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Exchange rate may surpass N1000/$, says Pat Utomi on 2023 budget
By Abubakar Yunus Abuja
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Pat Utomi, professor of political economy, says the 2023 budget will lead to massive inflation and loss of jobs in the country.
Utomi said this on while speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.
The Labour Party (LP) chieftain said if care is not taken, the exchange rate may go above N1000/$ and the inflation rate may hit 50 percent.
Utomi’s remark comes hours after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2023 appropriation bill of N21.83 trillion into law. It is the eighth and final annual budget of the incumbent administration.
“What is the goal of the Buhari administration? It says it wants to create 10 million jobs in 10 years or something. This budget — will it create one job? No. It will lead to loss of jobs, it will lead to massive inflation, it will lead to a collapse in the exchange rate,” Utomi said.
“Let me explain why, it’s very simple. This is a budget of debt service. You are going to have revenues of what — nine trillion? You are projecting expenditure of what — 21 trillion. You are already in an unsustainable debt situation.
“Tell anybody who understands economics what this means. This is going to mean serious inflation.
“If you were in a situation where people are rushing to invest in Nigeria, you would say revenues that flow in would accelerate production and when you ask people who manage the economy, they say to you — you see the problem is not that our debt situation is not unsustainable, the problem is that of collecting revenue.
“God forbid, if we don’t do something dramatic, the effect of this budget is that the exchange rate will go past N1000, that is a direct effect of this budget. You are going to see inflation probably go up to 50 percent.”
Air Peace: How NAHCO staff damaged
our aircraft, disrupted flight
By Abubakar Yunus Abuja
Air Peace has asked regulatory authorities to investigate a recent damage to its aircraft elevator by a ground handling equipment belonging to the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO).
Confirming the development, Stanley Olisa, spokesperson of Air Peace, said the incident occurred at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
Olisa said the affected aircraft is an Airbus A320 belonging to Air Peace with the registration number: A320 ES-SAZ.
He explained that the aircraft was scheduled to transport passengers to Owerri from Lagos but the flight schedule was disrupted after the ground handling equipment — operated
by NAHCO’s staff — rammed into it.
“This same aircraft was positioned for about 10 flights on the same day, however, the incident changed all that, causing a ripple that affected the airline’s schedule,” he said.
“This is the third time in one month that the aircraft is grounded and we don’t know when it will be up again.
“The NAHCO staff had no reason to be where he was and he was not assigned to the aircraft and how he rammed into our aircraft is still shocking.
“This is going to cause revenue loss for us as an airline because the aircraft was scheduled to operate several flights today (Wednesday), but could not do so.
“This has caused flight disruptions and delays hence, the authorities should investigate the incident and take necessary actions.”
Olisa further said the airline had made a formal complaint to NAHCO management on the incident.
Meanwhile, Sola Obabori, group executive director, business and corporate services (GED), NAHCO, confirmed the incident.
Obabori said it was not possible for its staff to deliberately and maliciously damage one of its major customer’s aircraft.
He added that the company had filed a report on the incident, adding that NAHCO had commenced engagements with the airline on the matter.
“We have a very cordial relationship with the airline and we have been together all these years, we serve them diligently and professionally,” Obabori said.
“Our staff are well-trained, accidents do happen. You will agree with me that aircraft do crash due to human error.
“In this particular case, the staff was driving on the runway to attend to another flight that arrived before Air Peace.
“He was driving towards that direction and wanted to support that operation, but he committed an error in terms of processes he was supposed to follow, which he didn’t follow.”
Obabori also said the staff might have had a blind spot, which “prevented him from seeing well”.
He, however, assured that the company would review the situation so that such an incident would not reoccur.
DMO: Incoming president to inherit N77trn debt
By Abubakar Yunus Abuja
Patience Oniha, director general, Debt Management Office (DMO), says the incoming administration would inherit about N77 trillion as debt by the time President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure ends in May.
Oniha said this while fielding questions from journalists at the public presentation and breakdown of the highlights of the 2023 appropriation act in Abuja on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Buhari signed the N21.83 trillion 2023 budget into law, with a deficit of N11.34 trillion.
The deficit represents 5.03 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, had said the federal government would finance the deficit by borrowing.
On funding sources for the N11.34 trillion 2023 budget deficit, the minister said 22 percent of projected revenues will come from oil-related sources while 78 percent will be earned from non-oil sources.
To fund the deficit, according to Ahmed, N7.04 trillion would be borrowed from domestic sources, N1.76 trillion from foreign sources, N1.77 billion from multilateral and bilateral loan drawdowns, while privatisation proceeds would provide N206.18 billion.
Meanwhile, the federal government borrowed N6.3 trillion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the first 10 months of 2022 through ways and means.
