Budget padding not possible without help of executive – Na’Abba

A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Ghali Na’Abba, has called for proper investigation of the role played by officials in the executive arm in the current budget padding controversy.

Na’Abba made the call while answering questions from Energy Correspondents, at a workshop organised by Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) in Kano.

He said it was impossible for the budget to be padded without the connivance of government officials.

“This stealing of funds cannot be possible without active connivance with some members of the executive arm,“ he said.

On calls for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara to resign, Na’Abba said that the call was “unwarranted” as there was no formal indictment of the speaker.

“According to my understanding, where the issue being referred to as padding comes into play, is a situation where some members go behind and add items of expenditure to what has already been agreed upon.

“For either stealing the funds or doing whatever they feel like doing with it.

“So far, accusations are being traded amongst members of the house, but no investigation has been conducted.

“On the call for the resignation of the Speaker, the question is, what has the Speaker done to warrant his resignation?“

He called for full investigation to ascertain the level of involvement of members of the House mentioned in the allegation before calling on anyone to resign.

“I expect that for 16 years of return to democracy, Nigerians would have understood the responsibilities of the National Assembly.

“For some weeks now, there has been controversy over what is called padding.

“As far as I am concerned, the National Assembly has the responsibility to pass the budget, approve it and allow the executive arm to execute it.”

On whether padding constituted an offence, Na’Abba said, “It all depends on what angle you look at it, I just told you that the responsibility of appropriation belongs to the national assembly.

“If padding is seen as an offence, then it is when some members of the national assembly decide to add items of expenditure through the back door after the bill has been passed by the two legislative arms.

“It therefore behoves on Nigerians to decide who represent them in the national assembly.’’`

NAN.

Latest News Naira hits 400/dollar as banks sell forex to BDCs

Oyetunji Abioye

The naira plunged to 400 against the dollar at the parallel market on Thursday as shortage of foreign exchange continued to have negative effects on economic activities in the country.

The local currency had closed at 390 against the greenback on Wednesday.

The shortage of forex at the interbank and the black market has continued to weigh on the value of the naira.

After closing at around 378 against the dollar for most part of last week, the naira dropped to 380 on Friday before falling to 382 on Monday.

The currency closed at 315.06 to the United States dollar at the interbank market on Thursday.

Economic and financial analysts have linked the wide depreciation in the value of the naira against the dollar at the parallel market to huge demand for forex by holidaymakers seeking to travel abroad.

However, some experts said the huge demand for forex at the parallel market was beyond the normal summer rush.

They linked the development to the activities of speculators and significant demand by manufacturers and importers whose demand was not being met at the interbank market.

Currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Ezun, said, “The issue still has to do with inadequate forex supply. As far as you continue to have some 41 items banned from the interbank market, importers and manufacturers of those items will continue to seek for forex at the parallel market.

“This is part of the reason you are having pressure at the parallel market.”

According to Ezun, the global plunge in oil prices has affected the capacity of the Central Bank of Nigeria to defend the naira.

“If the price of oil should go up, more forex will come in and you will see that things will change,” he added.

A Professor of Economics at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Sherrifdeen Tella, said the huge demand for dollars could be due to the activities of genuine manufacturers and importers seeking forex for production and business purposes, or corrupt people who had stolen state funds.

Tella said, “The naira is falling at the parallel market because there is scarcity at the interbank market. This fall could be due to the activities of genuine manufacturers or some people you cannot identify. These are people who have stored naira somewhere and are seeking to convert them to dollars. They use every chance they have to buy dollars. What the CBN may need to do is to neutralise that money by changing the colour of the N500 and N1,000 notes.

“If the naira keeps falling at the parallel market, then we should prepare for further increase in the prices of goods and services. And this will continue to give us more trouble as a nation.”

The National President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the fall in the naira value could be linked to the activities of speculators.

He said the demand was spurious, saying it was not coming from genuine sources.

