Center for Social Justice, Author at Centre for Social Justice

CRITICAL ISSUES IN NIGERIA’S PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT

Center for Social Justice — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:22:33 +0000

CRITICAL ISSUES IN NIGERIA’S PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT (36 downloads )

CRITICAL ISSUES IN NIGERIA’S PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT being a policy brief by Centre for Social Justice, Action Aid Nigeria, Nigeria Labour Congress, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, BudgIT, Impact Bridge Africa Advisory

Nigeria stands at a critical fiscal crossroad. The choice is between a rules-based fiscal system anchored on the rule of law, transparency, and accountability, or a continued descent into discretionary and opaque fiscal governance. We urge all arms of government to act decisively to restore integrity, discipline, and public trust in Nigeria’s public finance management system.

The post CRITICAL ISSUES IN NIGERIA’S PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

CSJ Newsletter, January 2026

Center for Social Justice — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:33:55 +0000

The January 2026 Newsletter contains Recommendations on the Line Items of Frivolous, Inappropriate, Unclear and Wasteful Estimates in the 2026 Federal Appropriation Bill Estimates.

Read the full article in the attached document

CSJ January 2026 Newsletter (113 downloads )

The post CSJ Newsletter, January 2026 appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

Coalition seeks 10% budget allocation for health, decries under-release in 2025

Center for Social Justice — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:06:48 +0000

The Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC) has called for an increase in budgetary allocation for the health sector to at least 10% of the overall vote in the 2026 budget.

The coalition made the call at a media briefing where it also presented a ‘Memorandum on the 2026 Federal Health Budget Proposals’.

Their demand followed revelations by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, that only N36 million out of the N218 billion capital allocation approved for 2025 was released to the ministry.

Speaking at the event, Chairperson of HSRC Nigeria, Dr Muhammad Mustafa Lecky, said the prolonged underfunding and under-release of capital funds witnessed in the 2025 budget sector threatens not only health outcomes but also economic productivity, national health security, and social stability.

“The vote to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare should be increased to at least 10% of the overall vote. If meeting the 15% benchmark is difficult because of lean resources, the budget should at least target two-thirds of the benchmark,” Lecky said.

According to him, the under-release of capital funds witnessed in the 2025 budget could erode institutional confidence and discourage private sector and donor co-investment.

He said, “Moreover, delayed counterpart funding signals weak fiscal discipline, which may gradually erode Nigeria’s reputation as a reliable partner for global health financing mechanisms.”

He also said that budget appropriation without corresponding cash backing undermines the credibility of Nigeria’s planning frameworks, foretells grave danger for the ongoing Health Sector Strategic Blueprint under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).

He warned that the near-total non-release of funds has stalled hospital upgrades, delayed procurement of equipment, weakened supply chains and crippled digital health investments, leaving frontline workers to operate in increasingly fragile environments.

“Data available from the Budget Office Reports of Implementation shows that only 32.20%, 17.30%, 35.79% and 40.69% of the health capital allocation were utilized for the years 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021. This is a four-year average of 31.49% implementation of the capital vote. This past year, 2025 is clearly the worst in capital fund releases to the Federal Ministry of Health,’ he said.

He said that the situation threatens the drive toward universal health coverage and undermines the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, noting that budget approvals without corresponding cash backing make long-term planning impossible.

He added that under the proposed 2026 federal budget of N58.47 trillion, only about N2.9 trillion, roughly 4.98 percent, has been earmarked for health, far below continental commitments and Nigeria’s own policy benchmark of not less than six percent.

“This leaves a funding gap of about N5.9 trillion when measured against Africa’s health financing commitments. The allocation must cover the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare alongside 148 agencies and institutions under it,” he said.

The coalition also raised concerns over what it described as “opaque bulk capital votes” in the 2026 proposal, warning that poorly detailed projects worth over N32 billion could encourage mismanagement and further delay fund releases.

Dr. Lecky said if ministries cannot predict or rely on capital releases, long-term infrastructure projects, hospital upgrades, digital health systems, supply chains, and workforce expansion-become effectively impossible.

He said, “There is therefore no wonder or surprises that the national health system is underperforming, trying to turn magicians out of our health administrators to deliver. This is an impossible task.

“Capital budgets are designed to build resilient systems, not merely sustain recurrent operations. The near-total collapse of capital releases implies halted construction of PHC facilities, stalled equipment procurement, delayed health technology investments, and incomplete reforms targeting health workforce retention.”

