Nigeria internet penetration rises 2.6 pct on GSM platform

Nigeria's telecommunication regulator, NCC has said internet subscriptions stood at 94.8 million in November last year, representing 2.6 percent year-on-year growth.

According to the latest data by the regulator, the figure implies a density of 51 percent in a population estimated at 185 million, placing Nigeria well above the African average of around 16 percent as estimated by McKinsey. 

The data showed that in November there were 931,000 new internet subscriptions recorded, compared with 912,000 the previous month. MTN accounted 35 percent of total subscription, representing the largest share of the market.

9mobile, formerly Etisalat recorded decline in subscription for the sixth consecutive month. The report showed that there were slightly over 180,000 subscription losses on this network. 

Sources said there have been adjustments to some data packages within the network.
The mobile network experienced liquidity challenge last year, resulting in the transfer of its ownership to its creditors.

Already, there is a process to sell off the telecoms firm with 16 bidders indicating interest, but only five were shortlisted. 

A recent report suggests that Teleology Holdings may emerge the new owner of 9mobile ahead of Smile Communications.
Internet subscription remains heavily dependent upon mobile network services. According to the regulator, internet subscription via mobile networks accounted for over 95 percent of total subscriptions in November.
According to the NCC, 120,000km of fibre network are required to boost broadband penetration, and only 32 percent has been covered. 

The financial implication of laying fibre network across the country is estimated at 17.4 billion. That is, with a unit price rate of 145 naira/meter.



For Nigeria to become an active member of the current digital transformation within the global village, huge investments in telecommunications infrastructure are required. Broadband penetration is currently 21%.

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Nigeria drops to 90 place on budget transparency index, says BudgIT

Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy has slipped to 90th place on the Open Budget Index (OBI), according to a report, putting the country behind Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.
The Open Budget Index assesses the comprehensiveness and timeliness of budget information that governments make publicly available.
According to BudgIT, which expressed dismay at the West African country’s current position on fiscal transparency and public participation in the budget process, noted that Nigeria as Africa’s largest economy has apparently taken steps backward despite persistent advocacy by citizens and repeated promises by the government to improve.
The advocacy group said Nigerian government provides the citizens with insufficient budget information making it difficult for taxpayers to understand how elected officials are utilising available resources.
"Also, the budget process takes very little feedback from the public, and the final budget document does not reveal how the meager feedbacks are used," BudgIT said in a statement signed by Abiola Afolabi, Communications Lead.
It said Nigeria’s score on the open budget index dipped from 24 in 2015 to 17. In Africa, Nigeria currently ranks 23 behind Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Liberia while South Africa, Uganda and Senegal top the index in Africa.
BudgIT noted that Nigeria’s low rank can be connected to the failure of the government to produce the mid-year review.
"Also, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Budget Implementation Reports were published late while the content of all budget documents produced in Nigeria falls short on the minimum acceptable global standards as itemised in the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency Framework," the statement noted.
BudgIT called on the government to improve the timeliness of the release of its essential budget documents and run an open budget system.
It is also vital that Nigeria improves on the comprehensiveness of the critical budget documents, including the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), the Budget Implementation Reports, the executive budget proposal, the enacted budget and the year-end report, the advocacy group said.
It said the government also need to publish a mid-year review of fiscal activities in line with the minimum global standard in budgeting. "
There is also an urgent need for a structured participatory mechanism designed to capture views of the public throughout the budget cycle," it said.

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Rich folks are fleeing London and Lagos

Wealthy Londoners are leaving the city as new taxes make it expensive to inherit and invest, and as Brexit prompts rich Europeans living in the U.K. capital to return home.
This puts the British financial hub in the same category as Lagos and Istanbul, which are also seeing net outflows of rich people, according to the Global Wealth Migration Review published this month. About 5,000 high net-worth individuals left the U.K. during 2017 and only about 1,000 arrived, the report shows.
“Over the past 30 years, the United Kingdom has been one of the biggest recipients of migrating HNWIs,” the report said. “However, this trend changed in 2017 when the country experienced its first major HNWI net outflow.”
Losing wealthy individuals is normally a sign of trouble in the political economy of a country. Rich people are often the first people to leave because they can -- unlike the middle class or the poor.
Cities that saw large inflows of HNWIs include Auckland, Dubai, Montreal, New York, Tel Aviv and Toronto, the report showed.
New World Wealth says it focuses only on HNWIs who have truly moved -- that is, those who stay in their new country for more than half the year. China and India continue to dominate countries that the rich are moving out of, but once the standard of living improves several wealthy people will probably return, according to the report.
Mumbai -- India’s financial hub -- is expected to be the fastest-growing city in terms of increase in wealth over the next decade. Wealth in the entire country is predicted to triple in the period to about $25 trillion followed by China’s 180 percent increase to $69 trillion, according to the report. The U.S. will expand 20 percent but still tops the holdings list with $75 trillion of wealth.
Total private wealth held worldwide amounts to about $215 trillion, according to the report. While the average person has net assets of $28,400, there are some 15.2 million HNWIs in the world, defined as those with net assets of $1 million or more.
Russia is the most “unequal” country, where 24 percent of total wealth is held by billionaires. Japan is the most equal, with only 3 percent controlled by billionaires.

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Nigeria's SEC chief suspension was to protect market – Finmin

Nigeria's finance minister, Kemi Adeosun on Tuesday insisted that suspension of  Director-General of Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Munir Gwazo was valid and meant to protect the integrity of the country's capital market.
Adeosun told lawmakers in Abuja the suspension was in line with public service rules.
She said that the action became necessary in order to sustain the confidence of investors and safeguard the integrity of the Nigerian capital market.
The minister alleged that Gwarzo was a director in a private company while in office as the DG of the commision, thereby violating public service rules.
“Mr Munir was suspended in accordance with the Public Service Rules (PSRs) 03405 and 03406,” she said.
According to her, the Investment and Security Act empowers the minister to act in absence of the board.
The minister explained that the suspension was to allow unhindered investigation into several allegations of financial impropriety against Gwarzo.
She said that it was alleged that the former director-general paid himself 104 million naira as severance package after he was appointed from the position of a Director in the same commission.
She said that the act contravened civil service standing rule that severance benefit could only be paid to an employee who had concluded his or her service or had completely disengaged from service.
On the allegations linking Gwarzo’s suspension to the forensic audit being conducted on Oando and Oasis Insurance Companies, Adeosun said “it is mischief to link the matter to Oando”.
She noted that the forensic investigation on the companies was still ongoing and that she was not interfering in it.
But, Gwarzo challenged the powers of the minister to suspend him, alleging that he was being hunted for investigating Oando and Oasis Insurance companies.
He alleged that the level of interference in the activities of the commission by the minister had never been recorded in the history of the organisation.
Gwarzo alleged that Adeosun had told him before his suspension to stop the forensic audit on Oando and Oasis insurance companies.
He accused the minister of having a special interest in those companies.
Gwarzo said that he had resigned as director of the private company since 2012, adding that proper documentation of his resignation was the responsibility of the company’s secretary.
He said it was not his duty to ensure that his name was removed from nominal roll of the company by the management.
Head of Media Division of SEC, Abdulsalam Naif-Habu and Head, Legal Department, Anastasia Braimoh, were suspended along with Gwarzo.

