The Nation Newspaper

Tag: the road

  • The road to inclusive, diversified economy

    Despite a slow down after coming out of recession in 2017, the economy looks good to return to the path of inclusive, diversified and sustainable growth. Analysts are optimistic that with the sustained implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the 2019 Budget, the economy will maintain its recovery this year, with real GDP growth hitting 3.01 per cent, up from 0.8 per cent in 2017. This, they say, will depend on improved infrastructure and proper coordination of fiscal and monetary policies and exchange rate stability, among others. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    The prognosis for the economy is heart-warming. From a meagre 0.8 per cent real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2017, when it emerged from a debilitating recession, Nigeria’s economic growth trajectory may have turned the corner, as real GDP growth is projected to increase to 3.01 per cent this year, after it hit 2.1 per cent last year.

    With this favourable outlook, economic experts and financial analysts are upbeat that the economy will continue to maintain its recovery this year, encouraged largely by hopes of the sustained implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the 2019 Budget Proposal as well as increased allocation to infrastructure provisioning.

    Minister of Budget and National Planning Senator Udoma Udo Udoma personified this growing optimism when he said with the sustained implementation of the ERGP, the economy will continue to maintain its recovery in this year as the real GDP growth is expected to increase from 0.8 per cent in 2017 to 2.1 per cent in 2018 and 3.01 per cent in 2019.

    The ERGP is the Federal Government’s medium-term economic recovery plan launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2017. It charts a course for the Nigerian economy over a four-year period, 2017–2020. Its vision is to restore economic growth, invest in Nigerians, and to build a globally competitive economy.

    The plan aims to achieve these by focusing on five execution priorities: stabilising the macroeconomic environment; achieving agriculture and food security; ensuring energy efficiency (especially in power and petroleum products); improving transportation infrastructure and driving industrialisation primarily through Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    The ERGP specifically set an ambitious target to grow the economy by 2.19 per cent in 2017 and subsequently, seven per cent in 2020. The 140-page document also seeks to reduce unemployment from 13.9 per cent as at the third quarter of 2016, to 11.23 per cent by 2020. This translates to the creation of over 15 million jobs or an average of 3.7 million jobs per annum.

    In its second half of its implementation, the ERGP, which excited both the government and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), also projected that inflation rate will trend downwards to a single digit by 2020.

    On the strength of this, Udoma said with the continuation of the prudent management of foreign exchange reserves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), inflation is expected to trend downwards to single digit of 9.98 per cent in 2019, from 11.44 per cent as at December 2018.

    The Minister, who spoke at the recent Deloitte Dialogue on Nigeria’s Economic Outlook for 2019, in Lagos, also hinged his optimism on the improved coordination of fiscal and monetary policies, exchange rate stability, improved oil export earnings and capital inflows.

     

    Why sustaining the ERGP

     implementation is key

    It is easy to see why Udoma and indeed, other analysts and stakeholders are upbeat that the sustained implementation of the ERGP will steer the economy to the path of diversified, inclusive and sustainable growth capable of creating jobs.

    Despite initial doubts over the realisation of its objectives within its stipulated timeline, some milestones have been recorded, fuelling hopes that if sustained, the medium term plan may be the tonic to turn around the fortunes of the economy.

    For instance, one of the milestones was the launch of the ERGP Focus Labs to fast-track the plan’s implementation.

    The ERGP Focus Labs is a targeted six-week intervention that brings together all stakeholders to identify bureaucratic bottlenecks impacting medium-scale and large-scale investments projects in Nigeria and then generate ideas and resources to resolve them.

    The first phase of such labs was held in Abuja, from March 12 to April 22, 2018. At the sessions led by Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, investors were said to have left the focus labs convinced that they were the better for it.

    Investors received all the assistance they require to overcome the teething problems that are usually associated with business start-ups.

    For instance, one of the outcomes of the focus labs was investors’ realisation that the transformation of the agro-allied sector for the objective of achieving self-sufficiency in food production and export was possible.

    Investors in this sector were said to have formed strategic partnerships that would boost their businesses in terms of identification of funding opportunities, increase in capacity utilisation and marketing.

    Similarly, investors in manufacturing, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were exposed to opportunities that exist for them to unlock their potential, grow their businesses and contribute to building an economy that would compete with the industrialised economies of the world.

    The focus labs identified projects that can boost commercial and industrial development, employment generation with positive impact on families, local sufficiency and export for the much needed foreign exchange, and also contribute to GDP growth.

    Osinbajo summed up the success of the exercise when he announced that it had identified private-sector projects worth about $22.5 billion – and with a potential for 500,000 jobs (in agriculture, transportation, manufacturing and processing, power and gas) – for unlocking by 2020.

     

    Turning to proposed 2019 budget

    Udoma was emphatic that the proposed 2019 Budget was intended to further reposition the economy on the path of faster, inclusive, diversified and sustainable growth, and to continue to lift a significant number of Nigerians out of poverty.

    “Government is committed to growing the economy and accordingly, the 2019 Budget Proposal has been designed to continue to provide the stimulus and support required to spur growth in the economy,” he stated, at the Deloitte Dialogue.

    The Minister indicated that the 2019 Budget was another step in the country’s journey to ensure diversified, inclusive, sustainable growth, creating jobs for the teeming population and prosperity of Nigerians.

    He noted that although, the current real GDP growth performance is still sluggish, it was expected considering that the economy was just recovering from recession. He added that it however, indicates a positive momentum, especially with regard to the growth of the non-oil sector.

    “Our aim is to take all measures necessary to ensure that we increase the growth rate whilst maintaining fiscal sustainability,” Udoma assured.

