Business

2023-2025 MTEF/FSP: 11.3 trillion Deficit Poses Fresh Threat To Nigeria’s Economy

Published

3 years ago

September 23, 2022

The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for the 2023- 2025 which received the Senate’s attention through its Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan last week, laid bare not prospects, but challenges that would confront Nigeria in the 2023 fiscal year.

The MTEF/FSP is a policy document that speaks to the budgetary needs of the individual Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, thus, it’s a preview of the annual appropriation to be soon laid before the joint session of the upper and lower legislative houses.

Traditionally, the presentation of the annual budget precedes the passage of MTEF/FSP at both Chambers. Though President Muhammadu Buhari was expected to present the 2023 budget in the first week of October, 2022, but for lack of space due to the ongoing N30 billion National Assembly Complex renovation, the budget documents would separately be submitted to the upper and lower legislative Chambers.

The separate submission, which President Buhari will not be physically present, was confirmed on Tuesday by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila after the resumption of lawmakers from a two-month annual recess.

The MTEF/FSP public hearing afforded the Finance Committees of lower and upper Chambers to interrogate Chief Executives of the agencies of government on the next year proposal submitted to the Budget Office of Federation before they were made available to lawmakers for legislative debate.

The week-long MTEF/FSP public debate in the Senate, DAILY POST, observed, unearthed gross under performance of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, even after over 70% 2022 budgetary releases to them by the Federal Ministry of Finance. The gross under performance, particularly the revenue generating agencies, in the reasoning of Senate Committee on Finance members would put the budget deficit of N11.03 trillion at risk. The total budget for 2023, which was sighted penultimate week by DAILY POST in Abuja, stood at N19.76 trillion, out of which the Federal government would have to source for funds to finance about 60% of the total budget.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan after listening to presentation by some revenue generating agencies which could not meet their annual target, threatened that the National Assembly may give effect to ‘the Stephen Orosonye Report’ which recommended the merger of over 400 parastatals of government to save cost.

He urged the heads of government agencies to wake up to their responsibilities, vowing that funds must be raised to fund the deficit. He stressed the readiness of the parliament to amend the relevant provisions of the Finance Act 2021 as amended to assist revenue generating agencies of government in generating revenues.

The lawmaker insisted that the FG cannot go cap in hand to borrow, while he insisted that heads of revenue generating agencies must be creative enough to generate funds to cater for the deficit.

He said: “Heads of revenue generating agencies should look for other sources of revenue generation to reduce borrowing and ultimately the deficit in the nation’s budget.

“Any agency that fails to meet its targeted revenue generation has outgrown its usefulness and will be reduced to a department under the relevant Ministry.”

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed had expressed concern on the budget deficit, citing the plethora of challenges confronting the nation and the inability of government agencies to generate funds.

The Minister disclosed that over 70% of the 2022 budget has been released to various government agencies, a feat she said was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to properly fund agencies of government.

A member of the Committee and Senator representing Niger East Senatorial district, Sani Musa, pointed out that the challenges facing the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, would pose a serious handicap to the government in view of the fact Nigeria runs a monolithic economy.

Musa added that the government must begin to look away from oil and gas to other things as an alternative means of funding its 2023 budget.

“The budget of this country has been in deficit and the only thing we can do is to amend so many things in the Finance Act,” he said.

Meanwhile, the full scale oil theft in the Niger Delta, which has crippled Nigeria’s ability to meet its 2.2 million barrels of crude oil OPEC quarter, was a source of concern to all stakeholders.

DAILY POST

Business

NNPCL Raises Fuel Price

Published

3 days ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of petrol from ₦865 to ₦992 per litre, marking a fresh hike that has sparked widespread concern among motorists and consumers .

As of the time of filing this report, the company has not released any official statement explaining the reason for the sudden adjustment.

During visits to several NNPC retail outlets, The Nation observed fuel attendants recalibrating their pumps to reflect the new price.

At NNPC filling station on Ogunusi road, Ojodu Berger, petrol attendants at the station said they were instructed to change the price to reflect the new rate N992 per litre.

However, checks at Ibafo along the Lagos /Ibadan expressway showed that NNPC outlets still displayed the old price of N875 per litre, although they were not selling to commuters.

Most of the NNPC stations were not dispensing fuel.

Business

CBN Directs Banks To Refund Failed ATM Transactions Within 48hrs

Published

5 days ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions to refund customers for failed Automated Teller Machine transactions within 48 hours, in a sweeping reform aimed at protecting consumers and restoring confidence in the banking system.

