Economy

I Was Forced to Sign 2018 Budget to Save Nigeria’s Economy—Buhari

Published

7 years ago

20/06/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday finally signed the 2018 Appropriation Bill into law six months after he presented it to the National Assembly.

Mr Buhari had submitted the 2018 budget to the parliament in November 2017, but it was eventually passed by the legislative arm of government in May 2018.

The delay in the passage of the bill had generated reactions from various quarters of the country because of the effect it had on the economy in general.

Today, the President signed the budget into law after receiving it from the National Assembly nearly a month ago.

During the briefing signing ceremony on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, President Buhari said he was not happy with the increment made to the budget estimate by the legislature.

Mr Buhari had presented a budget of N8.6 trillion, but the lawmakers increased it to N9.1 trillion, 22.6 percent higher than the 2017 budget.

Reacting to this in his speech today, the President said the executive was never consulted before this increment was made by the parliament.

The President said if not for the fact he did not want the nation’s economy to suffer, he would probably have not signed the budget into law today.

He accused the parliament of removing some critical projects the executive put in the budget to have positive effect on Nigerians.

“I have decided to sign the 2018 budget in order not to further slowdown the pace of recovery of our economy, which has doubtlessly been affected by the delay in passing the budget,” the President said in his short speech.

According to him, “We intend to use the 2018 budget to consolidate the achievements of previous budgets and deliver on Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020.

“It is in this regard that I am concerned about some of the changes that the National Assembly has made to the budget proposals that I presented. The logic behind the Constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the Executive is that, it is the Executive that knows and defines its policies and projects.

“Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me. The National Assembly made cuts amounting to N347 billion in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578 billion.

“Many of the projects cut are critical and may be difficult, if not impossible, to implement with the reduced allocation. Some of the new projects inserted by the National Assembly have not been properly conceptualized, designed and cost and will therefore be difficult to execute.”

The President listed some of the critical projects cut by the legislature as “The provisions for some nationally/regionally strategic infrastructure projects such as Counter-part funding for the Mambilla Power Plant, Second Niger Bridge/ancillary roads, the East-West Road, Bonny-Bodo Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail Project were cut by an aggregate of N11.5 billion.

“Similarly, provisions for some ongoing critical infrastructure projects in the FCT, Abuja especially major arterial roads and the mass transit rail project, were cut by a total of N7.5 billion.

“The provision for Rehabilitation and Additional Security Measures for the United Nations Building by the FCT, Abuja was cut by N3.9 billion from N4 billion to N100 million; this will make it impossible for the Federal Government of Nigeria to fulfil its commitment to the United Nations on this project.

“The provisions for various Strategic Interventions in the health sector such as the upgrade of some tertiary health institutions, transport and storage of vaccines through the cold chain supply system, provision of anti-retroviral drugs for persons on treatment, establishment of chemotherapy centres and procurement of dialysis consumables were cut by an aggregate amount of N7.45 billion.

“The provision for security infrastructure in the 104 Unity Schools across the country were cut by N3 billion at a time when securing our students against acts of terrorism ought to be a major concern of government.

“The provision for the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme was cut by N8.7 billion.

“At a time when we are working with Labour to address compensation-related issues, a total of N5 billion was cut from the provisions for Pension Redemption Fund and Public Service Wage Adjustment.

“The provisions for Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and Special Economic Zones/Industrial Parks, which are key industrialization initiatives of this Administration, were cut by a total of N14.5 billion.

“The provision for Construction of the Terminal Building at Enugu Airport was cut from N2 billion to N500 million which will further delay the completion of this critical project.

“The Take-off Grant for the Maritime University in Delta State, a key strategic initiative of the Federal Government, was cut from N5 billion to N3.4 billion.

“About seventy (70) new road projects have been inserted into the budget of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. In doing so, the National Assembly applied some of the additional funds expected from the upward review of the oil price benchmark to the Ministry’s vote.

“Regrettably, however, in order to make provision for some of the new roads, the amounts allocated to some strategic major roads have been cut by the National Assembly.”

In his conclusion, Mr Buhari thanked the “Ministers of Budget and National Planning, the Budget Office of the Federation, and everyone who worked tirelessly and sacrificed so much to bring us to this day. However, the job is only partly done.”

He said, “I am sure you will remain committed to advancing our Change Agenda, not only in the preparation of the national budget, but also in ensuring its effective implementation.”

Economy

Oando Wins Bid to Operate Angola’s KON 13 Oil Block

Published

3 hours ago

23/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigerian energy company, Oando Plc, has won the bid for the operatorship of oil block KON 13 in Angola.

The company, which recently acquired Eni of Italy’s oil assets in Nigeria, disclosed on Wednesday that the award of the oil block located in Angola’s onshore Kwanza Basin followed a competitive bidding process by the country’s oil and gas sector regulator.

Oando disclosed that the asset, in which it owns 45 per cent participating interest, has an estimated prospective resources of 770 to 1,100 million barrels of oil. Oando is handling its operations relating to the asset through its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER).

