Infrastructure Bank To Fund Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

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There may be reason for users of the all-important Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as the initial completion scheduled date of four years have now been shortened to two and half years maximum. This is to be made possible by a recent directive by the Federal Government for the Infrastructure Bank Plc to provide the needed financing for the project. Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye said the specialised development finance institution will raise the entire N167 billion needed for the reconstruction of the 127-kilometre Lagos-Ibadan multi-carriage way.
In a statement released in Abuja, Oyinloye said his institution would leverage on its financial expertise and culture of excellence in its partnership with Federal Government on the reconstruction of the expressway.
He said the bank was glad to have been able to provide the financial engineering to ensure the bankability of the project and would raise the requisite capital to execute the project.
“The project is now to be completed in a record time of 24 to 30 months as opposed to the 48 months initially proposed by the contractors”, he said
Oyinloye said the bank would continue to work with Federal Government towards timely completion of the project by providing cutting-edge advisory services.
He urged other Nigerian banks to channel their pool of funds into the development of infrastructure, adding that Nigerian banks must help to unlock the nation’s potential by financing the development of its infrastructure.

Jonathan Runs Out of Patience With Banks

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Jonathan Runs Out of Patience With Banks
It would appear that President Goodluck Jonathan considers banks as being stumbling blocks to his determination to diversify the Nigerian economy and thus position it as one of the 20 largest in the world by 2020. There has been widespread criticism of banks over the years over their lackadaisical attitude towards financing agriculture, solid minerals and the small and medium enterprises. Since he came to office, Jonathan has initiated a number of policies aimed at catapulting these sectors into a position that will rival oil and gas. But his patience is running out.
In an address he sent to the opening of 7th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Abuja, Jonathan threatened to withdraw public sector deposits from their vaults unless they had a change of heart and begin to immediately lend to the agriculture, solid minerals and SMEs.
But for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that has over the years initiated such intervention schemes like the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and others before them, the agricultural sector would have been totally lacking in the funding support it needs to grow and play its role in national development.
Represented by the Minister of State for Finance Yerima Ngama, Jonathan lamented that banks were getting money from government at zero interest rate but continued to deny the productive sector the required funding support.
He charged the banks to do away with their stereotypes and begin lending to agric since “statistics we have coming from the Central Bank is that when you lend to farmers they pay you. I think we have First Bank’s experience where the percentage of the nonperforming agric loans to performing is less than 1.5 per cent. So, the poor actually pay their loans, but why are the banks always eager to go and lend to the riskier businesses than this safe agricultural businesses? “The issue is with our psyche, we think that maybe they are not high tech or maybe there is too much documentation based on a loan of N50,000 or N100,000. Banks have to come together and see how they can put funds together to really support the farmers.”

Unending Controversy Over Anti-Corruption Battles

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Contentious former president Olusegun Obasanjo is once again up in arms against former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Farida Waziri and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over issues bordering on issues of corruption and attempts to curb it in the country.
In an exclusive interview he granted Zero Tolerance, a magazine published by the EFCC, Obasanjo labelled Atiku as corrupt, said Waziri was a wrong successor to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the pioneer chairman of the anti-graft agency and that Ribadu has remained the best man to have led EFCC since inception. He alleged that Atiku is unable to visit the United States of America because he had corruption charges standing against him.
Concerning Waziri, Obasanjo said “I know that the woman they brought in to replace Ribadu was not the right person for that job because I understood that one of those who head-hunted her was (James) Ibori. If Ibori, who is now in a UK (United Kingdom) prison for fraud, head-hunts somebody who will fight corruption in Nigeria, then you can understand what happened.” He challenged the editors of Zero Tolerance “go and look at the condition or the qualification; go and look at the type of interaction that anybody holding that job will have with a similar organisation elsewhere; did Waziri have that type. What connection did she have with the FBI, what relationship did she have with Metropolitan Police in London. It’s not a picnic,” Obasanjo said of the woman who retired as Deputy Inspector General of Police.
He said, “When I was there, the EFCC and ICPC worked tirelessly and we moved this country from the corruption perception index being number two from the lowest to number 45 from the lowest. We should have graduated from being number 45 to being number 50 to being number 60, to being number 100. But we are not doing that, rather we have started sliding down.” The former President flayed the manner Ribadu was removed from office, saying he cautioned late President Umaru Yar’Adua against his removal although he criticised Ribadu for hobnobbing “with people he had declared as corrupt.
 Obasanjo gleefully announced that as President, he personally requested the anti-graft body to investigate him but that he came out sparkling. “I was investigated. I told the EFCC to investigate me. I told the EFCC to carry out clinical investigation and they did. They also did same with all people on my farm. One of them was telling me the other day how (Ibrahim) Lamorde (current EFC Chair) called him three times and took statements from him. The EFCC even made sure they did not submit that report to me; they waited until I left and updated their report after going round the world and saying look this is the report. Nobody should be below board in the fight against corruption.”
But in a separate interview with the same magazine, Waziri denied that Ibori supported her appointment as the EFCC chairman. “I never knew him. I never knew James Ibori. Let me ask you, if I was in league with Ibori and was not sincerely pursuing him, would he have run, gone out of this country to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates? It is all lies of the enemies. By the time I write my book, the truth will prevail. I never knew Ibori; look I believe what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. I don’t believe in half measures. By my training and upbringing, I can never betray my country for anyone.”
Waziri insisted that she secured the first conviction in the history of the EFCC. “N190bn, one single recovery from one person that went to jail was during Farida Waziri. That is why it is good to have changes in an organisation”, she added while frowning at the manner in which she was sacked by the Goodluck Jonathan administration despite committing more than 30 years to serving the nation. She said she learnt of her removal in November 2011  in the news media and stated that she did not deserve the humiliation since she had not been found wanting for any misdemeanour.“If you are removed like that, it has a tendency to scare some people. I wasn’t bothered that I left because my philosophy of life is simple, ‘what has a beginning has an end,” Waziri said.  She also advised Obasanjo to respect his age otherwise she would be forced to expose the retired general for what he truly is.
Atiku equally debunked Obasanjo’s claim saying that he always travelled to the US whenever the need arose.

