The Federal Executive Council (FEC) after a marathon meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, rolled out 21 major policy initiatives.
The President’s Adviser on Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on his X handle, formerly Twitter, listed the initiatives as a 48-hour visa policy, cancelling of airport toll payment exemption for very important persons and ban on sand dredging 10 kilometres from all federal bridges throughout the country among others.
The FEC meeting, which started on Monday was concluded on Tuesday in what experts have described as unprecedented in the history of the council.
After exhaustive deliberations, the council approved several policies and projects that would further boost the economy, facilitate investments and promote the ease of doing business in the country.
Briefing the State House correspondents on Tuesday after the FEC meeting at Aso Rock Villa Abuja on Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the Federal Government was reviewing its visa regime to enable persons who wish to invest in Nigeria to obtain a visa within 48 hours.
Idris stated that the visa policy was one of the several resolutions of FEC, adding that it was aimed at encouraging investors and tourists.
According to him, the visa policy review is necessary to foster ease of doing business on Nigerian soil.
Since assuming office in May 2023, the Bola Tinubu administration has actively pursued foreign investment opportunities through a series of strategic international engagements and high-level meetings aimed at boosting Nigeria’s economic profile.
Briefing journalists after the FEC meeting on Tuesday, the information minister said a tripartite committee had been created to review the visa issuance process.
Idris said, “Now, the Federal Executive Council has noted that our visa processes are becoming cumbersome and this is not encouraging investors to come in easily because, as the President has indicated, the ease of doing business is also tied to the ease of visa application.
“Therefore, the FEC has set up a committee to look at our visa processes to reduce the cumbersome nature of these visa processes, meaning that those investors or tourists who want to come into Nigeria will find it a lot easier to go into this country provided they follow all the laid down processes.
e-visa platform
“This includes the e-visa platform, which has already been discussed. The Federal Government is also mulling the idea of every visa application being processed within the next 48 hours.”
Nigeria’s e-visa process is part of a broader effort to streamline and modernise the country’s visa system, as outlined in the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2020.
The e-visa system allows visiting non-Nigerians to apply online. Applicants must complete an electronic application form, upload necessary documents, and pay the required fees.
Such e-visas available include the Short Visit Visa for business, which allows for a maximum stay of 90 days, and various investor visas that cater to different scales of investment from small to ultra-large enterprises.
However, the system has been plagued by inefficiencies, making the process cumbersome due to several factors. Applicants often face difficulties fulfilling documentation requirements and dealing with occasional technical hitches on the application portal.
More so, the need for detailed documentation, such as letters of invitation, evidence of sufficient funds, and investment proofs, adds to the complexity. The process also requires pre-approval via an electronic travel authorisation letter, which must be printed and presented upon arrival.
Though designed to ensure security and proper vetting, they have been time-consuming and challenging for users.
N10bn airport tolls
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said it will generate at least N10bn annually from airport access tolls.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting, also said the council approved a memorandum from the ministry scrapping toll exemptions for all very important persons and government officials using airports nationwide.
Tuesday’s decision would see President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, who were earlier exempted, paying airport access toll and parking fees.
Keyamo said the government’s rationale was to stop the revenue haemorrhage, denying the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria the much-needed means to maintain the facilities and provide quality services to users.
He argued that the government lost over 82 per cent of the money it would have generated from e-tags sold to VIPs and government officials for easy airport access.
The memoranda initially recommended an exemption for the President and the vice president. However, Tinubu, who chairs the Council, overruled this, insisting that he and the VP, alongside their aides, must pay tolls.
“How much are we expecting? It runs into billions. We are looking at raising at least N10bn annually. This is a very big one for us (Federal Government). And we will market the e-tags so that VIPS will buy into it,” said Keyamo when asked about specifics.
He explained, “When we came to office, we met a tradition on the ground where at the end of the year, all manners of VIPs would approach us for what they call complimentary e-tags or complimentary stickers. They don’t pay airport access fees, parking, or essential services.
“The negative figure we get at the end of the day from the complimentary e-tags is -82 per cent. In other words, we end up selling only 18 per cent of e-tages. Imagine the loss! I told myself and my team, not under my watch. It is inconceivable that the VIPs don’t pay for services, but the poor pay.
“Our memo says with the exception of the President and the Vice President. But the President overruled me and said he and the Vice President would pay. He said everybody must pay.”
Enacted in 1995, the FAAN Act (Part IV) empowers the airport authority to levy and collect various charges from various categories of airport users to support the maintenance and development of airport infrastructure.
He added that a percentage rebate was being considered for service veterans.
