Economy

No Plan to Increase Taxes—FG

Published

9 years ago

15/02/2017

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udoma Udo Udoma, has disclosed that the Federal Government does not have any intention to increase taxes but is working towards increasing its internally generated revenue through the broadening its tax base.

Mr Udoma made this disclosure while responding to a comment by Senator Ben Bruce at the public hearing of the Joint Session of the National Assembly on the 2017 Budget.

The Minister said “a view has been expressed that we should not increase taxes, that we should broaden tax collection instead, that is precisely what is in the budget.”

Senator Bruce had given the impression that the Federal Government was about to increase taxes, a development he said will further worsen the economic fortunes of individuals and businesses, but the Minister said “there is no increase in VAT, there is no increase in company’s income tax, there is no increase at all in taxes, but people who are not paying taxes must be made to pay.

“So the idea is to increase revenue by broadening the tax base, not by increasing taxes.”

Some economic experts who spoke at the session had advocated government spending its way out of recession, partnering the private sector to speed up growth, planning for sustainable development, working with the state governments for integrated development, involving relevant experts and consulting widely in planning, monitoring and evaluation projects, among others.

The Minister told the gathering, which also included Civil Society Organizations and private sector operators, that virtually all the views expressed by the speakers have been captured in the 2017 Budget.

“The concerns that have been expressed are reflected in the budget. The need to spend our way out of recession is reflected in the budget. The need to spend in a way that will attract private sector spending is also reflected in the budget.

“Indeed, the thrust of the budget is to partner with private and development capital to leverage and catalyse resources for growth,” Mr Udoma stated.

He said government realized that public resources cannot be enough to drive the development process which is why the 2017 Budget is directed at catalyzing private sector resources and using PPP for a number of projects.

“If you look at housing we are putting in N100 billion but we are expecting another N900 billion from the private sector. If you look at the EPZ, we are putting in N50 billion but we are expecting a huge injection of funds from the private sector.

“So, this budget is aimed at achieving economic growth, aimed at achieving diversification, aimed at improving our competitiveness, aimed at improving ease of doing business, aimed at creating more jobs and social inclusion, and aimed at improving governance and security.”

According to him, the spending is targeted at areas that have quick transformative potentials such as infrastructure and agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals, services and so on. The Minster pointed out that the present government believes in planning.

“When we came in, we came out with a document – the Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 Budget of Change. We set out short term plans for one year. We started working on a longer term plan for four years 2017 -2020; and that involved extensive consultation”.

On partnership with State governments, the Minister told the audience that the Federal Government has consulted severally with State governors and with Commissioners of Planning in all the states.

“We are working closely with the States. We even organized a Retreat in February 2016 with all the States. In all our initiatives we are working with the States.

“On Agriculture we are working with the States; we even have task forces that involve State governors. So, we are working together with the States.”

Speaking on the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, Senator Udoma said government consulted the private sector extensively.

“Indeed, just last week we met twice with captains of industry and members of the private sector to sit down and expose the plan to them and get their input.

“We are going to Council soon and subsequently the plan will be launched before the end of the month“.

The Minister said because government has bold plans which are tailored towards pulling the country out of recession, investors are changing their attitude towards Nigeria.

“People have heard of our plans; they have seen the plan because we have had extensive consultations with our development partners – with the World Bank, with IMF, with UNDP.

“They have all been exposed to our plan and we have shown them what we are determined to do, that is why people are believing in Nigeria and investing in the Eurobond.”

He was emphatic that government has a clear vision and is on a determined path to get the economy out of recession.

“We are determined thereafter to begin to go back to the path of growth, a more diversified growth, not depending just on crude oil. We want to stimulate our manufacturing sector, we want to stimulate agriculture; so we have a coherent, cohesive plan.”

The Minister of State, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said government is determined to ensure that Nigerians experience inclusive growth this time around “which is why we have the social intervention programme.

“The social intervention programme took off fully in October 2016 and all the four components of the SIP have now been rolled out in their first Phases and we are scaling up on a monthly basis,” she said.

She added that the programme will benefit greatly from the support of the National Assembly to be able to ensure that the benefits are distributed equitably and that no needy citizens are missed out.

Economy

Customs Street Chalks up 1.08% on Renewed Buying Pressure

Published

2 hours ago

06/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A 1.08 per cent growth was further printed by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday on improved appetite for Nigerian stocks.

Data showed that the insurance sector lost 0.61 per cent yesterday due to profit-taking as the energy space gave up 0.08 per cent, while the commodity counter closed flat.

However, the industrial goods landscape appreciated by 2.06 per cent, the banking index improved by 1.31 per cent, and the consumer goods sector expanded by 0.83 per cent.

