09102019 - 2020: Buhari presents N10.33trn job creation budget to NASS

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019—9
PLEASANTRIES: The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the National
Assembly, Dino Melaye (2nd left) exchanging pleasantries with President Muhammadu
Buhari (right) after the Budget 2020 presentation at the National Assembly, Abuja, yesterday.
FG defends VAT increase, says it’ll
help struggling states
•States to collect 85% of amount collected
By Michael
Eboh
THE
Federal
Government, yesterday,
defended its decision to
increase Value Added Tax,
VAT, rate to 7.5 per cent from
five per cent, stating that the
review should have been
done nine years ago.
Addressing newsmen after
the conclusion of the 25th
Nigerian Economic Summit
in Abuja, Director-General of
the Budget Office, Mr. Ben
Akabueze, disclosed that
prior to 2010, the plan was
HEALTH TIPS
By Sola Ogundipe
Coping with mental illness
Living with a mental illness
is not easy. It’s a consistent
problem without a clear
solution. While treatments
like medication and
psychotherapy are helpful,
sometimes people
experiencing mental health
conditions need to do more
day-in and day-out to feel
good or even just okay.
Finding the right coping
mechanism takes time and
patience, but it can
enormously impact how you
feel. It begins with radical
acceptance - completely and
totally accepting something
from the depths of your soul,
with your heart and your
mind.
Accept yourself. Accept
your condition. Then take the
necessary steps to take care
of yourself.
Breathing is the best way
to calm anxiety really is to
breathe deeply.
Opposite-to-emotion
thinking is how it sounds: You
to effect an increase in VAT
rate and a reduction in
Personal Income Tax, noting
that personal income tax was
increased by the
government in office at that
time, while it failed to effect
an increase in VAT.
He maintained that
Nigeria’s VAT rate was one
of the lowest in the world,
and noted that the poor would
not be affected by the
increase, as most of them
normally have minimal
engagements with goods,
services and platforms where
VAT is charged.
act in the opposite way your
emotions tell you to act. When
you feel anxious, combat that
with something calming like
meditation.
Mental reframing involves
taking an emotion or stressor
and thinking of it in a different
way.
If you’re feeling anxious,
let yourself be anxious for a
couple of minutes—then
meditate.
If you’re feeling angry, let
yourself be angry—then
listen to some calming music.
Be in touch with your
emotions. Accept that you are
feeling a certain way, let
yourself feel that way and
then take action to diminish
unhealthy feelings.
You can’t control that you
have mental illness, but you
can control how you respond
to your symptoms. It takes
strength and persistence to
recover from mental
illness—to keep fighting
symptoms in the hopes of
feeling better.
He further explained that
the Federal Government
had expanded the VAT
exemption list and was
ensuring that only
businesses with turnover of
N25 million and above are
charged VAT, thereby
exempting majority of the
micro and small businesses.
Akabueze also declared
that the planned increase
would not be favourable to
the Federal Government but
to the states, as the VAT Act
mandates that 85 per cent of
VAT collected be disbursed
to sub-national
governments which,
according to him, are
currently struggling.
He said: “The issue of
increasing the VAT rate is a
matter that has been long
settled, about the necessity
to increase it and about the
necessity to improve on
taxation and to do so through
consumption. About nine
years ago, that was
supposed to happen.
"There were two things
that were supposed to
happen simultaneously —
an increase in the VAT rate
from five to 10 per cent and
reduction in personal
income tax. One happened,
while the person who was
supposed to make the other
I've cold because I’m working
very hard, says Buhari
P RESIDENT
Muhammadu Buhari
said, yesterday, he had flu
because he worked very
hard to meet the deadline
of the National Assembly in
submission of the 2020
Budget.
Buhari, who stated this
while presenting the
budget to a joint session of
the National Assembly,
asked the lawmakers and
other dignitaries present in
one happen chickened out.
“We now face down the
road, taking into account the
prevailing circumstances,
the increase has not gone as
far as 10 per cent.
"The Economic Recovery
and Growth Plan, ERGP,
stated very clearly that the
VAT rate would be raised. At
7.5 per cent, Nigeria’s VAT
is still one of the lowest.
“Another important thing to
note is VAT is a consumption
tax. The truth is the
generality of the poor and
vulnerable Nigerians that
people have been shouting
about that the increase would
impact adversely, really have
very minimal engagement
with VAT. Because they
hardly consume the things
or engage with the platforms
where VAT is chargeable.
