Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,156,396 members, 7,830,010 topics. Date: Thursday, 16 May 2024 at 02:57 PM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki (535 Views)
Why Nigeria Must Kick France Out Of West Africa. / Nigeria To Generate $16.4 Billion From Asset Sales / Secret Plot To Amend NLNG Act To Pave Way For Sale Of National Oil Asset Exposed (2) (3) (4)
Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by Donnyboy(m): 6:33am On Sep 21, 2016 |
*Proffers suggestions on ways out of recession
*Wants Executive to raise capital from asset
sales
*Ready for President’s Emergency Power Bill
*Asks President to dialogue with Niger Delta
*Says he must also engage private sector in
leadership
THE Senate yesterday asked the federal
government to stop the blame game and get
the nation’s economy out of recession, saying
Nigerians were hungry. It also urged the
government to raise capital from asset sales to
shore up the nation’s foreign reserves and
promised to receive any proposal from the
executive arm, including Emergency Power
But in what looks like a discordant tune from
the government agencies, The Revenue
Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission
disagreed with Senate on the sale of Nigeria
Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and other
Federation Assets being proposed during an
interview with a cable Television station, the
CNBC Africa as a way of augmenting the
current revenue shortfall as a result of
economic recession.
In a press statement signed by the
Commission’s Acting Chairman, Shettima Umar
Abba Gana, RMAFC argued that it would be
unwise for the Federal Government to dispose
of its crown jewels that generate revenue and
keep the Federation Account healthy over the
long term. Citing the NEITI 2013 audit and
financial report of Nigeria’s oil and gas
industry, RMAFC disclosed that the sum of
$12.9 billion was received by NNPC from the
Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company
over an eight-year period which the
Corporation did not remit to the Federation
Account. The audit according to the
Commission also revealed that Nigeria
Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company paid
the sum of $1.289 billion as dividends for
2013.
Economic problems
However, it said it would consider any bill from
the President, as long as it would help the
nation out of recession. Addressing senators on
resumption of the Senate from recess
yesterday, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki,
who threw government the challenge, said
though the last administration failed to put
things right in respect of the economy, the
federal government should concentrate on how
to solve the country’s economic problems than
dwell on buck-passing.
According to Saraki, Nigerians are not ready to
listen to where the problem emanated from, but
solutions to it. He said: “I remember trying to
explain to my people that this kind of thing
does not happen overnight, that the seeds for
the condition that we suffer from today must
have been planted by past administrations that
refused to do what was necessary. I soon
realised that my people are not so interested in
how we got here or who to blame for our
current situation. They only wanted to know
that government has plans to get them out of
this current predicament.
‘’To them, the only explanation that makes
sense at the moment is that which puts food
on the table, reduces price of rice, garri, salt,
sugar, meat and saves jobs. I must hasten to
add in my own opinion that the executive must
begin to take the following needful steps to
show Nigerians, the international community
and investors, both local and international, that
we are ready to reform and do business.
“The Executive must re-tool its export
promotion policy with export incentives such as
the resumption of the Export Expansion Grant,
EEG; and introduce export-financing initiatives.
It must as a deliberate response, consider
immediate release of funds to ensure the
implementation of the budget for the near short
term to inject money into the economy.
Similarly, the agricultural sector and agro-allied
businesses should be directly supported to
boost value addition and job creation.
He said “While government works on the
medium to long-term plans, immediate
strategies must be devised that would ease the
suffering of the ordinary people across our
country. In this case, particular attention
should be given to our citizens in IDP camps.
The images emerging from this zone of
deprivation and hunger is no longer acceptable.
Government should accelerate interim measures
to provide social safety-nets to our people and
assuage current high level of misery in the
land. Such intervention should seek to fully
execute the social spending framework already
provided in the 2016 budget.”
Saraki said: “On our own part, we must turn
our attention towards a number of legislative
priorities such as the Petroleum Industry Bills.
We must ensure the passage of the PIB as
soon as possible to stimulate new investment
and boost oil revenue. As we all know, this bill
is long in waiting and is very crucial for vital
investment in the oil and gas sector. The
impasse of not passing the bill is doing great
harm to the industry and the Nigerian economy
as a whole.”
