Tuesday 10 September 2013

Fourth Public Presentation of Findings of the Afrobarometer Round 5 (R5) Surveys In Nigeria. Theme: TOWARDS PUTTING TAX RETURNS ON PUBLIC RECORDS IN NIGERIA.



Afrobarometer is a series of public attitude surveys conducted in 35 African Countries during the Round 5. It measures public perception and attitude to issues of governance, democracy and development and evaluates the quality of governance and economic performance in Africa. The survey articulates the views of Africans on critical issues in the surveyed countries and provides comparisons over time and across African countries. Four rounds of the surveys have been conducted and published from 1999 to 2010 and Round 5 (2011-2013) was recently concluded and currently being disseminated. Afrobarometer’s work in Africa is coordinated by the Center for Democratic Development CDD-Ghana and in Nigeria by the CLEEN Foundation. The fieldwork for Round 5 was conducted in Nigeria from 29th October to 30th November in 2012 and interviewed 2,400 adult Nigerians.

This release highlights aspects of the survey findings focusing on public attitude to tax and taxation in Nigeria. 
Finding 1: Afrobarometer Round 5 survey indicate that majority of respondents (75%) were proud to be called Nigerians

In general, the survey findings indicate that three of every four Nigerians (75%) are proud to be called Nigerians The survey also suggests that four  of every five Nigerians (80%) are usually very careful when dealing with other people and only nearly only one in seven citizens (15%) believe that most people could be trusted.  Furthermore, the survey indicate that nearly two-third of Nigerians (63%) are interested in discussing public affairs. Finally, on general attitudes, slightly more than four out of every five Nigerians (85%) hold the view that it is necessary to obey the laws of the land regardless of whom they voted for, while (14%) believe that it is not necessary to obey the laws of a government that they did not vote for.
What we see from this dataset is a high level of identification with the country in terms of national pride, willingness to obey government laws as well as interest in public affairs. However, this trend is being offset by a high level of mutual distrust among citizens.  
Finding 2: Majority of Nigerians (89%) say they had never refused to pay taxes to government authorities, only (6%) said they had refused paying once or twice and (2%) said they do not know

The survey findings indicate a willingness on the part of majority of Nigerians to pay tax, given that nearly nine in ten of them (89%) said that had never refused to pay tax. Only 6% of them admitted that they had defaulted at least once on tax.  Furthermore, slightly more than one in two of the respondents indicated that they would pay higher taxes to ensure that more services were provided by government while 43% said they would rather pay lower taxes, even if it meant fewer public services provided. On Value added Tax (VAT), 51% of respondents believed they were not required to pay VAT on goods purchased from shops or traders in the country, while 42% believe they are required to pay.  The survey further revealed that 46% of respondents believed that they are required to pay property rates or taxes even if they were unable to pay while another 45% believed that they are not required to pay. Most respondents (66%) thought that tax authorities have the right to make people pay taxes and only 22% disagreed. The survey also revealed that majority of Nigerians (65%) share the view that citizens must pay their taxes to develop the country, while 35% held the view that government could find enough resources for development from other sources without taxing the citizens.
These findings indicate that majority of Nigerians are willing to pay their taxes. However, more than half of the respondents believe that they are not required to pay VAT for purchase of goods and services, indicating low public knowledge about the VAT system in Nigeria.  There is therefore an urgent need for tax education and enlightenment in Nigeria, especially the range of goods and services that require payment of VAT.
Finding 3: Majority of Nigerians, (58percent) said most tax officials, like the Federal Inland Revenue Service officials or the Local Government tax collectors are involved in corruption.           

The high level of corruption noted in the activities of public institutions in Nigeria was also observed in the work of tax authorities at the federal, state and local levels. Nearly all the respondents (95%) believed that tax authorities at various levels are involved in corruption. This is made up of 58% who believe that all of them/most of them are involved and 37% who believe that some of them are involved.  Unsurprisingly, only 3% of the respondents trust the Federal Inland Revenue Service a lot. However 44% trust the FIRS “a little” and 20% trust it “somewhat”.  Furthermore, slightly more than 4 in 5 (82%) of the respondents  held the view that  it is difficult to monitor how government use the taxes it collects and only 11% said tax usage is easy to monitor while and 7% said they did not know.
Here the responses indicate citizen discontent with the tax system in Nigeria. Findings suggest that the willingness of citizens to pay taxes is influenced by a number of factors including level of trust in the tax authorities, effectiveness of media reporting on corruption, transparency in the use of public funds and also the level of poverty in the land. For the tax authorities to be effective in the discharge of their duties there is need to address these citizen concerns and make the tax system in Nigeria more transparent and accountable.

