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Effective Plan-Budget Link Critical To Development—Mede

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Plan-Budget Link udoma udo

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mrs Nana Fatima Mede, has described effective plan-budget link as critical for attaining inclusive growth.

Mrs Mede stated this in her remarks during a Specialised Training Programme on Strategic Planning and Effective Linkage to Budgeting Process, organized by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning in Kano.

She said it was clear that the role of strategic planning and effective linkage to budgeting process was very critical towards the realisation of the aspirations of any nation.

Mrs Mede, represented at the occasion by Alhaji Aminu Yargaya, Assistant Director (Plans), Macroeconomic Analysis Department in the Ministry, further said, “Studies have shown that countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc that have consistently been implementing National Development Plans are successful in attaining inclusive growth and sustainable development.”

She explained that, the training was organised for officers of Federal MDAs, as part of a continuous re-training and development programme to sharpen the skills of officers for improved service delivery.

“This training is one of the key activities designed to be undertaken by the Ministry, with a view to enhance the competence of technical officers in the areas of plan formulation, implementation, policy analysis and forecasting,” she said.

Accordingly, Mrs Mede disclosed also that, the training is also aimed at improving officers’ skills in preparing budgets using the Zero-Based-Budgeting Approach and also putting the officers through the process of linking the budget with the plan, since annual budget is the instrument through which the plan is being implemented as the former takes cue from the later.

While buttressing the fact that, a good budget is a product of good plan, the Permanent Secretary stated that, “As you are aware, the nation is currently facing economic crises as commodity prices, especially oil prices have declined drastically with negative consequences on government revenues.

“This explains the need for effective planning and budget implementation in order to achieve value for money, as expenditures are tied only to the country’s needs for maximum impact on the lives of citizens.

“This is buttressed by the introduction of such economic and fiscal instruments as Zero-based- Budgeting (ZBB), Treasury Single Account (TSA), BVN, restructuring the budget framework in favour of capital expenditure among others.”

She also described the low level of implementation of National Development Plans, as well as Annual Budgets as an issue not unconnected with capacity gaps identified in the Public Service.

The Perm Sec explained that, as a result, in some cases, MDAs are not able to effectively formulate credible Sector Plans or Annual Budgets nor are they able to implement them effectively.

While commending the merger of the former National Planning Commission with the Budget Office of the Federation, Mrs Mede said that in the past, bureaucracy and lack of effective collaboration between government agencies had hindered effective Plan-Budget link, as such emphasised that the merged agencies must work as one to succeed for the good of the country.

Underscoring the imperative of the training exercise, she pointed out that the challenges experienced last year by the Ministry’s Technical Officers in assisting Federal MDAs to prepare their 2016 Budgets necessitated for it, especially now that government is seeking urgent measures to reduce economic waste in the face of the current recession, thereby creating more value for the government.

The Kano training was the second batch in the series of the capacity building for the Budget officers of the MDAs, after Lagos batch that was conducted earlier in October.

Some key recommendations that arose from the first batch of this training in Lagos were; the Budget Division of MDAs should be domiciled in the Planning, Research and Statistics Department; the efforts being made by the Federal Government in improving the budgeting process is commendable, but there is need for better synergy between the Executive and Legislative arms of Government in this regard and the Planning, Research and Statistics should be made a cadre in the Public Service to enhance project planning and implementation

Others were; sustainability should be mainstreamed into project implementation in the country, In addition, measuring performance of budget releases to MDAs should be based on results of the projects as against the current practice of measuring the amount of money spent; and the process of projects selection should be based on the needs.

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Economy

NNPC Denies Selling Substandard Petrol at Retail Stations

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NNPC fuel retail station

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has refuted claims that it sells substandard premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, at its retail stations, especially in Lagos.

The state-owned oil company was reacting to a viral video, which said petrol bought at NNPC retail stations burns faster.

