Economy

N1.15tn Revenue Shortfall Recorded in 2016 –FG

Published

8 years ago

March 3, 2017

N1.15tn Revenue Shortfall Recorded in 2016

The National Assembly, on Thursday, scored the Federal Government low on the performance of the capital expenditure in the 2016 budget.

The Federal Government, however, blamed the low performance on revenue shortfall, adding that while the total revenue target was N1.506tn, only N398bn was generated in the 2016 fiscal year, with a revenue shortfall of about N1.15tn.

The government also said it had achieved 55 per cent performance on the N870bn capital expenditure.

These were made known at a forum jointly organised by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Danjuma Goje, had asked the Federal Government officials how much had been released and cash-backed, the percentage of releases and percentage of cash backs out of the total budget.

In her presentation, the Minister of State for Budget, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, recalled that the 2016 budget was predicated on an oil benchmark price of $38 per barrel, with an average oil output of 2.2 million barrels per day, and official exchange rate of N197 to a United States dollar.

She added that based on the aggregate revenue of N3.86tn, the size of the 2016 budget was N6.06tn, with a deficit of N2.2tn or 2.14 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, which was supposed to be financed with local and foreign borrowings as well as recoveries.

Ahmed said, “We had last year prepared a Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 budget and this plan was principally prepared to guide the implementation of the budget. To this end, we identified 34 key priority areas and with very clear and verifiable targets.

“However, challenges in the economy have undermined the full realisation of the objectives set out in the SIP. Notwithstanding, for most of 2016, crude oil prices exceeded the benchmark of $38 per barrel. There had been a significant shortfall of projected revenue, which was caused largely by the disruption of crude oil production by militant activities.”

Others factors that affected the 2016 revenue target, she said, were fuel supply shortages, significant challenges with power supply and foreign exchange supply scarcity.

The minister stated, “The shortfall in the level of crude oil exports resulted in significant reduction in government revenues and foreign exchange shortages, which caused the economy to slip into recession. Since 95 per cent of our foreign exchange earnings come from the petroleum sector, this has impacted adversely on the level of non-oil revenues as well. The non-oil revenues were significantly impacted, as a lot of activities, even in the non-oil sector, depend largely on foreign exchange.

“On the expenditure side of the budget, the personnel costs were met completely; debt service obligations were fully met, but capital expenditure was behind targeted estimates. It is, however, important for us to note that by the close of the year, about N834bn was already released as capital expenditure. Let me also say that this is the highest release in the history of our country for a very long time. In fact, it exceeds the aggregate capital expenditure of the 2015 budget.”

The Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, in his presentation, stated that one critical aspect of budget implementation that concerned his office was that of funds release “as appropriated and as approved.”

According to Idris, the total capital payment or releases for 2016 as of Thursday was N870,055,792,283.

He put the amount of Internally Generated Revenue at N398,335,850,749.45, adding, “There was also receipt or approval from FAAC of N4.058tn during the year.”

He said, “In doing that, we have invited the Minister of Finance (Kemi Adeosun) and other officials of the ministry; Minister of Budget (Senator Udo Udoma); Minister of State for Budget (Zainab Ahmed); Director General, Budget Office (Ben Akabueze); the Accountant General of the Federation (Ahmed Idris); Director General, Debt Management Office (Abraham Nwankwo); and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (Godwin Emefiele).

The session started on a dramatic note when a member of the committee, Senator Jibrin Barau, called the attention of the lawmakers to the absence of some officials from the meeting.

“Chairman, I can see that the Minister of Finance is not here and this is a very important session that the minister needs to be here. I don’t know why she is not here,” he said.

Adeosun later joined the session.

Goje also announced the absence of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and asked to know his representative.

An Acting Director of the CBN, Mr. Mohammed el-Yakubu, indicated that he was representing Emefiele and expressed the “sincere apologies” of the governor to the lawmakers.

But the announcement angered the lawmakers.

Members of the committee asked that Emefiele’s representative to leave the meeting, insisting that the CBN governor or one of his deputies should be at the meeting.

Up Next

Buhari Inherited a Bad Economy, Made it Worse – Soludo

Don't Miss

Why we Intervened in Forex Market –CBN

Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

Comments

Economy

Ubeta Project to Produce 350 Million Standard Cubic Feet of Gas Per Day Once Operational – FG

Published

3 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

The Federal Government of Nigeria has said that once the Ubeta gas field is fully operational, it will produce 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

With this dream realised, the Federal Government said the anticipated achievement would enhance energy security, attract investments, and strengthen collaboration with key partners.

This was made known by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Olu Verheijen, at the inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, hosted by the US State Department in Washington, DC.

Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, in partnership with French energy giant TotalEnergies, had in July planned to invest a significant $550 million to develop gas facilities in oil-rich Rivers State.

Verheijen had announced the kickoff of a $550 million upstream gas project between Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (NNPCL) and TotalEnergies for the development of the Ubeta field.

At a luncheon during the dialogue, Verheijen mentioned that the upstream gas project would produce 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day once operational.

