FG Rakes in N1.36tn on Product Taxes in Six Months – NBS
Taxes on products in the country rose to N1.36tn in the first six months of 2023 despite worsening hardship across the board according to the NBS.
This is a 113.29 per cent increase from the N636.19bn it was in the first six months of 2021, and a 25.00 per cent increase from the N1.09tn it was in the corresponding period of 2022. These figures were obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data on Net Indirect Taxes on Products and are based on current basic prices.
When adjusted for inflation, the taxes on products amounted to N465.94bn in the first six months of 2023, a 34.98 per cent increase from the N345.19bn it was in the first six months of 2021, and an 11.94 per cent increase from the N416.23bn it was in the corresponding period of 2022.
According to the World Bank, net indirect taxes (taxes less subsidies on products) are the sum of product taxes less subsidies. It stated that product taxes are taxes payable by producers as they relate to the production, sale, purchase, or use of the goods and services.
The country’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.51 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2023. This was lower than the 3.54 per cent recorded in Q2 2022 and the NBS suggested this may be because of challenging economic conditions being experienced
With the global economic downturn affecting revenue, the Federal Government has been ramping up its tax efforts. In its 2023-2035 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, the revealed how it would improve its revenues.
It said, “These measures include improving the tax administration framework, including tax filing and payment; as well as introduction of new and/or further increases in existing pro-heath taxes like excise on sugar-sweetened beverages, tobacco, and alcohol. Mixed reactions have greeted the implementation of these measures.”
The rise in product taxes year-on-year is despite falling purchasing power in the country with inflation hitting 22.79 per cent in June. According to the World Bank, the loss of purchasing power from high inflation has increased poverty and pushed about four million Nigerians into poverty between January and May 2023.
Inflation is expected to continue to rise and is predicted to hit 25 per cent by 2023. The global bank said, “Headline inflation is expected to rise from 18.8 per cent in 2022 to 25 per cent in 2023.”
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has been advising Nigeria to raise its VAT rate to 15 per cent by 2027, which could further increase the amount generated from product tax and increase the prices of products.
Fuel Queues Hit Lagos, Ogun and others as Thieves Vandalise Pipelines
Long queues for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, are beginning to resurface at filling stations in Lagos and Ogun states, and in few other locations in South-Western states.
Queues were sighted at many stations, particularly those on the Oshodi-Ojodu Berger Expressway and some sections of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, as vehicles that waited to purchase petrol stretched into the expressway, slowing down movement on the service lane.
The Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Satellite Depot, explained that the depot had not loaded products in the last three weeks.
According to him, even the NNPCL Retail depot is currently operating skeletal dispatching of products.
“From our end, the issue has been with the pipeline vandalism which we raised an alarm over since July. Satellite depot has not loaded any product in the last three weeks, and whenever there is a problem here, it is going to affect Lagos and the whole of South-West.
“Although I don’t know what has been happening in other depots, from what we gathered yesterday, even NNPC Retail has been operating skeletal product dispatching. The NNPC Retail loaded just three to four trucks to Ikoyi on Monday. No product was dispatched to other places. I don’t know about other depots,” he said.
The NNPCL Retail has 21 depots across the country, nine in the North, and 12 in the South. However, The PUNCH had reported in December how the company abandoned the depots due to pipeline vandalism, and now relied on private depots to dispatch products.
Recently, NNPCL had been making efforts to put the pipelines in order. One of those efforts was the Satellite depots in Lagos which resumed operations last year, but was again vandalised in July.
Managers of the Ejigbo Satellite Depot had raised the alarm over incessant activities of pipeline vandals on System 2B pipeline in front of Good Luck Estate at Idimu, Alimosho Local Council Development Area of Lagos.
A statement released by Akinrinade at that time, said, “IPMAN Satellite Depot are constrained with heavy heart to announce the vandalism of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited pipeline at Idimu in Alimosho LCDA of Lagos State, in front of Good Luck Estate.
