TheNewsGuru

Tag: Food

  • “No food was given to me while in the police cell” -Suspect begs magistrate for meal

    “No food was given to me while in the police cell” -Suspect begs magistrate for meal

    There was mild drama at a Kenyan court as a security guard, facing assault charges told a Senior Principal Magistrate. Keynes Odhiambo, to buy him a plate of ugali before his plea would be taken.

    Japheth Olindo, a private guard, left the court in stitches on Monday, March 13, when he implored the magistrate to grant him bail because someone might rob him of his beautiful wife if he goes to jail.

    In his words: “Your honor before charging me kindly buy me ugali; I am very hungry. No food was given to me while in the police cell. I am about to faint in your court.”

    According to Olindo, he had not eaten his favourite dish, ugali, since he was arrested over the weekend.

    He claimed this has made him weak and unable to take his plea. The magistrate promised to buy him food after taking a plea.

    “I have heard your concerns and for today I will make sure that I buy you food before leaving this court, just take your plea and count on my promise,” the Magistrate told him.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Olindo was charged with assault and causing grievous harm.

    After pleading not guilty to the charge, he went on to plead with the magistrate to consider releasing him on a favourable bond since he only earns Sh6,000 as a guard.

    “As I stand in the dock my worry is if I will be detained for long someone might rob me of my beautiful wife. She is even here in court together with my child, kindly release me on Sh2,000 bond and I will comply with court directions by ensuring that I always come to court whenever required,” he told the magistrate.

    Olindo is charged with assaulting two people on March 10 at the Sugoi area within Turbo Sub County.

    He denied the charges claiming that his employer framed him after he reported them at Turbo police station for assaulting him.

    The court released him on Sh10,000 cash bail from Sh20,000 after he pleaded with the court.

    The matter will be mentioned on March 16, 2023.

  • TNG Deal Breakers: How Nigeria can incentivize agriculture for food sufficiency

    TNG Deal Breakers: How Nigeria can incentivize agriculture for food sufficiency

    China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and a host of other Asian countries with large populations produce enough grains like rice for local consumption and ship the rest – perhaps of doubtful quality, to Africa, with Nigeria as the main destination. The government of the day and in the past appear just satisfied with this situation. Otherwise, how could one explain that in a country with a population of 200+ million, nearly 1 million square kilometres of land, almost half of it cultivable, arable land would depend on larger populations to supply it its food needs?

    Beginning from the period of one’s childhood when Operation Feed the Nation (OFN as it was then called) turned into a sort of nursery rhyme to the Green Revolution era, Nigeria has travelled a long, wieldy and unyielding distance towards feeding its population. It is rather painful that nobody can account for this serial failure except to blame corruption. How long can we maintain this trajectory of catering only to our patronizing and transactional system?

    The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition formed in 2012 and driven by the G8 targeted to lift 50 million Africans out of poverty by 2022. The 10-year programme ended last year recording absolute failure. The so-called alliance between African leaders and G8 aimed at accelerating investment in agriculture did not lift anyone out of poverty. It has been said repeatedly at various fora that Africa can feed its populations. 

    Africa is an important destination market for the export of foods and other finished products from developed countries with over a trillion dollar bill. It is illogical to expect these same G8 countries to fund your self-reliance in food production. Even the best morally-driven philanthropy would not destroy its own market and source of revenue.  

    The AfDB’s investment of US$520 in a Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) in Nigeria should be driven by an urgent need to start reversing the colossal amount being spent on food alone. This could be seen as an emergency intervention in the face of food shortages worldwide. This investment is targeted and has the sufficient commitment of the investing entities. The component commitment of the Nigerian

    Import Bill 

    At about US$50 billion, it is estimated that the African continent’s food import bill could rise to US$110 billion in the next 7 years. Nigeria’s actual food import bill varies from various sources. Bloomberg puts Africa’s current 100 million metric tons of cereal import bill at US$75 billion while projecting an annual loan of US$ 65 billion to curb the high import bill.  Some sources put Nigeria’s food import bill at US$22 billion and US$20 billion while CBN put the figure at N1.2trillion or US$2.71billion. Whichever is correct, the high import bill for consumption is unsustainable and requires an urgent and Marshall-like plan to save the economy and feed the growing population.

    On the other hand, while food imports are rising, capital importation to agriculture fell to worse levels in 5 years by 2022. 

    How to reconfigure investment in agriculture 

    From the military rule era to the intervening years of civilian federal governments and now to full-blown civil rule, policy inconsistency, and corruption leading to the diversion of incentives and insufficient investment and oversight have robbed the country of the attainment of food sufficiency. For maximum impact, the incentivizing modalities need to be revised to focus more on large-scale farmers while still supporting smallholder farmers. This could be the game changer because up till now every government’s agricultural and farming incentive has targeted small farmers. However, their combined output has always fallen short of meeting the targets required to attain food self-reliance. 

    For large-scale farmers, it is easy to track investments and tally them with results while the prevailing emphasis is on supporting the small-holders from farm to market. In this scenario, the overall objective of attaining high food production is subsumed by the sentiment of not allowing the small farmers to lose their output either to the vagaries of weather, poor harvest, and distribution loss.  

    Of the nearly N200 billion Credit Risk Guarantee (CRG) NIRSAL exposure to the agricultural sector, only a small fraction is viable owing to the obviously large targeting of smallholder farmers. Certainly, it is absolutely imperative for the federal government to organize and fund small-holder farmers, agriculture cooperatives and the small and medium-scale agro-allied industries in the value chain. However, inputs in this area have in the long-term not matched output. The reason for the poor performance is that they are not enabled to upscale their output, but to aid corruption and diversion of funds by the agencies

    Unlike the large-scale agriculture investors, the small-holder farmers and cooperatives almost beg their way into being included in these portfolio disbursements and thus, are weak to negotiate firmly for the right loans or grants and conditions. It is almost perceived as a share of the national cake and lacks the full evaluation and profiling that ought to go into each of these small groups.

    The Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending and other special purpose agencies for the agricultural sector may consider a review of their support and lending template if the nation is to pull out of food import dependency.

    Proposal for viable investment targets

    Aside from the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) launched by AfDB in the last quarter of 2022, other special interventions by the federal and state governments are required.

    Universities of Agriculture in Nigeria are currently academic institutions for the award of degrees. This should change to be predominantly research institutions and training grounds for agriculture entrepreneurs, innovators and agriculture academicians. There are currently about 10 federal institutions dedicated to agriculture. College of Agriculture, Jos; Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan; Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom. Others include the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Federal College of Forestry, Jos; the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; Michael Okpara the University of Agriculture; The Federal College of Agriculture, Akure and the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi.

    There are dozens more federal and state universities offering agriculture as an academic course. It would be wrong for the university authorities to accredit a university for the purpose of awarding certificates only. The 21st Century conditions demand that graduates leave school to set up or work for establishments and start adding value to the economic system. The framework for this should take as exemplars, the universities of agriculture and the proposed real farm settlement environment.

