Ease of Doing Business Reform Successes:

• The work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (inaugurated by President Buhari in August 2016) and the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) has resulted in Nigeria moving up 39 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings since 2016. In the last 3 years Nigeria has twice been adjudged one of 10 Most Improved Economies in the Rankings.
• The Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) in 2017 completed a long-overdue revision of the list of activities that can benefit from Nigeria’s Pioneer Status Incentive, which grants beneficiary companies a 3 to 5-year tax holiday. The revision, done more than 10 ten years after the last one, has modernized the List, expanding the tax holiday incentives to qualifying companies in E-commerce, Software Development, Animation, Music, Film and TV.
• NIPC published a Compendium of all Investment incentives in Nigeria, making it easier for existing and potential investors to have equal access to the information.
• Some of the specific Ease of Doing Business Reform achievements are as follows:
  • Assent by President Buhari to the Finance Bill, 2019. The Finance Act, 2019 is the first time Nigeria is accompanying the passage of a Budget with complementary fiscal and business environment reforms legislation. The 2020 Budget is also the first time in 12 years that a Federal Budget has been restored to the January-December cycle.
  • Creation of a National Collateral Registry (NCR). A NCR or Movable Assets Registry was established by the Central Bank of Nigeria, in May 2016. The NCR allows small businesses to get access to loans using movable assets – machinery, livestock, inventory – as collateral. As of the end of June 2018, the NCR online portal had registered 630 financial institutions. Between inception in 2016 and April 2020, these financial institutions had recorded a total of 65,370 moveable assets on the portal, belonging to 165,456 borrowers, and valued at 1.26 Trillion Naira
  • Automation of business name reservation, submission of registration documents, payment of registration fees, generation of Tax Identification Numbers (TIN), and filing of federal Taxes.
  • Implementation of functioning Visa-on-Arrival system for Business Visitors and AU nationals.

PENSIONS

• In January 2019, President Buhari launched Nigeria’s Micro Pension Scheme – which allows self-employed persons and persons working in organisations with less than 3 employees to save for the provision of pension at retirement or incapacitation.
• The Buhari Administration is prioritizing the payment of pension arrears owed staff of current and privatized/defunct Federal agencies:
• N54 billion released to settle outstanding 33% pension arrears (the 33% pension arrears date back to 2010 when the minimum wage was increased to N18,000).
• Delta Steel Company (liquidated in 2005): 3,542 pensioners have now been placed on the payroll, ending a 13-year wait for their entitlements.
• NITEL: 9,216 pensioners payrolled, after more than a decade of neglect
• Retired Biafran Police Officers (dismissed by the Federal Government in 1971, after the Civil War ended, and pardoned by President Obasanjo in 2000): President Buhari approved the payment of the pensions, unpaid since their pardon in 2000. N571.56 million was paid to a total of 174 beneficiaries in October 2017
• Nigeria Airways: President Buhari approved the release of N24 billion in September 2018, for the settlement of 50% of workers disengaged when the airline was liquidated in 2003/4.
• Recoveries: The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has recovered cash and non-cash assets totaling N16 billion previously trapped in various insurance companies and underwriters managing the pension funds of Federal Parastatals and Universities.

MONETARY, FISCAL, TRADE, IMMIGRATION, CONSUMER PROTECTION REFORMS

Tax

• Launch of a new Tax Identification Number (TIN) Registration System in 2019. For the first time Nigeria has a consolidated, unified database of all taxpayers (individual and corporate), across all States.
• This new System is the product of increased collaboration between FIRS and States’ Inland Revenue Services (through improved sharing of information, and an integration of databases, among others)
• The new TIN Registration system leverages on existing taxpayer data available from databases of multiple organizations like Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Banks through Bank Verification Number (BVN), National Identity Card Management Commission (NIMC) and others.
• The improved collaboration between FIRS and the various SIRS’ has resulted in an increase in Nigeria’s “Tax Net” (number of paying and non-paying individuals and companies in the Tax Database) from 13 million as at December 2015 to 35 million at the end of 2018, and a projected 45 million by the end of 2019.

Trade

• Establishment of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations by the Economic Management Team (EMT). The NOTN has produced Nigeria’s first Annual National Trade Report, and is compiling, for the first time in Nigeria’s history, a comprehensive database of Nigerian Trade Deals and Agreements.
• The Renminbi-Naira Swap Agreement between the Peoples Bank of China and the Central Bank of Nigeria: On April 27, 2018, the CBN signed a 3-year bilateral currency swap agreement with the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC), worth Chinese Yuan (CNY) 15 billon – equivalent to N720.00 billon or US$2.5 billion.

