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We don’t have records of N7.5bn ‘secret withdrawal’, Ministry of Finance Tells Senate

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The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, on Tuesday, said it is not in possession of documents on the alleged ‘secret withdrawal’ of N7.5 billion from the account of National Automotive Council Design and Development Council (NADDC).

The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Aliyu Ahmed, disclosed this while appearing before members of Senate Committee on Public Accounts.

The panel had summoned the officials of the Finance ministry, Office of Accountant-General of the Federation and Office of National Security Adviser to give explanation on alleged “secret withdrawal of N7.5 billion from the 2 percent NADDC Levy Account domiciled with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Speaking on behalf of Permanent Secretary, a Director in the ministry, Mr Teslim Akintoye, said: “We don’t have any document to show for that transaction.”

His submission did not go down well with member of the Senate panel, whose chair, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, countered that the approval for the withdrawal was done in the ministry.

The Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Hassan Hadejia asked, “are you telling us that no document in the Ministry to show for it, everything emanated from your Ministry.”

“You don’t appear before Senate when you don’t have anything to say,” the chairman, Urhoghide added.

The Office of Accountant General of Federation however confirmed that the money in question was released and it going to be recovered through budgetary process.

It, however, failed to present the list of beneficiaries of the fund in question a part was earmarked for car loans to Security Officers.

After heated debate, the Committee resolved to dig deeper into the fund.

“We are going to dig deeper into the matter. We have to give ample time into this matter. We must do proper status on it to let Nigerians know what is going on. We want to see what the president is going to do about this colossal fraud,” the chairman said.

The query had said, “A total sum of N3,836,000,000.00 (Three billion, eight hundred and thirty-six million naira) was irregularly withdrawn from the 2% National Automotive Council Levy Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja in 2 installments of N2,800,000,000 (in 2005) and N1,036,000,000.00 (in 2006) by the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Finance as car loan to be granted for the Security Personnel Car Purchase Scheme Loan.

“The transaction was carried out by the Presidency in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant-General of the Federation without the involvement of NAC, the account owner.

“However the principal and the accrued interest from the fictitious loan have not been paid back nor are records available on the beneficiaries, agreement documents, moratorium, duration of the loan, the yearly interest rates accruable and how the fund will be paid back by the beneficiary.

“The Director General has been requested to intensify correspondence with the Honourable Minister of Finance, Accountant-General of the Federation and the Presidency to recover the fund (‘loan’)

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Business & Economy

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

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FAAC
FCCA
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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

 

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Business & Economy

Tinubu To Present 2024 Supplementary Budget To NASS

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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
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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.

 

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

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Yemi Cardoso,CBN Governor
Yemi Cardoso,CBN Governor
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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.

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