Reacting to this in a statement on Saturday, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPC, Mr Olufemi Soneye, said the said fuel being talked about in the video may have been the product bought from a rival refinery in the country, Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

“It is important to emphasize that a significant percentage of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) sold at NNPC retail stations in Lagos—where this deceptive video was created—is sourced from the Dangote Refinery, a strategic partner in promoting local production and energy security. Dangote Refinery adheres to strict industry standards, guaranteeing the quality of petroleum products supplied to our consumers,” a part of the statement said.

It, therefore, described the allegations in the viral video as “false and misleading,” adding that it is also “baseless and entirely unfounded” as it originated “from unverified and amateur research that lacks credibility, accuracy, and professional oversight.”

“NNPC reaffirms that its fuel is carefully formulated with one of the best compositions, ensuring optimal efficiency, durability, and environmental sustainability for consumers,” the company stated.

However, it warned that, “Henceforth, NNPC will take firm legal action against individuals or groups who intentionally spread falsehoods about our brand and operations. Those engaged in such malicious activities will be held fully accountable under the law.”

It lamented that the video was done by “economic saboteurs to misinform the public and tarnish NNPC’s reputation,” warning that it “will not tolerate deliberate misinformation designed to undermine our operations and mislead Nigerians.”

NNPC urged “the public to disregard such fabricated content and rely on verified sources for accurate information,” noting that it “remains steadfast in its mission to ensure fuel availability, affordability, and quality for all Nigerians while maintaining global industry standards.”

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Economy

Four Stocks Show Investors Love at NASD Valentine’s Day Trading

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NASD OTC exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four price gainers lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.54 per cent on Friday, February 14.

Okitipupa Plc improved its share price by N11.29 to close at N124.18 per unit versus N112.89 per unit, Mixta Real Estate Plc appreciated by 34 Kobo to finish at N3.76 per share versus the preceding day’s N3.42 per share, Afriland Properties Plc went up by 62 Kobo to settle at N21.03 per unit compared with N20.41 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc jumped by 5 Kobo to trade at N39.95 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N39.90 per share.

At the close of business, the market capitalization rose by N9.91 billion to N1.828 trillion from N1.818 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 17.49 points to 3,227.53 points from the 3,210.04 points recorded on Thursday.

During yesterday’s session, the volume of securities transacted by investors jumped by 1,001.3 per cent to 5.1 million units from the 465,820 units transacted in the previous trading day.

Also, the value of transactions surged by 1,025.4 per cent to N108.5 million from N9.6 million, while the number of deals went south by 10 per cent to nine deals from 10 deals recorded on Thursday.

Impresit Bakolori Plc finished the day as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 7.4 million units valued at N293.2 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.3 million units sold for N44.8 million.

Similarly, Impresit Bakolori Plc ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 69.6 million units sold for N23.6 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 10.7 million units valued at N51.2 million.

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Economy

Naira Stable at Official Market, NAFEM, Appreciates at Black Market

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sellers of Naira

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira was relatively stable against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, February 14, though it shed 10 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to sell at at N1,510.10/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,510.00/$1.

However, it depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N7.32 to quote at N1,879.42/£1 versus the N1,872.42/£1 it was sold at the previous session and lost N6.27 against the Euro to settle at N1,566.23/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing rate of N1,559.96/€1.

At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira improved its value against the US Dollar yesterday by N5 to finish at N1565/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,570/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was positive on Friday after investors overlooked recent data that frustrated the landscape.

This week, the US data released showed increment in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This shows the US Federal Reserve will likely wait till June before making changes to the current interest rate levels.

Over the last two weeks, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also acknowledged applications for Litecoin and Solana exchange traded funds (ETFs) — indicating that the SEC’s leadership under the Donald Trump administration has changed its tact to crypto-related listings.

Ethereum (ETH) expanded its value by 5.4 per cent to sell at $3,394.79, Solana (SOL) recorded a 4.4 per cent appreciation to end at $260.86, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 2.9 per cent to trade at $1.00, and Litecoin (LTC) saw a 2.6 per cent surge to quote at $116.78.

In addition, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 2.1 per cent to settle at $1o4,978.31, Ripple (XRP) rose 0.7 per cent to $3.16,  Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.6 per cent to finish at $0.3572, and Binance Coin (BNB) gained 1.6 per cent to sell for $710.31, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

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