Press zooms in on why ex-President Buhari delayed removal of petrol subsidy, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that former President Muhammadu Buhari, broke his silence on the petrol subsidy removal ‘challenge’ he left for his successor, saying, had the policy been implemented, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Bola Tinubu would have lost the election dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Guardian reports that former President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, broke his silence on the petrol subsidy removal ‘challenge’ he left for his successor, saying, had the policy been implemented, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Bola Tinubu would have lost the election.
In a statement through his former spokesman, Garba Shehu, Buhari, however, commended steps by the new administration in removing the subsidy and attempt to unify naira exchange rate.
Shehu said the statement was in response to queries by some critics who have questioned why it took Tinubu only weeks to remove the subsidy, which Buhari didn’t do for several years.
According to him, successive polls indicated that the ruling party would have lost the 2023 election, if the Petroleum Industry Act, containing the petrol subsidy removal, was implemented earlier.
In the statement, titled ‘Buhari Didn’t Fail To Remove Subsidy’, Shehu wrote: “Why did it take the new Tinubu/Shettima presidency weeks to remove the petrol subsidy, when Buhari didn’t do so for years — fails to ask the right question.
“The massive electricity subsidy, the fraudulent fertiliser subsidy, Hajj/Christian pilgrim subsidies…Remember them? The diesel subsidy, the aviation fuel subsidy, LPFO, kerosene, cooking gas and the other subsidy policies we found in place and put them firmly on the ground…Remember them?
“For those with short memories, many of those subsides were all in place when President Buhari was elected to office in 2015: all those in place were gone by May 2023 – including the yearly fertiliser subsidy that weighed N60-N100 billion (that’s a trillion naira in about 10 years – yes, you read that right) heavy on the federal budget each year.
“So, no. Buhari didn’t remove the petrol subsidy – but in vitally important stages, he removed every other budget-busting, egregious, economic-growth-crushing
The newspaper says that the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has reiterated the call for “re-globalisation,” saying deglobalisation poses an enormous risk to developing countries, including Nigeria.
She added that global prosperity would be adversely affected if trade is allowed to fragment into rival blocs.
Speaking at the 13th World Chambers Congress, she told business leaders that the current multilateralism serves global interest though it needs urgent reform.
Held every two years, the World Chambers Congress brings together participants from around the world to address common challenges that shape the activities of chambers of commerce and businesses.
According to the country’s ex-minister of finance, rising geopolitical tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing war in East Europe, climate shocks and the resulting disruptions to trade have spiked concerns about whether the multilateral trading system still works.
“The WTO has made things better for business,” she insisted, citing the Information Technology Agreement eliminating tariffs on almost $3 trillion worth of trade, the Government Procurement Agreement opening up more than $1.7 trillion in yearly public contracts and the Trade Facilitation Agreement that cuts red tape and make it cheaper as well as faster to move goods across borders.
Nevertheless, the WTO’s dispute settlement system still needs fixing to provide the certainty business needs, she noted.
In addition, she said, keeping the WTO fit for purpose for the 21st-century economy requires updating the organisation’s rulebook, particularly, with digital trade, she said.
“The future of trade is services, its digital, it’s green and it has to be inclusive,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
She warned that a decoupling of the world economy into two rival blocs would lower long-run global GDP by over five per cent, with developing and least-developed economies at greater risk.
“We must push back against the pressures for global economic fragmentation, which would be costly and could well weaken supply resilience,” the WTO DG said.
The Punch reports that the World Bank Group has approved a loan of $500m to help Nigeria drive women’s empowerment, The PUNCH has learnt.
This became the second loan approved by the World Bank under the new President, Bola Tinubu.
It is a scale-up financing for Nigeria for Women Programme, which was initially approved on June 27, 2018, with $100m financing.
A statement by the World Bank read in part, “The World Bank has approved $500m for Nigeria for Women Program Scale Up (NFWP-SU). The scale-up financing will further support the government of Nigeria to invest in improving the livelihoods of women in Nigeria.
“The NFWP-SU will help to ensure better economic opportunities for women, which is essential for addressing gender inequality; guaranteeing better education, health, and nutrition outcomes for families; and building women’s and communities’ resilience to climate change.”
The World Bank stressed the need for the government to address issues that inhibit women’s economic empowerment and hinder inclusive, low-carbon, and resilient economic growth.
It noted that women’s empowerment is essential to their ability to build resilience to climate change and, by extension, the resilience of their households and communities.
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, was quoted as saying, “We have seen promising outcomes from the parent NFWP which has helped to create economic opportunities for thousands of rural women through the Women Affinity Groups. NFWP’s model is helping to improve livelihood opportunities for women and enhancing their capacity to adapt to climate change and to participate in local administrations for policymaking related to community empowerment.
“Closing the gender gap in key economic sectors could yield gains of between $9.3bn and $22.9bn, we are optimistic that this scale-up will help Nigeria to move closer to bridging this gap.”
The newspaper says that in commemoration of the 2023 World Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Day, Vice President Kashim Shettima, has announced the Federal Government’s commitment to facilitating swift access to single-digit loans for Nigerian small businesses.
The Vice President disclosed this in a statement issued by the Director of Information, Office of the Vice President, Olusola Abiola, on Tuesday.
The VP recognises the crucial role of MSMEs in driving economic growth, job creation, and innovation.
Shettima emphasised the government’s dedication to providing support, creating an enabling environment, and improving financial access for MSMEs, particularly during these challenging times.
“While acknowledging the challenges faced by MSMEs due to subsidy removal, he assured stakeholders that the government is working diligently to ensure expedited access to single-digit loans for Nigerian small businesses.
“We remain committed to providing support, fostering an enabling environment, and improving access to finance for MSMEs, especially in these unprecedented times.
“We urge all stakeholders to come together to champion the growth and success of MSMEs to achieve sustainable development for all, while we also recognise the plethora of issues that face MSMEs as a result of the subsidy removal, however, the government is working urgently to ensure quick access to single digit loans for Nigerian small businesses within the shortest time possible,” the statement read.
He further emphasised President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s partnership with MSMEs and commitment to facilitating their success.
GIK/APA