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Showing posts with label Finance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Finance. Show all posts

Sunday, 2 February 2020

How we withdraw and spend dead people's money - Bank manager




No one is praying to die unexpectedly but the obvious truth is that people die unexpectedly everyday.

 As you leave your house, it's only God that knows whether you will make it home alive or not. We are not praying for the worst but we need to let at least one person in our family especially wife or children to know all the secrets of our bank accounts, ATM pins and everything they need to know in order to withdraw money from our accounts in case something happens.

*Read the confession and warnings of a bank manager.* After reading this, share to your husband or wife or children of the assets and money you have in bank accounts. Wives also inform your husbands.
Please read the warnings of a female bank manager.....

While talking with a female bank manager she made a scary revelation to me. She told me how Nigerian bank vaults are filled with monies of dead men who kept their bank accounts secret from their wives.

She explained it was against bank ethics or policies for an account officer to inform the relatives of a deceased customer of his account (without his permission). And since the man is dead without giving his permission the bank dubiously keeps silence on the money. She told me it is rampant among many businessmen, even the Christians. She revealed many instances of dead men whose families are still suffering even though they have millions stashed in their secret accounts.
She mentioned one that happened few months back. The man died and the wife was crying all over the place, looking for money to bury him or even do his funeral. Whereas the man had nothing less than 60 million naira in his accounts. The banker said it got to a stage that she could no longer bear it, her conscience was pummelling her.

She had to go against her bank rules, and got in contact with the widow and revealed to the woman how much her husband had in his accounts and how to claim them. She also told of another story of one man who escaped death but his right hand was paralysed.

He couldn't sign his chequebook with his left hand and he was in a desperate situation that needed him to sign papers and cheques. That was how he learnt his own lesson the hard way. As soon as he got better, he immediately made his wife co-signatory to all his accounts and involved her in all his businesses. What if he had died? So, that was how his family would have suffered in the midst of plenty.
This stupid behaviour is not reserved for wealthy men alone, even paupers who earn little too have their own complex issues. I just read on the wall of an Igbo group where a man complained of how his friend refused to release his ATM Pin Number to his wife even though there was an emergency at home, and his ATM was at home.

Many orphans and widows that are suffering today are put in that condition by their uninformed dead father. Women and Retirees are not left out; someone told me how a relative of hers died and none of her relatives knew where all her properties scattered all over the world are.

Not even one house. Not even a dime in her accounts. If you knew billions unclaimed in banks belonging to selfish dead people, you would weep. Banks and Bankers grow fat on these oafs. Please do the needful now that you still have the breath to do so, of course tomorrow is pregnant and only God knows what it will deliver. A word is enough for the wise daddy and mummy.

Thank u.

Monday, 22 July 2019

Cross River State under Ayade hasn’t borrowed a dime - CNPP




The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) says contrary to claims in a social media report, the Cross River State government under Governor Ben Ayade has not taken a single loan between 2015 and now.
The CNPP in a statement in Calabar, the Cross River state capital, said it has taken the pains to verify the veracity or otherwise of the allegation against Ayade and in the process made mind boggling discovery.
The statement signed by Castro Ezama, state publicity Secretary of CNPP said its visit to the Debt Management Office was an eye opener.
"Our visit to the Debt Management Office, Ministry Of Finance and Security and Exchange Commission shows clearly that Gov. Ayade can't borrow because our State is insolvent", the statement said.

Wednesday, 26 June 2019

FG to raise VAT to 7.5% by 2020, says ex-finance Minister Zainab



The former Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamshuna Ahmed, has said the Federal Government has plans to raise value-added tax to 7.5% by 2020 from the present 5%.

The former minister made this known on Tuesday during a Bloomberg Television interview, during the two days Bloomberg Emerging + Frontier Forum 2019 at Bloomberg's European headquarters in London.

This, she said, would help the federal government improve revenue generation.

VAT is a type of consumption tax placed on a product at every stage of processing/value addition. The cost is usually paid by the consumer.

She said, “We have developed a strategic revenue growth initiative, which we have started implementing.”

“Our target is to increase revenue to 65 per cent minimum in 2019 so that in the next three years, we are able to attain 80-85 per cent of our revenue target.

“We are looking at adding value-added tax from 5% to 7.5%. 5% is one of the lowest VAT globally. The increase will not be done overnight but hopefully, by the next budget (2020), the new increase will take effect.

“We recently increased the minimum wage and one of the agreements we had with labour was that there would be some marginal increase on VAT to enable us to handle the incremental cost of increasing wages.”

Speaking on the new cabinet to be put together by President Muhammadu Buhari, Ahmed said she would like to be reappointed as minister of finance.

“The president is in the process of putting together a new cabinet. I have not had a discussion with him on whether I am coming back on the cabinet or not,” she said.

“I would like to go back to the cabinet in the same role to continue the work that we started.

“I was only there for nine months, I started a lot of initiatives that I would love to push.”

At the forum, the former minister also said the federal government plans to issue green bonds every year.