    Acquisition of farmland, technology systems

    A minimum of 20 hectares of land must be acquired by all universities of agriculture and the necessary technology deployed. They should not only serve as practical preparatory farms but as profitable ventures run professionally. The difference from other farm ventures is that they are attached to universities for hands-on training of agricultural entrepreneurs.  Dozens of other universities that offer agriculture as a course should make use of these farmlands in their catchment areas as extension studies. Students should be acquainted with modern technologies. Biotechnology students should also collaborate with these institutions to integrate practical knowledge of synthetic biology ecosystems into their curriculum. These farmlands need not buy non-essential tools. Tractors for harvesting and tilling the soil if purchased may be rented out to small farm-holders in the community of agriculture universities for more impact.

    Upgraded Curriculum 

    The curriculum of agriculture universities should be aimed at making entrepreneurs, academics and innovators in this field. They can be well organized to attract foreign funding aside from government and local finance. Alongside this, a grading system oriented towards agricultural innovation may be developed by the universities so that before graduation and youth service, the best graduates are ready for the market in terms of their marketable and implementable solutions. 

    The work rate and grading component for agriculture university students should include the number of successful smallholder farmers they have helped with their knowledge.  

    Consistent awareness of the skills-oriented school curriculum should naturally attract the utmost attention worldwide so that students would already be armed with the knowledge of preparing their own business plans and can attract funding as undergrads. The principle of cooperation between departments and among students should be the basis of the academic community. For instance, an agricultural entrepreneur could expose his plan to an accounting/finance student to get appropriate financial modelling for his business.

    The Heifer exemplar

    Heifer Nigeria is aiming to support “one million families, predominately women and youths, to reach a sustainable living income by 2030”. The multinational is investing in “priority value chains critical to the country’s food security, leveraging innovation and emerging agricultural technologies to reach impact at transformational scales”. The program components reach out to all stakeholders in the agricultural value chain. However, its activities are heavily inclined to run along the smallholder farmers which for a long has not produced the right results. At best, it can only support the subsistence of its target groups. Heifer and similar portfolio investors can expand to embrace large-scale farmers in their investments to achieve significant results. The school programs enunciated in this piece can serve as incubator hubs for agricultural entrepreneurs.

    We can start making our systems work for this and the next generation!

  • Food, cooking gas, kerosene prices continue to soar in Nigeria

    Food, cooking gas, kerosene prices continue to soar in Nigeria

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that the prices of selected food items increased in December 2022.

    This is according to the NBS Selected Food Prices Watch Report for December 2022 released in Abuja on Friday.

    The report said that the average price of 1kg beef boneless on a year-on-year basis, increased by 28.75 per cent from N1,846.39 recorded in December 2021 to N2,377.29 in December 2022.

    “While on a month-on-month basis, 1kg beef boneless increased by 1.70 per cent from N2,337.46 recorded in November 2022. ”

    It showed the average price of 1kg rice (local, sold loose) increased on a year-on-year basis by 19.21 per cent from N424.62 in December 2021 to N506.17 in December 2022.

    “On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item increased by 1.07 per cent from N487.47 recorded in November 2022. ”

    The report said the average price of 1kg of tomato on a year-on-year basis rose by 28.40 per cent from N357.03 in December 2021 to N458.42 in December 2022.

    “Also, on a month-on-month basis, 1 kg of tomato increased by 0.72 per cent from N455.13 recorded in November 2022. ”

    The report showed that the average price of 1kg brown beans (sold loose) rose by 18.45 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N494.83 recorded in December 2021 to N586.14 in December 2022.

    “While on a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 1.321 per cent from N578.55 recorded in November 2022.”

    The NBS said the average price of Palm oil (1 bottle) increased by 28.73 per cent from N795.57 in December 2021 to N1,024.13 in December 2022.

    ”On a month-on-month basis, the item grew by 1.74 per cent from the N 1,006.64 recorded in November 2022.”

    Also, it said the average price of Vegetable oil (1 bottle) stood at N1,161.76 in December 2022, showing an increase of 29.60 per cent from N896.39 recorded in December 2021.

    “On a month-on-month basis, it rose by 1.64 per cent from N1,142.99 recorded in November 2022.”

    The report said the average price of a yam tuber stood at N494.83 in December 2022, showing an increase of 18.45 per cent from N494.83 in December 2021.

    “On a month-on-month basis, one tuber of yam increased by 1.31 per cent from N578.55 recorded in November 2022. ”

    Similarly, it said the average price of 1kg of onion bulb rose by 25.64 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N346.96 in December 2021 to N435.93 in December 2022.

    “While on a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 2.40 per cent from N425.71 recorded in November 2022.”

    The report said at the state level, the highest average price of rice (local, sold loose) was recorded in Rivers at N655.92, while the lowest price was recorded in Jigawa at N386.01.

    It said Cross River recorded the highest average price of 1kg onion bulb at N1,013.96, while the lowest was reported in Kogi with N198.12.

    The report said Ebonyi recorded the highest average price of beans (brown, sold loose) at N901.74, while the lowest was recorded in Kebbi state at N368.56.

    Also, the report said Imo recorded the highest price of Vegetable oil (1 bottle) at N1,597.22 while Benue recorded the lowest price at N702.78.

    It said Akwa Ibom recorded the highest average price of a tuber of yam at N850.23 while Benue recorded the lowest price at N180.76.

    Analysis by zone showed that the average price of 1kg beef boneless was higher in the South-East and South-South at N2,936.49 and N2,647.59, respectively.

    “While the lowest price of the item was recorded in the North-East at N1,989.86”

    The report said the South-South recorded the highest average price of 1kg rice (local, sold loose) at N564.34 followed by the South-West at N528.36, while the lowest price was recorded in the North-West at N447.05.

    Also, it said the North-West recorded the highest average price of Palm oil (1 bottle) at N1,161.44, followed by the South-East at N1,142.67, while the North-Central recorded the lowest price at N792.69.

    Cooking gas price increased by 27% in one year – NBS

    Similarly, the NBS disclosed the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased from N3,594.81 in December 2021 to N4,565.56 in December 2022.

    This is contained in the Bureau’s “Cooking Gas Price Watch’’ for December 2022 released on Friday in Abuja.

    The report said the December 2022 price represented a 27 per cent increase compared to what was obtained in December 2021.

    The report said on a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 0.36 per cent from N4,549.14 recorded in November 2022 to N4,565.56 in December 2022.

    On state profile analysis, the report showed that Kwara recorded the highest average price of N4,950.00 for refilling of a 5kg cooking gas, followed by Adamawa at N4,933.33, and Plateau at N4,917.50.

    It said on the other hand, Anambra recorded the lowest price at N4,182.14, followed by Abia and Rivers with N4,196.15 and N4,207.27, respectively.

    Analysis by zone showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price of N4,841.07 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by the North-East at N4,593.99.

    “The South-East recorded the lowest average price at N4,386.39.for 5kg cooking gas.’’

    The NBS also said the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas rose by 0.67 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N10,180.88 in November 2022 to N10,248.97 in December 2022.

    “On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 39.78 per cent from N7,332.04 in December 2021.’’

    State profile analysis showed that Benue recorded the highest average retail price of N11,250.00 for 12.5kg cooking gas, followed by Cross River at N10,892.86 and Ebonyi at N10,753.57.

    On the other hand, the report showed that the lowest average price for 12.5kg of cooking gas was recorded in Yobe at N9,500.00, followed by Zamfara and Gombe with N9,706.25 and N9,750.00, respectively.

