The report that fear has gripped the private sector in Nigeria, especially the services and technology space, following mass resignation of skilled workforce to seek greener pastures abroad is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Guardian reports that fear has gripped the private sector, especially the services and technology space, following mass resignation of skilled workforce to seek greener pastures abroad.
Findings by The Guardian showed that software, hardware engineers, system integrators, digital marketers, accountants and auditors are dumping high-paying employment in banking, financial technology, education, insurance, manufacturing and teaching as economic opportunities shrink amid rising insecurity.
There is another category of people leaving the country through the education route, driven by lingering industrial action in Nigeria’s universities. Majority of these people head to the United Kingdom and Canada.
The Guardian checks also suggest that most of those who leave the country via the study route, especially those seeking second degrees, only use the pursuit of knowledge as a leeway, as they do not intend to return on completion of their programmes.
As a confirmation of this migration, the United Kingdom immigration statistics as at June 2022, revealed that there were 486,868 sponsored study visas granted (to both main applicants and their dependants), 71 per cent (202,147) more than 2019.
The newspaper says that amid the backdrop of rising uncertainty around the globe, Nigeria managed to pick up a 3.54 per cent growth in the second quarter (Q2) of the year. The Q2 performance is 43 basis points (bps) ahead of the previous quarterly data and a slight top-up of the 3.4 per cent yearly growth projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The outlooks of several regional economies are blunted by rising uncertainty, spiraling prices and geopolitical tensions. These are already pulling growth figures towards the negative territory. For instance, the world’s largest economy contracted by 0.6 per cent in Q2, coming after a steep 1.6 per cent slump in Q1. In the same period, China’s growth waned to 0.4 per cent from 4.8 per cent in the previous quarter, forcing its central bank into monetary easing.
Europe is currently on the brink, fighting to stave off recession. The United Kingdom’s economy shrank 0.1 per cent quarter on quarter in Q2 as its gropes through one of its darkest moments in recent history. Back in Africa, growth data are revealing scanty investments and weak consumer spending amid cost of living crisis that has sent many economies spiraling. This suggests that the Nigerian data, on paper, are not as bad as expected.
But the figures reflect the historical structural imbalances that have endangered the economy’s capacity ultilisation and reduced the country to a consuming economy – a situation that has triggered persistent unemployment and foreign exchange crises. Crude, the mainstay of the public revenue, contributed only 6.33 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) while non-oil retained 93.67 per cent. These figures almost reverse when it comes to budget funding, and this dates back to as far as one can remember.
Last year, the ratio was 92.8per cent:7.2 per cent in favour of non-oil while it was 91.8 per cent:8.2 per cent in 2020. Whereas the non-oil creates the bulk of the jobs and drives outputs, the economy relies on crude, a sector with little impact on the domestic economy, for foreign exchange earnings (about 90 per cent) and public budget funding.
But speaking at the 33rd Seminar for finance correspondents and business editors held concurrently in Abuja and Lagos at the weekend, economists said deliberate efforts must be made to address these imbalances such that both sectors can contribute equally to FX earnings and public revenue. The experts picked RT200 FX Programme and other development roles of the Central Bank as a pointer to likely policy the government could explore to consistently improve the contribution of non-oil to FX earnings.
RT200 FX Programme aspires to raise earnings from semi and fully-processed non-oil exports to $200 billion in the next three to five years. The programme is anchored on five strategic pillars considered key to breaking the barriers to non-oil exports.
At the seminar tagged, Policy Option for Economic Diversification: Thinking Outside the Crude-Oil Box’, a leading economist, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, said the current structure is hostile to inclusive growth, adding that “a cocktail of policy options” must be adopted to break the jinx to position the economy for sustainable growth.
The Punch reports that the Nigerian Government, on Sunday, said it had entered into partnership with the Turkish energy firm, EXIST (Energy Exchange Istanbul), to design a functional trading structure for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, among others.
It said the partnership came on the heels of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc with EXIST to boost cooperation and knowledge exchange between the two countries.
The government said the cooperation agreement, signed between NBET and EXIST at the latter’s campus in Maslak, Turkey, was designed to explore mutually beneficial opportunities for growth between both agencies.
“The cooperation also ties in neatly with NBET’s long-term plan of leading Nigeria’s renewable energy push in line with its mandate,” the government stated in a statement issued in Abuja by the Nigerian electricity trading firm.
It added, “The cooperation agreement covers the transfer of experience and business knowledge, and the design of a functional trading structure for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.”
NBET currently manages a portfolio of over 13,000 megawatts of electricity for Nigeria.
The signing ceremony, according to the statement, was witnessed by the Minister of Finance, who doubles as Chairman of NBET Board of Directors, Zainab Ahmed; NBET’s Chief Executive Officer, Nnaemeka Ewelukwa; and the CEO of EXIST, Ahmet Türkoğlu.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Government received N1.09tn from indirect taxes in the first two quarters of 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
This represents a 10.29 per cent increase from N984.33bn obtained in the first two quarters of 2021.
Indirect taxes are calculated based on current basic prices. They are taxes paid to the government by a producer or retailer and later passed on to the consumer. They include value-added taxes, customs or import duties, among others.
These figures were revealed by the NBS in its recent Gross Domestic Product report where it disclosed that the nation’s GDP grew by 3.54 per cent in real terms in the second quarter of 2022. It also stated that aggregate GDP stood at N45.01tn in nominal terms.
Figures from the GDP data reveal a steady growth of indirect taxes. The taxes grew from N636.19bn in Q1 and Q2 of 2020 to N984.33bn in the corresponding period of 2021, rising to N1.09tn in the same period of 2022.
With dwindling oil revenues, the Federal Government has made attempts to increase its non-oil revenues, especially tax revenues.
In its 2023-2035 Medium Term Expenditure Framework & Fiscal Strategy Paper, the government said, “Revenue generation remains the major fiscal challenge of the Federal Government.
The Punch also reports that after a series of heated discussions, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has decided to extend its ongoing strike.
The PUNCH reliably learnt that the decision was taken after the National Executive Council meeting at the union’s headquarters at the University of Abuja on Monday morning.
The ASUU leadership had called a special National Executive Council meeting to review the six-month-old strike after most of its branches voted for an indefinite boycott of classrooms at their congresses last week.
The congresses resolved for an indefinite strike, following the Nigerian government’s insistence on a no-work, no-pay policy.
GIK/APA