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World Youth Skills Day: Minister Praises Nigerian Youth, Calls for Different Thinking

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Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, has challenged all Nigerian Youth to seek knowledge and skills that will help the country weather the current economic climate forced on it by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. He said there is no better time for young Nigerians to think differently, find new skills, reskill or up-skill as the case may be.

 

The Minister said this in a press statement on Wednesday, July 15th, to mark World Youth Skills Day. He said every Youth must seek self-improvement in order to remain relevant in the rapidly changing business environment and market conditions.

 

“I congratulate all Nigerian Youth on World Youth Day 2020,” the statement read. “It is heartwarming to see all the effort put in by young people in these most trying of times. I celebrate with you all, especially those who have taken it upon themselves to invest the free time forced on them by the global pandemic lock-downs to explore new horizons and develop new skills. The pandemic has seen our Youth rise up to exhibit their ideas, skills and potentials churning out innovative technology, apps and products.

 

“Covid-19 has changed the world in many ways and the best way to adapt is to engage your mind and body in the most creative and entrepreneurial way possible. In the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, you have a worthy partner in your journey to find a new skill, reskill or upskill yourself.”

 

Mr Dare said because of the partnership between his ministry and IBM, over 11,000 people have gained new digital skills via online training programmes. He added that the federal government has green-lighted the Economic Sustainability Plan, which is designed to inject about N2.3 Trillion into critical sectors of the economy to keep the Youth busy. He added that most of the beneficiaries of the Central Bank N50 million Covid-19 fund for SMEs are Youth and that several MDAs have increased the number of Youth being trained on digital skills, smart agriculture, diverse technical skills and alternative energy technology.

 

The Youth Minister called on global political and business leaders to take the risk and invest in the Youth.

 

“We join the rest of the world today to bring attention to the urgent need to invest more in our Youth,” Mr Dare said. “Nigeria is on a new trajectory of deliberately investing in the enterprise, innovativeness, ideas and projects of her youth. The stimulus plan recently approved by government targets the Youth for training, employment, investment and mentorship which will lead to the creation of over a million jobs in the next year. Indeed, the 1,000 jobs in each of the 774 local government areas under the Ministry of Labour and Productivity is aimed at creating jobs for the Youth in the skilled and semi-skilled segment.

 

“Under my leadership, the Ministry is currently tweaking its flagship programmes, DEEL and DY.NG, to provide skills for a resilient Youth in the era of COVID-19 and beyond. We are taking stock of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on skills development and exploring how young people can respond to the economic crisis. We are focused on helping young people be more resilient to changes caused by the current crisis and in the world of work in general. We are very confident that this is the best path to ensure success.”

 

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Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

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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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