Tag: Finance

Abdulsalami, Workers Warn FG As NEC Decides Subsidy Removal June
Finance, News, Nigeria, Petroleum

Abdulsalami, Workers Warn FG As NEC Decides Subsidy Removal June

The National Economic Council has said it will take a  decision on petroleum subsidy removal in June when the six-month period for subsidy payment in the 2022 budget elapses. NEC  comprising Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and state governors among others, stated this at its first meeting for the year at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday. The council stated this as a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities strongly warned the Federal Government against removing the subsidy, saying it would worsen poverty in the country. The warning came amid conflicting reports on whether the Federal Government would fully deregulate the downstream sector by removing fuel subsidy in February or not. Although the ...
Osinbajo-led Economic Council Recommends Fuel Increase To N302 Per Litre By February
Finance, News, Nigeria, Petroleum

Osinbajo-led Economic Council Recommends Fuel Increase To N302 Per Litre By February

The Nigerian government may increase the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, to N302 per litre in February 2022 as part of the recommendations of the National Economic Council (NEC). This is part of the government’s plan to completely deregulate the PMS prices, eliminating monthly subsidy payments with provisions to ensure fair competition in the market, TheCable reports. The NEC is headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. Petrol price is currently between N162 and N165 per litre in Nigeria. The recommendations were suggested by the NEC ad-hoc committee interfacing with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the appropriate pricing of PMS in Nigeria. The Governor of Kaduna state and head of the committee, Nasir El-Rufai presented the repor...
Nigeria Lost N10.72trillion To Twitter Ban — LCCI
Communication, Finance, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

Nigeria Lost N10.72trillion To Twitter Ban — LCCI

The Nigerian economy lost N10.72trillion to the suspension of microblogging platform, Twitter, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The figures were disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by Chinyere Almona, Director-General, LCCI. “In business terms, the cost of the seven-month shutdown of Twitter operations in Nigeria is estimated to be N10.72trillion ($26.1billion) according to Netblock’s Cost of Shutdown Tool,” Almona said. This is a huge loss to Nigeria as it represents about 63% of Nigeria's N17.1trillion budgeted for 2022. Recall that on June 4, the Nigeriag Government announced the suspension of Twitter after the social media platform deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari. Read Also: Twitter Reacts To Lifting Of Ban In Nigeria After Over 200 Da...
Standard Chartered Bank To Shut Down Half Of Nigeria Branches
Finance, News, Nigeria

Standard Chartered Bank To Shut Down Half Of Nigeria Branches

Standard Chartered Plc says it is closing about half of its Nigerian branches in a pivot to digital banking. The decision was reached following the finance industry coming under pressure from mobile money providers. The London-listed lender’s local unit has already started to shut some offices in December and will eventually operate only 13 branches in the country. According to a document seen by Bloomberg News, Standard Chartered is instead strengthening mobile banking and recruiting agents to reach new customers and handle cash deposits and withdrawals across Africa’s biggest economy, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to speak publicly. Read Also: Debt Servicing Gulps 76% Of Revenue A spokesperson for the bank declined to commen...
Senate Probes N14.7bn PHCN Privatisation Fund In Secret Accounts
Finance, News, Nigeria

Senate Probes N14.7bn PHCN Privatisation Fund In Secret Accounts

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has begun an investigation of N14.7bn proceeds of privatisation of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria allegedly hidden in commercial banks by the Bureau of Public Enterprise. The committee is acting on an audit query in the ‘Auditor-General for the Federation’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses Issues in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the Year Ended 31st December, 2019.’ The Acting Auditor-General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu, had presented the report to the Clerk to the National Assembly, Ojo Amos, on September 15, 2021, while the Senate and House Committees on Public Accounts began an investigation of the queries. The defunct government-owned National...
Debt Servicing Gulps 76% Of Revenue
Finance, News, Nigeria, Uncategorized

