Nation
Nigeria’s External Debt Hits $5bn
Nigeria’s external debt was five billion dollars (about N750 billion) at the end of 2009, World Bank Managing Director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.
Okonjo-Iweala said the Federal Government also carried a domestic debt burden of N3.23 trillion(21.8 billion dollars) during the period.
The former Nigerian finance minister made the information known at a lecture on the 24th and 25th convocation ceremony of the University of Calabar, on Thursday.
She said Nigeria’s external debt profile was 3.5 billion dollars in 2006 and attributed the rise in external debt to “the pace of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.
“In April 2006, Nigeria paid off the last instalment due on its debt settlement agreement with the Paris Club, thereby erasing 30 billion dollars in external debt and reducing government external debt to 3.5 billion dollars.”
Similarly, the former finance minister said the current Federal Government’s domestic debt virtually doubled from about N1.7 trillion (13.6 billion dollars) at the end of 2006.
She said the country’s debt portfolio was apprehensive, adding that the situation was worsened by the realisation that about 20 per cent of the domestic indebtedness was held by foreigners.
For the internal debt, she said one of the bad sides was that banks and other financial intermediaries would prefer to invest in “safe” government bonds than make “risky” loans available to the corporate sector.
She deplored the government’s practice of sharing the Excess Crude proceeds, saying the action negated the essence of the establishment of the account.
She expressed regret that a total of 20.1billion dollars which was available in the Excess Crude Account at the end of 2008 had, by the end of 2009, dropped to 7.8 billion dollars.
Okonjo-Iweala described the sharing habit as reckless and advocated the investment of the excess crude proceeds in the agriculture and power sectors to grow the economy.
She noted that some states and even the Federal Government could not account for expenditure of the funds and urged the public to strive always to be abreast with government expenditure.
”You must know how much the states get every month and how they spend it,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
She urged students to take up the challenge and begin to enquire into government income and expenditure as it was the right of every citizen to know everything about government.
Nation
Rivers Deputy Governor Hails PH City One Love For Humanitarian Gesture
Rivers state Deputy Governor Professor Ngozi Nma Odu has commended “The Port Harcourt City One Love,”a Port Harcourt based humanitarian orgnisation For it’s commitment towards alleviating the sufferings of the poor and vulnerable in the society.
Professor Ngozi Nma Odu said this while speaking at this year’s edition of “operation feed the needy” a yearly outreach program of “The Port Harcourt City One Love ” in Port Harcourt.
The Deputy Governor said by feeding more than sixty thousands hungry people within the past six years, the Port Harcourt City One Love Movement has distinguished itself as a club that cares for the less privilege in the society.
She commended the , organization for listing eleven thousand persons to be fed in the current exercise.
Meanwhile The Port Harcourt City One Love has planned a permanent solution to the problem of feeding the poor in the state.
The leader of the group Mr Idaere Gogo Ogan who said this in an interview with newsmen during the distribution of food items to the poor and vulnerables in Port Harcourt said the organization is planning a permanent food kitchen where poor and vulnerable persons can work in anytime and get fed.
Idaere Gogo Ogan said more than sixty thousands poor and vulnerable persons across Port Harcourt City and environs have been fed since the inception of “The operation feed the needy” program six years ago,adding that so far sixty thousands poor and vulnerable persons have beneffited.
He described the group as a platform to promote friendship, brotherhood, community development empathy and feeding the less privilege and hungry people
“That’s what we are doing today here,so we started the exercise six years ago”.he said.
Ogan said the effort was a private sector driven initiative but added “it also involves people in Government because the platform does not recognize any division,we bring everybody together in unity , friendship and brotherhood”he said.
He said the effort will go along way in alleviating hunger especially following the prevailing hunger in the country.
According to him “you know the country is very tough, people are hungry people are starving, there is a whole lot of economic hardship,so for us, this is just our own way of reaching out, our own social contribution to what is very difficult”he said.
Over eleven thousand persons were fed in the just concluded exercise.
Areas of coverage include, Isaac Boro park, Port Harcourt prison/Macoba, Borokiri/Enugu waterside Bundu areas Waterlines and others.
Some of the beneficiaries including an 80 years old widow commended the movement for the annual programm and urged other organizations to emulate them
John Bibor,/Esuuk Oyet/Suotor Memoye /Jeremiah Hannah
Nation
We’ll Partner Private Sector to Industrialize Rivers State – Fubara …Hints Revitalization of Ahoada, Trans Amadi Industrial layout
Nation
SheVentures Open Zero-interest Loan Applications for Women Entrepreneurs
“Inclusive growth requires access to capital and the right conditions for businesses to deploy that capital effectively. Women-led enterprises are critical to economic activity, yet they face structural barriers.
“This intervention aims to help close that gap by providing financing that supports job creation, business expansion, and long-term sustainability for women entrepreneurs”, Edun said.
Group Head, SheVentures and Impact Segments at First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Nnenna Jacob-Ogogo said access to affordable finance remains a major constraint for women entrepreneurs.
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