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Tag: Mrs. Kemi Adeosun

  • Minister urges insurers to recapitalise

    Minister urges insurers to recapitalise

    Finance Minister Mrs Kemi Adeosun yesterday urged insurers to recapitalise to reverse the sector’s underperformance.

    In her opening remarks at the Insurance Industry Consultative Council (IICC) National Insurance Conference, at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, she challenged insurers to take a pill of their own medicine as risk managers by taking recapitalisation risk.

    She said this has become imperative to immediately address the decline in the industry as it is lagging behind among its global and African peers despite operating in the largest economy in Africa.

    She said there is an estimate that the sector can create as many as 70000 new jobs, adding that to achieve this feat, there is need to take concrete actions. The imperative to act now is very strong, Mrs. Adeosun said.

    She said government must however act as a natural incubator for necessary growth in the areas of compulsory insurances.

    She said: “A developed and active insurance industry will bring about increase in GDP (gross domestic product), accumulation of long term fund for infrastructure financing, job creation and improve the standard of living. Part of the things that has contributed to the industry to underperform is low awareness, unhealthy competition, lack of innovation among others.

    “We need to strengthen the capital base of the insurance industry. Operators should not see recapitalisation as a punitive measure or aim to disenfranchise them but see it as an opportunity to reposition for the future. Recapitalisation produces opportunities for partnership and other strategic alliances.

    “As insurers, you need to take a risk and recapitalise. The industry manages risk and they must be ready to take risk themselves. There is no alternative. The industry is evolving and I see the opportunities. But the challenge is for you to take concrete actions that need to be taken quickly for us to realise the potential of the industry.”

    Also speaking, the Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mohammed Kari said the Commission has  tackled the immediate issues challenging the industry.

    “The Commission has continued to provide regulatory oversight for the industry in relevant areas through the issuance of guidelines, training and the creation of the enabling regulations to introduce new classes of insurance (products) to address the financially disadvantaged in our society.

    “To address the medium and long term challenges of penetration,  the Commission is on the verge of re-launching the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI).  The initiative originally launched in 2009 is being reviewed for the immediate impact we believe it will provide. We believe if properly implemented, it will bring the desired result as envisaged.

    “This effort has further been boosted by the just concluded review of the draft Insurance Bill by the ministerial committee setup by the Minister of Finance, the presidential directive on insurance of government assets and the Senate resolution supporting the enforcement of compulsory classes of insurance across the country.”

    He added that the industry has also resolved to rebrand itself and create more distribution channels

    He said while efforts and consultations have reached advanced stage with the various agencies, including state governments towards the enforcement of these classes of insurance,  I am happy to report that the Minster has consented to chair the grand launch of the enforcement campaign.

  • Fed Govt releases N109b to boost economy, says Adeosun

    Fed Govt releases N109b to boost economy, says Adeosun

    • 35 states apply for N90b loan

    The Federal Government has already pumped N109billion of its promised N350billion into the economy, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has said.

    Mrs. Adeosun, who spoke on Channels Television Programme – Sunrise, yesterday, said the balance of the amount is being held back because of the need to meet with due process requirements.

    She said: “N109billion out of the N350billion has already been disbursed. The funds are ready, however, there are procedural delays, due to the required public procurement processes.”

    She said 35 states have applied to access the N90 billion loan earmarked by the Federal Government to boost state governments’  fiscal sustainability capabilities, saying the states “are in the process of submitting the required documentation which are being reviewed.”

    The finance minister stated that monthly disbursements to each state will be conditional on compliance with pre-agreed Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) milestones.

    She said if Nigeria is to achieve sustainable growth, it needs a planned approach to financial discipline, targeted investment and economic diversification, pointing out that government’s Economic Plan is strong on fiscal discipline.

    In her words: “The people know we need to get our country working, and to do that, we need to do three things: get the country’s spending in check with firm financial controls, raise money for targeted investment in much needed infrastructure and see us diversify the economy from a damaging dependence on oil.”

    The minister who addressed a wide range of issues, said the diversification of the economy will increase when each state starts to increase their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), adding that this would create local jobs and expand wealth within the states.

    She cited  Kebbi State as one state that has taken the initiative to increase its production of rice as a means of increasing its IGR.

    “Ultimately, when we collectively expand IGR, we generate more jobs and create more wealth,” stating that other states have different resources that can be developed to generate IGR within their domain.

    Mrs. Adeosun said the the economic blueprint is about putting in place the financial pillars to enable states to work effectively and efficiently with the Federal Government, stressing that getting this right will enable “states to be critical economic drivers for prosperity and pillars of professional probity.”

    She expressed optimism that Nigeria would eventually overcome the current challenges, saying that the higher revenue collection and the greater sharing of non-oil earnings are indications that the reforms are starting to work.

    On the new foreign exchange policy, she said: “We are happy with the new FX policy. This was the missing link between monetary and fiscal policy and we are happy that it is now in place.  It is supply and demand driven.”