    Also, the average retail price per litre of kerosene rose to N1,104.61 in December 2022 on a month-on-month basis, showing an increase of 1.94 per cent compared to N1,083.57 recorded in November 2022.

    According to its National Kerosene Price Watch for December 2022, on a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of kerosene rose by 136.04 per cent from N467.97 in December 2021 to N1,104.61 in December 2022.

    Analysis by state showed that the highest average retail price per litre of kerosene was recorded in Abuja at N1,383, followed by Akwa Ibom at N1,341 and Cross River at N1,300.

    “On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa at N864, followed by Jigawa at N904 and Rivers at N916.’’

    The NBS said that analysis by zones showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price of kerosene at N1,203 per litre, followed by the South-West at N1,177, while the North-West recorded the lowest at N1,011.

    The report showed that the average price of a gallon of kerosene was sold at N3,753 in December 2022, indicating an increase of 4.42 per cent from N3,594 in November 2022.

    “On a year-on-year basis, this increased by 137.15 per cent from N1,582.73 in December 2021.’’

    State profile analysis showed that Abia recorded the highest average retail price per gallon of kerosene at N4,546, followed by Kwara at N4,515 and Enugu at N4,426.

    It said Borno recorded the lowest price at N2,750, followed by Gombe and Bayelsa at N2,775 and N2,814, respectively.

    Analysis by the report indicated that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price per gallon of Kerosene at N4,337, followed by the North-Central at N3,967, while the North-East recorded the lowest at N3,378.

  • Food prices continue to rise in Nigeria

    Food prices continue to rise in Nigeria

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said that prices of selected food items increased in October.

    This is according to the NBS Selected Food Prices Watch Report for October, released in Abuja on Wednesday.

    The report said that the average price of 1kg onion bulb on a year-on-year basis, increased by 32.56 per cent from N306.07 recorded in Oct. 2021 to N405.72 in Oct. 2022.

    “While on a month-on-month basis, 1 kg of onion bulb increased to N405.72 in Oct. 2022 from N397.18 recorded in Sept. 2022, indicating a 2.15 per cent increase,’’ the report said.

    The report showed that the average price of 1kg rice (local, sold loose) increased on a year-on-year basis by 17.45 per cent from N415.03 recorded in Oct. 2021 to N487.47 in Oct. 2022.

    “On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item increased by 3.40 per cent in Oct. 2022 from N471.42 recorded in Sept. 2022,’’ the report says.

    The NBS said the average price of 1kg of tomato increased on a year-on-year basis by 30.79 per cent from N347.47 recorded in Oct. 2021 to N454.46 in Oct. 2022.

    Also, the report showed that on a month-on-month basis, 1 kg of tomato increased by 2.10 per cent from N445.12 in Sept. 2022.

    Also, the report showed that the average price of 1kg brown beans (sold loose) increased by 17.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis, from N478.76 recorded in Oct. 2021 to N564.69 in Oct. 2022.

    The report showed that the average price of Palm oil (1 bottle) increased by 33.22 per cent from N727.21 recorded in Oct. 2021 to N968.76 in Oct. 2022.

    “It also grew by 4.47 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N927.34 recorded in Sept. 2022,’’ the report said.

    Also, the average price of Vegetable oil (1 bottle) stood at N1, 106.08 in Oct. 2022, indicating a 33.99 per cent increase from N825.46 recorded in Oct. 2021.

    “On a month-on-month basis, it rose by 2.81 per cent from N1, 075.89 in Sept. 2022,’’ the report said.

    The report revealed that the average price of 500g sliced bread increased by 36.68 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N382.77 recorded in Oct. 2021 to N523.16 in Oct. 2022.

    “On a month-on-month basis, the item increased by 2.23 per cent from N511.74 recorded in Sept. 2022,’’ says the report.

    The report showed that at the state level, the highest average price of rice (local, sold loose) was recorded in Rivers at N630.66, while the lowest price was recorded in Jigawa at N381.54.

    It said Ebonyi recorded the highest average price of beans (brown, sold loose) at N848.74, while the lowest price was reported in Plateau at N360.03.

    “In addition, Abia recorded the highest price of Vegetable oil (1 bottle) at N1, 484.31, while Benue recorded the lowest price at N650.89,’’ the report said.

    It said that Cross River recorded the highest average price of 1kg of onion bulb at N980.62 while Benue recorded the lowest price at N180.34.

    The report also showed that the highest average price for 1kg of tomato was recorded in Delta at N824.55 while the lowest price was at N166.67 in Taraba.

    It said the highest average price of 500g sliced bread was recorded in Abuja at N705.00 while Plateau recorded the lowest price at N310.00.

    The report said analysis by zone showed that the average price of 1kg onion bulb was higher in the South-South and South-East at N670.63 and N538.31, respectively, while the lowest price was recorded in the North-East at N212.83.

    It said the South-South recorded the highest average price of 1kg rice (local, sold loose) at N545.03, followed by the South-West with N519.53, while the lowest price was recorded in the North-West at N435.06.

    Also, the report showed that the South-East recorded the highest average price of Palm oil (1 bottle) at N1, 101.04, followed by the South-West at N1, 096.17, while the North-Central recorded the lowest price at N742.62.

  • We have enough food to feed Nigerians – FG

    We have enough food to feed Nigerians – FG

    The Federal Government on Monday assured the citizens that the country had enough to eat and there would be no shortage of food.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja at the fifth edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) Administration Scorecard 2015-2017 series.

    The scorecard series is organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture to showcase the achievements of the President Buhari’s Administration in over seven years of being in office.

    Responding to questions after his presentation, Abubakar said the inflationary trend, a global phenomenon and the flood disaster notwithstanding, the country would not experience food shortage.

    “Absolutely, we have enough to eat in this country, there is no shortage of food. There can be increase in prices Yes, it is better to have inflation than to have no food.

    “We are self-sufficient in rice and we are number one producer of rice in Africa and number four in the world.

    “We are also number one producer of cassava and yam as well as number two producer of sorghum after America and number three producer of millet.

    “We have enough to eat and we will continue to have enough to eat,” he stressed.

    The minister said the inflationary trend the country was witnessing was not peculiar to Nigeria but a global crisis.

    He attributed climate change and the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war as among the reasons for the global inflation.

    “Three weeks ago a friend of mine living in London, said to me that it usually costs him like five pounds to fuel his car for a week.

    “He said now it is costing him about 100 pounds to fuel the same car for one week,” Abubakar said.

    On the destruction caused by flooding to many farmlands, the minister said farmers were embarking on aggressive dry season planting to mitigate the effects.

    He said the ministry was already distributing fast growing seeds in areas where flood waters had receded and the moisture there would assist the plants to grow rapidly.

    The minister added that they had harnessed some of the flood water which would be used for the dry season farming.

  • How prices of food continue to rise in Nigeria

    How prices of food continue to rise in Nigeria

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that prices of selected food items increased in September.

    This is according to the NBS Selected Food Prices Watch Report for September 2022 released in Abuja on Friday.

    The report said that the average price of 1kg of Tomato on a year-on-year basis, increased by 30.06 per cent, from N342.25 recorded in September 2021 to N445.12 in September 2022.

    “While on a month-on-month basis, 1kg of tomato increased to N445.12 in September 2022 from N430.93 recorded in August 2022, indicating a 3.29 per cent increase.”

