FG can’t fund budget 2018 unless assets are sold, says Ministers


• Selling Of Assets Will Mitigate Loans Burden
• No, Its Assets-Stripping – Enwegbara
Huge cost of servicing new loans amid poor revenue informed the Federal Government’s decision to dispose of 10 state-owned assets to select investors and the public between now and year end, in order to fund the 2018 fiscal plan.This clarification was given by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, and her counterpart in the Budget and National Planning Ministry, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who also argued that borrowings and the assets sale not only constituted strategic actions to funding the 2018 budget, but were in the overall interest of the country.

In the sale of the 10 ailing key national assets, two of which must be sold this month (Nicon Insurance Limited and Skyway Aviation Handling Co), the government is expected to earn the sum of $797m, that is N289b. A Director at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Joe Anichebe, who revealed government’s plan to sell the outfits, informed that the privatisation agency had pledged to raise N306b to help finance the planned spending.

Apart from the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele equally identified as one of the assets penciled for disposal, other firms that are up for sale are in the power, aviation and insurance sectors.Earlier in July this year, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh, also informed that some entities had been prepared for privatisation or for commercialisation.

He listed them as Afam Power Plant; concessioning of Terminal “B,” Warri Old Port; restructuring and recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA); partial commercialisation of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST); and the restructuring/ commercialisation of six River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs); partial commercialisation of three selected national parks and re-privatisation of Yola Disco etc.

In the 2018 Appropriation Act, the sum of N350b is expected from privatisation proceeds, and the BPE boss, Okoh had advised the Federal Government to reduce the propensity of loans accretion because of their high cost of service, and instead dispose of some obsolete assets to raise money for the funding of the yearly budgets.

The capital component for which vital assets are being sold to part finance, in addition to funds from borrowings in the local and international markets is N3. 133t, out of the N 9.12t the 2018 fiscal plan, which implementation began mid – June this year.Under the plan, nearly N2t is to be raised from borrowings from both the domestic and international markets to fund infrastructure captured in the spending plan for the year.

The Guardian recently learnt that the sum of N643b has so far been raised from the domestic market by the Debt Management Office (DMO) this year, and handed over to the Federal Government for that purpose. Speaking recently while on a familiarisation tour of revenue generating agencies, as well as, at the just concluded International Monetary Fund ( IMF)/World Bank Annual Meetings in Indonesia, Bali, Indonesia, Ahmed defended the approach adding that more funds outside government’s revenue was needed to make things happen because revenue has become inadequate.

Corroborating Ahmed, Udoma said: “The draft 2019-2021 Medium Term Fiscal Framework shows that Nigeria faces significant medium-term fiscal challenges, especially with respect to revenue generation. Thus, key reforms will be implemented with increased vigour to improve revenue collection and expenditure management. Achieving fiscal sustainability and macro-fiscal objectives of government will require bold, decisive and urgent action.”

One of those in support of the planned sale of government assets is a macro-economic policy analyst, Prof. Ken Ife, who equally sees the decision as sound and well-articulated policy under the government’s privatisation plan.

According to Ife: “The decision to privatise Ajaokuta Steel Complex is a wise decision because that complex remains one of the white elephant projects that we have in Nigeria. We need to look for a competent investor with a large war chest who can inject the needed funds to revatilise that complex so that it can play its role in the country, by providing the necessary steel derivatives for rail, auto, manufacturing, building and construction industries and the production of steel pipelines for the transportation of petroleum products thousands of kilometres away.

The advantage is enormous. You can’t beat it. All we ask is that government must this time around be cautious and careful in the selection to avoid a repeat of the situation that we are experiencing in the power privatisation programme, where DISCOsdiscos operators are still heavily dependent on government to supply them money, and are refusing to metre customers, preferring estimated bills, where they collect monies from customers indiscriminately.”

As far as development economist and public analyst, Mr. Odilim Enwegbara is concerned, what the government intends to do amounts to asset-stripping on the eve of the country’s general election, insisting that the government can still borrow more money both locally and internationally.

His words: “This administration cannot embark on a sale of a key strategic asset like Ajaokuta Complex when it has less than a year to end its tenure. It should wait until after election to do so, that is if it wins again. Besides, the executive lacks the power to sell such a critical national asset without the approval of the legislature, which I am aware, is making efforts to revitalise that complex.

“Again, another concern is that if the complex is sold under any name, it will be given away after government’s over $30b investment there. Let the government look for funds elsewhere to fund the budget because it cannot sell key national assets to fund one fiscal budget. What happened to the recovered loot that they got?”
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https://www.guardian.ng/news/fg-cant-fund-budget-2018-unless-assets-are-sold-says-ministers/amp

Just look at this Prodigal son's on Government

Hardest truth, you can't give what you don't have. The complexity of this country is far beyond the intelligence of Buhari and his fellow-travelers. Nigeria must be Atikulated insha Allah.

One of the easiest ways to know a financially drowning man is that he sells and sells everything he has.
I remember a young boy back in the university who always and certainly will sell his appliances days b4 exams. Why? School fees.
Buhari and APC has plunged this nation into a mess. It will take an economical stute Man to relieve us from this catastrophy.
Atiku might just be the man long prophesized.