    Explaining the basis for the oil price projections in the budget, he said oil prices depend on the interaction between supply and demand for oil in international markets. He, however, said it is the supply-side factors that have been mainly responsible for the price increase in 2018 and the recent decline.

    Although, crude oil price soared in the second half of 2018, rising as high as $81.20/b on September 24, 2018 – a four-year high – it declined towards the end of 2018, falling below the 2019 budget benchmark of $60/b.

    While the government is obviously concerned about this recent trend, most analysts believe the price will recover in the course of 2019, and so the Federal Government has not seen any need to adjust its benchmark price of $60.

    However, the Minister assured the gathering that if at any time prior to the passage into law of the 2019 Budget by the National Assembly (NASS) there is strong reason to believe that this benchmark price of $60 is unlikely to be realised, then the Executive will, of course, engage with the NASS to agree on a lower benchmark price.

    On oil production levels, the Minister said President Buhari has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to work hard to achieve the 2.3 million barrels per day (mbpd) budget target.

    “The ERGP oil production target for 2019 is 2.4mbpd, NNPC production submission is 2.45mbpd. We have revised the ERGP target and NNPC forecast downwards to 2.3mbpd for the 2019 Budget proposal,” Udoma said.

    He explained that the 2019 proposed budget size is smaller than the 2018 Budget because of the need to contain the size of the deficit so as to keep borrowing within prudent limits.

    The Minister pointed out that the proposed deficit of N1.859 trillion in 2019 is about 1.33 per cent of GDP, which is within the three per cent threshold stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007.

    He indicated that even though government has been increasing allocation to infrastructure, government spending alone will be insufficient to address the infrastructure needs of the country.

     

    The huge infrastructure deficit

    Of all the issues hurting the ERGP’s implementation and making the realisation of its set objectives almost impossible, the nation’s huge infrastructure deficit particularly inadequate electricity supply is perhaps, the most formidable.

    Although the ERGP recognised the fundamental role of power to the development of all sectors of the economy, Nigeria has not made much progress in boosting electricity supply to homes and businesses.

    The country’s plan to expand the power sector infrastructure and achieve 10, 000MW by 2020 has come under threat. For instance, the nation’s installed power generation capacity is put at 12,000MW, but actual output stood at about 5,207.57MW as at December 26, 2018.

    This is barely enough to power an economy as big as Nigeria’s, particularly one that recently exited a debilitating recession, requiring an adequate, steady and reliable electricity supply to boost the real sector’s productivity and competitiveness.

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Director-General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, put the situation in perspective when he said the power crisis has continued to pose severe challenges to private sector operators, impacting adversely on their productivity.

    “Throughout last year, we received complaints across sectors about high energy costs especially high expenditure on diesel, higher cost of and scarcity of gas, and payment demand by electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for power not supplied,” he said.

    Yusuf further stated that the situation continued to take its toll on the bottom line of investors and SMEs, adding that some real sector companies reported that they spend as much as 20-25 per cent of their total operating cost on provision of alternative power supply and payment to DisCos.

    The LCCI chief, who emphasised that the provision of power remained at the heart of the ease of doing business in Nigeria, however, noted the government’s efforts in addressing the perennial power supply shortage and the deeper commitment to alternative sources of power including off-grid initiatives.

    To get round the infrastructure challenge, Udoma said the government was encouraging Private-Public Partnerships (PPPs), while tax incentives are being provided to encourage private sector investment in infrastructure.

    He also said the Executive Order 007 on Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme was signed by the President on January 25, 2019.

     

     

     

     

    “The scheme seeks to leverage private sector capital for the development and refurbishment of road networks in industrial clusters and key economic areas in the country.

    “It entitles private investors to full recovery of the cost incurred on the road project(s) in the form of a Road Infrastructure Tax Credit, which can be utilised against participants’ future CIT payable to the Federal Government”, he explained.

    The Minister also said government will continue to provide improved access to funding and supporting infrastructure to encourage small businesses, in particular.

     

     

    “Government will also continue with the current emphasis on power, roads and rail. We shall continue to expand generation, transmission and distribution of power from the national grid while developing innovative off grid solutions for schools, hospitals and markets,” he promised.

    According to him, efforts to improve hard infrastructure will be complemented by expanding reforms in the ease of doing business. “We will continue to remove obstacles, reduce costs and ensure timely delivery of services so as to improve the environment for the private sector,” he assured.

    However, the consensus is that if government fails to make good its promises and also keep faith with proper coordination of its fiscal and monetary policies while maintaining exchange rate stability, the envisaged inclusive and sustained growth will come the way of the economy.

     

  • The road to fertiliser self-sufficiency

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has barred foreign exchange (forex) allocation to fertiliser imports. The inclusion of this critical farming input on the list of 41 items not valid for forex may have reinforced the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering commercially-significant quantities of affordable and high-quality fertiliser to farmers. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    Before the inuaguration of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) in December 2016, the non-availability of fertiliser was, arguably, one of the obstacles to increased productivity in the agriculture sector.

    The scarcity of the critical farm input was a major disincentive to farmers’ efforts to contribute to economic diversification through small, medium and large-scale agriculture.

    But, the Federal Government, through the PFI, moved to change the narrative. It was part of its efforts to deliver commercially-significant quantities of affordable and high-quality fertiliser at the right time to farmers.

    The initiative, which involved a partnership with the Government of Morocco for the supply of phosphate to produce fertiliser locally, was an instant success.

    It resulted in the revitalisation of 14 blending fertiliser plants across the country, with a total installed capacity in excess of two million metric tonnes (MT). It also saved the government about $200 million in foreign exchange annually, and N60 billion annually in budgetary provisions for fertiliser subsidies.

