• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • ICPC Secures Conviction of Rector for Running Unaccredited Degree Programmes

      Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

      EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Accountant General Over N8bn Fraud as Court Sentences…

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • Customs Partners US Mission to Prevent Expanded Visa Ban

      Nigeria Customs Partners China on Smarter Ports, Officer Training, Reforms

      Comptroller General Nigerian Customs Bashir Adewale

      Customs Moves Against 223 Importers in N379bn Permit Breach

      Bashir Adewale Adeniyi Customs Boss

      How Customs is Tightening Borders to Stop Illicit Cash Flows –…

      Customs boss, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi with NAFDAC DG Professor Moji Adeyeye

      Codeine, Tramadol Worth ₦20.5bn Seized as Customs-NAFDAC Cooperation Deepens

  • National
    • Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu

      NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism

      Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      IG Boosts Police Intelligence Capacity with New Tech, Training for Technical…

      Army Commander keeps 100 students in school

      Army Commander’s Compassion Keeps 100 Students in School in Zamfara

      Sam Obi Sponsors 500 students

      Sam Obi Sponsors 500 Students in Evergreen, SimplifiedIQ’s Education Program

      CG Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      NIPR Hails customs Boss’ Tenure Extension as Evidence of Transformational Leadership

    • Government
      • Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu

        NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism

        Mohammed Idris Malagi, Honorable Minister of Information and National Orientation

        FG Reacts to Niger Governor’s Closure of Badegi FM

        Northern leaders at Arewa Summit

        Northern Leaders Urge Action on Almajiri Crisis, Equitable Resources at Arewa…

        Saidu Ahmed Alkali,

        Kaduna-Kano Light Rail Underway as FG Targets ₦70bn Investment

        Beyond Hoes and Sticks: The Power of Education for Peace in…

  • Security
    • The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major-General Markus Kangye,

      Troops Eliminate Dozens of Terrorists, Arrest 578 Suspects in July Operations

      Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      IG Boosts Police Intelligence Capacity with New Tech, Training for Technical…

      Nigerian Police Force

      Anambra Police Nab Wanted Kidnap Suspect in Kaduna

      Nigerian Navy

      Navy to Establish  Base in Kebbi to Tackle Inland Waterway Crimes

      Army Commander keeps 100 students in school

      Army Commander’s Compassion Keeps 100 Students in School in Zamfara

  • Features
    • CG Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      Customs Just Wrote Nigeria’s Energy Rulebook

      Okello Oculi

      Okello Oculi: A Pan-Africanist Asteroid Burns out Forever By Is’haq Modibbo…

      Leon Usigbe

      Death, you can’t be Proud of this By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem 

      Tinubu’s Plateau Gambit – Yilwatda, 2027, and the Return of the…

      Ozumi and a recipient of a wheelchair

      Wheels of Hope: How a Simple Gift is Reshaping Lives at…

  • State
    • court Judiciary

      Lawyer Sues Housing Ministry, FHA Over Alleged Property Redesign

      Army Commander keeps 100 students in school

      Army Commander’s Compassion Keeps 100 Students in School in Zamfara

      Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, receiving the land document from Governor Pastor Umo Bassey Eno in Akwa Ibom

      Akwa Ibom Boosts National Security with Land Donation for Nigerian Air…

      Nigerian Army

      Army Denies Allegations of Misconduct in Imo Community

      Military Troops in Action

      Troops Repel Bandit Attacks in Katsina, Plateau, Recover Rustled Cattle, Sustain…

  • Event
    • court Judiciary

      Lawyer Sues Housing Ministry, FHA Over Alleged Property Redesign

      Sam Obi Sponsors 500 students

      Sam Obi Sponsors 500 Students in Evergreen, SimplifiedIQ’s Education Program

      Comptroller General Customs Bashir Adewale and his staffs with the representatives of the European Union, the German Embassy

