Lifestyle

FEC approves N580m for purchase of armoured vehicles for NDLEA

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The Federal Executive Council, on Wednesday, September 28, approved N580.50m for the purchase of four armoured vehicles for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, disclosed this to State House correspondents shortly after the weekly Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Abubakar Malami, the decision to procure the armoured vehicles was taken to encourage and safeguard the lives of NDLEA operatives. Speaking with journalists at the end of the FEC meeting, Malami said operatives of the agency have been working hard with lots of results to show for their efforts.

“Today, a memo was presented by the office of the attorney general of the federation, that is, the Federal Ministry of Justice, which was relating to a parastatal under the supervision of the office of the attorney general; the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),” he said.

“The purpose of the memo was to seek approval of the council for the award of contract for the supply of four customised armoured security vehicles of 14-seater model for the NDLEA and the contract sum is N580,500,000 only inclusive of 7.5 per cent value added tax with a delivery period of 16 weeks.” He continued:

“It is common knowledge that recently, the NDLEA has been repositioned and arising from the support both in terms of our capacity building, hardware and associated things, they have been recording an extra-ordinary or unprecedented success.

Recently they seized about 1.8 tons of cocaine having a market value of about N194 billion.

“So, with all these successes recorded, it is only logical that the criminals and their syndicate are now devising means inclusive of attacks on NDLEA personnel and it is with that in mind that the memo was presented for the procurement of such vehicles for the NDLEA and the council approved.”

Business

FEC approves new debt management strategy

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DMO reveals approval of new debt management strategy 2020-2023 by FEC

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting on Wednesday, February 10, approved a new Medium Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) for Nigeria, for the period 2020-2023.

This was contained on the official website of the Debt Management Office (DMO).

According to the DMO, the MTDS was a policy document that provided a guide to the borrowing activities of a government in the medium-term, which is usually four years.

It said: “it is recognised as one of the best practices in public debt management and is recommended by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)

This is to ensure that public debt management is driven by a well-articulated strategy that is structured to meet a country’s broader macroeconomic and public debt management objectives.

“The MTDS, 2020-2023 has been prepared by the DMO, in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“Other collaborating stakeholders are the Budget Office of the Federation, National Bureau of Statistics, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.”

The DMO revealed that Nigeria has had two previous MTDS (2012-2015 and 2016-2019), prior to the current Strategy, which was designed with a consideration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The new Strategy had to be re-worked to reflect the global and local economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and it incorporates data from the revised 2020 Appropriation Act and the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework 2021-2023.

“The new MTDS adequately reflects the current economic realities and the projected trends. The preparation of the MTDS usually involves the consideration of alternative funding strategies available to the government.

“It seeks to meet its financing needs, taking into consideration the cost of borrowing and the associated risks, while ensuring debt sustainability in the medium to long-term,” the DMO explained.

Debt incurred by the Federal Government

As of Q4 2020, the total public debt (External and Domestic) incurred by Nigeria stood at N32.22 trillion ($84.57 billion).

This represents an additional N6.01 trillion when compared to N26.21 trillion recorded as of the corresponding period of 2019.

This is according to the Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

A cursory look at the breakdown of the domestic debts shows that 73.53% (N11.65 trillion) were in form of Federal Government bonds, 17.17% (N2.72 trillion) in Treasury bills, followed by Promissory Notes accounting for 6.13% (N971.9 billion) of the total federal government domestic debts.

Others include; FGN Sukuk (N362.6 billion), Treasury Bonds (N100.9 billion), Green bond (N25.7 billion), and Savings bond (N12.6 billion).

On the 31st of December 2020, President Buhari signed the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.59 trillion into law, which 25.7% higher than the revised 2020 budget of N10.8 trillion.

However, the budget comes with a deficit of N5.6 trillion, which is expected to be financed mainly through borrowings both externally and domestically.

According to the minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, during a budget presentation, N2.34 trillion will be sourced each from domestic and foreign sources respectively, N709.69 billion from Multilateral/bilateral loan drawdowns, and N205.15 billion from privatisation proceeds.

Politics, World News

FEC Approves The Establishment of 20 New Private Universities.

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The Federal Executive Council (FEC) led by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, February 3, approved the establishment of 20 new private universities across Nigeria.

The council approved the request for the establishment which was contained in a memo sent from the Ministry of Education. According to FEC, the universities will be given provisional licenses to run for three years while the ministry monitors and evaluates their growth.

President Buhari

This would bring the total number of private universities in the country up to 99.

Politics

FEC approves #654m to monitor illegal frequencies in South East.

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The Federal Executive Council has approved the sum of N653,886,584 to procure and deploy a hybrid spectrum monitoring system that will cover the southern part of the country, most importantly the south-east.

