Bankers are voicing opposition to the Central Bank’s decision to omit retained earnings from the share capital calculation in its recent recapitalization guidelines.

The Central Bank announced on Thursday a new set of capital thresholds for Nigerian banks, requiring international, national, and regional banks to maintain minimum share capital of N500 billion, N200 billion, and N50 billion, respectively.

However, in defining share capital, the Central Bank excluded retained earnings from the calculation. Instead, it specified that share capital comprises only the banks’ ordinary share capital and share premium.

• “For existing banks, the capital requirements specified above shall be paid-in capital (Paid-up plus Share Premium) only. Bonus issues, other reserves and Additional Tier 1 (AT1 Capital shall not be allowed or recognized for the purpose of meeting the new minimum capital requirements.” CBN

In accounting terms, retained earnings are considered a component of a company’s equity because they represent profits that have not been distributed as dividends but are instead reinvested in the bank.

Many bankers, who requested anonymity when speaking to Nairametrics, expressed the view that the Central Bank’s decision to exclude retained earnings from share capital calculations is flawed.

They argue that this approach fails to acknowledge the actual value that these earnings represent which goes against the conventional and legal treatment of company’s capital structure.

Some bankers also expressed the opinion that while the Central Bank prefers banks to retain most of their earnings to reinforce their capital base, it should not concurrently prevent them from counting these undistributed earnings as part of their capital.

According to estimates by Nairametrics, the ten largest banks in the country possess a cumulative total of N4.2 trillion in retained earnings.

• With the exception of Sterling Bank, none would require additional capital raising if retained earnings were recognized as part of share capital.
• This may explain the widespread dissatisfaction among bankers with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive.
• It seems that the Central Bank is prioritizing direct capital injections into banks rather than relying on accounting entries to satisfy recapitalization requirements.
• Although the Central Bank has permitted mergers and acquisitions, this suggests it anticipates that some banks might struggle to meet the new capital requirements.

The Central Bank has stated that the purpose of raising capital is to “engender the emergence of stronger, healthier and more resilient banks to support the achievement of a US$1 trillion economy by the year 2030” in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of the Tinubu administration.

The Central Bank contends that larger banks with substantial capital bases are essential, as they can offer more significant levels of credit.

This capacity is deemed critical to facilitating and accelerating the growth of the national economy.

[Nairametrics]

“Corruption in the Senate of Rome was a prevalent issue throughout the history of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Senators would often accept bribes from wealthy individuals, foreign ambassadors, or even other senators to influence their decision-making. Senators would use their influence to secure positions of power or prestigious appointments for their family members, regardless of qualifications or merit”. 

“Moreover, the Senate was also known for its lavish lifestyles and extravagant spending. Senators often embezzled public funds for personal gain, enriching themselves at the expense of the Roman people”. The widespread bribery, nepotism, political manipulation, and financial misconduct undermined the integrity and effectiveness of the Senate as a governing body. These corrupt practices played a role in the decline and eventual fall of the Roman Empire”.

The behavioural pattern sketched above was typical of the Senate of Rome over two thousand years ago. Yet were I not to reveal this information, it can be mistakenly assumed that it is all about the primitive behaviour of the 10th Senate of Nigeria. In the wake of the 2023 general elections, we have witnessed the iconic personification of corruption by the three organs of government, especially the Judiciary and the National Assembly. I have always argued that it is impossible to have a corrupt executive without a corrupt Parliament and a corrupt Judiciary and vice-versa. It is a systemic crisis in which they are all implicated. 

Thanks to the principle of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances. Notionally and in the anticipation of any of them going rogue, the three organs are separate and intended to serve as checks against any tendentious deviant behaviour of one another. A dysfunctional society ensues where all of them have gone rogue and a vicious cycle of degenerate behaviour rules the nest. A corrupt Executive cannot call a corrupt Judiciary to order. Neither can a corrupt Judiciary call a corrupt Parliament to order. 

This is the interpretation of the persistently high ranking of Nigeria on the ladder of worldwide corruption by the Transparency International, TI. The peculiar dimension of corruption in Nigeria today is that it is not the revenue generated by Nigeria that is being plundered, it is the money borrowed internally and from the international community. 

