VenturesNow

Nigeria: Cabinet approves $2.8bn supplementary budget

Published

7 months ago

October 31, 2023

Nigeria’s budget minister, Atiku Bagudu has confirmed that the cabinet has approved a supplementary budget of 2.176 trillion naira ($2.8 billion) to fund “urgent issues,” including defence and security.

Bagudu told journalists after a cabinet meeting in Abuja, “This supplementary budget is to fund urgent issues, including 605 billion naira for national defence and security.

“This is to sustain the gains made in security and to accelerate and reserve funds that are needed by the security agencies. (A) sum of 300 billion naira was provided to repair bridges, including coal and midland bridges.”

When President Bola Tinubu took office in May, he inherited record levels of debt and weak economic growth. Since he implemented reforms that some claim made the situation worse, he has faced pressure to alleviate the country’s economic suffering in order to win over the populace.

In light of the World Bank’s $800 million loan secured in April to help mitigate the effects of reforms on vulnerable households, Bagudu announced that the government would distribute 25,000 naira to 15 million households between October and December.

He continued by saying that the additional budget would be used to pay for federal employees’ overtime from September to December, as well as the purchase of agricultural inputs for farmers and the nation’s roads.

Two weeks ago, the Nigerian cabinet approved a 26.01 trillion naira ($34 billion) spending plan for the country’s 2024 budget.

Earlier this month, the Nigerian Senate advised President Bola Tinubu to send a supplementary budget for the country’s Compressed Natural Gas initiative and cautioned him against engaging in illegal spending. Through its Gas Committee, chaired by Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe, the Senate urged Tinubu to swiftly submit a 2023 Supplementary Budget to the National Assembly in order to launch the compressed natural gas project.

VenturesNow

Nigerian govt denies reports it plans to borrow pension fund for infrastructure

Published

18 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Nigerian government has denied reports that it plans to borrow the N20tn pension fund to finance infrastructural projects.

In a statement made in Abuja, Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, stated that the government would abide by the laws and guidelines in place pertaining to the pension fund.

Following a two-day Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, the minister reportedly informed reporters that the government would present a plan to use local funds, including the fund, to finance infrastructure development.

Edunstated that the government does not intend to exceed these legal boundaries, emphasising that the government was committed to protecting workers’ pensions.

“It has come to my notice that stories are making the round that the Federal Government plans to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

“The pension industry, like most the financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.

“The Federal Government has no intention whatsoever to go beyond those limitations and go outside those bounds which are there to safeguard the pensions of workers.

“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those that handle funds that are available over a long period to see how, within the regulations and the laws; these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas,” Edun clarified.

The plan to spend the pension fund was reported and was widely criticised. The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress had earlier on Thursday urged the government to abstain from making any changes to the pension fund.

They stated, “Nigerian workers have entrusted their hard-earned savings for retirement security, not as a means for government projects. It is imperative to halt any further plans to tap into these funds, especially given the lack of transparency and accountability in past government borrowing practices.”

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.