“This continuous vandalism is a setback to the effort of IPMAN and NNPCL to ensure uninterrupted supply of petrol to Lagos and the entire South-West region of Nigeria.”
The PUNCH also gathered that some depots owners had been unable to import products due to rising foreign exchange.
Sources close to the matter told The PUNCH that many filling stations had shut down operations as many could not afford to buy products due to high prices at the depots.
“Stations are now cutting down costs because most don’t have enough money to buy products to distribute to their outlets. That is why you see that those with more than one station had to close down some of them,” one of the sources told The PUNCH.
Another source who craved anonymity told The PUNCH that “the economy is tough right now and marketers have been unable to import products. Emadeb had teamed up with some other marketers and brought in about 27 million litres.
“But since then, who else did you hear has brought in the product? We are now back to the era of NNPCL being the sole importer, and would still continue to dictate what the market price would be.”
A top member of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria told one of our correspondents that demand now outweighs supply.
“NNPCL has reduced importation. And the whole idea was for private individuals to also augment what NNPCL brings in. But marketers are not importing. So NNPCL still remains the only importer,” he said.
Studying in the United Kingdom is an expensive education dream for many Nigerian Students. Despite that fact, Nigerian students toil hard, day and night, to accomplish their goal and bring down the sustaining and worrisome monetary obstacle to fulfill their overseas education dream. Realising the international students’ aspiration of wanting to study in the UK, the government has come up with many scholarships to fund their education. Later, the UK’s private universities and non-governmental organizations subsequently decided to fund international students’ education. This gesture acts as a warm way of welcoming the international and Nigerian students into their country to get a quality and world-class education and to help them have a strong academic foundation to commence and have established careers successfully.
List the Scholarship Opportunities in UK
The United Kingdom has essentially paved the way for Nigerian students to get access to the empowering academic education that uplifts the students’ lives. Despite their financial situation, all deserving students can live their dream of experiencing the necessity and research-based instruction to achieve their career goals. Henceforth, the royal land has rolled out many forms of scholarships such as fully-funded, partially funded, and skill-based scholarships that cater to the financial needs of the aspiring students. Below we have listed many forms of UK scholarships that may be fully funded or partially funded for all kinds of study programs with the exact scholarship amount. We hope this information is sufficient to proceed further with your scholarship application.
S.No
Name of the Scholarship
Eligibility
Amount in GBP
1.
British Chevening Scholarships for International Students
Postgraduate Program
GBP 18,000
2.
Commonwealth Masters Scholarships
Masters and PhD
GBP 15,960
3.
Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Degree Scholarship
Masters Program
GBP 48,000
4.
A.S Hornby Educational Trust Scholarship
Masters Degree
Varies according to the courses.
5.
Felix Scholarships
Postgraduate Program
GBP 78,840
6.
Rhodes Scholarship
Postgraduate Program
GBP 59,490
7.
Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarships
Postdoctoral Fellowship
GBP 1400
8.
Dr Manmohan Singh Scholarships
Doctoral Degrees
No specific amount
9.
Inlaks Scholarships
Masters, MPhil or Doctorate Program
GBP 76,828
10.
Scotland Saltire Scholarships
Masters Program
GBP 8000
We are also listing the popular and rewarding UK scholarships given for each study program. Students are advised to learn and adequately research each scholarship to know how well they can be financially benefitted and the additional amounts they need.
Undergraduate Scholarships for International Students in UK
Postgraduate Scholarships for International Students in UK
S.No
Name of the Scholarship
Eligibility
Amount in GBP
1.
University of Reading Masters Scholarship
Masters
GBP 5000
2.
Cardiff University Elite International Scholarships
Masters
GBP 3000
3.
Queen’s University Belfast International Scholarships
Masters
GBP 2400
4.
Marshall Scholarships
Masters
GBP 30,000
5.