Budget:

• Budget proposal submission, which used to be done manually (submissions in hard copy and flash drives) has moved to an online platform, the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), since 2018. The new Budget Submission System significantly improves the transparency and efficiency of the budgeting system.
• Restoration of Federal Budget to January-December cycle, with the 2020 Budget, for the first time in 12 years.

Immigration:

• Installation of the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) – a global travel security standard – in 5 Nigerian International Airports, commencing in late 2019, with the support and collaboration of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
• MIDAS is linked to Local and International Criminal Dabatases / Watchlists (INTERPOL etc), and achieves real-time synchronization of data between all of Nigeria’s International Airports and the NIS Headquarters in Abuja. It ultimately creates a faster and more efficient airport experience, while also ensuring that persons crossing Nigeria’s borders through the Airports do not pose any threats to national and international security.
• Accompanying the installation of MIDAS, is the launch of a New Visa Policy, 2020 by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), as part of a broader 5-year Border Strategy Reform (2019 – 2023).

The new Visa Policy incorporates the following reforms:

• Expansion of Visa Categories from 6 to 79, to reflect and cater to the full range of realities and scenarios for intending travelers to Nigeria.
• Introduction of eVisas, which carry biometric information of visa holders. The eVisa issuance system is linked to MIDAS.
• Automation of Visa Issuance and Payment to reduce human contact and associated corruption.
• The Visa on Arrival Policy expanded to all holders of African Passports starting January 2020.

Consumer Protection:

• President Buhari in 2019 assented to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Bill, the first legislation in Nigeria’s history focused on curbing anti-competition practices; and the establishment of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Debt Management:

• Between 2017 and now, Nigeria has issued its first ever:
• Diaspora Bond, in the International Capital Market. The Diaspora Bond was US$300 million with a tenor of 5-years. The proceeds were used to part–finance the 2017 Budget.
• Sukuk Bond (1st Tranche – 100 billion Naira in 2017; 2nd Tranche of 100 billion Naira in 2018 and 3rd Tranche of 150 billion Naira has just gone on sale in May 2020). The Sukuk Bond proceeds are being used to fund major road projects across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
• The Buhari Administration has issued Nigeria’s first ever Sovereign Green Bonds.

Domestic Borrowing Costs:

• Through the CBN’s policies and directives, Treasury Bill rates – which represent domestic borrowing costs for the Government – have fallen from 16-18 percent per annum in 2017 to 2-6 percent per annum in 2019/2020.

FISCAL SUPPORT TO STATES

• The Buhari Administration has extended more than N2 Trillion Naira in bailout packages to State Governments, to enable them meet their salary and pension obligations, especially in the face of dwindling oil revenues in the first 3 years of the Administration. The support has come in the form of the following:
  • Budget Support Facility (Total of N614 billion extended to the States.
  • Paris Club Refunds ($5.4 billion)
  • Infrastructure Loans
  • Loan Restructuring for Facilities with Commercial Banks: In 2015, the DMO restructured Commercial Bank loans with a total value of N575.516 billion for 23 States to reduce the debt service burden on the states. In exchange for their loans to State Governments, the banks were issued 20-year FGN Bonds at a yield of 14.83% per annum. The Restructuring Exercise benefited the States through:
    • Reduction in the monthly debt service burden of States from between 55% to 97% for various States;
    • Interest rate savings for the States ranging from 3% to 9% per annum;
    • Longer repayment period for the loans now converted into Bonds; and,
    • Freeing up of needed cash to run the machinery of Government.

EXECUTIVE ORDERS

• The Buhari Administration has, since 2017, issued a number of landmark Executive Orders:
  • Executive Order (001) on Improving Efficiency in the Business Environment
  • Executive Order (002) on Promoting Local Procurement by Government Agencies
  • Executive Order (005) on planning and execution of projects, promotion of Nigerian content in contracts and science, engineering and technology
  • Executive Order (008) on the Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (VOARS)
  • Executive Order (007) on Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme
  • Executive Order (010) Implementing Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary

