Nigeria: Press spotlights $750m World Bank loan, others

The report that the Nigerian government is pursuing a new $750m loan from the World Bank and may reintroduce previously suspended telecom tax and other fiscal measures is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Punch reports that in pursuit of securing a new $750m loan from the World Bank, the Nigerian Government may reintroduce previously suspended telecom tax and other fiscal measures.
This is according to the Stakeholder Engagement Plan for Nigeria – Accelerating Resource Mobilisation Reforms programme between Nigeria and the World Bank.
A copy of the plan’s document posted on the World Bank website indicated that the government might reintroduce the excises on telecom services, and EMT levy on electronic money transfers through the Nigerian Banking System among other taxes.
President Bola Tinubu in July 2023 ordered the suspension of the five per cent excise duty on telecommunications and the Import Tax Adjustment levy on certain vehicles.
However, it appears that this suspension may be lifted to meet the programme targets for a new, yet-to-be-approved World Bank loan with negotiations ongoing between the government and the World Bank.
The newspaper says that Nigerians on Monday rejected the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s reduction of the tariff payable by Band A customers from N225/kWh to N206.8/kWh.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, electricity consumers and civil society organisations, in separate interviews with The PUNCH, demanded a reversal of the hike to the subsidy era tariff.
The new tariff announced on Monday came 33 days after the NERC raised the electricity tariff for Band A customers from N68/kWh to N225/kWh, representing about a 240 per cent increase.
Subsidy on electricity was withdrawn completely from the tariff of consumers in the Band A category, which constitutes about 15 per cent of the total 12.82 million power consumers across the country.
Based on the tariff hike, the Federal Government said it would save N1.5tn.
The government stated that the decision took effect from April 3, 2024, adding that Band A customers would enjoy up to 20 hours of power supply daily.
However, the House of Representatives, organised labour and the Nigerian Bar Association kicked against the hike in tariff payable by about 1.9 million consumers.
The Vanguard newspaper reports that the drive by the government to raise its non-oil revenue may have come under threat as no less than 4,817 containers fully loaded with export goods are currently trapped at the Lagos port.
Vanguard findings show that out of this, 616 have been abandoned for over three years, thereby worsening the fate of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the export business.
Meanwhile, the shippers and their agents, terminal operators, shipping lines, are now locked in counter accusations over the cause of the delay even as the Nigeria Shippers Council, NSC, has summoned stakeholders’ meeting to address the problem leading to the trapping of the containers.
Following complaints by shippers and their agents over trapped export containers, APM Terminal said that it has convinced shipping giant, Maersk shipping line, to evacuate 1,900 of trapped containers from their facility by Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
This was made known in Lagos over the weekend when the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Shippers Council, Pius Akutah, paid a working visit to APM Terminal.
Explaining the reason for the delay, the Government Relations Manager of APM Terminal, Kayode Daniel, said some of the containers that were allowed into the terminal did not get clearance from Customs to be loaded onboard vessels for export.
According to him, “Despite following all the laid down processes, we still end up with a situation where containers stay in the port longer than expected.”
The newspaper says that for Nigeria to reap maximum benefits from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has identified the ability of local manufacturers to compete around the continent as key to gaining market access under the deal.
Though AfCFTA has not fully taken off, the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) under the trade deal has commenced with the participation of a few countries, excluding Nigeria that is just about to sign off for the guided trade.
GTI was launched in September 2022 to matchmake businesses and products for export and import between interested state parties that have met the minimum requirements for trade under AfCFTA.
Nigerian manufacturers have consistently lamented over various factors that have constrained the competitiveness of the sector, warning that without tackling them the country will be at a disadvantage under the continental trade deal.
Director-General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said that the manufacturing sector has not had the microeconomic and infrastructure support needed for growth and the ability to compete.
He stated: “The manufacturing sector is already beset with multidimensional challenges.
“We now have AfCFTA that gives us the opportunity to compete around the African continent. But if we are not competitive, and we cannot grow the sector within the country, your guess is as good as mine as to the millage in terms of market access that we should be able to enjoy.
“So, I believe the manufacturing sector has good growth prospects, but it needs supportive policies that would aid its growth in all ramifications.
“What local manufacturers are yearning for are supportive policies that will aid the growth and competitive capacity of the country’s industrial sector in all ramifications,” he added.
GIK/APA