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Unlocking Impact Financing in Nigeria: A Guide to Funding
0Susan Omeh in her article, Unlocking Impact Financing in Nigeria: A Guide to Funding, sheds light on the various financing options available for impact and sustainable projects in Nigeria. In doing this, Omeh analyses the laws and incentives applicable to such projects while also proffering the best approach for compliance. With environmental, social and governance considerations taking a more centralized stage globally, the need to ease financing options for impact-related projects is becoming increasingly necessary for developing countries such as Nigeria. Although the bane of impact projects and sustainable infrastructure development in Nigeria is often tied to financing, a greater challenge lies in the nonuse of commercially viable finance options (allowing maximum profit while promoting impact) and the absence of clear regulatory framework(s) to maximize the utilization of impact funds. The bottom-line effect is often a movement in circles with an organization/investor reverting, at the end of an impact project, to the position it was before the financing and construction of the impact project.
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The Constitutionality of the Administrative Penalties Under Sections 18 and 19 of the Finance Act 2023
0Ifeanyi Ujah, in his article The Constitutionality of the Administrative Penalties Under Sections 18 and 19 of the Finance Act 2023, examines the constitutionality of Sections 18 and 19 of the Finance Act 2023 which amended Sections 51, 52 and 53 of the Petroleum Profit Tax Act (PPTA). The article examines the propriety of those administrative penalties introduced by the amendment against the background of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It concludes that these administrative penalties constitute a usurpation of the judicial powers of courts and a legislative infringement on the fundamental human rights to fair hearing.
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Contractual Documentation in Project Finance and the Need for Connectivity
0Abimbola Oluwasuyi of NHS London United Kingdom, Olusegun Onakoya of the Faculty of Law University of Ibadan Nigeria, and Olusegun Gbede of the School of Business & Law, University of East London United Kingdom, in their article, Contractual Documentation in Project Finance and the Need for Connectivity, stress the importance of several contractual agreements to the success of a Project. They note that the agreements set out the duties and obligations of different parties at different stages of Project Finance. They examine the different types of agreements, their role, their impacts on project finance, and the importance of coordination among parties involved at all stages of the project to ensure its success.
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Making a Case for Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights in Nigeria
0Kenneth Ugwuokpe in his article, Making a Case for Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights in Nigeria, insists, no doubt controversially, that the economic, social and cultural rights indicated as “fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy” in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, are justiciable under the Nigerian legal framework. Kenneth argues that the socio-economic rights are enforceable in Nigeria either in their own right under Chapter II of the Constitution or pursuant to the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights or the Child Rights Act 2003. He further posits that, at a minimum, socio-economic rights can be enforced by subsuming them under the constitutionally protected rights to life and human dignity by means of progressive judicial interpretation, particularly using the Indian model. He examines Nigeria’s judicial attitudes to the enforcement of socio-economic rights vis-a-vis what obtains in some other countries, notably India and South Africa.
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Unlocking Climate Finance in Africa: The Role of African Multilateral Development Banks
0Geoffrey Adonu, Graduate Student at the New York University School of Law in, Unlocking Climate Finance in Africa: The Role of African Multilateral Development Banks, argues that climate change and its adverse effects on vulnerable communities are undermining global development. Developing countries, especially those in Africa, with their near-total dependence on agriculture, are the most affected despite their minimal contribution to global emissions. Effective climate action requires enormous amounts of financial resources, both for climate mitigation and adaptation in affected communities. However, climate finance flows fall short of the estimated need. Sub-Saharan Africa reportedly needs about US$377 billion and US$222 billion for climate adaptation and mitigation investments respectively, but total available financing is far from this target. Geoffrey considers climate finance, with emphasis on Africa, and examines the role of the continent’s multilateral development banks in unlocking climate finance for the continent.
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No Orchids For Miss Blandish: Nigerian Anti-Money Laundering Statutes and Nigerian Lawyers
0Dr Olumide Obayemi of the Lagos State University and Legal Practitioner, Ajumogobia & Okeke, Lagos in his article, “No Orchids For Miss Blandish: Nigerian Anti-Money Laundering Statutes and Nigerian Lawyers” examines the concept of money laundering and comprehensively reviews extant Nigerian legislation and regulations on money laundering including the 2 August 2012 Central Bank of Nigeria Circular, Federal Ministry of Industry Trade & Investment AML/CFT Regulations for Designated No the Terrorism (Prevention) Amendment Act (2013). He examines the reporting and monitoring requirements imposed on financial institutions, and other professionals, including lawyers, and juxtaposes these obligations with the privacy and confidentiality protections afforded to clients and lawyers under the Nigerian Constitution (1999), the Evidence Act (2011), and the Legal Practitioners Act. He considers the case of the Nigerian Bar Association v Attorney General of the Federation on the issue and draws his conclusion.
