On today’s N2P, we follow the COVID-19 money trail, plug leaks in Oil & Gas, and justify a $1.2 Billion loan. Elsewhere, students ponder their plight, with no end in sight for the ASUU strike.
On today’s Numbers to Ponder (N2P), we look through the curtains of the novel SWAT. And speaking of SWAT, we found that floods killed at least 3 times more than EndSARS. Elsewhere, examination malpractice led to the WAEC council withholding a whooping 215,149 results!
In the bid to discuss the corporate organisations for Post-COVID-19 economic recovery, DATAPHYTE on Friday, May 22, organised a webinar.
For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, Nigeria witnesses 1.87% economic growth, amidst the global pandemic and crude oil price slash. In the same vein, the country’s export cashbook recorded N4.75tn as export revenue. Between 2015 and 2019, the Nigerian government budgeted N464m for eight human-related clinical trials of locally produced drugs. Moreso, it has also approved 10 billion naira worth of loans and grants to various groups to conduct for healthcare-related research.
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For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, N4.6 trillion was spent on food consumed outside the home in 2019, representing 20.19% of total food expenditure. DATAPHYTE takes a look at what the NBS figures mean for FMCG businesses. Setting records straight, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has denied media reports that it offered a $10 million bribe to the Nigerian House of Representatives to pass the controversial Control of Infectious Diseases Bill. Nigeria’s EFCC has received court permission to use data to probe a controversial company P&ID that received a $9.8 billion arbitration award against the government. Nigeria has added 2 weeks to the ongoing movement restrictions across Nigeria. The effort is to tame the spread of COVID-19.
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For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, COVID-19 has disrupted the distribution and revenue of newspaper publishers. From a short online poll conducted by DATAPHYTE, out of 778 people, only 45 buy a newspaper every day, while about 24 buy once a week. We are also sharing news of alleged grand corruption at the Lagos State House of Assembly. According to Sahara Reporters, Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa; Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni; and 17 other members received N80 million as estacode after attending a five-day event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Not yet Uhuru for former Abia Governor Senator Theodore Orji. The ex-governor is answering questions on how he spent N38.8billion security votes during his eight years in office.
For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, food consumed outside the home gulped N4.6 trillion from citizens constituting 20.19% of the overall food expenditure for 2019. According to the NBS household consumption data, Nigerians spent N22.8 trillion on food expenditure. On Wednesday, the Federal Government revised the 2020 budget to N10.5 trillion, a difference of about N71.5 billion when compared to the initial approved budget. The Government adjusted the budget in line with current economic realities due to the coronavirus crisis. Children are unsafe as the COVID-19 pandemic weakens the health system. UNICEF says an additional 950 Nigerian children, mostly under-five years, could die daily from preventable causes over the next six months.
For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, 82.9 million Nigerians are living below N400 per day, putting Nigeria officially on the map of nations in extreme poverty. This figure means that an average of 4 out of 10 individuals in Nigeria live on about $1 per day. On the COVID-19 frontline, the Central Bank (CBN) has challenged Nigerian Scientists to develop homegrown vaccines for the treatment of the virus. Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, said the apex bank has launched a N100 billion healthcare intervention fund to support them. Despite efforts by the apex bank to increase liquidity in the forex market, the Naira-dollar trade at N445 in the parallel market due to dollar scarcity. In politics, President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a letter to the National Assembly requesting the approval of 42 nominated career diplomats in accordance with section 171(2)(1c) and Subsection 4 of the 1999 constitution.
For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, Nigeria ranks 97th position in a global survey of 117 countries on budget transparency. In the Open Budget Survey 2019, the country scored 21% in budget transparency, 22% in public participation, and 55% in budget oversight. Is this a burst? An allegation of diverted N23 million COVID-19 palliative fund is hanging on the neck of the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede. To support the government in the fight against the pandemic, a religious group has offered its 425 health facilities as isolation centres for COVID-19. Tony Ojukwu, the executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), says the Nigerian Police caused nearly 60 percent of reported human rights abuses perpetrated during the second phase of the strict lockdown. This is also in tandem with a report by Dataphyte on how the Nigerian Security Operatives killed 13 while enforcing lockdown last month.
For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, consumers spent a record N40.2 trillion on household consumption comprising food and non-food items. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 56.65% (representing N22.8 trillion) of household expenditure was spent on food while the remaining 43.35% (N17.4 trillion) was spent on non- food items. We are also sharing news on how 200,000 jobs for Nigerians may be in jeopardy as Coronavirus threatened an estimated 160 Chinese firms operating in the country. Businesses and industries have shut down as Africa’s cases of COVID-19 topped over 60,000 on Saturday, May 9th – a third of whom have recovered – with deaths hovering around 2,000. Despite these threats, some Africans believe they cannot contract the deadly virus. Findings by Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC), a public-private partnership initiative, have shown. On the sports side, Local clubs and players are hopeful in Nigeria as football officials find applicable means to share FIFA’s $500,000 (about N180m) fund.
For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, Nigeria could raise at least N2.5 trillion revenue by increasing consumer credit in the housing sector to help cushion the effect of COVID-19 crisis on the economy. Dataphyte analysis also estimated that this would provide shelter for about 20 million Nigerians that need decent homes. In Lagos, the state’s health commissioner, Prof Akin Abayomi, says confirmed coronavirus cases in the state may increase to 120,000 between July and August 2020. More funds on the COVID-19 support programme as the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation announced that pandemic dedicated accounts had climbed to N697 million as of April 30, 2020..
For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, 33 States out of 36 States in Nigeria may find it difficult to pay workers’ salaries from the end of May 2020 over dwindling oil revenue. Kaduna and Nasarawa have already announced a pay cut. The Federal Government is expecting another $319m (N121bn) Abacha loot from the UK and France, the US Embassy in Nigeria said. In another news, as COVID-19 wreaks havoc, the United Nations has launched a $7 billion Global Humanitarian Response to help and protect the most vulnerable people in no fewer than 60 of the world’s poorest countries. To continue the fight against Coronavirus, US President Donald Trump has approved 250 ventilators to Nigeria among other countries.
For Today’s Numbers to Ponder, 1.9 million people are displaced from their homes in the North-East. The figure reported by UNICEF, is another alarming figure, a day after NBS reported high numbers of poor people in the region. Away from Northeast, the country’s opposition party has challenged VP Yemi Osinbajo to defend himself in the alleged N5.8 billion NEMA scam. The Government is already looking for ways to weather a pandemic tsunami on the economy and may further review the crude oil price in the 2020 budget down to $20 per barrel. Another FG effort will start evacuating about 4,000 stranded citizens across the world as a result of COVID-19 from today.
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For Today’ Numbers to Ponder, the National Bureau of Statistics has reported over 80 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty. Another unfavourable report – Nigeria ranked 115 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index. This signals Nigeria is not safe to practice accountability journalism.
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For Today’ Numbers to Ponder, Dataphyte’s prediction that in May, Nigeria would hit 1,885 Cases of the novel Coronavirus was right. That’s the power of data science to forecast. In another brief, Edo State claims to have screened 40,000 Screened, 2310 Violators were arrested during the lockdown. To give healthcare priority in post-Covid-19, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the state will increase the sector’s budget to 20 percent by 2021..
