Tag: Finance - Page 12 - African News Today

Senators, Reps Get N52m, N32m Yearly Office Running Allowance – Lawan

14Dec

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, Legislature, News, Nigeria

Senators, Reps Get N52m, N32m Yearly Office Running Allowance – Lawan

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Monday, revealed the salaries and emoluments of members of the National Assembly to the public in Abuja. Lawan also said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had surpassed his predecessors on assent to bills. He stated this in a paper presented at the First Distinguished Parliamentarians’ Lecture Series organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies. The President of the Senate said the monthly salary of a senator was N1.5m, while that of a member of the House of Representatives was N1.3m. He said the N13m thrown into the public space a few years back as the monthly salary of a senator was actually their quarterly office running allowance. Lawan said, “The total salary of a member of t...

Nigeria Drops To 14 As Egypt Tops Africa’s Investment Destinations

5Dec

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Economy, Finance, News, Nigeria

Nigeria Drops To 14 As Egypt Tops Africa’s Investment Destinations

Nigeria has dropped from Africa’s top 10 investment destinations to 14 as Egypt remains the number one nation. This is according to a report by RMB titled, ‘Where to Invest in Africa 2021.’ According to RMB, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, the ranking is based on countries operating environments. RMB Africa Economist, Daniel Kavishe, said the pandemic ushered a new world and a new approach to this year’s list. Kavishe said, “We created a new set of rankings that incorporated some of the unavoidable COVID-19-induced challenges, of which the operating environment score was one.” According to him, fiscal scores are important indicators of how governments respond to COVID-19. He said, “The inclusion of a fiscal score in our rankings aimed to score governments’ fiscal po...

Subsidy: FG May Deduct N2.4tn Palliative From Federation Account, Plans Talks

26Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Subsidy: FG May Deduct N2.4tn Palliative From Federation Account, Plans Talks

The Federal Government may deduct at least N2.4tn from the Federation Account to fund the N5, 000 cash palliative that will be handed over to 40 million poor Nigerians after the fuel subsidy has been removed next year. Reports on Thursday suggest that the list of poor Nigerians on the Federal Government’s National Social Register had surpassed 42 million and may hit 43 million by December, Punch reports. This implies that the figure to be spent on the subsidy palliative may hit N2.58tn in one year. When contacted on the telephone on Thursday on how funds for the N5,000 palliative would be sourced, Yunusa Abdullahi, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, referred The PUNCH to a statement by his principal after the Federal Executive Co...

Court Rules On Ex-Bayelsa Governor, Dickson’s Suit With Anti-graft Agency, EFCC Over Undeclared Assets

25Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Court Rules On Ex-Bayelsa Governor, Dickson’s Suit With Anti-graft Agency, EFCC Over Undeclared Assets

A Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has stopped the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from further investigating the former Governor of Bayelsa State and senator representing the West Senatorial district of the State, Senator Seriake Dickson, over alleged undeclared assets between 2007 and 2020. The presiding judge, Justice Isah H. Dashien, while ruling on a suit numbered FHC/CS/81/2021, filed against the EFCC by the Registered Trustees of the Seriake Dickson Incorporated and Senator Seriake Dickson, respectively, declared that the assets were acquired with loans when the former governor was a member of House of Representatives. The court ruled that Dickson should not be investigated any further, having declared his assets before the Code of Conduct ...

Dollar Shortage, Subsidy, Deficit Financing Threatening Nigeria’s Growth – W’Bank

24Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Dollar Shortage, Subsidy, Deficit Financing Threatening Nigeria’s Growth – W’Bank

The World Bank has said that economic growth in Nigeria is being threatened by certain macroeconomic challenges, including dollar shortage, petrol subsidy and the fiscal deficit financing by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The bank disclosed this in its Nigeria Development report, which was released on Tuesday. The report identified measures taken by the government to tackle the pandemic-induced economic challenges. “In 2020, the Nigerian government began to address longstanding macroeconomic challenges by harmonising the two main exchange rates, adjusting electricity tariffs to more cost-reflective levels, cutting nonessential spending, redirecting budgetary resources towards the COVID-19 response at both the federal and state levels, strengthening debt management, and increasing th...