Also speaking, the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Barrister Eze Onyekpere, noted the huge funding opportunities available through the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

According to him, it is unfortunate that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has not prioritised the sensitisation of people to key into the system.

He urged the government to ring-fence the health sector vote and ensure timely releases to stabilise the sector and prevent collapse.

“If the Health Ministry is not responsible for the funds allotted to health, how will it take blame for the underfunding of the health sector-related projects? Not just the immunisation fund, GAVI and other counterpart funds are warehoused at the service-wide vote and at the discretion of the Presidency.

“We must ensure that these funds are captured in the ministry’s budget to know who to hold responsible when a health programme fails. It is important for the government to make health insurance compulsory for Nigerians and to also prioritise immunisation as a first-line charge,” Onyekpere who is also a member of the HSRC said.

The President Emeritus of the Association for Reproductive and Family Health, Oladapo Ladipo, said Nigeria has consistently failed to prioritise health and education as drivers of development.

He proposed quarterly budget-tracking meetings involving the media and civil society to detect underfunding early and improve accountability.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Afrihealth Optonet Association, Uzodinma Adirieje, described the 0.016 percent release rate of 2025 capital health funds as a ‘disaster’, cautioning that it could compromise vaccine safety and erode donor confidence.

On her part, Programme Delivery Lead of the Africa Health Project Network, Amina Haladu-Muhammad, lamented that N168 billion for immunisation, N6 billion for family planning and N80 million for adolescent health remain unreleased, warning that continued delays could reverse gains in primary healthcare.

The coalition also expressed concern over declining donor support for programmes on immunisation, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, warning that heavy reliance on external funding exposes the health system to serious shocks.

The coalition further urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to prioritise domestic health financing, institutionalise transparency in budgeting and releases as well as strengthen oversight.

The post Coalition seeks 10% budget allocation for health, decries under-release in 2025 appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

Anti-corruption: CSJ Seeks Independence, Enforcement Powers for Auditor-General

Center for Social Justice — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:06:20 +0000

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has called for the granting of independence and enforcement powers to the Auditor-General of the Federation’s (AuGF) office as part of measures to boost the anti-corruption efforts of the Federal Government.

The Lead Director for CSJ, Barrister Eze Onyekpere, made the call at the formal presentation of the 101-page ‘Audit Opportunities Assessment Study, and CSJ Policy Brief on ‘Reforming Nigeria’s Federal Audit System: Strengthening Accountability, Enforcement, Value for Money and Fiscal Discipline’, on Thursday, in Abuja

He said at the event organised by CSJ, with support from the European Union–funded Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme, that granting such privilege would ensure the AuGF functions optimally and muster enough power to sanction defaulting government agencies without interference.

According to him, weak sanctions, poor enforcement of audit reports and outdated legal frameworks are major challenges undermining the country’s fight against corruption.

He expressed worry that over time, exposing graft by the Auditor-General’s Office was not followed with commensurate sanctions because of limitations of its powers in the current audit law.

Onyekpere said that Nigeria was borrowing more because there were no adequate sanctions for misappropriations revealed in audit reports.

“Our fellow African countries like Gambia, Sierra Leone and South Africa have embraced the independence of the Auditor-General’s Office. In our country, it’s a different scenario as the National Assembly that should push for the Federal Audit Service Bill are still singing “on your mandate we shall stand,” (a slogan indicating absolute loyalty to President Bola Tinubu”, “he said

In a strategic recommendation for strengthening Nigeria’s audit system, Onyekpere stressed the importance of the enactment of the Federal Audit Service Bill, which would grant statutory independence and enforcement powers, establishing the Auditor-General of the Federation Office as an autonomous constitutional authority.

He also suggested the need to amend sections 85-87 of the Constitution to compel executive and legislative responses within fixed timeliness, ensuring that audit findings trigger mandatory corrective actions.

Onyekpere urged the Budget Office to withhold funds from ministries, departments and agencies of government that are non-compliant with audit rules.

He suggested multi-stakeholder oversight forums involving civil society organisations, media and development partners to strengthen external accountability and sustained public engagement.

Also at the event, the Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Victor Muruako, said the study was timely, given the urgent need to ensure that public resources are effectively and efficiently utilised in delivering public services and the “dividends of democracy.”

Muruako, who was represented by the Commission’s Director of Legal Services, Investigation and Enforcement, Charles Abana, said the event underscored CSJ’s sustained commitment to strengthening accountability and transparency in governance through data- and knowledge-driven tools.

He noted that the effective identification and utilisation of audit opportunities in the public service would promote transparency and accountability, improve efficiency, reduce waste, curb corruption and misuse of public funds, enhance revenue recovery, and boost citizens’ participation in governance.

