Business
Nigeria Earns N5.5 Trillion In Eight Months
Nigeria earned N5.5 trillion from mineral and non-mineral
revenue between January and August, a data from the Federation Accounts
Allocations Committee (FAAC), said.
The figures obtained in Abuja showed that the country
recorded the highest revenue of N825.39 billion in July.
Out of the total amount generated so far in 2012, a total of
N1.5 trillion was recorded to have been lodged into the Excess Crude Account
(ECA) between January and August.
A portion of the revenues above the benchmark oil price are
saved while the remaining revenue is distributed among the federal, state, and
local governments according to a set formula.
Reports say that records from the FAAC during the months
under review however contained only information on lodgments into the excess
crude account and not withdrawals made from it.
We recall that on Sept. 14, the accountant-general had announced
that the balance in the ECA was 8.03 billion dollars, following lodgment of
N124 billion into the account in August.
Similarly on Aug. 15, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr
Yerima Ngama told reporters that one billion dollars was withdrawn from the
account for distribution among the federal, states and local governments “to
execute some on-going projects.’’
A breakdown of the country’s revenue in the month of July
showed that mineral revenue accounted for N646.47 billion while the non-mineral
revenue amounted to N178.92 billion.
In other months, FAAC recorded N666.32 for January, N766.77
in February, 726.77 in March and N626.17 for the month of April.
Also, a total of N586.91billion was credited to the national
treasury in May, N763.55 billion in June and N564.88 billion for the month of
August.
Notably, the country recorded its least revenue of
N564.88billion in the month of August, compared with figures recorded in the
months of May, April and January, respectively.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation,
headed by Mr Jonah Otunla, computes the figures and also distributes monthly
revenue from the Federation Accounts to the three tiers of government.
The office attributed the shortfall in oil revenue to
decline in production, poor sales and strikes embarked on by Labour unions in
January.
For instance in the month of January, the office reported a
shortfall in revenue from N892.7 billion recorded in December 2011 to N666.32
billion in January 2012.
The one-week nationwide strike called by the Nigeria Labour
Congress and Trade Union Congress because of the removal of fuel subsidy by the
Federal Government was partly responsible for the drop in revenue, the office
said.
The figures from FAAC also recorded that N142.19 billion was
transferred to Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) between
April and August.
It will be recalled that on September 21, Dr Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Finance announced that the Federal Government
had so far disbursed N30 billion for projects under SURE-P, out of N180 billion
appropriated for Federal Government projects in the programme.
Since April, the FAAC had transferred the sum of N35.54
billion to SURE-P for distribution to the three tiers of government.
SURE-P was initiated early in 2012 following the partial
removal of subsidy on petroleum products.
Federal Government’s share of the subsidy removal money is
being reinvested in healthcare, public transportation, vocational training and
key infrastructure projects.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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