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Prolonged premium draws more West African cocoa to United States

There has been a surge of West African cocoa beans being shipped to the United States, as exporters rush to capture an unusual premium that has emerged in the New York futures market.
Industry sources say prices in New York have been boosted by a reduced flow of supplies from Ecuador while the London market has been depressed by aggressive speculative selling coupled with an abundance of old or low-quality cocoa from Cameroon.
London’s cocoa futures market typically commands a premium to the New York contract, reflecting stronger demand in Europe, where the bulk of beans from the world’s top producing region are processed.
The New York contract, however, moved to a premium that in December shot above $130 per tonne relative to its London equivalent. The differential has retreated more recently, but New York was still trading at a premium ranging from $25 to $45 this week.
While New York cocoa has traded at a premium to London in the past, dealers said it is highly unusual to see the arbitrage remain at such wide levels for so long.
“There is a clear incentive to ship any spare cocoa to the U.S.,” said one industry source.
It’s still unclear exactly how much Ivorian and Nigerian cocoa has made its way to the United States so far, but total cocoa stocks in ICE U.S. licensed warehouses stood at 255,654 tonnes as of January 29, exchange data shows.
This was up from 215,587 tonnes at the same time last year, a level that was already above average due to a massive global surplus in the 2016/17 season.
Certified U.S. stocks - although representing only a small slice of all cocoa in the United States - also signal a shift. Ivorian and Nigerian beans combined now make up 79 percent of these supplies, up from 19 percent a year ago.
Ivory Coast cocoa stocks in certified warehouses stand at 5,290 tonnes, up from just 422 tonnes a year ago. Nigerian beans total 2,387 tonnes, up from 240 tonnes in late January 2017.
Dealers estimated the attractive arbitrage may have drawn between 30,000 and 80,000 tonnes of additional Ivorian and Nigerian cocoa over the last three months - with even more cocoa expected to be shipped over the next few months.
“For sure, we’re seeing more shipments going to the U.S.,” said one dealer. “People who have physical supply will definitely take advantage of the arbitrage.”
IMBALANCE
Industry sources said the shift in arbitrage has partly been due to a collapse in Ecuadorian shipments, after the discovery of a noxious weed in some imports.
“Because of the rejections, people (in Ecuador) have been less keen to ship to the U.S.,” said another dealer. “And have found demand from Asia very good, so they’ve been shipping Ecuador beans there.”
Dealers estimated about 6,000 to 8,000 tonnes of Ivorian and Nigerian beans were being shipped to U.S. cocoa processors each month as a replacement for the decline in Ecuador supplies.
There are currently no certified stocks of Ecuador beans, according to exchange data. A year ago, there were 2,420 tonnes of Ecuador beans, representing some 67 percent of all certified supplies.
London prices, meanwhile, have been under pressure as speculators have taken an unusually aggressive bearish stance on that market, while easing their short-selling in New York.
It has also been weighed by an abundance of old or low-quality cocoa from Cameroon, which buyers have been hesitant to take even at dramatic discounts.
This follows changes to grading rules last year, which have boosted the volume of lower-quality Cameroon cocoa on the London terminal market.
“The London futures market is becoming more and more representative of Cameroon cocoa, rather than Ivory Coast or Nigerian cocoa, which is what it has traditionally been,” said Jonathan Parkman, head of agriculture at Marex Spectron.
Market participants said they expect shipments of Ivorian and Nigerian beans to pick up further from January to March, and to potentially continue as far out as June.
“We should see stocks continue to build,” said another industry source. “Eventually, the sheer weight of cocoa hitting the U.S. should move the arbitrage to more sustainable levels.”

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Nigeria's fx reserves rise $40.33 bln by Jan 25, contradicts CBN earlier report

Nigeria’s external reserves rose to $40.33billion as of Jan. 25, representing an increase of about $1.42 billion year-to-date, latest data from the central bank showed on Tuesday.

Although a central statement on Jan 22 has indicated the reserves were at $40.78 billion as at January 18, data published on its website showed contrary position.

Data published on the bank's website http://www.cenbank.gov.ng/IntOps/Reserve.asp indicated that the reserves stood at $39.92 billion as at Jan. 18, short of $0.86 billion compared with the figure earlier reported by the bank.

The country's dollar reserves, which represents Africa's biggest economy buffer against currency risk stood at $38.73 billion a month earlier.

According to the central bank data, the reserves were doing better than it was a year ago when it stood at $27.82 billion.
Successful debt sales, including multiple Eurobond offerings last year, have helped the government accrue billions of dollars in foreign reserves, although they remain far from the peak of $64 billion in August 2008.

For instance, Nigeria raised around $5 billion in Eurobond last year, coupled with $300 million in diaspora bond issued the same period, which helped to boost the strength of the country's forex buffer.

Nigeria introduced the Investors & Exporters Forex window in April last year at the peak of its currency crisis in a bid to ease liquidity pressure and boost foreign investors' confidence in the domestic economy.

The central bank said in a report early in the month said around $13 billion inflows have been recorded through the investors' fx window since it was established, indicating improved confidence in the economy by foreign investors.

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Political parties too many, may cause problems in 2019 –INEC

Nigeria's electoral body, INEC has said that the growing number of political parties in the country could pose problem for the conduct of the forthcoming 2019 general election.