The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Issa Pantami, disclosed this on Wednesday, at the end of the 18th virtual Federal Executive Council meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari at State Hūouse in Abuja.

According to him, the investigation carried out in five geo-political zones; the north-east, north-west, north-central, south-west and south-south, revealed that out of the 320 frequencies discovered, 106 were illegal and based on the advice of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the illegal frequencies will be prosecuted.

Mr Pantami described the use of illegal frequencies in the country which according to him, has become very rampant, as worrisome.

He explained that the initial monitoring did not cover the southeastern part of the country, hence the need for the council’s approval.

Politics

FEC approves N13.08trn budget proposal for 2021, transmits to NASS on Thursday

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The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday in Abuja approved budgetary proposal of N13.08trillion for 2021 fiscal year.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, made this known when she briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting.

She explained that the total aggregate revenue projected for the 2021 budget was N7.89 trillion with a deficit of N4.48 trillion.

According to the minister, the total capital expenditure projected in the budget is 29 percent of the aggregate expenditure, saying the 29 per cent is an improvement over the 24 percent projected in budget 2020.

“We have a total aggregate revenue of N7.89 trillion and also an aggregate expenditure of N13.08 trillion for 2021. about:blank

“There’s a fiscal deficit of N4.489 trillion, this represents 3.64%, slightly above what is required by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 3% and also to report that the total capital expenditure that is projected in the Budget is 29% of the aggregate expenditure.

“This is an improvement over the 24% that we had in the 2020 Budget, but slightly below the 30% that we targeted in the economic recovery.

“Just to clarify that the 1.86 million barrels per day crude oil production includes 400,000 condensate, so we have complied with the OPEC quota, which is placed at about 1.5 million barrels per day. So the 1.46 is in meeting with the OPEC quota,’’ she said.

The minister disclosed that the performance of the 2020 budget, as at July for revenue, was 68 per cent, while its performance for expenditure was 92 per cent.

“The performance of the 2020 Budget as at July, for revenue, was 68 per cent We had a 68 per cent revenue performance prorated to July.

“The performance of expenditure, on the other hand, was 92.3 per cent and that is to say salaries were fully paid, pensions were paid, debt service was made, as well as transfers classified as statutory.

“In presenting the Budget 2020, we had to report to Council some slight changes that need to be made on MTEF 2021/2023, which has since July been sent to the National Assembly by Mr President.

“Specifically, the exchange rate is going to be changed from 360 that we initially presented and submitted to Council and to the National Assembly, up to 379.

“The reason why this is happening is due to the exchange rate movement that the CBN has put in place.

“Also, there were some slight changes on miscellaneous revenues and signature bonuses after interaction with DPR, which resulted in some increase in revenue,’’ she added.

The minister stated that the 2021 budget proposal was aimed at enhancing inclusive growth and also to achieve the key objectives of government.

She said: “The total budget proposal that is made for 2021 is to enable us to attain a more inclusive growth and also to achieve the key objectives of government.

“These include; stimulating the economy, creating jobs, enhancing growth and creating infrastructural investment, also promoting manufacturing and local production.’’

The minister further revealed that the budget assumptions that were presented to Council included the crude oil price benchmark at 40 dollars per barrel; oil production at 1.86 million barrels per day; exchange rate of N379 to $1; GDP growth target of 3 per cent and inflation rate of 11.95 per cent.

She also expressed the hope that Nigeria’s economy would recover to the path of growth early in 2021, “so the total aggregate revenue that is projected for the 2021 Budget is N7.89 trillion and what is unique about the 2021 Budget is that we have brought in the budgets of 60 government-owned enterprises.

“If you recall, in 2020 we brought in 10, now we have brought in 60.

“These 60 exclude NNPC and the Central Bank and the reason being NNPC, a national oil company, internationally national oil companies are not included in the national budget.

“Also, the CBN is an autonomous body. Only those two are excluded, 60 government-owned enterprises included.

“That is to say their revenue and all categories of expenditure are now integrated in the Budget.’’

On the effect of COVID-19 on the 2021 budget proposal, the minister said provisions had been made in the budget to address such challenges.

She said: “The 2021 budget has been able to make more provision for human capital development. So, the Ministry of Health for example has its provision almost doubled.

“The Ministry of Education has a significant increase. The details of the budget will be provided to the country after Mr President submits the budget which we hope might be on the 8th of October. So, the details will be out.

“And following Mr President’s submission, the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning will also engage in a world press conference to provide the details.

“But what is unique about this is that the provision for human capital development, especially health is doubled.”

The minister disclosed that the budget proposal would be transmitted to the National Assembly on Thursday

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