Economy
BudgIt Knocks Finance Ministry, Budget Office for Failure to Publish Quarterly Reports
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian civic-tech organisation advocacy platform, BudgIT, has flayed the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation for failing to publish quarterly budget implementation reports for the fourth consecutive time, a clear violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.
In a release by BudgIT’s Group Senior Communications Associate, Ms Nancy Odimegwu, this omission was described as a breach of law, a departure from established practice, and a setback to transparency reforms championed by previous administrations.
Citing the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, Budgetary Execution and Achievement of Targets, BudgIT said the Minister of Finance is mandated to publish Budget Implementation Reports (BIRs) in mass and electronic media, including the ministry’s website, within 30 days after each quarter.
BIRs reports are expected to detail the implementation of the annual budget and offer critical insights into government spending and the delivery of public goods and services.
However, BudgIT said that the government has not published a single BIR since at least the second quarter of 2024, leaving nearly four reports overdue by the second quarter of 2025.
According to the NGO, the breach marks a sharp contrast to the previous administration, which consistently released at least three BIRs annually.
It said, “Budget Implementation Reports are not only a requirement of the law and established practice, they are an indication of a government’s willingness to be transparent and to provide evidence of its spending.
“The proof of this spending is crucial to assess the quality of implementation of its budget and, more broadly, the quality of the delivery of public goods and services.
“Public sector accounting principles emphasise the need to publish and disseminate financial information as a matter of professional practice and to secure the engagement of the public, a significant stakeholder in public financial management.
“It is troubling that the current administration has ignored the law and refused to publish a key public document.
“It would have been preferred that the current administration build on the foundation of previous governments and, in addition to regular implementation reports, publish and disseminate the Federal Cash Plan Disbursement Schedule, per section 26 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“This poor state of affairs is all the more compelling, considering the current administration has just concluded spending on the 2024 Appropriation (though it is unclear if the 2024 Supplementary.”
It noted that the refusal to publish the reports undermines transparency and accountability.
“Citizens have a right to know how public funds are spent. This is not just a legal obligation but a cornerstone of democracy and adherence to the rule of law.”
BudgIT also criticised the government for neglecting other transparency mechanisms, such as the OpenTreasury.gov platform, which once provided daily, weekly, and monthly federal spending data.
“Perhaps more worrying is the fact that this disposition towards providing public information does not end with Quarterly BIRs but extends to the government’s own public platforms, namely OpenTreasury.gov, which used to be the go-to source of information on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly spending of the federal government.
“While the platform was not perfect (several government Ministries, Departments and Agencies; spending data was absent, links were broken, and the data was often not machine-readable), it was largely comprehensive and a demonstration of transparency and the willingness of the government to be held accountable. The government has not updated the platform with new information since January 2025,” it added.
The group expressed concern that the absence of BIRs and updated financial data hampers private sector planning, civil society advocacy, and academic research, while signalling to the international community that Nigeria is deviating from global public finance standards.
BudgIT also urged the government to publish the Federal Cash Plan Disbursement Schedule, as required by Section 26 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, to build on past transparency efforts, tasking President Bola Tinubu and the ministries to comply with the law and release the overdue reports.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A 0.11 per cent or N1.53 loss was recorded by the Nigerian Naira against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, June 22, closing at N1,370.64/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,369.11/$1.
However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX window during the session by N4.69 to trade at N1,810.75/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,815.44/£1, and gained N5.37 on the Euro to sell at N1,561.02/€1 versus Monday’s exchange rate of N1,566.39/€1.
At the black market segment, the Naira traded flat against the Dollar yesterday at N1,395/$1, and at the GTBank forex desk, it also closed flat at N1,380/$1.
Daily FX update from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that forex liquidity improved, but dollar volume was surpassed by strong dollar outflows on Tuesday.
Interbank FX turnover among financial institutions and market makers experienced a significant surge, reaching $125.314 million across 106 deals at the official window, 92 per cent higher than the $65.206 million the previous day, highlighting robust market activity and growing investor confidence.
Also, Nigeria’s foreign reserves continue to grow, reaching $51.142 billion, up from $51.060 billion reported the previous day, according to the CBN’s latest update.
In the cryptocurrency market, digital currencies fell amid heavy selling in technology stocks, which kept pressure on risk assets worldwide. Also, the gauge of the Dollar climbed to a seven-month high as investors moved toward safer assets.
Leading the losers was Cardano (ADA), as it slid 2.1 per cent to $0.1511. Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.3 per cent to quote at $0.0789, Ethereum (ETH) shrank 0.9 per cent to $1,673.38, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.7 per cent to $1.10, TRON (TRX) also fell by 0.7 per cent to $0.3285, Solana (SOL) dipped by 0.3 per cent to $69.83, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 0.2 per cent to $62,756.99, and Binance Coin (BNB) tumbled by 0.01 per cent to $579.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has refuted allegations that its premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, exported to other countries, is being re-imported into Nigeria.
It was claimed that the private crude oil refiner sells PMS to other African nations, especially Togo, at a lower price to the extent that when re-imported into the country, it is still cheaper than what Dangote Refinery sells to Nigerian marketers.
Reacting via a statement on Tuesday night, the management described the allegations as “baseless and unsubstantiated” because they are not “supported by verifiable trade data, commercial logic, or the operational realities of Dangote Refinery.”
The company noted that its core mandate is to strengthen domestic supply and remains a leading provider of petroleum products in Nigeria.
“Any practice that enables imports to compete directly with its own production clearly contradicts this objective,” it stated.
Dangote Refinery said “all sales contracts and tender agreements expressly prohibit the resale or re-importation of Dangote Refinery products into Nigeria,” emphasising that “the economics of the purported trade route are fundamentally flawed.”
The organisation stated that estimated logistics costs for transporting products from the refinery to Lomé and back into Nigeria range between $82–90 per metric ton. Such additional costs would significantly erode margins and render the transaction commercially unviable.
“Dangote Refinery does not provide export discounts sufficient to offset these costs or create arbitrage opportunities between export and domestic markets. Simply put, no rational producer would incur additional shipping, storage, financing, and handling costs only for products to re-enter and compete in its primary market,” it pointed out.
The management also highlighted that the refinery maintains stringent product traceability protocols, including detailed records of lifting points, nominated vessels, counterparties, and declared destinations. These measures ensure full visibility and accountability across the supply chain.
The statement insisted that any “claim suggesting that the refinery facilitates or tolerates re-importation is inconsistent with its contractual safeguards and established compliance standards.”
The refinery said it has consistently advocated for reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, underscoring that encouraging or enabling re-importation would undermine local refining efforts, strain foreign exchange reserves, and weaken national industrial growth, positions that are contrary to its core objectives.
Dangote Refinery reiterated that there is no strategic, economic, or operational basis for the claim that it exports products for re-importation into Nigeria, stressing that the allegation is entirely unfounded and does not withstand scrutiny when measured against market logic, contractual frameworks, and industry practices.
The statement concluded that “Dangote Refinery remains focused on its mission to enhance energy security, support local refining, and contribute meaningfully to Africa’s industrial development.”
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