    Other multiplier effects, according to the Minister of Information & Culture, Lai Mohammed, include the provision of about 60,000 direct jobs and several indirect jobs.

    The substitution of imported inputs of NPK with locally-sourced inputs also made it possible for farmers to purchase fertiliser at 30 per cent cheaper than previously available.

    However, in a renewed push to consolidate on the gains of the initiative and ultimately, achieve self-sufficiency in fertiliser production, the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), this week, barred official foreign exchange (forex) allocation to fertiliser imports.

    In other words, the apex bank has included fertiliser on the list of items not valid for forex. The CBN in a circular dated October 10, 2018 and signed by its Director, Trade & Exchange Department, Ahmed Umar, said the inclusion of fertiliser on the list of items not valid for forex took effect from Friday, December 7, 2018.

    The circular, however, noted that the “CBN will ensure that transactions (Form M) on fertiliser for which payments are outstanding, are settled at the appropriate settlement dates”.

    Recall that the CBN had on January 1, 2015 announced a forex policy that restricted the availability of forex to the importation of 41 items, which it said could be produced in Nigeria. Those who export products that fall under the 41 items were also barred from using their export proceeds to fund the importation of raw materials classified as not valid for forex.

    The apex bank had argued that the policy was necessary to promote locally-produced goods, build robust foreign reserves, and also create jobs.  “We need to aggressively begin the process of feeding ourselves by ourselves and producing much of what we need in this country.

    “The huge amounts of money the country spends on importing things we can produce locally have become a significant drag on our foreign exchange reserves…,” CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, had said.

    But manufacturers and other members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) kicked, describing the forex restriction variously as “obnoxious, superfluous, and ill-conceived”. Many of them argued that they were not consulted by the CBN and other regulators before the restrictions were placed on the items.

    They also pointed out that the vague nature in which the items in the import prohibition basket were described in the circular impeded the access of several local manufacturers to foreign exchange for procurement of their raw materials.

    They accused the CBN of emasculating manufacturers by failure to properly appraise domestic capacity for production of some of the excluded items, and therefore, called for a review.

    But the CBN has insisted that the policy was in the interest of the economy and Nigerians. It reiterated that the policy was necessary to re-awaken the consciousness of manufacturers on the need to look inwards and embrace the utilisation of local raw materials, conserve foreign exchange and create jobs.

    The apex bank, at some point, hinted of its plans to add more items to the import prohibition list. This was why the inclusion of fertiliser on the list of 41 items not valid for forex may not have come as a surprise to industry operators and stakeholders.

    For one, the strategic move may have reinforced government’s avowed commitment to achieving self-sufficiency in food production and consumption through unhindered access to adequate and affordable fertilisers to farmers.

    This holds true, considering the fact that before the PFI, the activities of fertiliser black marketers were hurting efforts at leveraging large-scale agric for job and wealth creation. They were the powerful middlemen in the sector, who allegedly ensured that critical farming inputs like fertiliser from the government never got to farmers.

    Apart from controlling the Federal Government’s fertiliser distribution system for several decades, the black marketers, whose activities clearly verged on economic sabotage, also denied farmers access to other subsidised inputs such as disease-resistant, high-yield rice seeds and palm oil seedlings.

    The inputs, which would have seen farmers’ output rising and contributing to food security, job and wealth creation, were brazenly sold in the open market or in neighbouring West African countries at exorbitant prices.

    Beyond the democratisation of access to fertiliser, which the PFI encouraged, the latest forex intervention by the CBN, according to experts, may have also brightened Nigeria’s chances of becoming a major player in the global fertiliser market.

    Recall that before the CBN barred official forex allocation to fertiliser imports, Nigeria had on the strength of the revitalisation of the fertiliser industry, set her eyes on claiming a substantial share of the global fertliser market, starting from the West African sub-region, where it plans to reclaim her position as food basket.

    Based on this, Chairman, Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Mr. Thomas Etuh, predicted that Nigeria will begin to export fertiliser soon. He said Nigeria was already selling fertiliser to Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

    According to Etuh, the gradual, but steady revolution in the nation’s fertiliser blending industry will restore Nigeria’s position as the food basket of the West African sub-region, noting that it has helped farmers access critical agricultural input at affordable prices.

    He also said this has reduced farmers’ overheads, boosted yield and encouraged more players to invest in the agric value chain. He recalled, for instance, that before the PFI, Nigeria had 32 fertiliser blending plants most of which were moribund.

    Of the 33 plants, five were functional, but produced at 10 per cent capacity because of the emphasis on importation. With the forex restriction for fertiliser importation to encourage local production, it means that Nigeria is inching closer to becoming a dominant player in the regional and global fertiliser industry.

  • The road to fertiliser self-sufficiency

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has barred foreign exchange (forex) allocation to fertiliser imports. The inclusion of this critical farming input on the list of 41 items not valid for forex may have reinforced the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering commercially-significant quantities of affordable and high-quality fertiliser to farmers. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    Before the inuaguration of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) in December 2016, the non-availability of fertiliser was, arguably, one of the obstacles to increased productivity in the agriculture sector.

    The scarcity of the critical farm input was a major disincentive to farmers’ efforts to contribute to economic diversification through small, medium and large-scale agriculture.

    But, the Federal Government, through the PFI, moved to change the narrative. It was part of its efforts to deliver commercially-significant quantities of affordable and high-quality fertiliser at the right time to farmers.

    The initiative, which involved a partnership with the Government of Morocco for the supply of phosphate to produce fertiliser locally, was an instant success.