According to an aide to the chairman of INEC, Bolade Eyinla, so far, 68 political parties had been registered.
He said with over 100 political associations seeking registration, the number might increase before the elections which could cause logistical problems, including the production of ballot papers.
He noted that if 68 parties participated in the elections, it could also mean that a total of 68 party agents would be at each polling unit, which could cause the elections to be rowdy.
“Currently there are 68 registered political parties in Nigeria. As of today, there are more than100 associations that have applied to INEC to register as political parties,” he said.
Eyinla expressed doubt whether INEC would be able to monitor the congresses, conventions and primaries of all parties contesting over 1,000 elective positions each across the nation.
He added, “We are also going to be challenged if these 68 political parties and counting continue this way. We are just a commission. I cannot begin to imagine even as the technical adviser, how we will divide ourselves to monitor party conventions and primaries of 68 political parties across the length and breadth of this country.
“Already we have envisaged some of these challenges and we are coming up with strategies to deal with them in our election project plan.
“Ancillary to this is the fact that political party agents will also increase. I can imagine 68 political party agents in a polling unit. I think these are issues that we have to manage; but most importantly, how do we manage the ballot for 68 political parties?”
Eyinla said if any registered political party is mistakenly omitted from the ballot paper, it could lead to the total cancellation of the exercise.
The INEC official said, “I think perhaps one of the largest ballots that I have seen is that of Afghanistan where the ballot paper is nearly the size of a prayer mat.
“Given our level of literacy, I think that is going to be a major challenge and as we know, the question of exclusion is a major issue in the electoral process.
“The chairman was literally sleeping and waking with the ballot for Anambra State election to ensure that no party was excluded; to ensure that the names and logo of the parties were correct because any slip could nullify the election. So, I think there is a challenge with managing the ballot that will come with the increasing number of political parties.”
The INEC official called on the National Assembly to make necessary changes to the electoral legal framework before July, saying doing so less than six months to the elections would be in contravention of ECOWAS protocol on democracy.

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Nigeria's Southwest cocoa belt hit by fungal disease

Cocoa farms in southwestern Nigeria, the country’s main growing region, have been bit by outbreaks of a fungal disease identified as dieback, which causes plants to wither and die.
“The trees are drying off from their tops and progressively through the stems and down to the roots,” said Sola Akingbade, a farmer based near the city of Abeokuta, adding that about 125 neighboring plots were also affected. “Most of them have now turned black with their leaves showing signs of dying.”
The Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria has received reports that about 2,500 cocoa trees have the disease in Ogun state, which contributes about 10 percent of the country’s cocoa, according to Taiwo Williams, the local coordinator. The estimated loss from the infections in the area could reach 750 metric tons of cocoa, he said.
Nigeria is ranked as the seventh-biggest producer of the chocolate ingredient worldwide after slipping from fourth two years ago, according to the International Cocoa Organization. The country’s two cocoa harvests include the smaller mid-crop that’s harvested from April to June, and the October to December main crop.
Dieback disease is prevalent in regions that have a shallow rock depth, denying tree roots access to nutrients in the dry season and leaving them vulnerable to fungal attack, according to Abiodun Adedeji, a researcher at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria in the southwestern city of Ibadan.
London cocoa futures fell 0.8 percent to 1,370 pounds a metric ton by the close on Monday.

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Nigeria to building $5.8 Billion power plant in 2018

Nigeria plans to start building a $5.8 billion hydro-power plant in the eastern Mambila region this year, after it agrees on loan terms with China’s Export-Import Bank.
“We hope to break ground this year if we can conclude the financing,” Power, Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola said in a Jan. 23 interview in the capital, Abuja. “Contracts are in place. We are good to go.”
Fashola told reporters in August that the Chinese lender would finance 85 percent of the cost, and the Nigerian government the rest. China Civil Engineering Corp. will build the 3,050-megawatt power plant over five years, and the facility will include four dams measuring 50 meters (164 feet) to 150 meters high, and 700 kilometers (435 miles) of transmission lines, he said.
Nigeria, a country of 180 million people living with daily power cuts, is seeking to expand electricity generation to drive growth after the economy contracted in 2016 for the first time in 25 years. Fashola, a former governor of Lagos State, the nation’s bustling commercial hub, was appointed in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari to take charge of the troubled power sector.
The government expects power-production capacity to increase to 8,600 megawatts in a year from 7,000 megawatts currently, Fashola said in the interview. In comparison, South Africa, with a third of Nigeria’s population, has an electricity-generating capacity of more than 40,000 megawatts.
Distribution Capacity
Nigeria also plans to improve distribution capacity, currently at about 5,000 megawatts. Since the country is able to produce more electricity than it can distribute, some production capacity will remain idle until the government expands the network.
The government is looking to partner with private companies to invest in mini-gridprojects and generate an additional 3,000 megawatts of electricity over five years, Fashola said. Investors are showing interest, he said, without further details.
A number of planned solar power projects have failed to secure funding and should be reassessed, according to the minister. State-controlled Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc signed preliminary power-purchase agreements in 2016 with private companies for 14 solar projects meant to generate 1,125 megawatts of electricity, but there have been issues over payment-related guarantees, Fashola said.
These should be redesigned to sell electricity not only to the government via the national grid but to customers in remote areas directly, according to the minister.
“They should rethink their models and begin to look at estates and communities,” he said.
The government is also working on regulations to license suppliers of electricity meters to stop some distribution companies from billing arbitrarily, Fashola said. “We want to open the meter market because the core business of a distributor is not metering but distribution of energy.”

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African states launch single aviation market to boost economic growth

Nearly two dozen African countries launched a single aviation market on Monday, a potential boon for the industry in a region where it is hampered by government protectionism, high taxes and stringent regulation.
The Single African Air Transport Market would facilitate the free movement of flights between African countries by liberalizing frequencies, fares and capacities, breaking down barriers that have in the past increased costs.
It is an updated version of the Yamoussoukro Decision that was signed in 1999 to open up intra-African aviation routes. That agreement failed and compared to other continents air travel in Africa is expensive, restricted and dependent on bilateral deals.
On Monday, Rwanda’s President and African Union Chairperson Paul Kagame and his Togolese counterpart Faure Gnassinbge unveiled the open skies scheme, with Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria among the signatories. A total of 23 African states signed the agreement.
“Airlines will be able to match demand. For customers, they will have more benefits because they will get as much services at a time they want, where they want,” Ethiopian Airlines’ Chief Executive Tewolde GebreMariam told Reuters after the deal was announced.
The state-owned Ethiopian carrier, the continent’s biggest by revenue and profit, has long lobbied for the endorsement of the scheme.
“Prices will also go down. Signatory countries will benefit with more tourism and trade - this means faster economic growth,” he said in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where the initiative was launched on the sidelines of an African Union gathering.
Industry bodies say heavy taxation and poor infrastructure meant African carriers had not developed as fast as they should to take advantage of predicted market growth.
In 2015, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the Yamoussoukro agreement had the potential to create 155,000 jobs and fly 5 million extra passengers a year around the continent.
That year, IATA said Africa’s aviation industry grew at 4.7 percent - faster than any other region, though growth is off a very low base. IATA expects passenger numbers to double to 300 million in the next two decades.