“The demand is spurious; the challenge is that there is no liquidity in the market. If you ask any of the parallel market operators calling N400 per dollar to bring the dollar that you want to buy it, they don’t have,” Ezun said.

The Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, said that if the naira continued to fall at the parallel market, the country would need to brace for higher rate of inflation and further contraction in economic growth.

It was learnt on Thursday that the Deposit Money Banks had started selling forex to the Bureau De Change operators in line with the CBN directive.

Banking sources confirmed that the sale begun on Thursday.

The ABCON president, Gwadabe, also confirmed the development.

“The banks started selling to us today, we will be debited tomorrow and then receive the forex. We thank the CBN and the banks. This move will help to close the gap between the exchange rates at the parallel market and interbank market,” he stated.

Cheques can now be paid into savings accounts – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday released four new guidelines for the banking industry, top of which was an approval for bank customers to make cheque deposits into their savings accounts.

Prior to this development, bank customers could only make cheque deposits into their current accounts.

The new guidelines were contained in a circular posted on the CBN website and signed by the Director, Banking and Payment System, Mr. Dipo Fatokun.

The circular, which was directed to banks and other financial institutions, was dated July 28, 2016.

Aside from this approval, the CBN also ordered banks and other financial institutions to remove fixed interest rate on credit cards.

The central bank directed the banks to henceforth begin to embed customers’ Bank Verification Numbers on their payment cards.

It also ordered the banks to discontinue actual address verification as a condition for account opening for customers with the BVN.

In approving cheque deposits into savings accounts, the apex bank limited the daily deposit to only N2m per customer in a day.

The CBN said the new guidelines were meant to strengthen the payment system and the banking sector.

The circular, with reference number BPS/DIR/GEN?CIR/03/005, read, “The Central Bank of Nigeria, in furtherance of its efforts at strengthening the Nigerian payment system, hereby issues the following directives: the removal of fixed interest on credit cards; and discontinuation of actual address verification in account openings for customers with the Bank Verification Number.

“Banks should begin to embed the BVN on all payment cards issued henceforth to facilitate off-line BVN verification and biometric-based customer authentication in such payment devices as the Automated Teller Machines, Point of Sale Terminal, kiosks etc.

“Savings account customers with the BVN should be allowed to deposit cheques not more than N2m in value into their savings account per, customer per day. Please, be guided and ensure strict compliance with the content of this circular.”

In another development, the CBN advised Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to beware of the unwholesome activities of some unlicensed International Money Transfer Operators in the country.

It said in a statement by its Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okoroafor, that the warning had become necessary because of the activities of some unregistered IMTOs, whose modes of operation were detrimental to the Nigerian economy.

Okoroafor stated, “All financial service providers in Nigeria, just as in other jurisdictions, are required to be duly licensed in order to protect both customers and the financial system as well as to ensure the credibility of financial transactions.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all licensed International Money Transfer Operators, in line with the CBN circular on the sale of foreign currency proceeds of July 22, 2016, are required to remit foreign currencies to their respective agent banks in Nigeria for disbursement in naira to the beneficiaries, while the foreign currency proceeds are to be sold to Bureaux De Change operators for onward retail to end users.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria will, therefore, not condone any attempt aimed at undermining the country’s foreign exchange regime.

“Accordingly, members of the public are advised to beware of the activities of such unregistered IMTOs for the greater economic good of Nigeria.”