“The main objectives and benefits of identifying and utilising audit opportunities in the public service on a regular basis include the promotion of transparency and accountability; improving efficiency and preventing wastage, reducing corruption and misuse of public funds,” he said.

He decried the absence of a modern federal audit law, noting that Nigeria “still relies on the obsolete 1957 Audit Law, even as several states have enacted updated audit laws” under the CFTAS programme.

“This is a public presentation of the audit assessment study. In this study, we had to look deeper into the surrounding circumstances and issues that have inhibited audit effectiveness, and we examined the political economy dimensions.

“Beyond confirming the level of fraud in the system, we were able to identify the core and critical issues that have made audits ineffective. One major finding that came out is that there are no sanctions, no punishments for violations,” he added.

On his part, the Project Manager for the Anti-Corruption Component of the European Union and International IDEA, Dr Emmanuel Uche, said the study underscored the central role of audit reforms in combating corruption.

He said: “There is no way we can claim to be fighting corruption without the involvement of the Auditor-General’s Office and the Public Accounts Committee.

“As much as flies like rotten meat, no fly will perch on rotten meat that is on fire. The audit institution is supposed to put fire on the system to ensure accountability.”

The post Anti-corruption: CSJ Seeks Independence, Enforcement Powers for Auditor-General appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

Empowering More Agencies In Anti-corruption Campaign

Center for Social Justice — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 08:52:15 +0000

By Ngenegbo Emmanuel

No country thrives when corruption is prevalent in all the sectors of the economy. Corruption in Nigeria is not only a moral blight; it is a governance and development problem that depletes public resources and ruins institutions.

Over the years there’s been a reformatory effort which has produced important institutions to specially target, identify and combat corruption in Nigeria. The EFCC, ICPC and CCB have been effective in the fight against corruption by prosecuting and convicting offenders. The problem however remains that the corruption around here persists, taking up new forms and at different levels of our public life and these agencies cannot handle this alone.

For our anti-corruption structure to remain strengthened, two things must be pursued simultaneously: one, we must continue to empower and refine these core agencies where necessary to meet the current realities, and two, enable a wider set of public, private and civic institutions to play constructive roles in early detection, prevention and recovery. This will enable a multipronged approach in the fight against corruption not by multiplying ineffective bodies, but by building capability, clarifying mandates, and widening responsibility across the system.

The goal therefore must be to enable more agencies to detect and prevent corruption. Corruption around here comes in many forms like procurement fraud, bribery, payroll theft, illicit enrichment, misappropriation to mention but a few. A one-size-fits-all enforcement approach is inefficient to tackle the wide spread of this menace in our society. Corruption is not performed by one individual. There are several enablers in specialized units within the ministries and parastatals (for example, procurement, audit and accounting units inside ministries). These units when empowered and sensitized can catch wrongdoing early, reduce the need for central agencies to triage basic cases, and focus national enforcement resources on more complex, transnational and high-impact cases.

Anti-corruption work also depends on timely, accurate data: procurement records, asset declarations, banking and tax records and whistleblower tips. Nigeria’s whistle blowing policy which incentivizes members of the public to report theft and financial misconduct and is being considered for stronger legal backing illustrates the value of channeling citizen information into formal investigations. Equally important is real, automated data sharing between agencies using secure platforms so that EFCC, ICPC, CCB, and relevant ministries can quickly cross-check suspicious transactions and declarations.

We should also explore and enforce strong and preventive systems inside government. Corruption is easier to prevent than to prosecute. Clearing the system of weak internal controls for instance, by digitizing procurement and payments, enforcing e-invoicing, and using open contracting portals reduces discretionary decision points that encourage bribery. Public service reforms that unify payroll systems and require biometric verification reduce “ghost workers”; public procurement reforms that mandate competitive bidding and public publication of contract awards reduce kickbacks. These are tasks for ministries, the Bureau of Public Procurement, state governments, and oversight agencies not only the EFCC or ICPC and they must be supported with clear guidelines and monitoring protocols.

One thing that is lacking is inter-agency coordination among the anti-graft agencies. Coordination mechanisms like joint task forces for major investigations and asset recovery, and shared legal teams will definitely improve efficiency. But such coordination must be balanced by their institutional independence and transparency to reduce political interference. Recent asset recoveries and prosecutions underscore the potential impact when agencies are able to operate decisively; preserving their integrity is therefore paramount.

