The Nation Newspaper

Tag: policy

  • Sustain tax holiday policy, Labour leader urges govt

    Sustain tax holiday policy, Labour leader urges govt

    The Federal Government has been urged to sustain the tax holiday policy and ensure that its implementation is adequately monitored to forestall corrupt practices.

    Speaking with The Nation, President, National Union of Chemical, Footwear (NUCFRLANMPE), Comrade Olatunji Babatunde, said if carefully guided, tax holiday would attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and domestic investments, which would generate employment.

    He said with tax holiday, the number of companies relocating to neighbouring countries and the closure of companies would be reduced.

    “Companies will no longer relocate to neighbouring countries. There will be employment. Crime rate will be reduced because able-bodied people are gainfully employed.

    “Volumes of trade will appreciate. Massive importation of consumer goods will reduce thereby pave the way for exportation or self-sufficiency and the government will derive more revenue,’’ Babatunde said.

    He, however, said depletion of revenue base was not a sufficient reason to stop tax holiday as such holiday is futuristic in nature.

    “The gains may not be a short term gains, but long term,’’ he said.

    Meanwhile, in line with the tax incentive, the Federal Government announced in September that it would grant a 10-year tax incentive to Dangote Group after the company has agreed to rehabilitate the Apapa-Oworonshoki Expressway.

    The government handed over the design of the 35km Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonshoki Expressway to Dangote Group in furtherance to steps by the government to rehabilitate the road.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently urged the Federal Government to phase out tax holidays and exemptions as they erode Company Income Tax base.

  • ‘Mortgage critical to realistic housing policy’

    ‘Mortgage critical to realistic housing policy’

    Nigeria’s mortgage system currently cannot support a housing policy that will deliver affordable houses to Nigerians. This was the submission of a speaker at the recently concluded 2017 National Built Environment Conference (NABECON), which held at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State. The theme of the conference was Positioning the Construction Industry in Nigeria for National Economic Growth.

    While delivering his lecture titled Housing for all Nigerians: The Big Vision Test, at the conference, the Managing Partner, Costec Consultants, Mr. John Agele Alufohai, making reference to researches conducted by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), noted that high mortgage rates, which is usually given at short tenures; a difficult business environment, high inflation, and unstable policies, all combine to hampered the growth of the housing sector in the country. This, he further explained, is why there is an estimated deficit of 18 million housing units in the country. The research also revealed that the country needs to build 720, 000 housing units per annum at an annual cost of N56 trillion to bridge this gap.

    Explaining the link between what he called a “transformational” housing policy and the economy, Alufohai noted that a housing policy that works for all Nigerians – the rich, the poor, civil servants, small business people, artisans, informal sector workers and entrepreneurs, young graduates, young people with limited formal education, banks, construction companies etc. – will boost construction activities and make a significant contribution to economic development.

    He, therefore, suggested that the country should adopt the mortgage system of other countries that have delivered housing for both the rich and poor.

    “The most efficient focus of housing policy is for the government to assist millions of Nigerians obtain lower-interest mortgages; this is how most citizens are helped to acquire houses in many countries with successful housing policy such as Singapore, South Africa and Malaysia,”  Alufohai argued.

    Alufohai, a former president of the Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) also noted that because a house is the single biggest investment for an overwhelming majority of people, an efficient mortgage system is critical to providing accommodation for most Nigerians. He revealed that less than three percent of Nigerians acquire their homes through mortgages, just as many others invest in building houses of different costs and quality without any help whatsoever from the government.

    He, therefore, proposed a modeling of Nigeria’s mortgage system after that of Singapore, whose citizens obtain 20 to 30-year low interest mortgages through a pool of funds into which all workers must contribute 20 percent of their salary to acquire houses

    Said he: “The clear solution to me is the Singapore model – creating a pool of funds into which everybody contributes monthly and from which everybody borrows to buy a flat or house. The Federal Government ‘tops up’ contributions into this remodeled National Housing Fund (NHF) with at least N10 billion every year and it’s perfectly alright if it spends every kobo on its intervention in housing on this”.

    Singapore, he further revealed, was once a once poor island in Southeast Asia, which evolved from a third to first world economy between 1965 (when it gained independence from the British) and 2000. Under Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s first Prime Minister, the government transformed huge swathes of urban sprawls and slums into well-planned cities that spurred economic dynamism and growth.

    He said although the country’s NHF attempted the Singapore model, but it failed. “One of the key reasons for the failure is contributors couldn’t access the loans because they couldn’t afford the deposit for the houses,” said Alufohai, adding that the NHF also failed because of the high interest rates charged on mortgage loans. He noted that a non-inflationary fiscal policy, flexible, sustainable exchange rates and hence, low interest rates are important to attaining a mortgage system that will also attract foreign investment into mortgage market.

    On the role of government in the remodeled system he said, “it could provide a subsidy on the interest on mortgage loans by investing or contributing funds into this pool of ‘forced savings’ – this would have been an excellent use of the petrol subsidy.”

    The chairman of the organising committee, Prof Ikem Mbamali, said the conference brought together scholars, industry professionals/practitioners and senior public service officials/administrators, exploring current developments and advances in the re-organisation of the construction industry for effective contribution to national economic growth.

  • NLPGA, investors discuss $10b policy lifeline

    NLPGA, investors discuss $10b policy lifeline

    The Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA), investors and stakeholders in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry have discussed on how to tap into the over $10billion investment opportunities that would be unlocked by the national LPG policy unveiled by the Federal Government.

    The discussion took place at the NLPGA’s annual Chief Executive Officer’s Breakfast Meeting held in Lagos. The meeting brought together LPG producers, marketers, International Finance Corporation, UBA, Sterling Bank and other stakeholders who shared ideas on the investment opportunities that are expected to be created by the national LPG policy and how industry operators tap into them.

