19092022

“We have met the enemy and they are [our own
people]” - O H Perry, 1785-1819, Vanguard Book
of Quotations, P. 48
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi
Sirika, is increasingly creating
an image of a man who can have big
dreams for Nigeria; but, who ends
up with nightmares.
As one of his strongest supporters
on his two major initiatives – Nigeria
Air and Airport Concession – it is
becoming clear that none of those
objectives will be achieved by the time
the Buhari administration comes to
a dreary end in 2023.
With Nigeria Air, our Honourable
Minister has created a situation
which is akin to the tail wagging the
dog. Otherwise, how does one
characterise a company in which the
shareholder with two per cent stake
in the business brazenly appoints the
Managing Director? Nigeria Air is
heading for a crash before its maiden
flight – taking billions of Naira and
unknown amount of dollars down
with it.
However, if ever there is a glaring
case of highly-placed Nigerians
working in the national interest, the
way the Ministries and Agencies of
the Federal Government working on
airports concession provides a clear
example. Regular readers of this
column must be aware that I have
taken a keen interest in the FG’s plan
to concession four airports – Abuja,
Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt
international airports. They also
happen to be the only really viable
airports in the country. Almost all
the state-owned airports are
shedding red ink on their balance
sheets.
The FG, in another fit of absentmindedness
recently acquired the
moribund Gombe airport. Such
irrational acquisition of more liability
by an “Almajiri Government” –
defined as one going about with a
begging bowl, summarises why
Nigeria will certainly be worse in 2023
than in 2015. No modern President
runs government on sentiments
on ethnic considerations. If
Buhari is looking for ailing
airports to acquire, he can have
a choice among the likes of
Ibadan, Akure, Minna and Asaba
– among others littering the
Nigerian landscape. The only
time Minna airport comes alive
is when dignitaries visiting
Babangida fly in with private
jets. There is no regular flight
scheduled for that airport.
It has always been my position,
one which all patriotic Nigerians
should endorse, that if we must
concession the airports, then
Nigerians must have the right
of first refusal. As a matter of
fact, I will go further. Nigerians
must control those airports; first
on account of their strategic
military importance and second
because they will generate
foreign exchange. To give away
four foreign exchange mints to
foreigners is the worst sort of
idiocy imaginable.
I even contacted several state
governors, especially those whose
states are directly affected – Lagos,
Kano and Rivers – in a bid to enlist
their support for the idea of ensuring
that Nigerians gain control.
Shockingly, even those blowing hot
about their love for Nigeria ignored
the call. Now, the airports are nearing
concession, and it has taken an NGO
and unelected Nigerians to go to
court in order to put a stop to the
unpatriotic intentions of Nigeria’s
officials – especially in the Ministry
of Justice; which is now swimming
in scandals from Paris Club refund to
Ajaokuta Steel contract settlement.
Saved by the smell; enter our
saviours
“Group sues FG over airport
concession bid irregularities” - News
Report.
I almost missed the report; which
was tucked into the innermost pages
of a national newspaper. There it was,
a group of patriotic Nigerians, under
the aegis of Centre for Transparency
and Defence of Human Rights,
continues from page 19
leakages. Budget benchmark for exchange
rate should be reviewed upwards”.
Let there be tax
harmony – FIRS boss
Appearing before the Senate Public
Hearing on the 2023 Medium
Term Economic Framework
(MTEF), last week, the Executive
Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue
Service (FIRS), Mr. Muhammad
Nami, condemned the existence
of what he called “fragmented
tax systems and agencies.”
He stated: “In Nigeria we have 774
Local Governments, each of them
have a tax authority; each of the 36
States, too, have revenue authorities
with their respective mandates; then
we have the FIRS and Customs.
What I would advise for efficiency
and to do things in line with global
best practices, is that we should
Airport concession:
Unpatriotic Nigerians
at work again
amend our tax laws to harmonise
the tax agencies and tax system.
“With this, when the FIRS, for instance
visits ‘Company A,’ it can serve
one assessment on the company, and
Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 — 21
Shareholders unhappy with fiscal, monetary policies
By Peter Egwuatu
Equity investor group under
the aegis of Independent
Shareholders Association of
Nigeria (ISAN) have expressed
displeasures with the Federal
Ministry of Finance and the
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,
over the policy impacts on the
economy.
