Economy
Nigerian Economy on Solid Path to Recovery with 5.01% Growth—FG
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has expressed satisfaction with the 5.01 per cent growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2021.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said this shows that the Nigerian economy was on the solid path to recovery.
Mrs Ahmed, while speaking at an Executive Intelligence Management Course 14 of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), Bwari, Abuja, said the administration of Mr Muhammadu Buhari has shown a strong commitment to sustainable development, governance and security despite the nation’s limited revenues.
At the event themed Governance, Security and Sustainable Development in Africa: Nexus, Challenges and Prospects, the Minister said, “The most recent GDP data which reports real growth of 5.01 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 is very encouraging news as it indicates the Nigerian economy is on a solid path to recovery.
“It is important to note that much of the growth was driven by the expansion of the non-oil sector of the economy where most Nigerians are employed.”
She further said due to its importance to every sector, especially the economy, the central government has made funds available to security.
“As an example, about 86 per cent of the 2021 Supplementary Budget was dedicated to the capital and recurrent expenditure needs of the security agencies to supplement the allocations in the 2021 amended budget,” she said.
While speaking on some key governance and security initiatives spearheaded by the Ministry and its agencies, Mrs Ahmed said that through Project Lighthouse, the federal government has been able to aggregate N5.2 trillion worth of debts owed to the government by third parties, of which N49.7 billion of this amount has been recovered.
She also said another initiative is the Treasury Single Account (TSA), a unified structure of government bank accounts that enables consolidation and optimum utilisation of government cash resources.
In addition, she said her ministry came up with the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), an IT-based system for budget management and accounting to improve public financial management processes and enhance accountability and transparency across all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government.
Mrs Ahmed also said in order to modernise tax administration in Nigeria, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) introduced TaxPro Max, while the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) designed the e-Customs Project meant to fully automate administrative processes by introducing innovative measures that eliminate paper-based functions.
The Minister, in addition, said another policy is the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme (RITCS) launched by President Buhari through Executive Order Number 7 signed on January 25, 2019.
“It is designed to leverage private sector capital, efficiency and expertise to construct, repair and maintain critical road infrastructure in key economic corridors and industrial clusters in Nigeria. The scheme relieves the government of the burden of funding significant outlays for road projects through the annual budget.
“Essentially, the RITCS utilises tax expenditures, by way of tax credits, to finance the construction of critical road and bridge infrastructure through an innovative public-private partnership (PPP) mechanism that incentivises private sector participation. Since inception, Mr President has approved a total of 33 road projects, totalling 1,564.95 km being undertaken in 19 States across the six geo-political zones of the country,” she said.
She also highlighted the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an international multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation and government responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation.
“Since joining the partnership in July 2016, Nigeria has made progress in deepening transparency, accountability and openness in the management of public resources, especially in terms of the budget process,” she said.
Mrs Ahmed further stated that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) in December 2019 launched the Open Treasury Portal, a platform aimed to enhance the accountability of government by detailing and tracking federal government spending data through the publishing of monthly fiscal accounts, as well as daily treasury and payment reports amongst others by MDAs.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude production under the collective Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) fell in May to its lowest level in at least 37 years as the blockade of Iran by the United States and disruptions in the Persian Gulf, continued to limit output.
According to a Bloomberg survey released on Friday, output from the organisation’s 11 current members, including Nigeria, dropped by 1.22 million barrels per day to 16.33 million barrels per day last month.
Iran accounted for more than half of the decline. The data excludes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which departed the cartel last month after six decades of membership.
War between a US-Israeli alliance and Iran has reduced oil supplies from the Middle East, largely closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have been forced to cut crude production. Iranian shipments face additional pressure following a US blockade of its ports imposed in mid-April.
Iranian output fell by 710,000 barrels per day to a five-year low of 2.34 million barrels per day in May, the survey showed. Central Command reported that US forces have redirected 127 commercial vessels to enforce the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.
Kuwait recorded the second-largest decline last month, with production falling by 310,000 barrels per day to 490,000 barrels per day, less than one-fifth of pre-war levels. Saudi Arabia, the group’s leader, saw output decrease by 240,000 barrels per day to 6.57 million barrels per day.
The production reductions have not prevented OPEC and its allies from raising quotas over recent months, continuing a year-long process of restoring output halted several years ago.
This comes ahead of a meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday, June 7, where a sub-group of seven members is expected to increase targets by 188,000 barrels again in July. The session is one of four online meetings OPEC and its partners plan to hold that day.
Delegates indicated the alliance has plans for two additional monthly quota increases in August and September. UAE output rose by 300,000 barrels per day to 2.44 million barrels per day in May, according to the survey.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 2025 third quarter Budget Implementation Report from the Budget Office of the Federation has shown that the federal government exceeded the funds allocation for repayment of debts for the first nine months of the fiscal year by about 18 per cent.
In a report by Punch, the sum of N10.74 trillion was budgeted for debt servicing between January and September 2025, but the government used N12.63 trillion for the purpose, N1.90 trillion or 17.65 per cent more than the allocation for the year.
The funds were spent on domestic debts, foreign debts and sinking fund by the central government in nine months.
Business Post reports that for the whole year, the amount approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu for debt repayments was N14.31 trillion.
Looking at the nine-month figures, domestic debt service gulped N6.23 trillion, exceeding its N5.39 trillion provision, while foreign debt service was N6.30 trillion versus the budget provision of N5.06 trillion.
According to the report, the figures indicated that 67.2 per cent of the federal government’s retained revenue of N18.63 trillion was spent on debt service in the first nine months of 2025. When the sinking fund is included, debt-related payments consumed about 67.8 per cent of revenue.
It was also observed that aggregate federal government revenue underperformed the budget by N12.03 trillion or 39.24 per cent, as actual revenue of N18.63 trillion fell short of the N30.67 trillion projected for the first three quarters.
In the third quarter alone, the government generated N7.70 trillion versus the quarterly target of N10.22 trillion as a result of persistent oil revenue shortfalls, despite stronger non-oil collections.
The debt burden also crowded out capital spending, as total capital expenditure was N3.10 trillion in the first nine months compared with the N17.58 trillion budgeted for the period, indicating that actual debt-related payments were more than four times capital expenditure.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a loss of 1.13 per cent on Thursday, June 4, shrinking the market capitalisation by N30.03 billion to N2.630 trillion from N2.660 trillion on Wednesday.
Similarly, this brought down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 50.19 points to 4,396.08 points from the 4,446.27 points recorded a day earlier.
The loss was influenced by the overpowering of the bulls by the bears, after the bourse closed with two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slumped by N20.03 to sell at N190.38 per unit compared with midweek’s N210.41 per unit. Food Concepts Plc declined by 25 Kobo to trade at N2.50 per share versus the previous day’s N3.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc crumbled by 2 Kobo to end at N1.32 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.34 per unit.
For the gainers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N2.93 to close at N78.34 per share compared with the previous price of N75.41 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 80 Kobo to settle at N16.80 per unit versus N16.00 per unit.
There was a slip in the volume of transactions yesterday by 46.8 per cent to 280,714 units from 527,221 units, as the value of trades dropped 66.5 per cent to N21.8 million from the preceding session’s N64.2 million, and the number of deals fell by 8.7 per cent to 42 deals from 46 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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