    The report showed that the average price of 1kg of rice (local, sold loose) increased on a year-on-year basis by 14.98 per cent from N410.01 recorded in September 2021 to N471.42 in September 2022.

    “On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item increased by 3.82 per cent in September 2022.”

    The average price of 1kg of beans (brown, sold loose) increased on a year-on-year basis by 13.14 per cent from N492.13 recorded in September 2021 to N556.81 in September 2022.

    Also, the report showed that on a month-on-month basis, 1kg of beans (brown. sold loose) increased by 2.05 per cent from N545.61 in August 2022.

    It said the average price of 1kg of beef (boneless) increased by 24.39 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N1,768.14 recorded in September 2021 to N2,199.37 in September 2022.

    Also, the report showed that the average price of Palm oil (1 bottle) increased by 30.70 per cent from N709.50 in September 2021 to N927.34 in September 2022.

    ” It also grew by 3.42 per cent on a month-on-month basis.”

    The report said the average price of Vegetable oil (1 bottle) stood at N1, 075.89 in September 2022, showing an increase of 32.35 per cent from N812.94 recorded in September 2021.

    “On a month-on-month basis, it rose by 2.52 per cent from N1049.49 in August 2022.”

    The report showed that at the state level, the highest average price of rice (local, sold loose) was recorded in Rivers at N621.61, while the lowest price was recorded in Jigawa at N371.

    The report said that Ebonyi recorded the highest average price of beans (brown, sold loose) at N857.02, while the lowest price was reported in Benue at N368.21.

    It said Abia recorded the highest price of Vegetable oil (1 bottle) at N1,464.44, while Benue recorded the lowest price at N643.64.

    It said analysis by zone showed that the average price of 1kg of tomato was higher in the South-South and South-East at N711.32 and N643.25, respectively, while the lowest price was recorded in the North-East at N209.22.

    The report said that South-South recorded the highest average price of 1kg of rice (local, sold loose) at N519.22, followed by the South-West with N514.37, while the lowest price of was recorded in the North-West at N417.00.

    Also, the report showed that the South-East recorded the highest average price of Beans (brown, sold loose) at N789.74, followed by the South-South at N673.16, while the North-East recorded the least price at N397.04.

  • Chefs: Behind healthy food choices, promoting healthy children

    Chefs: Behind healthy food choices, promoting healthy children

    Analysis by Vivian Ihechu

     

    “In lack or in excess, problems of nutrition always encompass inappropriate choices and practices and nutrition education is an important step in empowering the consumer to make healthy food choices,” says the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

    A core of those who help in making healthy food choices are the chefs; trained professional cooks and tradesmen who are proficient in all aspects of food preparation.

    Since 2004, chefs have been celebrated annually on Oct. 20, as International Chefs Day.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the day was created by the late Dr. Billy Gallagher, a renowned chef, and businessman, who was the president of the South African Chefs Association for 21 years.

    Gallagher also became the president of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) in 1996.

    Over the years, the World Chefs have partnered with platforms like Nestlé Professional – the company’s business that supplies the food and beverage out-of-home industry – to teach young children the importance of healthy eating through workshops across the globe.

    Nestlé Professional in Nigeria marked the International Chefs Day 2022 at the new Lagos State Culinary Academy, Ikeja, with students from public and private secondary schools across Lagos.

    The event featured training on the importance of healthy eating and lifestyles in line with this year’s International Chef’s Day theme: “Growing a Health Future.”
    It was celebrated via a fun-filled educative workshop and practical sessions coordinated by chefs with a hands-on approach for the children.

    They created recipes out of fresh food items including vegetables, fruits, and preparing healthy dishes during the cooking sessions.
    Funmi Osineye, Business Manager, Nestlé Professional, said: “The wellbeing of their children is the fundamental goal for parents and caregivers. It is also an indicator of societal development.

    “We are, therefore, committed to working with stakeholders to enhance the wellbeing of generations to come through nutrition education as well as continuous provision of high-quality nutritious food and beverages.

    “Today’s event is a platform for continuous engagement to encourage children to be creative with food.”

    Osineye acknowledged the Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria (APCN) for consistently partnering Nestlé to achieve the company’s global objective of helping 50 million children live healthier lives by 2030.

    “We want to thank the Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria for partnering with us through the years.

    “We are also grateful to the administrators of the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board for their collaboration to celebrate Chef’s Day 2022.

    “We are delighted to witness the sincere interest in skilling up young people in Lagos State for gainful employment in the hospitality sector,” she added.

    Speaking, Paul Okon, National President, Association of Professional Chefs Nigeria (APCN), said: “It has been a great pleasure engaging, educating and enlightening children on healthy eating as we believe this is the foundation for a healthy future.

    “We sincerely appreciate the role Nestlé Professional has played over the years, promoting Nigeria’s Food Tourism, supporting capacity development of Chefs and empowering the next generation of Chefs.”

    In her comments, Moronke Azeez, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) said, “We are delighted to be working with Nestlé on this laudable initiative which has been very impactful and a great learning exercise for the children.

    “The event is fully aligned with the objective for the recent establishment of the Lagos Culinary Academy aimed at producing professionals for the hospitality and food service industry while equipping students for entrepreneurship and self-employment.”

    Speaking on her experience, Chineze, an SS2 student of Ilupeju Senior Secondary School, said she enjoyed the event and learnt some practical meal recipes that she would cook at home.

    On the importance of good nutrition, Dr Mekwuye Eric, Director of Training and Corporate Matter, APCN, explained: “It is our first defence against disease and our source of energy to live and be energetic.

    “Nutritional challenges caused by an inadequate diet can be diverse, and when they affect a generation of young people, they can reduce their well-being and learning capacities.

    “These can compromise their future.”

    He said in some instances, they could lead to an inter-generational cycle of malnutrition, which would ultimately have severe consequences on both individuals and nations.

    “Good nutrition means your body gets all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals it needs to work its best.

    “Good nutrition helps increase your energy level, improves ability to fight off illness, recover from illnesses and injuries; improves mental, cognitive and physical well-being.

    “It also reduces the risk of some diseases including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, some cancers, and osteoporosis, high blood pressure as well as helps to lower high cholesterol among others.,” the chef said.

    Also, Chef Nick Maaji, Vice President, South West, APCN, giving tips on eating healthy, said: “We know how all over the world we are talking of climate change, flood, drought, environmental pollution.

    “So many things affecting our environment and one of the biggest challenges in our environment is food.

    “The way it is cultivated, harvested, preserved, distributed, prepared, eaten, all can affect our environment.

    “So, I encourage us all to eat plenty of fruits. Eat fruits whole rather than as juices; eat a lot of whole grains, take low-fat or fat-free milk.

    “Also take lean meats and poultry as they have less fat and fewer calories. In addition, try other vegetable sources of protein and drink lots of water.”

    Concluding, Maaji said with a good chef, there would be healthy persons, families, and nation.
    “Without good food, you can’t have a healthy future.

    “Research shows that if we want to grow a healthy future, we have to eat more of vegetables, fruits, nuts and cut down on our red meat and sugar to about 50 per cent.”

    He advised chefs to pass on to the younger generation the need for healthy meal for the future to be healthy for humanity.

