Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Tag: VP Yemi Osinbajo

  • FG Plans Autogas As Alternative To Petrol – VP Osinbajo

    FG Plans Autogas As Alternative To Petrol – VP Osinbajo

    Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, says the Federal Government would focus on autogas as an alternative to the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

    According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande, issued on Saturday, Osinbajo disclosed the plan during a virtual interactive session hosted by the Africa Report magazine on Thursday.

    Read the full statement below

    STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

    We Will Focus On Auto Gas As Alternative To Petrol –Osinbajo

    *Use of Compressed Natural Gas part of ESP

    *VP says no plan to increase taxes

    In a determined effort to offer Nigerians an effective option to petrol, the Federal Government will focus on developing Compressed Natural Gas otherwise known as autogas, which is priced significantly lower than PMS.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, stated this during a virtual interactive session hosted by the Africa Report magazine on Thursday.

    Answering a participant’s questions regarding the removal of petrol subsidy, the Vice President said: “we have experienced a severe downturn in our finances over the years, so at 60 per cent less revenue, we are in a position where sustaining fuel subsidies is practically impossible simply because we do not have the resources.”

    According to him, “what we have decided to do is to focus on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which is about half the price of petrol today. So, if we use CNG for our cars and for our buses, it will cost between N78 and N80 or so per liter.”

    Under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), the Federal Government’s objective is to promote domestic use of CNG and support the creation of 1 million jobs by maximizing the domestic use of CNG while reducing reliance on refined petroleum products like kerosene and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

    Responding to a question regarding increase in taxes, the Vice President noted that the administration has no plans of increasing taxes, stating that “our position really is that, this is hardly the time to raise taxes”.

    According to him, “It is even more difficult for people to pay taxes now than ever before, I mean, given the state of affairs, but this is why we’re doing everything now.

    “We are trying to ensure that businesses survive this period by providing as much support as we can, and by relieving them of as much burden as possible and ensuring that they are able to get some moratorium so that they can at least continue to run their businesses and by all the other interventions and support that we are giving, we hope that those interventions will help businesses.

    “Our approach is first to ensure that we save jobs. If we save jobs and save businesses, and then do the best we can in agriculture, the housing scheme and all of that, we will actually be able to improve spending and if we are able to improve spending, taxes will definitely improve, and if businesses survive, taxes will improve. So, those are the sort of projections that we are looking at.”

    It would be recalled that the 2020 Finance Act exempts businesses generating less than N25 million in annual turnover from Companies Income Tax. Also, businesses with a turnover of between N25m and N100m will only pay 20% Companies Income Tax instead of the 30% which was the former applicable rate.

    The Vice President had recently said it is the plan of the Buhari administration to put money in the hands of Nigerians.

    Addressing concerns raised about electricity tariffs, the Vice President said the era of subsidizing petrol and electricity was over, noting that government has adopted measures of addressing the situation.

    His words: “What we are trying to do is to ensure that we are able to reform the electricity industry. The industry is privatized except for the transmission sector. But what we have seen is that the distribution companies (DisCos) are just not able to meet their targets or to even provide electricity on any kind of stable basis now.

    “The DisCos have been hankering all these years for a cost-reflective tariff and government has been paying the subsidy. In fact, in the past few years, we have spent about N1.3 trillion on subsidies for electricity. Again, here is a situation where that is completely unaffordable.

    “We want to ensure that new companies come into the market. So, that will be decentralized completely. This way, in several parts of our country, we can have micro-grids, small grids, and all of that. We are doing 5 million solar connections as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan. We think that, with all these, we can electrify our country within a short period of time.”

    The Vice President added that the overall target of government in the Economic Sustainability Plan is to save existing jobs and revamp businesses by improving the spending capability of Nigerians through the various initiatives in industry, agriculture, mass housing, and the solar connectivity projects.

    Over 1, 200 persons on different platforms across the world, participated in the virtual event tagged by Africa Report, the organisers as Digital Dialogues.

