National Issues
Has fuel, gas price come down to N87? FCT civil servants reject NBS report on recession
For days, Gbenga Odunsi, a journalist, toured five of the federal ministries in Abuja, spending time with civil servants over the NBS report that Nigeria is officially out of recession. His findings show that majority of the civil servants do not believe the report. Nigerians wants to feel the NBS statistics in their stomach before they believe. Those who believed it explained that it will take time before Nigerians can feel it, Gbenga writes.
The news of Nigeria’s exit from recession did not only come as a shock but also generated much controversy. While many are of the opinion that the recession is still hitting hard in the economy, others say it’s a past story.
Official results from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had shown that the economy grew at 0.55 per cent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017, effectively removing Nigeria out of recession.
The statistics office attributes the economic recovery to the performance of four main economic activities comprising oil, agriculture, manufacturing and trade.
The Nigerian economy slipped into recession in early 2016.
This news had struck many Nigerians leaving them in doubt of the NBS report. In separate interviews, the journalist spoke with some civil servants in the nation’s city capital and got divergent views.
Reactions
When asked if he was happy that the country had journeyed out of recession, Tunde Bankole, a staff of ministry of information simply smiled and stood up from his black leather office chair, looked out through the window, and sat back on his chair.
With a sad face, Tunde queried that if Nigerians who lost their jobs during the recession period get their jobs back, and the high prices of commodities drop down to the pre-recession prices, then Nigeria is truly out of recession, but is the reverse is the case, then the NBS statistics is a hoax.
“Does this translate to all or a greater percentage of people who lost their jobs gaining it back? Does this translate to prices of commodities in the market dropping drastically?
“Does this translate to improved standard of living for the Nigerian populace? Does this translate to businesses bouncing back?
“If no, then those things are mere figures that are not in tandem with reality”.
When Ijebu garri is the yardstick for measuring recession
In his opinion, Jide Akintunde, an administrative officer at the ministry of education, lamented that the exit from recession has not shown in the prices of foodstuffs.
“So, leaving recession was just in the paper, we haven’t seen it in real life.
“Let the prices of Ijebu garri and bag of rice come down so we can really say recession is over”, he added.
Time factor
However, Ndubisi Julien, a public affairs analyst at ministry of finance felt excited to respond to the journalist. “This is the type of question I like to answer” she said.
She commended the Buhari-led administration for leading the country out of the worst economic recession, adding that Nigerians may not necessarily feel the impact of the exit immediately.
Ndubisi lamented that Nigerians are ignorant of the way recession and its exit works, adding that people use the word without in-depth knowledge of its operations.
“It is obvious Nigerians don’t know what recession is all about, they have only been using the term because they heard it on TV/radio.
“Most of them think exiting recession mean a drop-in price of garri.
“Once the economic variables stabilize, it will start reflecting in the lives of the people, although it may take time but we are getting there”, she concluded.
Ndubisi however urged Nigerians to exercise patience till October before they start feeling the new waves of the post-recession period.
Revving the engine of his Toyota Camry at the ministry’s parking lot, obviously on his way out, Gerald Lawrence, an account at the ministry of health commended the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his efforts in stabilizing the economy of the country while President Buhari was away on his medical trip to London.
Lawrence further explained that it will take some time for the development to reflect on the lives of Nigerians, adding that prices hardly drops down when it goes up in Nigeria.
“Good development, truth be told, Osinbajo contributed a lot to improving the economy, but it is still Buhari’s administration that gave Osinbajo – a technocrat- the opportunity to so.
“It will however take some time for the development to reflect in the life of the average Nigerian especially considering the fact that anything that goes up in Nigeria never comes down”.
Some have accepted fate
boredom is killing me, ye eh eh
boredom is killing me, ye eh eh
pour me holy water make i find my square root
emi o s’ere
ko s’ina, ko s’omi
economy yi ti fe so mi di were…
sugbon, emi o ni je k’economy kill mi oh
ma jo, ma yo
economy no go give me heart attack oh
ma jo, ma yo
economy no go give me high blood pressure oh
ma jo, ma yo…Economy song by 9ice
This was the song Prince Olalekan Ibrahim, communications officer at the ministry of transportation, was playing on his android phone when the journalist approached him.
Dressed in a white native wear, guinea material to be specific, Olalekan paid much attention to his laptop, while singing the 9ice ‘Economy’ song at the same time.
When asked of his opinion on the NBS report that Nigeria is out of recession, Olalekan asked the journalist to give him few minutes to round off his work – it was almost closing hour.
Responding to the question, Olalekan explained he does not worry himself with issues bothering around Nigeria and its economic state. He noted that the APC-led administration is not concerned whether an average Nigerian feeds well or not.
