Economy
House Gives Buhari Approval to Present N13.98tn Budget for 2022
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The federal government has been given the approval to present to the National Assembly a budget of N13.98 trillion for the 2022 fiscal year.
This authorisation was given on Tuesday by the House of Representatives when it passed the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) barely a week after the Senate passed the same document.
This followed the presentation of the MTEF/FSP report before members of the green chamber of the parliament yesterday by the Chairman, Committee on Finance, Mr James Faleke.
Business Post reports that in July 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari had forwarded the MTEF/FSP document to the legislative arm of government for approval. It was later handed over to the committee for action and yesterday, the report was laid by Mr Faleke.
In the report, it was said that revenue of N8.36 trillion would be retained, while the total fiscal spending plan of N13.98 trillion for next year was approved, comprising total recurrent (non-debt) of N6.21 trillion, personnel costs (MDAs) of N3.47 trillion, capital expenditure (exclusive of transfers) N3.26 trillion, special intervention (recurrent) of N350 billion, and special intervention (capital) of N10 billion.
Also, the House said it has no issue with the proposed fiscal deficit of N5.62 trillion, new borrowings of N4.89 trillion subject that the provision of the details of the borrowing plan be brought for approval by the parliament, while statutory transfers of N613.4 billion were okayed.
The lower arm of the National Assembly also put the debt service estimate at N3.12 trillion, the sinking fund at N292 billion, and pension, gratuities and retirees benefits at N567 billion.
On daily crude oil production, the House approved 1.88mbpd, 2.23mbpd, and 2.22mbpd for 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively “in view of average 1.93mbpd over the past three (3) years and the fact that a very conservative oil output benchmark has been adopted for the medium term in order to ensure greater budget realism.”
As for the crude oil benchmark, $57 per barrel was approved for 2022, $55 for 2023 and 2024 “based on oil forecast by the World Bank and consultation with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).”
Similarly, the exchange rate of N410.15/$1 was approved for 2022-2024 as proposed by the executive arm of government, while the projected gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 4.20 per cent was also approved, with the projected inflation rate was put at 13.00 per cent.
In a statement issued by the reps, it was stated that, “That there should be a continuous review of the Fiscal Responsibility Act to ensure that all revenues are remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) as at when due, in order to curtail frivolous deductions and diversion of funds by the Ministries Department Agencies.”
In addition, it was said that all laws relating to mining businesses should be reviewed as a matter of urgency to ensure upward review of rates applied to royalties, ground rent and licenses renewal of all mining companies operating in Nigeria to ensure transparency in the collection of revenue by the relevant agencies of the government and also look into the issues of illegal mining activities by recommending stringent sanctions in the proposed new laws.
Furthermore, the House advised the Nigeria Customs Service to accelerate the process of installing scanners at all ports across the country to curb the issue of underpayment of customs duties on imported goods which has resulted in huge loss of revenue to the government and to further improve its activities at all borders across the country in order to curb the issues of smuggling across border areas.
“The Committee recommends urgent implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) recently assented to by the President in order to curtail the problems of smuggling and round-tripping of petroleum products imported into the country to save the under-recovery cost,” the statement noted.
The parliament suggested that “the offices of the Accountant General (AGF), Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) and Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) be strengthened in the area of staffing and proper funding of its activities to ensure optimal performance of their duties in order to adequately monitor the remittances of all government revenues,” while the “Act establishing some MDAs be reviewed and amended as a matter of urgency to evidence a more nationalistic interest, as these amendments will assist to generate more revenue to the coffers of the government.”
In the statement, the House urged that the federal government budget should be “reviewed and be purged of some agencies that demonstrated capacity to stand on their own without any recourse to Federal Government of Nigeria Budget for example; National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria (NCAT).”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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