  • Victims cry out for help as flood claims 16-year-old in Bayelsa

    Victims cry out for help as flood claims 16-year-old in Bayelsa

    A 16-year-old boy, Temedi Yerimene drowned in the ravaging flood at Igbogene Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    The flood pushed the remains of the teenager into a deep canal in the area and the body is yet to be recovered.

    It was learnt that the deceased in the company of his playmates went swimming in the rising water close to the Bayelsa Ecumenical Centre.

    He was said to have been overwhelmed by the high current of the flood which pushed him into the deep drainage channel.

    Efforts by the community search party to locate the remains proved futile as half of the community has been submerged.

    The mother of the deceased known in the area as Mama Caro, in tears, said the tragic incident happened at about 11 a.m. on Monday while she went to the market to get ingredients for preparing lunch.

    “When I came back from the market, I was told he had gone swimming with friends. I thought he was swimming in the rising water at the compound until one of his friends told me that he had been dragged by the flood into the canal” she said

    According to the bereaved, the family hails from Amabulu in Ojobo community of Ekeremor Local Government Area of the State.

    Meanwhile, residents of communities impacted by the floods in Bayelsa have appealed to the government to find a lasting solution to the annual menace.

    Some of them who lamented the hardship occasioned by the situation, appealed for temporary shelters and relief materials as the flood had already sacked them from their residences.

    A victim, Mrs. Perez Ayebanua, said their houses were flooded late last month and the menace was already taking a toll on them with reptiles competing with them for space.

    Madam Florence Job and Mrs Ebi Perekeme explained that while those with resources had left their homes for hotels or elsewhere, the indigent ones got stuck and were left behind.

    The residents said they were at a loss over the situation, calling on the Bayelsa and Federal Governments to come to their aid and cushion the pains caused by the flood.

    Biseni, Tombia-Ekpetiama, Tombia-Amassoma Road, Akenfa, Akenpai, Igbogene and Swali all in Yenagoa LGA as well as Kaiama, Odi, Otuoke, Ogbia communities are already flooded.

    Others include Tungbo, Agbere, Odoni, Bulu-Orua, Agoro and Sagbama.

    A correspondent monitoring the situation reports that River Nun, its tributaries that receive waters from River Niger and the Epie Creek have all overflown their banks, discharging excess water into nearby settlements.

    Other communities such as Sampou, Gbaranma  Sabagreia, Okoloba, in Sagbama, Ekeremor and Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Areas are also battling the flood.

    Checks along the East-West Road indicated that the flood was already affecting some sections of it.

    Worst hit is the Patani section in Delta that shares boundary with Bayelsa community, Adagbabiri, which is already submerged.

    Meanwhile, schools in Bayelsa are on six weeks flood break to protect pupils and students from any disaster.

    Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa has inaugurated a task force on flood whose major mandate is to bring relief to flood victims.

    However, one week after its inauguration, the team led by the Commissioner of Environment Mr Iselema Gbaranbiri, said the committee was visiting the impacted sites and would make recommendations to the government.

  • Buhari’s 2023 Budget speech

    Buhari’s 2023 Budget speech

    Budget of Fiscal Consolidation and Transition

    Delivered By:

    His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari,

    President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

    At the Joint Session of the National Assembly, Abuja. Friday, 7TH October , 2022

    PROTOCOLS:

    I am very pleased to be here today to present the 2023 Budget Proposals at this Joint Session of the National Assembly. This is the last time I will be laying the budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria before the National Assembly.

    2. Mr. President; Mr. Speaker: As I address this Joint Session on the Budget for the last time, let me highlight some of the progress that we have made in last seven and half years, in just two important areas of Critical Infrastructure and Good Governance.

     

    3. We have made transformational investments in Infrastructure, notably:

    a. Establishing the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (‘InfraCorp’), in 2021, seed capital of N1 trillion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (‘CBN’), the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (‘NSIA’) and the Africa Finance Corporation (‘AFC’);

    b. Leveraging finance through the NSIA into the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (‘PIDF’) to facilitate the accelerated completion of the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Abuja-Kano Road;

    c. Through the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme pursuant to Executive Order #7 of 2019, incentivised responsible companies to invest billions of Naira in constructing over 1,500km critical roads in key economic corridors. Under this Scheme, the Dangote Group has substantially completed the Reconstruction of 34km Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway and the 43km Obajana-Kabba Road. Similarly, Nigeria LNG Limited is on track to complete the 38km Bodo-Bonny Road and Bridges Project by the end of 2023;

    d. Under our Sukuk Bonds scheme, since 2017, over N600 billion has been raised and invested in 941km for over 40 critical road projects nationwide, complement the Ministry of Works and Housing’s Highway Development and Management Initiative and other interventions;

    e. Investing significantly to restore our national railways, completing and commissioning the 156km Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail (and its 8.72km extension to Lagos Port); the 186km Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge Rail; and 327km Itakpe-Warri Standard Gauge Rail. These completed projects complement our ongoing investments in Light Rail, Narrow and Standard Gauge Rail, Ancillary Facilities Yards, Wagon Assembly Plants, E-Ticketing infrastructure as well as the training and development of our rail engineers and other workers;

    f. We have completed New Airport Terminals at Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, and reconstructed the Abuja Airport Runway in its first overhaul since its construction in the early 1980s.

    g. Other investments in airports safety facilities, aeronautical meteorological services delivery complement ongoing development of seaports and ancillary infrastructure at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Bonny Deep Sea Port, Onitsha River Port, as well as the Kaduna, Kano and Katsina Inland Dry Ports to create a truly multimodal transport system;

     

     

    h. We have transformed Nigeria’s challenging power sector, through bespoke interventions such as the Siemens Power Program, with the German government under which over 2 billion US Dollars will be invested in the Transmission Grid.

    i. We have leveraged over billions of US dollars in concessional and other funds from our partners at the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, African Development Bank, JICA as well as through the Central Bank of Nigeria, working with the Finance Ministry, to support the power sector reforms.

    j. The Central Bank has also been impactful in its interventions to roll out over a million meters to on-grid consumers, creating much needed jobs in assembly and installation. Our financing interventions have recently been complemented with the takeover of four electricity distribution companies and the constitution of the Board of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company.

    k. On the generation side, we have made significant investments in and incremental 4,000MW of power generating assets, including Zungeru Hydro, Kashimbila Hydro, Afam III Fast Power, Kudenda Kaduna Power Plant, the Okpai Phase 2 Plant, the Dangote Refinery Power Plant, and others.

    l. Our generation efforts are making the transition from a reliance on oil and diesel, to gas as a transitional fuel, as well as environmentally friendly solar and hydro sources. Under the Energising Education Programme, we have commissioned solar and gas power solutions at Federal Universities and Teaching Hospitals at Kano, Ebonyi, Bauchi and Delta States. Similarly, our Energising Economies Programme has taken clean, sustainable power solutions to the Sabon-Gari Market in Kano, Ariaria Market in Aba, and Sura Shopping Complex in Lagos.

    4. In terms of Good Governance, one significant challenge this Administration met at our inception was the inability of successive Governments to institutionalise reforms to ensure their sustainability. We inherited an archaic set of corporate, banking and capital markets laws; draft but unenacted Bills to reform the critical petroleum sector; an unimplemented Oronsaye White Paper to reform our civil service, amongst others.

