APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The criticisms that trail Nigeria’s large delegation to the COP 28 at the Climate Change Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Guardian reports that no fewer than 1,411 Nigerian delegates registered to participate at the 28th Climate Change Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. That is, the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Though the presidency claimed that not all the delegates were sponsored by the Nigerian government, Obi, in a series of tweets on his X handle, said: “In a twist of sad irony, let me congratulate the giant of Africa, Nigeria, for matching the great China, with the same number of contingents at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nigeria’s contingent to COP28 totaled 1,411, the same number as the Chinese contingents.”
“While China’s budget for 2024 is about $4 trillion, about $2,860 per head; Nigeria’s budget is about $33 billion, about $165 per head. China has a high Human Development Index (HDI), with a ranking of 79 out of 191 countries measured, and Nigeria has a low HDI, with a ranking of 163 out of 191 countries measured. Nigeria has more people living in ‘multi-dimensional’ poverty than China, despite China having seven times our population.
“Most importantly, the vast majority of those in the Nigerian delegation to COP28 are either non-relevant civil servants or relations, friends and hangers-on of high government officials. Most of them hardly understand or have anything to do with climate change.”
He added: “This huge contingent is out at public expense at a time when most Nigerians can hardly afford food and basic needs as a result of economic hardship. I pray earnestly that a day will come soon enough when we can focus on competing with China on productivity and the miracle of migrating the highest number of its citizens out of poverty over a relatively short time.
“As we have kept emphasising, we must stop waste as a tradition of our government and nation. We urgently need to cut the cost of governance and invest in production. We need to de-emphasise unnecessary ceremony and showmanship as a mode of government behaviour. We need to tie spending to necessity and national priority. A new Nigeria is possible. We only need to do the reasonable and the necessary.”
On its part, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) said: “It’s a big shame that Nigeria is attending the international event around the strategic issues of consequences of climate change with such a massive team, thus increasing the impact of fossil fuel on the environment.”
The newspaper says that the Nigeria Labour Congress has pushed for the correct application of tax fairness so that higher-earning individuals and businesses in the nation pay more in taxes than lower-income earners.
The NLC also lamented how the government collects taxes from citizens without taking the demand side into account and enforces regulations more harshly on the supply side.
Speaking at a consultative engagement on “Harmonising Efforts to Strengthen Tax Systems in the Capital Territory and Nigeria”, organised by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, supported by Christian Aid Nigeria in Abuja, Eustace James, NLC Focal Person, said some people expressed concern over the current administration’s approach on tax as drastic that may harm the people.
James, therefore, said there was the need for “a tax justice system in place that ensures that people pay their fair share of taxes, and there is transparency accountability in the administration of taxes.
“The NLC is one of the tax justice and governance platforms that will work with you to play our role and collaborate anytime to ensure that we have a just, transparent, and equitable tax justice in society.
“Big businesses, high-network individuals, and many of them don’t even pay their fair share of what they should pay as taxes. While those who are less trodden, have no control over corporate taxes.
“Government prosecutes more on the supply side, collecting tax from people without putting more emphasis on the demand side,” he said.
He pointed out that to have a tax system that is just equitable, and fair, people must obey their fair share of taxes based on their income also tax has both the demand and the supply side.
The Secretary of the Nigerian Tax Justice and Governance Platform, Chinedu Bassey, expressed regret over the unauthorised tax administrators who tax women disproportionately without proper authorisation adding that the platform wants to guarantee that everyone receives a fair share of the taxes they pay.
The Punch reports that the Federal Government says it will soon commence disbursement of funds under its Presidential Palliative Programme, targeted at alleviating the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.
A statement on Sunday by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, said the programmes consisted of the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme and the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme.
It stated, “In the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme, the Federal Government will disburse a grant sum of N50,000 to nano businesses across the 774 local government areas.
“The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria will collaborate with state and local governments, federal legislators, federal ministers, banks and other stakeholders.
“Eligible nano business beneficiaries should be willing to provide proof of residential/business address in their local government area, and provide relevant personal and bank account information, including Bank Verification Number for verification of identity.”
For the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme, it said, the Federal Government would disburse N75bn to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors, and N75bn specifically to manufacturers.
The newspaper says that the Securities and Exchange Commission and other stakeholders in the capital market have called on the Federal Government to increase its listing of infrastructure bonds instead of savings bonds to meet the infrastructure needs of the country.
This call was made at the 2023 workshop of the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria themed, ‘Leveraging capital market in financing the national development plan’, in Lagos.
In his opening speech at the event, the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda, said, “Effectively harnessing the capital market for national development entails a multifaceted approach.
“This includes deploying more infrastructure bonds, fostering public-private partnerships establishing specialised entities like special purpose vehicles, listing state-owned enterprises, issuing green bonds to support sustainable projects, bolstering small and medium enterprises, championing financial inclusion initiatives, refining the regulatory framework, conducting comprehensive investor education and awareness campaigns, nurturing innovation in financial instruments, implementing robust monitoring.
“By adopting these strategic approaches, governments and market participants can create a dynamic capital market that attracts diverse investments, fuels economic growth, and contributes significantly to national development goals.”
He expressed the commitment of the apex regulator to creating an enabling and regulatory framework supportive of the deepening and development of the Nigerian Capital Market.…’’
GIK/APA