At the close of business on Customs Street, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,563.92 points to 147,040.07 points from 145,476.15 points and the market capitalisation went up by N996 billion to N93.722 trillion from N92.726 trillion.

UAC Nigeria led the advancers’ log yesterday after it grew by 10.00 per cent to N96.80, Transcorp Hotels jumped by 9.71 per cent to N172.80, Royal Exchange appreciated by 8.89 per cent to N1.96, Ikeja Hotel soared by 8.74 per cent to N31.10, and Veritas Kapital leapt by 8.07 per cent to N1.74.

On the flip side, Union Dicon declined by 10.00 per cent to N6.30, ABC Transport slipped by 9.88 per cent to N3.10, AXA Mansard depreciated by 7.19 per cent to N12.90, FTN Cocoa lost 4.62 per cent to trade at N4.75, and Guinea Insurance dropped 3.36 per cent to finish at N1.15.

A total of 38 stocks ended on the gainers’ table and 17 stocks finished on the losers’ table, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

Traders transacted 361.6 million equities for N14.8 billion in 21,051 deals yesterday versus the 1.9 billion equities worth N19.2 billion traded in 23,369 deals a day earlier, showing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 80.97 per cent, 22.92 per cent, and 14.20 per cent, respectively.

The busiest stock for the session was Zenith Bank with 59.5 million units worth N3.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 46.1 million units valued at N973.0 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 29.4 million units for N560.4 million, FCMB transacted 27.9 million units worth N293.9 million, and Tantalizers sold 13.0 million units valued at N29.8 million.

Economy

Nipco, 11 Plc Crash OTC Securities Exchange by 4.76%

Published

3 hours ago

06/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Energy stocks influenced the 4.76 per cent loss recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, December 5.

The culprits were the duo of 11 Plc and Nipco Plc,with the former shedding N32.17 to end at N291.83 per share compared with the previous day’s N324.00 per share, and the latter down by N21.00 to sell at N195.00 per unit versus the previous session’s N216.00 per unit.

Consequently, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slumped by 170.16 points to 3,401.37 points from 3,571.53 points and the market capitalisation lost N101.81 billion to close at N2.035 billion from the N2.136 trillion quoted in the preceding session.

The OTC securities exchange suffered the decline yesterday despite the share prices of three companies closing green.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was up by N1.80 to close at N39.80 per share compared with Thursday’s price of N38.00 per share, Air Liquide Plc appreciated by N1.09 to N11.99 per unit from N10.90 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 78 Kobo to N56.57 per share from N55.79 per share.

During the session, the volume of transactions rose by 6,885.3 per cent to 18.2 million units from 4.3 million units, the value of transactions ballooned by 10,301.7 per cent to N389.7 million from N347.2 million, but the number of deals declined by 29.7 per cent to 26 deals from 37 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units valued at N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units worth N4.2 billion.

InfraCredit Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.9 million.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,450/$1 at Official Forex Market

Published

4 hours ago

06/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated further against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, December 5, as FX demand pressure mounts.

The Nigerian currency lost N2.60 or 0.18 per cent against the greenback to close at N1,450.43/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.83/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency declined against the Pound Sterling in the official forex market during the session by N4.48 to trade at N1,935.45/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,930.97/£1 and shrank against the Euro by 43 Kobo to end at N1,689.17/€1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N1,688.74/€1.

Similarly, the local currency performed badly against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to close at N1,455/$1 versus Thursday’s N1,453/$1 but traded flat at the parallel market at N14.65/$1.

As the country gets into the festive period, pressure mounted on the local currency reflecting higher foreign payments and lower FX inflows.

However, there are expectations that the Nigerian currency will be stable, supported by interventions by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the face of steady dollar Demand and inflows from Detty December festivities that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month.

Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450/$1 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.

As for the crypto market, it was down yesterday due to profit-taking associated with year-end trading. However, the December 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation by the University of Michigan fell to 4.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent previously and 4.5 per cent expected. The 5-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation fell to 3.2 per cent from 3.4 per cent previously and 3.4 per cent expected.

With the dearth of official economic data of late, these private surveys have taken on a new level of significance and the market banks of them to make decisions.

Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.7 per cent to $0.4142, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 5.1 per cent to $0.1394, Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 3.9 per cent to $3,039.75, Solana (SOL) declined by 3.8 per cent to $133.24, and Litecoin (LTC) fell by 3.7 per cent to $80.59.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.6 per cent to sell at $89,683.72, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 2.2 per cent to $883.59, and Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.1 per cent to $2.04, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.