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Nigeria not keen on JP Morgan index, but improve economy -Finmin

Nigeria has said it was more concerned with improving its domestic economy by effective implementation of its various reforms agenda, rather than pursuing JP Morgan return of the country to its index list.
Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said "the government is focusing on improving its economy," which will effectively attract the attention of the international community "and indexes will “naturally” return to Nigeria when they see adjustments in line with their requirements."
“JP Morgan have their own framework of how they evaluate an economy, and when they are ready, when conditions are good, they will list Nigeria again,” Adeosun said over the weekend.
Th director-general of Debt Mangement Office (DMO) Patience Oniha had said Nigeria is making move to get back into the JP Morgan Government Bond Index (GBI-EM), as the domestic foreign exchange market, continues to enjoy improved liquidity and stability.
“The reason JP Morgan took us out of the index was liquidity in the FX market. Now there’s an investor window where activities have picked up, that’s a good reason to try to get back in,” Oniha said.
But Adeosun said what Nigeria need to do is to re-position this economy and move in its own direction of reforms.
“JP Morgan or any other index will come naturally. My focus really is on the recovery of the economy. They will come when the macro fundamentals are right. They left because the macro fundamentals were not right,” Adeosun said

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Nigeria to target tax defaulters in bid to spur economy

Nigeria’s finance minister plans to drag tax defaulters who don’t make use of an amnesty to court as she seeks funds to plug the nation’s $25 billion infrastructure gap.
In the nine months of reprieve ending March, some penitent taxpayers have said “you got me” and cleared arrears without paying interest and or penalties, Kemi Adeosun said in an interview on Tuesday in her office in the capital, Abuja. But some have said “we wish you luck with this, catch us if you can,” she said.
Nigeria wants to double its tax to gross domestic product ratio by 2020. The current proportion of 6 percent is among the lowest in the world, with peers like South Africa at 26 percent, and Ghana, its West African neighbor, at almost 16 percent.
Boosting tax collection will make more money available to help spur activity in an economy that contracted in 2016 due to a decline in the output of oil. The commodity makes up 10 percent of the economy but contributes about two-thirds of government revenue. The state is cleaning its payroll to stop salaries to people no longer in their roles, saving about 25 billion naira ($69.3 million) monthly.
We are “working on a litigation strategy because in some cases we need to go after people,” Adeosun said. “If tax amnesty closes and we have information that makes it very clear that you are evading tax, then we move on to prosecute and make an example of a few people. We have 180 million people, we have basic needs to be met.”
While Nigeria has some of the world’s wealthiest people, including Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest, it also has millions of poor people, mostly in the war-torn northeast. After the government started implementing biometric registration for bank accounts in an anti-corruption campaign, a whistleblower exposed $38 million of cash and other currencies in an apartment in the commercial hub of Lagos in April.
“We looked at high-net-worth people, we profiled a number of them,” Adeosun said. “We looked at Panama papers. And then we compared that to people’s tax returns and the disparity is just amazing. People have foundations which they have bequeathed more money to than their tax returns can explain that they have,” she said.
More than five decades ago, before petrodollars started flowing into the country, far more adult Nigerians used to pay the so-called poll tax on assets, including cattle, mostly in the north, and crops mainly in the south. Now, out of a population of 71 million adults, there are only 14 million taxpayers, Adeosun said.
“Oil came and we just decided we didn’t need to mobilize revenue anymore,” she said. “The legacy of that is that you had a whole generation of people who have never really had to pay a proper tax and that’s reflected in our numbers.”

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"Consistently cheaper" clean energy set to connect world's poor - power experts

With the costs of creating electricity from solar power and wind continuing to fall, electricity from renewable energy will soon be “consistently cheaper” than electricity from fossil fuels, according to the head of the world’s renewable energy agency.
By 2020, most wind and solar power technology now being commercially used will be priced in the same range as fossil fuels, “with most at the lower end or even undercutting fossil fuels”, said Adnan Amin, the director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
That is particularly good news for communities in parts of Africa, Asia and other parts of the world that remain unconnected to power grids and without access to modern energy, experts said.
Cheaper prices for improved technology, combined with new financial arrangements to help put it in place, should lead to more unconnected communities getting access to clean power, according to energy access body Power for All.
“The falling cost of solar and an expected decline in (costs of renewable energy) storage are providing a major boost to delivering electricity and related services to communities without access to energy,” William Brent, a spokesman for the organisation, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“But it’s not just a question of solar technology, which has achieved full commercial viability and is now cheaper than coal in many countries. Many companies are also pioneering delivery methods using innovative business and financial models, as well as through advances in super-efficient appliances,” he added.
Decentralised solar systems, including mini-grids and home systems, are expected to serve up to 100 million households by the year 2020, he said.
Rwanda, for example is taking advantage of dropping costs to outfit 500,000 homes with solar systems, which should enable nearly 2 million people to access clean electricity before the end of 2019, said James Musoni, Rwanda’s minister for infrastructure, including electricity.
“With renewable power alternatives becoming consistently affordable each day, it is upon us to take advantage of this and ensure that we move even closer to achieving universal access to electricity,” the minister told the Thomson Reuters in an interview.
The programme will cost $15 million – money received as a concessional loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the minister said.
FALLING PRICES
The cost of producing renewable energy has fallen consistently since 2010, with wind and solar panels leading the way – and in some cases falling in price by as much as 73 percent over that period, according to a new report by IRENA.
The biggest price drops have come in the cost of generating utility-scale power from solar panels, which means that such energy can now be added at a much more competitive cost, Amin said.
In 2016 alone, he said, more than 160 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity was added to the world energy mix, or a nearly 9 percent increase.
Around 70 percent of that increase came in developing countries, with Asia account for 58 percent and Africa 12 percent, he said.
Technological advances, competitive procurement, and a large base of experienced, internationally active project developers were the main drivers of the lower costs, Amin said.
The agency said its 2017 review of the industry showed the renewable energy sector supported 9.8 million jobs globally, with solar voltaic systems the largest employer with 3 million jobs worldwide. That was a 12 percent increase from the agency’s 2016 review, it said.
Technological innovations and new business models are expected to further reduce the costs of producing electricity from renewable mini-grids by more than 60 percent in the next two decades, the IRENA report said.
“These are transformational developments that are changing the economic models and social patterns of the past,” observed Amin.
Brent said evolving renewable energy technology meant clean electricity could now power not just lighting in homes but everything from farms to urban businesses.
“It is time for decision makers to fully embrace the transformative power of decentralised solutions – rooftop solar and renewable mini-grids in particular – to improve the delivery of education, healthcare, clean water, irrigation and the many other benefits,” he said.
“We’re already seeing decentralized solar providing much more than just light, including replacing diesel to power solar water pumps for irrigation and telecom towers,” he said.
What’s lagging in getting ever cheaper renewable energy used more widely, he said, is often the political support or policy changes needed to speed up the energy transition that world leaders have promised to make as part of the Paris agreement to limit climate change.
However, he said that generating and distributing solar power, in particular, could be a huge new source of jobs, giving communities – particularly poor rural ones – new economic opportunities.
Many countries - such as Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Mauritius - are already taking advantage of cost reductions to scale-up solar on a commercial basis, including in rural areas, Brent said.
But to achieve universal access to electricity rapidly, governments and business need to take advantage of all available sources of finance, both public and private, he said.