    On her ministry’s decision not to reinstate special bonus and overtime payments paid to civil servants in 2013/2014,  she said: “This is part of the same clear goal of ensuring fiscal discipline. We recognise the value of our staff and have made sure salaries are paid and we’ve worked hard to avoid redundancies. Although I understand the disappointment some staff may have, any special payments wouldn’t be appropriate and there simply aren’t any provisions to pay out the N 1.2billion. We need to return fiscal discipline not just to the Ministry of Finance, but to every arm of government.”

    Mrs. Adeosun however said  any delayed legitimate overtime payments will be paid.  “The Director of Finance and Administration will address these and ensure that they are paid.  Staff will get what they are legally entitled to.

    “The task now is for management and staff of the ministry to work together to achieve the goals of the administration: real reform through financial discipline, providing targeted investment and diversifying our economy.  The staff work hard and they are committed so they must be paid what they are due,” she stated.

    She said state governments have a key role in diversifying the economy, saying the whole essence of the reform is to improve accountability and transparency, increase public revenue, rationalise public expenditure, improve public financial management and ensure    sustainable debt management.

  • Senate summons Adeosun, Emefiele over dwindling economy

    Senate summons Adeosun, Emefiele over dwindling economy

    The Senate Wednesday resolved to invite the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to brief it on the state of the country’s economy.

    The invitation followed the adoption of a motion on “urgent need to address present economic state of the nation”

    Senator Bassey Albert Akpan (Akwa Ibom North East) who sponsored the motion said that the motion is informed by the National Bureau of Statistics release last week bordering on the nation’s economic scorecard for the first quarter of the year 2016 for Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation and unemployment.

    He observed that the report depicted that the country’s economy plunged into recession with a decline of 0.3 per cent year-on-year in real term which is a drastic drop from 2.11 per cent in quarter four 2015 IN GDP.

    He also observed that from the report, unemployment rate rose to 21.1 per cent in quarter one 2016 from 10.4 per cent in Q4 2015.

    According to him, unemployment also increased to 19.1 per cent from 18.7 per cent in the same period while the rate inflation rose from 9.6 per cent in January 2016 to 13.8 per cent in April 2016 with attendant increase in prices of basic food commodities and services in the country.

    Senator Akpan said that he is worried that the declining GDP and unemployment besides the current high inflation rate clearly shows that the economic policies of the country “are not achieving desired impact and requires an urgent review to avoid further plunge in our economy.”

    The lawmaker said that he is further worried that the current economic contractions is the first major drastic slump since June, 2004, which according to the CBN is a 12-year-low when the World Bank’s position is a 21-year-low.

    He recalled that the CBN, had in March, 2016 deployed a contracting monetary policy increasing bench mark interest rate from 11% and cash reserve ratio from 20% to 22.5%.

    “The question is why contracting monetary policy instead of expansionary monetary policy of boosting economic activities at such a critical time as this,” he asked.

    Senator Akpan noted that he is deeply concerned that the continued complacency of the current state of the economy if allowed unchecked will set the tone for a full blown economic recession by the end of June 2016 as already confirmed by the CBN in its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday.

    The Akwa Ibom lawmaker said that he is disturbed that the current economic situation in the country coupled with lack of required foreign exchange to boost import of raw materials for domestic industries will worsen the unemployment and poverty situation in the country.

    He noted that considering the decline in oil production in the Niger Delta by 800,000 b/d vis a vis the benchmark production for 2016 budget of 2.2mb/d, owing to the vandalisation of oil pipe lines, in addition to the inability of non oil revenue collecting agencies to meet to meet revenue targets owing to the economic crunch.

    Senator Akpan concluded that he is convinced that with the current economic slump, “meeting the key budgetary revenue projection of the 2016 budget is practically impossible and the need to have a rethink to avoid deepening budget deficit or poor budget implementation.”

    He added that “whether we like it or not, no matter what we call it, the Naira was devalued Tuesday.”

    The single prayer that the Senate should invite the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele to brief the Senate on the monetary/fiscal policies adopted to salvage the economic situation was unanimously adopted.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who briefly presided over the plenary, ruled out any debate.

    Saraki said that since Adeosun and Emefiele would appear before the Senate in plenary, there was no need to pre-empt them.

    Senator Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti South) who seconded the motion said that it is obvious that the country has no economic blue print to drive its economy.

  • FG orders audit of military payroll

    FG orders audit of military payroll

    Following revelations in the course of the trial of the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, that the sum of N558.2 million was allegedly diverted monthly from the Nigeria Air Force account into private pockets, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has directed an investigation into the payrolls of the Air Force, the Navy and the Army by the Continuous Audit Team of the Federal Government.

    A statement from the ministry signed by Salisu Na’Inna Dambatta, Director (Information) of the ministry said “the Continuous Audit team has been charged with the responsibility of scrutinizing the payrolls of the three services, which have not yet been put on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information [1] System (IPPIS), to ensure that all possible loopholes that could lead to leakages were blocked.”

    According to him, the exercise “will be conducted, pending the biometric capturing and migrating the payroll of the three services to the IPPIS, in line with the policy of the Federal Government to clean up the payroll of all public sector employees.”