This, she said, would be used to finance environmentally sustainable projects.

Wednesday, 22 May 2019

Excess Oil Revenue: CBN warns govt against ‘spending spree’

Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

With crude oil price rising steadily above benchmark level approved in the 2019 budget, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday warned the federal government against embarking on a spending spree. It urged the government to begin to save for the rainy day.
In its communique at the end of its two-day meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, the committee asked the federal government to urgently build financial buffers through a more realistic crude oil price benchmark in its budget.
“The crude oil benchmark in the 2019 budget is $60 per barrel at 2.3 million barrels per day output level. Now that price is almost at $70 per barrel, what the MPC is saying is that there is no need for government to say it should begin to spend since we have more money by increasing the budget benchmark from $60 per barrel to say $69 or $70.
“If the money is realised between $69 and $72, we should save and build buffer for the rainy day when it happens,” the committee said.
Also, the committee recommended a framework to speed up the recovery of delinquent loans in the banking system and open up access to credits to the real sector to boost growth of the economy.
The committee also called on the CBN to urgently establish modalities to promote consumer and mortgage lending in the economy to boost the flow of credit to the real sector and drive output growth.
Sustaining Growth
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the MPC noted the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report which showed the economy grew by 2.01 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 compared with 1.89 per cent in the corresponding quarters of 2018.
Driven largely by the non-oil sector, which grew by 2.47 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, against the contraction of the oil sector by 2.40 per cent during the period, the committee said real GDP is projected to grow by 2.34 and 2.36 per cent in the second and third quarters respectively.
The committee, however, observed that actual output in the economy remained below its potential. It urged the federal government to take steps to sustain the stability in the financial system; continue the special interventions in agriculture, manufacturing and small and medium enterprises sectors by the banks.
The committee emphasised the need to sustain efforts in improving transport infrastructure to address distribution challenges; continue expansion of business activities and increase supply of foreign exchange to growth-stimulating sectors of the economy.
To boost capacity for non-inflationary growth in the economy, the MPC stressed the need for increased credit delivery to the private sector as the main engine of growth.
The committee frowned at the poor flow of credit from the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to the private sector, urging the CBN to urgently take steps to curb the growing appetite of the banks to patronise other sectors.
Curbing Inflationary Pressure
The MPC called for a close monitoring of rising inflationary pressures in April 2019, driven largely by food shortages during the Easter season, the commencement of the planting season as well as persisting security challenges in some of the food producing regions of the country.
Urging the relevant authorities to strengthen efforts to address the security challenges and improve food production, the MPC encouraged financial intermediating institutions to ensure loans to the agricultural sector were channeled effectively to end users.
Noting moderating non-performing loan (NPL) ratios from about 19 per cent on the average a year or two ago, and from 15 to 17 per cent average to current level of about 10 per cent, the committee said it remained above the prudential benchmark of five per cent.
It expressed optimism that the steps to be taken by the CBN to support the banks through structured engagements in administrative, legal and regulatory framework to mitigate credit risks.
This, it said, will open up the credit delivery to the economy and bring the NPLs down to an acceptable level as well as encourage the DMBs to start lending money more ‘aggressively’ to sectors considered to be risky.
The committee called on the CBN to provide a mechanism to limit DMBs access to government securities, saying such unfettered access “was crowding out private sector lending.”
Curbing banks’ dealings on government securities, the MPC noted, would redirect lending focus to the private sector and spur the much needed growth in the economy.
It called on the government to use all machinery at its disposal to increase tax revenues to enable the government fund its budget adequately.

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

No More Paris Club Funds Bailout – Buhari Shocks State Governments



No More Paris Club Funds Bailout – Buhari Shocks State Governments
36 states of the federation have been told by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, on Monday, that  there would be no fresh  tranche of Paris Club refunds to be disbursed to them, as that had already been doled out to them in March this year.


While advising states not to salivate in anticipation of a fresh round of disbursements, the Minister explained that N691.560 billion Paris Club refund was shared to the states in March through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following a thorough verification exercise.

The Minister made the clarification following news making the rounds in the media that states will soon receive fresh disbursement of outstanding balance of the Paris Club debts.



She further clarified that N691.560 billion was doled out to the states by Ministry instead of N649.434 billion, adding that the disparity was due to exchange rate differentials at the point of payment.

“Instead of the total sum of N649.434 billion that was verified, a total of N691.560 billion was paid. The Minister also pointed to her address at the recent World Press Conference in Abuja, which reads thus; “For the final phase of the Paris Club debts refunds, the total sum of N649.434 billion was verified by the Ministry as the outstanding balance to be refunded to the State governments. The payments made by the CBN as at March 2019, is N691.560 billion. The increase in CBN payments partly arose from exchange rate differential at the point of payment”, she said in a statement.


Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said yesterday that the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.01 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the first quarter of 2019.

The NBS said this in its “Nigeria GDP Report for First Quarter 2019’’ released on Monday in Abuja.

