Business
Late Passage Of Budget Worries NACCIMA
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.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.