Debt Servicing Gulps 76% Of Revenue

The Federal Government on Wednesday disclosed that it spent N4.2tn on debt servicing between January and November 2021. This sum represents 76.2 per cent of the N5.51tn revenue generated during the period under review. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this in Abuja during the public presentation of the details of the 2022 Appropriation Bill, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 31, 2021. The presentation, which included an overview of the 2021 budget implementation, revealed that oil revenue contributed N970.3bn to the total revenue generated within the period, while non-oil tax contributed N1.6tn. Other revenues amounted to N2.8tn. Ahmed said, “As of November 2021, aggregate revenue was N5.51tn which is 74 per cent of t...
Nigerian Manufacturers’ Association Kicks Against Imposition Of Taxes On Carbonated, Soft Drinks
Finance, Labour, News, Nigeria

Nigerian Manufacturers’ Association Kicks Against Imposition Of Taxes On Carbonated, Soft Drinks

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has kicked against the imposition of taxes on soft drinks. The association warned that excise duty would lead to 0.43 per cent contraction in output and 40 per cent drop on industry revenues in the next five years. The Minister of Finance and Budget Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had announced the imposition of N10 tax per litre on all non-alcoholic, carbonated and sweetened beverages. Ahmed had stated that it was part of the government’s efforts to prevent and discourage excessive consumption of sugar due to health concerns. Read Also: Critics Won’t Realise Buhari Is A Blessing To Nigeria Until He Leaves Office —Minister Meanwhile, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, the MAN Director-General, revealed that beverages contributed 38 per cent of the manu...
AMCON Lists 7,912 Names Owing N4.4tn As Deadline Expires Today
Finance, Legislature, News, Nigeria

AMCON Lists 7,912 Names Owing N4.4tn As Deadline Expires Today

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria is set to publish the names of 7,912 debtors owing it a total of N4.4tn, it has been learnt. The move follows the expiration of the 30-day ultimatum given by the National Assembly to debtors to regularise their debt status with the bad debt manager. The one month notice elapses on Wednesday (today), January 5, 2021. The corporation confirmed on Tuesday that the agency had no choice but to obey the directive of the National Assembly asking it to publish the names of debtors who have refused to repay their loans. The spokesperson for AMCON, Mr Jude Nwauzor, said debtors who were yet to provide a repayment proposal risked having their details published in the media after the 30-day grace period given by the National Assembly. He said,...
Budget: National Assembly Faults Buhari, Insists On 6,576 Extra Projects
Finance, Legislature, News, Nigeria

Budget: National Assembly Faults Buhari, Insists On 6,576 Extra Projects

Members of the National Assembly have insisted on the amendments made to the 2022 Appropriation Bill, including the reduction of allocation to 10,733 projects and insertion of 6,576 new ones. The lawmakers stated that by the power of appropriation conferred on the National Assembly by the constitution, the parliament has the right to tinker with the Federal Government’s budget like any other bill. Read Also: BREAKING: Buhari Signs N17.126trn 2022 Budget Into Law, Laments ‘Worrisome Changes’ According to the members, who spoke to Punch, in separate interviews on Sunday, the changes made and the response by President Muhammadu Buhari, showed that the legislature was not a rubber stamp of the Executive, as being alleged by Nigerians. Buhari had on Friday while signing into law...
BREAKING: Buhari Signs N17.126trn 2022 Budget Into Law, Laments ‘Worrisome Changes’
Finance, Legislature, News, Nigeria

BREAKING: Buhari Signs N17.126trn 2022 Budget Into Law, Laments ‘Worrisome Changes’

President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday in Abuja signed into law the 2022 Appropriation Bill and the 2021 Finance Bill. The President signed the documents in the Presidential Villa in the presence of Senate President Ahmed Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other members of the Federal Executive Council. Speaking at the event, the President said the 2022 Budget, just signed into law, provides for aggregate expenditures of N17.127 trillion, an increase of N735.85 billion over the initial Executive Proposal for a total expenditure of N16.391 trillion. The President explained that N186.53 billion of the increase however came from additional critical expenditures that he had authorised the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to forward to t...