    NLPGA’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Joseph Eromosele, e explained that the overall goal of the LPG policy was to promote the wider use of LPG in domestic activities, power generation, autogas and industries while increasing national consumption to five million metric tonnes in five years.

    According to him, over $10billion can be generated if 50 per cent of the current kerosene and firewood users in the country switch to cooking gas by 2019. This, he added, offered huge investment opportunities for LPG players.

    He said: “Only five per cent of the Nigerian population utilises LPG for cooking while 56 per cent depends on firewood and 27 per cent on kerosene. Over 30 million households and more than 100 million Nigerians depend on firewood as a source of energy for cooking but this has come with collateral damage to human health, environment through deforestation, and the economy. With the LPG policy, we will be able to drive broader penetration of LPG into homes, especially the low-income households in rural areas.

    “Over $10 billion will be generated for the economy from the switch of 50 per cent kerosene and firewood users by 2019.  Estimated 500,000 – 1,000,000 jobs will be created in the LPG value chain within the next two years with the planned Kerosene to LPG switching programme.”

    The Deputy President, NLPGA, Mr. Nuhu Yakubu, said the policy also aims to use LPG to displace low pour fuel oil (LPFO) and diesel as popular fuel among industrial users while deepening applications in agriculture and commercial establishments.

    “Yakubu said: “The policy will also promote the use of LPG for off and on grid power generation. It will provide the environment for the use of LPG in the automotive industry with a target conversion of 10 per cent of the country’s vehicle population. These are investment opportunities for industry stakeholders.”

    The Programme Manager, National LPG Expansion Implementation Plan in the Office of the Vice-President, Mr. Dayo Adeshina, lamented that 18 states in northern Nigeria are currently suffering from desertification and deforestation because several millions of the citizens rely on firewood for cooking.

    Adeshina warned that if the situation continues unchecked, states in the southern part of the country could soon start experiencing deforestation, a development he said shouldn’t be allowed.

    He noted that only increased utilisation of LPG could halt deforestation, which is fast encroaching into new areas of the country. Adeshina added that to deepen LPG usage, more investments were needed in local gas cylinder manufacturing and urged NLPGA members to begin to look at the direction especially with a national LPG policy now in place.

    He decried the shutdown of two cylinder manufacturing plants in Nigeria, adding that some investors had signified interest in manufacturing cylinders in the country.

    Participants at the meeting noted that though the nation’s total domestic LPG consumption had grown from just below 70,000 tonnes in 2007 to 500,000 tonnes in 2016, the improvement in the domestic consumption of LPG only translated to a per capita consumption of only less than 2.5kg. This was compared to the low per capita consumption in selected African countries like South Africa at 7.28kg, Ghana at 9.45kg, and Morocco at 66.27kg, they added.

    According to the participants, some factors responsible for the low consumption level in Nigeria inadequate supply of LPG equipment, high cost associated with the acquisition of cylinders and LPG stoves, insufficient number of jetties and LPG inland storage facilities, excessive import duties and VAT on LPG equipment, and inadequate road and transport network facilities. They also noted lack of access to long-term funds for LPG project in the country and blamed the banks for that.

    Representatives of some of the banks at the meeting enlightened the LPG operators on what they needed to do to attract funding from the banks.

    The meeting ended with the confidence that the LPG policy would spur a revolution in the LPG industry and urged the government to ensure that the policy is fully implemented to the benefit of all Nigerians.

  • Environmental law and policy: Missing links

    Environmental law and policy: Missing links

    A keynote address delivered by the Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun, at the National Summit on Legislative Framework for Environmental Law and Policy

    Mr. Speaker sir, the environmentalists, scientists and medical doctors know that the “gods are not to blame”, rather, the environment that has been polluted and violated is what is fighting back. The sad reality of the despondency of the majority, however, is that at the end of the day, only few are left to continue to grapple with how to move forward and build a more effective environmental regime.

    Coming home to Nigeria: Prevailing realities

    While it can be said that modern environmentalism dates back to the Earth Day in 1970, for Nigeria, the year 1988 marked the watershed in the history of environmental policy development. Prior to 1988, environmental concerns were dealt with by different tiers of government in line with their respective constitutional responsibilities.  However, in 1988, the Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions etc.) Act was passed in direct response to the Koko toxic waste dump incident.  This was followed by the enactment of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act (FEPA Act) in 1988.  The broad functions of FEPA were the protection and development of the Nigerian environment in general, including institution of policy in relation to environmental research and technology.  The Act itself was a framework legislation and it was meant to serve as a comprehensive system for environmental management.

    In 1991, Nigeria formulated and presented to the public its National Policy on the Environment.  One of its many goals is to secure for all Nigerians a quality of environment adequate for their health and well-being. This was the major step that gave Nigeria the focus and pathway to proceed in meeting the environmental challenge facing the country. The policy was first revised in 1999, and very recently in 2017.  There were several other legislations that were enacted to build a common context for Nigeria’s environmental policy actions and form the nexus for all her environmental activities.

    In 2007, and following series of criticisms, the FEPA Act was repealed by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act, 2007.  The objectives of NESREA were similar to that of FEPA and included a broad set of responsibilities.  Significantly, beyond guiding federal agencies in assessing the impacts of their actions and co-ordinating anti-pollution research activities, NESREA has also been responsible for the development and enforcement of national standards, and for the development of national programmes in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Environment.