The 9ice fan further noted that he has decided to make himself happy no matter what happens in Nigeria as it is obvious the government doesn’t care about its citizens.
He lamented on the report by NBS describing it as politically motivated scheme to make Nigerian believe the Buhari administration is working.
“Now answer me, what are the physical indices that shows we are out of recession? Prices of essential commodities rose to the ceiling level and that was the beginning of recession in Nigeria
“Now they are telling us that recession is over- the question is, has those prices come down?
“Has fuel/gas price come down to N87?
“Has people who lost their jobs been reinstated?”
“Has the foreign exchange returned to where Buhari and his government met it in 2015? Olalekan queried.
“Until all these are reversed, you can come out to say Nigeria is out of recession. If you dare me, then go to Wuse market and say this and see if you will not be beaten to pulp”, Olalekan added.
Sometimes, you just don’t know the source of some people’s anger
“Why did they make Lai Mohammed the government spokesperson”
This was the answer that welcomed the journalist’s question when he asked Paul Iredia, a staff at the ministry of industry, trade and investment his position on the NBS report.
Iredia, a middle-aged man with grey hairs on his head fumed and responded with anger over APC-led administration and their economic policies. It took the grace of God for the young journalist to escape
“slaps” from the obviously anti-Buhari civil servant.
“This same government told us Boko haram has been defeated but we still hear of boko haram attacks in the Northeast
“How many people ate meat this morning?
“Where did they get the statistics from, market or office?
Iredia lamented over how Buhari-led government plunged the country into recession. He explained that at the 4th quarter of 2015, the economy was flourishing fine but by the 1st quarter of 2016, the economy was languishing.
Knowing fully well that the journalist wasn’t comfortable with his outburst, Iredia calmed down a bit and concluded by saying “we need to see the effect of the statistics on our tables before we can rightly say we have exited the recession”.
When a Muslim quotes verses from the Bible
Umar Mohammed, an administrator at the ministry of environment was quick to liken Nigerians with the Israelites, explaining that when Moses was leading the Israelites of out Egypt to the promise land, they were faced with numerous difficulties on their way.
While in Egypt, they were convinced God really sent Moses to deliver them from the wicked hands of king Pharaoh. Following the difficulties they encountered, they the Israelites demanded that Moses return them back to Egypt – This is how Nigerians are behaving, Umar said.
“When NBS declared that Nigeria has entered recession with facts and data to back it up, everyone accepted, even the government in power accepted the fact. Nigerians did not call it a campaign. The government accepted the fact and accepted responsibility and promised to improve the economy.
“Now the same NBS that declared recession has said we are out of it with data to back up their facts but some elements have decided to play politics with it and are now saying it is a lie and that it was politically motivated.
“Everyone is now talking as if manna were falling down from heaven prior to the recession period.
“Atiku is saying food must be on the table of every Nigeria for us to believe we are truly out of recession as if during the pre-recession period, everyone was eating 3-square meal.
“Every Nigerian is now acting like we had constant electricity, good road, potable water, good and consistent health care, good education system, until recession came and scattered everything.
“Funny enough, when NBS declared recession, nobody demanded for all these explanations, we all accepted the fact, now Nigerians are demanding explanation of how the country exited recession”, he concluded.
TEXT OF THE BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES, DECLARING STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE ON TUESDAY 18 MARCH 2025
Fellow Nigerians, I feel greatly disturbed at the turn we have come to regarding the political crisis in Rivers State. Like many of you, I have watched with concern the development with the hope that the parties involved would allow good sense to prevail at the soonest, but all that hope burned out without any solution to the crisis.
With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we have all fought and worked for over the years, can thrive in a way that will redound to the benefit of the good people of the state. The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started, with the good people of the state not being able to have access to the dividends of democracy.
Also, it is public knowledge that the Governor of Rivers State for unjustifiable reasons, demolished the House of Assembly of the state as far back as 13th December 2023 and has, up until now, fourteen (14) months after, not rebuilt same. I have made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but my efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. I am also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, Leaders of thought and Patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all their efforts were also to no avail. Still, I thank them.
On February 28, 2025, the supreme court, in a judgment in respect of about eight consolidated appeals concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, based on several grave unconstitutional acts and disregard of rule of law that have been committed by the Governor of Rivers State as shown by the evidence before it pronounced in very clear terms:
“a government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended. In this case the head of the executive arm of the government has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without the legislature as a despot. As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”
The above pronouncement came after a catalogue of judicial findings of constitutional breaches against the Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Going Forward in their judgment, and having found and held that 27 members of the House who had allegedly defected
“are still valid members of Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot be prevented from participating in the proceedings of that House by the 8th Respondent (that is, the Governor) in cohorts with four members”
The Supreme Court then made some orders to restore the state to immediate constitutional democracy. These orders include the immediate passing of an Appropriation Bill by the Rivers State House of Assembly which up till now has not been facilitated.
Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now NOT disowned them.
Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together.
Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.
With all these and many more, no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.
In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.
By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state.
This declaration has been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution. It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
Long live a united, peaceful, secure and democratic Rivers State in particular and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a whole.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has emphasized the need for the recruitment of intelligent graduates into its ranks, stating that crime-fighting requires intellect and strategic thinking.
DSS Director, Oluwatosin Ajayi, made this known on Wednesday while delivering a lecture at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State.
The lecture, titled “The Roles of the DSS in Security, Peacekeeping, and National Integration,” highlighted the agency’s crucial role in safeguarding the nation and the necessity of strengthening intelligence institutions.
Ajayi, represented by DSS Deputy Director Patrick Ikenweiwe, stressed that the country’s best minds should be drafted into the DSS to address the growing security challenges.
“If I have my way, the best graduates in the country should be compelled to join the DSS and serve the nation in tackling security threats,” Ikenweiwe stated.
Drawing a comparison to Israel’s academic system, he noted: “In Israel, students who score above 70 marks in their university entrance exam are automatically placed in the university. Tell me, how would a ‘Dundee’ (dullard) be able to counter a criminal gang made up of first-class brains? Intelligence is key to fighting crime.”
He further advocated for collaboration with academic institutions to identify top-performing students who could be recruited into the intelligence service.
The DSS official also outlined several threats to national security, including sabotage, subversion, and espionage, urging a comprehensive approach to national security that includes intelligence-driven solutions and a well-trained workforce.
The Nigerian government spent a staggering $3.58 billion on servicing foreign debt within the first nine months of 2024, marking a significant 39.77% increase compared to the $2.56 billion expended over the same period in 2023.
This data, drawn from a recent report on international payment statistics by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), reflects a concerning rise in the country’s foreign debt obligations amid depreciating currency values.
According to the report, the most substantial monthly debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, totaling $854.37 million. This is a substantial 286.52% increase from May 2023’s $221.05 million.
Meanwhile, the highest monthly payment for 2023 was $641.7 million in July, underscoring the trend of Nigeria’s escalating debt costs.
Detailed analysis of monthly payments further illuminates the trend.
In January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89%, reaching $560.52 million, a significant rise from $112.35 million in January 2023. However, February saw a modest reduction of 1.84%, with costs decreasing from $288.54 million in 2023 to $283.22 million in 2024. March also recorded a decline of 31.04%, down to $276.17 million from $400.47 million the previous year.
Additional fluctuations in debt payments continued throughout the year, with June witnessing a slight decrease of 6.51% to $50.82 million from $54.36 million in 2023. July 2024 payments dropped by 15.48%, while August showed a 9.69% decline compared to 2023. September, however, reversed the trend with a 17.49% increase, highlighting persistent pressure on foreign debt obligations.
With the rise in exchange rates exacerbating these financial strains, Nigeria’s foreign debt servicing costs are projected to remain elevated.
The central bank’s data highlights how these obligations are stretching national resources as the naira’s devaluation continues to impact debt repayment in dollar terms.
Rising State Debt Levels Add Pressure
The federal government’s debt challenges are mirrored by state governments, whose collective debt rose to N11.47 trillion by June 30, 2024.
Despite allocations from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) and internally generated revenue (IGR), states remain heavily reliant on federal transfers to meet budgetary demands.
According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), the debt burden for Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) rose by 14.57% from N10.01 trillion in December 2023.
In naira terms, debt rose by 73.46%, from N4.15 trillion to N7.2 trillion, primarily due to the naira’s depreciation from N899.39 to N1,470.19 per dollar within six months. External debt for states and the FCT also increased from $4.61 billion to $4.89 billion during this period.
Further data from BudgIT’s 2024 State of States report illustrates how reliant states are on federal support. The report revealed that 32 states depended on FAAC allocations for at least 55% of their revenue in 2023.
In fact, 14 states relied on FAAC for 70% or more of their revenue. This heavy dependence on federal transfers underscores the vulnerability of states to fluctuations in federal revenue, particularly those tied to oil prices.
The economic challenges facing both the federal and state governments are stark. The combination of mounting foreign debt, fluctuating exchange rates, and high reliance on federally distributed revenue suggests a need for fiscal reforms to bolster revenue generation and reduce vulnerability to external shocks.
With foreign debt obligations continuing to grow, the report emphasizes the urgency for Nigeria to address its debt sustainability to foster long-term economic stability.
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