     

    5. I was therefore committed, at the onset of this Administration’s Good Governance and Fighting Corruption Reforms, to focus on the much-neglected area of law reform, to bequeath a better legacy to the succeeding Administration, than the one we met. Our innovative, encompassing and historically significant legislative interventions include:

    a. Critical corporate and financial laws to enhance our countries’ global competitiveness, including the repeal and re-enactment of Companies and Allied Matters Act (‘CAMA’) 2020 – the first comprehensive reform since 1990; enacting the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Bill, the first legislation in Nigeria’s history focused on curbing anti-competition practices; establishing the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission; re-pealing and re-enacting the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020; enacting the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON (Amendment) Acts of 2019 and 2021; enacting the Credit Reporting Act (CRA) 2017 and  Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act (STMAA) 2017, to mention our major legislative interventions;

    b. Fundamental anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and financial intelligence laws, such as the Nigeria Police Act, 2020 (being the first comprehensive reform of Police legislation since the Police Act of 1943); the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Act 2017 (which resolved the longstanding impediments to Nigeria’s full participation in the global efforts to combat illicit financing of terrorism and crime under the auspices of the global Egmont Group); the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022; the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, 2019; Nigerian Correctional Services Act, 2019; Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Act, 2019; amongst others.

    c. Historic reforms to our Constitutional and other public laws, including the first ever amendments to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to support the engagement of young persons in our politics by passing Not Too Young to Run legislation, as well as to improve the funding and independence of States’ Legislatures and Judiciaries; enacting overdue reforms through the Electoral Act, 2022;

    d. Finally enacting into law the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 after close to two decades of drafting, debates and delays – leading to the commercialization of NNPC Limited, and other much needed reforms to our energy sector. This important law also complements other landmark legislations such as the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, 1993 (Amendment) Act, 2019, to increase oil and gas revenues accruing to the Federation;

    historical achievements without the exceptional partnership this Administration has had with the Leadership, and Members of the National Assembly. So may I pause here, to once again, thank the Senate and the House of Representatives for your engagement, support and contribution to these successes, which history will remember us all favourably for.

    RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

    7. The 2023 Budget was prepared amidst a very challenging world economy that is weakened by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, high crude oil prices resulting in huge cost of PMS Subsidy and negative spill over effects of the Russia-Ukraine war.

    8. Many economies around the world are currently contending with fiscal instability, slow growth, food crisis, and high interest rates. Like many other countries, our economy faces headwinds from low revenues, high inflation, exchange rate depreciation and insecurity.

    9. However, Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.54 percent in the second quarter of 2022, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of growth. Our interventionist and reflationary measures have been very effective and impactful. We must however continue to work towards achieving much higher levels of growth, especially given our high population growth rate, so that the average Nigerian can truly feel the impact of planned economic growth.

     

    10. Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, despite continuing efforts, unemployment, underemployment, and poverty rates remain high. We are currently implementing several skills development programmes and work opportunity programmes to enhance the employability of our youths and tackle the troubling level of youth unemployment.

    11. While it is evident that our economy still faces significant challenges, what could have happened without the implementation of some of the measure we introduced, would have been much worse for the country.

    REVIEW OF 2022 BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION

    12. Distinguished and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, the implementation of the 2022 ‘Budget of Economic Growth and Sustainability commenced on the first day of the year. It was, however,  necessary to forward an amended budget proposal  to address some exigent issues, especially the significant increase in fuel subsidy.

    13. The amended 2022 Budget was based on a benchmark oil price of 73 US Dollars per barrel, oil production of 1.60 million barrels per day, and exchange rate of 410.15 Naira to US Dollar.

    14. As at 31st July 2022, Federal Government’s retained revenues was 3.66 trillion Naira, excluding the revenue of Government-Owned Enterprises. Thus, revenue collection was only 63 percent of our target, largely due to the underperformance of oil and gas revenue sources.

    15. Despite higher oil prices in 2022, oil revenue was below target due to significant oil production shortfalls and high petrol subsidy cost resulting from the significant rise in Crude prices which ultimately increased PMS prices worldwide.

    16. Oil output stood at an average of 1.30 million barrels per day as at June 2022, while the sum of 1.59 trillion Naira was spent on fuel subsidy between January and June 2022. The NNPC, working in collaboration with security and other relevant agencies, is putting in place additional measures to curb the incidence of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in order to meet our crude oil production quota.

     

    17. On the expenditure side, the sum of 8.29 trillion Naira had been spent by July 31 2022 out of the total appropriation of N17.32 trillion. Despite our revenue challenges, we have consistently met our debt service commitments. Staff salaries and statutory transfers have also been paid as and when due.

    18. Total non-debt recurrent expenditure in January to July 2002 was 3.24 trillion Naira, of which 2.87 trillion Naira was for Salaries, Pensions and Overheads. A total of 3.09 trillion Naira was spent on debt service obligations during the period.

    19. Furthermore, about 1.48 trillion Naira had been released to MDAs for capital expenditure as at the end of July 2022. I am pleased to inform you that we expect to fund MDAs’ capital budget fully by the end of the fiscal year 2022.

    20. To further address structural problems in the economy and drive growth, capital releases thus far have been prioritised in favour of critical ongoing projects in the power, roads, rail, agriculture, as well as health and education sectors.

    21. As at the end of July 2022, the fiscal operations of the Federal Government resulted in an estimated budget deficit of 4.63 trillion Naira. This represents 63 percent of the estimated deficit for the full year. This is largely attributable to revenue shortfalls and higher debt service obligations resulting from rising debt levels and interest rates.

    22. The deficit was mainly financed through domestic borrowing amounting to N4.12 trillion. Hence, total public debt stock increased from 39.6 trillion Naira as at the end of December 2021 to 42.8 trillion Naira as at the end of June, 2022.

    23. However, our debt position remains within cautious and acceptable limits compared to peer countries. As at the end of June 2022, total public debt is within our self-imposed limit of 40 percent of GDP, which is  significantly below the 55 percent international threshold for comparator countries, and a global average of 99 percent post-COVID-19.

    24. Nonetheless, our debt-service-to-revenue ratio needs close attention. The current low revenue performance of government, as reflected in the lowly revenue-to-GDP ratio of just about 8 percent. Our medium-term objective remains to raise this ratio to 15 percent, at which the debt service to revenue ratio will cease to be a concern.

    25. Mr. Senate President and Rt. Honourable Speaker, revenue shortfalls remain the greatest threat to Nigeria’s fiscal viability. We have therefore accelerated efforts towards ensuring that all taxable Nigerians declare income from all sources and pay taxes due to the appropriate authorities. We are also monitoring the internally generated revenues of MDAs to ensure they are appropriately accounted for and remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

    26. The 50 percent cost-to-income ratio in the Finance Act 2020 has significantly improved operating surplus remittances by Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs). I therefore solicit the continuing cooperation of the National Assembly in enforcing the legal provision and other prudential guidelines imposed on the GOEs during the consideration of the budget proposals of the GOEs.

    27. I am happy to report that the revenue collection and expenditure management reforms we are implementing are yielding positive results, with recent significant improvements in non-oil revenue performance. However, while we continue to implement revenue administration reforms and improve our collection efficiency, we urgently need to find new ways of generating revenue.