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Nigeria's Consumer Goods Sector in 2018

Outlook for the Consumer Goods sector appears bright on many fronts. 

Pressure on revenue is expected to further subside as consumer spending recovers. Increased political spending is positive for consumption and revenue expansion. 

FX availability and a stable input cost environment will ease pressure on the Cost-to-Sales margins, boosting operating profit.
More importantly, the debt burden is expected to ease significantly in 2018, following observed efforts to de-leverage balance sheets and boost profitability. 

In 2017 top names under our coverage raised equity capital by way of Rights issue. 

UNILEVER and GUINNESS were the early-birds, with both issuing Rights worth 58.9 billion naira and 39.7 billion naira respectively to defray the cost of debt servicing to their parent companies. UACN floated 15.4 billion naira for the Group in addition to 6.97 billion naira raised for all the subsidiaries excluding CAP Plc, Flour mill is in the process of issuing 40.0 billion to its existing shareholders to salvage its worsening operating condition.
Finally, a moderately stable commodity price outlook in 2018 is positive for the sector. This together with a stable FX rate outlook should impact positively on margins going forward.

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Nigeria seeks $2.5 bln Eurobond bond in Q1, woos JP Morgan on index inclusion

Nigeria may kick-start its borrowing programme in the first quarter of the year with a proposed $2.5 billion Eurobonds in a bid to refinance a portion of its domestic treasury bill portfolio at lower cost, the head of the Debt Management Office has said.

Patience Oniha also said the country is making mover to get back into the JP Morgan Government Bond Index (GBI-EM), as the domestic foreign exchange market continues to enjoy improved liquidity and stability.
The debt office chief, however, gave a condition on the proposed Eurobond issuance, saying market conditions must be right with pricing, and tenor being the key.
“We are looking the issue probably first quarter depending on what the advisers say and subject to the market conditions,” the DMO director general told Reuters by phone.
Nigeria could also look at a possible syndicated loan as an alternative, Oniha said, adding that the issue is part of a $5.5 billion fund raising program approved by parliament last year.
Nigeria has said it plans to refinance $3 billion worth of a local treasury bill portfolio of 2.7 trillion naira ($8.9 bln).
In November, Nigeria sold $3 billion in Eurobonds, part of which it used to fund its 2017 budget, and then paid off 198 billion naira in treasury bills.
Oniha said local debt yields have started to fall after it paid off the bills in December, though debt was still attractive especially to foreign funds looking at emerging market bonds.
“The reason JP Morgan took us out of the index was liquidity in the FX market. Now there’s an investor window where activities have picked up, that’s a good reason to try to get back in,” Oniha said.
Nigeria plans to raise $2.8 billion in new offshore loans as part of its 2018 budget. Oniha said she could tap capital markets or concessionary loans from the World Bank. But the budget has to be approved by lawmakers before funding options can be considered.

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Finally, Nigeria's ruling party backs resource control, state police

Finally, Nigeria's ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has succumbed to pressure to restructure the most populous country in Africa's politics and come out with wider reaching recommendations on state police, an amendment to Land Use Act, a merger of some states and states’ control of minerals.
Nasir El-rufai, head of the committee set up by the party and also governor of Kaduna State, unveiled some of the recommendations when he submitted the committee´s report to the party National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja.
El-Rufai said that the committee also proposed the amendment to Petroleum Act to allow states to control their mineral resources “except when it affects offshore oil”.
The committee was constituted by the APC to collate the views of Nigerians on restructuring.
´´Local government autonomy is a very interesting subject in which we were surprised at the outcome; there were divergent opinions on this issue.
´´We recommend that the current system of local government administration provided for by the Constitution should be amended.
´´States should be allowed to develop and enact laws to have local government administration system that is peculiar to them.
´´We proposed amendments to Sections 7, 8, and162, part one and the First Schedule of the Constitution to give effect to our recommendations.
´´The section that lists the local governments and their headquarters should be removed so that local governments are no longer named in the Constitution,” he said.
The Kaduna State Governor added that states could create their local governments and determine the structure, saying that in a federal system, there should not be more than two tiers of government.
According to him, having three tiers of government is an aberration.
On resources control, El-Rufai said the committee proposed that mining, minerals and oil should go to the states after certain constitutional amendments.
He explained that this would ensure that power to explore minerals was vested in states except with regard to offshore minerals.
The chairman said the committee also recommended that there should be a constitutional amendment to allow for a referendum to be conducted on burning national or state issues before decisions were taken.
He noted that the present Constitution had no room for referendum except in the creation of states.
On independent candidacy, El-Rufai said that the committee recommended that such candidates must not be a member of any registered political party six months prior to the election.
´´We believe that having independent candidates with necessary safeguards will make the political parties to be more honest and more democratic.
´´We have put this safeguard to ensure that independent candidacy is not a platform for opportunism, but a deliberate, passionate decision, not an emotional one.
´´So instead of paying to the parties, you pay to INEC. If a governorship candidate pays 1 million naira to his party, he must pay 1 million naira to INEC to stand as an independent candidate,” he said.
He added that such candidate must meet other qualifications and requirements provided for by the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
El-Rufai said that on fiscal federalism and revenue allocation, the committee proposed an amendment to subsection 2 of the Constitution.
This, he said, was to give more revenue to the states and reduce Federal Government’s revenue allocation.
Receiving the report, National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said it represented the party´s true position, especially on issues of true federalism and restructuring.
He assured the committee members that the report would be discussed by the party´s leadership before the end of February.
Odigie-Oyegun commended members of the committee for the job and for going the extra mile to provide necessary details and the mechanism for implementation.
He said that this was especially in terms of law and necessary presidential action, adding that the report would get expeditious consideration of the APC leadership.
´´What you have done is very challenging and will be controversial, but has given the basic foundation for the building of a new nation and a new way of doing business in this country,” he said.
He expressed optimism that once the report was approved and implemented, states of the federation would become important routes of economic activities and development.

