Connect with us

Business & Economy

Budget Padding: Senate Cleared Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed

Published

on

Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed
Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed
Share

…. Condemns poor implementation of National Social Investment Programme 

The Senate Monday gave the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, clean bill of health on alleged insertions in budgetary provisions of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

This is as it frowned at shoddy implementation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) based on lack of records of verifiable beneficiaries.

Finance Minister got her clean bill of health on alleged series of paddings in the proposed N20.51trillion 2023 budget from the Senate Committee on Appropriation when she made clarifications on them.

She explained to the committee that the various sums some heads of agencies feigned ignorance of during their interface with relevant committees for budget defence , were approved by the Federal Executive Council ( FEC),  before budget presentation itself by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday , October 7, 2022.

” All the proposed budgetary sums like the N206billion in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the N8.6billion in the Ministry of Defence , N195.468billion in the estimates for the Ministry of Power etc. , were all   captured before presentation by Mr President .

” Most of these sums are bilateral or multilateral loans captured in the budget of agencies selected for projects execution for sole purpose of transparency.

” The totality of such loans captured in the proposed budget of the relevant agencies is N1.771trillion.

” Had heads of the affected MDAs carried out thorough scrutinization of their approved budgetary proposals, the issue of insertion or budget padding wouldn’t have arisen at all, realization of which made the Minister of Defence , Bashir Magsshi to apologise after feigning ignorance of N8.6billion in his Ministry’s budget during interface with Senate Committee on Defence “, she said .

Satisfied by her submission, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North), said the clarifications made by the Minister were well understood by all the committee members and commended her for ensuring transparency with capturing of such loans or grants in the budget.

Earlier at an interface with the Senate Ad – hoc committee on uneven disbursement of N500billion Development fund by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, failed to supply the the committee with verifiable evidence of beneficiaries.

She said about 9.8million pupils nationwide are already benefiting from the School feeding programme on the rate of N100 per meal, aside beneficiaries of other clusters of the programme .

But the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sani Musa and other members like Ayo Akinyekure , Uche Ekwunife , Mathew Urhoghide etc , told the Minister that her presentation and that of the Coordinator of the program , Dr Umar Bindir , were beautiful on paper but lacked substance .

The implementation of the program according to them, is a nullity.

Consequentlty, the Committee directed her to furnish it with names of beneficiaries of different clusters of the program, their contact address, telephone numbers on the basis of states, local government and wards within the week.

Business & Economy

FAAC: FG, States, LGCs Share N1.35trn July Revenue

Published

on

FAAC
FCCA
Share

Federal Government, States and Local Government Councils – have shared a total sum of N1,358.075 billion as of July 2024 Federation Accounts Revenue.

Of the N1,358.075 billion total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received a total sum of N431.079 billion, and the State Government received a total sum of N473.477 billion.

The Local Government Councils received a total sum of N343.703 billion, and a total sum of N109.816 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting States as derivation revenue.

The N1,358.075 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N161.593 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N582.307 billion and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N18.818 billion.

Also included in the total distributable revenue was Exchange Difference revenue of N581.710 billion and Solid Mineral revenue of N13.647 billion.

The revenue distribution was announced at the August 2024 meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) in Abuja on Friday, August 16, 2024.

A communique issued by FAAC indicated that total revenue of N2,613.791 billion was available in July 2024. The total deduction for the cost of collection was N99.756 billion, while total transfers, interventions and refunds were N1,155.960 billion.

According to the communique, gross statutory revenue of N1,387.150 billion was received for July 2024. This was lower than the sum of N1,432.667 billion received in June 2024 by N45.517 billion.

Gross revenue of N625.329 billion was available from VAT in July 2024. This was higher than the N562.685 billion available in June 2024 by N62.644 billion.

On the N161.593 billion distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N58.545 billion and the State Governments received N29.695 billion.

The Local Government Councils received N22.894 billion, and the sum of N50.459 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

From the N582.307 billion distributable VAT revenue, the Federal Government received N87.346 billion, the State Governments received N291.154 billion and the Local Government Councils received N203.807 billion

In a statement issued by Bawa Mokwa, the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, a total sum of N2.823 billion was received by the Federal Government from the N18.818 billion Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL). The State Governments received N9.409 billion and the Local Government Councils received N6.586 billion.