“In proposing the increase,
two things had happened,
the proposal includes an
expansion of the exemption
list. The VAT Act has an
Exemption list, the one that
exempts certain basic
commodities, food, medicine
and education, but we have
expanded that even to cover
as much as possible, the
things that the poor
consumes.
“The other thing that has
changed, the existing VAT
Act has no threshold for
applicability, which means
technically speaking, even
the woman on the roadside
is supposed to charge VAT."
the lower legislative
chamber to “pardon” him
because his voice was
unclear.
“As you can hear, I have
cold as a result of working
very hard to meet your
deadline,” he said jokingly.
In his remarks, Femi
Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the
House of Representatives,
sympathised with the
president over his cold.
Stop paying salary to
workers not on IPPIS
—Buhari
ABUJA—ANY Federal
Government worker not
captured on the Integrated
Payroll and Personnel
Information System, IPPIS,
by October 31 would not be
paid his monthly salary.
President Muhammadu
Buhari disclosed this during
the presentation of the 2020
budget proposal to the joint
session of the National
Assembly in Abuja,
yesterday.
He said this was one of the
Federal Government’s
efforts at managing
personnel costs in line with
its fight against corruption.
According to him, all
agencies of government
must obtain permission and
follow due process as they
embark on any recruitment
exercise.
He said: “We shall sustain
our efforts in managing
personnel costs.
Accordingly, I have directed
the stoppage of the salary of
any Federal Government
staff that is not captured on
the Integrated Payroll and
Personnel Information
System, IPPIS, platform by
the end of October 2019.
“All agencies must obtain
the necessary approvals
before embarking on any
fresh recruitment and any
contraventions of these
directives shall attract severe
sanctions.”
The president said total
overhead cost for the year
2020 stood at over N400
billion, with additional
provisions for the newly
created ministries.
He added: “Overhead
costs are projected at N426.6
billion in 2020. Additional
provisions were made only
for the newly created
ministries.
“I am confident that the
benefits of these new
ministries as it relates to
efficient and effective service
delivery to our citizens
significantly outweigh their
budgeted costs.
“That said, the respective
Heads of Ministries
Departments and Agencies,
MDAs, must ensure strict
adherence to government
regulations regarding
expenditure control
measures.
“The proliferation of Zonal,
State and Liaison Offices by
Federal Ministries,
Departments and Agencies,
‘MDAs’, with attendant
avoidable increase in public
expenditure, will no longer
be tolerated.”
Buhari said the 2020
budget tagged; “Budget of
Sustainable Growth and Job
Creation,” had a proposed
non-debt recurrent
expenditure of N3.6 trillion,
covering personnel and
pension costs.
“The non-debt recurrent
expenditure includes N3.6
trillion for personnel and
pension costs, an increase of
N620.28 billion over 2019.
“This increase reflects the
new minimum wage as well
as our proposals to improve
remuneration and welfare of
our Police and Armed
Forces."
Catholic Bishops, priests
condemn Jukun-Tiv crises,
suggest ways to end bloodletting
J OS—CATHOLIC
Bishops and priests of
Abuja and Jos Ecclesiastical
provinces have condemned
the Jukun-Tiv crises that have
claimed many lives.
The clerics in a
communiqué after a meeting
at Centre for Dialogue,
Reconciliation and Peace,
DREP, Jos, yesterday,
suggested ways to end the
bloodletting.
The meeting, which was
chaired by Most Archbishop
Ignatius Kaigama, Apostolic
Administrator of Jos, and
Coadjutor Archbishop of
Abuja, said that nobody was
spared in the unfortunate
situation.
The communique said:
“We condemn the use of
arms by our Christians and
any other persons against
one another.
“We equally condemn
those who commit atrocities
on account of tribal
differences or in the name of
the struggle for economic or
political control.
“We bemoan the
deplorable situation and the
frustration our people have
been reduced to in the face
of these crises.
“The inter-ethnic clashes
in our region have indeed
erupted and affected Idoma,
Tiv, Igala, Ogoja, Hiking,
Kuteb, Also, Eggon, Agatu,
Agila and Ngbo in Ebony
State.”
The body called on the
church as well as
government to employ
services of historians,
anthropologists, security
agents, boundary
demarcation experts,
constitutional experts and
neutral international bodies
(ECOWAS, AU, UN) to
resolve the claims and
counter claims.
They also called on
dioceses with the
ecclesiastical jurisdictions to
create avenues where issues
of insecurity and the dangers
of crises would be discussed
to sensitise the people.
According to them,
traditional rulers should rise
beyond their desire for peace
but also work for peace.
News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) reports that seven
other Catholic Bishops were
in attendance.