Economy
Gov. Diri Signs 2023 Appropriation, Contributory Pension Bills into Law
Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa, have signed the 2023 Appropriation Bill of N389.37 billion into law.
He also signed a bill on the state’s Contributory Pension Scheme for civil servants, local government workers and political appointees.
Presenting the two bills for assent at the Government House in Yenagoa, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, explained that Bayelsa and local government workers would be required to contribute eight per cent of their salaries toward their retirement.
Ingobere equally said that the Bayelsa government and local government councils as their employers would contribute 10 per cent on their behalf.
He disclosed that political office holders were expected to contribute 10 per cent of their salaries while the state government and local government councils contribute 15 per cent on their behalf upon their retirement or disengagement from the service.
On the 2023 Appropriation Law, Ingobere said the initial amount presented to the assembly for consideration was N385.21 billion but after consultation with ministries, departments and agencies, the figure was increased by N4 billion.
The speaker said the increase brought the total amount to N389.37 billion for the 2023 fiscal year.
While assenting to the bills, Gov Diri said the Contributory Pension Law would put an end to the long delay and harrowing experience retirees passed through before receiving their gratuities and other entitlements.
The governor explained that the pension scheme had to be backed by law because of its importance, which he noted would outlive his administration.
According to him, the scheme covers all employees of the state as well as political office holders both at the state and local government levels.
He noted that through the contributory and collaborative approach, the scheme provided that the employer shall contribute 10 per cent of their consolidated monthly salaries.
While the employee shall contribute 8 per cent of the consolidated monthly salary as provided by the third schedule of the law.
Diri assured workers that government would ensure that proper machinery was put in place to engage only reputable pension fund administrators to manage the funds in accordance with pension regulations.
His words: “Upon assumption of office, we discovered that some of our elder statesmen that had served our state meritoriously over the period had died without collecting their gratuity.
”Most of them have been owed in arrears to the tune of billions of naira. I sat with my team to fashion out a way to pay off these elder statesmen.
“What we are doing is a policy of government and we thought it needed to be backed by law. That was why we sent an Executive Bill to the House of Assembly to cater for our retirees,” he said.
He pledged that the over N28 billion arrears would be paid off within the first tenure of his administration.
“When we assumed office in February 2020, a minimum of N200 million monthly was made available for the payment of gratuities and we have been doing that faithfully. And in some months, we increased it to N500 million.
“Till date, an average of N862.6 million has been expended monthly on pension. Also, N7.58 billion has been paid as gratuity and death benefits from February 2020 till date.
“However, in spite of these payments made, the huge liability of over N28 billion for outstanding gratuity and death benefits from 2007 till date still stands.
“Going forward, we will ensure that the over N28 billion owed retirees is paid off within my first term in office,” he said. (NAN)
Access Holdings Plc has awarded 23.8 million ordinary shares worth N427.13 million to its senior executives and those of its subsidiary, Access Bank.
This was disclosed in a notice sent to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.(NGX) in Lagos.
The notification was sent in line with the disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the NGX.
It is also in pursuant of the terms of its shareholders’ approved Employees Performance Share Plan.
The group said that Ms Bolaji Agbede, Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, Access Holdings, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank, and six others were vested with 23,883,790 shares worth N427.
13 million in total.According to the filings, Ogbonna got the highest amount of shares, totalling 12,345,679 and valued at N220.37 million, having been traded at N17.85 per share.
Agbede was vested with 2,216,992 shares, valued at N39.795 million.
Other directors who had shares vested on them include: Mr Seyi Kumapayi, Executive Director, African Subsidiaries, Access Bank, with 1,234,568 shares worth N22.16 million.
Ms Iyabo Soji-Okusanya, Executive Director, Commercial and Investment Banking Division, Access Bank, got 1,691,308 shares at N17.95 per share, valued at N30.36 million.
Mrs Chizoma Okoli, Access Bank’s Deputy Managing Director, Retail South, also got 1,728,395 shares valued at N30.85 million.