For more information, visit us online at www.afrobarometer.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. facebooktwitter @Afrobarometer.
For further information on Afrobarometer Nigeria, please contact CLEEN Foundation at cleen@cleen.org
Phone: +234 - 01 - 7612479






Lagos Police Command ranks first in Africa

Author(s): Patience Ogbo
The Victoria Island police station, Lagos State police command has emerged the top police station and regional winner of the Police Station Visitors Week(PSVW) 2012 in Africa.
An award ceremony was held to honour the station on Tuesday, at the HS Continental Blue Ribbon hotel in Lagos, where the District Police Officer (DPO) of the Victoria Island, Adegoke Fayoade, was presented with the award.
Adegoke Fayoade (DPO)
Adegoke Fayoade (DPO)
The police station emerged winner during the Altus Annual Award ceremony which took place on August 9, 2013, at the Laico Regency Hotel in Nariobi, Kenya.
The Victoria Island police station came first over 343 police stations from five other African countries: Benin,Cameroon, Kenya, Liberia and Ghana.
Blessing Abiri, Altus Regional Representative/Senior Programme Officer, CLEEN Foundation, stated that Victoria Island police station was rated across the five indicator areas in the 2012 Police Station Visitors’ Week based on Community Orientation(100%); Physical Condition(96.67%); Equal treatment of the public (96. 67%);Transparency and Accountability(100%) and detention condition(100%). She added that the station showed innovative policing practices that could help improve the service delivery of police stations.
She said, “The sixth edition of the Police Station Visitors Week held in 2012 was organised by the Altus Global Alliance in 17 countries, to provide local civilians with an opportunity to visit local police stations and assess the services they provide. In Africa, six countries-Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Nigeria, participated in the 2012 Police Station Visitors’ Week with a total of 343 participating police stations across the six countries. A total of 1,153 visitors participated”.
The report also revealed that 262 police stations were visited in Nigeria with seven police stations in the Lagos police command getting top ranks among police stations in Nigeria.
These stations are: Victoria Island police station(98. 67%); Alakuko police station(96. 25%); Badagry police station,(87%); Ajah police station (83%); Ilupeju police station (83%); Ijaniki Police station (88%); Alakara police (85. 67%). Others are the Kuje police station FCT (82. 67%); Central police station Akwa Abia State (83. 33% and the Olu-Obasanjo Police Station,Rivers State (82%).
Speaking on the award, the Divisional Police Officer, Victoria Island police station, Adegoke Fayoade, stated that the station adopted a “people centric” policing style which was based on community participation in securing life and property.
He said, “In line with the IGP transformation agenda to build a people friendly police force that is professional, disciplined, dedicated, effective, selfless, efficient, upright and a force that will respect the rights of the citizenry, we keyed into this to create a people centric , prevention and basic enforcement module based on what the demands of the people are. We created an enabling environment that encouraged members of the public to visit the station, report cases and pass vital information. Police visibility and accessibility were enhanced. Neighbourhood policing was introduced and policemen on vehicular, motorcycle and foot patrol dotted everywhere on the Island. Our cells are among the best in the world”.
Former commissioner of police, Frank Odita, who was the special guest at the event urged other policemen to emulate Adegoke, and contribute to the development of the Nigerian Police Force.

