Business
Ways and means, new loans increased Nigeria’s debt to N24.3tn – DMO
Ways and means, new loans increased Nigeria’s debt to N24.3tn – DMO
The rise in Nigeria’s public debt stock currently at N24.3tn is due to new loans, as well as Ways and Means securitisation, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said.
Director-General of DMO, Patience Oniha, said this in an interview with NAN on Tuesday in Abuja.
On June 20, the DMO announced that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N121.67 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
The public debt increased by N24.33 trillion or 24.99 percent from N97.34 trillion reported as of December 2023.
Oniha, speaking on the country’s total debt profile, said the increase in the debt stock was partly due to the securitisation of N4.90 trillion as part of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means advances approved by the National Assembly.
Other contributors, according to her, are the interest rate, as well as new borrowing of N2.81 trillion as part of the N6.06 trillion provided in the 2024 budget.
“The total public debt as at March 31, showed that the total public debt in naira terms stood at N121.67 trillion compared to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023,” she said.
“While detailed information was provided on the data such as the split between external and domestic debt as well as the fact that the debt stock includes the domestic and external debt stock of the 36 states and the FCT, it has become imperative to provide some explanations.
“It is important to recognise the fact that Nigeria has undergone some major reforms which have impacted economic indices such as the dollar/naira exchange rate and interest rates.
“These two, in particular, affect the debt stock and debt service.”
According to Oniha, the total external debt stock was relatively flat at $42.50 billion and $42.12 billion in Q4 2023, and Q1 2024, respectively.
She said, “The naira values were significantly different at N38.22 trillion and N56.02 trillion respectively, representing a difference of N17.8 trillion.”
She said, “This explains the perceived sharp increase of N24.33 trillion in the total debt stock in the first quarter of 2024.
“The difference in the exchange rate for the two periods also explains why in dollar terms, the total debt stock actually declined in the first quarter of 2024 to $91.46 billion.”
The DG said the debt report was however an improvement over the past, before President Bola Tinubu’s government.
She said if foreign exchange impact is removed, “the debt is moderate and within normal limit”.
Oniha urged the Federal Government to prioritise fiscal retrenchment while assuring that the various measures to attract foreign exchange inflows would increase external reserves and support the naira exchange rate.
Business
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.
A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.
Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.
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Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”
He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.
“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
Business
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.
This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.
The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.
The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.
He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.
The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.
Business
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.
The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.
The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.
“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.
“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.
“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”
Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.
Employment rate – 76%
The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.
“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.
Self-employment – 85.6%
The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.
It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”
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