COVER
Budget Support: FG Begins Deduction of N614b From 35 States
… Earns N2trn Revenue in Six Months
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Federal Government will from this month begin deductions from state government allocations, the N614 billion bailout funds extended to them as budget support funds.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed made the announcement while outlining the Draft 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Minister pointed out that the deductions will be made during this month’s Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting.
“The recovery process for us is to deduct from the FAAC allocation to the states and then we remit to the CBN and we are going to start this remittances by the next FAAC so there will be no requirement for us to consider the FSP implementation.
“We do that as a matter of wanting the states to stay on the path of fiscal sustainability but it will not be a condition for the deduction. We will deduct direct at source and remit to the CBN”.
The Minister further stated that ,”the N614 billion bail out funds to states was not going to form part of the revenue for funding the budget, it was a loan which was advanced by the CBN and the repayment will be made to the CBN”.
Ahmed who put personnel cost, inclusive of Pensions at over N3.0 trillion has continued to rise said the Federal Government was however talking steps to contain the situation.
To this end, she warmed that in keeping with Presidential directive, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) which failed to implement the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) by the end of next month will not be paid their salaries.
” On the expenditure side of the framework, we have tried to keep most expenditure items as low as possible “, the minister pointed out.
On inflation, the minister said ” except for a few months, inflation has continually declined since January 2017 from 18.72% to 11.08% in July 2019″.
“Our Real GDP growth projections are rates of 2.93%, 3.35% and 3.85% for 2020, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Even though this falls short of the ERGP projection, the trajectory remains in the right direction”, she added.
Mrs Ahmed also disclosed that the Federal Government, was proposing to spend a total revenue of N7.6 trillion in the 2020 Budget with overview expenditure of N9.7 trillion.
” The draft 2020-2022 Medium Fiscal Framework shows that Nigeria faces significant medium-term Fiscal challenges, especially with respect to revenue generation and rapid growth in personnel costs”, she added.
“With Nigeria joining other African countries to sign the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), there could be tremendous opportunities for Nigeria in the medium term.
“However, the AfCFTA could also create a nightmare situation for the country unless the right policies and actions are implemented expeditiously to improve Nigeria’s economic competitiveness”, the minister warned.
FG Earns N2trn in Six Months
The Federal Government earned N2 trillion as revenue from January to June 2019, Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr Ben Akabueze, has said.
Akabueze disclosed this at the Public Consultative Forum on the 2020 to 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) in Abuja yesterday.
He explained that within the period under review, about N3.3 trillion was expended by the Federal Government.
The director-general said that there was an average of 1.6 million barrel of crude oil production per day on base production.
He disclosed that an aggregate of four trillion naira revenue was collected in 2018 with expenditure of N7.4 trillion, including N1.7 trillion capital budget within the period.
He expressed hope that the remaining half of the year would be better in terms of revenue performance.
Akabueze disclosed that from the data received from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the country’s oil production output had risen to 2.1 million barrels per day.
Also, at the forum, the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Babatunde Fowler, urged taxpayers in the country to monitor their taxes to ensure they were remitted to appropriate authority.
“It is now a responsibility of everybody, especially taxpayers, to monitor to ensure transparency and accountability, if you have your tax deducted, then ask for the receipt.
“Make sure you check within 41 days of when the money was remitted to the federation account.
“This is important because during the tax amnesty close to 40 per cent has to do with withholding of tax, deducted but not remitted,’’ Fowler said.
He added that the service had put in place measures to ensure that only those companies that paid tax would access government’s contracts and services.
Fowler said necessary facilities would be deployed to the Office of the Accountant-General, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor and other government agencies to ensure compliance.
United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has announced plans to raise N157 billion through a rights issue.The disclosure was made via a notice to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd (NGX).It said in a statement on Thursday that its stock brokers, United Capital Securities Ltd., had submitted an application to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.
to that effect. It added its stock brokers had requested for approval and listing of a Rights Issue of 3,156,869,665 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N50. 00 per share“Trading License Holders are hereby notified that United Bank for Africa Plc, through its Stockbrokers, United Capital Securities Ltd., has submitted an application to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.” in that regard.“The rights issue will be on the basis of one new ordinary share for every 13 ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.“The qualification date for the Rights Issue is July 16, 2025,” the bank noted.The move is part of UBA’s strategy to strengthen its capital base and support its expansion and growth objectives across Africa.(NAN)
From Attah Ede, Makurdi
Over 4000 substandard and illegal schools have been uncovered and ready to be shut down across the state.The chief press secretary to the Benue State Governor, Tersoo Kula disclosed this at a press conference in Makurdi.Kula was reacting to a statement credited to former commissioner for education and knowledge management, Prof.
