannot stand on its own because of the unavailability of a vessel bank. Ijora still remains a dry port. It cannot obtain vessels on its own,” he said.

     

    What manner of concession?

    Amiwero, who was a member of the committee that recommended a rail line system for the facility, explained that port concession should not all be about making money for the government, neither is it a complete sell off, as there are more salient reasons for it – to build infrastructure and to bring in modern facility. He therefore chided the NPA for viewing concession of the Lilypond differently, saying the terminal would not have had any problem if the authorities had taken the committee’s recommendations, proposed between 2001 and 2002, seriously.

    “There should have been consignments leaving the ports for Lilypond to reduce the pressure from Apapa. APMT got the concession; ran it for some time.They used Maerskline to get Apapa Bulk terminal because they wanted to control the transport value chain. But nobody monitored APMT and the concession agreement was not fulfilled. So, they abandoned the agreement,” Amiwero said.

    For the Chairman of NCMDLCA, Lilypond Area Command, Chinedu Egbuemike, NPA should be blamed for the state of Lilypond and other bonded terminals in poor state. This is because it is the authority that has the right of vessel allocation to bonded terminals and not a concessionaire. Besides, he revealed that Lilypond has two berthing bays – 14 and 15 berthing bays – at Apapa, where vessels for it always berth.

    “Why should NPA allow AP Moller to take control of allocation of vessels?  Giving the lease to AP Moller doesn’t mean they should be given the power to allocate vessels. That is why the bonded terminals are dying. The Federal Government gives people licence to operate as a bonded terminal, but at the end of the day, the people given the concession are given power to allocate vessels,” Egbuemike said.

    He regrets that the bonded terminal, which has no vessel or cargo allocated to it, is home to empty containers dropped by shipping firms. Besides, he said the NPA cannot be spared for the loss the inactivity in the terminal has caused the country.

    “For over four years, this facility has been losing over N60 billion per month as revenue that should have accrued to it from cargo clearing. Lilypond is a full customs command, where officers are doing nothing; not generating revenue from this facility, but earning salary, about 400 of them, including other security personnel. This is a big waste to the economy,” he said.

     

    From terminal to truck park?

    The experiment with Lilypond continues. On September 1, last year, the NPA, according to its General Manager, Public Affairs, Adams Jatto, an engineer, disclosed that the Authority awarded a fresh five-year development concession of the Lilypond Terminal to APMT after the original concession to the same APMT in 2006 had expired in 2016. Details of the new concession to APMT remains unknown to the public.

    But in a sudden twist, the same concession has been revoked. This much was revealed by Jatto, last week. He said the consideration has become imperative as a way of addressing the traffic crises facing Lagos ports. Justifying the rationale for the truck park conversion option, Jatto, in a statement obtained by The Nation, made it known that “Lilypond Container Terminal was erroneously concessioned ab-initio, because it does not have a water front for loading and offloading of cargo. Consequently, after the expiration of the lease, the terminal was, however, reclassified and granted a five-year development lease.”

    Reasons for the revocation is said to be in line with the NPA’s quest to decongest the embarrassing gridlock caused by trucks entering and leaving the Lagos Ports complex, Apapa.

    He said the Authority will resume activities in the facility soon to do some expansion and ascertain the number of trucks to be accommodated at the Ijora facility. He added that NPA will adopt an orderly electronic call up system for trucks to be parked in the terminal before they access the ports in Lagos to address traffic issues.

    Noteworthy is that while the Lilypond facility was out of concession for almost two years, the NPA generated a total of N565,142,063:36 from the lease of the facility in 2017 and N560,734,047 last year. This makes a total of less than N1.2billion in two years outside concession.

     

    Mounting opposition

    The plan to convert the terminal to a truck park is receiving resistance in some quarters. Olabanji told The Nation that his association, and other stakeholders in Lilypond, are planning to protest the decision.

    For him, NPA’s decision smacks of anything but display of confusion on what to do with the terminal. “If they don’t know what to do about the concession, they should revoke the concession to APMT and give it to another operator to run, not to convert it to a truck park,” he said.

    He explained that the choice of a truck park will only cause more chaos for Apapa and the other roads in the state because Lilypond is located close to the entrance into Apapa on the Dockyard Road and Ijora-Wharf axis.

    “The Lilypond Terminal is not meant to be a trailer park; it is meant for cargo business. You cannot convert the place to the use it was not made for.Trailer owners should go and develop their own park or find where to put their trucks. We will resist this move by NPA,” Olabanji assured.

     

    More questions, no answers

    Further enquiries by The Nation from the NPA has remained unanswered, despite calls and text messages to the NPA image maker. However, as at last Thursday, he requested that the unanswered portion of the questions be resent. Though he was obliged, as at the time of going to press, no response was received from him.

    This reporter had sought to know what steps the Authority took on the non-allocation or stemming of cargo to the Lilypond Terminal; what mechanism the NPA put in place to check the activities and compliance of its concessionaire to ensure that business run smoothly at the ports; what payment option will be in  place for collection of parking fees at the facility; whether payment will be to a government account or to NPA’s offices like the controversial N10, 000 collected from truck drivers two years ago by the defunct Western Zone of NPA.

    Similarly, efforts by The Nation to get  APMT’s reaction to the freight forwarders’ allegations failed. Calls to APMT Head of Communications, Austin Fischer, were not picked. He however responded to the text messages, assuring that though he was “out of town,” he would respond to the findings sought through emails. He was yet to fulfil his promise as at press time.

  • Why labour, OPS won’t embrace tax increase

    The National Assembly has just passed the Bill to increase the National Minimum Wage from N18, 000 to N30, 000. The Federal Government is believed to be planning to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) to enable it pay. Though the nation’s tax chief may have denied any such plans, labour and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) keep warning against it. They are also cautioning that any tax increase will erode the gains of the new wage regime, particularly for the low income workers, TOBA AGBOOLA reports.

    The Federal Government and organised labour appear to be on a collision course. If and when implemented, the government’s proposed plan to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) to enable it pay the new N30, 000 National Minimum Wage approved by the National Assembly, will likely pit it against labour and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

    To the labour movement, the OPS and indeed, other Nigerians opposed to the proposed plan, the VAT upward review or any form of tax to fund the new wage regime will have far reaching effects on workers, manufacturers, businesses and consumers alike.

    The Federal Government may have inadvertently set the stage for another round of confrontation with organised labour and civil society when it muted the idea of increasing the VAT rate to accommodate the new N30, 000 minimum wage.

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, made the intention known to Nigerians when they appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance, recently.

    Fowler said, for instance, the proposed payable VAT by Nigerians based on the increment from the current five per cent would actually be between 35 per cent (6.75 per cent) and 50 per cent (7.25 per cent).

    His words: “By the end of this year, we should be ready for an increase in VAT ….. I can certainly see an increase in VAT of at least 35 per cent to 50 per cent this year based on our enforcement activities.”

    The tax chief even sought to justify the proposed increment. His words: “A lot of Nigerians travel to Ghana and other West African countries and they can see that theirs is much higher. They pay when they go for those trips. We should be ready for an increase in VAT.”

    He also said there would be an increase in Company Income Tax and also on Petroleum Profit Tax. He said the agency had increased VAT collection by 25 per cent in the last three years, but lamented that many of the firms that are collecting VAT are not remitting it.

    However, Fowler has since distanced himself from the comments purporting to have conveyed government’s plans to increase VAT and other taxes. That was when labour, the OPS and other concerned Nigerians, vehemently opposed to an upward review of tax, turned the heat on him.

    Despite the denial, labour and the OPS wasted no time in asking the Federal Government to pull the brakes on any proposed plan to increase taxes. They even called on the government to exempt the new minimum wage from taxation.

     

    NECA, NLC, LCCI, others disagree

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) did not mince words when it said the review of VAT or any form of tax as being proposed was capable of eroding the gains of the new minimum wage for low income earners and further weaken their purchasing power, among other unsavoury consequences.

    NECA’s Director-General, Mr. Timothy Olawale, said the planned increase of taxes would have far-reaching implications for manufacturers, businesses and consumers alike.

    “Manufacturers and businesses are already saddled with several challenges, such as infrastructural decay, power, among others. Some companies are closing shops due to some of these challenges while others are still struggling to stay afloat,” he pointed out.

    Olawale added that the proposed VAT increase would definitely lead to an increase in the cost of doing business, and would likely be passed to the consumers whose purchasing power is already weak.

    As far as Olawale is concerned, increase in VAT is not desirable at this time. “Government does not have to increase VAT or any tax in order to enable it pay minimum wage,” he said.

    He, however, said in the event that government must increase VAT against the will of the people, “it should be limited to luxury or ostentatious goods only”.

    Olawale faulted the comparison of VAT rates with other countries as being irrelevant due to the fact that business operating conditions in those climes are more clement than what obtains in Nigeria.

    As a way out, the NECA boss recommended that there should be more individual and corporate entities captured in the tax net paying VAT.

    He also advocated that the government should reduce its recurrent expenditure, cost of governance, widen the tax net in its bid to generate more revenue and ensure effective collection of taxes from non-compliant citizens or defaulters.

    He urged that government should not burden businesses with taxes, rather it should create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and continue to contribute to the growth of the nation.

    NECA, which is the umbrella body for the OPS and the voice of business in Nigeria, also urged the government not to burden businesses with taxes, but create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and continue to contribute to the growth of the nation.

    Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Director-General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, aligned with Olawale. He said the plan would not be good for business, as investors are operating in a very difficult environment with high cost of production. “This is coupled with the fact that consumers’ purchasing power has further been worsened,” Yusuf added.

    He further pointed out that the unfortunate thing about VAT in Nigeria is that it goes on all services right from the ports where the raw materials come in to all the processing levels, unlike in other economies where VAT is on the final production.

    The LCCI boss stated that the way tax is operated in Nigeria is different from the way it is operated in other countries, adding that it is not favourable to the average man on the street.

    Yusuf added that taxation is about creating an environment that allows the rich to support the poor, noting that this same principle could be extended to micro enterprises in the economy.

    “Such category of business owners should also enjoy tax exemption,” he said, arguing that a minimum wage of N30, 000 is not too much to be paid to the lowest worker of an organisation, whether in the public or private sector, taking into account the cost of living  in the country.

    Yusuf explained: “Let us take a scenario of a family man that has to pay school fees for his children, provide feeding for the family, pay for health care, pay for transportation, pay house rent and possibly even support some dependants.

    “A monthly income of N30, 000 certainly cannot cover these basic responsibilities. It is therefore, even worse when we talk about N18, 000, minimum wage.”

    He, however, said the challenge with many of the states is that they have a workforce that is very unwieldy and not sustainable. “There is also the problem of too many political appointees on the payroll of many of the state governments,’’ Yusuf said.

    National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) General Secretary, Comrade Issa Aremu, said there is a twin assault on the real income of Nigerian workers caused by unrestrained devaluation of the naira and the high rate of inflation.

    Aremu told The Nation that it was important to put pressure on the FIRS to raise the tax bar in such a way that the N30, 000 minimum wage would fall below taxable income. He also made case for tax holidays for some categories of Nigerian workers.

    The labour leader said: “Now that we have raised the minimum wage to N30, 000, we must impress it on the FIRS to raise the tax bar so that the new minimum wage will be protected. If you tax the N30, 000 minimum wage, we may as well go back to renegotiation.”

    Aremu insisted that labour must push the agenda to protect the new minimum wage, a point which he said was earlier raised by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Sulaiman Lasun.

    “The N30,000 is actually a compromised amount from the N56, 000 earlier proposed, so it must be protected. If the Federal Government can give 10-year tax holiday to companies, why not give the same to workers? Given the collapse of income, today, Nigerian workers deserve tax holidays,” Aremu said.

    According to him, workers are not asking for this because they consider their job as charitable. “What workers have in their pocket is what will turn the economy around. That is what we will use to purchase goods in the market and pay rent,” he clarified.

    The labour unionist also pointed out that for the economy to recover, it is good for workers to have sustainable purchasing power or disposable income that is off the tax hook.

    His counterpart at NLC, Peter Ozo-Eson, agreed with him. He said the income tax law needed to be amended to protect workers’ purchasing power.

    “Given that the N30, 000 labour agreed as a compromised minimum wage is so low, ideally, it should not be taxed. But I believe that the correct way to do it is to amend the income tax law in order to raise the exemption bar if the N30, 000 will fall within.

    “The law should be amended to ensure that the minimum wage level is below the taxable income. Under the present law, if you earn N18, 000 a month, your tax is zero. There is a tax table, but with N30, 000, under the existing exemption guideline, there will be some little tax because it will be slightly above the exemption tax.

    “What needs to be done is to have an adjustment to the schedule so that the exemption is placed above the minimum wage,” he said.

    It is easy to see why labour is spoiling for war over the proposed tax increase. For one, labour believes that the value of the N30, 000 new minimum wage, for which it literarily fought the government to a standstill, may be badly hit when subjected to the monthly deduction tax of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) expected from all workers.

    Such fear and the subsequent agitation for exemption are not without basis. Recall that in 2011 when the current wage of N18, 000 was approved as the National Minimum Wage, workers in that earning bracket were exempted from paying tax, as the deduction would have further reduced the wage beneath N18, 000.

    For instance, comparing the contentious N30, 000, which is an equivalent of $83 with the 11 dollar minimum wage in America, shows that at least, a paid worker in America will earn in a day what a Nigerian worker is struggling to earn in a month.