Ways and Means is a loan facility through which the CBN finances the government’s budget shortfalls.
In October 2022, the federal government said it will repay the N20 trillion debt owed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with securities such as treasury bills and bonds issuance.
But speaking at the budget presentation, Oniha explained that the move by the federal government to securitise the loans (ways and means) from the central bank would drive up the debt to about N77 trillion.
Although data released by the DMO had put Nigeria’s public debt at N44.06 trillion as at the third quarter 2022, the federal government plans to borrow more to finance both the supplementary and 2023 budgets.
“There are a lot of discussions on the ways and means. In addition to the significant cost saving in loan service we would get by securitising it, there is an element of transparency in the sense that it is now reflected in the public debt stock,” she said.
“Once it is passed by the national assembly, it means we will be seeing that figure included in the public debt. You will see a significant increase in public debt to N77 trillion.
“The other area of the debt stock we are trying to highlight is to say the debt stock is also growing from the issuance of promissory notes, which are not true borrowing as such by the government. “
Stock Watch: Thursday, January 5, 2023
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METRO
By Stanley Onyekwere
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has charged the new Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, in charge of Zone 7 Headquarters Abuja, Kayode Egbetokun to keep up the momentum in the fight against crime and criminality in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Bello gave the charge when he received a delegation of senior police officers from the zone led by the AIG on a courtesy visit to the FCTA, on Wednesday.
The Minister noted that a lot of progress has been made in the fight against serious crime such as kidnapping especially in the rural areas of the FCT with the arrest of kidnappers as well as their financiers and supporters.
This, Bello, in a statement from Director of Press, Office of The Hon. Minister, FCTA, Anthony Ogunleye, explained has led to the rescue of many victims and called on the AIG to ensure that the progress recorded continues.
Sustain fight against crime in FCT, Minister charges new Zone 7 AIG
In the words of the Minister “I want to say that within the recent past, a lot of progress has been made by your officers and men, starting from your zone, the Command of the FCT, as well as the DPO levels and I think this is very commendable.
“The issue of kidnapping had been of grave concern especially to our rural communities. I’m very happy that tremendous success has been recorded in the last few weeks, resulting in a lot of releases, rescue and also arrest of those who are involved, including their financiers and their supporters. I pray that this continues.”
According to him, the relationship between the FCT Administration and the police Zonal Command is a very long symbiotic partnership in which the FCTA will continue to provide the needed support and requirement to the police, to enable it effectively carry out its responsibilities, which will ultimately augur well for the country and send out the right signals to the international community.
He therefore urged the new AIG to work hard in his new post and wished him the best saying that serving in the FCT has a lot of advantages. He adds: “Serving in the FCT has a lot of advantage. If you work very well, easily, it is seen. If you look at the history of all those who served as AIG Zone 7, most of them ended up being propelled to higher responsibilities.
“My prayer to you is that you will serve well here and may God make it easy for you and make you have a very successful tenure.
Earlier, AIG Kayode Egbetokun disclosed that the primary purpose of his visit to the FCTA was to express his appreciation to the FCT Minister for his commitment to ensuring security in the FCT and for the support granted to Zone 7 and FCT Police Command, especially for the operational vehicles given to the police in 2022.
He said: “I thank you very much for the commitment that you have shown for the protection of lives and property in the FCT. I also want to assure you that those vehicles you gave us have been put into judicious use and they have seriously impacted on operations within the FCT.
“I am also here to assure you that we are doing our best to support your efforts in protecting lives and properties in the FCT. “We are improving on our deployment every day. We are doing our best and working so hard to ensure that there is efficient utilization of resources available at our disposal. “We are constantly reviewing and reassessing our anti-crime strategies with a view to evolving new strategies that will meet evolving challenges. We are committed to the training of our officers and men to ensure that they are sensitive to the rule of law and that they are committed to protection of human rights”.
It was gathered that also present at the courtesy visit were the FCT Commissioner of Police, Idris Abubakar Sadiq, the Chief of Staff to the Minister, Malam Bashir MaiBornu, the SSA on security to the Minister, Amb. Salihu Mohammed, Director Department of Security Services, FCTA Mr Adamu Gwary and other senior officials of the FCTA and the Nigeria Police Force.
Tourism: Foundation harps on unlocking potentials of Ladi Kwali Pottery Center
By Stanley Onyekwere
ANon Governmental Organisation (NGO) has stressed the need for sustainable interventions for Ladi Kwali Pottery Center, Suleja, to enable it serve as a tourist center for people across the globe to visit and tour for historical purposes of pottery.
Also, the NGO noted that the Centre serves as a museum for any pottery foundation in the world, because there are some artifacts from Dr. Ladi Kwali and Micheal Cardew, as their products and features are made at the center.