Naira Loses Steam, Slides To 555/Dollar In Parallel Market

23Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Naira Loses Steam, Slides To 555/Dollar In Parallel Market

The naira lost steam at the parallel market on Monday, sliding to 555 per dollar. The local currency had crashed to 540/dollar on Friday, after trading at 535/dollar on Thursday. After tumbling to 575/dollar recently, the local currency began a gradual uptick in recent weeks peaking at 530/dollar last week. Operators in the parallel market, who spoke to our correspondent on Monday, said the local currency was bought and sold at 550/dollar and 555/dollar respectively. Read Also: Nigeria Can’t Get New Dollars When Exchange Rate is Artificially Low -Osinbajo An operator in the black market attributed the fall to an increase in demand for the greenback. At the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Investor & Exporter Window, the naira fell by 0.16 per cent to close at 415.07/doll...

Buhari Approaches World Bank, Others For $30million Loan

21Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Buhari Approaches World Bank, Others For $30million Loan

President Muhammadu Buhari says his government is in talks with the World Bank to obtain $30 million to build a vaccine plant in Nigeria. Buhari, represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, made this known in Jos on Saturday during the graduation of Senior Executive Course 43 participants of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies. The President said he hoped that the vaccine plant to be built in collaboration with May & Baker Nigeria Plc would commence next year. Read Also: No Diamond Bra Recovered From Diezani, Says Bawa He said, “Nigeria is in talks with the World Bank’s private lending arm and other lenders to raise about $30 million to help finance a vaccine plant – Biovaccines Nigeria Ltd, (with 49 per cent of the company owned by the Nigerian government an...

Fuel Marketers Predict N170/Litre, Claim Supply Drop, NNPC Disagrees

19Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria

Fuel Marketers Predict N170/Litre, Claim Supply Drop, NNPC Disagrees

The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, may rise from the current N162-N165/litre to N170/litre, while its depot price is projected to increase from N159/litre to N165/litre, oil marketers said on Thursday. Dealers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria warned that the rising cost of petrol at depots would definitely warrant commensurate increase in pump price if not checked. They also complained of PMS supply problems, stressing that many tank farms or depots had no petrol, which was why the few ones that had the commodity had to increase its price from the approved N148/litre price to N159/litre. But the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limit...

FG Raises Power Tariff December, Begins Free Meters Purchase

18Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Finance, News, Nigeria, Power

FG Raises Power Tariff December, Begins Free Meters Purchase

Power consumers nationwide may start to pay more for electricity, following plans by the Federal Government to carry out a review of power tariff. This came as the Federal Government said on Wednesday it had commenced the procurement of four million meters meant to be distributed free of charge to unmetered power users nationwide. It also put the number of unmetered electricity consumers in Nigeria at about eight million, adding that over 860,000 meters were distributed for free to power users under phase zero of the National Mass Metering Programme. It was learnt on Wednesday the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission would review the country’s power tariffs by next month, barring any unforeseen circumstance. On the four million free meters being procured, the Deputy Gener...

ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike, Over Unpaid N22bn Allowance

16Nov

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Education, Finance, News, Nigeria

ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike, Over Unpaid N22bn Allowance

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, on Monday, gave the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum over the failure of the government to implement the agreement reached with it. This is as the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, claimed in an interview with The PUNCH that the union had failed to submit a breakdown of the workers entitled to the N22.1bn earned allowances. The ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, who spoke during a press briefing at the University of Abuja, blamed the Federal Government for failing to honour the agreement it signed with the union, which made it call off its strike in December 2020. Recall that in March 2020, ASUU embarked on a nine-month strike following its disagreement with the Federal Government over the funding of universit...