      Customs Unveils Renewable Energy Handbook, Strengthens EU-Germany-GIZ Partnership

      University of Maiduguri

      UNIMAID Mass Comm becomes Faculty of Communication and Media Studies

      CG Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      Tinubu’s Extension of Customs CG Bashir Adeniyi’s Tenure Draws Widespread Praise…

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home Features Covid-19: Economic Stimulus, Oil Price and Social unrest
  • Features

Covid-19: Economic Stimulus, Oil Price and Social unrest

By
Abubakar Jimoh
-
April 22, 2020
Coronavirus COVID-19
Coronavirus COVID-19

Covid-19: Economic Stimulus, Oil Price and Social unrest

By Abubakar Jimoh

Effort to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on businesses and citizens brought to the fore a newly introduced legislative framework titled “Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill, 2020” initiated by the House of Representatives.

Sponsored by the House Leadership led the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila and other Members, the Bill aims at providing temporary relief to companies and individuals to alleviate the adverse financial consequences of a slowdown in economic activities caused by the Covid-19 disease; protecting the employment status of Nigerians who might otherwise become unemployed as a consequence of management decision to retrench personnel in response to the prevailing economic realities.

Other objectives of the Bill include to eliminate additional fiscal bottlenecks on the importation of medical equipment, medicines, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and other such medical necessities as may be required for the treatment and management of the Covid – 19 Disease in Nigeria, to ease the burden of importation; and catering for the general financial wellbeing of Nigerians pending the eradication of the pandemic and return to 5economic stability.

The fiscal stimulus package of the Bill provides any employer duly registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act Cap C20 LFN 2004 which maintains the same employees status without retrenching their staff as at 1st of March 2020 till the 31st of December 2020, with entitlement to 50% income tax rebate on the total amount due or paid as PAYE under the Personal Income Tax Act Cap C8 LFN 2004 as amended.

If signed into law, the Bill will give tax relief to corporate bodies, providing mortgage systems, suspend import duties on medical equipment, medicines and personnel protective gears for the treatment of COVID-19.

Moreover, the Bill provides that all payments of mortgage obligations on residential mortgages obtained by individual contributors to the National Housing Fund will be deferred for a period of 180 days effective from 1st of March 2020. This may be extended by the President for a further period not exceeding 180 days subject to a majority vote by members of the National Assembly.

Beyond the tragic health hazards and human consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, has anticipated economic uncertainties, and disruptions that may resultantly come at a significant cost to the global economy. The last unemployment report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) ranks Nigeria 21st among 181 countries with an unemployment rate of about 23.1%. Also, the country has been rated as the poverty capital of the world with an estimated 87 million people living on less than $2 a day threshold.

Similarly, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has projected that Nigeria’s aviation industry would lose at least $.76 billion to COVID-19 pandemic, which has crippled the country in the past three weeks. The international airlines association also said that the sector in the country risks 91,380 job loss and $0.65 billion in contribution to Nigeria’s economy, while no fewer than 3.5 million passengers would be lost to the pandemic.

A recent report published by the African Union (AU) has estimated that vulnerable African economies could be strangled by the coronavirus pandemic with the possibility of up to 20 million job losses and the potential for social unrest. The report attributed these to direct consequences of tumbling oil prices which might disrupt the economies of big oil producing countries notably Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Congo Brazzaville. It warns that Nigeria forecast its budget on the basis of oil at US$67 per barrel, yet crude languishes at just US$26 per barrel, threatening to worsen Nigeria’s budget deficit.

According to the report, stress placed on African economies due to Covid-19 will translate to governments experiencing reduced tax revenues, while overall Africa could lose up to 20 to 30 per cent of its fiscal revenue.

As at 21st April, the Nigeria crude traded at $12 and $13 per barrel. The report came after traders gave account of how 10 million barrels of crude made available for sale in April were still unsold with another 60 million expected to hit the market in May.