FIRS, MAN Partners on Integrated Tax System

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FIRS, MAN Partners on Integrated Tax System
In its move to commence the implementation of its Integrated Tax Administration Systems (ITAS) and the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) across the tiers of government, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has taken its campaigns to manufacturers.

FIRS said the move became necessary to enhance compliance of many businesses to tax regulations by automating its processes and that it would soon replicate the Value Added Tax (VAT) collection system in the Aviation industry to other sectors of the economy.
Besides, the revenue agency urged manufacturers and businesses within the value chain to harness opportunities availed them through tax incentives to cushion the effect of taxation on their businesses.
Speaking at a seminar organised by Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tax Compliance by business operators in Lagos, The Deputy Director, FIRS, Adeniyi Orebajo explained that manufacturers and businesses need be properly enlightened on the issue of tax administration in the country, especially in the areas of registration and filing of returns to revenue agencies.
According to him, most of the challenges encountered by many businesses have to do with the way they register their companies and how they file returns.
“Most firms are not in tune with latest developments in terms of review of tax laws. Most firms still fail to register their businesses for tax within the stated time frame while dormant companies fail to notify revenue agencies of the state of affairs in their firms. If many businesses can address this trend, there will be fewer issues concerning tax administration. Nigeria still has one of the most favourable tax laws in the world compared to other economies.”
Orebajo however urged manufacturers and businesses within the value-addition chain to take advantage of the opportunities in the tax incentives provided by government, this he said, would provide a lot of relief for many businesses.
“There are various incentives that manufacturers can tap into. Some of them include, funds invested in public infrastructure under investment allowance, replacement of obsolete machinery, research and development among others. They can take advantage of it. What the government would not accept is the issue of tax evasion and late remittance of taxes”, he added.
The President of MAN, Chief Kola Jamodu said the level of compliance to tax by many businesses remain low in Nigeria as a result of unclear definitions of tax responsibilities as well as the punitive approach to the tax laws.
To this end, MAN has urged federal and state governments, in the mean time, to address the issue of tax administration especially at the local government level in order to ease doing business in the country.
Specifically, the manufacturers decried poor interpretation of tax responsibilities among the agencies as well as the multiplication of tax by local councils.
Jamodu, who was represented by the association’s treasurer, Lawrence Osayemi, explained that MAN was not querying government on the power to tax businesses but the exposure to variations of taxes, some of which are being multiplied across the agencies.
According to him, businesses will only thrive in an environment where there is an ease of doing business and proper definition of tax liabilities.
“The cost of doing business in Nigeria, especially in Lagos state remains high as a result of multiple taxations, especially at the local government level. The multiplication of taxes at the tiers of government has created problems between manufacturers and government, a situation to which we hope to find a lasting solution. There is too much focus on tax collection than encouraging businesses to grow. It is high time government looked inwards to seek measures to address this trend”, he added.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Tunde Fowler while speaking on the areas of conflict between tax administrators and business operators corroborated Orebajo’s view on the need to be properly enlightened on the reviews in tax regulations.

No Woman Among 21 Richest Nigerians!

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No Woman Among 21 Richest Nigerians!
The richest woman in Africa is Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija with net worth of $600 million (N97 billion) according to Forbes but when the group recently released the list of 21 richest Nigerians, the oil and gas magnate could not make it.
The ranking according to the globally renowned company was based on the value of shares held by the individuals in quoted companies, size and market share of their companies, number of companies they own and its assumed value and the impact of the companies on the Nigerian economy.
Expectedly, the richest black man, Aliko Dangote who is Founder of Dangote Group topped the list with Mike Adenuga of Conoil and Globacom ranked second richest Nigerian followed by Femi Otedola of ZENON Oil and Gas. Former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu of Slok Group; Cosmos Maduka of Coscharis Group; and Jimoh Ibrahim  Nicon Insurance, Global Fleet followed in that order. Ranked seventh is Jim Ovia of Zenith Bank and Visafone, followed by Pascal Dozie of MTN Nigeria and Diamond Bank; Oba Otudeko of Honeywell Group Nigeria; Sayyu Dantata  MRS Group; Umaru Abdul Mutallab, former Chairman First Bank Plc and Chairman, Mutallab Group; Samuel Adedoyin, Doyin Group; Dele Fajemirokun, Chaiman Aiico Insurance, Xerox Nigeria, Chicken Republic, Kings Guards among others; Cletus Ibeto, Ibeto Group; Raymond Dokpesi, Daar Communication, AIT and Tony Ezenna, Orange Group.
Molade Okoya Thomas, Chairman of CFAO Nig and six other French companies was ranked the 17th richest Nigerian, followed by Ifeanyi Ubah of Capital oil and Gas; Leo Stan Ekeh, Zinox Computer; Fola Adeola, former Group Managing Director of  GTBank and Chief Ade Ojo of Elizade Motors Nigeria Limited was number 21.
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