Economy
Senate Vows To Probe Nigeria’s Economic Crisis
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has revealed steps to be taken by the red chamber of the National Assembly to tackle economic crisis in Nigeria immediately they resume from recess next week.
Mr Saraki, while addressing newsmen on Monday in Kwara State, stated that the time for identifying the cause of the economic recession and those responsible was over and that all political leaders should start working together to find a solution.
He said upon resumption, the Senate would call everyone involved in the management of the economy to address the Nigerian people through the parliament on the steps being taken to get the country out of the mess.
According to the Senate President, they will interrogate what happened to the measures aimed at cushioning the effect of the recession built into the 2016 budget and why they have not been implemented.
Mr Saraki reiterated his call for a broader and bolder economic plan with input from both legislative and executive arms of government, the private sector, professional groups.
All the groups, he said, must work together to put in place interventions that will create more jobs, strengthen the Naira, bring more investment into the country, and diversify the economy.
He said the Senate will respond to the economic crisis with a number of measures which include getting managers of the economy to give account to the people, making tough recommendations to the President on needed changes, formulating necessary legislative framework for economic recovery and wide consultations across the private sector.
Mr Saraki, who served as a Special Assistant to the President on Budget Matters during the Obasanjo administration and Chairman of Governors Forum said, “We are going to have an exhaustive and comprehensive debate on fixing the country’s economy when we resume next week. We understand the pains that Nigerians are feeling and we do not take this for granted.
“Additionally, the Senate intends to invite everybody involved in the management of the economy to address the Nigerian people through the parliament on the steps that are being taken to get us out of this mess. We fully intend to hold all those involved in the economic management of the country accountable – However, we will do so in a manner that is transparent and there will be no cover-up. We will make tough recommendations as necessary.”
Continuing, the Senate President stressed that, “We need to know why the promises of external borrowing has not materialised, why devaluation has not helped to strengthen the Naira, why inflow of foreign currency has continued to dry up and interest rate is still very high.
“Doing this will help us to understand where we are, so that we can determine where exactly we want to go from here.
“In every crisis, there is always an opportunity for positive reforms, in this regard, in order to solve this crisis, all hands must be on deck. Ideas should be sourced from all quarters. All arms of government, people of different political beliefs, from all socio-economic backgrounds and every part of Nigeria must work together at this time.”
He said all political leaders should be worried about the suffering that the ordinary people are going through and that it is necessary for leaders to further empathise with the people. He commended the people for their perseverance and understanding.
While calling on the people to exercise patience and know that political leaders are genuinely concerned about their plight, Mr Saraki said: “The positive attitude demonstrated by our people during the Eid-el-Kabir festival gave me hope that we in the leadership of the country should move swiftly to tackle this economic crisis. We have no option and this we must do without delay. I commend and praise our people for their perseverance and understanding.”
Mr Saraki also appealed to newsmen and women around the country to play a more positive role in reporting on issues that are important to the development of the country, highlighting that the fourth estate has to work harder to inform the public based on facts.
“I want to use this opportunity to advise those politicians who specialise in causing division between the executive and legislature for their personal benefit to know that this is not the right time for them to ply their trade. We need all arms and levels of government to work together with the people because we are in an economic emergency and all hands must be on deck”, he said.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira improved against the United States Dollar by 0.2 per cent or N3.23 at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, April 17, trading at N1,599.93/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,603.16/$1.
Also, the local currency appreciated against the British Pound Sterling in the spot market during the trading day by N1.73 to finish at N2,120.24/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing value of N2,121.97/£1 and gained 48 Kobo against the Euro to settle at N1,817.69/€1, in contrast to the N1,818.17/€1 it was exchanged in the midweek session.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the US Dollar yesterday at N1,620/$1.
The Nigerian Naira has been volatile this week despite moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen the domestic currency, which is facing forex pressures.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bearish on Thursday amid reports that President Donald Trump of the United States has been privately discussing firing US Federal Reserve chairman, Mr Jerome Powell, raising concerns about market stability and central bank independence.
Mr Powell had earlier criticized Mr Trump’s tariffs policy, saying that it would likely result in a slowing economy and rising prices —otherwise known as “stagflation.”
In his remarks, Mr Powell made clear his larger focus for now would be on prices, suggesting tighter central bank policy than otherwise thought.
