LIST OF REASONS

INTRO : Statutory federal allocations to state government coffers in Nigeria are set to rise by 69 percent to N5.54 trillion in 2024, according report by The PUNCH . The 2024 approved budget indicates that states will receive N2.24 trillion more than the N3.3 trillion disbursed in 2023. The revenue distributed during the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meetings to federal, state, and local governments primarily comes from oil exports, taxes, and other statutory allocations.  Revenue allocation generally refers to the distribution of centrally collected funds among different levels of government and within each level for economic purposes. According to Olowononi (2000), as cited in Dang (2013), revenue allocation involves not only the allocation of tax powers but also the arrangements for sharing revenue among the three tiers of government and among the state governments themselves. In Nigeria, revenue allocation is categorized into two types: vertical allocation and ...

INTRO : Vanguard Newspaper in Nigeria reported that the Kano State House of Assembly passed the Kano Emirates Council Law (repeal bill) 2024, repealing the  immediate past Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s Kano Emirate Council Law 2019, Kano State Emir’s Appointment and Deposition Amendment Law 2019 and Kano State Emirate Council Amendment Law 2023, which created five emirates in Kano and paved the way for the deposition of Sanusi. In this regard, the dethroned former CBN Governor, His Highness, Muhammadu Lamido Sanusi II has been reappointed as the Emir of Kano. The question here is why repeal a law? Well, Repealing a law is a significant legislative action that involves the formal revocation of an existing statute. The reasons for repealing a law can be diverse and multifaceted, reflecting changes in societal values, practical considerations, and the evolving legal landscape. The reasons for repealing a law are:  1. We Repeal Laws Because of Obsolescence: One of the primary re...

INTRO :  Punch Newspaper of May 24, 2024 announced that President Bola Tinubu would flag off the construction of the Calabar-Lagos Coastal Highway this Sunday. The question here is why flag off a project? Flagging off a project is a significant milestone in project management, representing the formal initiation of the project and the transition from planning to execution. This process involves several critical steps and conditions that ensure the project is ready to begin and progress smoothly. The following are key reasons to flag off a project, expanded in detail to emphasize their importance and impact on successful project execution. 1. We Flag Off a Project in Order to Announce the Completion of Planning Phase: The completion of the planning phase is one of the most fundamental reasons to flag off a project. This phase involves detailed project planning activities, including defining the project charter, scope, objectives, deliverables, timeline, and budget. A comprehensive...

INTRO:   The sharing of revenue among the three tiers of government in Nigeria has been a contested issue due to the political nature of the exercise. Several attempts made by various administrations to create an acceptable and all-embracing revenue allocation formula for the country are yet to achieve the target result.  We discussed the basics of revenue allocation in Nigeria under the subheadings below. Revenue Allocation Formula in Nigeria: Definition, Formula, History and Types  Meaning: Generally, revenue allocation means  how centrally collected money is shared among different levels of government and within each level for economic purposes. According to Olowononi (2000) quoted in Dang (2013) , revenue allocation is the allocation of tax powers and the revenue sharing arrangements not only among the three levels of government but among the state governments as well. In Nigeria, there are two types: vertical allocation, which involves distributing funds am...

The recent liberation of 386 souls, predominantly women and children, from the clutches of captivity in the forbidding expanse of Sambisa forest, stands as a beacon of hope and valor in Nigeria’s ongoing struggle against the scourge of terrorism. This noble endeavor, christened "Operation Desert Sanity 111," is a tale woven with threads of courage, strategy, and compassion, reflecting the gallant spirit of the Nigerian Army. In the twilight of despair, where shadows of ten years of captivity loomed large, the dawning of freedom brought forth by this rescue mission is nothing short of miraculous. Brigadier General AGL Haruna, the acting General Officer Commanding the 7th Division, heralded this triumph amidst the whispering winds of Konduga's outskirts, as he welcomed the victorious troops returning from their ten-day odyssey of bravery. The operation, a grand symphony of military might and meticulous planning, saw the harmonious collaboration of the 21 Special Armoured Br...

The retraction by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of its directive for banks and payment service providers to collect and remit the cybersecurity levy marks a significant shift in regulatory strategy. This development, articulated in a revised circular dated May 17, 2024, was disseminated to key financial institutions, including commercial banks, payment service providers (PSPs), and non-interest banks. The initial directive, rooted in the Cybercrime Prevention and Prohibition Amendment Act of 2024, mandated financial entities to facilitate the collection and remittance of a national cybersecurity levy. This levy aimed to bolster the nation's cybersecurity infrastructure and defenses. However, the directive faced considerable opposition across the nation, prompting a swift response from the Presidency and the Federal Executive Council. Several factors can be inferred from this situation: 1. Public and Institutional Backlash: The retraction signifies the power of public and instit...

INTRO: Substance abuse and drug abuse are used interchangeably. The two concepts are coterminous but not the same. To be clear,  every drug abuse is a substance abuse but not every substance abuse is a drug abuse. The word abuse features consistently in the two concepts nonetheless, and it has to do with excessive intake, and/or  use without prescription, and/or illegal use, and/or misuse of drugs or substances. I have often been tempted to saying that abuse has something to do with ABnormal USE. A great deal of verities of drugs and substances exist which can be abused such as: Alcohol (wine, gin, beer, whiskey), Prescription Medication (stimulants, sedatives, opioids, tranquillisers), Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs (cough medicines, cold medicines, and motion sickness pills), Illegal Drugs (cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, anabolic steroids, heroine), Club Drugs (ecstasy, ketamine, rohypnol). The reasons for drug and substance abuse which are also considered the causes of...

