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  • FEC approves N13.08tr Budget for 2021

    FEC approves N13.08tr Budget for 2021

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has projected a N13.08 trillion budget for 2021.

    Disclosing this to State House Correspondents after the weekly virtual FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, also said the oil benchmark has been pegged at $40 per barrel.

    The Minister, who was accompanied by the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning Clement Agba; the Minister for Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed; and Director-General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, also said the projected capital expenditure for the year is projected at N2.083 trillion.

    Other indices projected to tune the 2021 budget include oil production at 1.86 million barrels per day, including 400,000 barrels of condensate; Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target at 3%; inflation target at 11.95%; and foreign exchange set at N379 to one dollar.

    The Minister further informed the 2021 budget has a N7.89 trillion revenue projection with a N4.489 trillion fiscal deficit on the proposed N13.08 trillion budget.

    She said her Ministry also reported the performance of the 2020 Budget from the beginning to July, to the Council, stating that the revenue performance was at 68% while expenditure stood at 92.3%, as at July of this year.

    Speaking about targets of the 2021 proposed budget, Ahmed said the administration hoped to use the projections to stimulate the economy, create jobs and infrastructure, among other economic goals.

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

    “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.

    “This is important to us because as you report, if you just report the 1.86, some members of the OPEC appear to think that we are exceeding OPEC quota, whereas we are reporting oil and condensate,” she said.

  • Osinbajo presides over 4th virtual NEC meeting

    Osinbajo presides over 4th virtual NEC meeting

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday presided over a virtual meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting was the fourth virtual meeting as the nation complies with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocol on COVID-19 pandemic.

    The governors joined the virtual NEC from their respective states.

    At the last virtual meeting on Aug. 20, NEC disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the sum of N13 billion for the implementation of community policing in the country.

    It said the president’s gesture was borne out of his resolve to rejig the security architecture in the country and deliver a more effective policing.

    The Vice President, constitutionally, is the chairman of NEC which meets monthly to deliberate on the coordination of economic planning and programmes of various levels of government.

    NEC comprises the 36 state governors, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Minister of Finance, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and other relevant government officials whose duties hinged on the economy.

  • FEC approves establishment of new agency to manage recovered loots, assets

    FEC approves establishment of new agency to manage recovered loots, assets

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the establishment of the Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Agency Bill.

    The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, stated this on Wednesday after this week’s virtual FEC meeting.

    According to Malami, the bill is intended to put in place a legal and institutional framework through which all recovered stolen assets are pooled and managed under an agency.

    He explained that once the bill becomes law and the agency is established, it would see to proper documentation and management of such recovered assets, thereby guarantee transparency and accountability.

    “It is a Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Agency Bill. The legal component of it is having a law. And the institutional component of it is to have an agency that will be saddled with the responsibility of managing the assets that constitute the proceeds of crime in Nigeria.

    “What happens now is that proceeds of crime are scattered all over, and mostly in the hands of different and multiple agencies of the government inclusive of the police, the DSS, the EFCC, and the ICPC. So, with that kind of arrangement which is adhoc, there is no agency of government that is saddled with the responsibility of data generation, an agency that can give you offhead the number of landed assets, number of immovable assets, the amount in cash that are recovered by the federal government by way of interim forfeiture or final forfeiture. It is indeed a kind of arrangement that is not uniform and consistent.

    “So, what this law now seeks to do is to move the fight against corruption to the next level. Next level of transparency next level of accountability and in essence, have in place an agency of government that is exclusively responsible for anything proceeds of crime. So, a one-stop shop arrangement by which all the assests that are recovered arising from crimes that are indeed vested in the federal government, you can have an information.

    “As it is for example, the federal ministry of Justice is only in a position to account and giving comprehensive account of what recoveries were made by the ministry. But any recovery made by the police, DSS, the ministry of justice is not in a position to know. So, for the purpose of decision making and policy, the Federal Government is not in a position to have a wholistic appreciation.

    “So, by the bill that is now presented for the consideration of the council, we’ll have (1) a law that establishes an agency. And for your information, even for the purpose of planning what we will have at the end of the day if this bill is passed into law, is we’ll have an agency that will be responsible. And as you rightly know, Mr President has sanctioned ever since he came on board, that there should be a budget line, a budget item for recovered assets.