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Yields rise at Nigerian bond auction in spite of delay MPC meet

A total of 110 billion naira worth of bonds were sold at an auction this week at rates higher than at its previous bond auction, the Debt Managment Office (DMO) has said.

The bond auction, being the first days after Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) call-off its Monetary Policy Committee (MPCC) meeting to set interest rates due to a lack of quorum.
According to the debt office, 45.12 billion naira worth in 5-year debt was sold at 13.38 percent, while 64.88 billion naira of 10-year bonds auctioned at 13.49 percent, higher than 13.19 percent and 13.21 percent respectively it fetched at the last auction.
The total subscription at the sale was 150 billion naira.
The central bank said on Monday it would not hold a meeting to fix interest rates due to its inability to form a quorum and maintained benchmark rates at 14 percent, a level it has kept them at for over a year.
Traders said investors bought bonds at higher yields at the auction to hedge against a possible rate cut later in the year, as inflation continues to decline, fuelling speculation about the outlook for official interest rates.
Investors bid as high as 14.50 percent for the notes. However, the government has been offering debt at lower yields to track declining inflation, which fell for the eleventh month in December to 15.37 percent.

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A weaker dollar may not hurt Nigeria's economy, says Osinbajo

Nigeria’s vice president, Yemi Osinbajo has said a weaker U.S. dollar did not necessarily hurt his oil-producing nation.
The comments by Osinbajo were made after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin welcomed a weaker dollar, saying it benefited U.S. trade balances in the short term.
“A weaker dollar doesn’t necessarily hurt Nigeria,” said Osinbajo, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“We are concerned most about ensuring that we are able to make our own exports cheaper and we working on all of that. Our major concern is how to make ourselves more competitive,” he added.
OPEC member Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer. Crude oil sales make up two-thirds of Nigeria’s government revenues and most of its foreign exchange earnings.
Attacks on energy facilities in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta region pushed Africa’s biggest economy into recession in 2016, which was its first in 25 years.
Niger Delta Avengers, the group which claimed responsibility for most of the attacks, last week said it would resume attacks within days.
“We are in constant consultation with all groups in the Niger Delta,” said Osinbajo, when asked about the government’s response to the latest threat.
The country’s recovery since emerging from recession in the second quarter of 2017 has largely been driven by crude oil sales.

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Africa loses $148 bln to corruption yearly

As the issue of corruption in the continent of Africa takes a center stage, a report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has shown that around $148 billion is lost to the scourage yearly.

Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the UNECA said on Thursday that the money was lost through various fraudulent activities across the continent.

$148 billion is drained out of the continent through various corrupt activities, and the acts represent about 25 percent of Africa’s average GDP,” Songwa said in Addis Ababa.

According to her, corruption is the major sources and elements of financial flows which drains tremendous resources from the continent.
The continent loses between $50 billion and $80 billion a year due to illicit financial flows, said Songwe quoting a report of president Mbeki’s high-level panel on illicit financial flow (IFF)
For the continent that desperately requires substantial financial resources to meet its extensive development needs, including in filling its huge infrastructure gap, such a significant amount of financial resources leakage through IFF and various forms of corrupt practices is definitely something that needs to be fought with every energy that can be mustered, she added.
Africa’s development has been in sharp decline over the past several years, she said, nothing that domestically generated resources are expected to play a more prominent role in Africa’s development, including in meeting the 2030 sustainable development goals and the aspirations embodied in Agenda 2063.
Africa will register an average economic growth of 3.5 and 3.7 this year and next year amid high prevalence of poverty at about an average of 40 percent, the UNECA scribe said..
She said the growth will be supported by more favourable domestic conditions, including the restoration of oil production in a number of countries and the expected recovery, in 2018 and 2019, of the economies of Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, Africa’s three largest economies.
“However, adjusting for population growth, the projected economic growth remains inadequate for Africa to make significant progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs), in particular the eradication of poverty and hunger. Although the poverty level is reducing, it is still intolerably high at about an average of 40 percent for the continent,” she added.
Songwe noted the need to upscale efforts at structural reforms, for prudent economic management and promoting regional integration.

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Equity strategy for 2018

With a background projection that, the bullish momentum in the Nigerian equities market will be sustained in 2018 albeit, at a moderating pace. We advise investors to consider the following as they make equity investment decisions in 2018.
Firstly, the outlook for 2018 favours pro-cyclical sector/stocks, by implication, we recommend investing in pro-cyclical sectors/stocks. 

Accordingly, consumer and industrial goods names, which should benefit from improved consumer spending, present attractive opportunities. 

Also, banking stocks will come very handy given the improved outlook for asset quality, earnings stability, dividend consistency, and stock market liquidity.
Additionally, we advise overweighting equities in H1-18 and underweighting in H2-18 due to imminent political uncertainties and impact of risks associated with the build-up to the forthcoming 2019 elections. 

However, we advise investors not to get derailed by potential volatility in H2-18. In principle, the potential change in market dynamics between H1-18 and H2-18 is an avenue for a strategic entry into equities for investors with a long-term horizon. To this end, our recommendation for risk loving, patient and alpha seeking investors is to "sell the rally in H1-18 and buy the dip in H2-18". Put differently, rather than outrightly avoiding equities in H2-18, discerning investors can buy low in H2-18 and wait for a rebound to sell higher.