    It resulted in the revitalisation of 14 blending fertiliser plants across the country, with a total installed capacity in excess of two million metric tonnes (MT). It also saved the government about $200 million in foreign exchange annually, and N60 billion annually in budgetary provisions for fertiliser subsidies.

    Other multiplier effects, according to the Minister of Information & Culture, Lai Mohammed, include the provision of about 60,000 direct jobs and several indirect jobs.

    The substitution of imported inputs of NPK with locally-sourced inputs also made it possible for farmers to purchase fertiliser at 30 per cent cheaper than previously available.

    However, in a renewed push to consolidate on the gains of the initiative and ultimately, achieve self-sufficiency in fertiliser production, the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), this week, barred official foreign exchange (forex) allocation to fertiliser imports.

    In other words, the apex bank has included fertiliser on the list of items not valid for forex. The CBN in a circular dated October 10, 2018 and signed by its Director, Trade & Exchange Department, Ahmed Umar, said the inclusion of fertiliser on the list of items not valid for forex took effect from Friday, December 7, 2018.

    The circular, however, noted that the “CBN will ensure that transactions (Form M) on fertiliser for which payments are outstanding, are settled at the appropriate settlement dates”.

    Recall that the CBN had on January 1, 2015 announced a forex policy that restricted the availability of forex to the importation of 41 items, which it said could be produced in Nigeria. Those who export products that fall under the 41 items were also barred from using their export proceeds to fund the importation of raw materials classified as not valid for forex.

    The apex bank had argued that the policy was necessary to promote locally-produced goods, build robust foreign reserves, and also create jobs.  “We need to aggressively begin the process of feeding ourselves by ourselves and producing much of what we need in this country.

    “The huge amounts of money the country spends on importing things we can produce locally have become a significant drag on our foreign exchange reserves…,” CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, had said.

    But manufacturers and other members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) kicked, describing the forex restriction variously as “obnoxious, superfluous, and ill-conceived”. Many of them argued that they were not consulted by the CBN and other regulators before the restrictions were placed on the items.

    They also pointed out that the vague nature in which the items in the import prohibition basket were described in the circular impeded the access of several local manufacturers to foreign exchange for procurement of their raw materials.

    They accused the CBN of emasculating manufacturers by failure to properly appraise domestic capacity for production of some of the excluded items, and therefore, called for a review.

    But the CBN has insisted that the policy was in the interest of the economy and Nigerians. It reiterated that the policy was necessary to re-awaken the consciousness of manufacturers on the need to look inwards and embrace the utilisation of local raw materials, conserve foreign exchange and create jobs.

    The apex bank, at some point, hinted of its plans to add more items to the import prohibition list. This was why the inclusion of fertiliser on the list of 41 items not valid for forex may not have come as a surprise to industry operators and stakeholders.

    For one, the strategic move may have reinforced government’s avowed commitment to achieving self-sufficiency in food production and consumption through unhindered access to adequate and affordable fertilisers to farmers.

    This holds true, considering the fact that before the PFI, the activities of fertiliser black marketers were hurting efforts at leveraging large-scale agric for job and wealth creation. They were the powerful middlemen in the sector, who allegedly ensured that critical farming inputs like fertiliser from the government never got to farmers.

    Apart from controlling the Federal Government’s fertiliser distribution system for several decades, the black marketers, whose activities clearly verged on economic sabotage, also denied farmers access to other subsidised inputs such as disease-resistant, high-yield rice seeds and palm oil seedlings.

    The inputs, which would have seen farmers’ output rising and contributing to food security, job and wealth creation, were brazenly sold in the open market or in neighbouring West African countries at exorbitant prices.

    Beyond the democratisation of access to fertiliser, which the PFI encouraged, the latest forex intervention by the CBN, according to experts, may have also brightened Nigeria’s chances of becoming a major player in the global fertiliser market.

    Recall that before the CBN barred official forex allocation to fertiliser imports, Nigeria had on the strength of the revitalisation of the fertiliser industry, set her eyes on claiming a substantial share of the global fertliser market, starting from the West African sub-region, where it plans to reclaim her position as food basket.

    Based on this, Chairman, Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Mr. Thomas Etuh, predicted that Nigeria will begin to export fertiliser soon. He said Nigeria was already selling fertiliser to Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

    According to Etuh, the gradual, but steady revolution in the nation’s fertiliser blending industry will restore Nigeria’s position as the food basket of the West African sub-region, noting that it has helped farmers access critical agricultural input at affordable prices.

    He also said this has reduced farmers’ overheads, boosted yield and encouraged more players to invest in the agric value chain. He recalled, for instance, that before the PFI, Nigeria had 32 fertiliser blending plants most of which were moribund.

    Of the 33 plants, five were functional, but produced at 10 per cent capacity because of the emphasis on importation. With the forex restriction for fertiliser importation to encourage local production, it means that Nigeria is inching closer to becoming a dominant player in the regional and global fertiliser industry.

  • The road to fertiliser self-sufficiency

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has barred forex allocation to fertiliser imports. The inclusion of this critical farming input on the list of 41 items not valid for forex may have reinforced the Federal Government’s commitment, via the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, to delivering commercially-significant quantities of affordable and high-quality fertiliser at the right time to farmers. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    Prior to the inuaguration of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) in December 2016, the non-availability of fertiliser was, arguably, one of the obstacles on Nigeria’s road to increased productivity in the agric sector.

    The scarcity of the critical farm input was a major disincentive to farmers’ efforts to contribute to economic diversification through small, medium and large-scale agriculture.