Land-grabbers beat prayer warriors comatose for invoking God’s wrath on them

 By Chimaobi Nwaiwu Nnewi—Armed youths, believed to be land-grabbers, weekend, stormed a prayer ground in Umudioka, Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State, and beat comatose one Kenechukwu Nebeolisa and some prayer warriors for allegedly invoking the wrath of God on them. Nebeolisa had invited the prayer warriors to the community to ward off all manner of evils, including land-grabbing, intimidation, harassment, robbery and thug activities in the community. Vanguard gathered that in the middle of the vigil by Nebeolisa and the prayer warriors, some armed youths stormed the prayer ground and beat everybody there to a pulp, for invoking God’s wrath on them. Narrating his ordeal in the hands of the youths, Nnebolisa said: “They said I did not take permission from them before inviting the prayer warriors to curse them; that as those in charge of the youths in Ezi-Awka, I must take permission from them. “Those youths have been going about extorting money, beating up people and taking over their land. The last time they met me at Aguoye Hills, they beat the hell out of me. I reported the case to the Chairman and the Secretary of Ezi-Awka Youth Assembly and also to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for necessary action.” Contacted, Chairman of the Ezi- Awka Town Assembly, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, said: “I have received several reports against the clandestine activities of the group, who even claim in the media sometime to be the elected executive of the Ezi-Awka Youth Assembly. “During the recent celebration of Imoka, the same group stormed the arena and robbed, destroyed canopies and items meant for the occasion. They injured many. “A town crier, Mr. Ozoanadimkanyi, was brutally beaten up, his house ransacked and his tenants robbed by the land-grabbers. “Unless security operatives arrest them, they will continue to commit all kinds of crimes in the community.”

Ironsi, an excellent soldier, great patriot —Aisha Buhari

UMUAHIA—The First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Hajia Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, weekend, described Nigeria’s First Military Head of State, Major General Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi as an excellent soldier and great patriot.

The tribute was the highlight of eulogies after a Mass at St. Finbarrs Catholic Church, Umuahia, Abia State to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of the late patriot whom the wife of the President also defined as ‘a soldier’s-soldier who stood for everything good about Nigeria.’ Represented by the wife of Anambra state governor, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano, who informed guests that the First Lady was unavoidably absent but had sent her in a representative capacity to underscore the importance of the 50th Anniversary of Ironsi whom she described as “a great Nigerian patriot who excelled in all his commissions.” According to Aisha Buhari, “It is fitting to remind those who may have forgotten or didn’t know the excellent track record of this great man, that Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi excelled as Equerry to the Queen Elizabeth in 1949; as Force Commander of the United Nations Operation in the Congo in 1960; as the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army I965; as well as Military Head of State in 1966 who from all indications, stood for one united and and indivisible Nigeria.” She also called on Nigerians to appreciate and emulate the ideals that Ironsi lived by and died for the good of the nation; and commended the matriarch of the Aguiyi-Ironsi family and widow of the late Head of State, Lady Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi, for holding forth with commitment, courage and selfless service. The Nigerian Army, the late General Aguiyi- Ironi’s immediate constituency, also lauded his virtues. Speaking on behalf of the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, Maj. Gen Edward Nze recalled that the event that led to the death of General Ironsi was as a result of the actions or inactions of past leaders which he said were still haunting the nation today. Olonishakin therefore advised present leaders in the country to be wary of their actions or inactions and consider the impact on future generations. “We should therefore learn from experience and think deeply before we take actions. Let us aspire to serve our country, love more, hate less and build a nation where justice and peace reign”, the CDS admonished. The wife of the Governor of Abia State, Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu, said that her husband, the governor was unavoidably absent and observed that, “If Aguiyi-Ironsi were alive today he would have been celebrating his 91st birthday as an elder statesman who will be proffering advise for the good of the country. Unfortunately his life was snatched from him.” Earlier in his Homily, Rev. Fr. Aloysious Nwabekee said that “A righteous man “ is a man who constantly hungers for God and is obedient to God. He said that the late Maj Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi was such a man and a Soldier to the core, who never took advantage of his subordinates. A man who took over power to fight for his subordinates and the unity of Nigeria. But alas that unity which he died for still eludes Nigeria 50 years after.” According to the Priest, “Ironsi lived and died an ideal soldier; a man who when he died had no chair to call his own except his family. He concluded that Ironsi was a dedicated nationalist and champion of national unity who died poor and is hardly remembered in the annals of the great leaders of this nation.” In his Vote of Thanks, Ambassador Chief Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, thanked the wife of the President and other dignitaries who had gathered in honour of his father and singled out the late Gen. Fajuyi for praise as a great man who “became a sacrificial lamb during the counter coup, a virtue he said is scarcely found in Nigeria today.” He also urged the family of Fajuyi to keep the flag flying.

