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Oyo IGR Terribly Low, But We’ll Survive—Ajimobi

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By Dipo Olowookere

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said that his administration is engaging in survival strategies to meet its obligations to the entire citizens and workers of the state, promising that the government would use its share of the Paris Club over deductions funds when it is paid for the workers’ welfare as recommended by the federal government.

Mr Ajimobi, at the 2017 Inter-Faith Service of the Oyo State government held at the Governor’s office, Ibadan, noted that every cost saving measure is a disservice to certain groups of people, adding that his administration is deploying the necessary machinery to survive, by blocking loopholes, restructuring of the public and civil service, improved Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) and cut unnecessary government wastage.

He explained that government as an enterprise requires funds to serve its citizens and the government is looking for ways to cut cost and meet its obligations to the people despite the dwindling revenue being realized by the government.

According to him, “We are looking for ways to reduce our cost and every attempt to reduce it, is disservice to a certain group of people.

“We have suspended car loans, subventions to higher institutions, allowances, assistance to organisations/individuals among others. All these, are without uproar from the people and we are all aware of the criticisms that trailed the withdrawal of subventions to higher institutions.

“Maintenance of our infrastructure and executing new ones have been extremely difficult. Oyo State is a big state. Ibadan alone is bigger than seven states and to govern Oyo state is a big responsibility with big problem and difficult to manage.

“Our IGR is still abysmally low and allocations from federal allocations continue to dwindle. Over 50 percent of our IGR is from PAYEE and our average monthly allocation from FG is N2.5 billion while salaries, subventions, pensions, overhead cost and allowances still stand at about N5.2 billion.

“We need survival strategies to block loopholes, renewed IGR drive and restructuring of the public and civil service for optimal performance so that the government will meet its obligations to the people.”

The Governor reiterated that the state has not collected its share of the Paris Club over excess deduction funds, stressing that the government is hopeful that the state would also get its share and whatever the state gets, would be used for the welfare of the workers.

Mr Ajimobi said that President Muhammad Buhari is passionate about the people, adding, “President Buhari wants to help the people, he wants us to stop the sufferings in the country and he has introduced so many poverty alleviation programmes to ameliorate the sufferings in the country.

“The president has suggested that we use 50 percent of the Paris Club fund for workers’ welfare and we are ready to do that whenever we get our share of the funds as we did with the bailout funds given to us by the federal government.”

He described the workers as the engine room of the government, saying that the government would not renege on its promise to use 100 percent of the allocation from federal government for workers’ salaries and consequently assured that his administration is ready to give the civil servants a percentage of the excesses of its IGR whenever the government reaches the threshold set for good governance in order to appreciate their dedication and commitment to service delivery in uplifting Oyo State.

“If I deliberately punish the workers, God will ask us. We will do everything humanly possible to ensure we give the people of the state the best. I am passionate about Oyo State, I want a state that will be the best in the country. I have nowhere to go, Oyo State is my state and I will continue to strive to make it great,” the Governor emphasized.

Governor Ajimobi tasked the workers to be committed and dedicated to their work and show appreciation to government’s goodness, explaining that the government has started a system that encourages, recognizes and appreciates productive performance by creating an efficiency unit to appraise and grade workers on their output.

The Governor charged the labour leaders in the state to always embrace dialogue and help the government to seek ways to meet its obligations to the workers instead of being confrontational with the government, noting that the era of table banging unionism should be a thing of the past.

Mr Ajimobi appealed to the entire citizens to work with the present administration in the state, promising that his administration would continue to prioritize citizens’ welfare.

Speaking at the service, the Oyo State Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade commended the state governor for his wise and bold decisions that has kept the state afloat despite the present economic situation in the country.

He said, “Even in the face of the present harsh economic condition, Governor Ajimobi, under no influence and pressure, decided to commit 100% of the monthly allocation from the federation account to pay salaries and pensions.

The Governor even directed that the free bus service for workers among other existing welfare schemes should under no condition be stopped. All the past kind hearted decisions of His Excellency, that were in favour of workers, must be appreciated while we all work hard and pray that the present situation be positively turned around.”

The HOS charged workers in the state to be diligent, dedicated, devoted, committed and work assiduously towards ensuring financial sufficiency for the state, stating that the ongoing restructuring exercise in the civil/public service was embarked upon to clean and sanitize the system.

Highlights of the program included prayers and praise worship from Muslim and Christian leaders as the Chief Imam of the Government House, Sheik Bello Rufai prayed for a successful year for the workers and the Ajimobi-led administration.

Rev. John Adika of the Providence Baptist Church, Iyana Church, Ibadan in his own sermon, reminded the workers that all leaders were chosen by God for the special attributes they possess which according to him would make possible the delivery of succour to their people.

He also prayed for the State and its workforce to be prosperous in the new year while admonishing workers to do their best in delivering their best.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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Economy

FX Transactions: Court Jails Lagos BDC Operator Without CBN Licence

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Faruk Umar illegal BDC operator

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

An unauthorised Bureaux De Change (BDC) operator, Mr Faruk Umar, has been convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Justice Aneke on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, held that Mr Umar was guilty of the offence levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The judge also pronounced a fine of N50,000, in lieu of the prison sentence, which should be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation. His phone was also forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Mr Umar’s road to the correctional centre began when he was arrested by operatives of the EFCC for dealing in foreign exchange transactions without a requisite licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He pleaded guilty to a one-count charge raised against him, which read, “That you, Faruk Umar, sometime in August 2024 at Eko Hotel Area, Victoria Island Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of this court, engaged in a foreign exchange transaction other than through the official foreign exchange market and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1) (a) of the National Economic Intelligence Committee Establishment, (ETC) Act, 1994 and punishable under Section 11(2) of the same Act.”

