Economy

Buhari to consult Lawan, Gbajabiamila about 2019 budget –Presidency

Published

5 years ago

June 24, 2019

Eric

The 2018 budget has lapsed, putting pressure on the Federal Government to begin the implementation of the 2019 budget,

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had put a question mark on the N8.92tn budget when he appended his signature to the 2019 Appropriation Bill on May 27, saying the budget would be difficult to implement.

He had added that he would engage the 9th Assembly on how best to address the challenges in the budget for a smooth implementation.

The Senate and the House of Representatives had adjourned plenary till July 2 shortly after their inauguration on June 11.

The Presidency said that though Buhari would formally communicate the issue to the National Assembly, he would first hold consultations with the leadership of both chambers on how best to address the challenges in the budget before sending any letter.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, who spoke in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, said consulting the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker of the House, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, was necessary to avoid creating any impression that there was a dispute between the two sides over the budget.

Enang spoke further, “The budget has just been signed and you know that the National Assembly too has just been inaugurated. The Senate and the House have yet to form their committees; they only sat for two days. It won’t be fair to say that we will send anything to them on the budget now.

“The President will have to raise it and discuss it with the leadership first in order to take a decision on the best way to handle the 2019 budget.”

When reminded that Lawan had announced that the Senate was properly constituted and ready to receive any executive communications, Enang replied, “The Senate President’s announcement that they are ready for communication is what is normally said.

“Now that they are ready for communication, we will have to consult with them before we communicate to them. We will not just communicate. We have to reach an agreement with the leadership before we send a communication.

“We do not want to send the wrong signal to the public that there is dispute between the executive and the legislature.”

Findings indicated that two options were being considered to address the challenges in the 2019 budget.

One is said to be the likelihood of the President forwarding a supplementary appropriation bill to the National Assembly to return the cuts Buhari complained about or a request to drop the additional N90.33bn introduced by the 8th National Assembly.

Economy

Naira Makes More Recovery, Sells at N1,453/$1

Published

4 weeks ago

March 22, 2024

Eric

The Naira continued its appreciation at the official market on Thursday, March 21, 2024 to close at N1,453.28/$1, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

This represents an appreciation of N39.33 when compared to the N1,492.61/$1 it closed on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

The intraday high was N1,598/$1, while the intraday low was N1,300/$1, representing a wide spread of N298/$1.

Similarly, the Naira appreciated against the dollar at the parallel window to trade at N1,500/$1, this represents an appreciation of N20.00 as against the N1,520 /$1 it traded the previous day.

The Naira also appreciated slightly against the British Pound to trade at N2,000/£1 as against the previous trading day’s price of N2,020/£1 representing a gain of N20 for the local currency.

The Canadian dollar, however, closed flat against the naira to trade at N1,270/CA$1 same as the N1,270/CA$1 it traded the previous day representing a decline of N20 in the local currency.

The Naira gained N30 against the Euro to trade at N1,670/€1 as against the previous closing price of N1,700/€1.

Economy

Naira Gains Against Dollar, Trades at N1,603/$1

Published

1 month ago

March 13, 2024

Eric

The Naira, Tuesday continued its recovery against the American dollar as it traded at N1,603.38/$1, data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window has shown.

This represents a gain of N15.48 when compared to the N1,617.96/$1 it closed on, on Monday, March 11, 2024.

The intraday high was N1,637/$1, while the intraday low was N1,425.35/$1, representing a lean spread of N211.65/$1.

Meanwhile, the Naira gained N12 against the dollar at the parallel market as the local currency appreciated to N1,603/$1 as against the N1,615 /$1 it traded the previous day. As it stands, the naira is trading at the same rate at both official and parallel windows.

The Naira, however, slumped against the British Pound to trade at N2,050/£1 as against the previous trading day’s price of N2,030/£1 representing a loss of N20 for the local currency.

After about two weeks of closing flat against the Canadian dollar, the naira slumped massively to trade at N1,300/CA$1 on Tuesday, representing a decline of N150 when compared to the N1,150/CA$1 it traded the previous day.

The Naira lost N35 against the Euro to trade at N1,740/€1 as against the previous closing price of N1,705/€1 representing a loss of N35 for the local currency.

Economy

Binance to Close Shop in Nigeria, Stops Transaction, Trading in Naira

Published

1 month ago

March 5, 2024

Eric

By Reuters – Binance will stop all transactions and trading in Nigeria’s local currency after March 8 amid a country-wide crackdown on crypto exchanges that have been blamed by authorities for feeding a black market for foreign exchange.

It will stop supporting withdrawals after Friday and any remaining balances in Nigerian Naira will be automatically converted into Tether – a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Last week, Nigerian authorities detained two Binance senior executives on undisclosed charges as part of the crackdown.

They were still in custody, their local lawyer said before a parliamentary committee on Monday.

Source: Reuters