President Trump, who nominated the Federal Reserve’s chairman during his first term and was given a second four-year term by President Joe Biden has expressed his displeasure with Mr Powell since retaking the White House.
Mr Powell, though, who is set to remain at the helm of the US central bank until May 2026, has repeatedly stated his determination to finish his term and suggested the president has no standing to fire him.
Ripple (XRP) slumped by 1.8 per cent to $2.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 1.7 per cent to $0.1544, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.5 per cent to close at $1,579.44, Cardano (ADA) went down by 1.2 per cent to $0.6133, Bitcoin (BTC) dipped by 0.4 per cent to $84,471.19, Solana (SOL) slid by 0.3 per cent to $134.00, and Litecoin (LTC) declined by 0.2 per cent to $75.26.
However, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 0.8 per cent to trade at $587.78, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil went up by more than 3 per cent on Thursday, supported by hopes for a trade deal between the United States and the European Union and new US sanctions to curb Iranian oil exports, which continued to elevate supply concerns.
During the session, Brent crude futures gained $2.11 or 3.2 per cent to sell at $67.96 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures appreciated by $2.21 or 3.54 per cent to close at $64.68 a barrel.
For the week, both Brent and WTI gained 5 per cent, their first weekly gain in three weeks. Thursday is the last settlement day of the week ahead of the Easter holidays.
US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met in the US and expressed optimism about resolving trade tensions that have strained US-European relations.
President Trump said he was 100 per cent certain of an eventual trade deal with Europe, the most confidence he has expressed on those negotiations since rattling world markets with his tariff announcements.
“Of course there will be a trade deal, very much. They want to make one very much. And we are going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it. And it will be a fair deal,” he said.
The 27-nation European Union faces 25 per cent import tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars, and broader tariffs on almost all other goods under President Trump’s policy to hit countries he says impose high barriers to US imports.
The American President has offered to make trade deals with as many nations as possible to limit the impact of the tariffs.
Also supporting prices are sanctions issued by Trump’s administration on Wednesday, including against a China-based oil refinery, ramp up pressure on Iran amid talks on the country’s nuclear programme.
The US also issued additional sanctions on several companies and vessels it said were responsible for facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China as part of Iran’s shadow fleet.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, has also provided updates and reassurance to the market, stating that they remain in control with flexibility to cut production if needed.
The cartel said on Wednesday it had received updated plans for Iraq, Kazakhstan and other countries to make further output cuts to compensate for pumping above quotas.
Worries remain as OPEC, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and several banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, cut forecasts on oil prices and demand growth this week over tariffs and possible retaliation.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The amount shared by the federal government, the 36 state governments and the 774 local government areas of the federation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in April 2025 from the revenue generated last month declined by N100 billion, Business Post reports.
This month, FAAC disbursed about N1.578 trillion to the three tiers of government, lower than the N1.678 billion distributed in March 2025.
In a communiqué by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Bawa Mokwa, it was stated that the N1.578 trillion comprised statutory revenue of N931.325 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N593.750 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N24.971 billion, and an Exchange Difference revenue of N28.711 billion.
The money was shared after deducting N85.376 billion as cost of collection and N747.180 billion as total transfers, interventions and refunds from the total gross revenue of N2.411 trillion generated by the nation last month.
It was explained that gross statutory revenue of N1.718 trillion was received for March 2025 versus N1.653 trillion received in February 2025, and gross revenue of N637.618 billion was available from VAT compared with N654.456 billion a month earlier.
As for the distribution of the N1.578 trillion, FAAC said it gave the federal government N528.696 billion, the states N530.448 billion, the local councils N387.002 billion, and the benefiting states N132.611 billion as 13 per cent of mineral revenue.
It disclosed that on the N931.325 billion statutory revenue, the federal government received N422.485 billion, the state governments got N214.290 billion, the LGAs were given N165.209 billion, and the oil-producing states went away with N129.341 billion.
Further, from the N593.750 billion VAT revenue, the national government got N89.063 billion, the state governments received N296.875 billion, and the local councils got N207.813 billion.
In addition, from the N24.971 billion EMTL, the central government was given N3.746 billion, the state governments got N12.485 billion, and LGAs shared N8.740 billion.
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