On the N581.710 billion Exchange Difference revenue, the communique stated that the Federal Government received N276.110 billion and the State Governments received N140.047 billion.

The Local Government Councils received N107.970 billion, while the sum of N57.583 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting States as derivation revenue.

From the N13.647 billion Solid Mineral revenue, the Federal Government received N6.255 billion and the State Governments received N3.172 billion.

The Local Government Councils received N2.446 billion, while the sum of N1.774 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting States as derivation revenue.

As presented in the communiqué, in July 2024, Oil and Gas Royalty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), VAT, Import Duty, EMTL and CET Levies increased significantly.

Furthermore, Companies Income Tax (CIT) recorded a decrease while Excise Duties increased only marginally.

The balance in the ECA was $473,754.57

 

Continue Reading

Business & Economy

Tinubu To Present 2024 Supplementary Budget To NASS

Published

on

President Bola Tinubu Presenting 2024 Budget Proposal to the Joint Session of National Assembly
President Bola Tinubu Presenting 2024 Budget Proposal to the Joint Session of National Assembly
Share

President Bola Tinubu will soon present the 2024 Supplementary Budget to the National Assembly (NASS).

“I submitted the last budget to you,” the President said when he addressed a joint sitting of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

“You expeditiously passed it. We are walking the talk. I will soon bring the Year 2024 (Supplementary) Appropriation Bill. That is just for your information,” the President said in his terse speech at the joint sitting to mark the Silver Jubilee Of Nigeria’s 4th Republic.

In his response, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, said, “Thank you, Mr President, we will be expecting the Supplementary Appropriation Bill of 2024 as soon as possible.”

Also, at the joint sitting which coincided with the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration, the President confirmed ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’ as the “latest national anthem”.

Tinubu said, “You sang out the latest national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’. This is our diversity, representing all characters and how we blend to be brothers and sisters.”

The President pleaded with both the Senate and the House of Representatives to continue to collaborate and work together with the administration to build the country on the path of sustained progress and development.

“We have no other choice; it is our nation. No other institution or personality will help us unless we do it ourselves. No amount of aid from foreign countries or any other nation (will fix us), they take care of themselves first. Let us work together as we are doing to build our nation, not only for us but for generations unborn,” he said.

 

Continue Reading

Business & Economy

We Have No Magic Wand, Tackling Inflation Will Take Time — Cardoso

Published

on

Yemi Cardoso,CBN Governor
Yemi Cardoso,CBN Governor
Share

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso has urged the citizens to be patient over the fight against current inflation and hike in food items in the country.

Cardoso disclosed this while briefing journalists at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting in Abuja.

The CBN governor mentioned that there was no magic needed to solve inflation in Nigeria but rather patience.

Also, Cardoso noted that despite pressure from food inflation, the general inflation rate was “moderating”, pointing out that “the tools the Central Bank is using are working”.

He stated, “I have several times and I will say again, there is no magic wand. These are things that need to take their time.

“I am pleased and confident that we are beginning to get some relief and in another couple of months we will see the more positive outcomes from the Central Bank have been doing.”

He added, “The committee thus reiterated several challenges confronting the effective moderation of food inflation to include rising costs of transportation of farm produce, infrastructure- related constraints along the line of distribution network, security challenges in some food producing areas, and exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices for imported food items.

“The MPC urged that more be done to address the security of farming communities to guarantee improved food production in these areas.

“Members further observed the recent volatility in the foreign exchange market, attributing this to seasonal demand, a reflection of the interplay between demand and supply in a freely functioning market system.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria has also blamed the recent volatility of the country’s foreign exchange market on seasonal demand for dollars.

“Members further observed the recent volatility in the foreign exchange market, attributing this to seasonal demand, a reflection of the interplay between demand and supply in a freely functioning market system,” a communique issued by the committee on Tuesday stated.

Continue Reading