Featured
FG Flag-Off NYIF Application Process

Joel Ajayi
The Federal government has officially flagged off the start of the National Youth Investment Fund applications process.
Minister of Youth & Sports Development t. Mr. Sunday Dare made this announcement on Thursday in Abuja when he addresses major unfolding issues relating to the initiative.
“It is my pleasure to address you as we record yet another milestone in our drive to increase the government’s investment in our youth, who we recognize as assets and not problems. This mindset is the impetus that propelled us to approach the Federal Executive Council to approve the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) as a ringfenced Fund for the Nigerian youth, our own sort of a Youth Bank.
“The Federal Executive Council on July 22, 2020, thus approved the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) to the tune of N75 billion spread over three years to cater to youth-owned businesses and investment needs. Following the approval, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development set up three distinct bodies to work out the operationalization of the Fund.
“These are A Steering Committee which is chaired by me with the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria as members.
“There is also the Technical Committee chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Youth and Sports Development with other members drawn from the relevant MDAs with representatives from the CBN, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning among others. More importantly, there is the Focal Group, largely made up of youth that was selected based on their knowledge and specialized areas of expertise with the major task of being a springboard for gauging youth’s perception, expectations, and input to the Fund.
“I am pleased to inform you that membership of the three groups is on the basis of volunteer work and is therefore unpaid. The commitment with which they worked ensured that we are able to rapidly get to the stage we are at today. For me, this commitment signifies the drive and passion that the Nigerian Youth are renowned.
“These three groups were within this short time able to harmonize the input of stakeholders such that the delivery vehicle that guarantees access for all eligible youth was immediately prepared to commence the application, processing, and disbursement of the Fund. The assignment of the three groups culminated in NISRAL Microfinance Bank being selected as a disbursement agency, given its reach and spread which ensure that youth across the country have access to apply for the Fund.
“I must mention the support we enjoyed from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which in line with Mr. President’s directive, provided the initial N12.5 billion naira required for the Fund to operate in the remainder of the year 2020. We are also grateful that the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning has on its part committed to providing the next tranche of the Fund in the 2021 Budget.
“With the great work put in place by stakeholders and in line with Mr. President’s desire to increase investment in the youth, the loan provided under NYIF has an interest rate of 5% per annum. Youth applying as an individual or non-registered businesses are able to draw up to two hundred and fifty thousand nairas (₦250,000.00), while youth-owned registered businesses can apply for up to three million naira (₦3,000,000.00). Loans are with a tenure of five years and a moratorium of up to 12 months.
“Our commitment to seeing the youth succeed is such that the loan is bundled with training that will ensure business sustainability for successful applicants. It is my belief that the Fund will grow to become a permanent feature of our society when beneficiaries run successful businesses and repay their loans.
It is the least that beneficiaries of this round of Funding can do for those coming after them.
“It is therefore my pleasure to officially announce the start of the NYIF application process.
However, application is available online on NISRAL Microfinance Bank’s site, www.nmfb.com.ng . Applicants can also visit our website, www.youthandsport.gov.ng and www.noya.ng.
Speaking also was the permanent Secretary Ministry in of Youth Mr. Gabriel Aduda he expressed: “It’s historic in any way, it’s happening for the first time for the Development all Nigerians Youth.”
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the Ministry of Youth.
Also Speaking the representation of Central Bank of Nigeria CBN the Director of Development Finance Department Mr. Philip Yila Yusuf commended the creativity of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development.
According to him, the process is quite democratic, we are encouraging all youth to apply to contribute to national development N12.5billion is readily available for youth to grab.
Business
Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D
The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.
The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.
In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”
The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.
The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.
Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.
In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.
Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.
Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.
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