Lastly, enlist civil society and the private sector as co-drivers. Civil society organisations, investigative journalists and community groups play a vital watchdog role by exposing cases, advocating reform, and supporting victims. The private sector, particularly banks, auditors and professional service firms, can improve compliance by strengthening know-your-customer (KYC) standards and reporting suspicious transactions. Public–private partnerships for anti-corruption training and for the development of secure reporting platforms can scale prevention efforts beyond government reach.

Enabling more agencies in Nigeria’s fight against corruption is not an argument for creating institutions for their own sake. It is a call for smarter distribution of roles, better data and evidence sharing, targeted capacity building, and meaningful preventive reforms across the public and private spheres. When specialised units in ministries detect problems early, when whistleblowers are protected and incentivised, when asset-recovery teams have the technical tools to trace laundered funds, and when civil society keeps pressure on the system, Nigeria’s anti-corruption effort becomes a broad, resilient front rather than the task of a few agencies.

•Emmanuel writes from Centre for Social Justice (CSJ)

The post Empowering More Agencies In Anti-corruption Campaign appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

Nigerian Civil Society Economy Action

Center for Social Justice — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 11:02:24 +0000

January 6, 2026

Media Statement

STOP THIS FISCAL RASCALITY

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, express grave concern over the recent constitutional breaches in the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts carried out by a collaboration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly (“NASS”). We are also concerned about the opacity, lack of transparency and popular participation in the federal budgeting process, to the extent that eighteen days after the presentation of the federal executive budget, the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) and the NASS have failed, refused and neglected to upload same to their websites.

Furthermore, the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts (Repeal and Re-enactment) bills which have been approved by NASS are not available to Nigerians on any electronic portal and there was no opportunity for popular participation in the consideration and re-enactment of these Acts.

These breaches raise fundamental questions about the management of public revenues and expenditure and the responsiveness of the executive and legislature to the fiscal stipulations of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended (“Constitution”) and the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

We recall that S.81 of the Constitution explicitly provides for the submission of expenditure proposals by the President to NASS and prior approval of the NASS before public expenditure is incurred. This is further buttressed by S.80 (2), (3) and (4) of the Constitution. These provisions inform the yearly submission of executive budget proposals to NASS for approval and their in-year amendment if the need arises.

Essentially, expenditure must be based on prior legislative approval and not legislative endorsement of already incurred expenditure. The 2024 Appropriation Act should have expired on December 31 2024 but NASS purported to extend the life span to June 2025 and later December 2025. Even in its extended lifespan, the executive failed to implement the 2024 budget in accordance with its tenor and now that the extended life has ended, the President sought to repeal and re-enact the Act increasing the total budget size from ₦35.05 trillion to ₦43.56 trillion.

This is a legal and constitutional impossibility and can only be possible in a country where the rule of law is continuously desecrated. It is an affront to the fiscal provisions of the Constitution for the President to spend extra N8trillion in public funds without prior legislative approval and Nigeria was not operating under any declared fiscal emergency. The President only sought endorsement after expenditure and the supine rubber stamp NASS gave its approval.

On the reduction in the size of the 2025 federal budget, a budget is reviewed mid-year in June and the outcome of the review deployed in the amendment of the budget. A budget is not arbitrarily reviewed in December when its life should end. We recall that NASS stated that the decision to repeal and re-enact the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts was taken to align Nigeria’s budgeting process with global best practices, enhance transparency, and resolve implementation challenges associated with running multiple budgets. This position of NASS cannot be supported by Nigerian fiscal laws and policies or any international best practice. Rather it is a mismanagement and gross abuse of due process and our fiscal laws.

S.48 (1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act states that the Federal Government shall ensure that its fiscal and financial affairs are conducted in a transparent manner and accordingly ensure full and timely disclosure and wide publication of all transactions and decisions involving public revenues and expenditures and their implications for its finances. The refusal to make public the 2026 Appropriation Bill or the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills (now Acts of NASS) are in gross violation of this provision. Citizens cannot engage budget bills that they have not seen or have access to. In the past, the BOF produced citizens budgets which were simplified versions of the larger budget while the current BOF simply refuses to make available the basic budget document.

Against the background of the foregoing, we demand the following:

NASS should ensure that there is no expenditure without appropriation as unbudgeted expenditure not incurred in accordance with constitutional stipulations is an impeachable offence.

An unconditional guarantee by the President to abide by constitutional stipulations of spending only what has been appropriated.

The immediate publication of the 2026 federal budget estimates on the website of the BOF and NASS.

The immediate publication of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills and the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Acts on the website of the BOF and NASS.