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Directors’ Personal Liability in Nigerian Corporate Law
0Dr. ‘Wale Olawoyin, SAN of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos in his article “Directors’ Personal Liability in Nigerian Corporate Law” reviews various statutory provisions on liability of directors and highlights the apparent willingness of Nigerian courts to lift the veil of incorporation to impose personal liability on directors, including non-executives. He posits that while the liability of directors for malfeasance or nonfeasance in the corporate law arena has been a subject of several statutory provisions and judicial pronouncements at Common Law, the legal contours of such liability in legislations are to a large extent settled in Nigeria. The imposition of personal liability on directors in cases where the veil of incorporation is lifted has taken new dimensions especially now when commission of crimes by corporate proxy is commonplace in Nigeria.
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Insider Dealing under Nigerian Law: Any New Lessons?
0Joseph Onele, Associate, Olaniwun Ajayi LP in “Insider Dealing Under Nigerian Law: Any New Lessons?” undertakes a comprehensive review of the legal framework for dealing with insider trading under Nigerian Law. He identifies notable gaps in the law and indicates lessons that can be learnt from other jurisdictions including the U.S and UK.
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Enacting Anti-thin Capitalisation Rules for Nigeria
0Dr Olumide Obayemi, Legal Practitioner, Ajumogobia & Okeke and Senior Lecturer, Department of Business Law, Lagos State University Ojo, examines an important topic that straddles corporate law, corporate finance and taxation. In his article, “Enacting Anti-Thin Capitalisation Rules for Nigeria”, he examines a financing strategy mostly favoured by multinational corporations (MNCs) in making investments outside their home nations. As debt is often a more tax efficient method of finance than equity because interest is tax deductible while dividend is not, most jurisdictions have prescribed rules to deal with the debt/equity mix by placing a ceiling on debt/equity ratio so that their tax base is not eroded as foreign firms finance their subsidiaries with excessive debt. Dr Obayemi explores anti-thin capitalisation rules in several jurisdictions and advocates the enactment of effective anti-thin capitalisation rules in Nigeria with a safe harbour of 1.5 to 1 debt-to-equity as the starting point.
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An Overview of the Legal Framework for Housing Finance and Securitisation in Nigeria
0Professor Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN & Tomi Oluleye of Olaniwun Ajayi LP in their article, “An Overview of the Legal Framework for Housing Finance and Securitisation in Nigeria” discuss the mortgage concept in Nigeria and its centrality to housing finance. They give an overview of the legal framework for housing and mortgage finance in Nigeria and the various actors in the system. They identify how the Land Use Act and funding challenges hamper an efficient mortgage finance system and advocate the creation of an active secondary mortgage market where mortgaged-backed securities are traded as a viable option in obtaining liquidity for the primary mortgage market. They recognise mortgage securitisation as the fulcrum of a secondary mortgage market and conclude with an analysis of mortgage securitisation in the U.S and the lessons to be learnt from its subprime lending crisis.
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An Examination of Elements of Cross-Border Leasing
0Dr. Abiodun Amuda-Kannike SAN, Principal, Amuda-Kannike (SAN) & Co and Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Niger-Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State in his article “An Examination of Elements of Cross-Border Leasing”, contemplates the issue of cross border equipment leasing, types of leases, conflict and choice of laws and efforts at uniformity wrought by the Unidroit Convention on International Financial Leasing.
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An Examination of the Right to Compensation for Compulsory Acquisition of Land in Nigeria
0Dr. Dorothy Nelson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Private Law, University of Uyo, in her article “An Examination of the Right to Compensation for Compulsory Acquisition of Land in Nigeria” discusses the right to compensation under the Land Use Act and argue that while compulsory acquisition may be necessary for societal growth, acquisition, via revocation of interest, must scrupulously comply with the template laid by the Supreme Court in the case of Osho v Foreign Finance Corp.