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NCC, lottery commission renew MoU to prevent unapproved gaming practices
By Abubakar Yunus Abuja
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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has renewed its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).
Reuben Muoka, director, public affairs, NCC, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.
The commission said the MoU was with provisions to deter unapproved lottery and gaming practices on telecommunications platforms through information and intelligence sharing.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Umar Danbatta, executive vice-chairman, NCC, said the MoU, which would impact the gaming industry, was in synchronisation with the commission’s strategic vision plan (SVP).
Danbatta also said the MoU would promote fair practices in the industry for the protection of telecommunication consumers in relation to lottery and gaming activities.
He added that the collaboration was in line with the provisions of the commission’s SVP, 2021-2025, which would provide for the facilitation of strategic partnership and collaboration with other bodies to enhance service delivery.
“The initial MoU expired in 2022, amendments and modifications have been made since no MoU is cast in stone, especially given the industry’s dynamic nature,” he said.
On his part, Lanre Gbajabiamila, director-general, NLRC, expressed optimism that the MoU would yield favourable outcomes in curbing illegal online gambling.
Gbajabiamila was also optimistic that the NCC and NLRC would achieve their intentions in the interest of gaming stakeholders.
He decried how unapproved lottery, gaming activities, and practices undermine the integrity of domestic and global gaming markets to the detriment of the stakeholders.
The director-general said this was in addition to undermining consumer confidence in the markets, hence the collaboration with the commission to arrest such tendencies.
By Abubakar Yunus Abuja
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general, World Trade Organisation, says the future of trade will be determined by countries who embrace inclusion.
The director-general spoke during a session on trade, growth, and investment in Davos, according to a statement on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) website on Wednesday.
Okonjo-Iweala said the future of trade must “prioritise inclusivity”.
She said as many countries prioritise national security in their trade policy, there was a risk that “friend-sharing” would distribute the gains of economic growth unequally.
“When we talk of ‘friendsharing,’ I don’t know who is a friend. I don’t ever hear countries in Africa mentioned,” she said.
“We say the future of trade is services; it’s digital; it’s green. And it should be inclusive.”
Meanwhile, according to the statement, many nations have seen a push to relocate manufacturing closer to consumers’ demand, after supply shocks associated with port blockages, the war in Ukraine, and the pandemic.
WEF said creating a trade agenda that prioritises inclusivity and decarbonisation would be a major priority, adding that many European governments have welcomed the recent embrace of sustainability in US economic policy.
It, however, added that concerns about national security had caused many nations to question their over-reliance on certain countries for critical goods and services, such as European dependence on Russian energy.
On his part, Laurence Fink, chairman, and chief executive officer, BlackRock said: “For the United States, Mexico is likely to be a major beneficiary of the US reconfiguration of supply chains, given Mexico’s educated workforce, low wages, railway transport and pro-business political climate.”
“But Mexico is not going to be the sole beneficiary of that change, citing Eastern Europe, Turkey, Indonesia, and other parts of south-east Asia as well.”
On climate, Alexander De Croo, prime minister of Belgium, said the industrial policy has become a major focus for many nations rethinking their approach to trade.
He said the world can only be “happy that the United States has moved to the right side of the aisle”.
“The European leaders have concerns over the specifics of the recent US legislation but, overall, the positive step gives Europe the opportunity to focus on its specific advantages, such as research facilities and long-term investments in wind energy. Without such coordination, there is a risk that Europe and the US simply compete to provide more subsidies and tax breaks for business,” De Croo said.
“Five years ago, [industrial policy] was not a very sexy topic. Today it’s top of the agenda.”
The statement further said medical products, solar panels, silicon chips, and digitisation infrastructure are among the industries being overhauled due to new pressures to increase resilience and national security.
“Ensuring that sustainability remains at the top of the global trade agenda will require coordination with multilateral agencies. As many nations seek out bilateral trade agreements, there is a risk of global trade splintering into trading blocks. Promoting a trade agenda that is fair, inclusive, and sustainable will require institutions such as the WTO to establish clear ground rules for all nations,” the statement added.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Nigeria to spend 60% of revenue on debt servicing in 2023, Says Zainab Ahmed
By Abubakar Yunus Abuja
Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, says Nigeria plans to bring down its debt service-to-revenue ratio to 60 percent this year.
Ahmed spoke during an interview with Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
In 2022, Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio was at 80.6 percent — a figure far above World Bank’s suggested 22.5 percent for low-income countries like Nigeria.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had said Nigeria may spend almost 100 percent of its revenue on debt servicing by 2026.
Speaking on the issue, Ahmed said Nigeria plans to cut its revenue spending on debt servicing to 60 percent in 2023, adding that the current ratio is not sustainable.
“Well, 80 percent is not sustainable and our plan is coming down to 60 percent in 2023 and how are we doing that? We are doing that by increasing revenues and by significantly reducing costs to enable us cope,” she said.
“There are some costs that we can pull back on, though not in the economy, but there are some costs that we must sustain such as provisions for education and health as well as infrastructure.”
However, Ahmed said the country’s debt trajectory is sustainable.
“We are sustainable in our debt trajectory. We have made our plans to make sure we are able to consistently service our debts. And by the way, we are also exiting fuel subsidy, which is a huge cost. I am part of the contributors to where we are in terms of the debt stock,” she said.
“So, once we pull the first subsidy out, production of crude oil increases and then we sustain the improvements we have put in place in terms of non-oil revenue, then we should be able to come down to 60 percent debt-to-revenue.”
Asked if a lower debt serviceto-revenue ratio will open up Nigeria’s bond markets, Ahmed said, “no, not 2023”.
“If we are able to get back to the rates of early 2021 then we can consider going back to the bonds market, but then we are consistently monitoring the bond market. We are monitoring the performance of our bonds. So, when you get to that comfortable level, we will explore it,” she said.
In November 2022, Patience Oniha, director-general of the Debt Management office (DMO), said the problem of high-interest rates and inflation has made the international capital market inaccessible for Nigeria to borrow money.
Meanwhile, the minister said in 2023, economic growth will be driven by increased revenues from the “non-oil sector and also the beginning of the pick-up of revenues from the oil sector itself”.
Although Nigeria had “some problems” regarding oil production in 2023, Ahmed said production will surpass the projected 1.69 million barrels of oil per day in the 2023 budget.
“Production has picked up and it looks good to continue to reach the numbers that we have put in the budget. Our target is 1.6 million barrels per day and we can comfortably achieve that,” she said.
“We are doing an average of 1.25 million bpd to 1.3 million bpd, so we should be able to reach that and hopefully we surpass that as well with the measures that have been put in place.”