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Bill Gates Says ‘America First’ Endangers U.S. Influence in Africa

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. and the second-richest person in the world, said there’s a danger that U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach could damage the U.S.’s influence in Africa in the long term.
Other countries like China are continuing to push into the African continent, and the U.S. should not pull back, Gates said in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait in Davos, Switzerland. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent about $12 billion on global health projects in the last five years, focusing on diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.
In “the balance of hard power versus soft power, the U.S. uniquely has a ratio emphasizing hard power and I’d hate to see it go even further,” Gates said. “You don’t want to give up your soft power tools.”
Trump has questioned the value of funding for developing countries, sometimes saying other nations benefit from the U.S. without reciprocating. The president has proposed cutting funding for malaria, though Gates said he’s optimistic that won’t happen.
Gates is stepping up funding for malaria in Central America, joining with the Carlos Slim Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank to spend $83.6 million over the next five years fighting the disease in that region. Still the core of the organizations’ effort is in Africa, which is at the heart of the battle.
The U.S. should concentrate more on helping the world’s poor, Gates said.
“That’s the area where I’ve chosen to take the wealth that was created through Microsoft,” Gates said. “I understand that money can be very well spent. I’m in there saying let’s keep up the good work.”
After years of declines, the mosquito-borne disease is becoming more stubborn in some countries as different strains of the disease develop immunity against certain drugs. Private companies should keep investing to improve the tools used to suppress malaria, Gates said, even if it’s not a profitable enterprise for them.
“The community needs to get its act together,” he said.

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Think immigrants steal jobs? Think again - analysts

Contrary to fears that immigrants steal jobs and threaten security, a report released on Wednesday said newcomers boost developing economies and could be far more of an asset than a drain.
“Most developing countries can benefit from immigrants,” said the joint report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Labour Organization.
Developing countries, which host more than a third of the world’s international migrants, are missing a trick by excluding immigration from their development plans, the report said.
The four-year study focused on immigrants’ contributions to the labour market, economic growth and public finance in 10 developing and middle-income countries.
Immigrants’ estimated contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) averaged out at 7 percent - ranging from about 1 percent in Ghana to 19 percent in Ivory Coast.
“Local populations often believe that immigrants take the jobs of native-born workers, contribute to lowering wages, take advantage of public services, do not pay enough taxes, and threaten social cohesion and security,” the study said.
“(However) the perception that immigrants cost more than they yield ... rarely relies on empirical evidence.”
The countries studied were Argentina, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa and Thailand.
Immigrants not only contribute as workers but as consumers and taxpayers, the report said. Even those saving their earnings to send home contribute indirectly, via the bank system, to invest in their host countries.
As entrepreneurs and investors, immigrants also create jobs and promote innovation and technological change.
“Through these different roles, immigrants can help stimulate economic growth ... and thus promote development,” the report said.
It recommended developing countries foster policies and legal routes aimed at “making the most of immigration”.
Immigrants in formal employment pay tax, it noted, also urging an end to any barriers that stop migrants creating businesses or investing.
The authors cited Rwanda as an example of a country that has made immigration part of its economic development strategy.
Those countries that lack integration policies run risks.
“(This) can generate serious problems of social cohesion which in some cases even translates into riots and turmoil,” the analysts said, citing a 2010-2011 conflict in Ivory Coast.
Positive initiatives highlighted included a Thai health insurance scheme, language classes in Argentina and one-stop shops in Ghana aimed at helping immigrants set up businesses.

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Ghana Dec producer price inflation rises to 8.9 pct

Ghana’s producer price inflation rose to 8.9 percent year-on-year in December from 7.1 percent in November as petroleum prices soared, the statistics office said on Wednesday.
The major commodity exporter is seeking to cut spending and restructure its debt and aims to narrow consumer inflation to 8 percent, plus or minus 2 percentage points, in the first half of 2018 under a credit deal with the International Monetary Fund.
Petroleum inflation rose to 36.4 percent from 27.7 percent in November, deputy statistics office head Anthony Amuzu told reporters in Accra.
Producer inflation in the mining and quarrying subsector also rose sharply, to 19.1 percent from 14.4 percent, while manufacturing rose to 8.8 percent from 7.2 percent.

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JP Morgan plans expansion into Ghana and Kenya

JP Morgan Chase & Co plans to expand its African presence into countries including Ghana and Kenya, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in an interview on Wednesday.
“You’ll see us open in some countries we are not in, in Africa, you’ll be hearing about some of that stuff,” Dimon told Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Dimon said the bank would target Ghana and Kenya, two countries in which local regulators have previously blocked the U.S. banking giant’s expansion plans, according to media reports at the time.
The announcement follows JPMorgan’s unveiling of a $20 billion investment plan on Tuesday which will see it hike wages, hire more, and open new branches as it takes advantage of sweeping changes to U.S. tax law and a more favorable regulatory environment.
The five-year plan will see the U.S. bank ramp up overseas investment in addition to its domestic growth plans after it finished cleaning up troubled mortgages following the 2007-09 financial crisis.

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Kenya central bank sees faster growth in 2018 despite rate cap "brake"

Kenya’s central bank governor said on Tuesday the country’s interest rate cap was holding back the economy, but the bank still forecast that growth would speed up to 6.2 percent in 2018 from around 5 percent last year.
With a supportive fiscal policy, Governor Patrick Njoroge said, the forecast could go higher.
The National Treasury said the fiscal deficit was likely to fall to 6 percent of gross domestic product in 2018/19 (July-June) from 7.2 percent in 2017/18.
“That is obviously something that would be positive,” Njoroge told a news conference.
Tourism could also help, after direct flights between Kenya and the United States begin later this year. A decrease in the transport cost of exports through use of a new standard- gauge railway also might boost growth.
“All those were not really fully incorporated in the number that I talked about, the 6.2 (percent),” he said.
The government adopted a cap on commercial lending rates in September 2016, setting it at 4 percentage points above the central bank’s benchmark rate, to limit the cost of borrowing from commercial banks. It said lenders had failed to pass on the benefits of growth in the industry to consumers.
The central bank had previously questioned the measure, saying it had made predicting the impact of monetary policy difficult.
“The interest rate caps have been acting as a brake to the economy. I don’t know if any of you have ever driven around with your brake still on. Eventually, something breaks,” Njoroge said.
“The economy is being held back by this. And that is another set of issues we will bring to the fore and deal with so as to support, rather than inhibit economic dynamism in the economy.”
Last year, the lawmaker who pushed for the rate cap said the national assembly would throw out any bill aimed at altering it.
A prolonged election cycle last year cut growth by nearly 1 percent from the initial forecast, trimming it to an estimated 4.8 percent.
Njoroge said agriculture was a drag on the economy last year as coped with the effects of drought. Farming accounts for 30 percent of output, and it expanded by 4.4 per cent in 2016.

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Nigeria's stock market down on profit taking, price corrections

Nigeria's local bourse depreciated further on Tuesday on the back of profit taking by some investors and price corrections predominantly in the banking sector stocks.

The main market index fell by 1.16 percent to close at 44,389 points as investors took profit from the stocks of three major commercial lenders, cement firm, and local behemoth.

