Category: Finance - Page 19 - African News Today

FG owes CBN N15.51tn, borrows N14.86tn under Buhari

18Aug

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Economy, Finance, News, Nigeria

FG owes CBN N15.51tn, borrows N14.86tn under Buhari

The Federal Government’s total borrowing from the Central Bank of Nigeria through Ways and Means Advances has skyrocketed to N15.51tn, rising by 2,286 per cent in six years, data collated from the CBN have shown. The N15.51tn owed by the Federal Government to the central bank is not part of the country’s total public debt stock, which stood at N33.11tn as of March 2021, according to the Debt Management Office. The public debt stock comprises the debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory. Ways and Means Advances is a loan facility used by the central bank to finance the government in periods of temporary budget shortfalls subject to limits imposed by law. According to Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007, the bank may grant...

Buhari Spends N41bn on Presidential Fleet Despite Promise To Cut Cost

15Aug

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Economy, Finance, Nigeria, Transportation

Buhari Spends N41bn on Presidential Fleet Despite Promise To Cut Cost

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration has so far expended N41.9bn to maintain the Presidential Air Fleet contrary to the promise Buhari made during the 2015 presidential election campaigns to reduce waste in governance by downsizing the presidential fleet. As of October 2016, when the Presidency last made a public inventory of the PAF, the fleet included 10 aircraft, namely one Boeing Business Jet (or Air Force One) 737, one Gulfstream G550, one Gulfstream G500, one Hawker 4000, two Falcon 7X, two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters, and two AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters. By the Presidency’s own admission, Buhari’s promise to sell some of the aircraft in the fleet was aimed at minimising the cost of governance. In October 2016, the Senior Special Assistant to the President...

FG Increases vehicle number plate, driving licence rates by 50%

13Aug

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria, Transportation

FG Increases vehicle number plate, driving licence rates by 50%

The Federal Government has started the implementation of new rates for vehicle number plates and driving licences nationwide. According to the Joint Tax Board, Nigerians will now pay N18,750 for standard private and commercial number plates against the old rate of N12,500. Fancy number plate which was N80,000 is now N200,000; motorcycle number plate is N5,000 from N3,000 while articulated number plates (three plates) attract N30,000 from N20,000. For these rates, the minimum increase is 50 per cent. Out of series number plate has also been revised to N50,000 from N40,000 while government fancy number plate is N20,000 against the former N15,000 rate. Driving licence (three years) was raised to N10,000 from N6,000, excluding bank charges; licence for five years is N15,000 from N1...

Nigeria, Nine Others Among Countries With High Debt Risk Exposure – World Bank

11Aug

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Nigeria, Nine Others Among Countries With High Debt Risk Exposure – World Bank

The World Bank has named Nigeria among a list of top 10 countries with high debt risk exposure. It stated this in the financial statement for International Development Association, which was among the World Bank FY21 audited financial statements released on Monday. The financial statement said, “IDA faces two types of credit risk: country credit risk and counterparty credit risk. “Country credit risk is the risk of loss due to a country not meeting its contractual obligations; and counterparty credit risk is the risk of loss attributable to a counterparty not honoring its contractual obligations. “IDA is exposed to commercial as well as noncommercial counterparty credit risk.” It stated, “As of June 30, 2021, the 10 countries with the highest exposures accounted for 66 per c...

Naira Appreciates to 512/1$, Banks Sell Dollar For N412

3Aug

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Economy, Finance, News, Nigeria

Naira Appreciates to 512/1$, Banks Sell Dollar For N412

The naira strengthened against the dollar at the parallel market on Monday as deposit money banks set up foreign exchange teller points for customers in accordance with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, directive. The naira appreciated to 512 against the greenback at the parallel market from the 515/$1 at which it closed on Friday. It, however, fell by 0.02 per cent to 411.50/$1 at the Investors and Exporters’ window, with a forex turnover of $121.08m, according to FMDQ Group. The local currency had last week plunged to an all-time high of 525 against the dollar at the parallel market following the stoppage of the supply of foreign exchange to Bureau de Change by the CBN. The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had on Tuesday, at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, ...

Senate Indicts Accountant-General For Illegally Withdrawing N665billion From Federal Account

29Jul

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, Legislature, News, Nigeria

Senate Indicts Accountant-General For Illegally Withdrawing N665billion From Federal Account

The Nigerian Senate has accused the office of the Accountant General of the Federal of illegally withdrawing N665.8billion from the Development of Natural Resources Fund and Stabilization Funds and issuing as loans to various government agencies. The upper legislative chamber said the money was withdrawn between 2004 and 2015 contrary to the established objectives of the fund. The revelation is contained in the report of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on the Federation Account. The committee had been investigating expenditures of federal government agencies from 2015-2018 based on an audit report by the Auditor-General for the Federation. The panel presented the report of its six-month investigation on the Federation Account for the year 2015, which was approved by the...

Again, ASUU Threatens Strike Over Payment Platforms, MoU implementation, Others

28Jul

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Education, Finance, News, Nigeria

Again, ASUU Threatens Strike Over Payment Platforms, MoU implementation, Others

The Federal Government has debunked allegations that it had reneged on its agreements with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU. This was disclosed by the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Ben Gong, in an interview with Punch in Abuja on Tuesday. Gong explained why the Federal Government could not adopt the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, a payment platform developed by ASUU. According to him, UTAS does not make provision for tax deductions from salaries. He added that ASUU members cannot collect salaries without paying taxes. Recall that the President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, in an interview with The PUNCH on Monday, accused the Federal Government of violating agreements it reached with the lecturers before they called off their ...

25Jul

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

CBN Comments On Nigerian Banks Safety

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has allayed the fears in some quarters over the safety of Nigerian banks assuring the safety and soundness of Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions under its watch. A statement on Saturday said that the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the Bank, Osita Nwanisobi, said this in Abuja ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Monday and Tuesday. It stated that he said the Nigerian banking system had proved to be very sturdy in spite of the global challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, in response to certain false and unfounded stories circulating in the social media attacking the soundness and safety of some Nigerian banks. According to him, routine bank examination and stress test for financial ins...

Loans: FG Increases Borrowing Limit to N61tn

16Jul

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Loans: FG Increases Borrowing Limit to N61tn

The Federal Government has expanded the country’s borrowing limit to N61tn paving the way for the increment of the current N33.11tn debt portfolio. The new limit as contained in a document, Medium Term Debt Strategy shows that Nigeria has hiked its borrowing limit from 25 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product to 40 per cent of the GDP. This development follows on the heels of Senate approval of new $8.33bn and €490m loans from external sources. As of December 31, 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics put the country’s GDP at N152.32tn. Thus, forty per cent of the current GDP is N60.93tn. Twenty-five per cent of the current GDP is N38.08tn, an amount which the nation may have surpassed in debt given that there are loans which the nation has already secured but are not include...

FEC Awards N309.9bn Road Contracts to Dangote

15Jul

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

FEC Awards N309.9bn Road Contracts to Dangote

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, has ratified the award of construction of five roads amounting to 274.9 km at the cost of N309.9bn to Dangote Industries as part of a tax credit. Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Works and Housing, said this in a chat with State House correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday. According to the minister, the road contract would be the largest implemented on concrete in the country. He said, “The second memorandum presented by the Ministry of Works and Housing was for the construction or the reconstruction, as the case may be, of five road projects in favour of Messrs. Dangote Industries Limited, totalling 274.9 kilometres of federal roads, under the Federal Government Roads Infrastructure Tax Cred...