Featured

Economic Development, Antidote To Crime Reduction And BetterSecurity -Amaech

Published

5 years ago

October 23, 2020

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has hinted that infrastructure and economic development is key to reducing crime and aiding better functionality of security agencies in Nigeria.

Amaechi stated this when he delivered a lecture to participants of National Defence College Course 29 in Abuja, Friday.

Referencing his time as Governor of Rivers State, the Minister gave instances where there were chaos and unrest among the people and how he tackled the issue by addressing the deficits in infrastructure development, getting the youth engaged, thereby curbing restlessness.

“To create jobs we had to construct roads and other infrastructure projects. This process saw a lot of people been engaged and insecurity dropped drastically. In education, we employed, 13,200 teachers. We set up a Banana Farm with the capacity to employ over 500 persons everyday. This saw a lot of jobless youths been engaged.

In Rivers state, we built over 350 Model Primary Schools, which was not just to improve the standard of education and enlightenment but create employment also. We built standard Primary Health Care Centres that were acknowledged by news agencies like CNN and Al Jazeera.

From 2000, we had a major security crisis in the State and the reason given was that they were fighting for their right and the even distribution of national resources. They began to bomb pipelines, take oil, and engage in kidnapping.

When I came in (as governor), the first thing I did was to meet with security chiefs and the then Commander, Brig Bello. I told them that the reason why there was insecurity in Rivers state was because of the state of the economy, which gave rise to youth unrest in the region”, Amaechi said.

As Minister of Transportation, Amaechi said a lot is being done to improve the economy, create jobs for Nigerians, and build more infrastructure to push the overall growth of the country in different sectors.

“We have done a lot in Infrastructure development and employment. The massive infrastructural development in the Railway sector has employed so many Nigerians. Also don’t forget that in 2011/2012, the out-of-school children In Nigeria were 10 million which has now been reduced to about 3 million.

“In 2013, the cost of Tomato was extremely high, and the then Minister of Agriculture invited me for a meeting and he said to me, ‘can you provide railway transportation from Kano to Lagos?’ I called the MD of Railway to make the trip from Kano to Lagos more regular, and in one week the price of tomato crashed”, he said.

The Minister for Transportation further gave insight on the connection between economic development and defence, in the light of security challenges.

“The only way the army can rest and the police can do their job effectively is when the economy begins to grow. When people are properly engaged with different activities, they won’t think of engaging in criminal activities.

“The Army is not supposed to give internal security but the Police is overwhelmed by the level of crime rate, hence the Army has consistently been rescuing Nigerians.

Economic growth reduces crime and when there is no crime, the Military and police can rest”, Amaechi added.

Responding, the Commandant, National Defence College, Abuja, Real Admiral M.M Kadiri, thanked the Minster for gracing the lecture with his presence and also for the enlightenment on the role of economic and infrastructure development in curbing crime.

Share on Facebook

Featured

Tax Reform Bill Passage: New Tax Laws, Better Nigeria

Published

16 hours ago

May 9, 2025

The Gleamer

By Arabinrin Aderonke

Nigeria must work; this is the vision we have held onto for so long. When the news came that the Senate had passed all four tax reform bills, it was one of those moments you stop and ask yourself, is this really happening? For years, Nigeria’s tax system has been a source of frustration, something we all got used to criticizing. Truthfully, it was not just tax. From electricity to education to healthcare, we have long complained about the failure of government systems.

On top of that, Nigeria remained tied to the unstable global oil market, leaving us with unpredictable revenue and a shrinking ability to fund our future. That is exactly why we must keep believing in the idea of a new Nigeria. And this time, it is not just another round of promises, this is action.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu understood that to truly rebuild Nigeria, we needed a tax system that would create sustainable revenue, spread the burden fairly, and give every Nigerian, rich or poor, north or south, a reason to trust government again. That is what led to the introduction of the tax reform bills in 2024. It has taken months of serious policy work, consultation, and courage. Now, with the National Assembly passing all four bills, the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigeria Tax Administration (Procedure) Bill 2024, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill 2024, and the Joint Tax Board (Establishment) Bill 2024, we are seeing decisions that could finally loosen Nigeria’s dependence on oil and give states the resources they need to grow.

One of the features is the new VAT sharing formula. Under the proposed structure, 50 percent of Value Added Tax revenue will be shared equally among all states, 20 percent will be distributed based on population, and 30 percent will be distributed according to actual consumption. It is a formula designed to balance fairness with performance, giving each state a stake while also encouraging economic activity and good governance.

The Senate also made it known that the VAT rate will remain at 7.5 percent, resisting pressure to increase it. For Nigerians, that means no new burden added to goods and services. But more importantly, the bills approved also provided for the continued funding of development agencies such as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). These are the institutions that support learning, research, and innovation across the country, and their survival is necessary for the future of the Nigeria we all want.

Another part of the bill is the plan to turn the Federal Inland Revenue Service into the Nigeria Revenue Service (Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill). But this is not just a name change. It is a coordinated effort to build a system that supports states, strengthens local government revenue, and makes tax collection more transparent.

Dr. Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman of FIRS, has led the redesign of the agency and introduced many measures aimed at improving tax collection across the country, and even these Tax Reform Bills are one. If anyone has earned respect in this space, it is him. His work shows that reforms are possible when people in charge are ready to do better.

As it stands, all four tax reform bills have been passed, and these laws are now in place. This means Nigeria has completed what many consider the most needed tax reform in years.

The process now moves to the harmonization stage, where both the Senate and House of Representatives will come together to resolve any differences in their versions of the bills. Once they reach an agreement, the bills will be sent to the President for his final approval. After the President signs them into law, they will be published in the official gazette, making them official. From there, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which will be renamed the Nigeria Revenue Service, will take the lead in implementation. With the capable Tax Boss, Dr. Zacch, we can be sure that the results will exceed expectations.

This is the Renewed Hope Nigerians have been waiting for. The changes are here, these reforms give us the chance to do things right!

Arabinrin Aderonke Atoyebi is the technical assistant on broadcast media to the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service

Share on Facebook