The stock of GTBank, FBN Holdings, and Zenith Bank fell against the closing figure the previous day while investors also took profit from Dangote Cement and Transcorp. 
Similarly, the market capitalization depreciated today by 1.16 percent to close at 15.90 trillion, compared with the depreciation of 0.40 percent recorded on Monday.

The bank stocks also dominated the most traded in the market, with Skye Bank, FBN Holdings and Wema Bank to the list.

Investors traded 150.37 million shares of Skye Bank, 104.16 million FBN Holdings and 64.08 million in the shares of Wema Bank.

"There was sell pressure in the equity market today, a combination of profit taking and price corrections predominantly in the banking sector stocks, FSDH said in its reports to clients.

The merchant banking research unit said the downward trend in the stock market may likely continue till midweek.

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Oxfam says rich people are getting richer

A report by Oxfam says 82 percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population.

Oxfam is an international confederation of charitable organizations focused on the alleviation of global poverty.
It added that the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth during the period.
The report, titled “Reward Work, Not Wealth”, revealed how the global economy enabled a wealthy elite to accumulate vast fortunes while hundreds of millions of people are struggling to survive on poverty pay.
“Billionaire wealth has risen by an annual average of 13 percent since 2010; six times faster than the wages of ordinary workers, which have risen by a yearly average of just two percent,” the report showed.
“In Nigeria, more than half of the population still grapples with extreme poverty, while a small group of elites enjoys ever-growing wealth.
According to the Oxfam Nigeria acting Country Director, Constant Tchona, while more than 112 million people are living in poverty, the country produces at least two billionaires every year.
Similarly, the Programme Coordinator, Governance at Oxfam, Celestine Odo, said to address inequality in Nigeria, Government needs to invest in pro-poor sectors like education, health and agriculture.
He also called on the government to increase its social investment in the school feeding programme and Conditional Cash Transfers.
Also the representative of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), James Eustace explained why the union was pushing for the increment of the minimum wage from N18,000 to N56,000.

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Nigeria's manufacturing sector ready for foreign investors, says VP Osinbajo

Nigeria is working with the Private Sector to boost the manufacturing sector and will be engaging with international partners and friendly nations to realize that goal, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

Osinbajo spoke on Tuesday at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos while meeting with a delegation of the Japan External Trade Organization, JETRO, led by Hiroyuki Ishige, the organization’s Chairman, and CEO.
“Nigeria and Japan should be doing more, far more based on the existing long relationship and trade between both countries,” the Vice President stated while noting that this would be to the mutual benefits of both countries.
He said manufacturing is one sector that Nigeria and Japan can work together and deepen their economic relations.
“Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa will be getting involved in the manufacturing global chain and it would be private sector led, the government would be backing it up,” The VP said.

He cited the example of the Special Economic Zones, SEZ, which are being set up in the country, adding that the zones would have all the needed infrastructure.
“We will provide world-class infrastructure and this is a good opportunity for investors around the world to tap into, an opportunity to do some game-changing projects, to do something big,” Osinbajo said.
Earlier in his presentation at the meeting with the Vice President on the sidelines of the WEF, JETRO’S Chairman Ishige noted the rise of Japanese firms in Africa, the country’s readiness to promoting business in Nigeria and supporting Nigeria’s export promotion.
Also on Tuesday, the Vice President participated in the WEF’s solo video message recording on the conference’s theme “Shared Future in a Fractured World”, where heads of governments, business leaders answer one question around economic development sent in from the global public. 

Other leaders who participated in the video earlier today included French President Mr. Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg.

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Why Obasanjo wants President Buhari out of 2019 election

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in the forthcoming 2019 election, saying he has failed in his management of the economy, and the political diversity of the country.
“I only appeal to brother Buhari to consider a deserved rest at this point in time,” Obasanjo said on Tuesday in a special press release.
He said President Buhari does not necessarily need to heed my advice. But whether or not he heeds it, Nigeria needs to move on and move forward.”
"“Already, Nigerians are committing suicide for the unbearable socio-economic situation they find themselves in. And yet Nigerians love life. We must not continue to reinforce failure and hope that all will be well. It is self-deceit and self-defeat and another aspect of folly,” the ex-president said.
Obasanjo also complained about the president lack of understanding the dynamics of Nigerian political diversity, noting that "This has led to wittingly or unwittingly making the nation more divided and inequality has widened and become more pronounced. It also has effect on general national security."
Another area the ex-president was disgusted with the present administration was the manner the president pass buck and blame others over what should have been his responsibility.
"The third is passing the buck. For instance, blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for the devaluation of the naira by 70 percent or so and blaming past governments for it, is to say the least, not accepting one’s own responsibility.
"Let nobody deceive us, economy feeds on politics and because our politics is depressing, our economy is even more depressing today. If things were good, President Buhari would not need to come in. He was voted to fix things that were bad and not engage in the blame game." Obasanjo fired.
He said our Constitution is very clear, one of the cardinal responsibilities of the President is the management of the economy of which the value of the naira forms an integral part.
According to him, kinship and friendship that place responsibility for governance in the hands of the unelected can only be deleterious to good government and to the nation.Obasanjo, who served two terms as an elected president from 1999 to 2007, backed Buhari in his 2015 election and defeat of then President Goodluck Jonathan by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to effect the first democratic transfer of power in the country of more than 180 million people.
He said “The situation that made Nigerians to vote massively to get my brother Jonathan off the horse is playing itself out again,” Obasanjo said.
Africa’s top oil producer is scheduled to hold presidential elections in February next year as well as vote for lawmakers and state governors. While Buhari hasn’t said if he’ll run, his potential candidature remains a subject of much interest after he spent a total of more than five months in London last year receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
“The character of the 2019 election has changed irrevocably, it’s going to be extremely difficult for Buhari now,” Jideofor Adibe, a professor of political science at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, near the capital, Abuja, said by phone.
“This will embolden a number of people to challenge Buhari and it could also set him thinking whether seeking re-election is really worth it.”
After three failed attempts to win the presidency from 2003 to 2011, Buhari mustered a coalition of opposition parties that merged to become the ruling APC party. That coalition is now in tatters, with many members accusing the president of adopting a non-inclusive style and appointing cronies instead of competent people to key positions.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was Obasanjo’s number two and backed Buhari in 2015, left the APC last year and rejoined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), accusing Buhari of ignoring senior party members and relying on a core of personal aides to govern. Abubakar is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in the coming vote.

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