The convict, alongside others, was arrested on August 26, 2024, following intelligence on the activities of illegal BDC operators at the Eko Hotel area of Victoria Island, Lagos.

He was subsequently arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the agency on a one-count charge bordering on fraudulent foreign exchange transactions.

After he pleaded guilty, the prosecution counsel, C.C.Okezie, sought to present an investigative officer of the EFCC, Hamisu Sanni, to review the facts of the matter.

Sanni narrated that the convict confessed to being involved in buying and selling of foreign currency without a licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

He told the court that Mr Umar’s phone was subjected to forensic examination, adding that “It revealed over 40 conversations related to forex transactions with other individuals.”

Thereafter, Okezie, through Sanni, tendered in evidence the confessional statements of the convict as well as findings from the investigation. He, therefore, prayed the court to convict him as charged and also sentence him accordingly.

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Economy

VFD Grows 2024 Earnings by 84.45% on Strategic Investments, Divestments

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VFD-Group

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Nigerian financial services provider VFD Group Plc impressed its shareholders with an 84.45 per cent improvement in its gross earnings in the 2024 fiscal year after making strategic investments in financial services, fintech, asset management, real estate, logistics, and capital markets.

In the financial statements released to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, the company recorded N83.21 billion as gross earnings in FY 2024, higher than the N45.11 billion achieved in FY 2023.

It was observed that investment and similar income accounted for 85.54 per cent of the gross earnings with N71.17 billion versus N34.28 billion a year earlier, indicating a 107.62 per cent growth.

VFD attributed this to incomes from divestments, interest income from treasury activities, loans, advances and placements, and dividend income.

Further analysis of the results revealed that other income contributed 11.24 per cent to the gross earnings in the period under review with N9.35 billion compared with the N7.16 billion recorded in the preceding financial year.

This was majorly impacted by income from logistics and hospitality businesses, fair value gain on Investment property, and foreign exchange gains.

Business Post reports that the decision of the management to increase the staff strength to meet the increased level of business activities as well as salaries review to retain the staff raised the total expenses in the year by 49.49 per cent to N19.75 billion from N13.21 billion in the previous year.

A look at this line item showed that personnel expenses gulp 23.24 per cent of the total expenses after taking N4.59 billion versus N3.39 billion in FY 2023.

The organisation ended the year with a net profit of N10.41 billion compared with about N750 million in the preceding year after a payment of N2.05 billion as taxes versus N270.00 million a year earlier.

“In 2024, the group demonstrated a robust financial performance, underscoring the effectiveness of our investment strategy and the resilience of our business model.

“Strategic investments and divestments drove a significant increase in earnings and profitability during the year.

“We reinforced financial resilience, expanded our investment portfolio, and strengthened our governance framework, all while embracing digital innovation,” the chief executive, Mr Nonso Okpala, stated.

“Looking ahead to 2025, we are committed to capitalizing on emerging opportunities across Africa and the Western World, while consistently delivering long-term value for our shareholders, leveraging innovation, strategic partnerships, and disciplined execution to sustain our market leadership,” he added.

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Economy

OTC Exchange Records 2.1% Expansion in Sixth Trading Week of 2025

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NASD OTC exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned to the green territory in Week 6 of 2025 after it closed higher by 2.1 per cent last week.

This increased the portfolios of investors by N37.43 billion to leave the market capitalisation of the OTC exchange at N1.804 trillion compared with the N1.766 trillion it closed a week earlier and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 0.46 per cent or 66.06 points to settle at 3,184.87 points, in contrast to the previous week’s 3,118.81 points.

In the week, the volume of equities transacted in the sixth trading week of the year shrank by 73.3 per cent to 31.3 million units from 117.0 million units, the value of securities traded slumped by 75.6 per cent to N53.2 million from N217.8 million.

Afriland Properties Plc ended the week as the most active stock by value with N12.1 million, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc recorded N10.7 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc traded N7.5 million, Geo-Fluids Plc posted N6.0 million, and 11 Plc recorded N5.1 million.

IGI Plc was also the most traded instrument by volume with 27.2 million units, Geo-Fluids Plc transacted 1.33 million units, Afriland Properties Plc traded 0.722 million, Food Concepts Plc exchanged 0.496 million units, and Mixta Real Estate Plc posted 0.375 million units.

Okitipupa Plc gained 33.0 per cent to end at N93.90 per unit versus N70.13 per unit, Mixta Real Estate Plc appreciated by 20.9 per cent to N3.42 per share from N2.83 per share, Food Concepts Plc grew by 14.6 per cent to N1.65 per unit from N1.44 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc soared by 10.6 per cent to N24.00 per share from N21.74 per share.

In addition, UBN Property Plc rose by 9.9 per cent to N2.22 per unit from N2.02 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc advanced by 4.6 per cent to N17.00 per share from N16.25 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc surged by 2.8 per cent to N40.10 per unit from N39.01 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 2.7 per cent to end at N4.54 per share versus N4.42 per share.

On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc depreciated 10 per cent to N7.92 per unit from N8.80 per unit, Acorn Petroleum Plc dropped 8.7 per cent to finish at N1.26 per share versus N1.38 per share, IGI Plc plunged by 4.8 per cent to 40 Kobo per unit from 42 Kobo per unit, and 11 Plc moderated by 1.2 per cent to N253.00 per share from N256.00 per share.

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