According to the NBS, the figure is 0.12 per cent higher than the growth rate of 1.89 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2018.

It however, said the figure, relative to the fourth quarter 2018, showed a decline by -0.38 per cent points.

According to the bureau, the strong performance recorded in the quarter may be due to general elections held within the review period.It said the aggregate GDP stood at N31,79 million in nominal terms.

The bureau said the figure was higher than N28,43 million recorded in the first quarter of 2018, representing a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 11.80 per cent.

According to the NBS, the aggregate is however lower than the preceding quarter’s N35,23 million by -9.75 per cent. It said the nominal GDP growth rate in the first quarter was also higher than the rate recorded in the first quarter of 2018 by 2.54 per cent points

Tuesday, 14 May 2019

TSA transactions hit N30trn as countries copy Nigeria’s model



Federal Government transactions through the Treasury Single Account (TSA) now stands at over N30 trillion.

The coordinator of TSA in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Sylva Okolieaboh, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday while playing host to a Gambian delegation which is in Nigeria to understudy the implementation of the TSA.
His words, “If you start from 2012 when we started the TSA, and you look at the volume of transactions, I think you will be looking at something in the region of N30trillion. But like I said, that is in terms of transaction volume, not in terms of balances or anything, so we are looking at turnover. So the turnover should be over N30 trillion.

“When we started the full TSA implementation, sometime around March 2015, as at that time, a lot of people didn’t believe. We are very happy that as at today, what we are doing has attracted so much international attention. It is not only The Gambia, we are expecting Ethiopia in the next four weeks and then another country, maybe in the next six weeks and we are aware that the international community appreciates the strides we have made in implementing TSA in Nigeria.”

Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who also hosted the delegation in her office, said that the TSA has made the management of federal government funds much easier.
According to her, the account which is domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as the account holder, with the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as sub-account holders, runs on a Remita platform.

In his remarks, The Gambian High Commissioner to Nigeria, H.E Amedou Taal, urged concerted efforts by the two countries and other members of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, towards achieving a single currency in the sub-region.

According to him, a single currency in ECOWAS would facilitate trade and increase the movement of people and goods within the sub-region, a development he argued is critical to the advancement of the community.

“If we can achieve a single currency within ECOWAS, it will help us in terms of trade, the people to people relations as well as the movement of people, goods and services,” he said.

Monday, 13 May 2019

Alleged Missing 500billion: Frank Urges Senate Not To Confirm Emefiele as CBN Governor, wants explanation to leak Audio.


A political activist and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the Senate to withhold the confirmation of Mr. Godwin Emefiele for second term as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the leaked audio exposing missing N500 billion under his watch.
Frank said it will amount to disservice to the Nation if the red chamber go ahead on Emefiele’s confirmation without the public know how such a huge of amount of money disappeared from the treasury.

The Bayelsa born activist was reacting on Monday to an audio published on Sunday by an online medium, Sahara Reporters.
Frank said in recent times, the media has been been awashed with so many revelations concerning the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, ranging from the role he payed in the money ‘illegally‘ approved for a former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki to the recent revelation by Dr George Uboh-led Whistleblowers Network, where it was alleged that $2.5billion dissapered under his watch.

He said: “Emefiele must come clean on this audio as well as other issues as it bothers on alleged corrupt practices under his watch.

I am happy with the dispatch with which the CBN responded to the leaked audio conversation. However, I did not expect anything less than the denial. It is trite that ‘one can not be a judge in his own case’. Therefore, Let the relevant agencies of government as well as the National Assembly investigate these allegations with great in-depth.

“If the CBN is saying the beginning part of the conversation was omitted, can they provide Nigerians with the full and authentic audio conversation in the interest of transparency and good governance.
“I implore the CBN governor to defend these allegations by himself as he remains a public servant and therefore answerable to the Nigerian people. Anything short of this will amount to covering up.
“I hereby call on the Senate to stand for Nigeria as they have always done. The Senate must not play with the mandate of Nigerians by attempting to confirm Emefiele in the face of this damning allegations. Any attempt to do that will amount to the Senate being complicit on the matter.
“However, having stood firm in the non-confirmation of Ibrahim Magu of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), based on the report from a security agency, I have no doubt that the Senate will do the right thing in this instance.

“I also call on the EFCC to quickly act on these revelations as they have done in the case of Saraki, the president of the Senate by inviting Emefiele to explain his role in the leaked audio as well as other allegations against him that are now in public domain. If all these figures and amount is confirmed, it will be the mother of all corruption in recent times.
“I implore the EFCC to approach this particular case the same way they are approaching Saraki’s case. Where ,properties that were subject of litigation upto the Supreme Court level ( where Saraki was discharged and acquitted)is being investigated all over again.True to their words’Nobody is above the law as stated in Saraki’s case’. Please ,apply the same principle here.
Par-adventure, the EFCC fails to investigate the case at hand , it will become clear that the anti corruption war is merely a witch hunt on the opposition.
“Let me use this medium to call on the President and the Vice President in particular who is the habit of accusing the previous government of massive corruption to act swiftly on all these allegations and show that he is a true vanguard of anti corruption drive.

