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Buhari seeks Senate’s approval for virement of N276.8bn to fund 2021 budget expenditures

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SENATE-PRESIDENT
Senate President Ahmad Lawan
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The Senate on Tuesday received a formal request from President Muhammadu Buhari seeking the Senate’s approval for the virement of N276,757,232,395 billion to fund expenditures in the 2021 budget.

The request which was contained in a letter dated December 16, 2021, was read by the Senate President during plenary.

According to President Buhari, the sum would be sourced from the N365 billion Service Wide Vote for Upscaling of National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).

The letter titled, “2021 Appropriation Act: Request for Virement to Fund Critical Expenditure” reads:

“I am am The Senate may wish to recall that I signed the 2021 Appropriation on December 31st 2020, for a total expenditure of N13.588 trillion and a Supplementary Appropriation to cater for critical needs for the Security and Health Sector in the sum of N983 billion on July 26th 2021.

“You may also recall that during the signing of the 2021 Appropriation Act, I mentioned that, where necessary, I will revert to the National Assembly with a request for amendment, virement or other appropriate adjustments to ensure that the core objectives of the Budget are accomplished.

“Accordingly, the 2021 Budget implementation is faced with challenges that will require additional funding for some critical and urgent line items in the Budget.

“The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to forward the comprehensive Virement Proposal for the consideration and approval of the National Assembly.

“The details of the expenditures proposed for the virement are attached herewith as schedule 1 while Schedule 2 shows the sources of the funds to be vired for the items in Schedule 1.

“In the light of the above, I implore the Senate to urgently consider the virement proposals to support our efforts to improve the well-being of our citizens.

“Please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest regards.”

A breakdown of the virement request detailed by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning showed that N199,129,053,400 was for payment of local contractors debts, public service wage adjustment for MDAs, OSSAP SDGs Projects 3 and Group Life Assurance for all MDAs.

In addition, N4,500,821,569 is for the Federal Ministry of Education, N2,335,167,265 for the Nigeria Airforce, N4,617,811,857 for the Ministry of Defence, N25 billion naira for the National Assembly in settling minimum wage areas of National Assembly Staff and Intervention to settle outstanding liabilities owed local contractors.

Others are N20,038,920,773 for the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), N762,678,972 for the Nigeria Correctional Services, N592 million naira for the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) as financial assistance for the execution of 2021 End of Year Special Patrol Operation.

Also, the sum of N19,780,778,558 was funding for the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, and Jos University Teaching Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to amend the 2021 Appropriations Act.

The bill sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, scaled through second and third reading after it was considered.

The 2021 Appropriations Act (Amendment) bill seeks to extend the implementation of the Capital aspect of the Appropriation Act 2021 from December 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

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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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Business & Economy

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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