    28. As we seek to grow our government revenues, we must also focus on the efficiency of utilization of our limited resources. Critical steps we are taking include immediate implementation of additional measures towards reducing the cost of governance and the discontinuation of fuel subsidy in 2023 as announced earlier. We are however mindful of the fact that reducing government spending too drastically can be socially destabilizing, and so will continue to implement programmes to support the more vulnerable segments of society.

    29. Petrol subsidy has been a recurring and controversial public policy issue in our country since the early eighties.  However, its current fiscal impact has clearly shown that the policy is unsustainable. As a country, we must now confront this issue taking cognizance of the need to provide safety nets to cushion the attendant effects on some segments of society.

    RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS

    30. Over the last year, this Administration has implemented several priority projects. Our focus has been on the completion of key road and rail projects; the effective implementation of power sector projects; the provision of clean water; construction of irrigation infrastructure and dams across the country; and critical health projects such as upgrading Primary Health Care Centres across the six geopolitical zones.

    31. We have also gone further on the implementation of several power generation, transmission, and distribution projects, as well as off-grid solutions, all aimed towards achieving the national goal of optimizing power supply by 2025.

    32. In the determination to ramp up grid electricity supply to at least 7,000 megawatts by 2024, we have procured purpose-built critical power equipment under the Presidential Power Initiative with Siemens as we promised. These projects will have multiplier effects on the economy.

    33. Under the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme, we are undertaking the construction and rehabilitation of about two thousand kilometres of roads and bridges, nationwide, to be financed by the grant of tax credits to investing private companies.

    34. As I mentioned earlier, we have made appreciable progress in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of key road networks like the Lagos – Ibadan expressway, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressway and East-West Road in Niger Delta. Work has also reached completion stage on the Apapa – Oworonsoki expressway, Loko-Oweto Bridge and the Second Niger Bridge. We hope to commission these projects before the end of our tenure in 2023.

    35. Furthermore, we have awarded several contracts to rehabilitate, reconstruct and construct major arterial roads to reduce the hardship to commuters and increase economic activity.

     

     

    36. Regarding personnel costs, we have extended the coverage of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to all MDAs to automate personnel records and the process by which salaries are paid and eliminate the incidence of ghost workers. The system is currently being reviewed to enhance its functionality and applicability to MDAs in the different sectors.

    37. Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, although we have recorded more achievements over the last year, I will now proceed with an overview of the 2023 Budget proposal.

    THEME AND PRIORITIES OF THE 2023 BUDGET

    38. The 2023 Budget proposal is the eighth and final budget of this Administration. It reflects the serious challenges currently facing our country, key reforms necessary to address them, and imperatives to achieve higher, more inclusive, diversified and sustainable growth.

    39. The expenditure policy of Government in 2023 is designed to achieve the strategic objectives of the National Development Plan 2021 to 2025, including macroeconomic stability; human development; food security; improved business environment; energy sufficiency; improving transport infrastructure; and promoting industrialization focusing on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

    40. Against the backdrop of the challenging global and domestic economic environment, it is imperative that we strengthen our macroeconomic environment and address subsisting challenges as a country. The 2023 Appropriation therefore is a Budget of Fiscal Sustainability and Transition. Our principal objective in 2023 is to maintain fiscal viability and ensure smooth transition to the incoming Administration.

    2023 BUDGET PARAMETERS AND FISCAL ASSUMPTIONS

    41. Distinguished Members of the National Assembly, the 2023 to 2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper sets out the parameters for the 2023 Budget as follows:

    a. Oil price benchmark of 70 US Dollars per barrel;

    b. Daily oil production estimate of 1.69 million barrels (inclusive of Condensates of 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day);

    c. Exchange rate of 435.57 Naira per US Dollar; and

    d. Projected GDP growth rate of 3.75 percent and 17.16 percent inflation rate.

    2023 REVENUE ESTIMATES

    42. Based on these fiscal assumptions and parameters, total federally-collectible revenue is estimated at 16.87 trillion Naira in 2023.

    43. Total federally distributable revenue is estimated at 11.09 trillion Naira in 2023, while total revenue available to fund the 2023 Federal Budget is estimated at 9.73 trillion Naira. This includes the revenues of 63 Government-Owned Enterprises.

    44. Oil revenue is projected at 1.92 trillion Naira, Non-oil taxes are estimated at 2.43 trillion Naira, FGN Independent revenues are projected to be 2.21 trillion Naira. Other revenues total 762 billion Naira, while the retained revenues of the GOEs amount to N2.42 trillion Naira.

    45. The 2023 Appropriation Bill aims to maintain the focus of MDAs on the revenue side of the budget and greater attention to internal revenue generation. Sustenance of revenue diversification strategy would further increase the non-oil revenue share of total revenues.

    PLANNED 2023 EXPENDITURE

    46. A total expenditure of 20.51 trillion Naira is proposed for the Federal Government in 2023. This includes 2.42 trillion Naira spending by Government-Owned Enterprises. The proposed 20.51 trillion Naira 2023 expenditure comprises:

    a. Statutory Transfers of N744.11 billion;

    b. Non-debt Recurrent Costs of N8.27 trillion;

    c. Personnel Costs of N4.99 trillion;

    d. Pensions, Gratuities and Retirees’ Benefits of N854.8 billion;

    e. Overheads of N1.11 trillion;

    f. Capital Expenditure of N5.35 trillion, including the capital component of Statutory Transfers;

    g. Debt Service of N6.31 trillion; and

    h. Sinking Fund of N247.73 billion to retire certain maturing bonds.

    FISCAL BALANCE

    47. We expect total fiscal operations of the Federal Government to result in a deficit of 10.78 trillion Naira. This represents 4.78 percent of estimated GDP, above the 3 percent threshold set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.

    48. As envisaged by the law, we need to exceed this threshold considering the need to continue to tackle the existential security challenges facing the country.

    49. We plan to finance the deficit mainly by new borrowings totalling 8.80 trillion Naira, 206.18 billion Naira from Privatization Proceeds and 1.77 trillion Naira drawdowns on bilateral/multilateral loans secured for specific development projects/programmes.

    50. Over time, we have resorted to borrowing to finance our fiscal gaps. We have been using loans to finance critical development projects and programmes aimed at further improving our economic environment and enhance the delivery of public services to our people.

    51. As you are aware, we have witnessed two economic recessions within the period of this Administration. A direct result of this is the significant decline in our revenue generating capacity.

    52. In both cases, we had to spend our way out of recession, resulting in higher public debt and debt service. It is unlikely that our recovery from each of the two recessions would have been as fast without the sustained government expenditure funded by debt.

    FINANCE BILL 2022

    53. In line with our plan to accompany annual budgets with Finance Bills, partly to support the realization of fiscal projections, current tax and fiscal laws/regulations are being reviewed to produce a draft Finance Bill 2022.

    54. It is our intention that once ongoing consultations are completed, the Finance Bill 2022 would be submitted to the National Assembly to be considered alongside the 2023 Appropriation Bill.

    ENSURING FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY

    55. To ensure fiscal sustainability, we will further improve our business-enabling environment, accelerate current revenue-based fiscal consolidation efforts and strengthen our expenditure and debt management.

