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.”
Economy
CBN Takes Steps to Strengthen Banking Sector, Issues Routine Transitional Guidance

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has introduced time-bound measures for some banks still completing their transition from the temporary regulatory support provided in response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a statement issued by Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, , CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department , this is part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the banking system.
Sidi-Ali said that the step was part of the CBN’s broader, sequenced strategy to implement the
recapitalisation programme announced in 2023.
She said that the programme, designed to align
with Nigeria’s long-term growth ambitions, had already led to significant capital inflows and balance sheet strengthening across the sector.
“Most banks have either completed or are on track to meet the new capital requirements well before the final implementation deadline of March 31, 2026.
“The measures apply only to a limited number of banks. These include temporary restrictions on capital distributions, such as dividends and bonuses to support retention of internally generated funds and bolster capital adequacy.
“All affected banks have been formally notified and remain under close supervisory engagement ” she said.
She said that to support a smooth transition, the CBN had allowed limited, time-bound flexibility
within the capital framework, consistent with international regulatory norms.
“Nigeria generally maintains Risk-Based Capital requirements that are significantly more stringent than the global Basel III minimums.
“These adjustments reflect a well-established supervisory process consistent with global norms. Regulators in the U.S., Europe, and other major markets have implemented similar transitional measures as part of post-crisis reform efforts.
“The CBN remains fully committed to continuous engagement with stakeholders throughout this period via the Bankers’ Committee, the Body of Bank CEOs, and other industry forums,” she said.
She said that the goal to ensure a transparent, Nigeria’s banking sector remained fundamentally strong.
According to her, these measures are neither
unusual nor cause for concern.
She said that they were a continuation of the orderly and deliberate implementation of reforms already underway.
She said that the CBN would continue to take all
necessary actions to safeguard the sector’s stability and ensure a robust, resilient financial ecosystem that supports sustainable economic growth. (NAN)
Economy
Cybercrime: First Bank Invests N15bn to Protect Systems From hackers in 5 months –CEO

First Bank HoldCo Plc says it has spent more than N15 billion to protect its systems against criminals between January and June.
Olusegun Alebiosu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), First Bank HoldCo Plc, said this in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday.
Alebiosu, who spoke on the sideline of a two-day National Seminar on Banking and Allied Matters for Judges, said the Bank had spent three N3 billion in June to protect its systems.
He said the bank had the best cyber security framework in the country, hence the investment.
The CEO who was speaking on the increasing number of attacks by cybercriminals, especially on banks’ systems, assured First Bank customers of the safety of their monies.
Alebiosu frowned at the rate at which some citizens were involved in cybercrimes, saying the country must move fast to curb their excesses.
”No customer would lose their money in First Bank unjustly.
”If their money is missing in First Bank, First Bank will pay back.
”Before I joined First Bank, I have an account with First Bank.
”One of the reasons why I had an account with First Bank was, I said to myself, if my money is missing, it is the only bank I know I will collect my money without any excuses, ” he said.
Reacting to some customers’ complaints on the delay by the bank to handle cases of fraudulent transactions, Alebiosu said the bank must conduct investigations involving different stakeholders.
The CEO said the delay was caused by the collaboration between the stakeholders involving security agencies and banks where the money was transferred to determine the realities about the cases.
He urged customers to tread carefully in handling and releasing their financial information.
”Customers themselves, most times, also compromise their own security details; I have seen a lot of people that give their cards to somebody to help them withdraw money from their ATM.
”They compromise their password so, when something happens and you say, my money disappeared, you forget the day you gave your card to someone else and they can use that to transfer your money.
”Some people compromise even their own ID on the system carelessly, some give their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and they use it against them.
”Now, why does it take time for the bank to react, everything you give to the bank, the bank has to investigate it.
”The money might have gone to other banks so, you start tracking from other banks but
Sometimes customers are impatient,” he said.
On frauds allegedly perpetrated by staff, he said the bank had internal employee fraud software, that monitors activities of employees on the system.
According to him, if you know how many of our staff we sack on a monthly basis, you won’t believe me.
”So if there are triggers, people will be involved. It is for us to run faster than them, and see how we can help to stop these kinds of things in our system but wherever we see it, we deal with it decisively, ” Alebiosu said.
He said that various stakeholders including the banks, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary had a role to play in curbing cybercrimes. (NAN)
Economy
GTCO Begins Deduction of USSD Fee From Airtime Balance

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), says it will begin the deduction of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD fee from the airtime balance of its customers from June 18.
The bank in a message to its customers on Wednesday, said the N6.98 fee would no longer be deducted from customers’ bank account balance.
”Dear Customer, please be informed that effective June, 18, the N6.
98 USSD fee will be deducted from your airtime balance, no longer from your bank account”.The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had directed deposit money banks (DMBs) to stop deducting charges for USSD transactions directly from customers’ accounts. (NAN)