The Nigerian debt abyss is summed up in the excerpts that follows. “The ICIR shows that as of June 30 2023, Nigeria owes the World Bank $14.5 billion, according to data from the Debt Management Office. Nigeria’s debt to China increased from $3.93bn as of June 30, 2022, to $4.73bn as of June 30, 2023, showing an increase of $800m in one year. Nigeria’s total public debt reached N87. 91 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2023”. 

This then begs the question, what is the opinion of the lending agencies and countries to Nigeria, (World Bank, IMF, China) on the routine evidence of the way and manner Nigerian public officials spend the money we borrow from them? 

Does it not amount to double jeopardy to the low income earners who fare far worse under the ‘IMF’ regime and bear no responsibility for bringing Nigeria to this sorry pass? Worst of all is the regular advertisement of the self-enriching criminal abuse of the loans in the public glare.

Since the pipers dictate the tune, why have these pipers (loaners) fail to exercise their right of first refusal and insist that their money should (for instance) not be used to buy exorbitant state of the art SUVS for the pleasure of four hundred and sixty Nigerians? How does the claim by the IMF that it “works with governments to ensure responsible spending” square up with this kind of spending? Do they not know that the reasons their prescriptions do not work is attributable to the nugatory effect of rampant public sector corruption and impunity. If they know then what are they doing about it?

How does building a fifteen million dollars Vice Presidential Lodge rise to the bar of IMF “responsible spending”. Where is the responsible spending in funding the opulence and conspicuous consumption of a few in a situation in which Nigeria is rated the poverty capital of the World?. After the damage has been done, they will then turn around to blame the country for what was foreseeable right from the beginning. 

It is a behaviour that hacks back to colonialism. The colonial powers would couple together a disparate group of nationalities to form a country, in the full knowledge that the potential to fail far exceeds the probability of success. After the ‘country’ has duly fulfilled the potential to fall, they will then assume the posture of condescending detachment as if they were not the authors of the failure in the first place. As Anthony Kirk Green remorsefully noted “the tragedy of 1967 is that many of its seeds were not, as is often claimed, sown in October or even July 1966, but in the 1950s or, as some see it, in 1914 or maybe in 1900 itself.”

In its 2022 tracking report, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, published its investigations into how the Constituency projects budget item of the Nigerian national assembly are utilised. It reads like a compendium of the escapades of a 419 syndicate. Owing to space constraints, I can only scratch the top of the iceberg. 

‘Records have it that at least N2 trillion has been spent on constituency projects from 2003 to date, even as Sunday Vanguard gathered that N95 billion and N100 billion had been allocated to the projects every year and shared among the 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives’

“In addition to the N100 billion appropriated annually for constituency projects, the National Assembly embedded additional projects into mandate budgets of MDAs. This is done to increase the project portfolios of concerned legislators and their influence on MDAs. The value of the insertion was in billions. Meanwhile, many of the awarded constituency projects across Nigeria have not started, been abandoned or named but are not in existence”.

In all of this contemporary perversion, the most unique individual is the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. One of the most negatively predictable public official in Nigeria, his public career has been a study in the utility of public corruption for upward mobility in the ladder of political leadership in Nigeria.

A few years back, of all the potential choices former President Muhammadu Buhari could make as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, it was Akpabio he headhunted for the position-with predictable consequences. ‘Barely a month after his appointment, Akpabio clashed with the acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Joy Nunieh. Ms Nunieh, who was subsequently relieved of her position, accused Akpabio of graft and sexual harassment. Five months after he exited office in 2015, Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the EFCC, arrested Akpabio over an alleged theft of N108bn ($227m) belonging to Akwa Ibom State’. 

Given the conspicuous stench that was bound to emanate from his election to the office of Senate President, I offered the unsolicited counsel that it was non-strategic of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sponsor Akpabio for the position. It turned out I was shooting blind concerning the ulterior motive behind his adoption as Senate President. 

I have been subsequently schooled that  “the charges from seven years ago could now become a tool in the hands of the executive branch. Some political analysts, including Olanrewaju Suraju, chairman of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption, suggest that the executive could use these graft charges to push through policies, effectively compromising the legislative process”. 

In the account of institutional perversion in Nigeria, the story of how Akpabio turned and twisted his way to the Senate is in a class all by itself. In what must go down in history as a lowliest turn of the Supreme Court, he suborned the highest Court in the land to sanction the proposition that it was all well and good to run for the Presidency and Senate at one and the same time. That having lost the pursuit of the former, you are simultaneously entitled to go after the other.

