Aso Villa Reads for 7/6/18
Every day, we bring you the best stories the media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria.
Premium Times reports that “President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that effective 2019 Nigeria’s Democracy Day, marked every May 29 for the past 18 years, be shifted to June 12 to honor Moshood Abiola, the winner of the 1993 presidential election. Election data showed Mr Abiola won the polls but he was never formally declared winner and was not sworn into office by the military government of Ibrahim Babangida. Mr Abiola was later imprisoned by the Sani Abacha’s military regime as he struggled to actualize his mandate. He died in prison in 1998. Successive governments have brushed aside calls for Mr Abiola to be honored and for the federal government to recognize June 12 as democracy day. The Buhari government said Mr Abiola will now be conferred with nation’s highest honour, the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, GCFR. The honour is exclusively conferred only on presidents and former presidents. The government also said Mr Abiola’s running mate in that election, Babagana Kingibe, is to be conferred with the second highest honour of the Grand Commander of the Niger, GCON.”
“The country recorded an increase of N1.18tn in merchandise trade in the first quarter of this year to N7.21tn from N6.02tn in the fourth quarter of last year. The figures were contained in the Foreign Trade in Goods Report, which was released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. The bureau stated that the trade value of N7.21tn was also an increase of 35.07 per cent when compared to the N5.33tn recorded in the corresponding first quarter of 2017. “The total value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade was N7.21tn in the first quarter of 2018, which was a 19.74 per cent growth from the figure recorded in Q4 2017 (N6.02tn) and a 35.07 per cent growth from Q1 2017 (N5.33tn.” Punch reported this.
“The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the report of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee on Tax Laws Reform. The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the council meeting presided over by President Muhammmadu Buhari. She recalled that the FEC had, last February, approved the revised National Tax Policy with a view to having a robust tax system that would promote investment and improve revenue for sustainable national development.” Daily Trust reported that the Minister revealed that the “proposed tax laws reform was expected to achieve such fiscal objectives as removing obsolete, ambiguous and contradictory provisions in the laws as well as increasing government revenue. According to her, the reform is also expected to simplify the process of paying taxes and doing business, promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as well as protect most vulnerable persons in the society.”
According to Daily Post, “President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday disclosed that his administration has spent $9bn (N2 .745trn at the official exchange rate of N 305 to $1) on power, roads and railways in the country in the last two years. He said the expenditure was part of the ongoing plans by his government to diversify the economy through the development of tourism, agriculture and solid minerals, noting that the Federal Government was investing heavily in infrastructure. The President made this known at the 61st meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and Commission for Africa in Abuja. Buhari also said that as part of his administration’s Social Investment Programmes (SIPs), the government was giving N5,000 monthly to some 297, 973 poor homes in the country.”
“The Federal Executive Council has added 9,400 beneficiaries to the N-Power scheme under the Social Investment Programme (SIP). Addressing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting yesterday, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zaynab Ahmed, said the SIP had up to 9.76 million beneficiaries at the moment. The minister said the N-power scheme had 200,000 beneficiaries already deployed as teachers, agriculture extension workers and health extension workers.” Daily Trust quoted the Minister of State as saying: “So, we are adding to these numbers by moving to the N-Power knowledge category. This is a category where non-graduates will be trained in skills and attached to companies, where they will gain experience during apprenticeship. The categories are three: first is a group of 2,000 beneficiaries that will be trained in software development, web development and will be equipped with devices.”
Punch reports that “a total of N30bn has been realized from taxpayers who have declared their assets under the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme of the Federal Government. The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, gave the figure on Wednesday during the official presentation of the VAIDS certificates of declaration to chairmen of states’ tax revenue agencies.” The paper gave a brief background about the scheme. It wrote that ”the VAIDS offers a grace period from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018 for tax defaulters to voluntarily pay back to the government what they owe. In exchange for full and honest declaration, the government promised to waive penalties that should have been levied and also the interest that should have been paid on overdue taxes. Also, those who declare their tax obligations honestly will not be subjected to any investigation or tax audit after the 11-month grace period.”