    But, the Federal Government, through the PFI, moved to change the narrative. It was part of its efforts to deliver commercially-significant quantities of affordable and high-quality fertiliser at the right time to farmers.

    The initiative, which involved a partnership with the Government of Morocco for the supply of phosphate to produce fertiliser locally, was an instant success.

    It resulted in the revitalisation of 14 blending fertiliser plants across the country, with a total installed capacity in excess of two million metric tonnes (MT). It also saved the government about $200 million in foreign exchange annually, and N60 billion annually in budgetary provisions for fertiliser subsidies.

    Other multiplier effects, according to the Minister of Information & Culture, Lai Mohammed, include the provision of about 60,000 direct jobs and several indirect jobs.

    The substitution of imported inputs of NPK with locally-sourced inputs also made it possible for farmers to purchase fertiliser at 30 per cent cheaper than previously available.

    However, in a renewed push to consolidate on the gains of the initiative and ultimately, achieve self-sufficiency in fertiliser production, the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), this week, barred official foreign exchange (forex) allocation to fertiliser imports.

    In other words, the apex bank has included fertiliser on the list of items not valid for forex. The CBN in a circular dated October 10, 2018 and signed by its Director, Trade & Exchange Department, Ahmed Umar, said the inclusion of fertiliser on the list of items not valid for forex took effect from Friday, December 7, 2018.

    The circular, however, noted that the “CBN will ensure that transactions (Form M) on fertiliser for which payments are outstanding, are settled at the appropriate settlement dates”.

    Recall that the CBN had on January 1, 2015 announced a forex policy that restricted the availability of forex to the importation of 41 items, which it said could be produced in Nigeria. Those who export products that fall under the 41 items were also barred from using their export proceeds to fund the importation of raw materials classified as not valid for forex.

    The apex bank had argued that the policy was necessary to promote locally-produced goods, build robust foreign reserves, and also create jobs.  “We needed to aggressively begin the process of feeding ourselves by ourselves and producing much of what we need in this country.

    “The huge amounts of money the country spends on importing things we can produce locally have become a significant drag on our foreign exchange reserves…,” CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, had said.

    But manufacturers and other members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) kicked, describing the forex restriction variously as “obnoxious, superfluous, and ill-conceived”. Many of them argued that they were not consulted by the CBN and other regulators before the restrictions were placed on the items.

    They also pointed out that the vague nature in which the items in the import prohibition basket were described in the circular impeded the access of several local manufacturers to foreign exchange for procurement of their raw materials.

    They accused the CBN of emasculating manufacturers by failure to properly appraise domestic capacity for production of some of the excluded items, and therefore, called for a review.

    But the CBN has insisted that the policy was in the interest of the economy and Nigerians. It reiterated that the policy was necessary to re-awaken the consciousness of manufacturers on the need to look inwards and embrace the utilisation of local raw materials, conserve foreign exchange and create jobs.

    The apex bank, at some point, hinted of its plans to add more items to the import prohibition list. This was why the inclusion of fertiliser on the list of 41 items not valid for forex may not have come as a surprise to industry operators and stakeholders.

    For one, the strategic move may have reinforced government’s avowed commitment to achieving self-sufficiency in food production and consumption through unhindered access to adequate and affordable fertilisers to farmers.

    This holds true, considering the fact that before the PFI, the activities of fertiliser black marketers were hurting efforts at leveraging large-scale agric for job and wealth creation. They were the powerful middlemen in the sector, who allegedly ensured that critical farming inputs like fertiliser from the government never got to farmers.

    Apart from controlling the Federal Government’s fertiliser distribution system for several decades, the black marketers, whose activities clearly verged on economic sabotage, also denied farmers access to other subsidised inputs such as disease-resistant, high-yield rice seeds and palm oil seedlings.

    The inputs, which would have seen farmers’ output rising and contributing to food security, job and wealth creation, were brazenly sold in the open market or in neighbouring West African countries at exorbitant prices.

    Beyond the democratisation of access to fertiliser, which the PFI encouraged, the latest forex intervention by the CBN, according to experts, may have also brightened Nigeria’s chances of becoming a major player in the global fertiliser market.

    Recall that before the CBN barred official forex allocation to fertiliser imports, Nigeria had on the strength of the revitalisation of the fertiliser industry, set her eyes on claiming a substantial share of the global fertliser market, starting from the West African sub-region, where it plans to reclaim her position as food basket.

    Based on this, Chairman, Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Mr. Thomas Etuh, predicted that Nigeria will begin to export fertiliser soon. He said Nigeria was already selling fertiliser to Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

    According to Etuh, the gradual, but steady revolution in the nation’s fertiliser blending industry will restore Nigeria’s position as the food basket of the West African sub-region, noting that it has helped farmers access critical agricultural input at affordable prices.

    He also said this has reduced farmers’ overheads, boosted yield and encouraged more players to invest in the agric value chain. He recalled, for instance, that before the PFI, Nigeria had 32 fertiliser blending plants most of which were moribund.

    Of the 33 plants, five were functional, but produced at 10 per cent capacity because of the emphasis on importation. With the forex restriction for fertiliser importation to encourage local production, it means that Nigeria is inching closer to becoming a dominant player in the regional and global fertiliser industry.

  • The road to 2019

    WITH the cloudy days of nerve wracking anxiety over in Osun, it is just fine to return to the crowded presidential race. Not much attention has been paid to the men – I wonder why women are just spectators here – who want to displace President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Some of the candidates are  realists and pragmatists. Others are mere dreamers. There are also pranksters and tricksters -no gangsters, thankfully-who believe joining the race will shield them from some unpleasant experience.