“II hope the President on his part,will not defend Emefiele as he did in the case of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State?

“I implore the President to withdraw Emefiele’s nomination to allow for an in-depth investigation of the allegations against the CBN boss.

“Nigerians and members of the international community are watching how this classical case of alleged corrupt practices will be handled.

“The Presidency, the Senate and all other relevant agencies must not play politics with this as it is capable of negatively affecting the economy and investors confidence,” Frank declared.

Signed:
Comrade Timi Frank
Political Activist and former APC’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary.
13/05/2019.

No Monies Missing, Stolen in Central Bank, Says Okorafor


The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last night said suggestion of fraud, in a purported audio recording of selective conversations among the Governor, Deputy Governor and some of its senior officials, is false and an attempt to mislead members of the public.
The central bank, in a statement by its Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, pointed out that contrary to the headline-grabbing narrative that the discussion was about a fraudulent transaction, “this conversation, the beginnings of which was omitted to create a different impression, was simply to proffer solutions to a misunderstanding that affected the bank’s balance sheet.”

Furthermore, the bank maintained that as publicly known, the CBN was approached in 2015 by the National Economic Management Team and the National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, to assist state governments with conditional budget support, in the aftermath of the significant nose-dive in global oil prices and associated Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations.

It explained that in order to ensure that ordinary Nigerian workers got their salaries, pensions and gratuities, and that the economy continued to recover from recession, the bank provided about N650 billion in loans at nine per cent, with a two-year grace period to 35 states of the federation.

These monies were distributed to the states monthly with documented approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the presidency.

It said: “In closing the bank’s 2018 accounts, external auditors in their draft account, erroneously classified about N150 billion of these loans as bad, which negatively affected the bank’s balance sheet and shareholders fund.

“The selective conversation being circulated was simply a discussion to ascertain why the auditors took that position and next steps to resolving it.”
Furthermore, it stated: “Obviously, it soon became clear that a state government loan cannot be classified as ‘bad’ or ‘irrecoverable’ when the state still exists and getting FAAC allocations.”

Owing to this, the bank stated that it then reached out to the Federal Ministry of Finance and they jointly gave comfort to the auditors, who accepted in writing that the monies would be repaid.
On this basis, the auditors reversed the negative entry and certified that the CBN’s 2018 accounts were a true reflection of the state of affairs.

It noted that reconciliation of balance sheet items are regular conversations among senior management of many agencies and should not be misconstrued as anything but that.

According to the CBN, “Had the online media which released the selective recordings sought the comments of CBN as required of journalism practice, we would have provided it.

“Clearly, those who listened to the audio can easily ascertain that the conversation had nothing to do with anything fraudulent as purported.” The bank, therefore, urged well-meaning Nigerians to disregard the “audio and continue to trust that the bank is doing everything it can to represent their interests in the best possible way.”

It insisted that under the leadership of Governor Godwin Emefiele, the CBN has always stood for, and vigorously pursued transparency in its stewardship of public resources and policies.

It added: “No monies are missing or stolen. The integrity of the CBN governor remains unassailable. He has no account in Dubai or anywhere in the world and would never convert the funds of CBN for personal use.
“Not in the past, not now and not ever. The use of selective wiretapped conversations of the bank’s management, to malign his character and integrity will never stand. The bank will pursue every legal means to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

N48bn Mismanaged in NSITF, Presidency Alleges

President Mohammadu Buhari


By editor

Omololu Ogunmade and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The presidency yesterday alleged that N48 billion of the N62 billion contributions to Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) was mismanaged by former members of the board between 2012 and 2015.

This is coming as President Muhammadu Buhari at the weekend appointed ex-labour leader, Chief Frank Kokori, as the Chairman of the board of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) to end festering feud between the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.

Buhari had initially appointed Kokori to chair the board of NSITF, but Ngige was not comfortable with Kokori’s appointment and consequently recommended Austin Enejamo-Isire to the president for approval to head the board.

Ngige said his decision to oppose Kokori’s appointment was in compliance with Section 4(a) of the NSITF Act, which he said prohibited the appointment of any person with interest in labour matters to chair the board.

A statement issued yesterday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari appointed Kokori to head the board, acting on the recommendation of Ngige.
Adesina who said Buhari had tremendous respect for Kokori, a staunch ex-labour leader, said Ngige would swear in members of the Governing Board of NSITF today (Monday) at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.

Kokori and the NLC have been at loggerheads with Ngige in the past few months over the vehement refusal of the minister to swear in the former Chairman of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) as the chairman of the board of NSITF .

The conflict climaxed last week when the NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, led protesters to picket the private residence of Ngige with two tankers deployed to block the entrance of his house.

However, Adesina who said the presidency condemned the action of the NLC, disclosed that efforts were currently being made to reconcile both the minister and the leaders of NLC, adding that prevalent corruption in NSITF from 2012 – 2015 led to the mismanagement of N48 billion out of the total N62 billion contributions during the period.