    “If you have a budget item for recovered assets, this agency will now be in a position to provide information to the federal ministry of finance, budget and National Planning on demand as to what amount is there available for budget purposes, thereby establishing the desired transparency, the desired accountability which has not been available before now.

  • FEC approves N13bn for automation of four airports, $3.1bn for Customs

    FEC approves N13bn for automation of four airports, $3.1bn for Customs

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N13 billion for the automation of safety equipment at Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt international airports.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the virtual meeting of the Council presided by President Muhammadu Buhari, also approved 3.1 billion dollars for the automation of the operations of the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS).

    The Ministers of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika and Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, made this known to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting in Abuja.

    Sirika expressed optimism that the safe tower projects, when completed, would increase efficiency and reduce the workload of air controllers in the affected airports.

    He said: “Today, Civil Aviation submitted a memorandum to council which was consequently approved.

    “The memo is to upgrade and refurbish the safe tower equipment in four airports, Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

    “This is just to increase the efficiency of the airports and reduce the workload in the control tower and to automate what was hitherto analogue system to digital.

    “Quick example is all of the data we collect at the end of the runways within the airports will now be displayed instantly on our platform in the control tower.

    “Information regarding weather, regarding all of the components of weather, winds, rain, macro burst etc will be displayed automatically.

    “So, the issue of giving out weather reports every hourly will change to give you an instant weather which will improve the pilot efficiency and the workload on controller is reduced and it can handle more flights into the airport.

    “The total contract sum is N13.122, 230, 999.17.’’

    He further explained that the payment of the contract sum would be in two parts.

    “First component which is a foreign component is €28,489,565 million while the naira component is N3.491,504,488.31.

    “Of course, there will be 7.5 per cent added VAT. It will be for completion period of 12 months.’’

    On her part, Ahmed, said the approval for the e-Custom modernization project followed a memo she presented to the Council.

    She said: “The purpose of the memo we presented to Council was for a project that will enable the complete automation of the Nigeria Custom Service processes and procedures using the application and information and technology technology in all aspects of Customs administration.’

    According to the minister, the main objective is to completely automate every aspect of the customs business and institutionalize the use of smart and emerging technologies to enhance the statutory function of the NCS in the area of revenue generation.

    She revealed that the project would be financed through Public Private Partnership (PPP) under a concessionary period of 20 years.

    “So, Council today ratified Mr President’s approval for the PPP concession for a 20-year period to Messers E-Customs HC Project Limited as a concessionaire for the delivery of customs modernization project.

    “This is a project that will not have an immediate cost to the government, the investors are providing all of the financing and this revenue will be deployed in three phases and they will look over the investment in the concessionary period of 20 years.

    “The key point is that it is not costing the federal government one thing, the 3.1 billion dollars being proposed will be sourced by the sponsors and the partners,’’ she said.

  • Buhari led FEC approves forensic auditing for 12,000 NDDC projects

    Buhari led FEC approves forensic auditing for 12,000 NDDC projects

    About 12,000 Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) projects will go through forensic audit, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Godswill Akpabio said on Wednesday.

    Akpabio spoke at the end of the 13th virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.

    He said a memorandum by the ministry for the appointment of eight firms to carry out forensic audit of the projects was approved by the council.

    Akpabio said a foreign auditing firm, Ernst and Young, which was appointed in March as lead auditor is among the eight firms.

    The international firm will be in charge of programmes and activities at the headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while seven other auditing firms will carry out the field work.

    However, the minister did not name the seven new auditors that would be paid N722.3 million for the seven to 14 days field work.

    The contract entered in March with the lead auditors (Enst and Young) was N318 million

    Akpabio explained that with the approval by FEC, “evaluation of the abandoned projects of NDDC in the last 19 years, estimated almost 12,000’’ has commenced..

    ”At the end, we will know the amount of monies that have gone into the region in the last 19 years and whether the value we have received so far are commensurate with the monies that have entered into NDDC”, he added.

    Akpabio also explained that the money being used for the contracts, which ought to have been drawn from the NDDC budget, came from the Presidency. He attributed the development to the delay in passing the commission’s 2020 budget by the National Assembly.

    His words: “The first amount that was approved for the lead forensic auditors was about N318 million and then for this batch of eight field auditors, N722.3 million. We expect to complete the field audit in the next one or two weeks.