In diabolical humour, former Governor of Imo state Rochas Okorocha who equally contested for the Presidency, wondered aloud “I was there in the field with you running for President, I never knew how you were able to meander, leaving some of us. Next time you must teach me how to do that.”. The combination of Akpabio and the Nigerian Senate has proven to be a marriage made in heaven. No deed is too profane nor outrageous for the Senate to contemplate. In anticipation of the debt Nigeria is about to incur, their first order of duty was to self-allocate seventy billion naira on the purchase of choice SUVs to “support their working conditions”. 

Senator Abdul Ningi is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a reform minded public official. His outing was one of those instances in which thieves could find no honour among themselves. Regardless of the motive, the more of such resultant whistle blow, the better for the Nigerian public. He alleged “For the first time in Nigerian history, today we are operating two different budgets. One budget was approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu, and the one was implemented by the presidency. The one approved by us is N25tn while the one operated by the Federal Government is N28tn.”

There are a few loose ends here. First is that Senator Abdul Ningi cannot just wake up one morning and cook this up, no matter the motives. If he did, then he is a good candidate for Aro mental hospital in Abeokuta. Neither does this corruption prone Senate deserve to be given the benefit of doubt. Where the honesty and probity of these lawmakers are concerned, you bet on them at your utmost peril. Certainly, not when, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe (at the same session) gave us a heads up. “if we want to go into those issues, all of us are culpable. Some senators here, so-called senior senators, got N500 million each. I am a ranking senator, I didn’t get?”

If terror keeps escalating in Nigeria, it is simply following the logic that corruption and terrorism coexist in a mutually reinforcing relationship. Speaking directly to the Nigerian dilemma, Sarah Chayes argues ‘Governments that ostensibly fight terror, may actually generate more dire security crises than they curb as a result of corrupt governance practices’.

President Bola Tinubu joins the Christian faithful to commemorate Easter, a significant moment and a glorious celebration of the triumph of life over death.

The President warmly greets Christians in Nigeria and around the world on this occasion, emphasizing love, sacrifice, and compassion as the patent themes of this solemn season.

President Tinubu notes that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for humanity is an emphatic lesson for leaders and all Nigerians to yield to selflessness and compassion, and be steadfast in the pursuit of a united, peaceful, and prosperous nation.

The President strongly commends Nigerians for the sacrifices they have made in the past few months for the nation to be steered to the path of recovery and sustainable growth, assuring them that the seeds of patience which they have sown are beginning to sprout and will in no time bring forth an abundance of good fruits.

As Christians celebrate the victory of life over death as exemplified by the resurrection of Christ, President Tinubu assures all citizens that Nigeria will triumph over its challenges as his administration remains firmly committed to this end.

The President wishes Nigerians, Happy Easter.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

Today, I celebrate a wise man. A provider of sophisticated solutions to complex problems. An unmatched listener & processor of information. A diligent workaholic who sleeps lightly and briefly but works heavily and constantly. A patient teacher and fearless defender of the voiceless.

To a unifying leader and believer in Nigeria who now serves all Nigerians as our President, Happy Birthday!

♾????????????????????♾

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Official Spokesman of the President

It is in our character as human beings to turn every anniversary into a celebration. There is dancing and rejoicing. Easter is here and what will happen in Christendom was already foreshadowed last Sunday during Palm Sunday processions. Tomorrow which is Good Friday, except in places some young men act the crucifixion of the Lord to remind the world of the brutality and horror visited on the Son of God, Jesus, hardly would seriousness this time calls for be demonstrated. The Palm Sunday is yearly a re-enactment of the enrapturing reception for the Lord during Passover in Jerusalem. Passover was a thanksgiving celebration of the liberation of the Jews by Moses from Pharaoh’s Egypt. The occasion is described as the triumphal entry of the Lord into Jerusalem for the Passover. The reception was, to an unsuspecting great many, deception to entrap the Saviour. The elaborate plan laid out was that His entry would be hailed amidst cries in celebration: “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12: 13).

