Business

Late Passage Of Budget Worries NACCIMA

Published

13 years ago

November 30, 2009

Nigeria Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has urged the Federal Government to evolve a new budget strategy that would govern the budgetary process and define the roles of the key players in the preparation, Presentation and approval of the budgets.

Under this arrangement, the budget should be ready for Implementation by January of each ensuing year to drive business activities and investment in the economy. This, the association says, is to enable the private sector operators whose business plans and projects are directly dependent on the policies and provision in the federal government annual budgets to plan for each year.

As has been the case over the years since the beginning of the current democratic dispensation, the 2009 budget was not signed into law until the tail end of the first quarter in March 2009.

“Experience from the budgeting process since the beginning of the current democratic dispensation underscores the need for Nigeria to evolve a viable and efficient budgeting procedures” said, Simon Okolo, President of the association.

This to NACCIMA is definitely unacceptable to the Private Sector Operators whose business plans and projects are directly dependent on the policies and provisions in the Federal Government Annual Budgets.

It is a known fact that the passage into law of the Appropriation Bill and assent of the budget every year is of serious concern to business community, as it drives business activities and investment in the economy.

While proffering solution to the perennial late passage of budget, the NACCIMA president said for effective implementation of budgets, Government should ensure that the Economic Policy Coordinating and implementation committee continue to consult with the organised private sector on quarterly basis and on proposed policy changes in the course of any budget year.

There is the need for government to ensure that the budget monitoring committee under the Ministry of Finance should not exclude the organised private sector seasoned and tested personality.

“The need for quarterly, half-yearly and full year publication of budget Implementation reports as a veritable way of ensuring transparency and accountability in government budget implementation has often been emphasized.”

The Association counseled that necessary measures for good budget review which will adequately capture and take care of policy shocks, non-performance of certain projects, short fals, and surpluses generated etc. in the reports should be put in place.

This, he said would remove doubts and restore high confidence in the minds of Nigerians and the business community on the ability of Government to demonstrate political will and sincerity to programme implementation.

Government should therefore evolve a new budget process strategy that would govern the budgetary process and define the roles of the key players in the preparation, presentation and approval of annual National Budgets, with a clear time frame, he said.

“The question in the minds of Nigerians, especially we in the private sector is: what has been done with this money and what can government show for the amount it realised as against its expectation.”

We should note that the real and social sectors comprising Agriculture and Water Resources, Education, Power and Energy, Health, Manufacturing, Solid Minerals among others are yet to experience any significant improvements.

Business

Navy Destroys 14 Illegal Refineries, Confiscates N2.7bn Refined Products

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2022

The Tide

Troops of the Nigerian Navy conducting Operation “Dakatar Da Barawo” confiscated crude oil and other illegally refined products worth N2.7billion in June.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Director of Information, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan in Abuja.
“The various NN platforms deployed for ‘Operation Dakatar Da Barawo, Calm Waters 11’ and Tripartite Joint Border Patrol, have continued to sustain aggressive patrols to curb the menace of crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering.
“Accordingly, several Illegal Refining Sites (IRS), metal storage tanks, wooden boats, dugout pits and ovens were destroyed between June 13 and June 19”.
He said five suspects were and the operatives destroyed 14 Illegal refining sites.
The Navy also said that 80 storage tanks, 22 wooden boats, 40 ovens, two-speed boats, a tanker, truck, barge and a Toyota Sienna car were recovered during the various operations during the period.
Similarly, Navy ship VICTORY in Cross River intercepted and impounded three wooden boats laden with drums of suspected illegally Refined Petrol (PMS) around Ikang channel, suspected to be transported to Cameroon.
However, the Navy said, the boats, as well as the products, were taken into custody.
Ayo-Vaughan said,”Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny in Rivers” also intercepted two wooden boats laden with about 400,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil at Iwokiri.
The wooden boats and products, he said, were destroyed.
Similarly, he said, the Navy ship SOROH in Bayelsa intercepted a wooden boat laden with about 60,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO.
Subsequently, the boat and contents, he added was destroyed.

