Many Sectors Lifted Strikes Amid Talks with the Government & more –8th June 2023

Bawo Ni from BA ! This is the Rorshok Nigeria Update from the 8th of June twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Nigeria.

Last week we told you how President Tinubu’s announcement of the removal of fuel subsidies did not sit well with many organizations in the country. Transportation costs increased and many agencies went on strike

On Sunday the 4th, the National Union of Electricity Employees became the latest agency to withdraw their services to protest the subsidy removal. However, on Monday the 5th, the Nigeria Labour Congress (or NLC) and Trade Union Congress (best known as TUC) suspended their strikes after their leaders met with federal government representatives.

Shortly after Monday’s sit-down, the national industrial court prevented the NLC and TUC from embarking on the strike. The labor unions said that both sides agreed to establish a joint committee to review the proposal for the minimum wage increase and also establish a framework and timeline for implementation. The TUC said that the minimum wage should be increased from 30,000 naira (about sixty-four dollars) to 200,000 naira (about 430 dollars). The labor unions and the federal government are supposed to meet again on the 19th of June.

As part of additional efforts to contain the nationwide strike by different agencies, President Tinubu appealed to the Joint Health Sector Union (best known as JOHESU) to call off its ongoing indefinite strike. The health workers went on strike to force the government to pay their hazard allowances and meet the salary structure adjustment, among other demands. However, in a meeting on Monday the 5th, Tinubu promised to respond to the demands of the union and resolve all pending issues. A few hours after the meeting, JOHESU called off the strike.

Meanwhile, in Kwara and Edo states, the government has directed the reduction of workdays from five to three to ease the burden on the means of transportation caused by the fuel subsidy removal. On Monday the 5th, the Kwara civil service warned all public servants against abusing the generosity of the governor and not showing up for work. The civil service added that it would intensify the regular monitoring of all agencies to ensure strict compliance. Edo state followed suit on Tuesday the 6th.

In the final transition of federal governance, the terms of Ahmad Lawan in the Senate and Femi Gbajabiamila in the House of Representatives, will end this week. On Monday the 5th, the clerk of the lower legislative chamber notified lawmakers that the House of Representatives will hold its valedictory session on Wednesday the 7th. The next House is expected to be inaugurated on the 13th of June.

Let’s look at the education sector. On Monday the 5th, the Universal Basic Education Commission (best known as UBEC) announced that there are less than 100 percent qualified teachers in primary schools across the country. This is concerning since the federal government spent over fifty-seven billion naira (about 123 billion dollars) in the last thirteen years on teachers’ professional development programs. However, states were not committed to enhancing the capacity of teachers.

The house of representatives committee is investigating the alleged missing forty-eight million barrels of crude oil.

On Tuesday the 6th, the committee summoned Godwin Emiefele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (or CBN), to provide details on the thirty-two billion naira (about sixty-nine million dollars) paid to two companies — Messrs GSCL Consulting and Bizplus — without formal records. The lower chamber is also investigating an alleged payment of 200 million dollars to the firms for “consultancy service”.

The committee also invited the former managing director of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, the auditor-general of the federation, the accountant-general of the federation, the minister of foreign affairs, the managing directors of Exxon Mobil, the Nigeria Agip Oil company, and others.

The lawmakers said that it was important for Nigerians to know why the CBN paid the said amount to the companies, especially when Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, said he didn’t know anything about the payments.

Meanwhile, the business world has been sizzling with controversies and a few achievements

On Tuesday the 6th, Hindenburg Research, a US investment research firm focused on short-selling activism, released a report accusing Tingo Group, a fintech company, of being a scam.

Tingo Group says it has diversified business interests, such as mobile phones, food processing, and online food marketplace for farmers primarily located in Nigeria.

However, the US firm said the group lied about its 1.6 billion dollar food processing plant, as well as some of its partnerships and products. Hindenburg Research said that in its revision on the company’s authenticity with the Nigerian Communications Commission showed that Tingo Group has no record of being a mobile licensee at all, despite company claims of having twelve million mobile customers.

The report said that the group’s website used stock photos of farmers using mobile phones and that a visit to its office in Nigeria revealed that the company had only a few employees and a sign posted on its door by federal tax authorities stating that the company is owing taxes. The owner of the group has also been accused of fabricating parts of his personal and professional history.

In another scam, the aircraft that was unveiled as a Nigeria Air plane does not belong to the country. Recall that we told you how Hadi Sirika, former minister of aviation, unveiled Nigeria Air — the national flag carrier— about three days before the end of former President Buhari’s administration. However, there were many discrepancies as some independent journalists and organizations raised concerns about the authenticity of the aircraft. Speaking to the house of representatives on Tuesday the 6th, Dapo Olumide, CEO of Nigeria Air, said that the aircraft used for the unveiling of the national carrier was a chartered plane from Ethiopian Airlines. Although the plane bore the colours of the Nigerian flag, Olumide clarified that a chartered plane can be painted in any colours you want. He also said that the aircraft was returned to Ethiopia about two days after the unveiling, adding that the necessary procedures for the establishment of a national carrier were not completed before the unveiling.

Let’s look at the good side of business!

BUA Cement Plc has secured a 500 million dollar investment from the International Finance Corporation (best known as IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. On Tuesday the 6th, IFC said that the facility which they have invested in is the largest-ever investment in northern Nigeria. The fund would support BUA in the development of two more cement manufacturing lines in Sokoto state, with a target of 12,000 jobs. According to the IFC, other partners which invested include the African Development Bank, the Africa Finance Corporation, and a German investment corporation.

Speaking on the new investment, Abdul Rabiu, chairman and founder of BUA Group, said the company is delighted to partner with IFC and other esteemed institutions in securing the $500 million facility to develop energy-efficient cement production capacity and contribute to economic and infrastructural development within Nigeria and the greater Sahel region.

To wrap it up, the federal government has introduced some changes in taxes and excise duties following the amendment of the new twenty twenty-three finance act. Although the act became effective on the 1st of May, TheCable, a Nigerian newspaper, reports that the government later amended some aspects of the document and that ex-President Buhari signed the twenty twenty-three finance act into law on the 28th of May — a day before he handed over power to the new administration.

Part of the new amendments now mandate oil companies to give necessary documentation of business transactions for tax filing, and if they fail to do so, they will be fined. The finance act also said that all services under the telecommunications sector are liable to excise tax at rates prescribed by the president. For those who don’t know, an excise tax is a legislated tax on specific goods or services at the time they are purchased. Goods subject to excise taxes could be fuel, tobacco, and alcohol, among others.

Aaaand that's it for this week. You know every week we work hard to pick what the most important stuff is in Nigeria. What's talked about the most, what's big but flies under the radar. All the main stuff. Are we getting the mix right? Not a specific thing we have missed? what types of information do you want more or less of? Let us know at nigeria@rorshok.com

O dabo!