Economy
Drop in Federal Allocation Worries Bayelsa Government
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The decline in the federal allocation to Bayelsa State has become a source of worry for the state government, which is experiencing a rise in its expenditures.
The Commissioner for Finance in the state, Mr Maxwell Ebibai, said what is coming into the purse of the state government was more than what it spends monthly.
It stated that for instance, last month, Bayelsa State had a gross inflow of N10.2 billion comprising statutory allocation of N1.9 billion, derivation of N3.8 billion, Value Added Tax of N1.2 billion and forex equilisation fund of N1.9 billion.
He said total deductions at source stood at N1.9 billion, which included foreign loans to the state and federal government recovery while commercial agriculture credit scheme and other items gulped N939.8 million, with a net figure of N8.2 billion comprising an internally generated revenue of N839 million, a receipt of N1 billion for COVID-19 and total other receipts of N1.839 billion, adding that the net FAAC receipts in addition to other receipts amounted to N10.50 billion.
However, for the outflows, in October 2020, the Commissioner said the government made total payments of N6.452 billion out of which it made loans repayment of N870.6 million and minimum wage arrears N50 million.
Others were gratuity of N150 million, grants to higher institutions at N846.6 million, civil servants salaries at N3.9 billion, political appointees salaries at N201.7 million and salary arrears of N130.5 million, leaving a net balance of N3.9 billion.
He said further that the total recurrent and capital payments gulped N4.3 billion, leaving a deficit balance of N707 million, noting that the balance brought forward from September was N995 million out of which the state had a closing balance of N288.7 million.
A month earlier, September, Mr Ebibai said the state had a gross inflow of N10.285 billion consisting of statutory allocation of N2.981 billion, derivation of N6.030 billion and VAT of N1.27 billion.
The Commissioner disclosed that N1.952 billion was the total deductions from FAAC, noting that judging from the deductions at source from the month of August, the total deductions for September was significantly higher by N933 million.
He said the state recorded a sharp drop in its revenue from the federation account owing to two major factors, explaining that the state had been receiving federal government grants since 2012 but started making refunds on it in September 2020 coupled with deductions at source on revenues due to the state from the disputed oil well between Bayelsa and Rivers states.
He said after the total deductions of N1.952 billion from FAAC, the state was left with a net balance of N8.333 billion as against that of the month of August which was N11.8 billion.
He explained that the state government recorded total receipts of N1.49 billion in August and had to source for funds of N2 billion due to the shortfall in revenue the previous month, saying the net funds available for the state came up to N11.382 billion while the state’s total expenditure was N7.2 billion.
The Finance Commissioner noted that the expenditure among other components included civil servants salaries of N3.9 billion, a gratuity of N150 million and N173.5 million spent as salaries for political appointees.
According to him, the recurrent and capital expenditure gulped N4.140 billion, leaving a balance of N26.560 million while it recorded a closing balance of N995 million in September.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Arab Emirates has announced its decision to quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to focus on national interests.
This dealt a heavy blow to the oil-exporting group at a time when the US-Israel war on Iran had caused a historic energy shock and rattled the global economy.
The move, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, reflects “the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”, a statement carried by state media said on Tuesday.
“During our time in the organisation, we made significant contributions and even greater sacrifices for the benefit of all,” it added. “However, the time has come to focus our efforts on what our national interest dictates.”
The loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the oil cartel, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.
UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said the decision was taken after a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.
“This is a policy decision. It has been done after a careful look at current and future policies related to the level of production,” the minister said.
OPEC’s Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, because of threats and attacks against vessels during the war.
The UAE had been a member of OPEC first through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967 and later when it became its own country in 1971.
The oil cartel, based in Vienna, has seen some of its market power wane as the US has increased its production of crude oil in recent years.
Additionally, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have increasingly competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area.
The two countries had joined a coalition to fight against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. However, that coalition broke down into recriminations in late December when Saudi Arabia bombed what it described as a weapons shipment bound for Yemeni separatists backed by the UAE.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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