Economy
FG, States, LGAs, Others Share N3.88trn in Six Months
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said the federal, 36 states, 774 local governments and other statutory recipients shared the sum of N3.88 trillion in the first six months of the year.
This was contained in the latest edition of the agency’s quarterly report on disbursements by the Federation Accounts and Allocation Committee (FAAC).
A breakdown of the disbursements showed that N1.53 trillion went to the federal government, while the 36 states got N1.29 trillion with the 774 local government areas receiving N771.34 billion.
A look at the amount received by the highest tier of government showed that the N1.53 trillion was 4.3 per cent lower than N1.59 trillion it got in the same period of last year and 7.36 per cent lower than the N1.65 trillion it received in the first half of 2018.
For the states, the N1.29 trillion received was lower for the second straight year. By comparison, it was 2.8 per cent lower than the N1.35 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2019 and 5.6 per cent lower than the N1.37 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2020.
Equally, for local government areas, the 2020 first half disbursements were 2.64 and 3.04 per cent lower than the corresponding disbursements for 2019 and 2018, respectively.
On a quarterly basis, disbursements in the second quarter of the year were 1.09 per cent higher than total disbursements in Q2 2019 and 3.66 per cent lower than the one for Q2 2018.
According to the report, “FAAC disbursements in the second quarter of 2020 stood at N1.934 trillion.
“This was made up of N739.2 billion to the Federal Government, N629.3 billion to state governments, and N375.4 billion to the 774 local government areas.”
According to the report, the total FAAC disbursements in the second quarter of 2020 was slightly lower than the N1.945 trillion disbursed in the first quarter of 2020.
This aligned with the projections made in the previous issue of the NEITI Quarterly Review, which projected lower FAAC disbursement in the second quarter.
The report said the 0.55 per cent decrease in Q2 2020 would have been worse but for a rebound in oil prices in the second quarter as a result of ease of lockdowns by countries across the world.
Another factor that contributed to the reasonable decline in the period was the adjustment of the official exchange rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from N307 to a Dollar to N360, which resulted into more Naira earnings.
NEITI noted that FAAC disbursements in the first quarter and second quarter of 2020 were very volatile, with the difference in total distributable amount between months ranging between N58.9 billion and N199.3 billion.
It said, “During this period, the disbursements were very volatile in the first half of 2020, compared to 2018 and 2019.
“Unlike 2018 and 2019 where aggregate disbursements increased and decreased in successive months, in 2020, they fell for two straight months, increased in one month, and then decreased for two straight months.”
It further explained that during the period in 2020, aggregate disbursements fluctuated by large amounts, compared to 2018 and 2019.
“Aggregate disbursements were N716.3 billion in January and this fell to N647.4 billion in February.
“Thereafter, disbursements fell to N581.6 billion in March, before increasing to N780.9 billion in April.
“Disbursements then fell to N606.2 billion in May and to N547.3 billion in June.
“These figures indicate differences of N68.9 billion between January and February, N65.7 billion between February and March, N199.3 billion between March and April, N174.7 billion between April and May, and N58.9 billion between May and June.
“For comparison, the highest inter-month difference in the first half of 2018 was N62.9 billion, while the corresponding figure for 2019 was N63.5 billion.
“Thus, there have been very wide fluctuations in aggregate disbursements so far in 2020,” the report stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, July 16, by 65 Kobo or 0.04 per cent to sell for N1,381.53/$1, in contrast to Wednesday’s closing value of N1,382.18/$1.
This was buoyed by improved FX liquidity to absorb the high demand for Dollars during the trading session.
However, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N9.48 to close at N1,866.17/£1 versus the preceding day’s N1,856.69/£1, and lost N2.99 against the Euro to quote at N1,582.68/€1 compared with the midweek rate of N1,576.69/€1.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency maintained stability against its United States counterpart at N1,405/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it remained unchanged at N1,389/$1.
On Thursday, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed a surge in interbank FX turnover and deal count. Interbank FX activities at the NFEM window increased sharply by 69 per cent to $205.366 million from $121.727 million reported the previous day.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves continue to rise, supported by steady foreign exchange inflows from hydrocarbon receipts, remittances and foreign portfolio investments, boosting market confidence. It settled at $51.893 billion from $51.867 billion the previous day.
The apex bank has also launched a new digital platform that will track every foreign exchange transaction involving Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, marking a major step in its efforts to improve transparency and strengthen oversight of Nigeria’s retail forex market.
In an operational guidance issued on July 15 to authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs, the CBN introduced the FX BDC Purchase Tracker (FXBT), a centralised electronic portal that will monitor foreign exchange purchases by BDCs from the point of request through approval, settlement and eventual sale.