    Granted that on paper, environmental regulation would appear to have received considerable attention, the fundamental question to ask is how well this has resonated to effective environmental protection? In the 2012 Environmental Performance Index which assessed 132 countries globally on 22 performance indicators in 10 policy categories ranging from environmental burden of disease to water and air pollution, forestry, biodiversity, fisheries, agriculture and climate change among others, Nigeria was ranked 130th on environmental burden of disease, 26th on agriculture, 81st on biodiversity and 41st on climate change.  Overall, with a score of 40.1 percent, Nigeria was ranked 119th.  Nigeria was also ranked 19th out of 21 sub-Saharan African countries.  In 2016, Nigeria ranked 133rd of 180 countries surveyed on the Environmental Performance Index.

    In 2011, there was also an assessment of oil pollution in Ogoniland by the United Nations Development Programme (UNEP).  The assessment report revealed widespread and severely impacting degradation of swampland surface water, mangroves, intertidal creeks, wetlands, outdoor air and drinking water arising from oil spills and oil contamination.  The report noted that oil spills continue to occur with alarming regularity despite the fact that the oil industry is no longer active in Ogoniland.  Communities are drinking water from wells that are contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen at levels over 900 times above the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline. As at June, 2017, it was noted that well over 365 days since the Federal Government inaugurated the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, comprising the Board of Trustees, the Governing Council and Project Coordination team, no visible work has been done.  Grave past damage remains unremedied while the gap between political will and constitutional/legal capacity would appear to be increasing.

    In another recent report of the United Nations (Common Country Analysis – CCA), it was noted that despite the fact that Nigeria is a signatory to a number of protocols on sustainable and renewable environment, the country had, over the decades, failed to protect the environment, ecosystem and natural resources.  Overexploitation of natural resources, pollution of the environment and desertification are exposing the population to vulnerability and risks caused by climate change, among others.

    In the face of the above facts and prevailing realities, it cannot be denied that Nigeria’s efforts at ensuring sound environmental governance have led neither to effective transformation nor to a better quality of life to her citizens.  While it can be argued that the number of instruments that have been churned out have contributed to slowing down environmental degradation, a stronger argument can be made premised on the above facts that they have not led to an improvement in the overall situation.  A number of scholarly works have been produced in relation to Nigeria’s environmental challenges.  Several of these scholarly contributors have tried to underscore the raison d’etre for the dysfunction in Nigeria’s environmental governance.

    Among the many reasons that have been given are corruption within regulatory agencies; preference for social affiliations than merit in the appointment of officials; irrational support for organs/parastatals of the state; irresponsible exercise of discretion by some public functionaries; irrelevant controversies and unending face-offs; conflict and unhealthy competition between regulatory agencies; lax enforcement; reluctance in the use of criminal sanction; unrealistic nature of some laws; and absence of procedural and implementation mechanisms.  Reference have also been made to other reasons such as lack of financial resources; lack of technical and administrative resources; lack of political will; overlap and inconsistence in laws; regulatory capture by powerful interest groups; non-involvement of non-governmental organisations and civil society group, poverty and problems of access to justice.

    A host of valuable suggestions have also been proffered to meet the above referred challenges.  Among others, the following have been suggested: more rigorous and innovative use of enforcement; greater degree of public participation; domestication of all relevant and requisite treaties; adoption of integrated strategies; restructuring of implementing institutions; closing of gap between policy-making and law-making; the need for more environmental cooperation; improving the environmental education system; improving access to environmental information; effective monitoring of environmental impact assessment of both public and private projects; reduction of rampant consumerism; development  of more epistemic communities; enactment of smart laws and regulations that are coherent and cohesive; improvement of access to environmental justice; and regular updating of Nigeria’s environmental laws to ensure that they are attuned with reality.

    Laudable and comprehensive as the above extensive “shopping list” would appear to be, the contention in some quarters have been that government cannot implement everything at once.  Consequently, advocates of this position insist on incremental gains and prioritisation of solutions.  Rt. Honourable Speaker, sir, very distinguished ladies and gentlemen, there is the need to appreciate that many of the above proffered suggestions are complementary solutions and are not just options or alternatives in respect to which choices are to be made.  They are also not solutions to be kept on the shelf for implementation only “when able”. They all must work together if we are to achieve the desired transformation.  Consequently, what is required is to build a system of governance that creates a public space for fostering the above solutions in a self-reliant manner.  Governance should be envisioned in terms of all stakeholders and joint actors being motivated to act right.

    The advantage of the above approach is that rather than rummaging through the several complementary solutions on what to implement from time to time, the emphasis of law reform would be more on identifying the underlying factors [missing links] that are not allowing them to self-implement.  Anchored on environmental pragmatism, this presentation will briefly consider those fundamentals that will engender self-reliance and self-responsibility.

    Identifying the Missing Links

    The objective of the Summit as succinctly captured in the concept note is to bring strategic stakeholders on environment together to afford them the opportunity to interrogate relevant issues of concern and to contribute to the development of an appropriate legislative framework for Environmental Law and Policy.  The expectation is that at the end of the 3-day Summit, we will have a clear pathway to formulating effective environmental laws that will enable all role-players to adequately perform their functions and bring about tangible environmental improvement.

    A relevant question to identifying the missing link is what are those roles that the law must be able to play in the protection of the environment?  In my view, environmental law must be able to achieve the following:

    (i) clearly delineate the rights and responsibilities of government and other stakeholders; (ii)  facilitate social change and build momentum for reform; (iii)  set standards and safeguards which individual persons, corporate bodies and government must strictly observe and adhere to; (iv)  create processes that serve to enhance participation, understanding and dialogue (particularly as it concerns vulnerable groups); (v)   give unfettered rights to private citizens to challenge and review decisions by public bodies as it affects the environment; (vi)  achieve a balance of environment and economic considerations; (vii) provide mechanisms for the identification/preservation of endangered species and protected areas; and  (viii) provide for meaningful remedies and restoration mechanism.

