The US and other countries have agreed to help Nigeria recover money stolen from the government, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.
The new president said on Tuesday that the country's treasury was "virtually empty".
He vowed to recover billions of dollars "stolen" under previous administrations.
The president won elections in March on a promise to tackle corruption, seen as one of the country's biggest problems.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer but much of the revenue is said to be stolen.
"The days of impunity and lack of accountability are over," he told a meeting of state governors on Tuesday.
He said Nigeria would get the "facts and the figures to help us recover our stolen funds in foreign countries,'' over the next three months.
He did not specify which other countries had agreed to help recover the money.
In an earlier briefing with journalists, he said it was a "disgrace" that some government workers had not been paid for months.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo estimates that Nigeria's debts stand at about $60bn (£38bn).
However, former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has rejected the claim, saying the debt was much lower, AFP news agency reports.
Mr Buhari's election victory ending 16 years of rule by the Peoples Democratic Party.
It was the first time an opposition candidate has won a presidential election in Nigeria.
BBC
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari promises to restore Nigeria's 'financial sanity'
Nigeria's president vowed on Tuesday to recover billions of dollars allegedly stolen by officials and restore financial "sanity", accusing previous governments in Africa's biggest economy of throwing the rulebooks "to the dogs".
Muhammadu Buhari's strong words came after a meeting with the governors of Nigeria's states, in which they said they were 658 billion naira ($3.3 billion) in debt and needed federal government support to offset a funding crisis.
Zamfara state governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar said the governors had suggested three ways out: the government could refund money spent on federal projects such as roads, banks could extend existing loans to up to 20 years, or the government could share out oil revenues usually saved in the so-called Excess Crude Account (ECA).
The president, who took office last month after defeating Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's first transfer of power through the ballot box, vowed to recover billions allegedly stolen by public officials.
"There are financial and administrative instructions in every government parastatal and agency. But all these were thrown to the dogs," Buhari said in a statement after meeting the governors in the capital Abuja.
"The next three months may be hard but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best," he said. "We will restore sanity to the system."
RUNNING ON EMPTY
Several states borrowed in the domestic bond market and from banks to fund infrastructure projects. But the price of crude, which represents 80 percent of Nigeria's revenue, has since plunged, leaving the government unable to pay bills or salaries.
The naira currency has fallen sharply despite the central bank spending billions of dollars to try and prop it up.
Gross revenues distributable to the three tiers of government - federal, state and local - hit a five-year low in April due to frequent shutdowns of oil and export terminal pipelines and depressed crude prices.
Government revenues distributed for May rose to 409.3 billion naira, up 5.4 percent from the previous month, but the Finance Ministry said oil pipeline shutdowns continued to hamper earnings.
Details of Nigeria's economic and financial position would be published within four weeks, Buhari said.
He said the government would look into whether ECA funds could be used to cover unpaid salaries after saying on Monday that treasury coffers were "virtually empty".
The ECA had $2.078 billion as of June 23, the Finance Ministry said.
Standard Chartered's head of Africa research, Razia Khan, said that the level of state debt was "especially problematic".
"While an early release of the ECA may provide a partial solution, it is not yet known how much Nigeria will have managed to accumulate in its ECA in recent months."
Reuters
Muhammadu Buhari's strong words came after a meeting with the governors of Nigeria's states, in which they said they were 658 billion naira ($3.3 billion) in debt and needed federal government support to offset a funding crisis.
Zamfara state governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar said the governors had suggested three ways out: the government could refund money spent on federal projects such as roads, banks could extend existing loans to up to 20 years, or the government could share out oil revenues usually saved in the so-called Excess Crude Account (ECA).
The president, who took office last month after defeating Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's first transfer of power through the ballot box, vowed to recover billions allegedly stolen by public officials.
"There are financial and administrative instructions in every government parastatal and agency. But all these were thrown to the dogs," Buhari said in a statement after meeting the governors in the capital Abuja.
"The next three months may be hard but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best," he said. "We will restore sanity to the system."
