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Lack of infrastructure investment is opportunity cost of states’ priority for salary payment.
Nigerian states are spending more on salaries and routine overhead expenditure rather than building roads, schools, hospitals, and other investments that will make them less dependent on Abuja, according to a new report.
Between 2018 and 2019, the rate at which states spend on overheads grew nearly twice what they spent on building infrastructure, an analysis of their budgets by BudgIT, a non-profit seeking to make budget data accessible to Nigerians, has shown.
The cumulative actual expenditure for all 36 states grew by 2.73 percent from N5.12 trillion to N5.26 trillion between 2018 and 2019 fiscal years.
The growth in Nigeria’s sub-national government expenditure is not yielding economic growth and is not translating into meaningful economic performance with rising rates of unemployment, decaying infrastructure and worsening poverty rate, the report notes.
Bird flu outbreak worsens woes of Nigeria’s poultry farmers
The recent outbreak of avian influenza, also known as bird flu, in Nigeria has worsened the plight of poultry farmers who are already faced with a myriad of problems.
The outbreak, the first in two years, has compounded the difficulties already facing the Nigerian poultry industry. From the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating feed-grains prices, some poultry farmers have been pushed to the brink as they battle the bird flu outbreak.
The flu, an airborne disease that usually occurs during cold weather – between November and February, is a threat to livelihoods and food security in Africa’s most populous country.
Apapa: No hiding place for motorists as trucks overrun port city
Since the collapse of the much-hyped electronic call-up system introduced to control Apapa traffic, commuting to the port city has, in the last couple of weeks, become a nightmare once again, leaving motorists without any hiding place or space to drive through.
The situation was much worse Wednesday afternoon with gridlock on every road and even streets that led motorists to Apapa. It was such that driving from the Island to the port city on Eko Bridge took motorists nearly three hours, a journey that ordinarily would not take more than 30 minute.
Whether it was Eko Bridge, Ijora-Apapa Bridge, Ikorodu-Road through Funso William Avenue, or Mobil Road, the story was the same—trucks occupied every available space, keeping motorists on one spot for hours.
Job losses increase demand for unemployment insurance
The aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic and economic lull across sectors resulting in increasing job loss and their attendant hardship on affected employees and their families have increased relevance of insurance in protecting people who lost their jobs.
This is also creating investment opportunities for innovative insurers who could think outside the box to come up with likable products that can address some of the challenges employees and households are facing as a result of job loss.
Meanwhile, a few insurers that have products that address the challenges people go through in times of unemployment, findings show, are seeing increased demand and appreciation of the products by a large number of consumers.
Return of tollgates seen reviving Nigeria’s road infrastructure
As the Federal Government plans to reintroduce tollgates on highways in Nigeria, expectation is high among the citizens that road infrastructure will come back to life for safety and good driving experience.
Recently, the government launched what it called Highways Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) whose objective is to attract significant and sustainable investment and funding in the development of road infrastructure in Nigeria.
It is expected that the HDMI would maximise the use of assets along the right-of-way and develop other highway furniture, which encompasses all roadside objects used for safety and traffic control such as signage and other road assets like earthworks, drainage, and culverts.