A commitment to fiscal transparency in accordance with S.48 of the FRA and a guarantee of popular participation in the consideration and approval of all fiscal laws and policies.

Signed:

Centre for Social Justice (CSJ)

Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ)

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)

PLSI

BudgIT

PRIMORG

The post Nigerian Civil Society Economy Action appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

The Need For Agricultural Extension Services Law

Center for Social Justice — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 10:34:34 +0000

By Emmanuel Ngenegbo

Despite several reforms in agriculture, we have not recorded a significant and long-lasting improvement in the agricultural sector. It is unfortunate that food prices remain volatile and Nigeria still counts as one of the largest importers of agricultural product despite her agrarian economy.

It is reported that Nigeria has only been able to use just about 40 -42 percent of its arable land in the past decade – one that continuously drops due to lack of proper intervention despite the humongous annual budget earmarked for tackling insufficiency in the sector. The National Bureau of Statistics revealed in their latest report that crop production contributed 17.47 percent of our gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2025. This was a sharp drop from 23.42 percent which was recorded in the last quarter of 2024 – this performance is largely attributed to the slow activity in crop production.

Previous studies also showed that one of the major problems causing decline in crop production is the inadequate knowledge and poor assessment of land for agricultural production. Rural farming remains prevalent in the country among small holder farmers with little or no knowledge on how to improve their farming techniques and grow harvest yields; many of these farmers still engage in harmful agricultural practices like burning, use of excessive pesticides and poor storage facilities.

Nigeria has invested a lot in agricultural research, several agricultural research institutes have been established by the government, these research institutes all have a mandate to develop improved seedlings for farming, build technologies for easy farming activities and improvement on the overall faming systems in Nigeria. Over its long period of existence, these institutes have developed different improved varieties of our stable crops which are resistant to different conditions and offer more yields per hectare.

Agricultural extension services are used to translate innovations, information and demonstration of technological improvements to farmers. This extension services serve as the linking bridge that connect the activities of the research institutes to the farmers. Through a proper agricultural extension activity, these institutes carry their improved seedlings, developed mechanical and gender friendly farm equipment’s to these smallholder farmers. The institutes also organize and monitor the farmers through trials and demonstrations to ensure full adoption and assimilation of the research works.

Unfortunately, in Nigeria, extension services are often underfunded and poorly coordinated. Many agriculture research institutes and local government areas agriculture department lack functional extension officers. The few who are available often lack the tools, mobility, and training to engage farmers effectively. This has led to a wide disconnect between research output and farm-level practice.

Research institutes continue to develop high-yielding, pest-resistant, and climate-resilient crop varieties but most of these innovations remain in their shelves, as farmers are either unaware of their existence or lack the guidance to adopt them. The result is stagnated yields, persistent poverty among small-scale farmers, and underutilization of Nigeria’s agricultural research investments.

If Nigeria is therefore interested in driving agricultural economic growth and sustainable development there is need to have a legislated National Agricultural Extension Services Act. This legislation will manifestly improve extension services in the country with a better structure, funding and coordination.

Nigeria currently has a National Agricultural Extension Services Policy; this policy was developed with the intention to improve on the subsisting efforts in extension delivery. The problem with policies like this is that no matter how beautifully drafted they are, they still remain an administrative document which does not have legal backing, and this leaves it open to lack of enforcement and abandonment.

In addition, without clear annual budgetary funding, policies like this rests largely on the discretion of its relevant ministries and agency, enforcement is highly unpredictable.

If the bill is passed into law, the attendant result is that extension services will have a strong legal structure which will include professionals whose sole task, in collaboration with the research institutes and other relevant agencies, is to carry agricultural innovation to the end users, such Act will make a provision for a clear budget line to push extension services and drive agricultural revolution. It has been proven that for any dollar spent on extension services, Nigeria is set to make 10 dollars, economically, this will also foster rural development by linking farmers to the value chain directly multiplying income and creating employment in the Agric business. Finally, the law would ensure an accountability structure and public reporting system on extension service performance, ensuring transparency and efficiency in the system.

The post The Need For Agricultural Extension Services Law appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

Empowering Smallholder Women Farmers Through Agricultural Research

Center for Social Justice — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:54:30 +0000

By Martins Eke

In Nigeria, smallholder women farmers are the backbone of the country’s food system, yet they face disproportionate challenges, including limited access to land, credit, modern technology, and agricultural research. While Nigeria has a national gender policy in agriculture, bridging the gap between policy and practice requires concerted and coordinated effort from all branches of government. The executive and legislative arms of government, through their distinct yet complementary functions, can be instrumental in leveraging agricultural research to address the specific needs of smallholder women farmers. By designing inclusive policies, allocating targeted funds, and ensuring accountability, both branches can foster an agricultural sector where women are not just participants, but leaders and innovators.