    In the same analysis, a worker in Indonesia earns $100 as minimum wage. But unlike Nigeria, where the social safety net is not working, in Indonesia, the worker’s salary is not expended on health, education, while, gas, transport are heavily subsidised and food is very cheap and affordable.

    But the opposite is the case in Nigeria. And this was why organised labour called for tax exemption on the proposed new wage in order not to put further pressure on it and thereby make the wage increase irrelevant.

    Indeed, Nigerian workers, by their present earning, are presently considered among the poorest in the world. NLC President Ayuba Wabba said with the falling value of the naira, workers were forced to insist that the minimum wage must be upwardly reviewed. “When we signed the 18, 000 minimum wage, it was equivalent to $150; today, 18, 000 is less than $50,” he said.

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) also noted that Nigeria has become the poorest country in the world. It regretted that Nigerian workers are the least paid in Africa, despite enormous petroleum resources that have allegedly continued to be siphoned into private pockets by the political elite.

    “For instance, Nigeria National Minimum Wage stands at $50 per month, while that of Libya is $325; Algeria, $155; Chad, $110; Morocco, $310; South Africa, $232; Seychelles $304, etc,” the union said.

    The obvious pay disparity between Nigerian workers and their counterparts in other countries was not lost on the National Assembly though. This was why House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara while passing the bill at the lower chamber said N30, 000 as national minimum wage was not enough to sustain Nigerian families.

    He said a living wage was aptly appropriate for Nigerian workers rather than a national minimum wage because of the country’s harsh economic reality, noting that there were obvious reasons why the House had to give accelerated consideration to the “very crucial bill”.

    “It is a bill that is long overdue, as the current National Minimum Wage, which was fixed in 2011, has become unrealistic due to supervening developments in the nation,” Dogara said, noting that since underemployment and unemployment were poverty strange bedfellows, eliminating them must be the focal point of government’s policies.

    The N30, 000 monthly National Minimum Wage, which has now become a subject of fresh controversy over plans to hike taxes to enable government pay, was recommended by the Tripartite Committee after extensive consultations and deliberations including touring of the six geo-political zones of the country before it arrived at.

    This must have been why Financial Derivatives Limited Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Bismark Rewane, said the comments by the duo of Udoma and Fowler remained their opinions.

    He said not until a white paper on the N30, 000 minimum wage is available, all submissions on the workable framework towards the implementation of the minimum wage still remains in the realm of speculations.

    Rewane, however, pointed out that Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio was very low, adding that for now, he does not know which tax the country would be more efficient in collecting. The economist admitted that discussions around Nigeria’s tax system must be looked at closely.

    On his part, the Head of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services at PwC Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, lamented that governments sometimes have a lazy approach to tackling problems without caring to know the impact on the citizenry.

    Oyedele said increasing VAT or any other tax to enable government pay the N30, 000 minimum wage in the face of unemployment, fragile economic growth and low purchasing power would be counter-productive.

    He maintained that if government is compelled to increase the minimum wage, then it should be looking at ways of improving efficiency and productivity.

    The tax expert warned that increasing VAT could lead to a decline in collection rate because majority of the people that are meant to be paying the current VAT rate are not even paying, adding that a further hike will discourage them further.

    ‘‘We currently have a five per cent VAT rate that majority of the people that are supposed to be paying are not paying. When you now increase it, you would have succeeded in making the business environment less competitive for the people doing the right thing.

    “The people, who are doing the wrong thing by not paying, even have more incentives not to   pay. This, overall, is not even good for the economy,” Oyedele said.

    On how to arrive at a sustainable model of paying the minimum wage, Oyedele advocated the streamlining of job roles and a performance measurement framework across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) appraisal model that would help shrink job roles.

    But according to the CEO, Highcap Securities, David Adonri, the proposed increase in VAT if implemented in the capital market will increase the cost of transactions on the domestic bourse and this will be a dis-incentive to Nigerians investing in the capital market.

    Will government heed the experts’ wise counsel? Will the agitation by labour, OPS and civil society force down the hand of the government and halt the proposed tax increase?

    These questions are necessary in view of the argument by the Secretary-General of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, that the government could pay workers the agreed N30, 000 minimum wage without looking for funds.

    According to Lawal, ‘’The government generates huge funds from the Customs, Stamp duty payment, VAT, Treasury Single Account and many other sources. The FIRS said it recorded N5.4 trillion in 2018 and is targeting about N8 trillion in 2019. These are revenue sources which can enable the government pay the minimum wage.”

    Lawal said it was sad that there were leakages through taxes, which was the traditional revenue source of government at all levels. He noted that the Federal Government can pay the minimum wage within the resources it has.