He said the face-off between NLC and Nigige over the appointment of the chairman of the board of NSITF necessitated explanations by the presidency.

“Following the disagreement between the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over the appointment of the chairman of the board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), the Presidency wishes to clarify as follows:

“That the NSITF is a hundred percent, Federal Government of Nigeria owned insurance parastatal, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, designed for the role of insuring workers (employees) in the public and private sectors. The organization is empowered by law to implement the Employee Compensation Act (ECA) 2010 with mandate to insure workers and pay them compensation for accidents, deaths and injuries in the course of work.

“The NSITF was bedevilled and riddled with corruption between 2012 – 2015, which resulted in a colossal loss and mismanagement of about N48 billion out of the total N62 billion contributions during the said period. These were contributions by the Employers – viz government and the private sector for payment of compensation to workers and even to Employers for loss of man-hours by their workers. This fraud has been investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the last Chairman and some members of the former board and some officials of the NSITF are presently being prosecuted by the EFCC.

“All actions taken by the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment towards the resuscitation and repositioning of this ailing agency, including the Administrative Panel of Inquiry into the affairs of NSITF and the suspension of the inauguration of the board in 2018 were part of the special work plan approved for the Honourable Minister by Mr. President.

“The appointment of the Chairman of this board, which is in consonance with Sec. 4(a) of the NSITF Act CAP N88 of 2004 was also approved by Mr. President since 23rd July, 2018 on the recommendation of the Hon. Minister. Mr. Austin Enejamo-Isire, a Chartered Accountant, Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and renowned Insurance expert, Senior Member, Chartered Institute of Insurance of Nigeria (CIIN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) was approved by Mr. President for this position. Also approved by Mr. President were the Managing Director and three Executive Directors who had assumed duties since 18 April 2017.

“Others also approved as Non-Executive Directors are two (2) members to represent the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), two members to represent the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and one (1) member each to represent the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Members of this board are to be formally inaugurated at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 13, 2019 by the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja,” he said.
NLC Vows to Go Ahead with Demonstration against Ngige

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said that it will go on with the planned protest in Abuja on Monday despite the explanation given by the Presidency on reasons for the delay in inuagurating the board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.

The President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba who spoke in a telephone interview yesterday said Monday’s protest will be to show labour’s displeasure over the alleged abridgement of worker’s right to picketing by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.

“The protest for tomorrow is essentially about Ngige’s trying to bridge the rights of workers to protest and also sending thugs to attack workers,” he said.

Wabba said the statement by the presidency expressing support for the Minister’s delay to inaugurate the NSITF’s board was coming late.

“It is most unfortunate, we expected that this response should have come earlier than now. In fact we would not have wasted our energy in fighting.

“So clearly speaking this is our position and it is very late and why should only this labour market institution now be singled out and also received such a treatment that everyone in one country or the other knows such a thing is going on.

“The issue has dragged on for two and half years. The response is certainly coming late. We aught to have known the position of government.

“But you know after two and half years it is coming late because these are the issues we have written severally, we have campaigned severally about it and in all our meetings, including the delegates conference, we have talked about it,” he said.

Wabba also disagreed with federal government’s position that NSITF is essentially a goverment-own establishment, saying the reason labour has two statutory members and NECA has two representatives on its board is because it is a labour market institution.

Friday, 3 May 2019

MINISTER OF FINANCE CHAIRS 3RD AU PEACE FUND BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING



…focuses on funding 3 cardinal activities of priority

As the third African Union (AU) Peace Fund Board of Trustees meeting which was held in Abuja on Thursday, Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, chairs the meeting following its crucial role in sustaining peace across the continent.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media and Communications, Paul Ella Abechi, where the thrust of the meeting was made known, which is to review core decision items for the Board, receive key updates on the Fund, amongst other objectives.

The statement also recalled that in March 2019 the Africa Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia appointed Mrs. Ahmed as Chairperson of Board of Trustees.

The statement reads in part, “The third AU Peace Fund Board of Trustees meeting is currently taking place in Abuja Nigeria; chaired by Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, the current Minister of Finance for Nigeria.

“The meeting is to review core decision items for the Board, receive key updates on the Fund amongst other objectives. It can be recalled that in March 2019 the Africa Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia appointed Mrs. Ahmed as Chairperson of Board of Trustees.”

According to the statement the board has five African members each representing a region and two Non African Members (United Nations and European Union) as International partners. The Minister of Finance is representing the Western African Sub-region in the Board.

It also added that “The Board of Trustees was established by the Assembly of the Africa Union in July 2016 to ensure strategic coherence, enhanced governance, and financial and administrative oversight of the Peace Fund.”

Meanwhile, the focus of the Fund for financing that would enhance peaceful co-existence in the continent includes three cardinal and priority activities.

“The Fund will finance three key priorities: mediation and preventive diplomacy activities, institutional capacity requirements, and peace support operations”, it said.