The executive arm, comprising the President and various ministries, is responsible for setting policy priorities and implementing programs. Its role in supporting smallholder women farmers through agricultural research is primarily focused on execution and resource allocation.The executive can mandate and enforce gender-responsive budgeting across all agricultural spending. This moves beyond general agricultural funding to explicitly allocate resources for programs that address the unique constraints women face. For instance, in previous years, the Smallholder Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON) and allies have secured critical budgetary changes, including allocations for seeds, fertilizer, and light modern equipment tailored to women’s needs.

This practice must be institutionalized at the federal and state levels. The executive can design and implement specific programs that translate gender-sensitive research into practical support for women farmers. Recent initiatives like the Women Agro Value Chain Expansion Programme (WAVE) are a promising step in this direction. These programs, often a direct result of executive action, can provide access to grants, financial literacy training, and technology adoption based on research findings that account for women’s roles and responsibilities. The executive can enhance the capacity of the agricultural extension system to effectively disseminate research findings to smallholder women farmers. This involves increasing the number of female extension workers, who are better positioned to build trust and communicate with women in a culturally sensitive manner. The executive can also fund programs that use participatory methods, like Farmer Field Schools, ensuring that research is not just delivered, but co-created with female farmers.The executive can direct research institutes to prioritize generating sex-disaggregated data on agricultural assets, labor, and productivity. This evidence is crucial for effective policy formulation and implementation, ensuring that government interventions are based on accurate information rather than assumptions. The Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) already emphasizes this in its gender policy and strategy.

The legislative arm, consisting of the Senate, House of Representatives, and Houses of Assembly is vital for creating the enabling legal and financial environment for women farmers. Their support is critical for turning executive vision into sustainable reality. Lawmakers can champion bills that address systemic inequalities faced by women farmers. For example, legislation to reform customary land tenure systems, which often prevent women from owning land, is crucial. The legislature can also pass laws that require government agencies and research institutions to adhere to specific gender-inclusive standards. This provides a legal basis for holding the executive accountable. While the executive proposes the budget, the legislature approves it. Lawmakers can use their appropriation powers to ensure that agricultural budgets are sufficiently funded and earmarked for gender-responsive research and extension services.

By scrutinizing budget proposals, they can identify and rectify gender-blind funding gaps, as demonstrated by the increase in agricultural spending secured by advocacy groups. Through its committees on agriculture and women’s affairs, the legislature can exercise rigorous oversight of executive agencies and research institutions. This involves holding public hearings, demanding progress reports, and ensuring that gender-related targets are met. The legislature can push for robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks that track the impact of agricultural research on women farmers, thereby ensuring transparency and effectiveness.Lawmakers serve as direct links to their constituencies, including smallholder women farmers. They can use their platform to amplify the voices and concerns of these farmers, ensuring that legislative agendas reflect their realities. By convening stakeholder consultations, legislators can bring the needs of rural women to the national policymaking stage.

True progress in empowering smallholder women farmers through agricultural research requires a synergistic relationship between the executive and legislative arms. The executive’s commitment to implementation must be backed by the legislature’s provision of adequate legal and financial frameworks. Executive-led initiatives should be informed by gender-responsive research funded through legislative appropriations. The legislature’s oversight role can ensure that these executive programs genuinely reach women farmers and are based on robust, gender-sensitive research. By working together, these two arms of government can move beyond symbolic gestures to create a genuinely inclusive and productive agricultural sector, leveraging research to sow the seeds of change and harvest a future of food security and gender equality.

•Eke writes from the Centre for Social Justice, Abuja

The post Empowering Smallholder Women Farmers Through Agricultural Research appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

The new tax law and workers

Center for Social Justice — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 16:09:20 +0000

By Samuel Jekeli

Nigeria’s recently enacted Tax Act, 2025, marks one of the most comprehensive reforms in the nation’s fiscal history. For years, both employers and employees have struggled to navigate a maze of overlapping tax laws, ambiguous deductions, and inconsistent enforcement. The new law seeks to change that by simplifying taxation, widening the tax net, and promoting fairness in contribution across income groups. But beyond its legal and fiscal implications, the new tax regime will directly influence employee earnings, workplace decisions, and even organizational work patterns.

