Economy
RMAFC to Review Revenue Allocation Formula After 29 Years
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) will submit a review of the revenue allocation formula to the Presidency by the end of the year.
Chairman of the commission, Mr Elias Mbam, confirmed this in Abuja, noting that President Muhammadu Buhari would have the new sharing pattern soon.
Mr Mbam said the review was one of the major responsibilities of the agency as it was last done in 1992, which was about 29 years ago.
He said that according to the constitution, the formula, which has been accepted as an act of the National Assembly, would remain in force for a period of not less than five years.
He, however, said that several attempts to review the formula had failed.
Mr Mbam said: “Proposal for new Revenue Allocation Formula for the three tiers of government (Federal, State and Local Governments) was first made by the Commission in August 2001.
“But the recommendation was withdrawn due to the compelling verdict of the Judgment of the Supreme Court on suit No. SC 28/2001 of April 5, 2002, which recognised the beneficiaries of the federation account as Federal, State and Local Governments.
“In December 2002, another proposal for a new Revenue Allocation Formula was presented to the then President, Federal Republic of Nigeria. That Formula got to the verge of being passed, but again, the bill lapsed with the expiration of the tenure of the then National Assembly in May 2003.
“Furthermore, in 2003, attempts were made by the National Assembly to reconsider the Revenue Formula bill initially submitted, but the efforts were not successful.
“However, an addendum to the original report was prepared and resubmitted to the National assembly in September 2004.
“The proposed Revenue Allocation Formula passed through several processes both in the senate and especially at the House of Representatives, where a public hearing was conducted in 2006 on the subject. Yet, the Formula could not see the light of the day.
“Similarly, the commission in 2014, made a concerted effort to review the Formula. All necessary processes required of the commission were concluded. However, the final process was inconclusive.”
The chairman said the process of sensitisation to the review of the revenue allocation formula had begun.
“The review of the revenue allocation formula will involve the following activities: a literature review of Revenue Allocation in Nigeria dating back to the pre-independent period.
“Study of fiscal matters relating to revenue allocation; invitation to memoranda from the Public sectors, individuals and private sectors across the country to allow for wider coverage.
“Visitation to the 36 states and 774 Local Government Areas to sensitise and obtain inputs from stakeholders.
“Wide range consultations with major stakeholders including leaders and elder statesmen; public hearing in all the Geo-political zones; and administering of questionnaires,” he said.
He also explained that the commission had begun sensitisation visits to states and local governments as part of the review process.
He stressed that the objective of the sensitisation was to enlighten major stakeholders to the need to fully participate, make relevant inputs and submit memoranda to the process of the review.
He said the commission had carried out the literature review on Revenue Allocation Formula in Nigeria dating back to the pre-colonial period, adding that the commission had advertised for submission of memoranda in the national dailies.
“Wide range consultation with major stakeholders is also in progress.
“I want to reiterate that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission is highly determined to produce within the shortest time possible, a new revenue sharing formula that will be fair, just and equitable to the three tiers of government.
“The commission has programmed to complete its review process by the end of 2021,” he said.
Economy
Stock Market Grows 0.79% as Investors Buy Guinness Nigeria, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
It was a good day for the stock market in Nigeria as it appreciated by 0.79 per cent on Friday to bring the year-to-date return to 0.66 per cent.
This was influenced by renewed interest across most of the sectors of the market, though the insurance index declined by 2.15 per cent when trading activities ended for the session.
Business Post reports that the banking counter appreciated by 1.97 per cent, the consumer goods space grew by 0.70 per cent, the industrial goods sector gained 0.09 per cent, and the energy counter closed flat.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 810.26 points to 103,598.46 points from the preceding day’s 102,788.20 points and the market capitalisation by N497 billion to N63.645 trillion from Thursday’s N63.148 trillion.
Chellaram was the biggest price gainer on Friday after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to trade at N4.07, Guinness Nigeria also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N77.00, SCOA Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N3.96, Transcorp Power jumped by 7.96 per cent to N349.80, and Lasaco Assurance went up by 7.19 per cent to N3.28.