Saturday, 13 April 2019

World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting: Finance Minister Woo Global Investors To Nigeria

Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria Minister of Finance

The eagles voice||Admin

*…says ease of doing business has improved*

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed has assured global investors that Nigeria is ready for business as it has improved significantly the ease of doing business environment.

Minister stated this while wooing investors who attended the 2019 World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting in Washington DC, United States of America, assuring them of high returns in investment.

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications, Mr. Paul Ella Abechi, said the minister made the call while speaking during the “Corpoate Council on Africa (CCA) Investor Roundtable: A Conversation with Prospective Investors” in Washington DC.

The CCA conversation with prospective investors featured presentation on Nigeria’s 2019 economic outlook. The Minister of Budget and National Planning Senator Udoma Udo Udoma also attended the session.

She said Nigeria is driving reforms in several sectors which will potentially impact private investors positively.

“Nigeria’s Economic Recovery & Growth Plan targets investments in critical infrastructure & Human Capital Development, as well as enhance food security, foster industrialisation, create jobs & facilitate the ease of doing business” she said.

On restoring growth she explained that macroeconomic stability; & economic diversification (agriculture & food security; mining & minerals remains a priority for the government.

She noted that investing in the Nigerian people means social Inclusion, job creation; and youth empowerment.

She also said the FG is pursuing improved human capital development through qualitative & affordable healthcare; reformed education system.

Mrs. Ahmed Nigeria is also committed to building a globally competitive economy.

“We are building a globally competitive economy by investing in transportation & other critical Infrastructure (roads, rail ports & ICT / broadband networks); energy & power sufficiency” she said.

She also said Nigeria is also driving industriahzation and focusing on SMEs just as it is Improving ease of doing business improving the business environment; & promoting digitaI-Ied growth.

In 2019 and in line with the ERGP, we will continue to invest resources in achieving the following Fiscal priorities she said adding that enhancing Revenue Generation, Collection & Monitoring Fiscal Consolidation by Optimising Priority Capital & Recurrent Expenditure is key.

Optimising Management of both Domestic & Global Fiscal Risks increased Coordination of Fiscal, Macroeconomic, Monetary & Trade Policies Nigeria is open for business she noted.

She said Nigeria is actively seeking Investors to consolidate on the recent economic recovery plot a trajectory for diversified, sustainable & inclusive economic growth over the medium-term to Iong-term horizon.

She called for private sector support in solving the pervasive problem of revenue generation.

“Nigeria must mobilize significant resources to invest in human capital development and critical infrastructure. Given the low revenue to GDP ratio (currently at about 7%), we must pursue optimal revenue generation” she said.

“I would like to seize this opportunity to call on prospective Investors to support this administration in solving Nigeria’s revenue generation problem” the Minister emphasized.

She however warned that some reforms would be tough but are necessary based on the facts on the ground.

“Indeed, some reforms will be tough but it must be done if we will look at the facts and be frank to ourselves. However, we will engage the private sector in whatever we do, including any changes in taxes with regards to rates or administration methods” she assured adding that the FG “will have town hall meetings, stakeholder forums, etc. to discuss matters that will affect businesses.”

Thursday, 11 April 2019

Interesting: Kogi, Cross River, Enugu, 3 Other States sets To Benefit From $200m World Bank Agro Intervention



Governor Yahaya Bello’s Agricultural drive is getting worldwide help as Kogi, Lagos, Kano, Cross River, Kaduna and Enugu states are to profit from the 200 million {dollars} appeals undertaking of the World Bank Agro intervention.
The intervention is a part of measure which is geared toward enhancing agro-processing, productiveness and livelihood.

The undertaking is consistent with the Agricultural Promotion Policy which focuses on meals safety, native manufacturing, job creation and financial diversification.

the target of the undertaking is to reinforce agricultural productiveness of small and medium scale farmers and enhance worth addition alongside precedence worth chains which are Cashew, Cassava, Rice, and Maize for Kogi state.
” This might be achieved by supporting farmers’ productiveness and their linkage to markets”.



The intervention will facilitate agricultural merchandise and Cashew processing, facilitating farmers and small and medium companies’ clustering and connection to infrastructure community and enterprise providers.

This intervention undertaking targets 10,000 direct beneficiaries and 50, 000 oblique beneficiaries in Kogi state.
35 per cent of the beneficiaries might be ladies, whereas 5 – 10 of the beneficiaries might be people with disabilities.

Governor Yahaya Bello Agricultural Revolution in Kogi is yielding consequence.

Media Unit
Kogi State Government House.

Wednesday, 20 March 2019

Cross River Receives Low Federal Allocation in February



Office of the SSA to Governor Ayade on Mobilization and Enlightenment

March 20, 2019

Fiscal Federalism is a veritable tool for meeting public financial needs in a federation like Nigeria.

Several revenue allocation committees and formulae have been constituted and devised to come up with a suitable means of correcting the imbalances in the revenue Sharing. However, none has, over the years, meet the demands of Nigeria.