    All Progressives Congress (APC) members are set to reaffirm their confidence in President Buhari, believing that he is their best material for the race. In the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), there is an army of challengers who have been mounting road shows to sell their candidature to party members.

    But the choice of venue for the party’s convention turned acrimonious when the Board of Trustees (BoT) advised that Port Harcourt should not have the honour of hosting the historic event. Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike was infuriated. He simply told the party to either come to Port Harcourt or risk being dealt with as an enemy of the Niger Delta.

    It was not immediately clear why the wise men advised the party not to go to the Rivers State capital. There were, however, some speculations. Some said members were afraid that there could be violence.

    Could that have been a genuine reason? I doubt it. Until a few days ago when some bombs and dynamites went off near an APC primary venue, only bullets were being fired by unknown hoodlums. Is that enough reason to disqualify Port Harcourt and risk the ire of the Niger Delta, as Wike rightly put it?

    Others said Wike was an interested party in the matter. They claimed, specifically, that he is close to one of the aspirants and that he, in fact, is bidding to be his running mate. Whatever evidence they have, the purveyors of this claim are yet to tender it. Besides, when has hustling to be a running mate become a criminal venture?

    Again, thankfully, reason prevailed; the party chose to go to the Oil City and Wike, the quintessential gentleman who ordinarily would not stoke a fight, stopped issuing threats.

    With the Port Harcourt matter resolved, the aspirants have continued their drive for votes. Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal was in Port Harcourt the other day. He told Wike and others that he planned to restructure Nigeria – they all claim to be restructuring experts – and review the revenue allocation formula in favour of states and local governments.

    Those who do not see the sincerity in Tambuwal’s propositions are asking: “Why can’t he just define restructuring so that we know that he knows what he is talking about?” “Does he think the revenue allocation formula is a matter for an executive order?” “Why won’t he talk about his records in Sokoto, showing that such gains put him in a good position to run Nigeria?” To his credit, Tambuwal has not replied his critics. He will not be distracted.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki is also in the race. He has been telling his party members why they should hand him the ticket. He says he has the key to unlocking Nigeria’s potential as a great nation and urges his compatriots to join him in rebuilding Nigeria. His opponents rejoin: “Is it broken?” “Has it collapsed?” “Are you a builder?”

    Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, in an interview with a national newspaper, said “2019 is not for chicken hearted politicians”. This has led many wondering what foreboding Lamido has seen. “Who are chicken hearted politicians; the come-and-chop crowd?” “Are they among the aspirants?” “Are we having an election or a war?”

    Do we need to reduce it all into a preview of a clash between two wrestlers? I don’t think so. One man one vote should be the target.

    Former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke has also joined the race. He says his ambition is to rescue Nigeria. Not many are impressed by that assertion. Some critics have been lashing him, asking: “Is Nigeria sinking?” “Why not rescue Tinapa and some of those elephant projects in your state?” The point, say the critics, is that those seeking office should not paint an apocalyptic picture of Nigeria and scare off everyone. They should just espouse their big ideas, they insist.

    Of all the aspirants, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has been the most vociferous. He has travelled far, preaching the message of restructuring, job creation and more. He has been so hard on his former party, APC, after defecting to the PDP of which he was a key member before joining the APC.

    His Independence Day message was short on Nigeria’s gains and long on the deficits that have kept us crawling for long. He did not share in the blame, forgetting that he was one of the leading lights of the PDP when the party  threatened to rule Nigeria for 60 years. It actually did 16 unbroken years, broke many rules and carried on as if the people didn’t matter before nature supervened to stop the nonsense.

    Atiku tongue-lashed the APC as if it has no redeeming feature and he was never part of the party. Could he have said this if he never left APC and had a chance of grabbing its presidential ticket? He described the party’s “change” initiative as a “hollow and empty promise devoid of meaning”.

    The former Vice-President spoke also of “the conspiracy theory of the elite”  thwarting his presidential ambition. Who are those he won’t name? How have they been conspiring to kill his ambition? Will they let him have his way now? “They say I am independent, principled and so on,” he said.

    Is Atiku the only principled man among the lot? A colleague swore to me recently that among those Atiku was referring to is former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is known to have said that God would not forgive him if he backed Atiku to rule Nigeria. Atiku, you may wish to recollect, told Obasanjo to go settle whatever rift he had with his God without dragging him into it.

    Told that Atiku was running in 2015, Obasanjo simply said: “I dey laugh o!” Is Obasanjo part of the “elite conspiracy” against Atiku? I really don’t know.

    Former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko has also thrown his hat in the ring. He announced his bid on the platform of the Labour Party (LP). Party leaders kicked, saying he was not part of them. He then pitched his tent with the Zenith Labour Party. Observers are asking: “Which one be dat?”

    Also in the race is Lagos preacher Kris Okotie of the Fresh Democratic Party. He has been the sole aspirant, candidate, leader, elder, trustee and financier of the party. Those who do not see the Reverend Gentleman as a serious candidate have been asking: “Must he keep running? Is he a preacher or a politician or a pulpit politician?”

    It is good that there is no dearth of aspirants, but we are yet to see new ideas; only sloganeering. In other words, where are our men of ideas?

     

    A thought for Leah Sharibu and others

    Christian leaders demand release of Leah Sharibu, Chibok girls
    Leah

    One of the best Independence Anniversary gifts Nigerians could have is the release of the teenager Leah Sharibu, who is being held by Boko Haram for not renouncing her Christian faith.

    Her parents are crying. Christians and all men of goodwill are demanding her release. The plea for freedom for the innocent girl has become louder following the terrorists’ threat to kill her this month, if the Federal Government refuses to pay for her freedom.

