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 duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.
MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.
The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.
When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.
Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.
This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.
The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.
On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.
At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.
For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.
The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.
Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.
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