As FG plans borrowing N720bn, Nigeria’s debt to exceed N50tn this year – Newstrends
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As FG plans borrowing N720bn, Nigeria’s debt to exceed N50tn this year

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The Debt Management Office has released the schedule of local borrowings this year and says Nigeria’s public debt will soon exceed N50 trillion, representing a 29.8 per cent increase over the N39.56 trillion recorded at the end of 2021.

Specifically, the DMO said about N720 billion would be borrowed by the Federal Government in the second quarter.

This is contained its FGN Bonds Issuance Calendar for the Second Quarter, 2022.

According to the DMO, the national public debt rose by 20 per cent, year-on-year, YoY, to N39.56 trillion in 2021 from N32.92 trillion in 2020.

The 20 per cent rise in the total public debt was driven by a 25 per cent increase in external debt and 17.3 per cent increase in domestic debt.

While total external debt rose to N15.86 trillion in 2021 from 12.71 trillion in 2020, domestic debt rose to N23.7 trillion in 2021 from N20.21 trillion in 2020.

The debt profile of states and the Federal Capital Territory rose by 8.0 per cent to N6.43 trillion in 2021 from N5.95 trillion in 2021.

Latest data on the fiscal activities of the FG in 2022 shows that the nation’s public debt might increase by N11.8 trillion to bring the year end figure to a little above N51 trillion.

According a report by Vanguard, the FG traditionally exceeds the annual budget deficit. And it recalls that in 2021, the FG exceeded the budget deficit by about 48 per cent to about N7.69 trillion from N5.2 trillion in the approved budget for the year.

It noted if this trend should persist in 2022, the FG could end up with a deficit of N9.24 trillion as against the N6.25 trillion budgeted deficit for the year.

Already, President Muhammadu Buhari has extended fuel subsidy till June 2023, resulting in a supplementary budget request of N2.56 trillion to fund the subsidy from July to December 2022.

With further rises in crude oil prices, subsidy obligation is projected to rise beyond the supplementary budget provisions, a development analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited, a Lagos-based investment house, said would push the public debt level to dangerous territories and further worsen the nation’s debt sustainability indices.

They therefore called for a N2 trillion cut in the FG’s expenditure in 2022 to halt further deterioration in the nation’s debt sustainability indices.

Railway

Vandals destroy rail track in Kaduna community

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Vandals destroy rail track in Kaduna community

Vandals have destroyed a rail track at Chidunu village in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The hoodlums taking advantage of high rate of insecurity in the area stormed the village and reportedly loaded their three trucks with track materials forcefully removed from the rail.

Public Relations Officer for the Northern District of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Alhaji Abdullahi, in a statement on Monday, said two of the truck were stopped and impounded by security agents.

However, a Canter truck driver absconded with a portion of the stolen materials.

Some of the vandals were also apprehended by security operatives around the community.

Abdullahi highlighted the logistical challenges with the urgency to act before nightfall and the volatile nature of the area.

“It was difficult to arrange for logistics to evacuate track rails and sleepers before it got dark,” he said, emphasizing the collaborative efforts with local vigilantes and hunters to bolster surveillance along the affected railway stretch.

“We received a report on Sunday that the vandals were arrested during their illicit operation with two long trucks loaded with rail track materials,” Abdullahi said.

He added that the case has been handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for further investigation.

“The case is at present with the NSCDC, O.C. Anti-Vandal for further investigation,” Abdullahi stated.

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Panic as CBN set to fire more directors

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Panic as CBN set to fire more directors

About 12 more directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria are said to have been listed for sacking in a reorganization move by the Governor of the apex bank, Olayemi Cardoso.
This is coming after seven directors were fired last Friday.
Two of the seven terminated directors are currently facing a case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) due to their implication in the Jim Obaze report.
Obaze was appointed as Special Investigator by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to scrutinise the activities of the CBN under the watch of its former Governor Godwin Emefiele.
While the two directors are said to have accepted their fate, the other five are planning to take a legal action against the bank for alleged unlawful termination of their appointments.
The termination letters sent to the seven directors cited “reorganizational and human capital restructuring” as reasons for their dismissal.
The letters stated that they were relieved of their jobs with effect from Friday March 15, 2024.
They were directed to hand over all bank properties in their care to their department’s administrator immediately.
The Nation reported that 12 more directors are set to be dismissed.

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Release Nigerian traders’ data to EFCC, court orders Binance

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Release Nigerian traders data to EFCC, court orders Binance

 

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Binance Holdings Limited, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, to furnish the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with the comprehensive data of all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.

Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.

This was granted to enable the anti-graft agency to unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance.

The ex-parte motion was brought pursuant to Sections 6(b), (h), (I), 7(1), (a)(2), and 38 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 15 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended) and the inherent powers of the court.

An operative of the EFCC, Hamma Bello, in an affidavit he deposed to, said the matter was of utmost urgent public interest.

He said the data provided would enable the commission to accomplish its investigation activities.

He said it was in the interest of justice to grant the application as refusal of the request would largely hamper the commission’s investigation.

He stated, “That the team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation and market manipulation which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the naira losing its values against other currencies.

“That the damage the platform has caused was clearly explained to the operators of the platform and they were requested to delist the Naira and avail the ONSA on the activities of the Nigerians on their platform,”

He said the information availed to the team by Binance shows that the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6 billion.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that lists more than 350 cryptocurrencies globally.

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