According to them, “There is
obvious need for the two bodies
to use the instrumentality of the
monetary and fiscal policies to
stem the ravaging hunger and
privation in the land.”
Speaking through its National
Co-ordinator, Dr Anthony
Omojola, the group said their
advise is that the monetary and
fiscal authorities should emulate
other nation’s across the world by
introducing palliatives such as
un-banning of certain vital food
imports temporarily, granting
tariff relief to certain industries
and reducing taxes for some
sectors.
According to him the
government would be deceiving
itself if it fails to acknowledge the
poverty ravaging Nigerians,
arising from the war in Europe
as well as the devastating
insurgency and insecurity in
Nigeria.
He said the situation was
worsened by food crisis,
education crisis, the fuel crisis,
debt crisis and the massive ongoing
theft in the oil and gas
sector that have ensured the
country missed the global
windfall for oil and gas
producers.
He said: “OPEC has increased
its quota thrice since the Russia-
Ukraine war but we are unable
to benefit yet, and we have debts
to pay”.
ISAN maintains that the
government should eliminate
corruption in the system;
Duplication of charges and taxes;
and where certain sectors of the
CTDHR, has dragged the FG to
court “over alleged irregularities
in the bid process for the Murtala
Mohammed International
Airport, MMIA.” I will come to the
substance of the charges shortly.
But, a comment is necessary
before proceding.
I certainly hope the allegation is
untrue; because, if it is true, it will
prove once again that Nigerian
government officials cannot be relied
upon to conduct any business
transaction involving tons of money
without the ever-present stench of
corruption. National interest is never
the motivation for them to do a
commendable job. They must leave
grave doubts about their honesty.
This particular suit actually points
accusing fingers at the Federal
If ever there is a
glaring case of
highly-placed
Nigerians working
in the national
interest, the way the
Ministries and
Agencies of the
Federal Government
working on airports
concession provides
a clear example
economy are being over taxed,
those sectors should be helped.
He stated: “FG has to un-ban
those food products like wheat,
corn etc that are essential so that
there maybe food adequacy. Bread
Ministry of Justice – headed by
Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN. The
Attorney-General for the
Federation, AGF, is already
involved in three other
controversial businesses – the
lack of transparency in
accounting for items forfeited to
the FG and Abacha loot, the Paris
Club Refund to states and the
Ajaokuta Scheme or scam
(depending on how you look at
it).
Irrespective of which of these you
choose to study, you have to hold
your nose on account of the rot you
will encounter.
Now, let us return to the allegation
levelled against the FG by CTDHR.
The group is urging the court to
disqualify two of the companies, TAV
Airport and GMR Airport Limited for
dishonesty and misrepresentation.
The two companies, contrary to the
requirements of the bidding process,
are owned by the same company –
Airport De Paris, ADP. The attention
of the AGF was drawn to this
infraction as far back as June.
The Minister of Justice still
qualified bidders. The court will
eventually decide on that. I will
be watching closely.
Instead, I want to pay tribute
to Mr Kunle Edun, Executive
Director, CTDHR, and his
colleagues for saving Nigeria
from a fate worse than death –
metaphorically speaking. Senior
Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, or
for instance is going out of reach
of the masses as a result of wheat
shortages. But the fear by
government is obviously that
imports may negatively effect our
exchange rate and further de-value
Shareholders in CWG to get dividends next year
By Nkiruka Nnorom
CWG Plc has indicated its
readiness to commence
dividend payment at the end
of 2022 financial years after
years of non-dividend
payment given the positive
momentum being witnessed in
the company as well as
strategic innovations already
put in place by the current
management to boost the
company’s earnings.
The company’s Group
Managing Director/CEO, Mr.
Adewale Adeyipo, made the
pledge at the press briefing to
announce the commencement
of the company’s 30th
anniversary, in Lagos.