    It is thoughtful of President Muhammadu Buhari to have telephoned Leah’s distraught parents to reassure them that the government is doing something about her unenviable fate. The assurance must be seen to be more than a mere assurance as time seems to be running out for the poor girl ­—and many others being held by the fiendish group.

    Dealing with terrorists is no easy business. These are outlaws to whom human life counts for nothing, except it can be monetised like any commodity. They claim to be fighting the believer’s cause, but they have shown by their bloody ways and means that they are serving their own selfish and devilish purposes.

    The government should push harder and do whatever is humanly possible to get Leah out of captivity. Besides, the fight against the terrorists should be stepped up – more men, more tools and more help from our friends. And sincerity.

    The Boko Haram scourge has gone on for too long. It should end.

  • The road to 2019

    The road to 2019

    ULTIMATELY, President Muhammadu Buhari has the last say on the matter – whether to go for a second term or not. The issue has gained currency in the last few months. It was the topic of discussion before 2017 ended and it is still the issue with the coming of the new year 2018. Within 72 hours between Sunday and Tuesday,  the Presidency and one of the President’s ardent backers in 2015, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, spoke on the matter.

    Before them, other Nigerians, including some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, had also said their bit about the issue. The governors have come under attack for carrying their support for the President too far by endorsing him for a second term at a time when the nation should be mourning the killing of 73 people in Benue State by suspected herdsmen. Led by Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, the governors after observing the Jumaat prayer with the President at the Villa on January 12, barely 24 hours after Benue buried its dead, said they had ”no apologies” for backing Buhari for another term.

    In his element on such occasions, the loquacious El-Rufai said : ”We are politicians and those of us you see here want the President to contest the 2019 election. We have no apolgies for that…” The public did not take offence for the governors’ support for the President, but for the way they vented their position. Yes, the people know them as polticians, who will do anything to have their way when it comes to power, but they did not know them as insensitive leaders without a feeling for their fellow men. The governors did not show empathy for those mourning their loved ones, especially their brother Governor Samuel Ortom, who belongs to the same party with them.

    Well, because they have said it does not mean that they would have their way. The Presidency knows this too. This is why it was non-committal on the matter when Buhari’s spokesman Femi Adesina chatted with reporters in Abuja on Sunday. ”Then talking of his own personal ambition or lack of it, we have to wait until he blows the whistle. You cannot start a race until the whistle is blown. So, when he blows the whistle and says ‘yes, this is my ambition’, then, the race starts. So, for now, we just say that we keep waiting on him to tell us what direction to go”, Adesina said, adding :

    ”So, those who believe in the Mandela option, it is their right. And it is also the right of the President to run or not to run. So, you do not abridge the right of anybody under a democracy…I believe that if the President wants to run, he can run. I will support him. I will support him any day. Then, has he done enough? More than enough. In fact, a second term will give him a chance to consolidate on what he has done. The things he has done are apparent : security; the economy is like a plane with its nose up; it went into recession and came out and the indices are good; anti-corruption, no friend, no foe”. On the critical issue of Buhari’s health, he said : ”Health is wealth. The President is not a frivolous person. If he thinks that his health cannot carry anything, he will not do it”.

    In what he called a ”special statement”, Obasanjo did not mince words in asking the President not to seek a second term. In the 13-page statement, he said there were blood stains everywhere because the country is full of lice. ”The lice of poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed, lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality – are very much with us today. With such lice of general and specific poor performance and crying poverty with us, our fingers will not be dry of blood”.

    Nigerians, he said, were complaining, murmuring in anguish and anger. Obasanjo hit the nail on the head in his assessment. At the same time, he has stirred up the hornet’s nest. In the next few weeks, the former president may not know sleep. Some will take him to the cleaners; others will praise him for his stand. Obasanjo did not say anything new. He merely elucidated on what many Nigerians have been saying in bars and in the confines of their homes about the president. Buhari has let a lot of Nigerians down and it is quite unfortunate that things are turning out like this.

    What made Obasanjo, who supported him against his own party, the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  in 2015, to turn against him  is the same reason many other Buharists  are today wondering if they made the right choice about three years ago.  Nigerians invested a lot in the Buhari Presidency because they believe in the man to take them from Egypt to the promised land. They placed their trust and faith in him and voted overwhelmingly for him at the poll. But the new dawn they voted him for seems to remain a mirage. Like all human beings, the President also has his shortcomings, but  he should have, at least, shown that he was  prepared for leadership having contested in three previous elections before the 2015 poll.

    It is one thing to have the hoi polloi running after you in the street and singing your praise as their messiah, but it is another thing for you to show the stuff of which great leaders are made when the responsibility is thrust on you. Hailing a politician at campaign rallies and public functions is not the true test of leadership. The hallmark of leadership is to meet the expectations of the people in terms of providing infrastructure, revamping the economy and ensuring security of life and property. The President may have done all he can do but it appears that is not good enough.

    Should he run again? According to Adesina, that is a question for the President to answer. That is very true. The President may decide not to listen to the noise of the market place if he wishes to run for a second term. But he should realise that the noise makers will determine his fate at the poll. Although Obasanjo has asked him not to run, he is not obliged to take that advice. At his age, the President knows what is good for him. How I wish he would take a few seconds to ponder  what has happened between 2015 and now to make his support base shrink. Election can only be a walkover for a candidate if the electorate believe that he will deliver after the contest.

    The President beat then President Goodluck Jonathan because the voters felt he would make a difference on being elected, but three years after, that feeling has given way to despair and despondency. In many places, the question is being asked: ”Is this what we voted for?” It is quite unfortunate that things have turned out this way. Many are waiting for 2019 to correct the wrong they believed they made in 2015. Buhari can run again, if he so wishes, but the electorate have the last say on who leads them. The electorate love the President, but they love their country more.