    In exploring the missing links in Nigeria’s environmental regulation, it is not my goal to engage in analysis of gaps as may exist in the different sectors where Nigeria has environmental challenges.  Rather, it will suffice to look at four core areas that are critical to environmental regulation, but, where what currently exist can best be described as regulation deficits.These four areas are:  (i) Foundation of Nigeria’s framework Law;  (ii)  Environmental governance structure; (iii) Environmental remedies; and (iv)             Environmental democracy.

    Foundation of Nigeria’s Framework Law

    A critical point that has been made from time to time as necessary for effective regulation is the need for legal certainty in the legal system.  As noted by Joseph Pokrovsky:

    One of the first and most essential requirements that apply to the individual rights developments is legal certainty.  If everyone must obey the law and adapt behaviour to certain requirements, the first condition of orderly social life is the certainty of those requirements.

    Following from above, legal uncertainty is viewed as a characteristic of a poorly designed regulatory system.  Before proceeding further, it is important to differentiate between legal uncertainty and related terms like factual uncertainty and law-fact uncertainty. Legal uncertainty relates to uncertainty about the content of the law.  Factual uncertainty is uncertainty about facts in the world, while law-fact uncertainty is uncertainty about how a decision-maker (a regulatory agency or judicial officer) will apply law to fact.  Factual uncertainty is an inherent element of the human experience, thus, it cannot be eliminated in regulation. Law-fact uncertainty on the other hand can be increased or decreased to some degree depending on the extent to which the law maker has been able to narrow legal uncertainty.  Lobbying efforts and rules of interpretation target legal uncertainty.

    Of what relevance is the above analysis of legal uncertainty to our discourse? Prior to the 1970s, the philosophy and goal of environmental law was “conservation”.  By the 1970s, the goal shifted to protection of environmental quality as relate to land, air and water.  By the time the Brundtland Report was released in 1987, and particularly since the 1992 Rio Conference, the concept of sustainable development became the focus of environmental goal.  Several other concepts such as “sustainability”, “environmentally sustainable innovation”, “biodiversity focused perspectives(rewilding)”, “resilience thinking (which translates to reconnecting people with nature)”, and “environmentally ethics” have come to the fore, but, most of them have been received more as espousing aspects of the concept of sustainable development as the goal of environmental law.

    The problem that has been identified with sustainable development has been how to appropriately reconcile economic, environmental and social objectives.  How are decision-makers to manage the trade-offs that inevitably arises in the course of economic, environmental and social values.  In a number of situations, there are significant scientific uncertainty about possible outcome of the activity in question, thus, making it more difficult for decision-makers to appreciate The lack of a clearly articulated foundational societal goal and proper delineation of specific focused objects that reflects directive principles is in the context of new generation of environmental laws a missing link.  The framework law should also provide for a general environmental duty to repair and restore.  These can be reinforced by mechanisms of enforcement such as bonds or other forms of security to be posted when undertaking potentially dangerous activities.  Such a framework law must also capture design principle such as responsive and flexible environmental governance, and concept of non-regression.

    (ii)  The Governance Structure

    One of the thorniest issues affecting environmental regulation in Nigeria relates to the regulatory issues associated with the federal system of government.  There is often considerable tension between the various spheres of government, while the potential for regulatory overlap between the various jurisdictional requirements is immense.  In defining the scope of law-making  between the different tiers, environmentalists sometime argue in favour of a stronger Federal Government overriding  state autonomy, while at other times the support is for the authority of states to impose more environmentally protective requirements.  Some of the federalism engendered legal issues can be outlined as follows:

    (a)  Deep disagreements over what equity and fairness should prevail in the management and use of natural resources; (b) Divergent values of states at different levels of development within the Federation which makes it difficult to agree on burden sharing; (c) Challenges of reconciling states bearing burdens and costs of developmental transactions without corresponding benefits; (d)   Challenges of ensuring the effectiveness of cooperation at the different tiers of government;  (e)  Challenges of developing mechanisms and strategies to promote compliance and enforcement of environmental laws across the board; and  (f) Challenges of addressing the tension between the different tiers in situation where economic development imposes risk on ecological protection.

    Against the above background, it is of importance that we understand the different arguments that have been put forward in support of the centralised model of environmental federalism vis-à-vis the decentralised model.  In respect of the former, it is viewed as the most appropriate for collective action problems with externalities; it guards against the “race to the bottom theory”; it helps to achieve uniformity; and that it helps to meet the challenge of “not in my backyard” (NIMBY).  In respect of the latter, it is believed that the decentralised model engender policy solutions that are tailored to meet local concerns; enhances more effective participation (legitimacy argument); ensure that innovative environmental initiatives are not constrained by federal standards; and encourage efficiency in the absence of duplication and unnecessary overlap.

    Under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, there is no express provision or specific reference to the power of the Federal government or any lower level of government to make laws with respect to the environment.

     

     

     

    This notwithstanding, there are several heads of power in the Constitution pursuant to which the Federal government can legislate on environmental matter.  There is also the power of the Federal government to invalidate a State law on a pre-emption basis.  In relation to States, Section 4 (7) of the Constitution confers a general power on the State Assembly to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the State or any part thereof.

    The implication of the existing arrangement is that the different tiers of government can regulate the environment and enforce pollution standards.  It should be clearly understood that environmental regulation, the sole aim of which is to prevent environmental harm is without doubt a collective action problem.  My conclusion in this circumstance therefore, is that Nigeria should continue to devolve responsibility for strategic leadership i.e. development of national standards/strategies on the centre, while implementation of those standards and planning controls should continue to be de-centralized.