It all began from Judas Iscariot who made contact with a Resistant Movement who had been agitating to remove the Roman yoke on the Israelites. They believed rebellion against Caesar, Emperor Tiberius was the answer. Members of the movement were to come for Passover Festival disguised as pilgrims so as not to arouse any suspicion, particularly that of the Romans. The resistance members persuaded themselves that since Christ was the one generally believed to be the Messiah, he perfectly fitted the bill to lead them in the rebellion against Rome. The Romans were to be driven away. By their own understanding the mission of the Messiah must be political. Whether he liked it or not, Jesus was to be proclaimed king.

The grouse of Judas was that the Lord Jesus had no interest in material things. Everywhere Christ spoke His audience was always deeply moved; they watched His healing miracles with awe and in disbelief: The blind received their sight; the lame and infirm walked and He raised the dead. Because of His own love for the material, Judas was always ill-at-ease watching Jesus turning down gifts. Those healed offered their wealth which He always declined. How Judas wished such wealth or sundry gifts were his. He could not understand why in the face of opportunities they, that is, the Lord and His Disciples, could be living from hand to mouth and wandering about like vagrants when as the promised Messiah royal dignity should be His lot. He saw how Jesus held His audience spell-bound and exercised power over them through His Person and His Word. Judas was convinced such power could be converted into pursuit of earthly affairs and made to manifest in an earthly way. It would, in his reckoning, be history fulfilling itself and he being part of that history.

The day of the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem with fanfare came, and the reception by the multitude was as the members of the Resistant Movement wished it with the hailing: “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” It surprised Jesus and He felt uneasy with it, seeing through it all. He went to the Temple where He addressed the congregants who were ostensibly pilgrims for the Festival. He called for peace and love for and among fellow men. He spoke of submission to the Will of God, the Father. He then went on to command them to love their enemies. The battle-ready pilgrims were astounded by what they heard and their leaders pressed to meet and speak to the Lord personally, knowing the risk they had taken upon themselves. How could they be asked to love their enemies, the enemies they wanted driven out of Israel? The enemies were the Romans. They wanted to seek confirmation from the Lord of what they had laid out as His role to lead the Jews to battle and also receive words of encouragement from Him. But Judas could not arrange it as the danger to which he had exposed the Lord and fellow Disciples dawned on Him. His breach of loyalty would be exposed. His intellectual superiority among his fellow disciples would have proven to be in vain. He alone among the rebellious group knew that the Lord would not allow Himself to be made an earthly king. He could see that the Lord was far distant from the role penciled down He would play.

Before the Passover, the Son of God had raised Lazarus from the dead in Bethany. It was widely believed, not the least by the political establishment that, acts of raising people from the dead were veritable signs that the time of the promised Messiah and concomitantly the liberation and triumph of Israel was at hand. In Jerusalem, the Great Sanhedrin was totally perturbed by the development. They had a special meeting session where they asked themselves: “What do we? For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation” (John 11: 47-48).

Realizing that his conspiracy had blown up in his face, Judas suffered from inner turmoil and engaged in a fierce inner struggle with himself. He got greatly confused and his turmoil got to the point he grew in hatred for the Lord. He fell into the hands of Caiaphas who soon got persuaded that the hatred Judas had developed for his Master was genuine. The plan was hatched as to how Judas would report the movement of the Lord to the authorities. He pledged that as soon as an opportunity for the arrest of his Master presented itself he would alert Caiaphas, the high priest. When the arrest was effected town–criers went round the streets in Jerusalem to announce it, calling the Lord the fake prophet of Nazareth and a blasphemer. The same crowd that hailed the Lord as the blessed King of Israel asked that He be crucified. It was reported that they had placed all their hopes of national greatness and liberation on the Lord and believed that they had been betrayed whereas it was they that did not have a clear recognition nor the understanding of who Christ was and what His Mission on earth was. He did not come to lead mankind to war, but to show them the way out of chaos and confusion as well as out of the burden of entanglement of the web of sins and wrong-doing. It is revealed in the enlightenment of these times spreading on earth today that “coming from the Highest, from the Luminous Heights of Eternal Truth, in order through His message to draw the human spirits’ attention to their wrong way of living, and to show them the only way leading upwards, the Son of God had no understanding for such futile, fleeting earthly desires as national pride, political influence or the craving for power.

Ernest Schmitt, in his work: ‘The Son of God—Birth and Trial of Jesus (in its Historical, Political and Religious Aspect)’ says: “But when in fulfillment of Divine promises He really did appear, it was just the leading religious circles who, having treated the prophecies about His coming so cheaply in order to make the people tractable for themselves, became his embittered enemies. Every word uttered by the Envoy of God exposed the emptiness of their doctrines, and the arrogance of their claim to leadership. With their power threatened, and seething with hatred, they only schemed how they could silence the troublesome admonisher.

“But even among those who honestly longed for the coming of the Messiah, many a one still passed him by unsuspecting, not being sufficiently alert, and in false expectation dreaming of a different fulfillment. Only a few were able to rise up to a divining of the greatness of the sacrifice that lay just in taking upon Himself the hardship and difficulties of an incarnation. Since also the Divine on earth is subject to the eternal and unchangeable Laws of God, It shows purely outwardly no striking difference from men.

“The impending expectation which should have created the soil for a speedy, joyful recognition of the Promised One actually formed a dividing wall, because those who awaited Him had, in the way of men, pressed it into the demand of their earthly-political worldly wishes. Thereby a connection with the Son of God and His Light-Message was made impossible.”

At the time of the Passover Festival, the priests had sentenced the Son of God to death but they could not have Him arrested because of the throng of the admiring crowd. Members of the priestly establishment unceasingly met to deliberate on an unbearable situation of crowd milling round Jesus, all a threat to their power and influence. They felt that there was no way they would attempt to arrest him and it would not trigger serious disturbances. The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew His whereabouts, the person should report to the authorities for His arrest. (John 11:57). Judas knowing where the Lord could be found with His Disciples –Kidron Valley garden—in line with his promise to Caiaphas, led soldiers and police from the chief priests and the Pharisees armed with lanterns, torches and weapons to arrest the Lord. They tied Him up. He was kicked, scorned, and mocked and a crown of thorns was placed on His Head.

The Nazarene was taken to Pontius Pilate, the representative of Tiberius Augustus. Pilate, who did not see Christ as constituting any threat to Rome, thought of setting Him free. His wife too had warned him not to have hand in any harm to an “innocent man.” She said to her husband: “Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.” (Matthew 27:19). He was determined not to yield to the pressure of the Jews. The Jews had said in reply to Pilate’s questioning on why Jesus was brought before him: “We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Ceasar, saying that he himself is Christ, a King.” (Luke 23: 2). But Pilate returned the verdict of not guilty in favour of the Lord Christ. “I find no fault in this man.” But the crowd instigated by the priests further pressed the case which Pilate had thought was closed after his pronouncement. When the rabble would not give up, he referred the matter to Herod. He was again later to turn to the crowd, saying to them: “I find in him no fault at all. Will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?” And the rabble said they would prefer the release of Barabbas a gang leader being held over accusation of murder. Pilate said for the third time that he found no fault in Jesus the Lord. The crowd answered the appeal for their compassion with an even more hateful and dreadful outcry: “Crucify him!” At this point Caiaphas stepped in, employing political blackmail said to Pilate: “If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.” (John 19: 12).

In the end the death sentence on the Lord was supported with the invocation of Section 82 of the Jewish law which states: “Even the execution of an innocent person can serve in the maintenance of law and order, and the salvation of God’s people.” Pontus Pilate not wanting to offend Rome and lose his position, washed off his hands, believing that after all it was the people who would bear responsibility for their actions.

I have recounted these developments to show that the Lord Jesus did not come, descending from the Highest Heights, to die in order to take away the sins of humanity. He was dastardly murdered through the conspiracy of the Jewish priestly and political establishments of the era. The Almighty Father could not have sent His Son, to be sacrificial lamb for the sins of us mankind. Even in normal human law it would be totally strange, indeed horrifying and considered a great act of injustice to have an innocent man seized and executed in place of a criminal. The Lord brought peace and love as the Prince of Peace and the Love of God the Father, but was repaid with searing hate and most brutal cruelties and gruesome death simply because the priests and political authorities feared for their hold and influence on the people which might slip off their hands with the presence of the Envoy of God Whom they did not recognize as the Messiah. They whipped up hatred among the people against the Lord Jesus. There is nothing inscrutable about the perfect Laws expressing the Holy Will of the Almighty Creator which is All-Justice and perfection from the very beginning, governing the whole of Creation. Easter Festival, therefore, calls for nothing other than deep reflection and remorsefulness, not revelry. (NEXT WEEK: WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN IT IS SAID: Behold there goes the Lamb of God that beareth the sins of the world”?).

