Remittances And Fiscal Sustainability In Nigeria: Is There Any Link?

Remittances have attracted extensive debate over their use and the role they play in an economy for some decades now. Nigeria had always been faced with diminishing revenue each time oil price nosedives, forcing the country into massive borrowing to fund budgets. This study is an attempt to elicit interest once more, on the subject of remittances and to contribute to the on-going debate, of its efficacy or otherwise in curing society’s macroeconomic ills. The objective of this study is to investigate whether remittances affect fiscal sustainability in Nigeria.  Johansen cointegration test was employed to check for long run relationship. The study used annual time series data from 1977 to 2014 obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank. The study applied Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation technique within an error correction modelling context, and the results indicate that remittances have significant impact on fiscal sustainability in the long run but not in the short run. One year lag of remittances improved fiscal sustainability (by reducing debt to GDP plus remittances ratio) by about 1.28% on average every year. Further findings suggest that the Nigerian government should collaborate with other countries that receive remittances in massive size and champion for its inclusion in fiscal sustainability analysis as this would help expand the governments’ borrowing capacity and risk rating. Keywords: Remittances, Fiscal Sustainability, Risk Rating, Borrowing Capacity, Error Correction Modelling, Debt Sustainability, Nigeri

Remittances And Fiscal Sustainability In Nigeria: Is There Any Link?

Remittances have attracted extensive debate over their use and the role they play in an economy for some decades now. Nigeria had always been faced with diminishing revenue each time oil price nosedives, forcing the country into massive borrowing to fund budgets. This study is an attempt to elicit interest once more, on the subject of remittances and to contribute to the on-going debate, of its efficacy or otherwise in curing society’s macroeconomic ills. The objective of this study is to investigate whether remittances affect fiscal sustainability in Nigeria.  Johansen cointegration test was employed to check for long run relationship. The study used annual time series data from 1977 to 2014 obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank. The study applied Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation technique within an error correction modelling context, and the results indicate that remittances have significant impact on fiscal sustainability in the long run but not in the short run. One year lag of remittances improved fiscal sustainability (by reducing debt to GDP plus remittances ratio) by about 1.28% on average every year. Further findings suggest that the Nigerian government should collaborate with other countries that receive remittances in massive size and champion for its inclusion in fiscal sustainability analysis as this would help expand the governments’ borrowing capacity and risk rating. Keywords: Remittances, Fiscal Sustainability, Risk Rating, Borrowing Capacity, Error Correction Modelling, Debt Sustainability, Nigeri

Trade Liberalisation and Imported Inputs in Nigeria: Gains or Losses?

Nigeria, just like other nations exchange goods and services with different economies around the world. Tellingly, this exchange arose because countries discover that they do not have all the material resources they need; hence bilateral or multilateral engagement with regards to foreign purchase becomes unavoidable. This study investigated whether there was growth in the importation of indispensable raw materials in Nigeria, using annual data from 1970 to 2014 taken from the World Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria. The annual time series were examined for unit root. To check for long run relationship, the Johansen cointegration test was applied. The study adopted Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation technique and an error correction modelling (ECM) approach. Findings from the study indicate a statistically significant increase in the growth of raw materials importation both in the long run and short run. Therefore, the government is advised to remove any bottleneck that impedes the imports of invaluable raw materials required for local production. When this is sincerely done, productivity gains could be maximised. Keywords: Trade Liberalisation, Imported Inputs, Raw Materials, Nigeria

COVID-19 pandemic waves: how prepared is West Africa for managing a high COVID-19 caseload? Urgent actions needed

The ECOWAS Region and the world have learnt a lot in the last year and a half concerning the pandemic. As the pandemic continues to evolve, the region needs to put together all these lessons in other to better protect its people, rebuild its economy and strengthen the regional health security for better regional prosperity. We reviewed the response mounted by the region from January 2020 to July 2021 and the existing body of knowledge. We recommend that the region quickly increase the COVID-19 immunization coverage, sustain the enhance genomic surveillance, improve testing and the strengthen point of entry surveillance

Operationalizing the ECOWAS regional one health coordination mechanism (2016–2019): Scoping review on progress, challenges and way forward

Based on recommendations from two consultative meetings held in Dakar, Senegal (2016) and Abuja, Nigeria (2017) the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) implemented a Regional One Health Coordination Mechanism (R-OHCM). This study analyzed the process, challenges and gaps in operationalizing the R-OHCM in West Africa. We utilized a scoping review to assess five dimensions of the operation of an R-OHCM based on political commitment, institutional structure, management and coordination capacity, joint planning and implementation, as well as technical and financial resources. Information was gathered through a desk review, interview of key informants, and the viewpoints of relevant stakeholders from ECOWAS region during a regional One Health technical meeting in Lomé, Togo in October 2019. It was found that political commitment at regional meetings and the countries adoption of regional frameworks were key strengths of the R-OHCM, although there are continued challenges with commitment, sustainability, and variability of awareness about One Health approach. ECOWAS formulated regional strategic documents and operationalized the One Health secretariat for strengthening coordination. The R-OHCM has technical working groups however, there is need for engagement of more specialized workforce and a harmonized reporting structure. Furthermore, inadequate focus on operational research, and weak national OHCM are identified as main gaps. Finally, the support of technical and financial partners will help to address the lack of funding which limits the implementation of the R-OHCM. West Africa has demonstrated profound effort in adopting the One Health approach at regional level but is presently deterred by challenges such as limited skilled One Health workforce, especially in the animal and environmental health sectors, and access to quality of One Health surveillance

Long-term cortisol levels in hair of children and adolescents with Prader-Willi Syndrome

Context: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by hypothalamic dysfunction. In children with PWS, stress-induced central adrenal insufficiency (CAI) has been described, however, daily life cortisol production may be normal. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a marker of long-term systemic cortisol production. Cortisol awakening response (CAR) is the increase in cortisol level after awakening. A negative CAR might suggest hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis reactivity problems. Little is known about HCC and CAR in children with PWS. Objective: To investigate long-term cortisol levels in hair and CAR in children with PWS. Design: Cross-sectional study. Patients: 41 children with PWS. Setting: Dutch PWS Reference Center. Main outcome measures: HCC and salivary cortisol measured by LCMS. Results: Median (IQR) HCC was 1.90 (1.02–3.30