RUNNING ON EMPTY
Several states borrowed in the domestic bond market and from banks to fund infrastructure projects. But the price of crude, which represents 80 percent of Nigeria's revenue, has since plunged, leaving the government unable to pay bills or salaries.
The naira currency has fallen sharply despite the central bank spending billions of dollars to try and prop it up.
Gross revenues distributable to the three tiers of government - federal, state and local - hit a five-year low in April due to frequent shutdowns of oil and export terminal pipelines and depressed crude prices.
Government revenues distributed for May rose to 409.3 billion naira, up 5.4 percent from the previous month, but the Finance Ministry said oil pipeline shutdowns continued to hamper earnings.
Details of Nigeria's economic and financial position would be published within four weeks, Buhari said.
He said the government would look into whether ECA funds could be used to cover unpaid salaries after saying on Monday that treasury coffers were "virtually empty".
The ECA had $2.078 billion as of June 23, the Finance Ministry said.
Standard Chartered's head of Africa research, Razia Khan, said that the level of state debt was "especially problematic".
"While an early release of the ECA may provide a partial solution, it is not yet known how much Nigeria will have managed to accumulate in its ECA in recent months."
Reuters
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It's been about one month now since Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as President of Nigeria but up till this moment he has not appointed his cabinet. His spokesperson attributes the delay to ongoing restructuring of the countries ministries but in fighting within the President's All Progressives Congress, APC is also becoming a sticking point.
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President Muhammadu Buhari says national treasury virtually empty
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office last month, said his government is facing severe financial strain from a Treasury that’s “virtually empty” and billions of dollars in debts.
The government is under “so much pressure” that it’s unable to even regularly pay some state workers, Buhari told reporters on Monday in the capital, Abuja. “This is the bad management that we find ourselves in.”
Buhari has yet to name a cabinet since being sworn in as president of Africa’s largest economy on May 29 after defeating Goodluck Jonathan in elections. He took over as a plunge in crude prices forced the government to scale back budgeted spending and devalue the naira while foreign-currency reserves fell. The government relies on crude for about 70 percent of its income.
“It’s just saying the obvious,” said Akintola Owolabi, a senior lecturer of accounting and finance at Lagos Business School. “We all know about the reckless abandon with which the last regime carried out its affairs.”
Former military ruler Buhari, 72, swept Jonathan from office in March elections by pledging to end endemic corruption and Boko Haram’s rebellion in the north that has killed thousands in its six-year campaign to impose its version of Shariah law.
The central bank has been using its foreign reserves, which fell to $29 billion as of June 18 from $34.5 billion at the start of 2015, to help defend the local currency. Still, the naira has declined 7.8 percent against the dollar over the same period.
Growth in the economy is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to slow to 4.8 percent this year from 6.3 percent last year.
Bloomberg
The government is under “so much pressure” that it’s unable to even regularly pay some state workers, Buhari told reporters on Monday in the capital, Abuja. “This is the bad management that we find ourselves in.”
Buhari has yet to name a cabinet since being sworn in as president of Africa’s largest economy on May 29 after defeating Goodluck Jonathan in elections. He took over as a plunge in crude prices forced the government to scale back budgeted spending and devalue the naira while foreign-currency reserves fell. The government relies on crude for about 70 percent of its income.
“It’s just saying the obvious,” said Akintola Owolabi, a senior lecturer of accounting and finance at Lagos Business School. “We all know about the reckless abandon with which the last regime carried out its affairs.”
Former military ruler Buhari, 72, swept Jonathan from office in March elections by pledging to end endemic corruption and Boko Haram’s rebellion in the north that has killed thousands in its six-year campaign to impose its version of Shariah law.
The central bank has been using its foreign reserves, which fell to $29 billion as of June 18 from $34.5 billion at the start of 2015, to help defend the local currency. Still, the naira has declined 7.8 percent against the dollar over the same period.
Growth in the economy is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to slow to 4.8 percent this year from 6.3 percent last year.
Bloomberg
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