APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
President Bola Tinubu’s return to Nigeria on Tuesday after a two-week private visit to Paris, France dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Punch reports that President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday night, returned to Nigeria after a two-week private visit to Paris, France.
The President was received by top government officials, including his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
On Monday through Tuesday, angry youths and women took to the streets of Minna, the Niger State capital and Kano to protest what they described as the rising cost of living in the country. Similar protests also erupted in Ondo State, Nigeria’s South-West.
On Tuesday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, said Tinubu had directed immediate interventions to alleviate the suffering and forestall a further breakdown in security.
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Although the presidency remained silent on the reason for the visit, the Nigerian leader was billed to return “in the first week of February 2024,” a statement announcing his departure on January 24 noted.
The trip was Tinubu’s third to France and his 14th foreign visit since he assumed office eight months ago.
He returns amid protests in some states over the rising food and living costs.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Government is now implementing measures to significantly reduce the cost of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, announced on Tuesday.
Ekpo disclosed this at a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Abuja that had international and indigenous oil companies, major and independent oil marketers, LPG dealers, regulators, among other players, in attendance.
This came as gas producers told journalists on the sidelines of the event that the total gas debts to gas producing firms was now $1.3bn, as this was negatively impacting on investments in the sector.
In his address during the meeting, Ekpo said, told his audience that the Federal Government had decided to focus on three priority areas to ensure sustainable development in the country’s gas sector.
Part of this, according to the minister, include the implementation of measures that would cut down cooking gas price significantly.
He said, “We will intensify efforts to increase upstream gas production, to bridge the significant gas supply gaps which continue to hamper our strategic economic sectors (gas to power and gas-based industries, as well as gas for export).
“It is imperative that we work together to unlock more resources to provide gas for power, gas-based industries, LNG export, and domestic use, fostering economic growth, ensuring energy security and eradicating poverty, which is a cardinal objective of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Guardian reports that the Trade Union Council (TUC), Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), and National Union of Food Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), yesterday, protested at the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) against the ban on manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets.
Vice chairman of TUC, Lagos chapter, Idogen Emmanuel, who led the protest, challenged the government’s decision, denouncing it as a blow to already struggling families.
He flayed the economic policies, saying recent actions, such as subsidy removal and forex regulations, had already created burdens for the populace.
He said: “What we are saying is this, if you say you want to stop sachet alcohol, you will be shutting down many families because millions of Nigerians are working in that factory.
“Tinubu came and removed subsidy, we barely can survive. He regulated the FOREX and for us to source raw material is difficult for our companies already.”
Their anger is also expressed in a document jointly issued by FOBTOB and NUFBTE, addressed to the Director General of NAFDAC. It read: “That singular action alone has sent over 500,000 of our members out of job and into the labour market.
“The labour market, you would agree with us, is already over-saturated as many companies have fled the country due to the harsh and difficult business terrain in Nigeria. Today you have piled more problems on our nation’s economy by sending more people into that same market. This we know does not represent President Tinubu’s agenda for the Renewed Hope.”
The newspaper says that Nigerians spent over $40 billion to access education and healthcare abroad between 2010 and 2020, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Oluyemi Cardoso, disclosed yesterday, noting that the high number of Nigerians in foreign schools and medical tourism are two of the major factors putting pressure on the naira.
He made this disclosure while appearing before the House of Representatives for the sectoral debate on the economy. According to the bank chief, the demand for dollars by these students and those travelling for medicals abroad is hurting the naira. While foreign education expenses amounted to $28.65 billion, the CBN governor said medical treatment abroad incurred around $11.01 billion, an amount that surpasses the total current foreign exchange reserves of the apex bank.
The sectoral debate/dialogue is an initiative of the 10th House of Representatives as part of its periodic Policy Brief Series. In attendance also were Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Planning, Atiku Bagudu; and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji.
Quoting recent data from UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics, Cardoso said the number of Nigerian students abroad increased from less than 15,000 in 1998 to over 71,000 in 2015. According to him, by 2018, the figure had reached 96,702 students and is presently estimated to be above 100,000 students.
“Another report projects the number of Nigerian students studying abroad to exceed 100,000 by 2022. Given this data, it’s crucial to highlight that between 2010 and 2020, foreign education expenses amounted to a substantial $28.65 billion, as per the CBN’s publicly available Balance of Payments Statistics. Similarly, medical treatment abroad has incurred around $11.01 billion in costs during the same period.
“Notably, this amount surpasses the total current foreign exchange reserves of the CBN. Mitigating a significant portion of this demand could have resulted in a considerably stronger Naira today,” he said.
Speaking further, Cardoso explained that the Federal Government spent $58.7 billion on Personal Travel Allowances within the same period and disbursed an additional $9.01 billion to Nigerians for personal foreign travel between January and September 2019. He said his take on medical tourism and education was not to condemn anyone, but to explain the factors putting pressure on the naira.
GIK/APA