Dennis Ityavyar, said that Governor Alia has stabilised the educational sector since coming on board two years ago. ”No more strikes. Schools are moving on smoothly and in a bid to bring teaching and learning closer to the people and address the problem of younger school leavers in securing admission into tertiary institutions, the governor has established a new university.”The establishment of University of Agriculture Science and Technology Ihugh, Vandeikyaa LGA is real..The governor has secured the licence, acquired land and made appointments of principal officers.”This is to address the issue of providing admission for the teeming Benue indigenes seeking admission into Nigerian universities.”The Governor has employed over 9700 teachers to energize public primary schools in the state. Apart from the fact that our primary schools would be energized, 9700 youths have been taken off the streets.”The government of governor Alia has also paid the 38 months earned allowance owed to lecturers at the Moses Adasu University, formerly Benue State University Makurdi”, he said.He maintained that renovation of government secondary schools and colleges across the state are ongoing where ongoing construction of new structures is in some public primary and secondary schools to ensure conducive learning environment.”Public primary schools teachers are trained on ITCs to enhance the teaching and learning of information and technology innovations at elementary level.”This government has been able to identify over 4000 substandard schools in the state and have secured insurance cover for Benue State students and paid bursary allowances in law school students in the state”, Kula stated.Benue Moves to Domesticate National Policy on IDPsThe Benue State Government has commenced a validation process to domesticate the newly federal government policy on Internally Displaced Persons (PDP) in the State.Commissioner for Humanitarian and Disaster Management in the State, Aondowase Kunde, stated that upon stakeholders’ inputs into the Internally Displaced Persons policy document, it would be fully launched.He added that the aim is to improve the welfare of the displaced population in the state.Kunde stated this during a two policy validation meeting held at Benue Hotels Makurdi yesterday.He maintained that the document which was passed into law by the national assembly needed to be domesticated in the state in line with the peculiarities of the state.In his remarks, the chairman, House Committee on Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Benue State House of assembly, James Abu Umoro, noted that the state has suffered so many natural and man-made disasters that it requires the policy to be domesticated in the state.Umoru insisted that the house will not hesitate to pass the document into law when presented by the executive arm of government.He said the issue of IDP in the state is a concern for everyone and must be given accelerated consideration at any point in time.On his part, House committee chairman on SDG and Donor Agencies, Peter Uche, noted that in most cases, communities have suffered attacks for more than ten years.”Let me therefore, call on all to support the implementation of the policy document for the displaced to return to their ancestral homes to start their normal farming and business activities”, he stated.The Director General, Sustainable Development Goals, John Akuse, who spoke at the occasion, said the validation of the IDP policy document is vital in paving the way for the displaced population to be adequately taken care of regarding their peculiar needs.
By David Torough, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has approved the renaming of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State as Muhammadu Buhari University.
“May we now adopt the University of Maduguri as the Muhammadu Buhari University,” Tinubu said at the close of a special session of the Federal Executive Council held to honour Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja on Thursday.
The President paid a glowing tribute to Buhari, describing him as “a good man, a decent man, an honourable man” whose legacy of discipline, patriotism and moral uprightness would endure for generations.
Tinubu said although the late president was not without flaws, his unwavering commitment to national service set him apart.
“President Buhari was not a perfect man, no leader is, but he was, in every sense of the word, a good man, a decent man, an honourable man.
“His record will be debated, as all legacies are, but the character he brought to public life, the moral force he carried, the incorruptible standard he represented, will not be forgotten.
“His was a life lived in full service to Nigeria, and in fidelity to God,” he said.
Reflecting on Buhari’s time in office and his long military and civil service, Tinubu praised the late leader’s simplicity, humility, and stoic resistance to the trappings of power.
He said, “He stood, always, ramrod straight; unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and unafraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right, rather than what is popular.
“His was a quiet courage, a righteousness that never announced itself. His patriotism lived more in action than in words.”
Tinubu also recounted their political alliance, which culminated in the historic 2015 elections that marked Nigeria’s first democratic transfer of power from one ruling party to another.
“We stood together, he and I. Alongside others drawn from across the political spectrum, regions and tongues, we formed an alliance that enabled Nigeria to experience its first true democratic transfer of power from one ruling party to another.
“When he was sworn in as our party’s first elected President, he led with restraint, governed with dignity, and bore the burdens of leadership without complaint,” he said.
The President expressed admiration for Buhari’s post-office modesty, noting that he returned to his hometown, Daura, without seeking to wield influence behind the scenes.
“When his tenure ended, he returned to Daura; not to command from the shadows or to hold court, but to live as he always had, never seeking to impose his will but content to let others carry the nation forward.
“Even in death, he maintained the serenity that defined him in life: not a sigh, not a groan, just a quiet submission to the will of God. Such was the man Nigeria has lost. Such was the man for whom our nation now mourns,” he added.
Tinubu thanked the Inter-Ministerial Committee and Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, for organising a befitting state funeral within 48 hours, describing it as a “profound honour” to lead the burial procession in Daura.
He concluded his tribute with a prayer: “Mai Gaskiya, the People’s General, the Farmer President, your duty is done. May Almighty Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljannah Firdaus. May his life continue to inspire generations of Nigerians to serve with courage, conviction, and selflessness. President Buhari, thank you. Nigeria will remember you.”
Buhari died on Sunday, July 13, at the age of 82.
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