  • BRF: On the road not travelled

    BRF: On the road not travelled

    Call him a man of Peckian ideals and that would encapsulate him. Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF) seems to bear the mindset and mentality of Morgan Scott Peck, the New Yorker and psychiatrist who wrote the 1978 best-selling book, The Road Less Traveled. Today, BRF is not only living out some of Peck’s ideals, he is running through his own kind of road. But unlike Peck, they are roads NOT travelled.
    There may much wisdom after all that President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) lumbered him with what is considered big-three portfolios – Power, Works and Housing – marking him out as the most powerful minister in the land today, no doubt;  and of course, overseeing the largest chunk of federal budget.
    You are bound to notice the verisimilitude of Peck’s paradigmatic viewpoints in BRF. Peck propounds in his book that life is indeed hard and never meant to be easy. Life, he says, is a series of problems which are either solved or ignored. But he posits that DISCIPLINE is key and inherent in discipline are basic set of tools required to solve life’s problems. He went a step further to insist that it is through suffering, what he describes asLegitimate Suffering that “we can resolve many conflicts and sufferings that we face.”
    While he suggests (as in the title of his book) that discipline and legitimate suffering is A Road Less Traveled by many, in Nigeria, and especially with successive federal governments in Nigeria, taking the pains and rigour of work are actually roads not travelled. It is these roads that BRF seems to plod right now and our collective insouciance he seems to walk to reverse.
    Recently, BRF returned from a whirlwind tour of six states of the southwest. Over four days (Wednesday March 23 to Saturday March 26) of dawn to dusk shuttling, inspecting nearly 20 projects across the three ministries and paying courtesy calls on governors. He had done same for all the six zones of the country, missing out only three states. About 33 out of 36 states visited in the last three months; an estimated 108 federal projects at a conservative three per state. Phew!
    Again, a road not travelled: no other minister ever made this rather punitive effort at evaluating his far-flung sites. At each stop, even state governors attested that no Works Minister ever visited. During the northeast blast, driving into Government House Maiduguri, Borno State, at a little over 12 midnight, Governor Kashim Shettima was bewildered. Not only had he not seen any federal official around his city in seven years of Boko Haram, very few inhabitants moved about after dark.
    At each state’s boundary, the Federal Controller of Works and his Housing counterpart join BRF’s train; State Commissioner for Works also joins in. Reports on on-going projects in such state are presented on the go. BRF raises questions and offers insights. For instance, why are all the trees mowed down in clearing 10,000 hectares for the National Housing Programme? With good site plan, some native trees could be preserved as part of the aesthetics of a new housing estate, for instance.
    And government houses, the controllers take turns to brief governors first before BRF wraps up.
    At each visit, the pattern is the same and the message one: Controllers are Federal Government ambassadors in the states; please support them to serve you; federal and state executives are not competitors but partners. BRF never forgets to extend to the governors President Buhari’s goodwill, while making it known also that he is only a part of a federal executive that is interdependent and thrives as a team. Ministries of Finance, Transportation, Budget and Planning, Petroleum Resources, Defence, and indeed the entire cabinet must work in concert to deliver any good to the people. This is always his message.
    The visit to the 335MW Omotoso Electricity Energy Company in Ondo State left the staff and workers much elated and reassured. While the atmosphere at the Olorunsogo Power Station, Papalanto, Ogun State was electric, in a manner of speaking, as they received BRF; they considered it a sign of a new beginning, highlighting their gains and raising some of the challenges requiring federal government’s attention.
    As noted above, no fewer than 100 projects, mainly roads, in the six zones of the country, are currently experiencing rapid work. Caterpillars and rammers, engineers and artisans are turning sod and laying asphalt morning and night. Most of these projects were abandoned in the last regime at a period of our recent oil boom because nobody would step up to bear the legitimate suffering.
    Of all these roads, the Lagos Ibadan Expressway (LIE) and the Sagamu-Benin highway are the markers indicating the nature of the past and present regime. Most payments for jobs completed are now done quarterly as opposed to the past when contractors get paid in three years or never at all. At each project stop, BRF reassures them on regular payments and this keeps work flowing.
    In just 18 months, these roads which were dead, literally, are springing back to life. On LIE, sections one and two have a combined length of about 130km at a combined cost estimated at N170 billion. The road which arguably has the highest traffic volume in sub-Saharan Africa is being handled by Messrs Julius Berger and RCC from end to end.
    LIE represented a metaphor for poor governance, bad leadership and a stark lack of discipline in the Peckian sense. The road repairs were stunted by the concessionaire who held it down for about six years. When federal government wanted to reclaim its road, it got tied up in complicated legal knots, stalling progress.
    But somehow, BRF changed this awkward narrative and the reconstruction, rehabilitation and expansion of this road has gone on apace in the last one year. LIE is no longer a lie; it has already taken the shape of a modern 10-lane highway not unlike an autobahn. This again, has given the lie to the notion that only an engineer can head the Ministry of Works; it has reinforced the argument that it is all about leadership, administration and management of men and resources.
    Projects long abandoned are streaming back to life all across the land; most of the roads NOT travelled are now affording commuters fresh driving experiences and creating jobs for thousands of compatriots. Again let us borrow from the writer, Peck, he calls the foregoing ‘balancing’, an element of discipline which suggests the reconciling of multiple, complex and possibly conflicting factors…to achieve greater good. That is the road to travel.

    •Tamuno is a Lagos-based journalist