For the first time in 19 years, Nigeria has made its first full payment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) levy as a member of the regional bloc. On December 13, 2024, Nigeria paid the sum of N85.54 billion and $54 million for its 2023 levy and part of its 2024 levy. This payment was made known by Omar Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission during the 66th ordinary summit of ECOWAS in Abuja on Sunday. The ECOWAS Commission President described the payment by Nigeria as a vote of confidence in ECOWAS and a demonstration of Nigeria’s…
Author: Michael Chibuzo
The ranks of the crisis-ridden Labour Party has continued to shrink following a spate of defections that have hit the party. Today, on the floor of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ajang Iliya, who is the member representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, has officially left the Labour Party, to join the All Progressives Congress, APC. Hon. Ajang Iliya cited leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party as reason for his defection. He becomes the sixth Labour Party House of Representatives member to dump LP for APC in the past one week. On 5th December, four lawmakers from the Labour Party…
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has revealed that the pilot phase of the Presidential Power Initiative also known as the Siemens power deal has so far increased the wheeling capacity of the transmission company of Nigeria by 750MW. He said that an additional 150 megawatts (MW) of electricity would be added to Nigeria’s national grid before the year ends. Adelabu who spoke to journalists after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at the presidential villa said to that the pilot phase of the presidential power initiative (PPI) has reached 80% completion and the…
By Michael Chibuzo On 7th July 2023, just over a month after assuming office, President Bola Tinubu appointed a tax and fiscal policy expert, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele to head a Presidential Committee he established to work on fiscal policy and tax reforms. On August 8, the Committee was inaugurated by the President and given its terms of reference which include deep reforms of various aspects of Nigeria’s tax laws, fiscal policy design and coordination, harmonisation of taxes, and revenue administration. The Committee, in the first instance, was expected to deliver a schedule of quick reforms that can be implemented within…
By Michael Chibuzo As the temperature of the debate around the landmark tax reform bills sent to the national assembly by President Bola Tinubu increases exponentially, so also is the amount of misconception and misinformation around the bills, some of which are quite deliberate, I must add. It is for this reason that I want to chronicle the top 10 misinformation about the bills being peddled around by mostly uninformed and sometimes mischievous commentators. 1. The Tax Reform Bills will increase tax burden on poor people: This is definitely not true. The Nigeria Tax Bill in section 58 and the…
By Dada Olusegun President Bola Tinubu as part of his global diplomatic shuttles to seek out more development opportunities for Nigeria through forging of partnerships with other nations, undertook a state visit to France. President Tinubu’s trip to France was the first State Visit by a Nigerian President to France in 24 years and it signalled an evolution of relations between Nigeria and Europe’s third-largest economy, France. During the two-day state visit, Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron led their respective countries’ delegations to negotiate and sign far-reaching mutual agreements across multiple areas of cooperation at…
As speculations mounted in some quarters regarding the MoU signed between Nigeria and France in the area of solid minerals development, the Presidency has come out to clarify that France is not taking over Nigeria’s mining sector, solid minerals or security rights. During President Bola Tinubu’s recent state visit to France, Nigeria and France signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop joint projects to promote and diversify both countries’ critical minerals value chains in the solid minerals sector. This sparked off the speculations. However, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, in a…
By Nathaniel Adoji In an era where terrorism and transnational crime remain pervasive global threats, Nigeria is taking a proactive stance against insecurity. The Honourable Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle MON, recently underscored the country’s commitment with a strategic visit to Saudi Arabia. The visit, centered on engagements with the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), marked a crucial step in reinforcing Nigeria’s role in global counterterrorism efforts and securing international cooperation in the fight against insecurity. As the world grapples with heightened terrorist activities, Nigeria has made notable strides in combatting insurgency and criminality. Recent…
Nigeria’s economy has economy has continued its growth amidst ongoing structural reforms embarked upon by the Tinubu administration. According to the report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.46 percent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024. The NBS, in the GDP report noted that the growth rate is higher than the 3.19 percent recorded in Q2 2024. It also added that the Q3 2024 growth rate is higher than the 2.54 percent recorded in the third quarter of 2023. According to NBS, in the third quarter of 2024,…
By Bola Tinubu and Emmanuel Macron In the present era, international relations are often framed as if there were only two possible outcomes for States: to dominate, or to be dominated; to vassalize, or to be vassalized. Nations are supposed to make a choice in favour of this or that hegemon, this or that bloc. The lesson we are learning from our experience as Heads of State of two countries whose bilateral relationship has been deepening over the last twenty-five years is quite different. From our shared perspectives, we can very confidently say that we see our relationship as a…