Managing Director, SystemSpecs Limited, Mr. John Obaro, has blamed the lingering tax deficit and dwindling revenue recorded in most states of the federation on the lack of proper strategy and continuous dependence on manual revenue collection methods. This is coming on the heels of the inability of most of the states to pay staff salaries, running into several months. According to reports, some of the states are heavily indebted and are on the verge of going broke.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan to banks rose sharply last week by 173 per cent to N281 billion. Vanguard investigations reveal that lending to banks through the CBN’s standing Lending Facility (SLF) rose from N102.89 billion the previous week to N281 billion at the close of business on Friday.

NERFUNDs staff said that they were shocked at what they described as , “extreme reaction” of the Federal Ministry of Finance to their peaceful protest aimed at drawing government’s attention to their plight. Mal. Umar Mamu, the President of the NERFUND Staff Union told Vanguard that his members were surprised that the ministry shut the organisation due to the peaceful protests which he said did not pose any threat security.

The first thing you need to do is look at the systems you currently have in place. What is it that constantly frustrates you, or that you feel you are spending too much time on? Are you continually searching around looking for an email address? Or cannot tell at a glance if your project is on track? Make a list of where you feel the problems are – these are your time drains. This is where you need to make improvements in your systems so that they work for you and not against you.

Mixed reactions have trailed CBN’s announcement on Wednesday of a flexible exchange rate in the foreign exchange market. While some foreign investors are keeping sealed lips, others are saying they will wait and see the level of the exchange rate depreciation before venturing into the Nigeria market. However, local investors are cautious in their reactions stating that the economy was held down by government control for too long.