INTRO:  The rationale behind the creation of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is for investigation, prosecution and prevention of corruption in the public offices in Nigeria towards achieving a Nigeria free from all forms of corruption. The anti-graft institution is a strategy for conscious state actions in the implementation of international conventions against corruption, such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), and also an approach to laundering the shameful image of  Nigeria as a "fantastically corrupt country".  President Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo inaugurated the Commission which prides herself as the apex anti-graft institution in Nigeria, on September 29, 2000 after the Commission was established by the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000 signed into law on June 13, 2000.  The ICPC establishment Act features among other things independence of the Commission, powers of the of...

INTRO:   Aristotle said that man is a political animal. He said the truth. However, it is no less a truth that man is also an economic animal. Economics is a field of study, one of those that have attracted the definitional interests of scholars. A couple of the definitions will concern us here. In his  magnum opus  (greatest work) published in 1776, and titled, Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Wealth of Nations for short), Adam Smith defined economics as an inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. This is a way of saying that economics is a study which focuses on the nature of the wealth of nations, and the study of the things that make nations wealthy. This definition captures the economics of the state in a broad subject of political economy (macro-economics). But then, economics is more than that, including individual persons’ economics (micro-economics). The ability of Professor Lionel Robbins to capture the individuals...

Digital Financial Institutions including Opay, Palmpay and Moniepoint in a report published by Punch Newspaper, May 4, 2024 has issued a caution to their teeming customers against crypto-currency related transactions on their various platforms. The caution was issued not just against crypto currencies such as Bitcoin but also against other digital coins. Mostly via email messages, the Opay, Paga, and Palmpay issued notice that cryto transactions are highly prohibited, and that defaulters' accounts would be closed down. The mobile  money operators actually raised the alert because crypto-currency exchanges are against CBN guidelines to Banks and other financial institutions.  It should be recalled that late last week, CBN ordered a stop to the fintech companies from registering new members. The moratorium against onboarding new customers was not unconnected with weak Know Your Customer (KYC) processes of the digital banks. At about last week too, reports had it that ov...

In a report by The Guardian Newspaper on 3rd May, 2024, Nigerians were informed about the elevation of the deposit insurance ceiling in Nigeria for the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs), Micro Finance Banks (MFBs), and Payment Service Banks (PSBs). The deposit insurance coverage for the DMBs is raised from 500,000 Naira to 5,000,000 Naira which now covers 98.98 percent of the depositors; a 900 percent rise from the last insurance coverage ceiling which covered 89.2 percent.  MFBs and PMBs had an increase of 200,000 Naira to 2 million Naira, and 500,000 Naira to 2 million Naira respectively. PSBs like PMBs had a rise from 500,000 Naira to 2 million Naira only. The limit of the deposit risk insurance coverage was raised because of the recent bank failures in the United States of America and Switzerland which were capable of leading to bank runs and instability in the financial sector of Nigeria.  The Managing Director and the Chief Executive o...

The central government of Nigeria in a plan referenced in Guardian Newspaper of 1st May, 2024 targets to put one million compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles on Nigerian roads by 2027. To that effect, an announcement was made yesterday by the President's Special Adviser on Information and Strategy,  Bayo Onanuga that some 5,600 CNG vehicles and 20,000 CNG conversion kits have been procured by the Federal Government, to the tune of 100 billion Naira ahead of President Tinubu's one year anniversary.  The government at the centre implements this palliative in transportation sector due to the hardships associated with the fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria .  The implementation of the plan however was greeted with criticisms by the players in the automotive industry. The criticisms were two-pronged: First, the time-honoured players in country including PAN Nigeria, Kaduna; ANAMMCO, Enugu;  Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd (IVM), Nnewi; and Volkswagen, Lagos frowne...

Mobile money operators and fintech companies including Opay, Kuda, Moniepoint, and Firmoney have been banned from onboarding new customers by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This Report as contained in Puch Newspaper,  April 30, 2024 was causing panic among the customers of the financial companies.  The apex bank in Nigeria imposed the restriction against the virtual financial institutions because of the ongoing audit of their Know Your Customers (KYC) process. Controversies have trailed the KYC processes of the companies, and the concerns of money laundering via their channels. Since the ban, a great deal of the companies have been reticent except Opay, as reported in Punch, May 1, 2024, that assured their teeming customers that there was no cause for control as everything is under alarm. They expressed readiness in implementing as ever, the CBN guidelines to banks and other financial institutions especially as it concerns strict application of KYC rules. Fintech companie...

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has tightened up money supply in the Nigerian economy with the reduction of the Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR). This, according to Punch of May 1, 2024, was announced by Dr Adetona Adedeji, the Ag. Director, Bank Supervision Department in a podcast titled: Loan to Deposit Ratio Adjustment, uploaded to the Banks website. LDR is now reduced to 50% from the previous 65%. The Bankers' Bank in Nigeria scaled down the percentage of Bank deposits available for loans because of their resolve to arresting the surging inflation in the country.  The apex bank insisted that monetary policies are veritable tools for controlling inflation which is hike in the prices of goods and services due to the circulation of excess money in an economy.  It suffices to say here that Loan to Deposit Ratio is a measure of a bank's liquidity as it concerns the ratio of the bank's loans to their deposits within the same period. This reduced percentage of the LDR peg...