CLEEN presents Victoria Island Police Station with the 2012 Altus Regional Award for the Best Police Station in Africa




An award presentation ceremony is being organized by the CLEEN Foundation in Lagos to recognize and honor Victoria Island police station, for emerging the top police station and regional winner of the Police Station Visitors Week (PSVW) 2012 in Africa. The Victoria Island police station emerged winner during the Altus’ annual Global Award Ceremony which took place on 9th August, 2013 at the Laico Regency Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya..
Victoria Island police station was rated across the 5 indicator area in the 2012 Police Station Visitors’ Week as follow - Community Orientation (100%); Physical Condition (96.67%); Equal Treatment of the Public (96.67%); Transparency and Accountability (100%); and Detention Conditions (100%).  It also showcased good and innovative policing practices that have helped improve the service delivery of the police station.
The sixth edition of the Police Station Visitors Week held in 2012 was organized by the Altus Global Alliance in 17 countries to provide local civilians an opportunity to visit local police stations and to assess the services they provide. In Africa, 6 countries - Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Nigeria participated in the 2012 Police Station Visitors’ Week with a total of 343 participating police stations across the 6 countries. A total of 1,153 visitors participated in the Police Station Visitors Week 2012 and were from various local community groups including school children. The Altus Global Alliance will conduct the Police Station Visitors Week for 2013 from 3rd to 9th November 2013.
The work of the Altus Global Alliance in Africa is coordinated by the CLEEN Foundation which is a founding member of the alliance and a leading non-governemntal organisation working to promote public safety, security and accessible justice in Nigeria and in Africa. The organisation is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and has offices in Lagos, Abuja and Owerri. It is also registered in Ghana and Cameroon. The organisation has observer status at the Africa Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Thursday 5 September 2013

INVITATION TO THE Formal PRESENTATION OF the Regional Award TO VICTORIA ISLAND POLICE STATION, REGIONAL WINNER OF THE ALTUS Police Station Visitors’ Week 2012 IN AFRICA




 CLEEN Foundation, a non governmental organization aimed at promoting public safety, security and accessible justice in Nigeria in collaboration with the Altus Global Alliance wishes to invite you to the formal presentation of the Regional Award to Victoria Island Police Station, regional winner of the Altus Police Station Visitors’ Week 2012 in Africa.

We would appreciate it if your organization could be represented at this event and therefore request that you kindly send a reporter on your crime/security beat to cover the event

The presentation is scheduled as follows:

Date:               Tuesday, 10th September, 2013
                                               
Time:              10:00am prompt.
                       
Venue:            HS Continental Blue Ribbon,
                                    3, Allen Lane off Allen Avenue,
                                    Behind Durosholeye Hospital
                                    By KFC, Allen, Ikeja

Kindly confirm your availability and participation at the event on or before Monday 9th September 2013 with Mr. Gabriel Akinremi via email - gabriel.akinremi@cleen.org or call 08023704048.

We sincerely look forward to your participation at the award ceremony.

INVITATION TO THE FOURTH PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF THE FINDINGS OF AFROBAROMETER ROUND 5 SURVEYS IN NIGERIA




The Afrobarometer (AB) is a series of comparative public opinion surveys that measure public attitudes toward democracy, governance, the economy, leadership, identity, and other issues. The current “Round 5” surveys were conducted in 35 countries including Nigeria during 2011-2012.
Afrobarometer’s work in Nigeria is coordinated and disseminated by the CLEEN Foundation in collaboration with relevant agencies. The field work for Round 5 survey in Nigeria was conducted between 29th October and 30th November in 2012 covering the 36 States of Nigeria and Abuja and the findings are currently being disseminated.

The CLEEN Foundation and the Afrobarometer network therefore wishes to invite you as a media partner to the Fourth Public Presentation of findings of the Round 5 (R5) survey on the theme TOWARDS PUTTING TAX RETURNS ON PUBLIC RECORDS IN NIGERIA. This public presentation will highlight and discuss emerging trends in the attitudes of Nigerians towards taxation and fiscal management in Nigeria. We request that you kindly send your reporter to cover the event and report it on your finance/budget/taxation beat. The public presentation is scheduled as follows:

Date:                     Tuesday, 10th September, 2013
Time:                    9:30am prompt.
Venue:                  CLEEN Foundation Resource Centre, 21 Akinsanya Street Ojodu Lagos

We sincerely look forward to your participation in this dissemination meeting and hope to rely on the strength and wide spread of your media outreach to communicate these important findings to other stakeholders and to the Nigerian general public.

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