    ”Mr. President had last year approved an estimated amount of N2.5 billion. So, everything that we are spending now will come from that estimated sum. Initially, it should have come from the budget of the NDDC, but because of the delay and the inability to pass the 2020 budget, the entirety of the amount that will be spent will come from the budget of the Presidency.

    “The job is not just forensic audit alone; you know forensic audit is different from statutory. This one (forensic audit) is done with a view to address the issues of misappropriation, bribery, corruption, fraud or anything of that sort that could have militated against the success of the agency in the last 19 years.”

    Also addressing the State House correspondents, Water Resources Minister Suleiman Adamu said the council approved N101 million augmentation for the revised estimated cost of consultancy services for the Ogbese Dam Project in Ekiti State.

    ”This project is one of the 116 projects that we inherited. It was started in 2009. And it is one of the projects we prioritised for completion since we conducted an audit of all the ongoing projects in 2016. We have been working on it steadily,” he said.

  • COVID-19: How NCC is sustaining telecoms services for Nigerians

    COVID-19: How NCC is sustaining telecoms services for Nigerians

    The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta has said despite the pandemic and the lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 virus, the NCC did not relent to ensure that the quality of telecoms services is sustained.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Danbatta, who stated this on Friday at the first virtual edition of the telecoms consumer parliament (VTCP), said the Commission took some critical steps in conjunction with the supervising Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy towards mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on service delivery by the network operators.

    Recall that in the wake of the outbreak of the pandemic in Nigeria, the federal government announced different categories of lockdown measures, which made the mobility and social life of citizens hindered, necessitating the need for individuals, businesses and public institutions to rely more on telecommunications to constantly keep in touch with their relatives, friends and more importantly, for running their daily economic activities.

    Educational activities also increasingly went online following the closing down of schools, while shopping and other activities also migrated online. With all these activities carried out through the internet, network usage is skyrocketing, with many network operators reporting a large increase in data usage. Likewise, the volume of voice calls is increasing by the day.

    Some of the critical steps Danbatta said were emplaced to ensure service delivery is sustained were the approval of resource sharing among network operators and the development of e-platforms where all licensing requests, consumer complaints and base transceiver station (BTS) investigation requests are channelled, and also providence of designated e-mail addresses to be used for such requests throughout the pandemic period.

    “The Commission also secured Right of Passage (RoP) for all telecommunications officials and staff for easy movement during the lockdown and movement restriction in order to be able to service their base stations and keep them active to provide services for telecom consumers who increasingly rely on their networks to work from home. In the same vein, the Commission also secured Right of Passage for suppliers that are involved in supplies of fuels, food and other essential services to telecom operators during the total lockdown,” Danbatta said.

    The NCC EVC/CEO further stated that with the intervention of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, State Governors are now aligning their Right of Way charges to N145 as approved by the Federal Economic Council (FEC), reducing below N145 per linear of fibre laid by the operators in their States.

    “Other State Governors pegged their RoW charges below the N145 set by the FEC while some state governors have totally waived RoW charges in their states. All these are aimed at encouraging network operators to deploy telecoms/broadband infrastructure faster in their states with a view to deepening digital access.

    “As Covid-19 evolves, a new world order where more activities are conducted online and robust broadband access is central is emerging. In effect, most of the State Governors have appreciated the centrality of robust broadband infrastructure as work-from-home measures by government persists.

    “The Commission is hopeful that with the reduction in RoW, which will automatically result in reduction in capital expenditure (CAPEX) by the network operators, telecom companies will sooner or later reciprocate the gesture by making their services in particular, data services more affordable to Nigerians,” Danbatta said.

  • BREAKING: FEC approves N8.49bn for 12 COVID-19 testing items

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N8.49 billion for purchase of 12 assorted items for COVID-19 testing by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

    The memo for the procurement was presented by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, on behalf of the centre at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The FEC meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.

    The approval was based on a memorandum presented to the council by the Ehanire.

  • COVID-19: FEC approves N2.3trn stimulus package to address disruption of economy

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved N2.3 trillion stimulus package to support the Nigerian economy in the face of the disruptions and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the Council meeting in Abuja, said the package was part of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) as recommended by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo led committee.

    According to her, the goals of the NESP is to create jobs, put money into the economy, as well as stop the economy from slipping into recession, support small businesses and prioritize local content (Made-in-Nigeria). The Minister revealed that the NESP was a 12-month ‘Transit’ Plan between the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the ERGP-successor-plan currently being worked upon.