University of Edinburgh Global Scholarships
Masters
GBP 1000 – GBP 15,000
6.
Clarendon Scholarships by University of Oxford
Masters
GBP 15,009
7.
Castlesmart Scholarships
Masters
GBP 6000
8.
Chevening Scholarships UK
Masters
GBP 18,000
9.
Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Masters
GBP 17,848
10.
University of East Anglia Scholarship
Masters
GBP 4000
MBA Scholarships in UK
S.No
Name of the Scholarship
Eligibility
Amount in GBP
1.
MBA Visionary Scholarship by the University of Strathclyde
MBA
GBP 5000
2.
Commonwealth Masters Scholarships
MBA
GBP 15,960
3.
GREAT Scholarships
MBA
GBP 10,000
4.
Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarships
MBA
GBP 1400
5.
Inlaks Scholarships
MBA
GBP 76,828
6.
Felix Scholarship
MBA
GBP 15,840
7.
The Cranfield Trust Scholarships
MBA
GBP 36,000
8.
Chevening Scholarship
MBA
GBP 18,000
9.
IKOS Scholarships
MBA
GBP 40,000
10.
Women in Leadership Scholarship
MBA
GBP 14,926
PhD Scholarships in UK for International Students
S.No
Name of the Scholarship
Eligibility
Amount in GBP
1.
The Royal Society Grants
PhD
GBP 41,340
2.
Imperial College London President’s PhD Scholarship
PhD
GBP 21,800
3.
The Newton Bhabha Fund
PhD
Varies according to Courses
4.
Goa Education Trust Scholarships
PhD
GBP 251
5.
Carnegie PhD Scholarships
PhD
GBP 17,400
6.
Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships in the Humanities
PhD
GBP 90,750
7.
Gates Cambridge Scholarships
PhD
GBP 17,848
8.
Saltire Scholarships
PhD
GBP 8000
9.
Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarships
PhD
GBP 1400
10.
Euraxess Scholarships
PhD
GBP 17,500
Universities in UK for International Students Scholarships
S.No
Name of the University
Name of the Scholarship
Eligibility
Amount in GBP
1.
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarship
Doctoral Program
GBP 15,609
2.
Coventry University
Coventry Academic Performance Scholarship
Undergraduate and Postgraduate Program
GBP 1500
3.
University of West London
University of West London International Ambassador Scholarships
Undergraduate and Postgraduate program
GBP 5000
4.
University of Cambridge
Gates Cambridge Scholarships
PhD
GBP 17,848
5.
University of the Arts London
UAL Vice Chancellor’s Postgraduate International Scholarships
Masters Program
Both GBP 5000 and GBP 25,000
How to Get Scholarship in UK?
The UK offers numerous scholarships for Nigerian and International students through its government body, private universities, NGOs and other private welfare bodies. So there is no shortage of financial aid for students to aim for their higher education. Students have to keep an eye on the open and available opportunities and find the correct destination to apply for the scholarships successfully.
After much research, we have found the simple ways or steps to apply for UK scholarships. Following these steps will be sufficient to apply for the same effectively.
The foremost important thing students should know is that only if the university accepts their application for admission, they are eligible to apply for the scholarships offered by their university.
So getting back to the steps,
Once your admission application is confirmed, start looking for scholarships according to your merit score.
Look for the Scholarship deadline.
Check the additional requirements like academic transcripts attached along with the scholarship application.
Submit a Letter of Reference.
Submit a Statement of Intent or Statement of Purpose.
Rejected Nominees: We Can’t Be Intimidated, Lagos Assembly Declares…there are plans to attack Speaker Obasa, lawmakers
– says no rift between Governor and Speaker
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday revealed that there are plans by some people to attack Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and other lawmakers over the recent screening and rejection of some cabinet nominees sent by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The Lagos Assembly, however, said its action concerning the nominees was in tandem with the constitution, which stipulates its responsibilities and, as such, would not succumb to threats and intimidations, including planned sponsored protests and analysis by some civil society groups and activists.