    What I see a missing link is insufficient intergovernmental cooperation.  For as long as this exists, Nigeria will neither be able to achieve policy and action coherence within government agencies nor ensure synergy.  The focus of law reform in this regard is to consider how to deepen activities of intergovernmental forums, mainstream intergovernmental agreements and put in place well-structured targeted programme of financial assistance by the Federal government to States.  Related to this is that there is weak connection between science and environmental policy-making in Nigeria.  The fact of fragmented links between science and existing decision-making structures, coupled with knowledge gaps in our understanding of the interactions between environmental impacts and processes is not peculiar to Nigeria. What has deepened the deficit in this area for Nigeria, and indeed made the situation worse is the lack of synthesis of the information that is even available.  The goal of law reform should be to consider how the regulatory institutions and inter-governmental forums can identify from time to time key areas where research is desirable.  This can be made the focus of award of research grants for our tertiary institutions through bodies like the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). Home grown solutions that will be the deliverables of such research work will be more in sync with the local environment, and more likely to have legitimacy.

    Further, the constitutional right to environment as currently reflected under Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution should be formulated in a more robust manner and expressly made justiciable.  This is a missing link that has remained unattended to for too long. Finally under this head, NESREA’s scope of operation should be the regulation as relevant ofevery sector of Nigeria’s environment including the oil and gas sector.

    (iii)            Environmental Remedies

    The administration and enforcement of environmental remedies is governed by a mix of public law (administrative and criminal), and civil law regimes.  The objective of environmental remedies is that the combined and collective operation of these regimes should serve to deliver three key environmental benefits, namely, deterrence, repair/restoration of environmental damage, and compensation for harm done.  The shortcoming of public law is that environmental protection is viewed as primarily the responsibility of the government, its agents and other public bodies.  The result of this traditional approach is that it overlooks the tremendous contribution and increasing involvement of civil society actors and the private sector in policy-making, capacity building, implementation and monitoring.  While they are by no means a panacea or replacement for government institutions and programs, they play a key role as catalysts and partners.  In the case of civil regime, there are a number of institutional impediments hampering effectiveness.

    The reality is that there is gross dissatisfaction with the remedies offered by the mix of regimes arising from a lack of access to fair, efficient and responsive legal remedies.  Under this head, the missing link in relation to which the momentum for reform is urgent can be briefly outlined as follow:

    1. a) Requirement of standing

    There is a significant improvement in relation to “standing” requirement by virtue of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009. However, since human rights does not protect the environment perse, a declaration of the broadening of locus standi in a framework law will effectively serve in the right direction (See Art. 52 (3) (a) of the Portuguese Constitution and the mandatory provision in Art. 9 (2) subsection 3 of the Aarhus Convention);

    1. b) Pre-action notice requirement

    The requirement of Pre-action Notice should not be made applicable to environmental matters.  If for any reason it should be retained, non-compliance with it should be viewed as a procedural defect such that courts can stay offensive action while pre-action notice is served;

    1. c) Special limitation period in environmental matters

    For environmental matters, there is a need for special limitation period structured to run from the date of knowledge of the person injured.  This approach is what obtains under the United States Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) which provides that time does not start ticking for statute of limitation purposes for all claims related to personal injury or property damage until the plaintiff knew or had reason to know his injuries was the result of a particular hazardous containment.  This is in recognition of the fact that environmental contamination may have a long latency period.

    1. d) Problem of causation

    There is a significant difficulty in proving causation in environmental matters.  The trend now is to leverage on the principle of precautionary approach to shift the burden of proof to the party who is involved in or is seeking to undertake a potentially harmful activity.  In this regard, we will be giving the benefit of doubt to protection of human health and environment as against contaminants. There is a need to push less for the requirement of “mens rea” while leveraging more on the principle of strict liability;

    1. e) Compensation regimes

    There is a need for urgent review of the compensation regimes of laws such as the Oil Pipeline Act (Cap. 338, LFN, 1990) and section 29 (4) of the Land Use Act.

    (iv)            Environmental Democracy

    Environmental democracy is the increasing recognition that environmental issues must be addressed by all those affected by their outcome, and not just by governments.  It connotes:

    1. a) right to a safe and healthy environment;
    2. b) right to information that guarantees free, prior and informed consent;
    3. c) effective public participation;
    4. d) access to justice in environmental matters; and
    5. e) procedure for monitoring and compliance.

    Environmental democracy is what will entrench in institutions practices of public integrity such as accountability, monitoring and transparency in environmental performance, decision-making and conduct.  Under this head, the missing link that should be the focus of a reform agenda can be outlined as follows:

    1. a) An urgent need to expressly infuse the procedural right of environmental democracy into Nigeria’s framework law. This will greatly enhance the expanded and increased role that is being envisioned for private individuals and non-governmental actors in the enforcement and administration of environmental law;
    2. b) It is recommended that Section 251 (1) of the 1999 Constitution should be amended to also give jurisdiction to the State High Court over items listed under Section 251 (1) (n) in respect of environmental claims. This will ensure easier access to justice;
    3. c) The Environmental Impact Assessment Act should be overhauled to not only reflect meaningful and effective participation by all stakeholders, but, to also involve local communities in decision-making concerning management of resources.

    Concluding Remarks

    What we have done in this presentation is to identify those fundamentals the lack of which have consistently undermined the effectiveness of environmental regulations in Nigeria.  Nigeria’s laws have largely remained dysfunctional while relevant regulatory institutions including the judiciary (which should keep a check on proper implementation) are struggling with how to manage the challenges. We argue that if roles and responsibilities are well-defined, and there are clear rules and guidance principles in the general framework, the trickle-down effect will be greatly beneficial across sectors.