     

    BUDGET OF GOVERNMENT-OWNED ENTERPRISES

    56. Distinguished Senators, Honourable Members, you may recall that we earlier integrated the budget of Government-Owned Enterprises into the FGN’s 2019 budget submission. This has helped to enhance the comprehensiveness and transparency of the FGN budget. It has however come to my attention that Government-Owned Enterprises liaise directly with relevant NASS committees to have their budget passed and issued to them directly.

     

     

    57. I would like to implore the leadership of the National Assembly to ensure that the budget I lay here today, which includes those of the GOEs, be returned  to the Presidency  when passed.  The current practice where some committees of the National Assembly purport to pass budgets for GOEs, which are at variance with the budgets sanctioned by me, and communicate such directly to the MDAs is against the rules and needs to stop.

    FINANCING INFRASTRUCTURE GAP

    58. Nigeria requires a huge outlay of resources to close current infrastructure gaps and boost its economic performance. Government will develop projects that are good candidates for Public Private Partnership (PPP) by their nature for private sector participation.

    BUDGET PROCESS BILL 2022

    59. Distinguished Senators, Honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen. Over the course of this Administration, we have embarked on a number of reforms in the Public Finance Management space. These reforms are bearing fruits and we have seen some of the benefits of the return to a predictable January to December fiscal year for the FGN budget.

    60. Earlier this year, I was briefed of the impressive performance of Nigeria in the Open Budget Survey, as the third best or most improved country in the world, matching the global average score in budget transparency and exceeding the global average in public participation.

    61. I commend the Budget Office of the Federation and the Supervising Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning, the National Assembly Leadership, the relevant Appropriation and Finance Committees as well as non-state actors who have worked tirelessly in pushing for greater transparency and accountability in our budget process.

    62. We need to sustain and institutionalize the gains of these reforms. To this end, I have directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to immediately work on mainstreaming these reforms and work with the National Assembly on passing an Organic Budget Law, which I hope to assent to before the end of this Administration.

    HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

    63. The Government notes with dismay the crisis that has paralysed activities in the public universities in the country. We expect the staff of these institutions to show a better appreciation of the current state of affairs in the country. In the determined effort to resolve the issue, we have provided a total of 470.0 billion in the 2023 budget from our constrained resources, for revitalization and salary enhancements in the tertiary institutions.

    64. Distinguished Senators and Honourable members, it is instructive to note that today Government alone cannot provide the resources required for funding tertiary education.

    65. In most countries, the cost of education is jointly shared between the government and the people, especially at the tertiary level. It is imperative therefore that we introduce a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education.

    66. The Government remains committed to the implementation of agreements reached with staff unions within available resources.  This is why we have remained resolute that we will not sign any agreement that we would be unable to implement. Individual institutions would be encouraged to keep faith with any agreement reached in due course to ensure stability in the educational sector.

    67. Government is equally committed to improving the quality of education at other levels. Recently, we implemented various incentives aimed at motivating and enhancing teachers’ development in our schools.

    68. In the health sector, the Government intends to focus attention on equipping existing hospitals and rehabilitating infrastructure. Emphasis will also be on local production of basic medicines/vaccines.

    69. As human capital is the most critical resource for national development, our overall policy thrust is to expand our investment in education, health and social protection.

    WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

    70. To harness the potentials of all Nigerian women and enable them to productively contribute to the economy, we will continue to prioritise  women’s empowerment programmes across various MDAs   in 2023.

    FOOD PRICES

    71. Government is very concerned about the high food prices in the country. Various measures are being implemented to address structural factors underlying the issue. We will also step-up current efforts aimed at boosting food production and distribution in the country. You will recall our efforts in improving production of fertilizer, rice, maize cassava among other earlier initiatives.

    BOOSTING MANUFACTURING PERFORMANCE

    72. Government is not unaware of the challenges confronting the manufacturing sector. We will ensure effective implementation of policy measures aimed at positioning the manufacturing sector to generate more foreign exchange in the near future. We are also committed to improving the business environment to stimulate local and foreign investment.

    SAFE SCHOOLS INITIATIVE

    73. We ratified the Safe Schools Declaration in 2019. We remain committed to the effective implementation of our Safe Schools Policy. A total of 15.2 billion Naira has been specifically provided in the 2023 Budget to scale up current measures to provide safer and conducive learning environment in our schools.

    DEFENCE AND INTERNAL SECURITY

    74. The Government remains firmly committed to the security of life, property and investment across the country. Accordingly, defence and internal security continue to be accorded top priority in 2023. Current efforts to properly equip and motivate our valiant personnel in the armed forces, police and paramilitary units will be sustained.

    75. I assure you, insecurity, especially banditry and kidnapping, will be significantly curtailed before the end of this Administration. We will redouble our efforts to ensure we leave a legacy of a peaceful, prosperous and secured nation.

    76. Mr. Senate President, Mr. Speaker, Distinguished and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, let me conclude my address today by again expressing my deep appreciation for your enormous support, patriotic zeal, and cooperation in our efforts to accelerate the socio-economic development of our country and improve the lives of our people.

    77. I appreciate the efforts and commitment of the leadership and staff of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, especially the Budget Office of the Federation, who have worked hard to achieve early submission of the 2023 Appropriation Bill.

    78. The 2023 budget proposal is a product of inter-agency collaboration, extensive stakeholder consultations and productive engagements. I would therefore like to acknowledge the efforts of the media, the organized private sector, civil society organizations and our development partners for their contributions in the process of preparing the Budget.

    79. Considering the challenging situation in our country presently, we must continue to cooperate and collaborate to ensure fiscal sustainability, macroeconomic stability and smooth transition to the incoming Administration.

    80. This Administration remains resolutely committed to our goals of improving the living standard of our people and effective delivery of public services.

    81. Distinguished and honourable members of the National Assembly, although no single government can solve all the problems of a country during its own tenure, I have no doubt that you share our aspiration that the 2023 transition budget is designed to address critical issues and lay a solid foundation for the incoming Administration.

    82. It is with great pleasure therefore, that I lay before this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly, the 2023 Budget Proposals of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    I thank you most sincerely for your attention. May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • FAO officials to arrive Nigeria today for food security agenda

    FAO officials to arrive Nigeria today for food security agenda

    In order to improve the governance of the food system in the country, United Nations (FAO) assistant director-general, Abebe Haile-Gabriel and the deputy director of the office of emergencies and resilience, Shukri Ahmed will visit Nigeria today  Monday for the food security agenda.

    The high-level mission is slated to last until October 1, 2022, and is expected to strengthen solidarity and amplify the voice of humanitarian actors in advocating for support to stem food insecurity in the country.

    According to a statement by the FAO office in the country, the delegation will give its blueprint in building the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods to multiple shocks and FAO’s corporate strategic direction in agrifood systems transformation globally and specifically in Africa.

    The visiting delegation has been scheduled to meet with selected senior government officials in the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Humanitarian Affairs, UN Heads of Mission, and development partners in Abuja.

    They will also make a field visit to Maiduguri, Borno State, where they are expected to interact with FAO project participants and government officials in the state.

    The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is an international organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.

    Its Latin motto, fiat panis, translates to “let there be bread”. It was founded on 16 October 1945. The FAO is composed of 195 members.