Celplus Media

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) posted $239.10 million from the export of crude oil and gas in November, 2017. The sales record was revealed in the November 2017 edition of the Monthly NNPC Operations and Financial Report which also indicated that figure to be 25.68 per cent lower than the previous month performance. The breakdown also showed that Crude oil export sales contributed $113.97 million (or 47.7%) of the dollar transactions compared with $227.83 million contribution in the previous month. Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, said in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. He said the export gas sales amounted to $125.13 Million during the period. “A broader analysis of Crude Oil & Gas transactions from November 2016 – November 2017, however indicated that Crude Oil & Gas worth $3.73 Billion was exported “Under US Dollar Payments to Joint Venture Cost Recovery & Federation Account, a total ex...

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Monday sought the House of Assembly’s approval to present the state’s 2018 budget estimates for its consideration and approval on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The request of the governor was conveyed in a letter dated Nov. 17 and signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie. The letter, titled “Presentation of the Year 2018 budget” was read by the Clerk of the house, Mr James Omoatamae, during plenary. It stated that the presentation of the budget earlier scheduled for Monday, Nov. 27, 2017 was, however, now rescheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 29. The Speaker, Mr Kabiru Adjoto, however, urged members to be available for the budget presentation on Wednesday. Obaseki presented an Appropriation Bill of N150b for the fiscal 2017 to the State House of Assembly in Benin on Dec. 19, 2016. NAN

Strong indications emerged at the weekend that the country may be heading for another season of budget showdown, as the executive and the legislative arms seem to be holding divergent views on the plan to reset the budgetary cycle back to the traditional January to December. President Muhammadu Buhari, on November 7, tabled the N8.6 trillion 2018 spending plan before the National Assembly. Up till this moment, no serious legislative action has been taken by the National Assembly, even though it is barely three weeks to the end of year break. The implication is that the budget re-setting plan billed to come into effect on January 1, 2018 may still remain elusive. In fact, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper  – the baseline and guide for which the budget is anchored is yet to be approved by the legislature, which has not hidden its desire to “frustrate” the budget reset plan on the suspicion that the executive is trying to sta...

At the 2017 graduation of the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, in Kuru, Jos, on Saturday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo reeled out the various achievements of the Buhari administration, despite scarce financial resources, made more difficult by the squandermania of the Jonathan era. He noted among other things, that despite the fall of revenue  by 60 per cent, the Buhari administration  started a series of bailouts for the States, to enable them pay salaries and pensions. The government was also  able to provide about N1.3trillion for capital expenditure, the largest amount for capital in our nation’s history. “For the first time in five years we saved $500million, and invested another $500million in the Sovereign Wealth Fund. Today our external reserves stands at $35billion the highest in the past four years,”he said. Without necessarily mentioning names, Osinbajo dealt a crushing blow to  government critics and politicians who have never...