    Laolu Akande
    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President
    26th September 2020

  • Economy: Osinbajo projects 3% growth with ₦2.3trn stimulus, private sector commitment

    Economy: Osinbajo projects 3% growth with ₦2.3trn stimulus, private sector commitment

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has described the the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) with a stimulus package of N2.3 trillion, which is just about 1.5 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as the best the Federal Government could do given existing realities in the economy.

    Osinbajo made the call weekend at the virtual edition of the Presidential Policy Dialogue of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    According to him, “Government developed the Economic Sustainability Plan with a stimulus package of N2.3trillion to give fillip to the economy across various sectors. The size of this stimulus which is just about 1.5 per cent of national income is not as large as we would have liked it to be but it was the best we could do given existing fiscal and monetary constraints. Based on the assumption of the price of crude averaging out at $30 per barrel throughout the year, we anticipate an economic growth of about -0.59 per cent in 2020.

    “You would already be familiar with details of the Economic Sustainability Plan. In essence, it is intended to boost production, prevent business collapse, and provide liquidity. It will also promote the use of labour-intensive methods and direct labour interventions in key areas like agriculture, light manufacturing, housing construction and facility maintenance while increasing infrastructural investment in roads, bridges, solar power, and communications technologies. It is intended to do all this while extending protection to the poor and other vulnerable groups in our society.”

    On the plan of government to address the disruptions on the economy by the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the role that the private sector could play, the Vice President said: “These opportunities are the building blocks that will enable our medium-term goals to be achieved and make our long-term goals achievable.

    “This is a drive we hope to continue into the medium term as we build up the economy over the next few years. We do need foreign direct investment to complement our domestic efforts but it is the success of our own investments that will attract such inflows. Investors are already aware of Nigeria’s huge market and its great potential, but they will only ‘want in’ when government by its own positive interventions and the private sector by its success stories show them what is possible to do here.

    “No doubt, the task ahead is challenging. Nevertheless, government is focused on doing its bit so I call on the private sector to play its part and join us in this noble venture. We know that this will be a difficult year but expect that with our combined effort growth will resume to the order of about three per cent by the end of next year. We can do this working together.”

    On the Ease of Doing Business reforms of the Federal Government, Osinbajo maintained that the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari to providing an enabling environment for business to thrive remained strong.

    “In this regard, we have made some strides in improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), a lot has been achieved to fast-track processes, reduce bottlenecks and improve transparency across Government MDAs.

    “As a result, we have moved 35 places upward in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings. We have continued to scale up our business reform initiatives across regulatory agencies.

    “Of course, there is still a lot more to be done. Our aim is to continue to improve our national ranking in the World Bank Doing Business Index Ranking to below 100 in the coming years. It is also very important to reduce the harassment and extortion of businesses by various government agencies,” the vice president added.

    Osinbajo explained that as the Federal Government consolidates efforts designed to ward off a deep recession and effect significant changes in the economy, opportunities abound across different sectors in ESP for the private sector to lead the charge for Nigeria’s economic growth and development.

    The vice president said ESP which is now being implemented by the Buhari administration is driven by the desire “to adapt to the challenges and make required changes in order to come out stronger than before.”

    “I take this opportunity to encourage the private sector to be proactive in leading the charge against recession and poverty in our country. The Federal Government is not under any illusion that it can do this on its own.

    “The opportunities that now exist in the short term in agriculture, infrastructural development, housing construction, in renewable energy, digital technology development, mining, financial inclusion, healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturing, call for the private sector to take the bull by the horns and make them a reality.

    “The priority of the Federal Government in response to the economic challenges caused by COVID-19 is to ward off a deep recession by an admixture of stimulus measures to support local businesses, retain and create jobs and ameliorate the circumstances of the most vulnerable,” he said.

    In his remarks, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, said the current focus of the Federal Government in the manufacturing sector “is on prioritising local production especially in the importation of machinery that utilize local materials.”

    Earlier, LCCI President, Toki Mabogunje, commended the Federal Government’s “spirited effort” regarding its managing of the Nigerian economy, adding that members of the chamber and private sector players are willing to collaborate with the Buhari administration.

    Idowu Sowunmi