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The decision of the Federal Government to disengage over 500,000 N-Power recruits have generated different public reactions. While some have decried unpaid allowances for current recruits, others believe that the layoffs will worsen the unemployment situation in the country.
If anyone has stepped out recently, he must have noticed that Nigeria as almost fully resumed its normal life. From the aggressive drivers on the now busy roads to the spontaneous conversations at informal stands and the rowdy marketplaces, life has practically returned to normal in the country. In fact, if you take a stroll down the streets, you will likely find people holding hands, cheering happily, or even exchanging words aggressively! Except for the multi-coloured uniforms of school children that are still missing, nothing else might remind you of the ongoing pandemic.
COVID-19 pandemic has continued to hamper Nigeria’s social and economic life. This is according to a recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics. The report titled COVID-19 Impact Monitoring (May 2020) reflected that the pandemic poses serious health and financial threats to many Nigerians and has a devastating impact on employment and income in the country.
The outbreak of COVID–19 is causing serious economic changes across the globe. One of its many clear effects is the declining oil price and lower demand for crude. This is as a result of movement restrictions and the lockdown of major economies across the world. For Nigeria, COVID-19 has a double effect on its economy as an oil-dependent nation.
Most of the 36 states in Nigeria are reviewing their 2020 budgets. The review is in response to current economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those that have reviewed cited dwindling oil prices and disruption of economic activities caused by coronavirus crisis. Since the price war started, the cost of crude oil has dropped drastically, affecting the revenue of the Nigerian Government.
Although coronavirus has affected business operations across the world, the impact on print media is massive! It has put the industry in a tight corner amidst high running costs while circulation and advert sales are collapsing. More of their audiences have also moved to online platforms, thereby threatening the existence of newspaper publishers. In a quick poll conducted by Dataphyte on social media, 5.7% of the participants on Twitter buy newspapers daily, an incredible small faction compared to 61.1% who never buys a newspaper.
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, 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.
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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.
For today’s Numbers to Ponder, Nigeria emerged 97th position in global budget transparency survey, falling behind Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Experts told DATAPHYTE that the opacity in the budget process makes Nigeria lose out among the comity of nations. In the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, no Workers’ Day celebration for frontline health workers as 113 already contracted the COVID-19 virus.
There is a consensus that Nigeria underfunds research and innovation. This view is emphasized in an interview with Prof. Peter Okebukola, a former executive secretary of the National Universities Commission. He stated that African universities are on the lowest rung of research and innovation due to underfunding. Perhaps, the recent appeal of the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions to the Federal Government to use part of the COVID 19 donations to fund health research institutions puts credence to that position.
Nigeria is indeed in a bad form. As COVID19 has made the world shut down, demand for oil has dwindled. This has affected the oil market. Crude oil constitutes 80% of Nigeria’s revenue and the country did not grow the capacity to collect taxes when it could.
About a fortnight ago a correspondence from the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) notified business owners on the modalities for payment of monthly tax returns (VAT). The correspondence directed that due to the COVID-19 lockdown, business owners should utilize the e-payment platform for tax payment. Also, in compliance to social distancing measures, business owners were directed to send a copy of the electronically generated bank invoice to a designated e-mail address against the usual physical submission of payment evidence to the tax office. However, many business owners consider the absence of tax breaks, an additional burden associated with the pandemic.
Though the Primary Health Care centres (PHCs) in Nigeria are poorly financed, there are key interventions they can bring to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The governments and NCDC must not disconnect from with these hubs which are the primary point of care under the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) National Policy.
For a plan such as the second National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP-II) that is expected to cost up to N6.07 trillion, an updated appraisal of achievements since its implementation is necessary. This is to ensure that all targets of the plan are met and that the plan is not just an on-paper plan. Appraisals of this nature are also important to avoid a repeat of the abysmal performance of NSHDP-I which had only 2 of the 52 set targets met.