    “The total package that we presented today is in the sum of N2.3 trillion, N500 billion of this is a stimulus package that is already provided for in the amended 2020 Appropriations Act. These are funds that we have sourced from special accounts.

    “We also have N1.2 trillion of this funds to be sourced as structured low cost loans which are interventionary from the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as other development partners and institutions.

    “We have N344 billion that will be sourced from bilateral and external sources and also additional funds that we can source locally.

    “There is a strategy that has been adopted and this whole plan is to enable us respond to the triple problem of low exchange rate, youth unemployment as well as negative growth which is facing us now.

    “The plan has to also support small businesses that have suffered severe impact of COVID-19 as a result of lock down. Specially, the hotel (hospitality) industry, private schools, restaurants as well as the transport sector have been very well impacted by this.

    “We have also seen a significant impact on the poor and the vulnerable and even people that were okay as small traders, have been hard hit by standstill that we witnessed as a result of lockdowns,’’ she said.

    She stated that the Council endorsed the adoption of direct labour intervention process in the execution of agricultural, housing and road construction projects to create jobs, using labour intensive methods.

    She said: “Council was able to take our reports and the interventions in the plan is that we prevent businesses from collapsing and also to infuse liquidity around the Nigerian economy, to create jobs using labour intensive methods such as agriculture, facility management, housing, construction, direct labour interventions that will create a lot of jobs very quickly.

    The minister said the Osinbajo committee also proposed in the plan the need to undertake growth enhancing jobs, creating infrastructure investments in roads, bridges, solar power, communications technology and several others.

    “We have promoted in the plan manufacturing and local production at all levels, we are advocating for the use of made in Nigeria in all of these public works that we will be doing as a way of cresting jobs opportunities to enhance jobs sufficiency.

    “So, we expect for road construction for instance, we expect the minister of works not buy bitumen but to consider the use of gemstones and cement or other materials that can be used here, that way we converse our resources and will also be able to ignite other sectors within the economy,’’ she added.

    On housing, the minister revealed that 300,000 houses would be built by the federal ministry of works and housing, using standard designs that will be done by the ministry, using strictly low cost materials.

    “On the building sites, the plan is to have carpenters and others that will have multiplier effect on the economy.

    The Minister of Works and Housing, Babtunde Fashola, also told the correspondents that his ministry presented memorandum for the award of seven road projects across the country at the cost of N122billion

    He said: “There are seven roads in all. The roads were valued at a total sum of N122. 280 billion expected to generate employment for about 2564 people.”

    The roads, according to him, are the dualization of Akure to Ado Ekiti road connecting Ondo and Ekiti states at the sum of N23. 751 billion; construction of Ukana-Akpautong-Ikot Ntuen road in Akwa Ibom State, for N1. 538 billion and construction of Iluke-Aiyetoro Kiri-Abugi-Eggan road in Kogi State for N25.352 billion.

    Others are the rehabilitation of Odo-Ona Elewe Idiayunre-Marou – Ogun State border road in Oyo state for N4. 6billion; construction of Tamawa-Gulu road in Kano state phase three and Maigar-Guru section for N1. 5billion.

    He disclosed that N59.7billion was approved for rehabilitation of Potiskum-Fika-Bajoga-Gombe road linking Yobe and Gombe states while N6.7billion would be expended on the construction of Kachako-Danbazzau road in Kano State.

    According to the minister, the Council approved the award of these roads for implementation under the 2020 Appropriation

  • FEC approves N148bn refund to six states for fixing federal roads

    FEC approves N148bn refund to six states for fixing federal roads

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the refund of N148, 141,987,161.25 to five states as the cash they disbursed in fixing federal roads in their domains.

    Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed, who dropped the hint in a chat with State House reporters after Wednesday’s virtual FEC meeting, listed the beneficiaries as Cross River, Ondo, Osun, Bayelsa and Rivers states.

    The minister said the memo for the refund was presented by Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fasola.

    According to Mohammed, the virtual meeting, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, considered claims of the five states in the approved memo.

    A breakdown of the refunds shows that Cross River will get N18,394,737,608.85; Ondo (N7,822,147,577.08); Osun (N2,468,938,876.78); Bayelsa (N38,040,564,783.40) and Rivers (N78,953,067,518.29).

