An assessment of tax reliefs and economic development in Nigeria

The mission of any government is the maximization of the social welfare of its citizens. In achieving this, government provides certain amenities to the citizens such as good roads, sound health, education, law and order. The provision of these are found to be cash consuming which the government may not be able to meet on its own without imposing compulsory levy on the citizens. Therefore, in as much as the imposition of tax is inevitable, some measures are put in place by the government to reduce the burden of tax on taxpayers. This is aimed at providing the tax payers with a sufficient disposable income which its resultant effect is the improvement of standard of living of the citizenry. For the purpose of the study, four private universities in Nigeria were purposively selected out of 34 licensed private universities in Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to thirty lecturers in each of those four selected private universities which gave a total of 120 respondents. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data collected and Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypotheses formulated. The result of the analysis showed that, though, there are tax reliefs provisions for the reduction of tax liability, the reliefs system in Nigeria is not efficient and adequate to improve the standard of living

Corporate governance and the performance of Nigerian banking sector

This study investigated the ways and manners in which the affairs of banking sector in Nigeria are managed by those charged with the responsibility. It showed the relationship between corporate governance and the performance of banks in Nigeria. The population of the study consisted of all the twenty four consolidated banks in Nigeria that met the requirement of ^25billion capital base as at today. A sample of five of them was considered adequate for generalization. One hundred and thirty questionnaires were administered on the management staff of those selected banks out of which 120 were returned and10 were not properly filled. Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS) was used to analyze the data collected and interpretation of data was done through simple percentages. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test the relationship that exists between efficient Corporate Governance in the banking sector and the roles of external auditor and the composition of the board of directors. The study revealed that, lack of proper corporate governance is the bane of so many banks in Nigeria. The collapse and failure of many banks was as a result of both poor audit control and directors’ negligence to observe due diligence and acceptable standard practices. However, banking sector has greatly contributed to the gross domestic product of Nigeria and consequently improved the economy. Therefore, transparency, honesty and objectivity have to be encapsulated in the running of banking operations so as to have a positive effect on the continuity of the organization

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BUDGET SIZE AND POWER INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

The paper investigated the relationship that existed between Capital Expenditure Budget Size (CEBS) and Power Infrastructural Development (PID) in Nigeria. The study adopted a cross sectional survey research design where primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire at a point in time and analyzed using Analysis of Variance and Regression. The results of the analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between CEBS and PID in Nigeria (p>0.05) indicating an acceptance of null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between CEBS and PID. Also, the correlation coefficient (R) results of .025 showed positive but weak correlation between the variables and R-squared of the regression of -.001 as the fraction of the variation in the dependent variable PID as predicted by independent inference CEBS means -.1%.  The study concluded that power infrastructural development in Nigeria was not commensurate with size of capital expenditure budget. This was attributed to poor implementation policy, inadequate budget execution, corruption and weak accountability in Nigerian public sector.Â

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: CATALYSTS FOR REAL ENTREPRENEURIAL FIRMS’ GROWTH IN SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA

The study examined the role of Human Resource Management Practices (HRMPs) on entrepreneurial firms’ growth in South West Nigeria.  This was to entrenching a set of adequate human resource management practices that can enhance the growth objective of entrepreneurial firms. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information on relevant variables of the study. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of IBM SPSS statistics version 21.  The results revealed that employees’ training (    = 31.03, s=8.6405); controlling (   = 25.95, s= 6.721)); organizing manpower (    = 23.20, s = 5.760); job analysis and design (   = 23.10, s = 5.883) were reasonably practiced among the firms under the study. Whereas motivating strategies (    = 21.5, s = 5.2905; recruitment and selection (   = 20.45, s = 4.831); and manpower planning (    = 18.72, s = 4.786) fell below the agreement criterion (    = 23.0).  However, it was established that there was a statistically significant influence of the predictor variables on the outcome variable (R2 = 0.837, adjusted R2 = 0.825).  Therefore, the study concluded that Human Resources Management Practices as an omnibus concept have significant influence on Entrepreneurial firms ‘growth. The study suggested that Human Resource Management Practices should be considered as a process by entrepreneurs as it galvanizes entrepreneurial firms' growth objectives.     &nbsp

DETERMINANTS OF DIVIDEND POLICY AMONG NIGERIAN LISTED CONSUMER GOODS MANUFACTURING COMPANIES

The study seeks to identify determinants of dividend policy among listed consumer goods manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Secondary (cross sectional and time series) data were collected from seven (7) consumer goods manufacturing companies randomly selected from twenty-seven (27) listedcompanies on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) as at 2016. Thecollected data were analyzed using Ordinary Least Square Methods.  The resultsof the study show that there is a negative significant relation between profitability and dividend policy (b3= -0.43; t= -2.88 and p<0.05). Also, a positive significant relationship exists between liquidity and dividend (b4 =0.17; t=1.04 and p<0.05).However, there is no significant relationship between firm size and dividend policy (b1= 0.017; t= 0.10.7 and p> 0.05) and finally a negative insignificant relationship exists between financing policy and dividend policy (b2= - 0.12; t= - 0.70 and p > 0.05). This implies that business size and financing policyare not determinants ofdividend policy in Nigerian listed consumer manufacturing companies. The study recommends, among other things, that operators in the manufacturing sector facing dividend policy decision should focus more on improving profitability and liquidity. &nbsp

DOES WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AFFECT THE PROFITABILITY OF CONSUMER GOODS MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA?