Dr Gregory Jobome, Executive Director, Risk Management, and Hadiza Ambursa, Executive Director, Commercial Banking, were vested with 1,728,395 shares each,valued at N30.85 million and N31.02 million respectively.
Also, Access Holdings’ Company Secretary, Mr Sunday Ekwochi, was vested with 1,210,058 shares worth N21.72 milion.
The group stated that the shares were vested on May 3 and May 6.
It noted that the vesting of the shares was not a purchase or sale transaction in the context of the Exchange’s rules.(NAN)
CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso A financial expert, Prof. Uche Uwaleke says the newly introduced 0.5 per cent charges on electronic transactions as cybersecurity levy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is ill-timed.
Uwaleke, a professor of capital market and the president of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, said this in an interview on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to him, the cybersecurity levy is ill-timed, coming at a time when the CBN is concerned about the high rate of financial exclusion and the increasing rate of currency circulating outside the banks.
He said that it carried the downside risk of discouraging financial intermediation as well as complicating the transmission of monetary policy with more people shunning the banks due to high charges.
“The end result is that it makes difficult effort by the CBN to tame inflation.
“So, I think the circular should be withdrawn, especially against the backdrop of assurances by the government that its plan to increase revenue would not include introducing new taxes or increasing tax rates.
“To this end, the government should suspend the policy while getting set to implement the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms,” he said.
He said that the mandate of the committee included streamlining multiple taxes and levies currently inhibiting the growth of businesses in Nigeria.
NAN reports that the CBN had on Monday directed all banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country.
The direcve was contained in a circular jointly signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi; and the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa.
The circular was directed to all commercial banks, merchant banks, non-interest banks, and payment service banks.
It announced that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from May 6.
“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution.
“The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy,’” the circular said.
However, some 16 banking transactions were exempted from the new cybersecurity levy.
They include loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank among others.
By the calculations of the new levy, five Naira will be charged on a transaction of N1,000, while N50 will be charged on a transaction of N10,000.
Others are N500 charge on a transaction of N100,000, N5,000 charge on a transaction of N1,000,000, and N50,000 charge on a transaction of N10,000,000.
The cybersecurity levy will now be added to already existing bank charges like transfer fee, stamp duty, charges on SMS, and Vat .(NAN)
The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) on Friday recorded 28.14 per cent increase in the value of equity transactions, resulting in investors gaining N467 billion.
Specifically, 446.57 million shares valued at N7.10 billion were exchanged in 9,297 deals, in contrast to 665.20 million shares valued at N5.
54 billion in 8,446 deals on Thursday.Consequently, the market capitalisation, which opened at N55.
856 trillion, gained 0. 83 per cent or N467 billion to close at N56.323 trillion.The All-Share Index also added 0.83 per cent or 825 points to close at 99,587.25, as against 98,762.78 recorded in the previous session.
As a result, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return rose to 33.
18 per cent.Renewed interest in MTN Nigeria, alongside Tier-one banks, Presco Plc, UACN, United Capital, among other leading stocks, sustained the market’s positive trend.
Also, market breadth closed positive with 27 advanced equities outnumbering 20 declined ones.
On the gainers’ chart, Presco led by N22.90 to close at N252.80, Dangote Sugar followed closely by N4.25 to close at N47, while Ellah Lakes Plc gained 30k to close at N3.32 per share.
Jaiz Bank also advanced by 21k to close at N2.35 and Flour Mill rose by N3.25 to close at N36.80 per share.
Conversely, Conoil and Tantalizers led the losers chart by N10.80 and 4k each to close at N97.20 and 36k per share, respectively.
McNichols Plc lost 12k to close at N1.14, Linkage Assurance trailed by 9k to close at 86k and Guinea Insurance shed 3k to close at 30k per share.
Meanwhile, Access Corporation led the activity chart in volume and value with 151.80 million shares worth N2.68 billion, followed by Veritas Kapital with 49.88 million valued at N30.91 million.
United Bank of Africa(UBA) traded 32.89 million worth N845.74 million, Universal Insurance sold 27.14 million shares valued at N9.76 million and Transnational Corporation transacted 21.82 million share worth N310.32 million. (NAN)
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