    Mohammed, however, noted that the Council had warned that there would be no more of such refunds in future, should any state government venture into projects without first getting a mandate from the federal government.

    He said: “You will recall that in 2016, 36 states of the federation sent a very huge bill to the Federal Government, asking for compensation for money that they have expended on federal roads.

    “This prompted Mr. President to set up a committee to go and verify the claims of these 36 states, whether indeed these projects were actually constructed, were they completed, in line with the federal government standards.

    “At the end of that exercise by an inter-ministerial committee, chaired by the Honorable Minister of Works and Housing, but also had ministers of Education, Transportation, Finance, Minister of State for Works, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Director-General and the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office as members.

    “At the end of that exercise, the committee recommended that the federal government should refund N550,364,297.31 billion to 31 of the 36 states, after they were convinced that, yes indeed, the projects were completed and there were federal government roads.

    “But, the claims of five other states – Cross River, Rivers, Ondo, Bayelsa and Osun failed on the grounds that they did not do proper documentation and the committee felt they needed proper documentation.

    “So, the committee went back with new terms of reference to ensure that the claims of the five states were in order. That is why the BPP is on the committee. So, at the end of the exercise, the committee now reported that the five states – Cross River with 20 roads and one bridge will get a refund of N18,394,737,608.85, Ondo with six roads to get a refund of N7,822,147,577.08, and Osun with two roads and one bridge to get a refund of N2,468,938,876.78.

    “Others are Bayelsa with five roads and one bridge is to get a refund of N38, 040,564,783.40 and Rivers with three roads and three flyovers bridges is to get a refund of N78, 953,067,518.29.”

    The minister said the committees confirmed the roads and the bridges; that not only were they completed, they are in substantial good form, adding that some of the bridges and roads were built about 10 years ago.

    However, Mohammed said the FEC placed a caveat on similar circumstances as gave rise to the demand for refunds, saying “the Federal Government will pay the states but however, henceforth, if any state takes on federal road, it will not be paid, they will not get any refund.

    “Even if you want to pay from your own pocket, you will still need the permission of the federal government and it will be supervised by the federal ministry of works and housing.”

    He said the modalities of refund was being worked out, while payment would be made over a period of time, even as he said 31 states were earlier paid the sum of over N500 billion.

  • GBB defends controversy surrounding virtual FEC meeting chaired by Buhari

    GBB defends controversy surrounding virtual FEC meeting chaired by Buhari

    Galaxy Backbone (GBB) has come out to defend the controversy surrounding the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    There have been speculations that the virtual FEC meeting, held for the second time on Wednesday, was held on a platform running a deprecated operating system thereby presenting potential security issues.

    The virtual meetings were coordinated by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami.

    The Managing Director of GBB, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said GBB executed the virtual meeting with support of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as the regulator of the sector and Nigerian Communication Satellite (NigComSat) accordingly.

    He said the virtual FEC meeting was held on cutting-edge technology infrastructure with up-to-date computer components, robust network security system and Next Generation Firewalls forming a ring fencing around it.

    Abubakar said the computers, which supported the network monitoring system were 10 and had extended Windows 7 Security Updates uptil 2023.

    “We would not have responded to the write-up, but in the interest of the reading public, we are compelled to provide some clarifications.

    “The photo of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy which precipitated this wrong assertion was taken in the Network Monitoring Centre (NMC), of the Uptime Institute Tier 3 certified National Shared Services Centre, a data centre, operated by Galaxy Backbone Limited.

    “The screen is a display of monitoring activities around our network across the country. The computing systems running this monitoring are offline.

    “There are systems that are specially designed such that absolutely no feature changes can be tolerated for the life of their devices, examples are medical control equipment, PoS systems, ATMs, Digital Signage among others.

    “Such systems typically have a 10-year servicing and support lifecycles. This is where our network monitoring system belongs,” he said.

    Abubakar said that Nigerians should visit https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4527878/faq-about-extended-security-updates-for-windows-7 for further details.

    He said GBB had ISO 20000 and ISO 27001 certifications, and took Information Technology security management very seriously and upgraded its systems based on standards.

    Abubakar also said that GBB was made up of seasoned, well-trained and experienced ICT professionals, determined to continue to provide the best infrastructure to support the Ministry’s initiative.