Business
FG, States, LGAs Share N4.55trn In Nine Months
The Federal Government, states and local government authorities shared a total of N4.55 trillion between January and September this year as disbursements from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
According to the latest quarterly report of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), released in Abuja on Wednesday, out of the N4.55 trillion that was shared in the review period, N1.76 trillion was disbursed in the third quarter as against the N1.38 trillion and N1.41trillion shared in the second and first quarters of the year, respectively.
It also showed that between January and September, the Federal Government received the highest allocation of N1.85 trillion, followed by state governments with N1.51trillion and the 774 local governments with N913.8 billion.
The sum of N271.78 billion went to the Department of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria Customs Service and the Federal Inland Revenue Service as costs of revenue collection.
Further analysis showed that the revenues shared to the federating units were higher in the third quarter, a situation that has been the pattern for some years now.
For instance, while the Federal Government got N549.41billion in the second quarter of 2017, the third quarter figure was N752.79 billion, an increase of 37.02 per cent. The trend was the same for the states and local governments, as they received N586.58billion and N363.98billion in the third quarter as against N467.13billion and N280.42billion in the second quarter, respectively.
The report noted that the percentage increases between the two quarters for the two tiers of government were 25.57 per cent and 29.8 per cent.
It attributed the reason for the increases in FAAC disbursements to the three tiers of government in the third quarter to the positive developments in the oil sector occasioned by resurgent crude prices and increased production levels.
The NEITI quarterly review report based its analysis on data obtained from FAAC, the National Bureau of Statistics, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation.
The report stated that the “upward trend in the FAAC disbursements to the three tiers of government are encouraging signs, which if sustained, will improve government expenditures, help to boost economic activities and move the country further away from recession.”
The report also stated that Nigeria’s revenue in the first half of 2017 was about 49 per cent lower than the budgeted figures.
It stated that while the government projected N5.368trillion revenue inflow in its 2017 fiscal framework for the first six months of the year, the actual inflow was N2.712trillion.
The government’s half-year projections were N2.67trillion for oil and N2.7trillion for non-oil revenues, but the actual revenue fell short of projections.
“Actual oil revenue was N1.587trillion, representing a shortfall of N1.079trillion, implying a 40.4 per cent underperformance. Non-oil revenue fared slightly worse, as only 41.6 per cent of the projected revenue was realised. Actual non-oil revenue totalled N1.125 trillion, indicating a shortfall of N1.575 trillion,” the report stated.
It pointed out that while the government projected that the non-oil sector would outperform the oil sector, the latter performed better by as much as 41 per cent in revenue generation, raking in N1.587 trillion as against N1.125 trillion for the non-oil sector.
Figures for the three tiers of government were no different. The Federal Government had hoped for N2.542 trillion revenue flow for the first half of the year, but the actual revenue was N1.497 trillion.
A breakdown of the inflows showed that the oil sector accounted for a larger part of the shortfall, with a 60 per cent drop, while the non-oil sector underperformed by 49 per cent.
“Budgeted half-year inflow from the oil sector was N1.061 trillion but actual oil inflow to the Federal Government was N414 billion. The Federal Government’s budget estimated half-year non-oil revenue inflow at N705 billion, but realised only N352 billion, indicating a 49 per cent shortfall,” the NEITI report stated.
FG sacks trade fair complex concessionaire
The Federal Government has sacked the concessionaire in charge of the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex over non-remittance of lease fees totalling N6 billion.
As stated in the termination letter issued by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), the concessionaire, Aulic Nigeria Limited, had breached the agreement it signed in 2007 with the Federal Government.
According to the letter, the illegalities perpetrated over the years by the concessionaire vary from the non-remittance of the lease fees to the alleged eviction of the management board from the administrative building, among others.
The letter stated that the NCP terminated the concession agreement on August 23, but took some time to implement the decision due to logistics and security reasons.
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had on November 20, issued a directive that the concessionaire be evicted from the complex and this was smoothly carried out.
According to the termination letter, the management board, headed by the Executive Director, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Mrs. Lucy Ajayi, was directed to take possession of the complex from the concessionaire.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Ajayi said the board would now be able to perform its statutory function and move the complex to greater heights.
Ajayi, while addressing the shop owners, assured them that they were in an era of new change, stating that the management board would do its best to ensure that their interests were taken into consideration.
“I want to thank you all for your perseverance and endurance during those trying periods. I use this medium to assure you that all those injustices meted out to you in time past are over,” she said.
The Chairman, Stakeholders Forum, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Mr. Jude Okeke, described the takeover by the management board as a re-birth for the complex.
According to him, by design, the management board is supposed to be the landlord of the complex, overseeing all the activities within and around it.
“We have been in the wilderness for a long time and this has caused a lot of losses in financial, trade and other aspects,” Okeke stated.
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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