The directive is contained in a draft guideline released by the apex bank on Saturday, titled “Exposure of the Draft Guidelines on the Operations of Automated Teller Machines in Nigeria.”

The document, signed by Musa I. Jimoh, Director of Payments System Policy Department, was circulated to banks, payment service providers, card schemes, and independent ATM deployers, with a call for stakeholder feedback by October 31, 2025.

Under the draft, failed “on-us” transactions, where customers use their own bank’s ATM, must be reversed instantly. If technical glitches prevent immediate reversal, the bank is required to manually refund the customer within 24 hours.

For “not-on-us” transactions, involving other banks’ ATMs, refunds must be processed within 48 hours.

“Customers must not be made to suffer for failed transactions caused by system errors or network failures,” the circular stressed.

In a significant shift, the CBN mandated banks and ATM acquirers to deploy technology that automatically reverses failed or partial transactions, removing the need for customers to lodge complaints.

Institutions holding customer funds due to failed disbursements must reconcile and return balances immediately.

According to the apex bank, these measures respond to widespread frustration over delayed refunds and poor customer service and form part of a broader effort to enhance consumer protection, improve reliability, and modernise Nigeria’s payment infrastructure in line with global standards.

The guidelines will also overhaul ATM operations nationwide. Banks and card issuers are now required to deploy at least one ATM for every 5,000 active cards, with phased targets of 30% compliance in 2026, 60% in 2027, and full compliance by 2028. Any future deployment, relocation, or decommissioning of ATMs must receive prior approval from the CBN.

To ensure safety, ATMs must be fitted with anti-skimming devices, CCTV cameras, and placed in enclosed or well-lit areas.

Machines are expected to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, maintain audit logs, and display functional helpdesk contacts. At least 2% of all ATMs must feature tactile symbols for visually impaired customers.

ATMs are also required to dispense cash before returning cards, allow free PIN changes, issue receipts for all transactions except balance inquiries, display clear transaction fees, dispense only clean banknotes, and provide backup power to reduce downtime.

Downtime must not exceed 72 consecutive hours, after which operators must inform the public of the cause and expected restoration time.

The CBN will enforce compliance through regular audits, on-site inspections, and monthly reports from ATM operators detailing deployments and locations. Defaulting institutions risk sanctions, though fines were not specified.

The apex bank explained that the overhaul was necessary due to rising complaints about failed transactions, cyber fraud, and declining service quality, noting that “the goal is to build a payments system that works seamlessly for everyone, urban and rural users alike.”

Nigeria’s electronic payments landscape has grown rapidly in recent years, with 200 million cardholders and rising reliance on digital banking, but network failures, poor infrastructure, and delayed reversals have continued to undermine confidence.

The fresh guidelines, coming eight months after a revision of ATM fees, are expected to streamline service delivery, enhance transaction security, and hold banks accountable. Stakeholders are invited to submit feedback ahead of the final policy adoption, which could take effect before the end of the year.

Business

Nigerian Stock Market Hits 10th Consecutive Uptrend As investors Gain N308bn

Published

6 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Stock Market recorded its 10th consecutive uptrend as investors raked in N308 billion gain on Thursday.

This comes as the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, market capitalisation, which opened at N92.490 trillion, appreciated by 0.33 per cent to close at N92.798 trillion on Thursday.

Also, the All-Share Index added 0.33 per cent, or 485.25 points, to close at 146,204.34, compared with 145,719.09 recorded on Wednesday.

Increased trading in Eunisell Interlinked, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Sunu Assurances, Industrial and Medical Gases, Mecure, and 27 other advancing stocks boosted market performance on Thursday.

To this end, the market breadth also closed positive with 32 gainers and 21 losers.

Further analysis showed that Eunisell Interlinked and Caverton Offshore Support Group led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent each, closing at N44 and N6.93 per share, respectively, while FTN Cocoa Processors led the losers’ table by 6.67 per cent, closing at N5.60 per share.

Market activity showed a decline in the number of deals and volume traded but an improvement in trade value.

Accordingly, a total of 346.99 million shares worth N27.43 billion were traded in 24,691 deals, compared with 525.72 million shares worth N13.61 billion exchanged in 25,597 deals on Wednesday.

Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 42.01 million shares valued at N861.54 million.

According to DAILY POST, NGX has continued its bullish run from last month’s end to date.