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Economy

Buhari to Present 2022 Budget to NASS on Thursday

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Buhari NASS

By Adedapo Adesanya

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Thursday, October 7, 2021, present the 2022 budget proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly.

The Deputy Senate President, Mr Ovie Omo-Agege, dropped this hint on Tuesday after reading and referring the President’s submission of the revised 2022-2024 Medium Term Fiscal Framework to the Committee on Finance for legislative input.

President Buhari in a letter to the upper chamber dated October 4, 2021, explained that the revision was necessitated to reflect the new fiscal terms in the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, as well as other critical expenditures in the 2022 budget.

According to him, the underlying drivers of the 2022 fiscal projections, such as oil price benchmark, oil production volume, exchange rate, GDP growth, and inflation rate reflect emergent realities and the macroeconomic outlook and remain unchanged as in the previously approved 2022-2024 MTEF/FSP.

“The PIA established a progressive fiscal framework aimed at encouraging investment in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry.

“This significantly alters the Oil and Gas fiscal terms and has necessitated changes in the 2022-2024 Medium Term Fiscal Framework.

“The fiscal effects of PIA implementation are assumed to kick in by mid-year 2022. The revised 2022-2024 Fiscal Framework is premised on a hybrid of January-June (based on the current fiscal regime) and July-December (based on PIA fiscal regime), while 2023 and 2024 are now fully based on the PIA,” a part of Mr Buhari’s letter had said.

Accordingly, President Buhari listed the changes to the 2022 Fiscal Framework projections to include a reduction in the gross revenue projection by N341.57 billion from N8.870 trillion to N8.528 trillion; decrease in deductions for federally funded upstream projects costs and 13 per cent derivation by N335.3 billion and N810.25 million respectively; and a cut in the net oil and gas revenue projection by N5.42 billion from N6.540 trillion to N6.535 trillion.

It was also revealed that Mr Buhari added that also to be modified in the fiscal framework is an increase in projected FGN’s retained revenue from N8.36 trillion to N10.13 trillion.

Giving a breakdown of the projected increase in the federal government’s revenue, he said N837.76 billion was from an increase in revenue of Government-Owned Enterprises (GEOs); N697.6 billion from MDAs Internally Generated Revenue; the introduction of Education Tax of N306 billion and dividend of N8.3 billion from the Bank of Industry (BOI) as revenue lines; and FGN share of oil price royalty of N96.9 billion which is expected to be transferred to the Nigerian Sovereignty Investment Authority (NSIA) based on the provisions of the PIA.

He added that the FGN Aggregate Expenditure (including GOEs and Projected-tied Loans) is projected to increase by N2.47 trillion, from N13.98 trillion to N16.45 trillion.

Mr Buhari noted that the increase in expenditure was due to N100 billion additional provision to INEC to cater for the 2023 general elections; and the provision of N54 billion to NASENI, which represents one per cent FGN share of the federation account.

Others are the additional provision of N510 billion in the service-wide votes to cater for National Poverty Reduction with growth strategy (N300 billion), police operations fund (N50 billion), hazard allowance for health workers (50 billion), public service wage adjustments (additional N80 billion), and MDAs’ electricity bills debt (additional N37 billion); and additional capital provision of N1.70 trillion.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

FG Vows to Tackle Rising Cost of Imported Fish Feed, Post-harvest Losses, Others

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imported fish feed

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Stakeholders in the aquaculture subsector in Nigeria have been promised adequate support through favourable policies and financial inclusion.

This promise was made by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, during a high-level consultative meeting with fisheries cooperative groups in Abuja on Wednesday.

Participants informed the Minister some of the challenges affecting the fishing business in the country, including overfishing, environmental degradation, lack of access to affordable finance, post-harvest losses, inadequate cold storage infrastructure, poor transportation and market linkages, low youth involvement, multiple taxation by local government authorities, and the rising cost of imported fish feed.

They appealed to the federal government to support them to end Nigeria’s dependence on fish importation so as to transform the sector into a powerhouse of food security, employment, and export competitiveness.

In his remarks, Mr Oyetola said the government would look into the demands, noting that efforts are being made to support women and youth in the fishing sector with start-up grants and other empowerment initiatives.

“We will scale up domestic fish production, reduce dependency on imports, and reposition the sector for sustainable growth,” he said, adding that, “Increasing youth participation in aquaculture is not only vital for food production but also a strategic solution to reducing unemployment. We are committed to ensuring that young people and women are not left behind in this transformation.”

