Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered ministries to use only approved government bank accounts to make payments, the vice president's office said on Sunday, part of a drive to improve transparency and clamp down on corruption.
Buhari, who took office in May after being elected on promises to fight endemic graft in Africa's biggest economy, has said he believes officials have stolen around $150 billion from the public purse over the past decade.
Under the new system, all receipts due to the government or any of its agencies must be paid into accounts maintained by the central bank unless specific permission has been granted not to do so.
"President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered each and every federal government ministry, department or agency to start paying into a Treasury Single Account (TSA) for all government revenues, incomes and other receipts," said Laolu Akande, a spokesman for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
"This measure is specifically to promote transparency," he said, adding that the TSA would be linked to other government bank accounts.
Akande said the new system would end the use of "several fragmented accounts for government revenues", which he said had led to "the loss or leakages of legitimate income meant for the federation account".
The effectiveness of this change in public accounting remains to be seen since corruption and mismanagement of public funds have been entrenched in Nigeria's political system for decades.
Last month Buhari said his administration would trace and recover what he called "mind-boggling" sums of money stolen from the oil sector, which provides about 70 percent of revenues of the government in Africa's biggest crude producer.
Reuters
Monday, August 10, 2015
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Nigeria Super Eagles move up to 53rd in FIFA rankings
Nigeria rose up four spots to 53rd place in the Fifa rankings released on Thursday, though are tenth-ranked African side.
In July’s grading, the Super Eagles dropped 14 places to 57th – their poorest drop in 2015.
One the continent, they are ranked Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Cape Verde Island and Egypt.
Copa America champions, Chile entered the top ten at the expense of the Netherlands who that two places to 12th in the world. Argentina remain the best football playing country in the world and they are followed by Belgium and Germany respectively. Likely Nigeria opposition in the second round of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Swaziland and Djibouti are placed 132nd and 206th respectively in the world.
Former world champions Spain moved a place up to the 11th spot as Brazil are fifth in the world and third in South America.
GOAL
In July’s grading, the Super Eagles dropped 14 places to 57th – their poorest drop in 2015.
One the continent, they are ranked Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Cape Verde Island and Egypt.
Copa America champions, Chile entered the top ten at the expense of the Netherlands who that two places to 12th in the world. Argentina remain the best football playing country in the world and they are followed by Belgium and Germany respectively. Likely Nigeria opposition in the second round of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Swaziland and Djibouti are placed 132nd and 206th respectively in the world.
Former world champions Spain moved a place up to the 11th spot as Brazil are fifth in the world and third in South America.
GOAL
Nigeria bans foreign currency cash deposits
Nigeria's central bank has banned the acceptance of foreign currency cash deposits by commercial banks in order to stem illicit financial flows, the bank said late on Wednesday.
Commercial banks had already started to either cap or ban such deposits last week due to the unavailability of outlets that could absorb their cash.
"For the avoidance of doubt, only wire transfers to and from Domiciliary Accounts are henceforth permissible," the central bank statement added.
A domiciliary account allows an individual or business to make transfers and save directly in British pounds, euro or dollars from within the Nigerian banking system.
Communications advisor to the central bank governor, Ugo Okoroafor, added that the move was also aimed at curbing the "increasing dollarisation of the economy".
Nigeria's currency, the naira, dropped sharply in July to around 240 against the dollar in the parallel market versus the official rate of 197 on the back of persistent dollar shortages.
Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said last month that the naira, which has lost around 15 percent against the dollar over the past year, with an official devaluation in November and a de facto one in February, was "appropriately priced" at its current level.
Reuters
Commercial banks had already started to either cap or ban such deposits last week due to the unavailability of outlets that could absorb their cash.
"For the avoidance of doubt, only wire transfers to and from Domiciliary Accounts are henceforth permissible," the central bank statement added.
A domiciliary account allows an individual or business to make transfers and save directly in British pounds, euro or dollars from within the Nigerian banking system.
Communications advisor to the central bank governor, Ugo Okoroafor, added that the move was also aimed at curbing the "increasing dollarisation of the economy".
Nigeria's currency, the naira, dropped sharply in July to around 240 against the dollar in the parallel market versus the official rate of 197 on the back of persistent dollar shortages.
Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said last month that the naira, which has lost around 15 percent against the dollar over the past year, with an official devaluation in November and a de facto one in February, was "appropriately priced" at its current level.
Reuters
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Video - Banks in Nigeria publicly shaming debtors
Nigerian commercial banks have begun publishing lists of debtors in national dailies in a bid to check the rising non-performing loan profile of Deposit Money banks in the country. The action follows the expiration of the Central Bank of Nigeria's three-month deadline for these debtors to meet their obligations or be exposed to the public.
Video - Nigeria's unemployment problem
In the second quarter of the year, Nigeria's economy shed over 1.3 Million jobs. As a result, the overall unemployment figure rose to 8.2%. That's the 3rd consecutive quarter in which unemployment figures in Nigeria have fallen, and women and people below the age of 25, are the hardest hit. Earlier on, I spoke to Adesola Oludamilare, an Economic Analyst with the Financial Derivatives Company. Our conversation started by asking how accurate the latest unemployment data, is.
Related story: Video - Entrepreneur Adeyoin Oshinbanjo talks about her successful venture Mile 12 Marketonline
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