Meanwhile, in a recent published study titled “Rethinking tax in Africa to respond to COVID-19” the World Economic Forum has advised tax administrators in African nations to embrace specific measures in managing economic downturn posed by Covid-19 through extension of tax filing deadlines, payment deadlines and waiver of tax penalties, reduction of tax rates. It further recommended an exemption from all duties, taxes, levies, and fees on import and sale of pharmaceutical inputs and products, as well as medical materials and equipment linked to COVID-19 for six months.

Read Also:

  • NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism
  • Troops Eliminate Dozens of Terrorists, Arrest 578 Suspects in July Operations
  • FG Reacts to Niger Governor’s Closure of Badegi FM

Adopting these measures in a fragile economy like Nigeria will without doubt threaten its Internal Revenue Generation and weaken the country’s capacity to finance the ailing critical sectors.

Nigeria is currently suffering from social vices and unprecedented inflation on general goods and services as global supply chains breakdown. For instance, hundreds of gang members, mostly teenagers, fleeing police in two Nigerian states under a coronavirus lockdown tricked residents into believing that coordinated armed robbery attacks were underway. As a result, Residents set up makeshift checkpoints with burning tyres in border communities between Lagos and Ogun states after forming vigilante groups to protect themselves from the imaginary armed robbers. For days, groups of anxious residents—young and old, and mostly male, reportedly kept night vigils on their streets, armed with machetes, bottles and other household items.

Also National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has revealed that security forces enforcing the lockdown in parts of Nigeria have killed more people than coronavirus itself, a local rights group says. It says law enforcers have killed 18 people in Nigeria since lockdowns began on 30 March, when Coronavirus killed 12 people, according to National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) data.

It would not be a surprise when a recent report by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate for March 2020 rose marginally by 0.06 percent points higher than the 12.20 percent rate recorded in February. According to the report, the figures rose marginally by 0.06 per cent points to put the Consumer Price Index at 12.26 per cent in March, the highest since April 2018. At the same period, the composite food index rose to 14.98 per cent, largely driven by an increase in basic food prices. Also, the core inflation stood at 9.73 per cent in March 2020. This represents an increase of 0.3 per cent when compared with the 9.43 per cent recorded in February 2020.

The Presidential Committee on the Review of the Impact of Coronavirus on the Economy recently admitted that the outbreak of the virus has finally crumbled Nigeria’s economy. It equally observed that the crashing in price of oil at the international market was also not helping matters. By April, 2020, the Federal Government had request to borrow over $6.9bn from international lenders including the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development bank to help counteract the impact of coronavirus on the economy. This is in addition to the United Nations in Nigeria, European Union and private donations from corporates and individuals.

Civil Society agitations

In a recent statement made available to the press, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) applauded the proactive decision of the National Assembly in the introduction of the Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill, 2020 which has gone through relevant stages in the House of Representatives.

Observing that conclusive stage of the Bill was halted by the emergent legislative recess necessitated by Covid-19 pandemic, he called for prompt finalization and transmission of the Bill for Presidential assent at resumption of legislatives activities to provide appropriate legislative framework on relief to companies and individuals to alleviate the adverse financial consequences of a slowdown in economic activities caused by the Covid-19 disease; protect the employment status of Nigerians who might otherwise become unemployed as a consequence of management decision to retrench personnel in response to the prevailing economic realities; and implementation of holistic measures to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 lockdown on the vulnerable groups at all levels.

Earlier in a separate statement, the Executive Director had demanded sincere effort by relevant authorities to ensure Covid-19 relief materials and other financial assistance are deployed accordingly to the common citizens with holistic and transparent strategy to adequately capture citizens at grassroots level, where Bank Verification Number (BVN) might not be relevant. This according to him, would alleviate impacts of the pronounced lockdown at all levels.