According to him, discussions are ongoing with the World Bank to secure financial support for fish farmers and that the ministry will be collaborating with the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) to ensure affordable and accessible insurance coverage for fish farmers across the country.

“We are also in talks with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to replicate the successful aquaculture model at the Oyan Dam in other parts of the country,” he added, pointing to integrated planning and inter-ministerial cooperation as key pillars of the strategy.

“This meeting is not the end — it is the beginning of a sustained and transformative dialogue,” the Minister assured.

The meeting, convened by the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, brought together leaders and members of major fisheries and aquaculture associations, including the Fisheries Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (FCFN), Tilapia Aquaculture Developers Association of Nigeria (TADAN), Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN), Women in Fish Farming and Aquaculture, and the Practicing Farmers Association of Nigeria.

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Economy

Otedola’s 40% Acquisition Triggers Strong Appetite for First HoldCo Shares

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first holdco

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Shares of First HoldCo Plc are currently being on high demand at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after information got out that serial entrepreneur, Mr Femi Otedola, is now in control of about 40 per cent of the financial services provider.

On Wednesday, the company was the busiest equity on Customs Street, selling 10.5 billion units valued at N324.5 billion.

The off-market block trading was executed through negotiated deals as the transactions were privately arranged between parties and then reported to the bourse.

It was learned that 17 separate deals took place involving First Securities Ltd as the buyer with CardinalStone Securities Limited, Meristem Stockbrokers Limited, Renaissance Capital (Rencap) Securities Limited, Regency Asset Management Limited, United Capital Securities Limited, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, and First Securities Limited also as sellers in some deals.

According to reports, the former chairman of First HoldCo, Mr Oba Otudeko, gave up more than 20 per cent of his stake in the organisation to his rival, Mr Otedola, who increased his shareholding from 15 per cent to 40 per cent, putting him in almost total control of the firm, which operates the flagship First Bank of Nigeria Limited.

It was gathered that Mr Otedola bought the 5 per cent equity stake belonging to another long term shareholder; the Hassan-Odukales, after voluntarily quitting the company.

Business Post observed that on Thursday, investors are jostling to take position in the company because of the latest acquisitions by Mr Otedola, who they believe could bring stability to the fold.

At the time of filing this report at midday trading, shares of FirstHoldCo were up by 9.94 per cent to N35.40 per unit from the N32.20 per unit they closed at midweek.

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Economy

CBN Begins 301st MPC Meeting for July 21 as Analysts Eye Rate Cuts

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Cardoso MPC meeting

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that its 301st Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 22, 2025.

The MPC meeting, which will be held at the MPC Meeting Room located within the CBN Headquarters in Abuja, is one to watch as inflation eased again last month.

At the last meeting in May, which coincided with the 300th session, the team retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.50 per cent, the second consecutive hold in 2025.

This second pause in rates came after six consecutive hikes recorded in 2024

The CBN also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +500/-100 basis points, the Cash Reserve Ratio of Deposit Money Banks at 50.00 per cent, and that of Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, while keeping the Liquidity Ratio unchanged at 30.00 per cent.

The MPC based the decision on improvements in macroeconomic indicators at the time.

Now, analysts say the MPC may consider cutting interest rates since inflation has slowed for yet another month in June 2025.

On Wednesday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate moderated for the third consecutive month to 22.22 per cent in June 2025 from 22.97 per cent in May 2025. It was 23.71 per cent in April 2025, down from 24.23 per cent in the prior month.

According to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the bureau, the year-on-year figure reflects a 0.75 percentage point decline from the previous month and a significant 11.97 percentage point drop when compared to June 2024, which recorded an inflation rate of 34.19 per cent.

The food inflation rate stood at 21.97 per cent year-on-year in June, a sharp drop from 40.87 per cent recorded in June 2024. This significant fall is attributed largely to the base year effect.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation rose to 3.25 per cent in June, up from 2.19 per cent in May, driven by price increases in staples such as tomatoes, pepper, dried green peas, crayfish, shrimps, meat, plantain flour, and ground pepper.

The decision next week will hinge on the ability of the county to navigate economic challenges including inflationary pressures, foreign exchange volatility, and the global economic outlook.

Despite these, many quarters including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have lauded reforms introduced by the federal government aimed at boosting local production and reducing demand for forex, noting that such moves would help dampen inflationary pass-through.

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