It also said it had refrained itself from revealing all that it discovered during the screening of the nominees while warning that “those who live in glass houses should be conscious not to throw stones.”
“Before today, I had been reliably informed of the plan to attack the Speaker based on the decision of the House concerning the nominees of the Governor, particularly the rejected ones,” Dr. Obasa said during plenary adding that he had been inundated with calls from people and members of the House.
The Speaker stressed that the House does not have any fight with Sanwo-Olu or the executive arm as projected by some people, who may not be aware of the actual reasons for the rejection of the nominees.
“There is this erroneous belief that we are waging war against the Governor. There is no basis for me and the House to fight the Governor. I will continue to say that the Governor is a brother and colleague in the Lagos project and service to the people of our State.
“The Governor and I have been around in the system for long. While he was SA to the former Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro, I was in this House as chairman, Committee on Rural Development. He was SA on Establishment and Pensions and I was chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts (Local Governments). While he was heading LSDPC, I was chairman, Committee on Economic Planning and Budget. Then, I became the Speaker and when he became the Governor, I remained the Speaker. So it’s been a long journey together.
“But I wonder why anytime the House says no to a particular request of the Governor, it is taken by some people to mean there is a fight with the Governor. This House has passed so many resolutions that the executive arm refused to carry out, but people don’t see that as something to talk about and the House does not raise eyebrows. So I don’t know what brings the erroneous belief that the House is fighting the Governor, who is our brother and who we will continue to work with.
“However, we have a constitutional responsibility. Just as the Governor has the responsibility to inform the House about his nominees, the House has the responsibility to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ which we have exercised by confirming some and denying some and we have our reasons for saying ‘no’ to some of the nominees.
“The House, as a body, has refrained itself from exposing what it discovered during the screening exercise and we are not going to be forced to spill to the public,” Dr. Obasa said.
Concerning the rejection of Prof. Akin Ababyomi, former health commissioner, Obasa said considerations went beyond his efforts in the fight against COVID-19 which he described as an isolated issue in the challenged health sector of the State.
“Before Prof. Abayomi, there were Leke Pitan, Dr. Jide Idris and others. COVID-19 was an isolated case that was considered. Before COVID-19, we had Ebola which was also taken care of under Babatunde Fashola.
“Beyond all these, we are the representatives of the people, their mouthpieces, eyes and ears. The health sector of Lagos is not just about COVID-19. We have general hospitals and other health care centres around the State. What can be said about them?
“Before Engineer Aramide Adeyoye, we also had Engineer Ganiyu Johnson and Dr. Obafemi Hamzat as Commissioner for Works and under whom the Ikoyi-Victoria Island link bridge was built while Babatunde Fashola was Governor. Under Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as Governor, there was masaive infrastructural development too.
“So we must stop making allusions concerning somethings we do not understand. They mentioned the former c
Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho and his experience. But how about actions in office?” Obasa asked.
The Speaker added that as a politician whose party is in power, the priority of those in government should be the interest of the people.
He urged those planning to sponsor actions against the House to realise that protests and sponsored articles would not make the House rescind its decision.
“The civil society that is threatening to protest should do so because it is a constitutional right. But we are not going to be threatened or intimidated. We have said no, but if there is a convincing or germane reason for us to reverse our decision, we will, but not by threats.
“It is because we are successful as politicians that is why the technocrats are being appointed. And to our own estimation, if they have not done well, we have right to say no and we have said no.