Speaking at the meeting,
Adeyipo said that revenue to
be generated from its to be
launched Fintech subsidiary
- Fifthlab - would drive
CWG’s income stream going
into the future as the earnings
would be recorded to CWG,
adding that the focus of the
current management in the
last three years has been to
their equivalents elsewhere,
apart from being learned, are
also supposed to be men of
integrity and patriotic. They are
also presumed to be highly
intelligent. It is baffling to me that a
Nigerian SAN cannot see that it is
not in our national interest to
concession our airports to foreigners.
What happens if in the future the
US and EU decide to ask all their
companies operating in Nigeria to
withdraw; as they did with Russia?
ADP will leave abruptly and there
will be nobody to manage our four
international airports. Does that
make sense to anybody sane? And,
to aid foreigners, who should not be
bidding, to circumvent due process,
goes beyond our run of the mill
dishonest practices. This is almost
treasonable.
Meanwhile, information at my
disposal indicates that only the
MMIA might be offered to foreigners;
and some highly-placed Nigerians
have acquired shares in the foreign
bidders favoured for MMIA. That is
another development being
investigated. Could ADP be one of
those?
Another prediction coming true
Prophecy is a gift; nobody can fake
it or buy it. I made a prediction earlier
this year, at a gathering of young
Nigerians, where we were discussing
airport concessions. I told the young
men and one young lady present that
unless the Buhari administration is
prepared to hand the airports over
to Nigerians, then this government
will not be the one to do the
concession. Two of those present
asked me why I could be so sure. I
declined to reveal why at the time.
Now I can.
CTDHR only beat another group
to the punch. They are almost ready
to also proceed to litigation for
different reasons. As it is, the Buhari
administration has lost the chance
to concession any airport. Even if
the CTDHR case is dismissed in the
lower court, the case will go all the
way to the Supreme Court. And, if
that fails, the next case will start. Sirika
should start writing his handing over
notes. He will not have Nigeria Air
or Airport Concession to claim as
accomplishments any more.
the Naira.
“That is why we are saying there
should be a comprehensive review
of the economy so that we can ably
weigh the needed changes and their
impacts on the overall economy.”
reposition CWG for
profitability and dividend
payment.
He said: “In the last three
years, the focus of this current
management has been that
before the end of fourth year,
which is the end of my first
tenure as the leader of this
executive, we will be in a
position to pay a dividend.
Businesses heading for total collapse, NECA raises alarm
also on the individual that owns the
Company; it can also ask the company
to account for the VAT it has
collected, and ask for PAYE it has
deducted from its employees as well
Ehingbeti Summit to spotlight employment
opportunities, traffic management, others
he forthcoming Lagos State’s
TEhingbeti Economic Summit
scheduled to hold on the 11th and 12th,
October, 2022 is expected to seek ways
to provide employment opportunities
for the teeming unemployed youths in
the State and country at large.
The Special Adviser to the Governor
on Audit who also doubles as the
Chairman, Marketing Committee for
the summit, Mr. Abayomi Oluyomi,
stated this at a pre-event stakeholders’
engagement held in the Lagos State
University of Science and Technology
(formerly known as Lagos State
Polytechnic) to sensitise students on the
summit.
According to him, other areas that
would be focused upon include
transport management to facilitate
seamless movement of people and
goods, infrastructure development and
many more.
“We believe that when we fix the
infrastructure and security what
comes next is that all economic
activities will begin to boom and as
economic activities are booming, there
will be job opportunities for everybody,”
he said.
He, however called on the students
to play their part as responsible
individuals to the economic
development of the State.
“This activation exercise basically is
just to carry people along. So a
as the Personal Income Tax of the
Promoters of the Company.
“This is currently not the case, and
as such has created a huge gap in
our tax system.”
landmark event is coming and we are
going to be launching a 30 year
development plan We have been going
to the markets, we have been going to
schools, We have been going to different
places just to let people be aware of what
is coming up because engagement is
key to letting people know what is
coming and what we are planning to
achieve with the Summit,” he said.
He added that the Summit would
look at relevant resolutions that have
not been implemented, develop new
ones, saying that the State has several
thematic areas such as education,
health, technology, finance, funding,
infrastructure and youth
development.