Business
RMAFC Faults Nigeria’s Budgeting Processes, Practices
The Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr Hamman Tukur has faulted the current budgeting processes and practices in the country.
Tukur said this in his presentation at the 12th Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Abuja on Friday.
He said that the faulty processes had contributed to the under-development of the country as well as its economic woes over the years.
Tukur said it had become necessary to review the budgeting procedures and practices in order to achieve efficiency in both the preparation and implementation of budgets for the overall accelerated development of the economy and the nation at large.
According to him, any keen observer of the budgeting practices by all tiers of government from 1999 to date will have been concerned by certain practices and procedures.
The chairman also blame the recurring disputes between the legislative and the executive arm of government in respect of preparation, approval and implementation of annual budgets on faulty processes.
Tukur noted that “the critical issue is that these practices, procedures and disputes have impacted negatively on the country’s economy.
“For too long, the abundance of natural resources in the country rather than being used to stimulate growth and development, have not only become a source of economic instability but have also resulted in mismanagement and corruption.
“Today, Nigeria cannot match its pace of growth and development with that of Botswana which has used its natural wealth to help diversify the economy and invest through prioritised budgetary sectoral allocation in health, education, agriculture and solid minerals.”
Tukur expressed worry that in spite of our penchant for well articulated budgetary ideas and the huge amount of financial outlay, the country’s budget implementation had been a record of intangible performance and waste of resources.
He said that a good budget must have realistic revenue projections, linkage of resource availability with expenditure plans, focus on project priorities and time frame, such as short term, medium term, long term and rolling.
Tukur said that the success of any budget and its subsequent implementation depended largely on adequate consultations, discussions and cooperation between the two arms of government, the executive and the legislature.
He said in Nigeria, the expected executive-legislative understanding and linkage was lacking and as a result, most Nigerians believed that the dividends of budgeting might take a long time to be felt by the citizenry.
This, he said, was due to the numerous controversies and impasse that had trailed federal and state budgets under the democratic dispensation.
Canvassing the adoption of international best practices in the budgeting processes, Tukur said some practices must be discontinued as the two arms of government must work in harmony in accordance with constitutional provisions.
He said there should be an enactment of a budget law that would clearly set the time frame for each process and stage of the budgeting process.
Such law, Tukur said, would equally define the roles of stakeholders to the budgeting process.
He said that government at all levels should endeavour to prepare budgets that were realistic, concise, achievable and implementable based on well projected revenue estimates for the fiscal year.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in partnership with a firm, Sweetcrude Ltd., has announced detailed selection criteria for the inaugural “Champions of Nigerian Content Awards”, designed to honor outstanding contributions to local content development in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The Tide learnt that the event, scheduled to hold 21st May, 2025, at the NCDMB’S content tower headquarters in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State, will recognize individuals and organizations that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing Nigerian Content in 2024.
The Tide further gathered that the ceremony will coincide with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF), which promises to spotlighting industry excellence and contributions to national economic transformation.
A statement by the Board’s Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination says the event has 12 Award Categories, which include, “Nigerian Content Icon of the Year”, “Nigerian Content Lifetime Achievement Award”, “Nigerian Content International Upstream Operator of the year”, and the “Nigerian Content Independent Upstream Operator of the year”.
Others are, “Nigerian Content Midstream Operator of the year”, “Nigerian Content Downstream Operator of the year”, “Nigerian Content International Service Company of the year”, Nigerian Content Indigenous Service Company of the year”, and the “Nigerian Content Innovator of the year”.
Also included are, “Nigerian Content Financial Services Provider of the year”, “Nigerian Content Media Organization of the year”, and “Women in Leadership Award for Promoting Gender Equality and Empowerment”.
According to the NCDMB, the criteria for oil and gas operators will include key and empirical benchmarks such as Production output for crude oil and gas volumes, Compliance with Nigerian Content Plans (NCPs) and Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCCs).
Other criteria are adherence to NOGICD Act reporting requirements, such as submission of Nigerian Content Performance Reports and Employment & Training Plans.
The Board’s statement added that similar criteria will apply to financial institutions, media organizations, and individuals, ensuring a transparent and merit-based selection process.