Lesson: To enter One chance is not a bad thing but to enter another One chance in the same car and color is a very bad thing

All the listed assets were acquired by the corrupt sanni abacha & obj's govt

but today Mr. Integrity is planning to sell them off

#Back2DauralsAgoal

Hmmmm..

My fellow Nigerians, please if you love this country and want a better life for posterity. Please vote out this confuse government in 2019.

My PVC dey kampe

Why am I not surprised?

udonminit

oya sell these two!

privatisation is the way to go

but the question on my mind is can Apc be trusted

how are we not sure they would steal the money recovered
after privatising these assets

by the way, what happened to all the monies that Apc claimed they recovered

the abacha look, monies from ghost workers,the efcc refunds and all the trillions the government has been bragging that they recovered

abi e don enter ganduje babariga too

Can we sell our leaders?

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Nigeria is broke

Wow this is madness

Not surprise hmmm they have been selling assets since 1999 ......

Incompetence government

Buhari is a failure.

He must return to Daura next year.

Government of jokers, by jokers and for themselves.

but you can use our Money to do wedding for your kids, go for medical tourism, buy votes ..........and most of all, no senator or public office holder complained about salary cut while most state workers are wallowing is abject poverty

But Banjo the midget VP assured Yahaya Bello that no asset (including Lokoja steel mill) will be sold by FG

Awon arungun’ akotileta.


APC gonment is extremely fraudulent:

Mr integrity changing the economy . APC disappoint me just like Amaka disappointed 2baba.

What a shame

Again!


Awon oniranu omo ako ti ile ta

Nigerians should brace for tougher economic times ahead, the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said as crude oil prices slipped to a four year low on Wednesday.

New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) December WTI oil futures sold at $75.20 per barrel on Wednesday, down $1.98, from $74.96 per barrel the previous day, the lowest level for a most-active contract since September 2010.

Though the price of sweet crude, the blend of oil export from Nigeria, rose marginally at the close of trading on Wednesday to $76.96 per barrel, it has already crashed below the $79 per barrel benchmark approved in the 2014 Appropriation Act, concerns are mounting that tough times are indeed ahead.

At the end of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for September, Federal, States and Local Governments were only able to go home with N603.5 billion allocation after they resolved to borrow about $2.76 billion from the Excess Crude Revenue Account to augment shortfall in revenue generated during the period.

The Federal Government had attributed the declining revenues to the fall in prices at the international oil market.

After drawing from the ECA, Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda, said the balance in the account had dropped further from $4.1 billion to about $1.34 billion at the moment.

But Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said in Lagos on Tuesday that the economic indicators show there are tougher times ahead.

Though she said the country’s External Reserves rose from $36.6billion at the end of June to $39.48billion by October 16, and the balance in the Sovereign Wealth Fund at $1.55billion, accruals from oil exports have been poor.

According to her, Nigeria would begin to feel the impact of the dropping oil prices at the international oil market, which commenced since the first half of the year.

“The country must brace up for tougher times ahead”, she said. “We need to review our expenditures and build economic buffers through budgets that would be based on modest oil prices.”

She underlined the importance of a sound macro-economic management to Nigeria at this time, particularly the need to plug all revenue leakages.

“We have not yet seen the impact of the falling oil prices in Nigeria. It will start this month. We have to drive the non-oil revenue base to be able to weather the storm that is coming,” the Minister said.

The minister said the fall in the prices of export commodities such as gold, iron ore and agricultural produce such as cocoa, cotton and coffee was bound to affect most African economies, which relied on commodity export for the sustenance of their economies.

Buhari will never go unpunished.

where are we heading to with this govment? soon they will start selling indigens to fund their greedy budget

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT BUHARI...

[b]This APC led government want to sell national ASSETS to fund national LIABILITIES!
Does that make economic sense right now?
Assets that they have not added to for the past 3years.

This alone shows how clueless and highly incompetent this government is.
What about the money realized from the much talked about TSA and looted funds recovered?

Instead of them to invest in improving GDP by improving infrastructures, creating an enabling business environment, finding a permanent solution to the Fulani herdsmen crisis, so that agriculture will thrive, they're busy beating round the Bush,distributing #10,000 and buying votes all around.

$320million recovered Abacha loot was shared in the fraudulent social intervention scheme, yet few weeks later they went to China to solicit loans and now they want to sell our national assets to fund their fraudulently padded budget!

This government is the most annoying, highly incompetent and fraudulent administration in the history of this nation.

IF WE SELL OUR NATIONAL ASSETS TO FUND 2019 BUDGET, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO SELL TO FUND 2020 BUDGET AND SUBSEQUENT BUDGETS?
FRAUDULENTLY PADDED BUDGETS WITH LITTLE OR NO CAPITAL EXPENDITURE THAT HAS MEANINGFUL IMPACT ON OUR COLLECTIVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

Nigeria was completely finished under GEJ administration but right now with the way this government is going Nigerian will be FINISHED COMPLETELY!

I LOVE MY COUNTRY BUT I'M ASHAMED OF OUR LEADERS, ESPECIALLY THIS PRESENT GOVERNMENT![/b]

Sell the assets and loot all the proceeds.
ndi Ori..

U better sell the whole country and give me my own share now.

Hmmmmmmm
Going! Going! GONE!

Nigeria is finished finally!