A statement from Morenike Adewunmi, Stakeholder Manager, Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, quoted Ms. Verheijen as informing the gathering that President Bola Tinubu’s major energy reforms since June 2023 have been aimed at enhancing energy security, attracting investments, and strengthening collaboration with key partners, including the US government.

According to her, the reforms have significantly improved the viability of Nigeria’s gas-to-power value chain.

She explained that in support of the reform efforts, the President issued five new executive orders designed to offer fiscal incentives for investment and reduce the cost and time required to finalize and implement contracts for developing and expanding gas infrastructure.

Verheijen said that the directives aim to immediately unlock up to $2.5 billion in new oil and gas investments in the country.

She acknowledged the valuable support of financing and technical partners, including the US government, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank, in efforts to expand electricity access and reliability through both grid and off-grid solutions.

Economy

Nigeria’s Trade Surplus Hits N6.95 Trillion in Q2 2024, Marking a 33.63% Increase

Published

5 days ago

September 13, 2024

Investors King

Nigeria’s trade surplus, the difference between exports and imports, rose to N6.95 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, according to the latest foreign trade statistics report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.

This marks a 33.63 percent increase from the N5.19 trillion recorded between January to March 2024, bringing the total value at N12.14 trillion in the first half of 2024.

This is however higher than N154.12 billion recorded in the first six months of 2023, the NBS data revealed.

The report showed that the country recorded a positive trade balance for the sixth straight quarter in Q2, signifying key economic development.

A trade surplus occurs when a country’s exports exceed its imports.

Total merchandise trade in Africa’s most populous nation stood at N31.8 trillion in Q2, a decline of 3.76 percent compared to the preceding quarter and a 150.39 percent jump compared to a year ago.

“Exports accounted for 60.89% of total trade with a value of N19,418.93 trillion, showing a marginal increase of 1.31% compared to the value recorded in Q1 2024 (N19,167.36) and a 201.76% rise over the value recorded in the second quarter of 2023 (N6,435.13),” NBS said.

Analysts attributed the surge in exports to the exchange rate depreciation caused by the foreign exchange reform implemented last June.

Tobi Ehinmosan, a fixed income and macroeconomic analyst at Lagos-based FBNQuest Capital, said the major factor for this significant trade surplus numbers is the decline in import trade.

“No doubt, our export performance has been on the rise but then the main driver is the drop in import trade, especially from June 2023 when the exchange rate was floated,” he said.

“A reasonable explanation for the lower import figure is the challenges traders face in sourcing for FX,” Ehinmosan noted, adding that the scarcity of FX has led to lower import of commodities into the country.

Echoing the same sentiment, Michael Adeyemi, an economics lecturer said the surplus suggests a reduction in imports, caused by such factors like currency devaluation or high import costs.

“A trade surplus strengthens the balance of payments, which can help stabilize Nigeria’s currency, the naira,” Adeyemi said.

“It also allows the country to build foreign reserves and pay off international debt obligations more comfortably,” the university lecturer explained.

The naira has tumbled by over 70 percent this year following a two-time devaluation last year. The official exchange rate increased from N463.38/$ on June 9, 2023, to N1.558.7/$ as of September 12, 2024.

At the parallel market, the naira depreciated to over N1,600/$ from 762/$.

Recent data from the International Monetary Fund highlighted that Nigeria’s current account balance, a measure of its net trade in goods, services, and transfers with the rest of the world, rose to $1.43 billion this year from $1.21 billion surplus in 2023.

“A growing current account surplus can be a sign of economic strength, indicating that the country’s industries are competitive internationally and that its exports are in demand,” Ibrahim Bakare, a professor of Economics said.

“It may also lead to an appreciation of the country’s currency, as increased demand for its goods and services boosts the value of its currency relative to others,” he added.

Economy

FIRS VAT Revenue Surges to N1.56 Trillion in Q2 2024 Amid Economic Struggles

Published

1 week ago

September 10, 2024

Samed Olukoya

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) generated N1.56 trillion in Value Added Tax (VAT) in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This represents an increase of 9.11% compared to the N1.43 trillion reported in the first quarter of 2024.

A breakdown of the report showed that local VAT payments accounted for N792.58 billion of the total amount generated, while foreign VAT payments stood at N395.74 billion, and import VAT contributed N372.95 billion.

A quarterly analysis of the report revealed that human health and social work activities recorded the highest growth rate with 98.44%. This was followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing with 70.26%, and water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with 59.75%.

On the other hand, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use had the lowest growth rate with –46.84%, followed by real estate activities with –42.59%.

Sectoral analysis showed that the manufacturing sector contributed the most at 11.78%. Information and communication and mining and quarrying contributed 9.02% and 8.79%, respectively.

Nevertheless, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.00%, followed by activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 0.01%, and water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities and real estate services with 0.04% each.

On a year-on-year basis, VAT collections grew by 99.82% from Q2 2023 despite ongoing economic challenges.

Nigeria’s inflation rate remains well above 30 percent, while new job creation is almost nonexistent.

Other key economic factors, such as investor sentiment, the purchasing managers’ index, and consumer spending, remain weak amid intermittent protests by citizens demanding improvements in quality of life.