FG remitted workers’ pension last in September- PenOp

By Rosemary Onuoha President of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, PenOp, Mr. Eguarekhide Longe has said that compliance to remittances of pension contributions from the public sector on both the Federal and State levels have lagged notably. Longe who stated this at the Association’s annual general meeting in Lagos, said that remittances from the federal government through the National Pension Commission (Pencom) were last received for September 2015. Longo who said that some states have outstanding remittances dating back over two years, noted that private sector remittances, though impacted by the adverse economic environment, have been more consistent. Longe said, “Amidst the dire economic challenges, aggregate pension assets under the CPS grew by 15 per cent from N4.61 trillion as at end of December 2014 to N5.3 trillion as at the end of December 2015.” On pension funds and developmental investing, Longe said, “It is well understood that we currently are in a situation of financial stringency. However, we are not altogether deficient. Our oil still sells, we still enjoy a comparatively higher state of peace than many parts of the world. Our land is still fruitful. Judicious deployment of resources and an understanding of the concept and value of sequencing is what may be most required to see us rise as a people again. “This preamble relates to the call to invest a greater portion of the pension funds in infrastructure. National renaissance and infrastructure investing require clear, calm, incisive and strategic thinking to achieve any notable success in their pursuit; hence the need to succeed in the ‘inner’ preparation process first. With N5.3trillion, grown over an 11-year period, careless deployment could wipe these gains out in an instant. On the contrary, if looked at as a constituent part of National Economic Strategy, the focus will switch to how we can support the industry to grow beyond N20trillion describing broader coverage so that a national savings pool, effectively utilised, will always be available to kick-start properly conceived, internally consistent, national development initiatives. This is the conversation I believe the pension industry needs to be afforded with government and governance at all levels in our dear Nation. We need to elevate the quality of the discourse.” Longe said that unprofessional and unfair competitive practices should really have no place in the pension industry, adding, “It is also very important that we foster unity amongst ourselves as operators. That we imbibe the discipline of speaking with one voice. Healthy, honest and open debate is important. But once positions are agreed, it is my opinion that they should be binding.

GOtv Boxing Night 8: Skoro makes glorious return

Waidi “Skoro”, the West African Boxing Union featherweight champion, made an explosive ring return on Saturday, winning the N1 million cash prize for the best boxer award at GOtv Boxing Night 8.

The capacity crowd at The Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, cheered Skoro, whose fight with the impressive David “Lucky Boy” Ekpeyong was one of The highlights of the night. Skoro won via unanimous decision.

In the main bout of the night, Abolaji “Afonja Warrior” Rasheed-wildly cheered by his fans- emerged the national middleweight champion, defeating Sunny “King Hammer” Iyere via unanimous decision. Hammer, champion since 2001, gracefully conceded defeat.

In the light welterweight category, Olaide “Fijaborn” Fijabi knocked out Tombraye Christmas in the first round. Also in the same category, Rilwan “Baby Face” Babatunde made light work of Shakiru “No Shaking” Lateef.  The welterweight category saw the return to action  of Stanley “Edo Boy” Eribo, who defeated Tele “Lagelu” Adeleke via a fifth round knockout. The super middleweight clash between Matthew “Wizeman” Obinna and Samuel “Lion Heart” Igbokwe was declared a no-contest.

