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Capital Importation Rises By 26%, Hits $2.19bn In Q4 -DMO …Says Govt Borrowings Not Bad
The value of capital importation into Nigeria increased by 26.35per cent to hit $2.19billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to new data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In its ‘Nigerian Capital Importation’ report released, yesterday, the NBS disclosed that capital importation increased from $1.73billion in the third quarter of 2021 to $2.19billion in Q4, 2021.
It said, “The total value of capital importation into Nigeria in the fourth quarter of 2021 stood at $2.19billion from $1.73billion in the preceding quarter showing an increase of 26.35per cent.
“When compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020, capital importation increased by 109.28per cent from $1.05billion. The largest amount of capital importation by type was received through other investment, which accounted for 54.24per cent ($1.19billion).
“This was followed by Portfolio Investment with 29.39per cent ($642.87million) and Foreign Direct Investment amounted to 16.38per cent ($358.23million) of total capital imported in Q4 2021.”
The NBS added that the tanning sector attracted the highest inflow with $645.59million, 29.51per cent of total inflow.
Lagos attracted the most investment, with 90.66per cent ($1.98billion) of total investment flowing to the state.
It said, “Disaggregated by Sectors, capital importation into tanning had the highest inflow of $645.59million amounting to 29.51per cent of total capital imported in the fourth quarter of 2021.
“This was followed by capital imported into the production sector, valued at $360.06million (16.46per cent) and the electrical sector with $325.55million (14.88per cent). Capital Importation by country of origin reveals that Mauritius ranked top as source of capital imported into Nigeria in Q4 of 2021 with a value of $611.45million, accounting for 27.95per cent.
“This was followed by the United States of America and the Republic of South Africa valued at $321.03million (14.67per cent) and $285.83million (13.07per cent) respectively. By destination of investment, Lagos State remained the top destination in Q4 2021 with $1.98billion accounting for 90.66per cent of total capital investment in Nigeria.
“This was followed by investment into Abuja, valued at $170.55million (7.80per cent). Categorisation of total capital investment by the bank shows that Eco Bank Plc ranked highest in Q4 2021 with $708.58million (32.39per cent). This was followed by Stanbic IBTC Bank with $453.82million (20.74per cent) and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc with 284.60million (13.01per cent).”
Similarly, the Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, has said borrowings by countries to finance budget deficits and critical infrastructure is not necessarily a bad idea.
The DG disclosed this in an interview with newsmen, yesterday, in Lagos, while speaking during an awareness programme on security issuance organised by the Debt Management Office (DMO).
According to her, government borrowings were done by all countries across the world, mostly to finance critical infrastructure, the multiplier effects of which could not be overemphasised.
Oniha reckoned that successive Nigerian governments have had to recourse to borrowing to fund budget deficits, adding that annual budgets would be affected if funds were not raised to support them.
“The issue of debt has become topical in Nigeria that sometimes it almost looks as if borrowing is an offence or a crime. The first thing we must understand is that countries across the world borrow, be it poor countries, advanced countries, developed countries, emerging markets, they all borrow.
“We usually hear complaints that debt levels are rising in Nigeria. Globally, debt levels are rising – not just in Nigeria,” she remarked, stressing that the advent of COVID-19 had also made borrowing imperative for many countries, regardless of size, population, or economic growth.
“What has happened with COVID-19 is that countries needed to spend more, not only on health needs but on social needs as well, because we need to take care of the people who are losing their jobs. We need to create incentives for the private sector to continue operating in order to avoid a big recession because most countries experienced (recession).
“We did as well, but we came out of it after two quarters. Government spending is one of the tools you can use properly to exit a recession,” she affirmed.
The DMO boss clearly made a case for the Federal Republic of Nigeria with regards to financing budget deficits, financing specific projects and services like railways, roads, airports, et al., opining that infrastructural financing is in “itself an economy”, capable of creating enormous jobs across all sectors in the country.
“We also borrow to finance maturing loan obligations like the Federal Government of Nigeria bonds and Nigeria Treasury Bills,” Oniha said, observing, however, certain statutory norms regulating government’s borrowings at various levels and guarding against fiscal impropriety arising from the process.
“The Fiscal Responsibility Act states that borrowing should be for capital purposes and for human capital development.
“The DMO Act is also clear, especially on external borrowings. No arm of government can borrow on its own. It has to conform with those provisions and pass through the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly,” the DG spotted.
Recently, some stakeholders in Nigeria have raised a stink over the country’s rising debt profile, with some sending strong notes of an ‘impending storm’, as food prices soar even annoyingly higher to the chagrin of the masses, whilst the nation keeps lumbering to meet its local demand for food, staggered by inadequacies, insecurities and most recently the Russia-Ukraine global crisis, which had led to a surge in food prices in most parts of the world.
The DMO had earlier revealed that the country’s total debt stock as of December, 2021, was pegged at a whopping N39.55trillion, ratiocinated to hit N45trillion 2022, just as the government planned to borrow an additional N6.39trillion to finance the 2022 budget deficit.
Oniha had explained that the overall deficit in the 2022 budget was N6.30trillion, representing 3.46per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
She observed that the budget deficit was to be financed mainly by borrowings from both domestic and foreign sources including privatisation proceeds.
“About N2.57trillion will come from domestic sources; N2.57trillion from foreign sources; N1.16trillion from multilateral and bilateral loan drawdowns, and N90.7billion from privatisation proceeds,’’ she revealed.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.