Tackle insecurity to attract investors – Abani tells Tinubu

…As CITN boss urges transparency

…ANAN president seeks more gas investment


Emma Ujah, Abujua Bureau Chief




President Bola Tinubu’s administration must urgently tackle insecurity across the country or forget attracting investment funds.

Dr. Mark Abani, Dean Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) Tax Faculties said this at the 2024 Budget Workshop organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in collaboration with the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), in Abuja, this afternoon.

“There is palpable fear even in Abuja right now. Security must top the list of the government’s priorities if not nobody will bring their money to invest here,” Dr. who was Lead Speaker, said.

Specifically, he called for improved security of farmers in order to allow them undertake their agricultural activities unhindered.

Kidnapping and killing of farmers on their farms have become widespread, especially in Northern Nigeria, where much of the country’s food is produced.

The speaker also raised concerns over the rising debt profile of the nation, adding, “Let’s hope we do not join the other countries that have lost assets to their creditors.”

The tax expert said that Nigerians did not seem to be enjoying the benefit of high oil prices, owing to low production, which has been attributed mainly to oil theft and insecurity in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.


His words, “Oil prices have been higher than predicted but Production in bpd (barrels per day) has not matched expectations, so Nigeria has not benefited from the higher prices.”


Dr. Abani said that the N750/$1 foreign exchange rate projection in the 2024 budget was not realistic, given the fact that the exchange rate at the parallel market still had a wide gap from the rate on which the budget was benchmarked.

“The FX rates have been outside ranges assumed, while inflation rates, in reality, far outstrip targets. Current estimates exceed 28%,” he said.

The parallel market rate on Thursday was about N1, 300/$1.

On Social Safety nets, the speaker noted that the sector received only 2 percent of the 2024 federal government budget, down from 4 percent, the previous year.


The speaker called for greater efforts toward raising greater revenue but cautioned against over-taxing the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), who he said were already struggling to remain afloat.

Transparently utilize public funds- CITN President

In his remarks, the CITN President Mr. Samuel Agbeluyi, urged the federal overnment to transparently and judiciously utilise public funds.

He said, “Adequate revenue is highly needed at this time because we can’t continue to be borrowing money.

“We need to generate enough revenue to finance the budget that is before us. So we seek the understanding and cooperation of political leaders to ensure that whatever is collected is properly utilised.”


Invest more in gas- ANAN boss

In his remarks, the president of ANAN, Dr. James Neminebor, urged the federal government to pay greater attention to revenue generation, rather than concentrating on how to spend funds.

He said, “We want to advise the government that in the matter of budget, revenue generation is the most important thing. Where the revenue is well sourced, there will be enough to allocate in the budget.

“In Nigeria we leave so many things unattended to. We emphasize so much on crude oil, whereas in the case of gas, that arm of the sector is not properly attended to.

“The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company is a direct intervention where the Federal Government owns shares and, of course, dividends are paid. If we have four of such, that will give the Federal Government enough revenue.




“We need more than three of NLNG in Nigeria because gas is by far more available as reserves in this country than crude oil. The Federal Government should therefore invest in gas and have a serious hold on it to expand Nigeria’s revenue base.”

Also speaking, Alh. Azeez Olatoye, Managing Partner of Ascension Consulting Services, expressed concerns over the spate of multinational companies that have been exiting the country.

He said, “It pains me every time I hear that any company or investors are pulling out of Nigeria. When they are pulling out investment is pulling out, employing is pulling out, production is pulling out.

“The government should fold its hands and watch while this is happening. We have to do everything necessary to retain investments in the country and make the environment attract for more investors to come to Nigeria.”

In his contribution, Dr. Lionel Effiom, an Associate Professor of Economics, University of Calabar, pointed out that many Nigerians don’t trust the government and the budget due to unfulfilled promises of the past.




He urged state actors to pay more attention to integrity and transparency in public funds utilisation in order to earn public trust.

He said that the interest rate in the country was too high and a disincentive for investment and should be addressed in order to give room for more productive activities across the real sectors of the economy.