“We don’t want instigations and conflicts, the executive and the House are working together; we are brothers and colleagues; we will continue to work together but we need to caution fourth columnists not to instigate crisis. And those that are living in glass houses need to be careful,” he warned.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Media Assistant to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
How Way and Life Concepts Limited is Setting the Standard in the Real Estate Industry
Way and Life Concepts Limited is one of the real estate company that has been leaving indelible mark in the industry for its more than one decade of existence. Founded by Abraham Adebayo Shodiya an indigene of Ogun State, Abeokuta to be precise, though he was born and grew up in Agege, Lagos where he had his primary school at Bishop Oluwolel Memorial Primary School, after which he proceeded to Keke High School Ifako Ijaiye housing Estate and later Fstc Yaba where graduated studying Building Technology Programs.
He thereafter, ventured into Real Estate business with training from Realty Point Limited school of estate in 2008 from where he established his own real estate company, Way and Life Concepts Limited popularity known as “Money in Bush”.
Adebayo, registered the company as a business name “Way and Life Properties Concepts” in 2007 and it was later changed to Way And Life Concepts Limited when he upgraded it to a limited liability company.
The success of the company is attributed to their philosophy which set them apart from their competitors, according to the CEO, the philosophy of the Way and Life Concepts Limited is “the best way to live a real life is for us to pave way for investors to partner with us while we take care of their portfolio as a real estate manager, we also need to be open to customers and to tell them the nitty grity of the venture and how we are going to go about making their dream come through” he explained.
Reacting to stories making the rounds that many real estates Companies collect money but do not allocate land to their subscribers, Adebayo said it is quite unfortunate that business owners are not transparent. In his words “There is the need to be open in every business. There are challenges and if they have challenges allocating to subscribers they should call for a gathering to address them on what has transpired and the solution and plan to make sure the mess is taken care of, but their not allocating lands to the people and becoming silent or run away is not the solution. Doing that is bringing setbacks to the real estate business.
“Before parting with your money with any real estate agent or developer make sure you do your search to know if the company is registered and is a member of a government registered association. Verifications need to be done when it comes to real estate investment.”He stated.
Talking about the Omo Onile syndrome, Adebayo spoke about the solution to the albatross to the job of real estate. He explained that with his more than a decade experience in the real estate industry, he has been able to not only mastered how to manage the Omo Onile wahala but has also learnt how to relate with Governments simply by recognizing them as a player in the industry.
In his words, “In Nigeria real estate, Omo Oniles are also players in the industry but we have to come into understanding with them and so far this has been helping as they don’t come to disturb our customers”.
Adebayo also explained that they have been able to attract new customers and maintain old ones giving people the opportunity to live the real life and being transparent with their customers and their prospective buyers by exposing the nitty-gritty of the business to them to gain their confidence and thereby improving the real estate portfolio of the investors.
On how they handle issues with governments, he expressed his appreciation to the governments of Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo State for their cooperation and the wonderful relationship they’ve been able to establish, he said their is synergy with these governments as they have good relationship with the Way and Life Concepts Limited from their ministry of Lands to the house committee that oversees land issue in the States.
Way and Life Concepts Limited is currently having housing estate projects available for subscriptions in Shimawa Ogun State, Imota-Ikorodu, Atan-Ota, Ifo and Ibeju Lekki, with a plan to spread the company tentacles to Oyo and Osun State, Adebayo Shodiya explained.
He explained further that one of the easiest ways to acquire land and houses in pocket friendly style is how the company fashioned its installment payment system while giving out heavy discounts to outright payers, he exposed that the company works closely with the clients to come up with a financial plan that will be suitable to both parties.
“We sit down with our customers and make payment plans that will not be difficult for them and us, we also help them build at affordable prices from the foundation level to D.P.C, from D.P.C level to roofing level, from roofing level to external finishings, internal finishings e.t.c. We do this to help our customers in becoming homeowners in the alternative to the cumbersome process of bank loans.
He also said in the case of any investor who dies in course of investment, before the proper handing over of the property to the family who is the next of kin, in his words
“All of our investors have a filled form with us. In the form there is a column for next of kin, this does not mean the property (s)/investment (s) will automatically be transferred to the next of kin but we will get some other details of the investor through the next of kin after which we shall request for an administrative letter from the concern people of the investor. This letter is supposed to be processed from the court of investment/investor’s jurisdiction. This will help us to do a proper investment handover.” He explained.