As for the crypto market, prices were down as the markets weighed fresh US airstrikes on Iran that boosted risk sentiment, with Ethereum (ETH) down by 4.7 per cent to $1,829.37.
Solana (SOL) decreased by 3.6 per cent to $77.49, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 3.1 per cent to $0.0718, Cardano (ADA) also crashed by 3.1 per cent to $0.1588, Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 2.9 per cent to $62,820.21, Ripple (XRP) dipped by 2.6 per cent to $1.08, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 2.3 per cent to $569.02, and TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.8 per cent to $0.3219, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In a bid to help investors recover about N270 billion in unclaimed dividends in the capital market, a nationwide enlightenment campaign has been launched by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This initiative involves town hall meetings that would go around the country to sensitise Nigerians on the need to claim these fallow funds.
The Director General of SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, speaking at a town hall meeting in Lagos, said the regulator is not happy that investors, who worked hard to purchase shares in the stock market, have not claimed their profits for many years, making unclaimed dividends pile up.
“The commission considers this situation unacceptable. Funds belonging to investors should ultimately find their way back to their rightful owners,” the SEC chief, represented at the event by the Director of Registration and Exchanges, Market Infrastructure Department, Ms Hafsat Rufai, stated.
He said during this campaign Nigerians would be informed of the unclaimed monies, the role of the National Investor Protection Fund (NIPF), and the procedures for verifying and recovering legitimate claims, stressing that SEC is committed to ensuring that investors’ funds are returned to their rightful owners.
The DG stated that unclaimed monies administered by the NIPF include return funds from public offers, scheme consideration arising from mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring transactions, as well as other capital market-related funds that have remained dormant.
He disclosed that the town hall meetings would be held in the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.
In addition, electronic and social media platforms would be used to broaden public awareness on this issue, with efforts to be made to address the transmission of securities following the death of an investor, noting that many families were either unaware that their deceased relatives owned shares or lacked knowledge of the legal and administrative procedures required to transfer such investments to rightful beneficiaries.
“As a result, valuable investments and returns on investments sometimes remain inaccessible for many years, thereby denying beneficiaries the financial benefits intended for them,” he said, urging investors to maintain proper records of their investments and encouraging families to take proactive steps to preserve inherited wealth.
By Dipo Olowookere
The decision of investors to book profit after the previous session’s gains pulled back Customs Street by 0.09 per cent on Thursday.
The selling pressure was mainly on BUA Cement, which put the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited off-balance during the session.
Analysis of the trading data showed that the industrial goods sector was the sole decliner, losing 2.85 per cent, as a result of the poor performance of BUA Cement at the market yesterday.
The other key sectors of the bourse were bullish, with the banking space up by 2.87 per cent. The consumer goods index appreciated by 0.30 per cent, the insurance counter improved by 0.16 per cent, and the energy segment rose by 0.08 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 221.14 points to 242,145.61 points from 242,366.75 points, and the market capitalisation decreased by N32 billion to N156.207 trillion from N156.239 trillion.
Eunisell crashed by 10.00 per cent to N189.00, BUA Cement lost 9.99 per cent to quote at N275.60, CAP declined by 9.61 per cent to N142.45, Royal Exchange slipped by 9.55 per cent to N1.42, and Guinea Insurance tumbled by 5.38 per cent to 88 Kobo.
Conversely, First Holdco soared by 9.96 per cent to N87.25, McNichols gained 8.00 per cent to trade at N5.40, UBA appreciated by 7.93 per cent to N44.25, Veritas Kapital jumped by 6.85 per cent to N1.56, and Jaiz Bank chalked up 4.07 per cent to settle at N8.95.
It was observed that the market breadth index was positive after the exchange closed the session with 22 price losers and 27 price gainers, representing strong investor sentiment.
A total of 498.5 million shares valued at N34.9 billion were traded in 39,484 deals on Thursday, in contrast to the 476.3 million shares worth N29.6 billion transacted in 40,992 deals on Wednesday. This indicated that the trading volume grew by 4.66 per cent, the trading value increased by 17.91 per cent, and the number of deals depreciated by 3.68 per cent.
Japaul ended the day as the busiest equity after trading 77.7 million units for N231.5 million, Access Holdings sold 41.2 million units valued at N1.0 billion, First Holdco exchanged 38.8 million units worth N3.4 billion, UBA transacted 31.5 million units for N1.4 billion, and Fidelity Bank traded 23.8 million units worth N495.0 million.
