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Oil revenue grew by 30% in first half 2024 – FG
The Federal Government says Nigeria’s oil revenue grew from 11 per cent in the first half of 2023 to 30 per cent in the first half of 2024.
This is contained in a statement by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun on Friday, in Abuja.
According to the minister, the growth in government revenue is due to the reconfiguration and improvement in government finances.
“The government’s determination to mobilise non-oil revenue has consistently delivered impressive results.
“For the half-year 2024, non-oil revenue surpassed the revenue in the first half of 2023 by 30 per cent above the 2024 budget target without any increases in taxes,” he said.
On debt, Edun said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has been working to manage and reduce the national debt to create better fiscal headroom for economic management.
“In dollar term, Nigeria’s debt burden has reduced and the government’s fiscal deficit has improved. Our debt has fallen in dollar terms from 108 billion to 91 billion dollars.
“Additionally, the government has diligently serviced all its loans and obligations with no recourse to ways and means of financing, ‘’ Edun said.
Edun said in 2023, the administration exited the Ways and Means debt trap due to better management of the fiscal space.
He said the federal government did not rely on borrowing from the CBN Ways and Means to fund its obligations.
According to Edun, part of the inflationary pressure the country is currently experiencing is as a result of the past abuse of Ways and Means.
He said the federal government paid back the previous N7.3 trillion obligations within a year of Tinubu’s administration.
On Debt Service to Revenue, the minister said the Federal Government for decades, had been spending more than half of its revenue on debt servicing.
He said this was done to enable it meet its debt obligations to avert any form of default.
“By the end of June 2023, the federal government spent 97 per cent of total revenue to service debt, but has recorded a positive trend in the debt service-to-revenue ratio.
“Currently, the debt service-to-revenue ratio has declined from 97 per cent in the first half of 2023 to 68 per cent in 2024.
“Indicating the government’s strong position in managing its debt obligations,” the minister said.
On Budget Deficit, he said it had been a major priority for the economic managers to reduce the budget deficit.
“To achieve this, the federal government, in the last year of the Tinubu administration, improved government revenue collection and blocked a lot of leakages.
“The 2024 budget deficit has moved in the right direction, with a target of 4.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an improvement from the 6.1 per cent deficit recorded in 2023.
“On an annualised basis, we are at 4.4 per cent, so you can see we are effectively close to the budgetary target,” Edun said.
The minister said the government’s efforts to attract more foreign inflows into the economy had continued to yield good outcomes.
He expresses the government’s commitment to continue the reforms and improve business environment to engender further confidence.
Edun underscored government’s efforts to attract foreign inflows; including implementing the national single window project, which he said would generate 2.7 billion dollars annually in economic benefits.
He said:” the government’s accelerated stabilisation and advancement plan has already attracted 500 million dollars in investment in the gas sector.
The minister said the government had implemented several initiatives and interventions to address the current high cost of living and bring relief to the masses.
Edun said this included a strategic input programme to increase the supply of food, a pivot to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel for mass transit vehicles.
He said the government was also providing lower-cost financing for the manufacturing industry and production.
The minister sympathised with Nigerians for the current hardship, which he also noted would soon blow away.
He expressed optimism that inflation, in spite being “quite sticky at the moment,” would decelerate and come down due to the government’s commitments and actions.
“Clearly, as part of the reform programme, on the monetary side, monetary policy has been tightened.
“The CBN has been proactive in adjusting the monetary policy rate to address inflation head-on, which is in line with its legal mandate,” he said.
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.