    To further push the consciousness of public officials, the time is ripe for all government ministries to be required to put in place a Statement of Environmental Values to record their commitment to the environment in their decisions.

    The challenges of environmental regulation which we have identified in this presentation, notwithstanding, Nigeria must remain undaunted in her quest for effective environmental governance.  The truth is that environmental governance globally is inherently a complex, difficult and expensive process.   It is only by continuously interrogating the issues that the nation will be able to bring about tangible environmental improvement.

     

  • Environmental law and policy: Missing links

    A keynote address delivered by Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun, at the National Summit on Legislative Framework for Environmental Law and Policy

    I feel greatly honoured to have been invited to present a Keynote Address at this National Summit on Legislative Framework for Environmental Law and Policy.  When the lead facilitator, Mr. Chukwudi Oracle Nwala, informed me that the original Keynote Speaker, Her Excellency, Amina J. Mohammed, will be unavoidably absent, and that the Rt. Honourable Speaker, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, has graciously consented to my wearing the big shoes of Her Excellency, I could not say no.

    I saw it as a huge opportunity to articulate before a most distinguished and eminent audience my perspectives on a subject that I consider of great importance to Nigeria and Nigerians, and for which I have very deep passion. For the opportunity of this presentation, I thank the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the Environment; members of the Technical Committee; and the Rt. Honourable Speaker.

    For a summit of this nature, it is certainly not out of place to seek an understanding of the general perspectives of environmental law.  Fifty-five years ago, environmental protection as we know it today was unknown.  Since the 1960s, however, the subject of “environmentalism”, which has served as the catalyst for the development of environmental law in its different phases has blossomed. Equipped with new knowledge of the limitation of our environment, activities that were prior to the 1960s regarded as commonplace have now metamorphosed into everyday challenge sufficient enough to engage the attention of policy makers and scholars in environmental studies, political science, law and international relations.  It can rightly be said that we are in the middle of an environmental revolution, a transformation of our ideas about how we should relate with our environment and ultimately with nature.

    Over the last 40 years, minute by minute on a daily basis, both the print and electronic media make sporadic announcements of desertification, deforestation, spread of toxic chemicals, declining fisheries, loss of biodiversity, gully and coastal erosion, land degradation, human displacement, waste management, flooding, crude oil spillage and gas flaring among others, and “celebrate” isolated national and international shared environmental catastrophies and fatalities in different forms. Then came increased understanding of the effect of climate change in the context of global warming, increased intensity of windstorms, changed rainfall patterns, sea level rise and other problems.

    These various developments were the impetus that fuelled the urgency of the quest for a better functioning environmental regime.  At this juncture, an idea of the paradigm of conflict, albeit not indepth that goes with environmental regulation is important.  The global community has come to realise that an environmental concern is not just about environmental degradation.  The spillover effects which vary in magnitude in different locations and different times are economic inefficiency, political instability, and diminished social welfare.  The average citizen understands that a clean and safe environment is in her best interest: anything short of that is a risk.  At the same time the uncertainties of no work, or that of likely disruption of economic activities are too grave consequences.  The citizen, therefore, assures himself that disease does not strike that many after all, and that however less bright the future may be in a violated environment, it is a worthwhile risk to take.

    With the above kind of cost-benefit analysis, the majority of citizens move on.  Several others, particularly in Africa, fall back on their religious beliefs to surmise that the lives may have been destined by the gods to be cramped and diminished.

     

    •To be continued next week

  • Makinde: Public policy and public progress

    For a woman who earned a PhD at the age of 60 in 2008, and went on to become a Professor, her Inaugural Lecture on September 12 provided a stage for philosophical reflection and scholarly thinking. Prof Juliana Taiwo Makinde said: “I feel proud and highly honoured to say that I am the first female Professor of Public Administration in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and also the first female Professor to give an Inaugural Lecture in the Department of Public Administration, OAU, Ile-Ife.”

    She added: “I never dreamt in my wildest imagination of becoming a university lecturer, let alone a professor.  My standing here before you today to present my Inaugural Lecture is, therefore, a special privilege from God who has used my husband, Professor Moses Akinola Makinde, as His instrument of positive change in my life.”

    After completing her secondary education in the mid-60s, she worked as a confidential secretary. Her life took another course in 1983 when her husband “went on Fulbright Fellowship to Ohio University, USA,” and he persuaded her to enroll for a degree programme.  “My own intention was to work and make money with which I planned to get some gadgets for our home back in Nigeria,” she recalled.

    As an Education/English student in the Faculty of Education at the Ohio University, her performance got her a place on the Dean’s list in her first year, after which she continued her degree programme at the   Faculty of Education, University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1984.

    Her narrative continued: “By 1987, I completed my first degree programme with First Class Honours in Education/English.  My husband was excited and very happy.   He then persuaded me to go for a higher degree in order not to waste the first class degree that I had, always telling me that with my first class degree, I was a professorial material.  I agreed to go ahead on the condition that he would give me N200 a month throughout the programme. This was just to discourage him from persuading me from going further.  To my disappointment, he agreed.”

    Indeed, this journey took her to a professorial height. When she delivered the 307th Inaugural Lecture of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, she focused on “Policy Somersaults, Poverty of Policy Implementation and Corruption: Obstacles to Development in Nigeria.”  Expectedly, her lecture was informed by her research into policy matters, “especially the problems militating against the successful implementation of policies in Nigeria.”

