Economy
Nigeria May Stop Borrowing to Fund Budget—Adeosun
By Dipo Olowookere
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has disclosed that it was time the country stopped borrowing to fund its budget.
Speaking today at the Presidential Quarterly Business Forum (PQBF) in Abuja, the Minister said instead of incurring additional debts to finance the budget, government will now make efforts to raise its revenue through taxes and others.
“We need to increase our budget size, but we can’t depend on borrowing anymore, so we have to improve revenues and block leakages,” Mrs Adeosun said at the business forum.
The Minister’s position on Tuesday suggests that the Federal Government will no longer press forward with the $2 million loan deals from the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB), which have stalled for almost a year.
The loans, especially from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), had been dragging after both bodies insisted on having blueprints of the Nigerian government on how it intends to utilise the funds and repay.
They also insisted on the FG putting in place critical fiscal policies, which have not been met.
Speaking further at the forum today, the Finance Minister said part of the efforts to raise government’s revenue was the introduction of Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) by the Acting President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, last month, precisely on June 29.
“This is why we’ve introduced VAIDSNG. A window of opportunity for Nigerians, individuals and companies, to regularize tax status,” the Minister said.
“We are reviewing tax waivers/exemptions and also reforming our revenue generating agencies. The Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has signed an Executive Order to support this,” Mrs Adeosun added.
Last month, the Acting President signed the 2017 budget pegged at N7.44 trillion. This came about a month after it was passed by the parliament.
It was disclosed then that more than 50 percent of the N2.21 trillion deficits in the 2017 budget would be funded through external borrowing.
Part of the 2017 budget, according to the government, is also to be funded with funds recovered from looters.
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udo Udoma, during the breakdown of the 2017 appropriation bill in Abuja in June 2017, said about N560 billion recovered from looters would be used to finance part of the 2017 budget.
“On recoveries, we are being extremely conservative; what is in the budget is what we know about already. So, if more comes, we will use it.
“Know that recoveries of looted funds are not the most dependable way to finance the budget because of the legal processes that have to be concluded before it can be spent.
“So, the money quoted in the budget is the one we have already recovered and in our pocket to spend as we wish,” Mr Udoma had explained.
Nigeria tripped into recession last year and has been making efforts to get out of it. There have also been promises from the government that the country would quit recession before the end of this year.
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigerian stocks shrank by 0.02 per cent as a result of renewed selling pressure, after the consumer goods index crumbled by 0.89 per cent, and the banking space contracted by 0.23 per cent.
Business Post reports that the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited weakened yesterday despite the energy sector closing 1.78 per cent higher, the insurance segment increasing by 0.31 per cent, and the industrial goods counter closing flat.
The All-Share Index (ASI) eased by 44.83 points to 200,913.06 points from 200,957.89 points, and the market capitalisation decreased by N29 billion to N128.969 trillion from N128.998 trillion.
eTranzact lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N20.70, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 10.00 per cent to N9.90, Cadbury Nigeria retreated by 10.00 per cent to N63.00, Eterna also fell by 10.00 per cent to N33.75, and DAAR Communications dipped by 9.50 per cent to N1.81.
Conversely, Premier Paints appreciated by 9.97 per cent to N37.50, Zichis gained 9.97 per cent to trade at N13.79, McNichols improved by 9.93 per cent to N7.42, John Holt chalked up 9.86 per cent to close at N18.95, and Trans Nationwide Express went up by 9.75 per cent to N2.59.
On the last day of the week, 595.2 million equities valued at N24.5 billion were transacted in 43,440 deals versus the 678.1 million equities worth N33.1 billion traded in 42,222 deals in the previous session.
This showed an improvement in the number of deals by 2.89 per cent, and a cut in the trading volume and value by 12.22 per cent and 25.98 per cent, respectively.
Wema Bank ended the day as the busiest stock after a turnover of 131.5 million units worth N3.5 billion, Legend Internet traded 41.6 million units valued at N339.2 million, Zichis sold 35.2 million units for N485.6 million, Access Holdings exchanged 29.4 million units worth N764.8 million, and Japaul transacted 21.5 million units valued at N74.6 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A loss recorded by market bellwether, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, outweighed the presence of three price gainers, weakening the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.73 per cent on Friday, March 27.
The Nigerian securities depository firm lost N6.27 during the session to close at N80.10 per share compared with the previous day’s N86.37 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation shrank by N18.41 billion to N2.512 trillion from the previous session’s N2.531 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 30.77 points to 4,199.69 points from 4,230.46 points.
The green side of the price movement log showed 11 Plc appreciating by N31.92 to N351.17 per unit from N319.25 per unit, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc (NMRC) rose by 55 Kobo to sell at N6.05 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N5.50 per share, and IPWA Plc recorded a 50 Kobo growth to end at N5.51per unit, in contrast to the preceding day’s N5.01 per unit.
When the bourse closed for the day, there was a 17,067.5 per cent surge in the voluime of transactions to 58.6 million units from 342,825 units, the value of trades increased by 6,895.4 per cent in the value of securities traded as it closed at N1.6 billion compared to N23.0 million, and the number of deals executed at the session rose 85.2 per cent to 50 deals compared to the preceding session’s 27 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 56.2 million units exchanged for N3.8 billion, Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc followed with 400 million units valued at N1.2 billion, and Okitipupa Plc came next with 6.5 million units traded at N1.2 billion.
Resourcery Plc closed the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million, followed by Infrastructure Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 133.0 million units at N511.1 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira maintained stability against the United States Dollar in the black market segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday, March 27, data obtained by Business Post showed. It also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX counter at N1,401/$1.
However, it further appreciated in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) during the session by N3.30 or 0.2 per cent to N1,380.58/$1 from the previous day’s rate of N1,383.88/$1.
In the same vein, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the spot market yesterday by N10.77 to trade at N1,836.99/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,847.76/£1, and gained N5.06 against the Euro to sell at N1,592.08/€1 versus N1,597.14/€1.
The Naira remains under pressure, but the current range indicates a form of stability as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reiterated its promise to anchor reforms around FX rate stability and stronger reserves to support financial markets.
Amid the currency pressures, the apex bank introduced a series of measures aimed at improving liquidity and strengthening the FX market. In a key move, the apex bank removed the cash pooling requirement for International Oil Companies (IOCs), allowing them full access to their repatriated export proceeds from the previous 50 per cent.
However, the country could see less short-term Dollar supply staying in the country and may invite pressure on the Naira if outflows exceed inflows.
The pressure on the currency comes amid a sustained decline in Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the central bank with the buffer to support the naira. The reserves fell for the ninth consecutive day to $49.48 billion as of March 26, 2026, marking a decline of $540 million, or 1.08 per cent, from $50.02 billion recorded on March 11.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market tumbled on Friday due to a broader sell-off in US equities, which recorded a $17 trillion loss. The Friday plunge fits into a pattern since the war in Iran broke out, with gains on Monday turning into losses by the end of the week.
Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 3.2 per cent to $2,003.73, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 3.1 per cent to $66,439.48, Solana (SOL) dropped by 2.9 per cent to $83.44, Cardano (ADA) crashed to $0.2474, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 2.4 per cent to $613.17, TRON (TRX) dipped 1.5 per cent to $0.3113, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 1.4 per cent to $0.0908, and Ripple (XRP) slumped 1.4 per cent to sell at $1.33, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn