Finance
Atiku Promises to Privatise NNPC Even if it Kills Him
Atiku Vows to Privatise NNPC if Elected in 2019 Election
Atiku to Privatise NNPC – Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as a “mafia organisation”, vowing to privatise it if elected.
Speaking in Lagos during an interactive session with the business community on Wednesday, Atiku said he would take the step even if doing so would cost him his life.
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He explained that he sold the idea to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo whom he deputised between 1999 and 2007 but that the former president did not approve of it.
Atiku said he is convinced that NNPC would run better if not managed by the government.
“Let me go back to my experience. When we got into office, I walked up to my boss and said “Sir, there are two mafia organisations in government: one is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) while the other one is the National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA),” he said.
“I said unless we dismantle these mafia organisations, we cannot make progress. Let’s privatise them… the long and short of this is that I am committed to privitaisation as I have said. I swear even if they are going to kill me, I will do it (privatise NNPC).”
Atiku also spoke on how an expert in the petroleum sector influenced his stance on privatisation of NNPC.
“I asked a Nigerian professor based in America; I said ‘Prof, do you have ministry of petroleum in America?’ He said no,” he said.
“I said, ‘Do you have an organisation like NNPC over there?’ He said no. And America produces oil more than any country? He said yes.
“So I asked him, ‘How do they do it in America?’ and he said taxation and I decided that I will go by taxation too.”
Joined by Peter Obi, his running mate, Atiku fielded questions that ranged from the economy to security, health and unemployment.”
He also criticised the current administration for the delay in passing the petroleum industry governance bill (PIGB).
Atiku, who said the level of unemployment in the country is worrying, narrated his encounter with idle youth during his campaign rallies.
He said if left unchecked the lack of adequate jobs could create a bigger problem.
Author: Eunice Johnson, Abuja
President of the African Development bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has announced that the bank has secured 15.6bn dollars for the construction of the Lagos-Abidjan highway corridor, which would ease transportation across West Africa.
Adesina made this announcement during the 2021 Africa Investment Forum’s virtual boardroom closing session on Thursday.
The AFDB President said the 15.6bn dollar deal which is the biggest deal for the boardroom is a 46-lane highway corridor which will connect Lagos, Cotonou, Lome, Accra and Abidjan.
According to him, the project would support trade in West Africa, impacting the lives of over 500 million people, reducing transport costs and increasing intra-regional trade volume.
The bank will also be establishing a 1m dollars AFAWA women advisory facility to support women with advisory services.
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Author: Gift Wada, Abuja
THE Debt Management Office on Thursday said Nigeria’s total public debt stock increased to N39.56tn in 2021 from N32.92tn in 2020.
The Director-General, DMO, Patience Oniha, said this at a media briefing in Abuja.
According to her, the total debt includes new borrowings by the Federal Government and the sub-nationals.
She also said that the amount helped in financing the budget deficit, capital projects and support economic recovery.
Oniha said, “Nigeria’s total public debt as at December 31, 2021, was N39.56tn or $95.78bn. The amount represents the total external and domestic debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 36 state governments and the federal capital territory.
“The comparable figure for December 31, 2020, was N32.92tn or $86.39bn. The public debt stock for December 31, 2021, includes new borrowings by the FGN and the sub-nationals. For the FGN, it would be recalled that the 2021 appropriation and supplementary acts, included total new borrowings (from domestic and external sources) of N5.49tn to part-finance the deficit.
“Borrowings for this purpose and disbursements by the multilateral and bilateral creditors account for a significant portion of the increase in the debt stock. Increases were also recorded in the debt stock of the states and the FCT.”
She further said that despite the debt increase, the country is still within the total public debt stock to the Gross Domestic Product limit of 55 per cent set by the World Bank and 70 per cent set by the Economic Community of West African States.
Oniha also said that the Federal Government was “mindful of the relatively high debt-to-revenue ratio” and has established certain measures to increase revenues through the strategic revenue growth initiative and the introduction of Finance Acts since 2019.
She said, “The new borrowings were raised from diverse sources, primarily through the issuances of the Eurobonds, sovereign Sukuk, and the FGN bonds. These capital raisings were utilised to finance capital projects and support economic recovery.
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“With the total public debt stock to GDP as at December 31, 2021, of 22.47 per cent, the debt-to-GDP ratio still remains within Nigeria’s self-imposed limit of 40 per cent. This ratio is prudent when compared to the 55 per cent limit advised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for countries in Nigeria’s peer group, as well as, the ECOWAS convergence ratio of 70 per cent.”
However, findings showed that Nigeria spent N2.93tn on debt servicing payments in 2021, according to the data obtained from the DMO.
Between January and March 2021, Nigeria spent N612.71bn on domestic debt servicing, while it spent $1bn (N415.92bn) on external debt servicing, giving a total of N1.03tn.
From April to June 2021, the country spent N322.7bn on domestic debt servicing and $299m (N124.36bn) on external debt servicing, showing a total of N447.06bn.
From July to September 2021, Nigeria spent N808.49bn on domestic debt servicing and $520.78m (N216.6bn) on external debt servicing, giving a total of N1.03tn.
Between October and December 2021, Nigeria spent N310.5bn on domestic debt servicing, while it spent $286.35m (N119.1bn) on external debt servicing, giving a total of N429.6bn.
The official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which showed $1 =N415.92 as of March 17, was used for the external debt servicing.
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Nigeria has officially raised 1.25 Billion dollars through the issuance of a seven-year Eurobonds in the International Capital Market (ICM).
The Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha made this known in a statement on Thursday.
Oniha said that with this feat, Nigeria has become the first African country to access the ICM in 2022.
According to her, the country’s ability to access the Eurobonds at this time was a confirmation of her established presence with the ICM and engagement with investors on a continuous basis.
She said that the proceeds of the bonds would be used to finance the budget and bridge infrastructural deficits.
“The offer was launched at an initial price thought of 8.75 per cent per annum and on the back of strong investor demand, Nigeria was able to reverse the price guidance to 8.5 per cent per annum.
“The order book continued to grow, reaching a peak of four billion dollars,” she said.
She said that the order book included many quality investors in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
“With this strong investor interest the price was tightened at 8.37 per cent per annum, the order book still remained high at 3.67 billion dollars and still retained quality investors,” she said.
She said that Nigerian investors also participated in the offer with a total subscription of 60 million dollars.
She added that the Eurobonds would also strengthen economic recovery and contribute directly and in full to the level of Nigeria’s External Reserves.
Reports Show that the DMO had earlier on Thursday revealed that Nigeria ’s ’total debt stock as at December 2021 was N39.55 trillion.
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