Business

FG Submits 38 Agencies’ Budgets To Senate

Published

8 years ago

July 22, 2016

The submission of 38 agencies’ budgets to the Senate was in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, an official of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning has said.
The official, Mr James Akpandem, Media Adviser to the minister, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, gave the explanation in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.
Akpandem recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday sent 2016 budget proposal of the 38 agencies to the Senate for consideration.
The agencies are NAN, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bureau of Public Enterprises, National Agencies for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and Nigerian Shippers Council.
The list also contained National Maritime Authority, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, National Sugar Development Council, Nigerian Postal Service and Nigerian Ports Authority and Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, among others.
He explained that the process was part of measures to correct the irregularities in budget processes and also to ensure effective implementation of 2016 budget.
“The one that was sent before was the Budget of the Country; but the one sent recently is the Budget of Agencies.
“These agencies are what we call self-generating agencies.
“They have their Boards and laws governing their operations. These agencies prepare their budgets and pass them through their respective governing boards.
“They are self-funding, that is, their activities are not funded from the budget of the country,’’ the official said.
Akpandem said that their budgets were supposed to go alongside the budget of the country to the National Assembly, but over the years this had not happened.
He said that the development had been there over the years, adding that some members of the National Assembly, subsequently, drew the attention of the President to the anomaly.
“This was because the President insisted that things must be done properly by all government agencies.
“The president then ordered that all budgets must pass through due process.
“The affected Departments and Agencies were therefore ordered to submit their budgets through the appropriate channels and get them properly approved,’’ he said.
He, however, said that revenue from these agencies had been captured in the revenue segment of the 2016 budget of the country and profits from their activities were retained in the account of government.
In addition, he confirmed to journalists that monies had been released for ongoing capital projects in various fields.
He also said that money had been released for new projects that had gone through the necessary procurement processes.
The official said that only very few new projects had gone through due process.
According to him, we still have up to April 2017 to implement the 2016 budget going by the 2016 Appropriation Act.
“As already pointed out by key actors of this government, the pace of implementation of the 2016 will greatly depend on revenue receipts.
“The revenue receipts have not been very favourable for some months now for very obvious reasons; but economic indicators in the last few weeks show that the trend is being gradually reversed.
“For instance, the inflation level which was high in June is not something that would last. It will go down drastically towards the end of the year.
“The high rate experienced in the past few months was triggered by exchange rate movements and once the exchange rate stabilises, it will go down.
“What we are experiencing right now is a one-off inflation, it cannot get worse; it is usually triggered by some forces, and once the trigger is down, the rate goes down also.
“When it left single digit into second digit, it was triggered largely by the drop in crude oil price in the global market,’’ Akpandem said.

Business

Fuel Scarcity: IPMAN threatens shutdown over bridging claims

Published

5 days ago

May 3, 2024

The Tide

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Depot Chairmen Forum, has exonerated its members from the current fuel scarcity in the country.

According to IPMAN, this is caused by its inability to source petroleum products.

The IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum also threatened to withdraw its services over non-payment of N200 billion bridging claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to its members, since 2022.

Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the Chairman, of the Forum said this while briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday.

Alhassan said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) was the sole importer of the product, but the marketers could not source products from NNPC Ltd. deport, rather from the private depots at high rate.

“We cannot buy fuel from the private depots at N950 and transport the product from Lagos to the North and other parts of the country with N2 million and still sell it at N900 or N1, 000.

“It is expedient for us to state that we are more pained by the non-availability of petroleum products in the country, which has given rise to another round of untold hardship for Nigerians.

“Contrary to claims that IPMAN members are hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel, we would like to categorically state that PMS scarcity is wholly triggered by inability to get fuel from NNPC and not IPMAN,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Ltd. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said the disruption was due to logistical issues which had since been resolved.

“We currently have an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days. Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.

“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.

“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximise profits. Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain,’’ Soneye said.

He however, said the lines would clear out soon.

On the non-payment of bridging claims, the IPMAN forum said it was distressed and depressed by the laidback attitude of the NMDPRA towards the survival its member’s businesses, arising from its refusal in paying the claims.

“It is with deep frustration that we have assembled here today as the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum. It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down businesses and retrenched employees.

“As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running on a daily basis across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in order to serve the teeming population of Nigerians,’’ Alhassan said.

He recalled that Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), at a stakeholders meeting in February mandated the NMDPRA management to clear the entire debt in 40 days.

“However, today, we have crossed the 40 days’ time lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13 billion has been paid, ignoring minister’s directive.

“We are not happy with the indiscriminate increment in the issuance and renewal of Sales and Storage Licence, by the NMDPRA, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the licence, which our members are recently subjected to.

“We are also calling on President Bola Tinubu to look into this unwholesome figure which is highly detrimental to our business and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses.

“We are poised to take far reaching decisions that may cripple the supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria if our demands are not met within the shortest period of time.

“We are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, shut down every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met, and the consequences will be terrible.

“We call on our members to however remain resolute and law abiding, even as we draw close to the immediate ultimatum for our demands to be met by the NMDPRA,’’ the chairman said.

Reacting to the IPMAN’s claims, the Acting Head, Corporate Communications, NMDPRA, Seiyefa Osanebi said the bridging claims payment was ongoing.

“The bridging claims payment is always an ongoing process,” she said.

Maritime

Shippers’ Council Registers 160 Port Operators

Published

1 week ago

April 29, 2024

The Tide

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) says it has registered 160 Port stakeholders into its Regulated Port Service Provider and Users platform since the initiative began in 2023.
Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, made the disclosure on the sideline of a sensitisation programme by the commission for port operators in Lagos, with the theme, “Regulated Port Service Provider and Users”.
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, Akutah emphasised the significance of the programme for stakeholders.
He said the sensitisation programme was the second edition after its commencement during the last quarter of 2023.
The Secretary said the 160 registered port operators consist of agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, individual port users as well as service providers.
“We invited the ports stakeholders for enlightening them on the processes for online registration of Regulated Port Service Provider and Users.
“We have demonstrated to them how to register and how to make payment and we were able to present before them the various categories of the registration.
“The rate of payment is also in the registration. The payment of each group depends on the operation. A shipper pays N30,000, terminal operators and shipping companies pay N300,000, truckers also pay N30,000, while some pay N50,000 and N100,000.
“The Council was able to intimate them on the benefits, because port users benefit more as we help to interface on reducing port charges from time to time”, Akutah said.
He said that there was a need to continue to work with port operators to stop delays and eliminate high costs to make the port efficient.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Stakeholders, Service, NSC, Mr Celestine Akujobi, said “the sensitisation exercise was important for the council to enable us bring all the port stakeholders together”.
According to him, this is to avoid challenges during the implementation of the council’s responsibilities.
“By the time we introduce sanctions on defaulters, no operators will complain that he or she is not aware of the registration.
“I’m happy with the turnout of this sensitisation. This shows that the operators are well informed of the statutory friction of the council as the port regulator.
“The final implementation will commence as soon as we discover that all the operators have keyed into the portal.
“We are engaging other ports across the country and we’re hopeful that before the last quater of 2024, the council will implement sanctions on defaulting operators”, Akujobi said.
Earlier, Vice Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwards (NAGAFF), Dr Ifeanyi Emoh, said port challenges were enormous, adding that they originated from some of the government agencies.

Emoh urged the council to look into regulating other government agencies, so that there could be a window through which they can collect port charges collectively instead of indiscriminately.

By: Chinedu Wosu