Business

FAAC: Federal, States, LGs Share N680.780bn May Revenue Allocation

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2022

The Tide

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared May 2022 Federation Revenue Allocation to the federal, states and local government councils to the tune of N680.783billion.
This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of June 2022 FAAC meeting held in Abuja.
According to the communiqué, the N680.783billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N385.004billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N198.512billion and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N97.267billion.
In May, 2022, the total deductions for cost of collection were N36.996billion and total deductions for transfers and refunds were N186.672billion.
The balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was $35.377million.
The communiqué confirmed that from the total distributable revenue of N680.783billion; the Federal Government received N229.563billion, the state governments received N241.824billion and the local government councils received N175.942billion.
The sum of N33.454billion was shared to the relevant states as 13percent derivation revenue.
Gross statutory revenue of N589.952billion was received for the month of May, 2022.
This was lower than the N635.037billion received in the previous month by N45.085billion.
From the N385.004billion distributable statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N185.197billion, the state governments received N93.934billion and the local government councils received N72.419billion.
The sum of N33.454billion was shared to the relevant states as 13percent derivation revenue.
In the month of May, 2022, the gross revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) was N213.179billion.
This was higher than the N178.825billion available in the month of April, 2022 by N34.354billion.
From the N198.512billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N29.777billion, the state governments received N99.256billion and the local government councils received N69.479billion.
The Federal Government received N14.590billion; the state governments received N48.634billion and the local government councils received N34.043billion from the N97.267billion Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL).
According to the communiqué, in the month of May, 2022, Companies Income Tax (CIT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) recorded considerable increases, Import Duty increased marginally while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Excise Duties decreased marginally.
Oil and Gas Royalties decreased significantly.

Business

FG Hands Over Licences To 57 Marginal Oil Field Investors, ‘Morrow

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2022

The Tide

The Federal Government has announced that the successful investors in Nigeria’s 57 marginal oil fields for the 2022 bid round would get their various Petroleum Prospecting Licences, tomorrow.
On May 31, 2021, the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) issued letters of award to investors for the production of crude oil from 57 marginal fields.
Last January, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced that a total of 128 awardees emerged as successful bidders in the bid round and had made complete and part payments for signature bonuses in the oil fields.
It also disclosed at the time that 33 awardees did not make payments during the 45 days window given to successful bidders to pay the required signature bonuses for the oil fields and as such had lost their awards to suitably qualified reserve bidders.
Providing updates on the bid round in Abuja, last Saturday, the Chief Executive, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, announced that the successful awardees would get their licences by Tuesday.
He said, “In fulfillment of the promise made early this year, the NUPRC will on Tuesday in Abuja, issue Petroleum Prospecting Licences to successful awardees of marginal fields in the 2020 bid round, pursuant to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
“It will also unveil the implementation template for the host communities’ development trust for commencement of the provisions under Section 235 of the PIA, 2021, to positively impact against restiveness in the host communities.”
Komolafe said implementing the development trust would guarantee seamless operations, boost investors’ confidence and provide enabling environment for sustainable improvement of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.
“These will mark the conclusion of some of the most urgent and critical tasks inherited by the commission when it was inaugurated in October, 2021, after the signing into law of the PIA 2021,” he stated.
The commission had in March this year informed all participants in the 2020 marginal field bid round programme that it had put all necessary machinery in place to progress the bid round exercise to conclusion in line with the PIA 2021.
In furtherance of that resolution, the commission constituted an in-house work team to distill and address the concerns of awardees with a view to close out issues affecting multiple awardees per asset and formation of Special Purpose Vehicles by awardees in line with the respective letters of award.
“Awardees were therefore enjoined to avail themselves of the resolution mechanism provided by the commission in the overriding national interest,” Komolafe stated.
He added, “The successful coordination and resolution of the issues culminated in the emergence of the successful awardees that would be handed over licences on Tuesday.”