Conversely, Neimeth was the biggest price loser as it shed 9.88 per cent to N3.10, John Holt declined by 9.78 per cent to N8.30, International Energy Insurance depleted by 9.74 per cent to N1.76, Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 9.40 per cent to N1.06, and Austin Laz lost 9.00 per cent to close at N1.82.
As for the activity chart, a total of 576.4 million stocks valued at N9.0 billion in 11,546 deals compared with the 394.4 million stocks worth N22.8 billion traded in 12,160 deals in the preceding session, indicating a rise in the trading volume by 46.15 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 60.53 per cent and 5.05 per cent.
Secure Electronic Technology was the busiest equity with 202.2 million units worth N151.8 million, Nigerian Breweries traded 42.1 million units valued at N1.3 billion, Japaul exchanged 34.6 million units for N79.7 million, Access Holdings sold 32.2 million units valued at N807.0 million, and Sovereign Trust Insurance traded 17.0 million units worth N18.3 million.
Economy
Nigeria’s OTC Exchange Jumps 0.42%
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.42 per cent gain on Friday, January 24 after three equities ended on the advancers’ chart at the close of business.
Nipco Plc gained N15.01 during the trading day to close at N165.11 per share versus N150.10 per share of the preceding session, Okitipupa Plc added N4.79 to end the session at N52.69 per unit compared with Thursday’s trading value of N47.90 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc expanded by 80 Kobo to trade at N24.00 per share, in contrast to the N23.30 per share it was sold a day earlier.
The gains recorded by these stocks pushed the value of the bourse higher by NN7.41 billion to N1.775 trillion from the N1.767 trillion recorded in the preceding session and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) grew by 6.93 points to wrap the session at 3,133.20 points compared with 3,120.13 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went down by 92 Kobo to end the session at N38.58 per share, in contrast to the previous day’s N39.50 per share.
The volume of securities traded in the session decreased on Friday by 95.9 per cent to 16.3 million units from 407.4 million units, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 97.4 per cent to N10.2 million from N391.2 million units, and the number of deals declined by 23.3 per cent to 23 deals from 30 deals.
Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.3 million units valued at N170.4 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.3 million.
Impresit Bakolori Plc was also the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 26.3 million units sold for N6.3 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.2 million units valued at N44.3 million.
Economy
Naira Appreciates to N1,531/$1 at NAFEM, N1,660/$1 at Parallel Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its recent gaining spree by 1.12 per cent or N17.39 on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, January 24.
Yesterday, the local currency was traded in the official market at N1,531.20/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s value of N1,548.59/$1.
The recent appreciation aligns with expectations that the Naira will appreciate in the first quarter of the year, backed by continued policy support by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the latest being the launch of the FX Code due next week to enhance transparency in the market.
Also, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on the last trading day of the week by N8.97 to quote at N1,903.24/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,912.21/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N8.72 to finish at N1,605.17/€1 versus the preceding day’s N1,613.89/€1.
In the same vein, the domestic currency appreciated against the American Dollar in the parallel market yesterday to sell for N1,660/$1 compared with the N1,665/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the cryptocurrency market, there was profit-taking following earlier euphoria around US President Donald Trump’s ambitious “Stargate Project” announcement, which is a $500 billion commitment to enhancing the US AI infrastructure.
Crypto commentators believe this signals a shift toward reduced oversight with the pledge unveiled on Tuesday, bringing together tech giants OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank with an initial commitment of $100 billion, scaling to $500 billion over four years.
Solana (SOL) dipped by 4.9 per cent to trade at $247.14, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 2.8 per cent to $3,290.29, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 2.4 per cent to $0.3488, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 2.1 per cent to $0.9763.
Further, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.9 per cent to $3.11, Binance Coin (BNB) shrank by 0.7 per cent to $687.71, and Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.6 per cent to $104,369.28, while Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.9 per cent to $121.63, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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