The House of Representatives has berated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), commercial banks and other financial institutions over alleged questionable transactions and remittances over the Remita platform.

Chairman of the House Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Bamidele Salam, while speaking at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee on Thursday, also queried the payment of N15bn to Remita from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) from 2016 to 2018.

He described it as questionable because the OAGF paid the money without agreement or contract.

In his submission, the Director Banking Services (CBN), Ahmed Abdullahi, said the apex bank sourced an alternative way of remitting revenue, adding that Remita and System Spec were selected because they had been rendering similar services to banks.

Similarly, the Chief Accountant, TSA Department, who represented the Accountant General for the Federation, Oyewole Adewale, said the CBN refused to respond to letters requesting it to reconcile the revenue accrued to the country through TSA.

On his part, the Director, Remita Payment Services Ltd, Aderemi Atanda, while reading the summary of the TSA collection record, said that 10, 20 and 50 per cent were shared among CBN, commercial banks and Remita respectively, noting that the collections were usually not static, that they varied.

[DailyTrust]

Centre for Law and Civil Culture (CLCC) has urged National Assembly to set up an independent inquiry into the killing of 17 officers and soldiers in Delta State on March 14.

It called on National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to probe the incident to prevent a recurrence.

In a statement by Executive Secretary, Abdul Imran, and Deputy Legal Adviser, Oyinkansola Chukwu, the centre said the police should lead the investigations.

“The Army cannot objectively investigate the killings. It is police responsibility.

“CLCC calls on the police not to abdicate its constitutional and statutory responsibility,” it said.

The centre urged the Army to exercise caution and ensure innocent people are not punished for the offence they knew nothing about.

It said Delta State governor, police and other security agencies as well as the press should be given access to the troubled community. 

Describing the killings as “cruel and barbaric”, CLCC commiserated with the Army and the bereaved families.

[TheNation]

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has expressed support for the move of the Senate to probe the Ways and Means loan to the Federal Government under the administration of former president, Muhammadu Buhari.

 In February, the Senate constituted a nine-member ad hoc committee to probe the disbursement and usage of the N30tn Ways and Means loan obtained by the Buhari administration from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Speaking with journalists recently, the ICAN President, Dr Innocent Okwuosa, welcomed the inquiry by the upper legislative chamber and called on the  CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso to learn from the mistakes of past CBN bosses.

 ICAN President said, “Our expectation is that with the new administration, borrowing will be a thing of the past. However, I will advise CBN should continue to extend Ways and Means to the government but the CBN itself has stated that it will not continue to extend Ways and Means to the government. In fact, this is a good policy from our perspective. So, if CBN should stick to not increasing the Ways and Means that it gives to the government, that’s a policy that we support.

 “I think it is a Fiscal Responsibility Committee that placed a limit on what Ways and Means percentage would be. It’s something around five per cent. When CBN exceeded this, people kept quiet. They should have spoken up so that CBN does not continue to exceed this limit. Now, it is not five per cent, we are talking about N30tn, that’s huge. I understand it’s been converted into bond. But one good thing we support is the fact that the Senate has instituted an inquiry into those Ways and Means. I would guess that the investigation would lead to more revelation and would be a lesson which the present CBN would learn from and would not go into the mistake of the previous CBN.”

Okwuosa urged the CBN to seek alternative means to support government deficit financing and discontinue increasing Ways and Means to the government.

He said, “They could go to the capital market and tie them to projects because each time you have a government deficit, it must be as a result of not having funds to back a project. So, if we want to raise funds for such a project, we (can) do that in the capital market and tie it specifically to the project that we couldn’t provide funding for in the budget. I think that’s the way CBN should go.”

Okwuosa also said that Nigeria would earn more forex if the nation promoted exports to African countries and took advantage of Africa’s free continental trade agreement.

 “If we can also promote trade in Africa, assuming we cannot export to Europe, since we have an Africa Continental Trade Agreement that has come into place. It can be utilised, but we need to utilise it more. I think a combination of all these will increase foreign exchange for us and we begin to see the impact on the exchange rate,” he added.

[Punch]