    Makinde’s topic was well-timed.  Considering that policy making is a major function of government, and a major factor in governance, it is a reflection of her attention to fundamentals that she chose to talk about policy. She observed: “Various studies have shown that most government policies have failed, at the implementation stage, to achieve the desired results…This problem is what I refer to as poverty of policy implementation, resulting in policy somersaults and which has constituted a big obstacle to development in Nigeria.”

    Obviously, there is a concrete connection between development based on social service delivery by government and proper policy making. Makinde illustrated how “government has failed in many areas in the provision of social amenities to the citizens,” using examples in two critical areas, the health and education sectors. She said: “It is an open secret that education in Nigeria has been witnessing gradual but steady decline in quality in the last few decades resulting in parents sending their children out of the country for their proper education, as well as in pupils learning under trees and dilapidated buildings.”

    Quoting Africa Recovery (2017), she noted: “Healthcare also suffers from inadequate funding. Most health institutions lack basic facilities such as medicines and dressings while government health spending averaged just 4.5% of the budget.”

    Makinde’s list of areas where policy failure has resulted in arrested development includes shelter, employment, security, electricity and water supply. It is difficult to fault her observations because they are observable.

    She argued: “The role of public servants as the implementors of the various policies of government makes them part of the success or failure of public policies made towards ensuring development.”  On the causes of policy somersaults and poverty of policy implementation, Makinde identified problems at the Policy Formulation Stage, the Implementation Stage and the Evaluation Stage.

    Inevitably, she mentioned corruption: “Another critical cause of policy somersault is corruption.” Political corruption is so pervasive in Nigeria, and it may well be the most potent force against policy making and successful policy implementation.

    This list of “some of the policies that appear to have suffered somersaults” is thought-provoking: “They include policy on poverty alleviation, and policy on education.  Starting with policy on poverty alleviation, it is on record that since independence, many programmes, which include Operation Feed the Nation (OFN: 1979), the National Directorate of Employment (NDE: 1986), the Better Life Programme (BLP: 1987), People’s Bank (1989), Community Bank (1990), and the National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP, 2001), had been established by various governments at one time or the other to tackle the problem of poverty and food insecurity…in spite of all the above-mentioned programmes, poverty is still very visible among Nigerians.”

    When a policy fails because it is poorly implemented, it raises questions about the intention of the policy and the intention of the policy makers, which may not be the same. Policy making without successful policy implementation amounts to daydreaming.

    Among Makinde’s recommendations, those concerning corruption demonstrate the gravity of the problem as well as the gravity of the solution required.  She proposed:  “No plea bargain should be allowed. Plea bargain only encourages looters to steal more so that at the end of it all, they will still have something substantial to fall back on after paying the bargained amount.  For instance, if the plea bargain is calculated on percentage of total money stolen, then the bigger the money stolen the bigger the percentage to be kept by the plea bargainer.”

    Her final words deserve public attention: “You and I contribute to these problems in one form or the other.  How? You may ask…  When we encourage corrupt politicians by honouring them with chieftaincy titles in our community, or giving them honorary doctorate degrees in our universities, we contribute to corrupt practices… Policy success is the sum total of the commitment of the government and the citizens towards prevention of implementation gap arising from corruption and poverty of implementation of policies.”

    It was a thinking lecture by a thinking lecturer for thinking members of the public.

  • PAC hails IGP’s open-door policy

    PAC hails IGP’s open-door policy

    Police Assistance Committee (PAC) and its affiliate, the Association of Tradesmen/  Women and Artisans (ATA), have hailed the open-door policy of the lnspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to encourage citizens’ co-operation with the police and other security agencies in dealing with crimes in the country.

    The IGP, during his recent two-day working visit to Lagos State, had urged Nigerians to embrace the new police open-door policy by feeling free to pass useful and timely information to the police and other security agencies which would enable them to address causes of crimes and its symptoms before crimes are committed, rather than tackling agents of reaction.

    In a statement in Lagos, as the immediate response to the lGP’S call, the Director General of PAC/ATA, Dr. Martins John Oni, pledged that the organization would key into the new police open-door policy in partnering the police and other security agencies, but appealed to the IGP to instruct his officers and men to treat the PAC/ATA members with love as genuine partners by extending hands of friendship to them and giving them a sense of belonging.

    The PAC boss stated that the organization would embark on the mobilization of their members, comprising chief security officers (CSOs) of public and private establishments, chairmen, secretaries and PROs of trade associations and artisans, PAC/ATA zonal / unit coordinators, to intensify efforts in the dissemination of information/intelligence gathering to the police and other security agencies with instructions to always channel their information to force criminal intelligence and investigation department, and other state ClDs to avoid the leakage of such information for prevention and combating of crimes in the country.

    The PAC also joined the IGP in appealing to the National Assembly to expedite action in assenting to the bill pending before the house, designed to facilitate better funding for the Nigeria Police Force to address the acute shortage of manpower and provision of modern operational tools in the police force.

     

  • Lagos, NGO collaborate on WASH policy

    The Lagos State Government has taken steps to evolve a policy to drive the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector. This came to the fore at the weekend in Ikeja, at a retreat organised by the state government in conjunction with the Save the Children International (SCI) on the review of the draft WASH policy.

    At the event, the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare. said clean water, basic toilets and good hygiene practices were essential for the survival and development of children, while being very critical to human health, survival and development. He added that many countries and cities were challenged in providing adequate sanitation for their entire populations, leaving people at risk of WASH-related diseases.

    “According to World Health Organisation (WHO), there are around 2.4 billion people who lacked basic sanitation (more than 35 per cent of the world’s population), and 663 million who do not have access to clean water sources,” he said.