In dealing with fraudulent people parading themselves as realtors, Adebayo Shodiya calls for due diligence, according to him “You cannot loose totally in real estate investment especially if you have visited the said property site before or during the period of investment.
We presently have private regulatory body and Association who will not cover any fraudulent Estate Company. To avoid the repeat of such, investors need to do their due diligence before parting with their money.”
Responding to issues with allocation, he explained that the company allocates in batches, he stated that “For any of our new projects, we allocate in batches of minimum of 50 to 100 allottees while any of our developing projects produces immediate allocation to individual buyers.
“We have had some cases where we had allocated to so many subscribers while they were still paying in installment, some paid half of the property price, some paid 80% and were allocated. We still plan to repeat such as we kick off our new projects in Simawa, Mowe, Atan-Ota and Ifo areas.” Adebayo revealed.
Our role is to set up every possible mean that will make real estate investment convenient for our prospective customers while the role of our customers and prospects is to be up to date in their payment structure as no business will thrive without exchange of money and consistent activities, Shodiya concluded.
Just In: AIU Lift Nigerian Athlete Tobi Amusan’s Suspension after Tribunal Finds Her Not-Guilty
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has lifted the suspension on Nigerian athlete and 100 meters hurdle world record holder Tobi Amusan after a panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, has today found that she has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.
This was made known in a press release obtained from the website of the AIU, though AIU Head Brett Clothier has indicated the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is disappointed by this decision and will review the reasoning in detail before deciding whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within the applicable deadline.
The decision is currently confidential but will be published in due course, and the statement also reads that Amusan’s provisional suspension has now been lifted with immediate effect.
Amusan who has consistently maintained her innocence and stated that she is a clean athlete. Will now according to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria which has confirmed that Tobi Amusan, the world record holder in the 100m hurdles, has been cleared of the charges. Consequently, she will now proceed to Budapest to defend the significant gold medal she earned last year at the 18th edition of the Championships.
This clearance provides Amusan with the opportunity to defend the only title in her career that she has yet to defend, following her successful retention of her Nigeria, African Championships, African Games, Commonwealth Games, and Diamond League titles.
FG Approves N5bn and 5 Trucks of Rice for Each States and FCT as Subsidy Removal Palliatives
The National Economic Council, NEC, on Thursday said that the Federal Government has approved N5 billion grant to be given to each of the 36 states of the federation for the procurement of grains as well as five trucks of rice to each state as palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
The NEC also approved the distribution of 40,000 bags of maize to be distributed to states.
It also directed the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to distribute food items to states sharing border with Niger Republic over the recent political instability in the country.
These were some of the outcomes of the NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State said the approval of N5 billion and trucks of rice and grains were part of measures to bring temporary solutions to the high cost of living caused by the subsidy removal, as government continued to work with more enduring programmes.
He said the states are to purchase 100,000 bags of rice and beans among other items.
Zulum said that NEC mandated NEMA to distribute food items to state sharing borders with Niger Republic.
On his side, the Governor of Anambra state, Prof. Charles Soludo, said that the review of social register was in progress.
He said Nigeria was already having refugees from Niger Republic, which he said is affecting the distribution of palliatives.
However, the Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, said only N2 billion has so far been given to states instead of the N5 billion approved.
All you Need to know about NNPCL’s $3billion Emergency Crude Repayment Loan from Afrexim Bank
The current economic situation of things in the country especially the planned increase of the fuel price was due to the deep in value of the Naira against the dollar, just yesterday a dollar was exchanged for 972 naira at the parallel market, giving serious need for the government to formulate policy that will help the Naira rally against the dollar and it was this that necessitate the NNPCL to approach the Afrexim Bank to obtain the Emergency Crude Repayment loan and the result seems to be coming in as the Naira appreciated strongly against the dollar as at close of work to the naira gained over 200 naira to close at 752 against the 970 of yesterday morning.