• The 25 Road Projects being funded by the Sukuk Bonds:
  • Construction of Oju/Loko–Oweto bridge over River Benue to link Loko (Nasarawa state) and Oweto (Benue state) along route F2384
  • Dualisation of Abuja–Abaji–Lokoja Road section I (International Airport link road junction–Sheda Village)
  • Dualisation of Suleja–Minna Road in Niger State Phase II (km 40+000-km101+000)
  • Dualisation of Abuja–Abaji–Lokoja Road: Section IV Koton Karfe–Lokoja in Kogi State
  • Dualisation of Lokoja-Benin Road: Obajana–Okene in Kogi State
  • Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe
  • Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe–Borno States. Section III (Azare– Potiskum) in Bauchi
  • Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe–Borno States. Section IV (Potiskum–Damaturu road) in Yobe
  • Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe–Borno States. Section V (Damaturu–Maiduguri)
  • Dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road linking Kano– Jigawa–Bauchi–Yobe–Borno States. Section I (Kano– Wudil–Shuari) in Kano
  • Dualisation of Kano–Katsina Road Phase I, Kano Town at Dawanau roundabout to Katsina border in Kano
  • Construction of Kano Western Bypass as an extension of dualisation of Kano–Maiduguri Road Section I
  • Construction of Kaduna Eastern Bypass
  • Rehabilitation of outstanding section of Onitsha–Enugu Expressway: Amansea–Enugu border
  • Rehabilitation of Enugu–Port Harcourt dual-carriage Section I: Lokpanta–Umuahia in Abia
  • Rehabilitation of Enugu–Port Harcourt dual-carriage Section II Umuahia tower–Aba Township Rail
  • Rehabilitation of Enugu–Port Harcourt Road Section III: Enugu–Lokpanta
  • Rehabilitation of Enugu–Port Harcourt Road Section IV: Aba–Port Harcourt in Rivers
  • Dualisation of Yenegwe Road Junction–Kolo–Otuoke– Bayelsa Palm in Bayelsa
  • Dualisation of Lokoja–Benin Road: Obajana Junction–
  • Benin Section II Phase I: Okene–Auchi, Kogi/Edo states
  • Dualisation of Lokoja–Benin Road: Obajana Junction–
  • Benin Section III Phase I: Auchi–Ehor in Edo
  • Dualisation of Lokoja-Benin Road: Obajana junction–
  • Benin Section IV Phase I: Ehor–Benin City, Edo state
  • Reconstruction and asphalt overlay of Benin–Ofosu– Ore–Ajebandele–Shagamu dual-carriage Phase IV
  • Reconstruction of outstanding section of sections of Benin–Ofusu–Ore–Ajebandele–Shagamu dual-carriage Phase III
  • Dualisation of Ibadan–Ilorin Road. Section II: Oyo– Ogbomosho Road in Oyo

Figure 3: Bodo Bonny Road

Power Sector:

• The Federal Government’s Energizing Economies. Programme is a public-private partnership led by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), to deliver stable power supply to markets and economic clusters across the country. The initial phase is ongoing in Ariaria Market in Aba, Abia State (32,000 shops), Sura Shopping Complex in Lagos (1,000 shops), Shomolu Printing Community in Lagos (4,000 shops) and the Sabon Gari Market in Kano (12,000 shops). The Sura Shopping Complex project was completed in August 2018, and commissioned by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in October 2018.
• Launch of a 1.3 Trillion Naira Payment Assurance Programme designed to resolve the liquidity challenges in the Power Sector by guaranteeing payments to Generating Companies and Gas Suppliers.
• Implementation of a Willing Buyer, Willing Seller Policy for the power sector, which has opened up opportunities for increased delivery of electricity to homes and industries. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has also recently issued an Order capping estimated billing by DisCos.
• More than 90 Transmission Projects completed or ongoing since 2016.

Oil and Gas:

