Insecurity: Army launches operation Cat Race in Niger
The Nigerian Army on Thursday launched Exercise Ayem Akpatuma II (Exercise Rat Race), in Niger State in the on-going efforts to contain insecurity across the country.
Flagging-off the exercise, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Faruk Yahaya, said Niger State constitutes 10 per cent of Nigeria’s landmass with 95 forest reserves sharing borders with Zamfara, Kebbi and Kaduna states, which have on-going military operations against bandits.
According to him, the state is bearing the brunt of the spill-over effects of the security situation in the neighbouring states.
“This is because many of the bandits fleeing the epicentre of these military operations seek sanctuary in the numerous forest reserves traversing the borders of Niger with its neighbours.
“The situation has led to an upsurge in banditry activities, kidnapping, cattle rustling, targeted assassinations and other vices in this hitherto peaceful environment,” he said.
He noted that Exercise Ayem Akpatuma, which is a joint and multi-agency exercise, commenced simultaneously across the North-West and North-Central geopolitical zones on Thursday and will last up December, is designed to halt the menace.
He said the exercise will be conducted in line with new Super Camp concept recently adopted in the Nigerian Army, adding that for Niger, the Super Camp will be located at Koton-koro in Mariga Local Government Area from where forces would be deployed to other trouble areas.
He said the exercise will also encompass civil/military cooperation where military personnel will directly interact with civilian population to build confidence that may lead to information gathering on bandits’ activities and movement.
In his remarks, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello expressed happiness with the exercise which he said, will greatly assist in chasing out criminal elements across the state.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Matane, Gov Bello said the bandits find sanctuary in the forest reserves in the state, adding that local government areas such as Mariga, Shiroro, Rafi and Munya, are at the receiving end of banditry activities.
He promised that government will extend support to the military. the state necessary
years is that cost of servicing debts is more than the revenue such that it is difficult for the Federal Government to execute meaningful projects.
Professor Yelwa said using over N800billion to service debts in the first six months of 2019 is alarming, stressing that it affects negatively on the productive capacity of the economy.
He advised that the Federal Government must be proactive in diversifying the economy by improving its infrastructural capacity.
Also, the Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yusuf, described the growing national debt as a cause for concern as the debt profile grew from N12.6trillion in 2015 to N24.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2019.
This, he said, was an increase of 9 per cent and expressed worry over the capacity to service the debts.
“For instance, the debt service provision in the 2019 budget is a whooping N2 trillion; whereas the total capital budget was N2.9 trillion. This implies that the debt service commitment is 70 per cent of capital budget allocation. Debt to revenue ratio is about 30 per cent which is also on the high side.
“In the 2020 budget, debt service commitment and recurrent spending are beginning to crowd our capital expenditure. This scenario is not in alignment with the aspiration to build infrastructure and a competitive economy. Debt service of N2.45 trillion is more than the capital budget of N2.14 trillion,” he noted.
He said the opportunity cost for the economy and citizens is very high; adding that, “there is also the exchange rate risk inherent in the increasing exposure to foreign debt which is also worrisome.”
The LCCI boss stressed the need for government to look beyond tax credit in its quest for more complimentary funding sources for infrastructure and suggested equity financing option.
“But for this to happen, the policy and regulatory environment must be right,” he said.
How FG is navigating its way
However, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, has consistently maintained that debt is not the problem for Nigeria.
She said based on debt to GDP ratio, Nigeria’s total debt “is still very comfortable.”
She, however, admitted that revenue generation remained a huge problem for the country.
But Analysts told our correspondents yesterday that debt servicing “is posing serious threats to government finances and raising sustainability concerns.”
However, the minister’s adviser on media, Mr. Yunusa Tanko told Daily Trust that government would block leakages and raise revenue to exit the situation.
“When the minister says debt is not our real problem, she relates it to the debt threshold vis-a-vis the international average.
“Secondly, our revenue leakages are just too many and there are lots of revenue streams that have not been captured including putting more bankable taxes.
“Therefore, the minister’s projection is that if leakages are blocked and more revenues banked, then we should be fine. Government will drive down debts if we harness our revenue and the sources are there and opportunities endless,” Mr. Tanko said.
The minister had during a presentation at the Business Day conference in Abuja, also raised concerns over the low revenue profile of government and limited impacts.
Mrs. Ahmed also explained what government was doing to drive down debts and by implication debt service figures in the long term.
She said, “We are implementing a debt management strategy aimed at achieving an optimal debt balance through (a) the increase of oil and nonoil revenues, (b) the continued use of diversified borrowing instruments including Sukuk and Green Bonds, (c) a continued focus on concessional loans and lower cost external debt.
Tax revenues were expected to rise in tandem with economic recovery, although with a one-year time lag for corporate and trade related taxes, she added.
On issues of sustainability relating to the debt service to revenue ratio, she said: “Integral to achieving our collective goals under the eleven priority areas is the need for a significant push towards mobilizing domestic revenues, increased coordination and alignment of fiscal, macroeconomic, monetary, and trade policies, and the prudent management of emerging fiscal risks.”
On enhancing revenue generation, collection and monitoring, she indicated that this will be achieved “particularly through (a) continued implementation of the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiatives (SRGI); (b) the ongoing reconciliation and monitoring of revenues by the Presidential Revenue Monitoring and Reconciliation Committee; (c) the review of current tax laws and development targeted of fiscal policy reforms to coincide with the annual budget cycle; and (d) the deployment of innovative ICT solutions (such as the Ministry’s Project Lighthouse) aimed at leveraging and mining big data to enhance revenue tracking for informed decision-making.”