    Adejare noted that access to safe water and sanitation could turn problems to potential by unlocking education and work opportunities, and bring about improved health for women, children and families across the world.

    He stated that the  Lagos State government was determined to achieve the aims of the UNICEF Sustainable Development Goals to “ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.

    He said: “It is in furtherance of the foregoing, that we are all gathered here  to critically look at the newly enacted Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017 and the draft policy on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) with a view to developing an implementation framework.”

    The SCI Area Operations Manager for Lagos and Cross River, Roy Chikwem, stated that the NGO, through the Stop Diarrhoea Initiaitve (SDI), considered the approval and full implementation of the Lagos WASH policy as the bedrock of preventing childhood diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases among under-five children in in the state.

    “We believe the retreat will resolve the overlapping functions between the MDAs, integrate the PENWASH mandate of the WASH policy and fully integrate the New Environmental Protection Law recently signed by the government,” Chikwem told The Nation.

    The policy is expected to guide government activities in relation to water and sanitation, identify the relevant WASH Agencies and streamline their roles.

  • ‘CBN’s forex policy killing construction’

    •Surveyors canvass use of local materials

    Except urgent measures are taken to encourage the use of local building materials, the construction industry will remain in doldrums, stakeholders have said.

    They spoke at the ninth Annual Distinguished Lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Lagos Chapter.

    At the lecture themed: “Foreign exchange problems, prospects and solutions in Nigeria: Construction industry perspective,” participants called for the use of local building materials.

    The guest lecturer, Henry Boyo, in his presentation, titled: “For the successful resolution of oppressive contradictions in Nigeria’s economy”, said: “It is appalling that the country has become so poor, despite her abundant human and material resources.”

    He said the distress in the economy, based on available evidence, is  a function of “too much money supply,” of the naira, and foreign currencies.

    Boyo said the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) failure to manage an “irrepressibly” surplus naira supply has continued to stimulate a higher inflation rate for several years. This, he explained, has serious consequences on the purchasing power of the persons whose incomes are in naira.

    He emphasised that the naira and the economy would remain stagnant as long as the CBN persistently auctions the dollar against the naira in a market that is suffocated by excess naira supply, created by the apex bank’s unilateral substitution of naira allocations for distributable dollar-denominated revenue.

    “Thus, CBN’s forex interventions are, in fact, deliberate and a suicidal approach to gradually kill the naira, since the CBN would consciously sell its dollar stock for higher naira bids in such auctions. In this situation, the banks flourish, while the rest of the economy wrestles with deepening poverty,” Boyo said.

    The Lagos NIQS Chairman, Mr. Bamidele Mafimidiwo, agrees with Boyo on the effect of foreign exchange (forex) on the industry.

    He explained that the lingering forex problems had caused a huge disruption to businesses in the sector, a situation that has been compounded by the recession. This has grounded new construction projects, leaving builders and suppliers in difficult financial positions, he added.

    To transform the economy and boost industrial activity, Mafimidiwo said there was the need to restructure the monetary framework.

    “Construction, housing, infrastructure, manufacturing, mortgage and other business activities of tangible output represent the construction industry and today’s forum is to provide a platform to x-ray the industry vis-a-vis the meltdown effects and chart a way forward for the sector,” he said.

    Yet, other stakeholders are convinced that the use of local materials for construction projects is the easiest way out of the scathing effect of forex on the sector. This position was shared by a former President of NIQS, Mr. Oluwasegun Ajanlekoko. He said with the use of local materials, importation would be reduced to the barest minimum.

    “It is about time we stopped using blocks when it comes to affordable housing.  We have large reservoir of clay and that is far cheaper, durable and more environment friendly. To solve the problems of exchange rate, we are appealing to CBN to give discretionary interest rates to those in the construction industry,’’ he said.

    Similarly, Executive Director, UACN Property Development Company Plc (UPDC), Yemi Ejidiran, said the forex challenge affected Grade A and B residential projects. “The government should encourage production of most of our finishing materials locally.  We also need to come up with efficient designs, as it is clear that banks are not ready to finance any real estate project,” he said.

  • Kachikwu lists gains of gas policy

    Kachikwu lists gains of gas policy

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has listed the benefits of the National Gas Policy.

    Kachikwu said the policy would make gas a hub of the economy, stressing the need to have a stream of revenues between petroleum and gas to improve the economy and leverage opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

    He said: “This policy document builds on the policy goals of the Federal Government for the gas sector as presented in the 7 Big Wins initiative developed by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the National Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP 2017 – 2020).

    “The policy articulates the vision of the Federal Government, sets goals, strategies and an implementation plan for the introduction of an appropriate institutional, legal, regulatory and commercial framework for the gas sector. It is intended to remove the barriers affecting investment and development of the sector. The policy will be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure consistency in government policy objectives at all times.

    “The gas policy intends to move Nigeria from an oil-based to an oil and gas-based industrial economy, which will be driven by the core principles by separating the respective roles and responsibilities of government and the private sector, establish a single independent petroleum regulatory authority, implement full legal separation of the upstream from the midstream, and implement full legal separation of gas infrastructure ownership and operations from gas trading.”

    Other benefits include realising more of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) international downstream value, pursue a project-based, rather than a centrally-planned domestic gas development approach and make a strong maintenance and safety culture a priority.

    It will also ensure the implementation of international best practice for environmental protection, establish strong linkages with electric power, agriculture, transport and industrial sectors, establish payment discipline throughout the energy chain, honour stability of contract terms, ensure security of assets and ensure compliance with the Nigerian Content Act.

    The National Gas Policy covers governance (legislation and regulation), industry structure, development of gas resources, infrastructure, building gas markets and development of national human resources.