Economy
FG, States, Councils Get N1.208trn Allocation for May 2024
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared the sum of N1.208 trillion from the earnings generated in April 2024 to the federal government, states and Local Government Councils (LGCs) as their share of revenue allocation in May 2024.
The revenue was shared on Thursday at the FAAC meeting for this month in Abuja.
A communiqué issued by the committee said the N1.208 trillion total distributable revenue comprised statutory revenue of N284.716 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N466.457 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N18.024 billion, and Exchange Difference revenue of N438.884 billion.
The communiqué said the total revenue of N2.192 billion was available in the month of April.
“Total deduction for cost of collection is N80.517 billion; total transfers, interventions and refunds is N903.479 billion.
It said the Gross statutory revenue of N1.233 billion was received for the month under review, higher than the sum of N1.017 billion received in the month of March by N216.282 billion,” adding that the gross revenue available from VAT in April was N500.920 billion, lower than the N549.698 billion available in March by N48.778 billion.
The notice further stated that from the N1.208 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received N390.412 billion, the state governments received N403.403 billion and the LGCs received N293.816 billion, while N120.450 billion was shared to a few states as 13 per cent of mineral revenue.
It said that on the N284.716 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government got N112.148 billion, the state governments were given N56.883 billion and the LGCs received N43.855 billion, while N71.830 billion was given to a few states as 13 per cent of mineral revenue.
“The federal government received N69.969 billion, the state governments received N233.229 billion and the LGCs received N163.260 billion from the N466.457 billion distributable VAT revenue.
“The sum of N2.704 billion was received by the federal government from the N18.024 billion EMTL, the state governments received N9.012 billion and the LGCs received N6.308 billion.
“The federal government received N205.591 billion from the N438.884 billion Exchange Difference revenue; the state governments received N104.279 billion, and the LGCs received N80.394 billion.
“The sum of N48.620 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue,” it said.
According to the communiqué, Oil and Gas Royalties, Companies Income Tax (CIT), Excise Duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), EMTL and CET Levies increased significantly, but Import Duty and VAT recorded considerable decreases, while the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was $473.754 million.
Economy
FX Liquidity Buoys Naira to N1,369/$1 at NAFEX, N1,400/$1 at Black Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further appreciated against the United States Dollar by N5.68 or 0.41 per cent to N1,369.63/$1 on Wednesday, July 22, from the preceding session’s N1,375.31/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX).
Similarly, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.01 to trade at N1,833.12/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,841.13/£1, and against the Euro, it gained N4.75 to sell at N1,563.03/€1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,567.78/€1.
In the same vein, the Naira strengthened its rate against the US Dollar in the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,400/$1 compared with the N1,405/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank FX desk, it chalked up N5 against the greenback to settle at N1,383/$1 versus N1,388/$1.
FX liquidity was boosted by inflows from foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporates. The significant liquidity and strong investor sentiment aided the naira recovery from the recent slump.
As a result, total turnover settled at $416.420 million on Wednesday, up by 29 per cent from $322.664 million recorded the previous day.
The number of deals counted at the NAFEM window also increased to 198 from 110 on Tuesday, signalling higher demand for foreign payments matched adequate FX inflows.
With more than $52 billion in gross external reserves, analysts said the FX market is expected to remain stable in the near term.
As for the digital currency market, Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 0.4 per cent to $65,658.75 as rising oil prices and higher Treasury yields pressured risk assets and weighed on major cryptocurrencies, which later saw some recovery.
Market sentiment was further dampened by an apparent escalation in US military strikes linked to Iran, while traders also looked at regulatory uncertainty as key US Senate Democrats criticised the latest draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which is designed to define and separate regulatory oversight for cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and digital commodities.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crashed by 0.1 per cent to $0.0724, and TRON (TRX) dropped 0.01 per cent to trade at $0.3287, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
However, Cardano (ADA) rose by 1.6 per cent to $0.1741, Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.2 per cent to close at $1,921.85, Binance Coin (BNB) also grew by 0.2 per cent to $569.38, Ripple (XRP) increased by 0.1 per cent to $1.13, and Solana (SOL) soared by 0.02 per cent to $77.50.
Economy
Oil Prices Spike 3% as Trump Warns Iran Over Strait of Hormuz
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices jumped 3 per cent on Wednesday as mounting supply concerns following escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran, while threats to shipping by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen further boosted prices.
Brent crude futures went up by $3.06 or 3.36 per cent to $94.07 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $2.49 or 2.95 per cent to $86.83 a barrel.
The US military said it carried out an 11th consecutive night of attacks on Iran. The US attacks came a short while after the Kuwaiti army said its air defences were intercepting Iranian drones.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the US would “bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant” any time Iran targets a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ spokesperson warned shipping companies that the Strait of Hormuz southern route is mined.
As well as the renewed conflict over control of that key waterway, the Iran-aligned Houthis have opened a new front in the war by threatening to target vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.
Bab el-Mandeb at the southern entrance to the Red Sea has become an increasingly important route for Saudi Arabian crude exports as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply again since a ceasefire between the US and Iran collapsed earlier this month.
Five tankers in the Red Sea avoided the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday after the Houthis’ threat to block Saudi oil exports.
The European Union’s naval force Aspides said on Wednesday that ships with links to Israel, the US or Saudi Arabia are at a higher risk of being attacked by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia and are advised to avoid voyages through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Crude oil inventories in the US saw an increase of 2.0 million barrels during the week ending July 17, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.
It follows figures by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories had risen by 2.603 million barrels in the period.
The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 411.7 million barrels, according to government data, which are now 6 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, European Union (EU) ambassadors failed on Wednesday to agree on a 21st package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Economy
DMO Allots N929.3bn to Investors in July FGN Bond Sales
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.