• NNPC is set to commence construction of the 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) natural gas pipeline, which will traverse Kogi, Niger, FCT, Kaduna and Kano, and feed power plants and industries along the corridor. NNPC has paid the 15 percent counterpart funding for the $2.9 billion project, while the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the issuance of a sovereign guarantee to cover the rest of the funding, coming from the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation.
• Nigeria LNG Limited concluded Final Investment Decision (FID) on its Train 7 project at the end of 2019, and signed an EPC contract for the project in May 2020. A financing arrangement worth 3 billion US dollars was also concluded, the largest financing deal in Africa so far in 2020. NNPC owns a 49 percent stake in NLNG, on behalf of the Nigerian Government.
• Controversial Offshore Processing Arrangement (OPA) has been cancelled and replaced with a ‘Direct Sales and Direct Purchase (DSDP)’ scheme with reputable offshore refineries.
• The Passage of the long overdue Deep Offshore and Inland Basin PSC (Amendment) Act, 2019, which will deliver increased revenues to the Federation.
• Negotiation of the billions of dollars in arrears of Cash Calls we inherited when we assumed office, resulting in an agreement for a significant discount of $1.7 billion. Since 2017 the NNPC has commenced payment of the arrears to the Oil Companies, with a view to clearing the backlog. As at Q4 2018, about $2 billion of the $5.5 billion arrears had been cleared.
• Removal of the fuel subsidy regime and replacement by a market-led price modulation mechanism.
• The Modular Refinery Initiative of the Buhari Administration has delivered 3 completed private sector-led projects, in Rivers, Imo and Delta States, and several others are in progress. Eminent personalities like former President Olusegun Obasanjo have publicly commended the success recorded in that sector by the Buhari Administration.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE

• The SIP is the largest and most ambitious social safety net programme in the history of Nigeria, with 12 million direct beneficiaries so far:
• 500,000 N-Power beneficiaries currently enrolled and have been deployed and are receiving N30,000 in monthly stipends. Additional 40,000 are at various stages of enrolment.

Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP):

• ₦36.9 billion so far disbursed in interest-free loans ranging from N50,000 to N350,000 to more than 2.3 million market women, traders, artisans, farmers across all 36 States of the country and the FCT, under GEEP, using locally developed and implemented technology solutions (More than half of the loans have gone to women).
• In terms of advancing the financial inclusion goals of the Buhari Administration, GEEP has led to the opening of 2,023,145 new mobile wallets for beneficiaries.
• In November 2017, GEEP was chosen as the pilot programme for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Policy Innovation Unit in Nigeria.

Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP):

• 9.9 million Primary 1 – 3 pupils being in 54,952 public primary schools in 35 States. More than 107,000 cooks are engaged to deliver these meals.
• The NHGSFP reduces hunger and malnutrition, and improves education outcomes (boosts school enrolment); farmers and produce ‘aggregators’ also benefit from improved access to school feeding markets and communities, and by extension improved incomes.

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT):

• More than 3 million poor and vulnerable households have been registered on the National Social Register, and more than one million of these families are currently benefiting from the CCT Scheme, which pays N5,000 to each household monthly.

Education:

Grants and Disbursements: The Federal Government has disbursed more than 170 billion Naira in UBE Matching Grants to States and the FCT since 2015, 8 billion Naira in Special Education Grant to States and private providers of Special Education, and 34 billion Naira from the Teachers Professional Development Fund to States and the FCT.

Approval for the establishment of the following:

• Federal Maritime University, in Delta State
• Nigerian Army University, in Borno State
• Six new Colleges of Education (one per geopolitical zone)

Transfer of Almajiri Schools built by the previous administration to State Governments and credible Scholars of Islamic Education, for efficient administration and impact.

Healthcare

• Grants to State Governments: A minimum of $2.5 million disbursed to each State of the Federation and the FCT, under the Saving One Million Lives (SOML) initiative, to improve health outcomes.
• Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF): For the first time since the National Health Act was passed in 2014, the Federal Government included the 1% minimum portion of the Consolidated Revenue Fund – amounting to 55 billion Naira – in the 2018 budget, to fund the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). The Fund is designed to deliver a guaranteed set health services to all Nigerians, through the national network of Primary Health Care centers.
• Passage of enabling legislation for the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), for the first time since it was founded in 2011. President Buhari approved a grant of 5 billion Naira for the NCDC in March 2020.
• Tertiary Healthcare Upgrade Programme: A number of key Federal Hospitals across the country are being upgraded to effectively manage cancer and other major health challenges. Cancer Radiotherapy machines and other equipment are being provided to these hospitals. The National Hospital in Abuja has already received two LINAC (cancer treatment) machines.