“Oando Plc (the company), Africa’s leading indigenous energy solutions provider listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and Johannesburg Stock Exchange is pleased to announce that its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER), has been awarded operatorship of Block KON 13 in Angola’s Onshore Kwanza Basin, following a competitive bidding process organised by the Angolan National Agency for Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels (ANPG).

“Block KON 13 is strategically located in the prolific Kwanza Onshore Basin which represents significant exploration potential in both pre-salt and post-salt plays, with estimated prospective resources of 770 to 1,100 million barrels of oil.

“The block has two exploration wells previously drilled to a target depth of 3,000m, with oil and gas observed across various depths. With a 45 per cent participating interest, OER will lead the development of the block as an operator, alongside Effimax (30 per cent) and Sonangol (15 per cent) as co-venturers,” it stated.

Commenting on the award, the chief executive of Oando Plc, Mr Wale Tinubu, expressed confidence in the capacity of the company, in collaboration with its co-venturers, to unlock the full potential of the asset for the country.

“We look forward to collaborating with our co-venturers and other key stakeholders to harness this opportunity and unlock its full potential for Angola and Africa as a whole,” Mr Tinubu said.

This milestone, the company said, marks its strategic entry into the Angolan oil and gas market and represents a significant step in its long-term vision to grow its upstream operations across Africa.

According to Oando Plc, it also solidifies the company’s position as a prominent player in the continent’s energy landscape, evolving from a local indigenous operator to a regional powerhouse.

Following the company’s recent successful acquisition of NAOC Ltd in Nigeria, the addition of Block KON 13, the energy firm stressed, further bolsters the company’s upstream portfolio and reflects its commitment to driving regional growth and energy security.

Economy

NASD Index Gains 0.74%

Published

5 hours ago

23/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.74 per cent on Wednesday, January 22 as a result of buying pressure on the market.

Yesterday, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) garnered 22.86 points to wrap the session at 3,123.19 points compared with 3,100.33 points recorded in the previous session, as the value of the unlisted securities market went up at midweek by N5 billion to close at N1.076 trillion, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1.071 trillion.

The alternative bourse ended with three price gainers and two price losers at the Wednesday session.

Mixta Real Estate Plc improved its value by 25 Kobo to end at N2.83 per unit compared with the previous day’s N2.58 per unit, Okitipupa Plc jumped by N3.56 to close at N43.55 per share versus N39.99 per share, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc added 2 Kobo to settle at 39 Kobo per unit compared with Tuesday’s trading price of 37 Kobo per unit.

On the flip side, UBN Property Plc lost 16 Kobo to end at N1.86 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.00 per share, and Mass Telecomm Innovation Plc went down by 1 Kobo to 41 Kobo per unit from 40 Kobo per unit.

During the session, there was a 216.2 per cent rise in the volume of securities traded to 581,160 units from 183,780 units, the value of securities traded by investors decreased by 48.9 per cent to N2.3 million from N4.5 million, while the number of deals increased by 84.6 per cent to 24 deals from 13 deals.

When the bourse closed for the day, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc was the stock with the highest trading volume (year-to-date) with 25.3 million units valued at N5.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.

By value, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc topped the activity chart after selling 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with 55,358 valued at N14.5 million.

Economy

Naira Value Strengthens at Official, Parallel Markets

Published

7 hours ago

23/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Naira recorded improvements in the official and black markets on Wednesday as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced its intention to launch an FX code designed to boost the integrity of the market.

The apex bank explained the code will serve as a guideline for the ethical conduct of FX dealers in the Nigerian forex landscape.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of Authorised Dealers in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.

“The bank will formally launch the code at the CBN Head Office Auditorium, Abuja, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025,” a statement from the regulator read.

At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) segment of the forex market window, the local currency gained 0..01 per cent or 20 Kobo against the US Dollar to close at N1,552.58/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.78/$1.

However, the domestic currency depreciated against the British Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N8.55 to wrap the session at N1,915.53/£1 compared with Tuesday’s N1,906.98/£1 and against the Euro, the Naira lost N4.24 to sell for N1,617.72/€1 versus N1,613.48/€1.

At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the greenback yesterday by N10 to quote at N1,660/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,670/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, it was bearish after it was clarified that an earlier leak on the website of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), showing regulated XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) futures could start trading on February 10 pending regulatory approval, was an error.

This, coupled with profit-taking from the Mr Donald Trump rally, saw Dogecoin (DOGE) fall by 3.9 per cent to $0.3537, as Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 3.1 per cent to quote at $3,213.39, and Bitcoin (BTC) depleted by 3.0 per cent to trade at $102,654.79.

Further, Cardano slumped by 2.9 per cent to $0.9708, Litecoin (LTC) weakened by 2.7 per cent to $113.62, Solana (SOL) recorded a 2.5 per cent depreciation to sell at $249.58, Binance Coin (BNB) shed 1.9 per cent to close at $686.40, and Ripple (XRP) dropped 1.2 per cent to end at $3.14, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.