Among the general principles that govern revenue sharing in Nigeria, which include population, level of development, contribution to national income and derivation, the Federal Government of Nigeria seems to pay more attention to the principle of derivation.

The fact is apparent in the February, 2019 allocation which left Cross River State with a meagre N2.7biilion, second to the least of all the 36 states.

It is an established fact that 76 oil wells have been ceased from Cross River State, denying the state of revenues accruing from derivation. However, Cross River State cannot, among other states of the Federation, be adjudged the least in terms of other criteria.

Then, one is pushed to ask several questions in this regard. One of such questions is what has Cross River done to deserve this treatment? 

Governor Ayade has been putting his best to ensure that Cross State is not left behind in terms of development. He does not not owe salaries; he is building factories and has awarded several road projects which are under construction.

February Federal Allocation of all 36 States, and the woe of the South south states.

Breakdown of how much the 36 states received from the federal allocation for February;

1. Abia N4.3 billion
2. Adamawa N3.7 billion
3. *Akwa Ibom N17.2 billion*
4. Anambra N4.2 billion
5. Bauchi N4.2 billion
6. *Bayelsa N13.2 billion*
7. Benue N4.2 billion
8. Borno N4.8 billion
9. Cross River N2.7 billion
10. *Delta N17.4 billion*
11. Ebonyi N3.5 billion
12. Edo N5.7 billion
13. Ekiti N2.8 billion
14. Enugu N4.07 billion
15. Gombe N3.2 billion
16. Imo N3.9 billion
17. Jigawa N4.6 billion
18. Kaduna N5.3 billion
19. Kano N6.4 billion
20. Katsina N4.5 billion
21. Kebbi N4.1 billion
22. Kogi N4.03 billion
23. Kwara N3.4 billion
24. *Lagos N9.1 billion*
25. Nasarawa N3.6 billion
26. Niger N4.3 billion
27. Ogun N2.9 billion
28. Ondo N5.06 billion
29. Osun N1.5 billion
30. Oyo N4.5 billion
31. Plateau N3.3 billion
32. *Rivers N14.7 billion*
33. Sokoto N4.05 billion
34. Taraba N3.6 billion
35. Yobe N4.07 billion
36. Zamfara N2.9 billion

*Some things just have to be said. Our Niger Delta Govs are epitomy of failure, corruption and wickedness. Gombe, Nassarawa and Cross River are among the states receiving some of the lowest allocations when compared to what Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states are receiving. Now all the states listed above have similar overheads. What I don't understand is how Gombe, Nassarawa and Cross Rivers are able to meet their standard overheads and still manage to implement infrastructure projects worthy of notice. How is it that Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers just about manage to pay salaries and every other responsibilities expected of a govt are left unattended to and kicked into the long grass?

Delta State gets N17.4b, Gombe gets N3.2b. Gombe has done more with N3.2b.

Rivers gets N14.7b, Nassarawa gets N3.6b. Nassarawa has done more in the given time under review that Rivers have done with their allocations.

Bayelsa gets N13.2b while Cross River gets N2.7b. Cross River is light years ahead of Bayelsa in term of new projects.

Thursday, 19 July 2018

Illegal deductions: CBN returns N65bn to bank customerscustomers

Illegal deductions: CBN returns N65bn to bank customerscustomers

By Eje peter 
The Central Bank of Nigeria says it has recovered over N65bn from commercial banks in the country for wrongful deductions and charges from customers’ deposits and other transactions in the last six years.

The Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor, stated this on Wednesday on the sidelines of a two-day fair with the theme: ‘Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Development’ for stakeholders in Asaba, Delta State.

Okorafor explained that the recovery was made between 2012 and now, stressing that the funds had since been returned to customers, who hitherto complained of wrongful charges and deductions by commercial banks.

“We have recovered and returned to customers over N65bn out of complaints by people over acts of treatment on customers, wrong charges, wrong deductions and others since 2012/2013 when we started,” he said.

He stated that the purpose of the fair was to have a face to face interaction with customers and critical stakeholders in order to understand their challenges and proffer solutions.


Okorafor added that hawking of various denominations of the naira was an offence punishable under the CBN Act of 2005, and warned that the apex bank would not tolerate the breach of its Act, and called on those involved, particularly its staff members, to desist from the practice as they would be dismissed if caught.

He, however, blamed the police for the lack of prosecution of offenders who were caught hawking naira during various raids in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Ibadan and other cities.

He stated, “The CBN is very committed to making sure that people do not hawk the naira, because it is an offence punishable under the CBN Act of 2005. We have made it clear to any of our staff involved in the practice that they will be dismissed.

“We have also made it clear to banks that any of them caught doing it will be severely punished. We are a regulator and not a law enforcement agency. It is the duty of the Nigerian Police to enforce the law. We have collaborated with them at different times.


“We have had raids in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Ibadan and so on, and we will continue to do that, and people have been caught and money confiscated. We are waiting on the police to begin to  prosecute those people.”