The 2025 Tax Act consolidates several outdated laws, including the Personal Income Tax Act, Companies Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax Act, and others, into a unified framework. This consolidation reduces duplication and confusion, making it easier for both organizations and individual taxpayers to understand their obligations. One of the law’s most commendable provisions is its progressive tax structure. Individuals earning N800,000 or less annually are now completely exempt from paying personal income tax. This adjustment not only supports low-income earners but also aligns with the government’s goal of reducing economic inequality. For employees, this means that entry-level workers, artisans, and junior staff in organizations can expect a slight increase in take-home pay.

For middle- and high-income earners, tax bands have been revised to ensure fair contribution. While this might lead to slightly higher deductions for some, the overall structure encourages transparency and a sense of shared responsibility in national development. For most Nigerian workers, the biggest concern will revolve around changes to take-home pay. Depending on one’s income level, the new law may lead to small upward or downward adjustments in net salary. Those earning at the exemption threshold will experience relief, while higher earners may see slightly increased deductions.

Another key change is the inclusion of digital and nontraditional income streams under taxable income. Freelancers, remote workers, and individuals earning from online gigs, royalties, and digital assets will now be expected to declare such income. This is a major step toward modernizing Nigeria’s tax system to reflect the realities of today’s digital economy. Employees with side hustles or secondary income sources will need to pay closer attention to record keeping and transparency in reporting earnings. For organizations, these changes mean that payroll systems must be updated to align with the new law. Employers will need to reassess how allowances, bonuses, and benefits are taxed. Some organizations may even consider restructuring compensation models to ensure they remain competitive and compliant.

The new tax law will also influence work patterns, particularly in how organizations approach flexibility and employee engagement. With the cost of living rising and tax adjustments affecting net income, employees may seek hybrid or remote work arrangements to manage transportation and personal expenses. HR departments will need to balance operational efficiency with empathy, ensuring that staff productivity and welfare remain aligned. In addition, the formal recognition of digital income sources may encourage more professionals to take up freelance or part-time remote work, even alongside traditional employment. This could lead to a gradual evolution of Nigeria’s labor market into a multi-income economy, where individuals diversify earnings across formal and informal platforms. Employers, on their part, must anticipate this shift by developing clear policies on external engagements, ensuring there is no conflict of interest while respecting employees’ right to pursue lawful income streams.

From a Human Resources perspective, the new law requires heightened collaboration between HR and Finance teams. Payroll management, statutory deductions, and employee communication must all be handled with precision and clarity. Misinterpretations or delays in implementing the new tax provisions could lead to compliance risks or employee dissatisfaction. To manage this transition effectively, HR professionals must conduct awareness sessions to help staff understand the new tax structure, review and update all employment contracts and benefit policies, work closely with tax consultants or the new Nigeria Revenue Service for proper compliance, and advocate for fair compensation adjustments where necessary to cushion employees against increased tax burdens. In addition, organizations that employ remote or cross-border staff must pay special attention to tax residency rules, as these have been redefined under the new law. An employee working from outside Nigeria for extended periods might now fall under different tax obligations than before.

Ultimately, the new tax law represents a deliberate effort to modernize Nigeria’s fiscal system, reduce loopholes, and ensure that everyone contributes fairly. It signals a shift from fragmented, outdated tax practices to a digitally enabled and more transparent structure. For employees, it’s a reminder to be more financially aware and intentional about compliance. For employers and HR leaders, it’s a call to embrace adaptability, strengthen internal systems, and keep people informed. Change often comes with discomfort, but this reform, if effectively implemented—could mark a turning point toward a more just, accountable, and growth-oriented tax system in Nigeria. As the workplace continues to evolve, so must our understanding of how national policies influence the world of work.

The post The new tax law and workers appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .

Forward Looking Agriculture Policy – Eze Onyekpere

Center for Social Justice — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 12:18:42 +0000

SUN NEWSPAPER: NOVEMBER 2, 2025

Forward Looking Agriculture Policy

Eze Onyekpere

Nigeria’s agriculture has been undergoing endless reforms in response to food and related challenges facing the economy. From the days of Operation Feed the Nation in Olusegun Obasanjo’s first incarnation as a military president to President Shehu Shagari’s Green Revolution; fast forward to President Goodluck Jonathan’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, the Agricultural Promotion Policy of President Muhammadu Buhari to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s National Agriculture Technology and Innovation Policy. However, it appears that these reforms have majorly been about sloganeering rather than critical improvements founded on the right of the Nigerian people to development, food sovereignty and freedom from hunger. Billions and recently trillions of naira have been spent, yet the food and farming situation has stagnated.

