Economy
CBN Forensic Audit, Civil Service Payroll Overhaul Imminent – Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu says a comprehensive forensic audit of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is underway, while a thorough overhaul of the civil service payroll is imminent.
The president disclosed this during an audience with the President of the World Bank, Mr Ajay Banga, on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
”A comprehensive forensic audit is on-going at the Central Bank.
We are going to do very serious structural review of the civil service payroll. I can’t believe in the numbers I’m seeing and I’ve had that experience before at the state level.”The reforms are in tandem with Nigeria’s Ease of Doing Business programme.
We’ll block all financial loopholes. The reforms will be targeted at the way we work, change of attitude and equally on educating our people. It’s costly but we will do it,” he said.Highlighting Nigeria’s resilience and intellectual prowess, the president implored the Bretton Woods institution to view the country as a significant player within the global community, not solely as a struggling economy.
‘‘We stand as a vibrant and educated society, seeking to avert chaos through strategic interventions. Your proactive engagement aligns with our quest for partnership, and together, we shall pursue mutual benefits that enrich us all,’’ he said.
On poverty alleviation, the president called for more increased support from the World Bank, expressing optimism for a productive collaboration between Nigeria and the World Bank that would lead to mutual benefits and sustainable progress.
He also discussed the ongoing efforts to address issues such as subsidy removal, foreign exchange mismanagement, exchange rates, inflation, liquidity and debt management.
Tinubu shared insights into his administration’s substantial reforms, including those aimed at consolidating improvements in Nigeria’s oil industry, enhancing the Ease of Doing Business, and prioritising security to boost the country’s revenue generation.
He pointed out the importance of electricity generation for economic development, highlighting the turning of sod earlier today on the first phase (350MW) of the 1,350MW power generation project in Gwagwalada, Abuja.
He explained that this project signifies the administration’s commitment to a comprehensive approach, which encompasses power generation, distribution, energy transition and tariff adjustments.
While calling for a positive partnership with the World Bank, Tinubu emphasised key areas of focus, including job creation, digitisation and National Identity Management.
He also requested the World Bank’s support in addressing the challenges posed by the removal of cross-sectoral subsidies, particularly in lessening the impact on the less-privileged Nigerians.
In his remarks, Banga commended the president for his efforts in addressing the economic challenges of the country.
”Yes, we give money and our dollars are very important but where we are really helpful is our expertise and knowledge and our experience from many markets.
“In that way, we will always be your friend and partner, not just with the money, but with our minds and our hearts and you should be rest assured about that,” he said (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)
Arewa Youths Initiative for Energy Reforms (AYIFER), has urged Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to do everything possible to bring Kaduna Refinery back into operation.
National Coordinator of the group, Mr Bashir Al’Amin, stated this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.
Al’Amin specifically called on the Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, to do all within his powers to rejuvenate the refinery and bring it up to global standard.
He said that having delivered the Port Harcourt refinery, coupled with the establishment of Dangote Refinery in Lagos, attention should be shifted to Kaduna refinery for easy spread of petroleum products.
“We are calling on Malam Mele Kyari to expedite action on Kaduna refinery so we can be at par with other regions in the country.
“We equally beg the NNPCL to do professional work in rehabilitating the old refinery and deliver a standard and functional petrochemical refinery and not a blending plant.
“Kyari should resist any temptation that could make him do something that can jeopardise his good image,” he said.
Al’Amin said that since the extinction of groundnut pyramid and textiles in Kano State as well as PAN in Kaduna State and with the Kaduna refinery getting moribund, a lot of youths had lost their jobs.
According to him, all their hopes in the north are tied to the legacy refinery, expressing the hope that God would use Kyari to deliver it well and on time.
He said that the group was solidly behind NNPCL in prayer and would be ready to celebrate the company if its expectations were met. (NAN)
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