Nigeria’s economic outlook for the rest of 2016

By Dele Sobowale “We are simply saying that we have a very credible plan for dealing with the challenges we are facing, which we’ve been very honest about…there is still a long way to go…diversifying and repositioning” will bear fruit..” Minister of Finance, PUNCH, July 25, 2016, p 40. That the Nigerian economy is in a recession is no longer news. In fact, for some of us, it was predictable, even long before the Economic Management Team was aware that it was on the way. The International Monetary Fund, IMF, recently projected contraction of 1.8% for 2016. The Federal Government while not officially contesting the IMF estimates still clings to the faint hope that “the economy will show recovery in the third quarter of this year” (Mrs Adeosun). Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun One month of that quarter is over and there is no sign of recovery simply because there is no money to bring about a rebound. The statements quoted above raise the question: what is the outlook for the rest of 2016? Asking government officials is useless. They will be the last to forecast bad news. They prefer the unpleasant surprise first and they can offer excuses after for the failure. In the report by PUNCH, Mrs Adeosun, is on her way to the World Bank, cap in hand, to present the nation’s policy support document which would make it possible for us to source for $11bn [N387bn] from the external financial markets to help plug the hole created by budget deficits already incurred this year. Before addressing the statements credited to the Minister, we need to quickly summarise where the nation stood as at the end of the first four months and then make projections for the rest of the year. Those figures will help us in deciding how much reliance we can place on the utterances of what the President calls his Economic Management Team, EMT. In that same PUNCH, President Buhari reportedly asked, obviously in anger, ‘What do they mean by team? The Vice-President heads our economic management team.” It probably never occurred to Buhari that the question keeps occurring because most Nigerians with vast experience in economics and finance don’t think much about the quality of his “team”. To be quite candid, it is lightweight compared to others in the past and there has been nothing to induce confidence in the group. The VP is a magnificent lawyer but nobody has ever accused him of being a great economist; the same goes for the Ministers of Finance, Budget and Trade. Even the CBN Governor is a banker and one of the best bankers Nigeria has ever produced, Mr Atedo Peterside, during the race for banking consolidation in 2004/5 told the truth that “it is much more difficult to be a great economist than to be a banker.” At any rate, the CBN Governor is only responsible for monetary policy. Without sound fiscal policy, which the President, or his surrogate (in this case the VP) and the Minister of Finance provide, the economy is like a bird flying with one wing. Until recently, the CBN Governor was even prevented from introducing the measures required to soften the impact of an inevitable recession by a President who adamantly refused to consider devaluation of the currency until it was almost too late. Nobody on the EMT had the guts to argue until Buhari went to London and was persuaded. Even then the CBN “floated” the currency and only recently permitted market forces to determine the rates. These were the pre-conditions imposed by the global financial markets from which we seek the loans. We wasted precious time and Mrs Adeosun is now just on her way to start discussions which should have been concluded in April. This is the end of July and the funds will not start to flow, if at all,  until August by which time our debt burden would have increased and our ability to repay would have been further impaired. A quick look at the results for the first four months suggest the economy is in far worse condition than anybody envisaged. In fact, the results are so off the mark the 2016 budget might as well be thrown into the dust bin. Nothing done from August to December would redeem it. Against a revenue budget of N1.5tn, the actual revenue generated was N660bn or 44% of budget and the deficit was N890bn or -56%. Results for May and June are not yet available, but, one needs no doctorate in economics to realise that the trend started in January and continued to April had not been reversed. Governments still have no money to spend. No major new private investment had occurred, aggregate consumption is either stagnant or declining and foreign exchange inflow is low. All the variables which can stimulate a reversal were going down and there is no light at the end of the dark tunnel. Mrs Adeosun, like all government officials, is forced to be optimistic, even if there is no evidence to support her predictions.  When she claims that “a boost in [agricultural] output is expected this year”, one is forced to ask if she had consulted the Meteorological Services who would have told her that the nation, on the whole, has experienced the lowest rainfall in decades this year. “Low cost loans to farmers” is more fiction than real and “improved distribution” can only take place if there is any fertilizer to distribute in the first place. For most of the year, farmers have had little fertilizer supplied. How can imaginary boost in agricultural output help to “bridge the shortfall in oil revenue” as she falsely claimed? The outlook for the rest of 2016 is discouraging because what the President’s Economic Management Team announces is pure drivel. 