The minister also vowed to ensure compliance, saying, “I will breathe down on the regulators. I must direct them to do what the law says diligently. I will ensure that they don’t water. down the regulatory measures.”
He said toll collection officers at the airport gates would no longer be bullied into granting access to uniform officers who refuse to pay. He assured them that more cameras would be “planted” in strategic positions to capture and expose any acts of harassment.
Regarding his alleged interference in the operations of airlines, especially as it concerns the closure of Dana Airlines, Keyamo noted that he would “continue to interfere to save lives until he leaves office.”
In a related development, the FEC approved a memorandum seeking N4.2bn for the maintenance and supply of aircraft recovery equipment.
Keyamo said the equipment would be used at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos and was designed to respond to occasions of aircraft breakdown on runways.
Apart from the initiative on the airports, the FEC also approved a N2tn mortgage initiative and banned sand-dredging 10km from federal bridges.
The council also approved a N51bn transport terminal hub in Abuja. It added that $7m US property would become Nigeria’s tech hub.
FEC also approved a new revenue platform for gaming and lottery businesses as well as N546bn for roads in Lagos, Kwara, Edo, Kebbi and Sokoto.
N72bn transmission lines
Meanwhile, the Federal Government also approved about N72bn for the construction of a new transmission line and emergency restoration systems for other transmission lines to enable quick repair of vandalised and damaged power infrastructure.
This came as the Federal Government also defended the Lagos-Ibadan Coastal Highway project, saying the project which would enhance growth and development followed due process.
Approved N72bn project includes the first is a 93-kilometer transmission line at Oji River/9th Mile for the 132 KV double circuit transmission line, costing $33.9m (N50.93bn) and N10.1m.
The second is for the supply and installation of 15 units of emergency restoration systems costing $14m (N21.04bn) for 330 KV and 132 KV transmission lines. The system will expedite the repair of damaged power infrastructure.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, revealed this to journalists at the State House as some of the approvals he secured at Tuesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting.
He explained that the emergency restoration system is a response to the impact of vandalism on power transmission assets, particularly in the Northeast, where there has been a blackout for the past weeks due to vandalism.
“We are aware of what is happening in the Northeast today in the last two to three weeks. There have been blackouts because of vandalisation activities. The Transmission Company of Nigeria has been trying to ensure that they fix these vandalised assets and we hope that before the end of the month, we should be able to return normalcy to the power situation in the Northeast.
“This emergency ratio restoration system will enable us to fix all the vandalised and damaged power infrastructure across the country.
“This was brought about by the impact of vandalisation across the country in terms of power transmission assets to ensure that the students enjoy 24/7 uninterrupted power supply,” Adelabu explained.
The power minister also noted that the new 93km transmission line will stabilise the national grid and expand its capacity, in line with the national grid expansion plan and the Presidential Power Initiative to increase its end-to-end capacity.
Monday’s approval also includes the procurement of 10 transformers and 10 reactors for the Transmission Company of Nigeria at a total cost of $4.8m (N7.2bn) and N102m, saying this will enhance the optimal performance of the national grid, reduce the risk of electric shock and equipment damage, and protect personnel from the effects of high voltage.
The Federal Government also appealed to Organised Labour not to derail the transformation plan for the power sector, saying to achieve the desired service the current sacrifice is required.
Adelabu also assured Labour that their demands made during their nationwide protest on Monday were being considered.
On Monday, leaders of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria led their members in peaceful protest in different parts of the country, picketing the activities of agencies and institutions under the Power Ministry, demanding the reversal of the recent increase in electricity tariff.
However, reacting to the demands by the Labour unions, Adelabu noted that the federal government had noted their grievances, received their demands and would be engaging further with them, emphasising that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is a listening government.
He said, “It’s the right of the Labour to protest peacefully and to come up with their demands, from the perspective they saw what we did. It is allowed, it is legitimate and it is understandable
“Let me make that clear. President Bola Tinubu’s administration is also a listening government. We have heard demands, we’re going to look at it, we’ll make further engagements and I believe we’re going to reach a peaceful resolution with the labour.
“My appeal again is that they should please not derail or distract our transformation plan for the industry. We have a documented reform roadmap to take us to our desired destination, where we’re going to have reliable, functional, cost-effective and affordable electricity in Nigeria. It cannot be achieved overnight because this is a decay of almost 60 years, which we are trying to correct.
“Nobody promised us or assured us that the road will be smooth. We knew it was going to be rough, but we must weather the storm, which is going to be temporary. It’s a lot of sacrifice from everybody; from the government’s side, from the people’s side, from the private sector side. So we must bear this sacrifice for us to have a permanent gain.”