Give the global trend, Rafsanjani observed that the lockdown could not be meaningful without adequate proactive palliative measures by the Government on the provision of basic amenities like sufficient food stuff, water and regular power supply to genuinely address the plights and agitations of common citizens, whose daily means of income would be largely affected.

While calling on the government to ensure total transparency and accountability of covid-19 relief process, the Executive Director expressed worry that the development has revealed government’s inadequate preparedness capacity to mitigate impacts of the pandemic and other national emergency with existing poor national storage capacity for food and other basic needs to respond adequately.

Abubakar Jimoh writes from Abuja

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • Covid-19
  • Economic Stimulus
  • Oil Price
  • Social unrest
Previous articleBritain, Germany Commence Medical Trial of Covid-19 Vaccine, Nigerian Prof optimistic
Next articleArmed Banditry: Food Insecurity looms in Kaduna
Abubakar Jimoh
Abubakar Jimoh
http://www.PRNigeria.com

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

CG Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

Customs Just Wrote Nigeria’s Energy Rulebook

Okello Oculi

Okello Oculi: A Pan-Africanist Asteroid Burns out Forever By Is’haq Modibbo Kawu

Leon Usigbe

Death, you can’t be Proud of this By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem 

Tinubu’s Plateau Gambit – Yilwatda, 2027, and the Return of the Machiavellian Strategist By Abdullahi O Haruna Haruspice

Ozumi and a recipient of a wheelchair

Wheels of Hope: How a Simple Gift is Reshaping Lives at Sa’adatu Rimi University By Ozumi Abdul

Late Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and Mansur Liman

“Buhari: A Blunt, Honest Leader Who Laughed at His Own Predicament”

Intelligence Synergy: Reshaping Nigeria’s Security Architecture, By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

When Media Saves Lives: How NEMA is Equipping Journalists for Disaster Risk Communication in Kano/Jigawa

Young Muhammadu Buhari jnr

A Young Buhari’s Poetic Tribute to a Leader By Yushau A. Shuaib

A Brotherhood Beyond Blood- Seyi Tinubu’s Rare and Humble Support for Yusuf Buhari By Abdullahi O Haruna Haruspice

Late President Muhammadu Buhari

Critique of Renaming University of Maiduguri after Muhammadu Buhari By Dr Umar Ardo

Late President Muhammadu Buhari

Buhari’s Shocker: I look Forward to Leaving, and when it’s time, I go to my Grave By Femi Adesina

Recent Posts

  • NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism
  • Troops Eliminate Dozens of Terrorists, Arrest 578 Suspects in July Operations
  • FG Reacts to Niger Governor’s Closure of Badegi FM
  • Information Ministry Inaugurates Anti-Corruption Unit to Deepen Transparency
  • IG Boosts Police Intelligence Capacity with New Tech, Training for Technical Intelligence Unit
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and ProfessionalismTroops Eliminate Dozens of Terrorists, Arrest 578 Suspects in July OperationsFG Reacts to Niger Governor’s Closure of Badegi FMInformation Ministry Inaugurates Anti-Corruption Unit to Deepen TransparencyIG Boosts Police Intelligence Capacity with New Tech, Training for Technical Intelligence UnitAnambra Police Nab Wanted Kidnap Suspect in KadunaCustoms Just Wrote Nigeria's Energy RulebookLawyer Sues Housing Ministry, FHA Over Alleged Property RedesignNavy to Establish  Base in Kebbi to Tackle Inland Waterway CrimesArmy Commander's Compassion Keeps 100 Students in School in ZamfaraSam Obi Sponsors 500 Students in Evergreen, SimplifiedIQ's Education ProgramNIPR Hails customs Boss' Tenure Extension as Evidence of Transformational LeadershipAkwa Ibom Boosts National Security with Land Donation for Nigerian Air Force BaseCustoms Unveils Renewable Energy Handbook, Strengthens EU-Germany-GIZ PartnershipUNIMAID Mass Comm becomes Faculty of Communication and Media Studies
X whatsapp