The Senate President noted that “mortgages
remain key for us in the National Assembly and
we will immediately begin the process of
accelerating bills aimed at reforming the sub-
sector for growth and accessibility in a manner
that deepens our people’s access to housing,
jobs and economic activities that can inject
fresh funds into this sector.”
He added: “There is the National Development
Bank of Nigeria (est. etc) Bill 2015, which will
provide long term, cheaper source of funds to
the private sector. There are also the Nigerian
Ports and Harbours Authority Act (Amendment)
Bill 2016; National Road Fund (Establishment,
etc); National Transport Commission Act 2001;
Warehouse Receipts Act Bill 2016; Review of
the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA),
Investment and Securities Act (ISA) and
Customs and Excise Management Act; Federal
Competition Bill 2016; and the National Road
Authority. In my view, these bills and some of
the other economic reform bills we will be
considering in the coming days will be critical
in the creation of a basic framework to free up
capital and provide the opportunities to get us
out of this recession.”
The government said earlier in the month it had
approved loans from China, the World Bank,
Japan and the African Development Bank, but
Saraki said such talks were still ongoing with
no deals yet. “There is a big hole now in the
fiscal deficit because that funding is not
coming through. So we’ve got to look for
alternative ways to fund that,” Saraki said in a
joint interview with the Financial Times on
Monday when asked about the loans,” he said.
Currency shortages
The government has said it plans to borrow as
much as $10 billion, with half of that coming
from foreign sources, including a planned $1
billion Eurobond issue, to fund a budget deficit
of 2.2 trillion naira ($7.21 billion) and boost an
economy hammered by low oil prices and hard
currency shortages. Saraki said that even if the
loan talks succeeded, the amount raised would
not be enough to plug the hole in public
finances. “My take is that even if it does come
through, it’s money too little, too late,” he
said, referring to the loan talks. “If we do
things right, the confidence will come in,”
Saraki said. Adding, if we carry on waiting for
government revenues to go up, if we don’t do
anything seen as thinking out of the box the
recession could drag on longer. Nigeria’s 2016
budget was the largest in the nation’s history,
but the oil price drop and Delta attacks have
left the government scrambling for funds,” he
concluded.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/nigeria-must-consider-oil-asset-sales-saraki/ |
Re: Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by Day169: 7:17am On Sep 21, 2016 |
NIGERIA FOR SALE!!! ..from the most (highest) likely bidder. .. Saraki! |
Re: Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by Bari22: 7:23am On Sep 21, 2016 |
So that you will have much to loot? Is ok just sell the country to dangote so that everybody will rest. |
Re: Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by tinsel: 7:32am On Sep 21, 2016 |
Greedy thieves. So that they can buy them with our stolen money. They only think about themselves and fools will be here every day defending them. 1 Like |
Re: Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by moufan: 7:34am On Sep 21, 2016 |
that's definitely not the way to go.,selling nigeria's asset because of recession is an easy way move which will definitely affect Nigeria in the future.why can't the economic team learn from developed countries which has passed through recession and learn from them how they overcame it 1 Like |
Re: Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by Izonpikin: 7:35am On Sep 21, 2016 |
Mumu man..instead you guys cut down on your allowances...MUMU |
Re: Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by Adesiji77: 7:43am On Sep 21, 2016 |
Money money money... Cc: lalasticlala, dominique |
Re: Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by Nobody: 7:46am On Sep 21, 2016 |
Why don't we consider restructuring the country first? When states are left to fend for themselves Nigeria will no longer be at the mercy of the international oil market. Saraki and his colleagues should take their lustful eyes off our national assets and give restructuring Nigeria a serious thought. There is no limit to the heights we can reach as a nation if every part of the country is allowed to thrive. |
Re: Nigeria Must Consider Oil Asset Sales – Saraki by Nobody: 7:53am On Sep 21, 2016 |
This shameless man is still presiding over the senate despite the several brouhaha's encountered with his fraudulent emergence. This can only happen is a useless political terrain like Nigeria |
(1) (Reply)
Nigeria Newspaper Review + Sport News 21 September 2016 / Women Affairs Minister, Alhassan, Slumps In Mysterious Circumstances / Why We Took Up The Cudgel For Mrs Jonathan – Reformed N-delta Avengers
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 26 |