The study examined the effect of working capital management on profitability of consumer goods manufacturing firms in Nigeria between the periods 2009 to 2018. The study adopted ex-post-facto design to generate data from the audited financial statements of the selected companies. The population of the study comprised 24 listed consumer goods manufacturing companies, out of which 10 were purposively selected based on the availability of data. The surrogates for independent variables were Account Payable Period (APP), Account Receivable Period (ARP), Inventory Turnover Period (INVTP), Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) and Sales Growth (SG) as a control variable while the proxy for profitability was Return on Asset (ROA). Descriptive and inferential statistics coupled with multiple regressions were adopted to analyze the data.  The Random Effects Generalized Least Square showed that ARP, INVTP, CCC had a negative and significant relationship with ROA while APP, SG had a positive and insignificant relationship with ROA. The study concluded that timely collection of debts and shorter inventory turnover period with cash conversion cycle enhance profitability of consumer goods manufacturing companies. Hence, the study suggested that the management of the companies should implement efficient working capital management for improved profitability.   &nbsp

Microbial-aided phytoremediation of heavy metals contaminated soil: a review

Anthropogenic exercises as well as industrial enterprise and agricultural practices contribute considerably to the degradation and contamination of environment that considerably affects the soil. The normal physical and chemical know-how soil washing used for soil remediation render the land useless as a medium for plant growth, as they take away all biological activities. Others are labor-intensive and have high maintenance value phytoremediation, a cheaper and sustainable in situ remediation technique was so thought of. This data can enable proposing solutions to issues of contamination and eventually convalescent sites and soils. However, plants don't have the aptitude to degrade several soil waste matters particularly the organic pollutant. It's so imperative to require advantage of the degrading ability of soil microorganisms. This review so focuses on phytoremediation techniques improved by microbial colonies. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.324417

Human Capital and Energy Infrastructure: Implications for Economic Growth in Nigeria

Both hypothetical and empirical evidences have found the roles that human capital and energy infrastructure in spurring the economic growth of a nation as very germane. These key variables are undoubtedly working together in a quest to achieve equitable redistribution of the nation’s economic resource and ensuring poverty reduction. This study is based on an attempt to use co-integration and ARDL modeling framework to examine the empirical evidence of the impact of the different components of human capital and energy infrastructure on economic growth in Nigeria between 1981 and 2018. Findings from the study showed that the quality of educational, transportation and communication facilities had a significant and contemporary influence on economic development. In the same way, investment in physical resources calculated by gross fixed capital development, quality of healthcare facilities, availability of power supply were also found to have a positive impact with a lag effect on economic growth. Implicitly, an increase in these facilities over the past decade in terms of their availability and efficiency would boost economic development over the current period. The study therefore recommended that education and health should be given an unwavering focus on investment by the policy maker as components of human capital coupled with energy infrastructure if the desired growth for which Nigeria aspires is to be attaine

Do participatory scenario exercises promote systems thinking and build consensus?

Participatory scenario processes are associated with positive social learning outcomes, including consensus-building and shifts toward more systemic thinking. However, these claims have not been assessed quantitatively in diverse cultural and socio-ecological settings. We convened three stakeholder workshops around the future of agricultural development and rural livelihoods in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Malawi, using a participatory scenario generation process to examine proposed research and action priorities under conditions of uncertainty. We administered pre- and post-workshop surveys, and used a paired t-test to assess how stakeholders’ rankings of research priorities changed after participating in the scenario visioning exercise. Workshop participants also listed their own priorities for research and implementation on both the pre- and post-survey forms. We found indications that the workshops promoted consensus-building around the research priorities, including a reduction in standard deviation of priority rankings post-workshop compared to pre-workshop; and a higher incidence of identical volunteered responses. We did not find evidence to support shifts in thinking to more systemic views of agricultural development. However, participants viewed themselves as having learned throughout the process. We conclude that scenario visioning does have the potential to foster consensus-building (one element of social learning) among diverse stakeholder groups. We urge researchers to continue to monitor and measure systems thinking outcomes from scenario visioning so that these processes may be designed to be more effective

MPLICATIONS OF HUMAN CAPITAL FORMATION ON OUTPUT AND EMPLOYMENT: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Many studies have documented that human capital formation is important to boost output both empirically and theoretically. However, studies on the implications of human capital on employment are still scanty, especially for developing countries. Against this background, the study investigates the shock and long-run implications of government financing on education and health on output and employment in Nigeria using a vector error correction model (VECM). The results show that the forecasting error shocks from government expenditure on health and education affect output more than employment along the 10-horizon period. Evidence from the long-run output model showed that government expenditure on education and human capital index is statistically significant, while government expenditure on health is not statistically significant. Government expenditure on education and the human capital index has a positive relationship with output. For the long-run employment model, government expenditure on health and education is statistically significant; while investment in human capital is not significant with employment. Government expenditure on education has a negative relationship with employment, while a positive relationship exists between government expenditure on health and employment. The result implies that human capital indicators in terms of quantity and quality do not contribute positively and significantly to employment growth in Nigeria. The study recommends the need to encourage self-reliance through entrepreneurship training to bolster employment opportunities in the long run