“Winners for the Nigerian Content Icon of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Women in Leadership Award will also be selected based on measurable performance indicators.
“The Advisory Committee of Industry Titans will Oversee the process to uphold the prestige of awards. The Committee consist of distinguished experts set up to oversee nominations and validate winners”, the NCDMB said.
Members of the committee, according to the Board, include: Pioneer Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Dr. Ernest Nwapa; Secretary-General, African Petroleum Producers Organization, Dr. Omar Farouk; and former Zonal Operations Controller, DPR, Mr. Woke Akinyosoye.
The Statement quoted the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, as emphasizing that the awards aim to becoming the oil and gas sector’s equivalent of the Oscars, celebrating genuine impact rather than mere participation.
“This recognition is reserved for those who have gone beyond compliance to drive tangible growth in Nigerian Content.
“With a focus on credibility, compliance, and measurable impact, the Champions of Nigerian Content Awards is poised to set a new standard for excellence in Nigeria’s energy sector”, the NCDMB Executive Scribe said.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Nigeria’s apex Banking institution, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has declared that Federal Government’s debt servicing increased to N696billion in January 2025.
The CBN’s recently published Economic Report revealed a precarious fiscal position, which worsened in January 2025 as debt servicing obligations exceeded total retained revenue by a wide margin.
According to the report, the Federal Government’s debt servicing obligations for the month stood at N696.27bn, while total retained revenue amounted to only N483.47bn, indicating that debt service alone consumed about 144 per cent of all government earnings.
This development highlights the growing debt burden and dwindling fiscal space facing Africa’s largest economy.
According to the report, despite slight improvements in some revenue categories, the retained earnings were grossly inadequate to cover obligatory debt repayments, exposing the government’s continued reliance on borrowing to meet basic obligations.
The report further revealed that retained revenue in January 2025 only recorded a marginal 0.89 per cent increase when compared with the N479.21bn generated in the corresponding month of 2024.
”FGN retained revenue declined in the review period, owing largely to lower receipts from Federal Government Independent Revenue and FGN’s share of exchange gain.
“At N0.48tn, provisional FGN retained revenue was 69.19 and 70.40 per cent below the levels recorded in the preceding period and monthly target, respectively”, it revealed.
While this points to stagnation rather than growth, the marginal rise was wiped out by the overwhelming debt service obligations.
The retained revenue components showed that the Federation Account contributed N167.69bn, while the VAT Pool Account delivered N90.73bn.
By: Corlins Walter
The Federal Government has announced plans to commence the payment of the outstanding N35,000 wage award arrears owed workers in the Federal Civil Service.
A statement issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), which was signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Bawa Mokwa, said the outstanding arrears will be paid in instalments, with workers set to receive N35,000 per month for five months.
It clarified that the first tranche of the wage award arrears would be released immediately after the April salary payment.
“The wage award arrears was not paid with the April 2025 salary; it will come immediately after the salary is paid”, the statement read.
The Federal Government had earlier disbursed wage awards to federal workers for five months as part of efforts to cushion the impact of economic reforms. However, five months’ arrears remained unpaid.
The AGF office further reiterated the government’s commitment to fully implementing all policies and agreements relating to staff remuneration and welfare, noting that such efforts were geared towards enhancing productivity and operational efficiency across ministries, departments, and agencies.
The N35,000 wage award was introduced in 2023 as a palliative measure to support workers following the removal of the petrol subsidy and other economic adjustments.
In January this year, the Federal Government assured workers that it would clear the arrears of the N35,000 wage award, just as it also said the government had resumed the payment of the wage award.
The government also reiterated its commitment to addressing issues in the National Minimum Wage agreement reached with the Organised Labour in 2023.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, had disclosed the government’s commitment towards implementing agreements with trade unions during separate meetings with the leadership of the Trade Union Congress and Congress of University Academics, in Abuja.
The Nigeria Labour Congress had criticised the Federal Government over the delay in the payment of the minimum wage for certain workers in the federal civil service.
Also, the Federal Government had earlier blamed the delay in payment on the prolonged approval of the 2025 budget.
By: Corlins Walter