This is an attempt by the president’s aide on New Media O’tega Ogra to answer some questions that might be begging for answers from the public
What is the $3 billion loan about?
The NNPC Ltd. secured an emergency $3 billion crude oil repayment loan from AFREXIM Bank. This is not a crude-for-refined products swap but an upfront cash loan against proceeds from a limited amount of future crude oil production.
Is this loan risky for NNPC Ltd. or the Nigerian Treasury?
No. The exposure for NNPC Ltd. is very limited, covering just a fraction of their entitlements. Additionally, there are no sovereign guarantees tied to this loan.
What’s the benefit of this loan to Nigeria?
The loan will assist NNPC Ltd. in settling taxes and royalties in advance. It will also equip the Federal Government with the necessary dollar liquidity to stabilize the Naira, with limited risk.
How will the loan be disbursed?
The funds will be released in stages or tranches based on the specific needs and requirements of the Federal Government.
Will this affect fuel prices?
A strengthened Naira as a result of this initiative will lead to a reduction in fuel costs. This means that if the Naira appreciates in value, the cost of fuel will drop and further increases will be halted.
What about subsidies? Are they coming back?
No. A stronger Naira will result in lower prices from the current level, making subsidies unnecessary. The deregulation policy remains unchanged.
How will the loan be repaid?
The loan will be repaid against a fraction of proceeds from future crude oil production. It’s a strategic move that ensures a balance between our current economic needs and future production capabilities.
What is the difference between this and previous swap deals?
This is not a crude for refined products agreement where the government does not earn any proceeds from the swap.
Calabar Varsity Female Law Students Protest Sexual Harrassment by Dean
The Law Faculty of the University of Calabar yesterday witnessed an uncommon protest where scores of female students thronged roads on the campus against the dean.
Platforms Africa reports that the female law students are accusing Professor Cyril Ndifon, their dean, of sexual assault.
They brandished all kinds of unprintable phrases and clauses on placards to make their point like;
““Prof Ndifon, let the girls with big breasts breathe, stop suffocating us!!!,”
“We are tired of sucking dicks,” was another boldly scribbled in black ink on a white placard which the students held to express their grievances against Ndifon, according to a video shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.
“Law girls are not bonanza Prof Ndifon should stop grabbing us” reads another placard which a female student waved.
The disgruntled students, majority of whom were female and dressed in the signature white shirts on black skirts, had gathered in front of a storey building presumed to be the law faculty, chanting “go”.
Some staff of the university were seen looking at the students through their windows but it was unclear if the aggrieved students were later addressed.
Ndifon was not a stranger to sexual assault charges as he had previously been suspended by the school management in 2016 for allegedly raping a 20-year-old student in his office, according to a report by Peoples Gazette.
Accompanied by a few of their male counterparts, the female law students said they were not “bonanzas” and that the law faculty was not a “brothel” for Mr Ndifon to keep “grabbing” them.
They insisted that “professor Ndifon must go” for their “sanity.”
Liverpool Owner Allegedly Vow to Report Chelsea to Premier League for Over-Spending
John Henry and other members of FSG were in attendance as Liverpool drew 1-1 against Chelsea on Sunday.
Tribuna’s Felix Johnston reports that the Americans didn’t just fly in to watch the game as they are also set to report some crucial information to the Premier League about Chelsea and their extravagant spending since Todd Boehly’s takeover.
“Liverpool‘s Owners flew in for talks with the Premier League, for clarification Chelsea are being closely looked at with their spending,” reported Johnston.
“Liverpool do not believe Chelsea’s ~£800m spend over the last 3 windows can comply with PL rules.
“Liverpool have prepared information to officially report Chelsea to the Premier League if they get confidence from talks.”