(TEVB)

Friday, 16 March 2018

Keystone Bank partners NIPOST, launches Agency Banking



By Adoga Michael Oyi


One of Nigeria’s most reliable financial institutions, Keystone Bank Limited has launched ‘KeyServ’ (An Agency Banking Proposition) to serve customers outside its conventional brick & Mortar mode of banking.

The initiative in partnership with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and i-OneC (A FinTech Firm) is in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Financial System Strategy (FSS2020) goals to increase Financial Inclusion uptake in Nigeria.

According to the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Bank Limited Mr. Obeahon Ohiwerei: “Enabling Financial Inclusion is our core area of focus and we have partnered with other industry players to deploy Digital Financial Solutions/ Platforms for improved access to finance; leveraging data to improve the product offerings, personalised & predictive customer service, and uncovering new customer segments”.
“The recent reports on adult Nigerians (according to EFInA) that are financially excluded is 40.1million (41.6% of 96.4million adults).”

“To this end, we are partnering with NIPOST and i-OneC to offer financial inclusion services to un(der)banked Nigerians especially in the rural and less urban areas.”

“Under this partnership, KeyServ (Keystone Agency Banking Services) offers services such as Account Opening, Bills Payment, Cash-In, Cash-Out, ATM Services, Fund Transfers, Balance Enquiries, ATM cash withdrawals, Mini Statements and a whole lot more.”

“One landmark feature of KeyServ (Keystone Agency Banking Services) is that it offers affordable access to financial services than the traditional banking methods” the MD/CEO also reiterated.

Also, speaking at the launch, the ED Corporate Banking & South, Keystone Bank, Yemi Odusanya, added that “with this scheme, customers, especially in the rural areas will enjoy unfettered access to banking services.
“As at today, we have about 106 approved agents across the country and already, the services are available at Sabongida-Ora (Evbiobe)-Edo State, Sabon Gari (Kano), Mirinjibi (Kaduna), Barnawa (Kaduna), Yaba (Lagos) and Ikoyi (Lagos)”.

“It’s simply convenient, affordable and several NIPOST locations nationwide have been earmarked to feature actively in this initiative.”
“Nigerians now have the opportunity to take full advantage of this partnership to enjoy the bouquet of Financial Services across the country.” Odusanya concluded.

Nigeria: CBN to Delay MPC Meeting - Emefiele



By Adoga Michael Oyi


The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will delay its next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting by at least 10 days, the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has said.

Nigeria's senate will next week consider a report into nominations for CBN's MPC meeting, its president said on Wednesday, a move that could end an impasse that has halted policy decisions.

Emefiele, while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate commissioning in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, said though the MPC meeting would be delayed, it would certainly hold.
"The MPC meeting will hold and I'm very delighted that the senate has decided to screen the nominees earlier sent to them by Mr. President. MPC was supposed to hold from March 19 to 20. What I suspect is that we will be holding our committee of governors meeting and we will decide the date. And I believe we will just have between seven to 10 days delay and the MPC will hold," he assured.
Recall the CBN MPC meeting in January did not hold due to lack of quorum following senate's refusal to confirm President Buhari's nomimations into the MPC. The president had last year sent two deputy governors' nominations and other board members for confirmation. 12 members constitute the MPC and at least six must be present before a quorum can be formed.

The over N50bn sugar facility, sitting on 17,000 hectares, is owned by Flower Mills Nigeria Plc and partly financed by the CBN to the tune of N25bn at single digit interest rate with a repayment period of 10 years. 10,000 hectares of will be used for sugarcane plantation.

Speaking further on CBN's investment into Sunti, he said it was part of the Federal Government's backward integration policy and that this would help conserve Nigeria's scarce foreign reserve.

"It's a N25bn loan at single digit interest rate with a tenure of 10 years. It's one of those facilities that we have disbursed out of our real sector support fund under the auspices of a couple of banks.

Flower Mills is a local conglomerate in Nigeria. It produces not only sugar, but flour and foods generally. So I have no doubt that they will be able to repay the loan," Mr. Emefiele said.
"If you go into the factory, you will marvel at the investment there. It's not just about the factory alone, but they have over 10,000 hectares of which they are cultivating sugarcane on. They have so far cultivated about 3,000 hectares. The standard practice is that if you own a sugar mill, you should produce for six months in a year. But for the output they have now, they will be producing for just one month instead of six. So what we are trying to do is that through our Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) empower smallholder farmers who can grow sugarcane which will serve as additional stock for the sugar mill," he assured.

On the real sector support fund, he explained that, "The fund is about N300bn," adding that the CBN was "craving to create more of that fund, but we are very careful in disguising that fund.

"Everybody wants to partake in it, but our emphasis at this time is to disburse a substantial portion of that fund into agriculture, agro processing and agro allied business. So I will say it's doing very well," he said.

Speaking earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc Mr. John Coumantaros, said the facility had generated 3000 jobs and could generate up to 10,000 jobs at full capacity and would produce up to 100,000 tonnes of sugar annually.

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