In all of these policies, there have been fundamental defects. Although some of them looked good on paper, they were not anchored on the popular aspirations of the farming community. They were top down, not based on detailed consultation and negotiation with people who do the actual farming but simply the fancy ideas of a few “experts” following the prevalent ideas emanating especially from the hegemony of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Who are the actual farmers who do the back-breaking farm work? They are small scale farmers working in far flung and distant rural areas across Nigeria. Majority of these framers are women and it is estimated that women make up about 70% of the agriculture labour force.

The implication of this lack of consultation or “carrying along” in popular street language is far reaching considering the aphorisms encapsulated in the Declaration on the Right to Development. Essentially, development, whether in farming, manufacturing or service delivery, is a peoples work in progressive action by virtue of which individuals and people are entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy developmental perquisites. The human being is the central subject of development and should be the active participant and beneficiary of developmental initiatives. Thus, the majority of the proposed beneficiaries of policy action are unaware of the policy, its critical provisions, the rights accruing from the policy, how they can benefit and or hold duty bearers to account for the promises of the policy. The policies were bound to fail.

Nature abhors a vacuum. When actual beneficiaries are unaware and have not been mainstreamed into policy implementation, all manner of charlatans claiming to be farmers arise to take advantage of what belongs to real farmers. Politicians and brief case emergency farmers take advantage of the situation and in programmes like the Anchor Borrowers Programme, trillions of naira were spent with little or no results delivered and the clear absence of value for money. Again, it appears that the agriculture authorities instead of locating real farmers sometimes share farm inputs through the line-up of the ruling political party leading to inputs being in wrong hands while the actual farmers become outsiders.

As a follow up to the foregoing is the disconnect between policies and budgeting because laws and policies must find expression in the budget for their implementation and effectiveness. To a great extent, agriculture budgets over the years did not strongly express the key ideas of policy initiatives and this leads to policy failure. Furthermore, when the majority of farmers are women and over the years, budgeted inputs for improved yield do not reach them because budgets are supposedly made to be gender neutral and there is no purposive targeting of resources towards these small-scale women farmers, then policy goals were realized in the breach. The pretence of budget neutrality when available data evidence is pointing in the direction of de facto disadvantages and discrimination is a failure in the performance of state duties to guarantee equality and non-discrimination.

When Nigeria made commitments to reduce emissions in agriculture as part of its nationally determined contributions with key strategies in agroecology and regenerative farming, enhancing agro-processing, restoring ecosystems, and empowering smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, it attracted applause but reflecting these lofty ideas in the budget is a missing element. Resources for implementing agricultural transformation have simply been reduced to the naira and kobo element without a bigger picture of resources including human, environmental, technology, information which will need to be harmonised with money for progress to occur.

Nigerian governments seek to implement policies in a disconnected and staccato manner. Policies in education, health, housing, environment, technology, research, gender, etc., all effect and impact on agriculture. Therefore, there should be concerted overarching national goals which harmonises, reconciles and validates all sectoral policy interventions. For instance, when Nigeria was confronted with high food inflation and high food prices, the Federal Government’s response in 2024 was a zero percent duty rate and Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on the importation of selected basic food items. This led to a situation where imported grains and other food items crashed the prices of food in the market to the detriment of local farmers whose stock of these foods had to be sold below the cost of production and definitely at a loss. How will these local farmers continue in business if they cannot recover costs or make a marginal profit?

This import policy, even though temporary, raises critical issues. If the object of the policy is to reduce food prices, was zero import and VAT duty the only reasonable option to pursue? FGN was ready to forego revenue accruing from import duties and VAT which amounted to hundreds of billions or even trillions of naira. Imagine if that money was spent on targeted input subsidies to local farmers or if the money was used to provide modern storage facilities to cut down post-harvest losses which is reported to waste over 40% of farm produce on a yearly basis. Did it make sense to subsidise importation and disempower local producers at a time the government has sloganeered the need for food self sufficiency and food sovereignty? The answer is obvious, the zero-duty import policy was flawed and not reconcilable with other high-level national goals which should have trumped that thought from the beginning.

It is therefore imperative to reach out to the real farmers; discuss and validate policy positions with them; enforce the continuum of law, policy and budget for expenditure and policy effectiveness; ensure that farming inputs and resources reach the real farmers; select and implement agriculture interventions that are harmonizable with overall national goals.

The post Forward Looking Agriculture Policy – Eze Onyekpere appeared first on Centre for Social Justice .