Science, Technology and Innovation

• Nigeria has developed and is implementing the following:
  • National Strategy for Competitiveness in Raw Materials and Products Development in Nigeria
  • National Policy on Methanol Fuel Production Technology
  • National Leather and Leather Products Policy
  • National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy
  • Science, Technology, Innovation Roadmap 2017 – 2030
• Patents submitted by Nigerian scientists and engineers, through the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), an agency under the supervision of the
• Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, increased from six in 2015 to 57 by 2019.
• Commercialization of Research & Development (R&D) Breakthroughs and Findings:
  • Commercialized R&D breakthroughs in honey, shea butter, kilishi, leather works, traditional medicines, textiles, seedlings, etc.
  • Industrial production of high nutrient density biscuits in collaboration with a reputable Nigerian Confectionary Company.
• The enactment of Executive Order No. 5 helped facilitate the establishment of the University of Transportation, Katsina State, as well as Railway Wagon Assembly Plant in Ogun State.
• Development and production of Moringa leaf powder sample for use as a food supplement to boost the immune system. The product was tested, evaluated and certified as the best product from across the globe by the European Pharmaceutical Market (LABASTIDA certificate No 0129112017). Also, the product has received NAFDAC listing as a food supplement for the domestic market.
• Ongoing construction, through a Public Private Partnership (PPP), of a production facility for bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers.
• Establishment of a state-of-the-art greenhouse facility for the production of elite yam seedlings with a target of 1-5 million yam seedlings per planting season. The facility will also produce potatoes, banana and pineapple seedlings.
• Production and distribution of improved seedling varieties that are high-yield, disease and drought resistant (yam, cowpea, etc.)

Sports

• Nigeria national U-17 football team, the Golden Eaglets, won the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the fifth time, in 2015. Their first ever win was 30 years earlier, in 1985, when President Buhari was military Head of State.
• Nigeria’s participation at the 2016 Paralympic Games yielded her best gold medal result since Nigeria started taking part in the Games in 1992.
• D’ Tigress, Nigeria’s Female National Basketball Team won the 2017 FIBA Africa Women’s Championship, the continental championship Cup, for the first time in 12 years,and earned qualification for its first FIBA Women’s World Cup appearance since 2006.
• In 2018, D’ Tigress, Nigeria’s Female National Basketball
• Team earned its first-ever win at the FIBA Women’s World Cup, and went on to advance to the quarterfinals. The Team finished in 8th place – the best ever performance by an African Team.
• In 2019, D’ Tigress successfully defended its 2017 Afro Basketball Women Championship Title.
• In 2020, D’ Tigress became the only female African Team to qualify for participation in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
• Nigeria’s Women’s Football Team, the Super Falcons, won the African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) in 2016 and 2018.
• In 2018, the National Sports Festival held for the first time since 2012.
• In 2018, Nigeria hosted a FIFA Executive Football Summit, one of twelve worldwide.
• In 2019, the Super Falcons advanced to the group stage of the Women’s World Cup, for the first time in 20 years.
• In 2019, Nigeria won its first Athletics World Championship Medal in six years.

Creative Industry Support

• Establishment of the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, to provide single-digit financing to young Nigerians in the fields of Fashion, Film, Music and Information Technology.
• In 2017, the Federal Government added Creative Industries to the list of qualifying sectors for ‘Pioneer Status’ Incentives– which grants relief from Corporate Income Tax for a specified period of time.
• Presidential Approval for the handover of the National Theatre, Lagos, to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bankers Committee, for redevelopment into a world-class Creative Park serving the theatre, film, fashion, music, and ICT sectors.
• In 2017, Nigeria was elected Vice-President of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

NEW VISION FOR THE NIGER DELTA

The Buhari administration’s ‘New Vision for the Niger Delta’ brings together a robust set of promises, solutions, targets and initiatives aimed at ensuring that the people of the Niger Delta benefit maximally from the region’s oil wealth.

The New Vision offers a detailed response to the 16-point Demand Agenda submitted to President Buhari by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) in November 2016.

Tangible results of the New Vision so far include:

• Take-off of the Nigerian Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State. The University was granted approval in January 2018 by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to commence undergraduate degree programmes effective 2017/18 session, and commenced academic activities on April 12, 2018.
• President Buhari approved 5 billion Naira in take-off grant for the Maritime University.
• Ogoni Clean-Up: Setting aside of US$170m seed funding for the Ogoni Clean Up, in an Escrow Account established for that purpose. The Escrow Agreement Signing Ceremony took place in April 2018. The Clean-Up commenced in January 2019, with the handover of the first batch of sites to the selected remediation firms, after a painstaking procurement process.
• Approvals for the establishment of private-sector-led Modular Refineries across the nine States of the Niger Delta – the first three Refineries have now been completed, while construction is ongoing on others.