Economy
Buhari to Present 2020 Budget September Ending
By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Friday, disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari may present the 2020 budget to the National Assembly by the end of September to enable the lawmakers pass the appropriation bill early and return the nation’s budget circle to January.
The Speaker said this while briefing State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He reassured that the government of Nigeria would always stand with her citizens.
Gbajabiamila said the only way to bring the budget circle back to January to December was for an early presentation of the budget adding that he discussed the matter with President Buhari.
The speaker however, said that he would not give a definite answer whether the National Assembly would get the 2020 budget proposal this month or early next month.
“I cannot give a definite answer but I know the budget is going to come as early as possible. It maybe the end of this month or shortly thereafter, but I cannot give you a definite date.
“But it’s going to be an early presentation so that we can pass the budget before the end of the year and return to the January to December circle,” he said.
He also revealed that the issue of the $9.5 billion defaulted gas contract judgment awarded against Nigeria by a British court in favour of an Irish firm P&ID was discussed during his meeting with the President.
“The issue of the recent $9 billion award against Nigeria. I say that with a smile but not really smiling. Clearly we are in opposition to that and steps will be taken,” he added.
On the xenophobic attacks on Nigerian citizens and the looting and burning of their shops in South Africa, the lawmaker said that Nigeria may cut her bilateral relations with South Africa.
Asked if there were moves to severe bilateral ties with South Africa, Gbajabiamila said, “We are not there yet, nothing is off the table, we will take each day as it comes. As of now Mr. President has taken proactive steps in evacuating our citizens, recalling the High Commissioner, and other things will follow.
“I believe we will stand with and by Nigerians. The leadership of the House has issued a statement and it is in tandem with what the executive is doing. We stand by our citizens that is our priority, to protect the constitution, to protect the welfare of the citizens and that is exactly what we are doing and that is what the president is doing.”
He said he was at the State House to engage with the President on the burning issues, stressing that in the last few days, Nigeria had witnessed unfortunate incidents involving her citizens in South Africa.
“As you are aware, I cut my trip to Tanzania short and came home with the hope of reconvening the House, where we are going to address this very important issue. We have called that off because events have overtaken it; the government has taken proactive steps, the same steps we would have asked for.
“We are all on the same page with the president and the government. So I came to fully discuss that with Mr. President. We discussed the issue of security, what has been happening in South Africa and other national issues that require the attention of both the legislature and the executive, and we had very fruitful discussions on those issues.”
On the insistence of the South African government not to pay compensation to the victims of the xenophobic attacks because payment of compensation was not contained in the country’s laws, the Speaker said that he had not heard such statement from the South African government.
He said, “Well I haven’t heard that statement from South Africa, I don’t know if it is official or off the cuff statement by somebody. When it’s made official, we will take further steps. I am sure we will be on the delegation process in South Africa and probably other avenues that are international that we can pursue.”
Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy says upgrading the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron to a university, will unlock opportunities in the maritime economy.
Oyetola made the expression at the 2024 MAN cadets graduation ceremony in Oron, Akwa Ibom on Saturday.
Represented by Mr Babatunde Bombata, the Director, Maritime Safety and Security, the minister said the Federal Government was working assiduously to unlock opportunities within the marine and blue economy.
He said that the ministry was already collaborating with the Ministry of Education and the Nigerian Universities Commission to ensure MAN’s seamless transition to a university.
“It is our hope that this upgrade will unlock new opportunities for advanced learning, cutting edge research and innovation within the marine and blue economy fields,” he said.
Oyetola urged the graduating cadets to be innovative, resourceful and forward looking in their future endeavours.
“The maritime and blue economy sectors are filled with opportunities, so your contributions to the sector will be instrumental in ensuring a brighter future.
“The government is committed to fostering excellence and innovation in these fields, and we eagerly anticipate the positive impact you will make in your careers,” he said.
He further said that the Federal Government was working on developing a national policy on marine and blue economy.
“This policy will serve as a strategic framework to drive economic diversification, attract investments, create jobs and youth empowerment.
In his remarks, Gov. Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, said the state government would continue to collaborate with the academy to develop the maritime sector.
Represented by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Waterways, Gen. Koko Essien, (Rtd), Eno urged the graduating cadets to utilise their training in developing the maritime sector.
“I am hopeful that you will utilise the training you have acquired here to further your career as seafarers and in the development of our blue economy,” he said.
Eno commended the Acting Rector, Dr Kevin Okonna and his management team for their commitment towards repositioning the academy for greater results.
Earlier, Okonna said that graduates of the institution had contributed immensely to the growth of Nigeria’s maritime and blue economy.
“Today, we have an opportunity to celebrate a new set of well-trained personnel to the maritime and allied industries.
“We pride ourselves as the pioneer maritime training institution, this is because of the institution’s contributions to national development,” he said.
The acting rector urged the graduating cadets to made effective use of the knowledge gained during their training to make meaningful impact on the growth of the maritime sector.
Report says that awards were given to graduating cadets who distinguished themselves in character and learning. (NAN)
The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) continued its bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining N183 billion.
Accordingly, the market capitalisation, which opened at N59.532 trillion, gained N184 billion or 0.31 per cent to close at N59.715 trillion.
The All-Share Index also added 0.31 per cent or 303 points, to settle at 98,509.
68, against 98,206. 97 recorded on Tuesday.Consequently, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return increased to 31.
74 per cent.Gains in Aradel Holdings, Zenith Bank, United Bank For Africa(UBA), Oando Plc, Nigerian Breweries among other advanced equities drove the market performance up.
Market breadth closed positive with 34 gainers and 17 losers.
On the gainers’ chart, Africa Prudential, Conoil and RT Briscoe led by 10 per cent each to close at N14.30, N352 and N2.42 per share, respectively.
Golden Guinea Breweries followed by 9.95 per cent to close at N7.18, while NEM Insurance rose by 9.74 per cent to close at N10.70 per share.
On the other hand, Julius Berger led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N155.25, Secure Electronic Technology Plc trailed by 9.52 per cent to close at 57k per share.
Multiverse lost 7.63 per cent to close at N5.45, Haldane McCall dropped 6.07 per cent to close at N4.95 and Honeywell Flour shed 5.62 per cent to close at N4.70 per share.
Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 49.44 per cent.
A total of 320.10 million shares valued at N6.48 billion were exchanged in 7,943 deals, compared with 939.41 million shares valued at N12.81billion traded in 9,098 deals posted in the previous session.
Meanwhile, ETranzact led the activity chart in volume with 70.27 million shares, while Aradel led in value of deals worth N1.22 billion.(NAN)
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the Yuan, weakened 22 pips to 7.1870 against the dollar on Monday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreign exchange market, the Yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the Yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)
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