3,000 displaced as Busi communities clash in Cross River

By Emma Una CALABAR—OVER three thousand persons in Busi 4, one of the communities at the base of the famous Obudu Ranch Resort in Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State, have been displaced following a communal conflict, weekend. Sources in the area confirmed that five of the Busi communities, Busi 1, Busi 2, Busi 3, Busi 5 and Busi 6, allegedly joined forces to attack Busi 4, following a dispute over a parcel of farmland. A visit by Vanguard to the conflict area, located over four hundred kilometres away from Calabar, showed that several houses in Busi 4 were set ablaze, farmlands and water sources destroyed, while the villagers have escaped to the divisional police headquarters and the council headquarters at Sankwala, for refuge. A community leader in Busi 4, Mr. Emmanuel Okobere, said: “Neighbouring communities of Busi 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 invaded us in a protracted dispute over a parcel of land, which has spanned several years. “We got court judgement in our favour five times, which they refused to accept.” A youth leader in the community, Mr. Francis Obi, said the invaders attacked their community on Friday evening, taking them unawares. He said: “We were preparing to go to bed when all of a sudden, we started hearing gunshots, which caused panic in the community as our people started running and those who could not run fast enough were killed and our houses set ablaze.” Mr. John Inaku, Director General of Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, attributed the crisis to lack of patience and understanding among communities and condemned the act as barbaric and unnecessary. “These villages are always in a hurry to engage in the use of violence to settle land disputes, even when government is taking measures to settle the situation amicably,” he added

Ways out of the recession

The recent announcement by the Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, that the economy is now technically in recession did not surprise stakeholders. Even the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has repeatedly affirmed that the economy has been sinking, and the trend has held sway for most of 2016 with little prospect of an early rebound. Apart from the gloomy performance of the oil sector, which is a worldwide phenomenon compounded for Nigeria by the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta, the country’s weak production base left the economy without a fallback position when oil prices started tumbling. Nigeria’s near-total dependency on imported manufactured goods, ranging from the simplest household consumer items to the most complex industrial inputs makes the economy more vulnerable to both internal and external shocks. Nigeria imports at least 70 percent of its refined fuel, despite pumping 1.6 million barrels of crude oil a day in June 2016 according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This lack of a strong production base has resulted in imported inflation. Successive regimes have paid lip service to the need to diversify the economy and provide credible alternatives to oil as our foreign exchange earner. This recession leaves Nigeria with no alternative than to make good this plan by coming up with a comprehensive, inward-looking policies to boost production and thus mop up the excess labour force in the market. The Federal Government must also focus its policy of massive spending as a way out. As the purchasing power of the citizenry is low at the moment (due mainly to months of unpaid workers’ salaries), government needs to enhance individual liquidity by spending wisely on agriculture, infrastructure and stimulating the manufacturing sector. More efforts must be made to pay the backlog of workers’ wages. We must increase the consumption of locally-made goods and services. We must export more to drive the economy. The federal and state governments should borrow from the capital market to finance revenue-yielding capital projects, ensuring that contractors are faithfully paid to enable them pay their workers. The economic policies of the Federal Government must also be shaped to attract foreign direct investment, not just portfolio investors. But we must warn that foreign investors will only take a chance on our economy when they see that our local investors are also investing. The Federal Government has a duty to start addressing the core issues in the economy frontally, carrying stakeholders along. Nigerians must be reoriented to produce what they consume and discard their unwholesome preference for foreign goods. No country has ever created a great economy by depending on the industrial outputs of other nations. The task of rebuilding the economy is an assignment for all Nigerians.