It added that some of the significance of the center is that it serves as the origin of pottery in Nigeria, where Dr. Ladi Kwali started her pottery before it was transferred to the present Dr. Ladi Kwali pottery center in Kwali, because Suleja is the old Abuja while Kwali is the new Abuja now, this center can serve as a tourist center for people across the globe who are willing to visit there for historical purposes of pottery.
Founder of the NGO, Mrs. Maryamu Isa Barnabas, said to this end, the foundation embark on excursion with some students, in order to expose Northerners to the historical antecedent of pottery in Nigeria.
Barnabas noted that about 85% of the Northern students who are interested in pottery are women, with just about 10-15% of the men interested in pottery from the Northern part of Nigeria.
She revealed that the Foundation said it was able to train about thirty (30) students, with the support of MacArthur Foundation, the trained students are supposed to embark on excursion like this to help them in their skills.
She added that they also visited some treasure sites where they can get clay, cauline, etc to help their work easier as they can get it by themselves now.
According to her, the project will last for two years they have done one and a half year. It is looking forward to round up by June this year. Through this project, MacArtur was able to invest thirty (30) million Naira into Ushafa Pottery Center.
“Foundation for over seven (7) years ago, it has been functioning at Ushafa throughout the period. This foundation has been training people especially women in vocational skills such as pottery, ceramics e.t.c before MacArthur discovered them and gave them grant or contract to train over two hundred and fifty people in pottery, ceramics and other skills to promote the cultural heritage of their people.
“It was discovered that pottery and ceramics making is one of the fastest growing economic activity that helps the people put food on their table before the moving of FCT to Abuja, which destroyed many of their mini historical pottery centers, causing the younger generation to loss the touch of their cultural heritage of pottery.
“This foundation has been looking for mass trainers on pottery, it’s not been easy for them but thank God they found the late Mamakande Ushafa, who happen to be the colleague of late Dr. Ladi Kwali. It was a great lost but she was able to transfer her knowledge to her son, Mr. Tanko Dakwai who is the consultant in charge of the pottery training in the Mairo Women Foundation now.
“The Foundation are grateful to MacArthur for their support and intervention in the training of the students. The interesting part of pottery, both the local and modern is that it explains the culture and the environment of this people as they display what they do for a living and their environment on the outer part of the pottery and ceramics beautifying and telling their culture through pottery and ceramics,” she stressed.
FCTA targets zero Okada on Abuja roads
By Stanley Onyekwere
The FCT Administration has stepped its enforcement of its on the spot confiscation and crushing of commercial motorcycles caught within the nation’s capital city centre and other restricted areas, until it records zero level of the meance.
To this end, during the fifth edition in the series of the signature exercise, yesterday, the FCTA impounded and crushed over 200 motorcycles.
Speaking during the exercise, Director, FCTA’s Directorate of Road Traffic Services ( DRTS), Dr. Abdulateef Bello, noted that although it has substantially reduced the number of motorcycles in Abuja, said there is no going back until the administration gets rid of them.
He said: “But it seems as if the efforts would still be on until we achieve the zero level of this exercise but something tells me that most of these motorcycles riders are those that engage in criminal activities like drug peddling. As they are not tired we won’t be tired.
“There are over 200 that we are crushing today. We will continue to take them week by week untill we get rid of them.
“We have already given order to all our commands that anywhere they are sited they should be impounded and handed over to DRTs.
Once they are sited at the wrong route they should be impounded and handed over to us”.
Similarly, Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, lamented that despite the warnings and advocacy from the administration, the motorcycle riders continue to violate traffic rules in FCT.
He described as unacceptable the increasing presence of motorcycles in the heart of the city especially at Guzape, Jahi, Asokoro, Durumi, and Garki respectively.
According to him, “It is a new year and we are surprise at the number of motorcycles we got.Look at the number, may be some persons who travelled home came back with their motorcycles. And these really cost money and it is very painful.
“The FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello had made it clear that motorcycles cannot operate in these key areas Garki, Asokoro, Lugbe, and city center.
However, the SSA, while making a passionate appeal to the commercial motorcycle riders, said: “Please go and operate where it is legal, and won’t have problems .
“The legal areas are large kwali, Abaji, Gwagalada, etc but the areas that are Illegal include, airport road, Garki, central area, Wuse Kubwa etc. All the relevant Department and Secretariat’s have been doing lots of advocacy. The biggest pain is for those who bought the motorcycles. We are all pained doing it”.
Among those who witnessed the crushing of the motorcycles include: Ochi Samuel, FRSC FCT sector commander, Lt col. Murudeen Olawale (Commanding officer AHQ Garrison and DC Felix Ikwuegbu 2iC NSCDC FCT Command.