    The Minister of Finance said that the measure has become necessary as part of the change mantra of the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, which include the restoration of the culture of transparency, accountability and control in the management of public funds.

    The Continuous Audit Process was one of the initiatives of the Minister approved by President Muhammadu Buhari as part of the on-going reforms in the public finance management system of the federal government, which he emphasised in his 2016 Budget speech.

    Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said the Director of Special Projects in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Mohammed Kyari Dikwa, will head the Continuous Audit Team and report their findings for appropriate action by the Federal Government.​

  • Stimulation fund: Financial expert tasks FG on proper planning

    Stimulation fund: Financial expert tasks FG on proper planning

    A former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, on Monday urged the Federal Government to specify strategic areas that the proposed N350 billion stimulation fund would be injected into.

    Unegbu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos there must be proper planning before the injection of such funds in the economy, to avoid excess liquidity.

    He said that there must be proper clarity and planning where the funds would be channelled into, for economy growth and development.

    Unegbu said that government should work closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to streamline fiscal and monetary policies.

    He explained that there must not be any disconnection between the apex bank and government in policy management.

    Unegbu, however, expressed concern at the disparity between the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and the Federal Government in the management of the economy.

    He stated that the major reason for increasing interest rate to 12 per cent from 11 per cent was to reduce excess liquidity.

    According to him, government should work closely with the CBN to avoid a policy somersault.
    NAN reports that the Federal Government announced its readiness to inject a total of N350 billion into the economy in the next few months.

    Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance, said that part of the money would help to offset the debt owed to local contractors, who had laid-off their workers due to lack of funds.

     

  • Federal allocation drops by N17.38b

    Federal allocation drops by N17.38b

    Allocation from the Federation Account available for sharing this month by the tiers of government reduced by N17.38 billion compared to what was shared last month.

    The allocation for December last year, distributed last month was N387.77 billion compared to the N370.38 billion distributed yesterday for January.

    The decline in the allocation was attributed to the drop in oil prices from $43.4 to $39.04 which resulted in   revenue loss amounting to $22.55 million.

    Finance Minister Mrs Kemi Adeosun told reporters at the end of the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in Abuja last night that the drop in the funds distributed was caused by several reasons including oil production shut- in and shut downs;  continued drop in oil price and the diversion of Federation Account revenue to fund the Joint Venture Cash (JVC) call commitment to oil majors in the production of crude minerals.

    She confirmed that as a result of the continued oil price slump and inability of government to meet the JVC cash call commitment, government was working a modified carrier strategy to raise funds from the debt market to fund the commitments as it could no longer be guaranteed from oil proceeds.

    To reduce the negative impact of cash call obligations on the Federation Account, Mrs Adeosun said the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is proposing a Modified Carry Arrangement (MCA) which would be more beneficial to the country because of the continuous decline in oil prices.

    Details of the agreement she said, is being worked out and would be presented to the National Economic Council (NEC) for approval.  “The Minister of State Petroleum Resources who also doubles as the Group Managing Director of the NNPC has been mandated to explore this strategy after which it would receive  NEC’s blessing for activation,” she said.

    Giving a breakdown of the allocation to the three tiers of government, the minister said for statutory allocation, the Federal Government received N137.47 billion representing 52.68 per cent after deducting the cost of collection to revenue generating agencies of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

    Also from the statutory allocation, the states pocketed N69.72 billion or 26.72 per cent, local governments N53.75 billion or 20.8 per cent while N22.38 billion was allocated to the oil producing states as 13 per cent derivation principle.

    From Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N10.04 billion or 15 per cent, states N33.46 billion or 50 per cent while local governments received N23.42 billion or 35 per cent.

    With regard to revenue, the finance minister said: “Gross statutory revenue of N290.96 billion received for the month of January was lower than the N315.01 billion received in the previous month of December by N24.05 billion.”

  • Buhari directs immediate payment of December salaries

    Buhari directs immediate payment of December salaries

    President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate payment of December salaries to Federal Government workers.

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who spoke yesterday in Abuja at the end of the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting, said salaries were already being paid in response to the Presidential directive.

    She said salaries were being paid, and that people have already started getting alerts. “We are very conscious of the need that people are paid in time for the festive season,” she stated.

    Mrs. Adeosun said the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA), was $2.258 billion as at December 22, adding that the amount remained unchanged from what it was in November. She said $150 million dividend from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) was also shared at the meeting.

    While giving the breakdown of what was shared for  November among the three tiers of government, Mrs Adeosun lamented that there was revenue decline of N103.95 billion, indicating the difference of the N473.83billion for October and the N369.88 billion shared in November.

    Yesterday, the three tiers shared a statutory revenue of N297.45 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT)-N61.18 billion, exchange gain-N4.92 billion and refund made by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for debt owed the Federation Account-N6.33 billion.

    From the statutory revenue of N297.45billion, the Federal Government after deducting the cost of collection to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) received  N139.5 billion; states N70.76 billion; and local government areas- N54.55 billion.

    Also, N25.6 billion was allocated to the oil producing states as the 13 per cent derivation fund. For VAT revenue of N61.18 billion, the Federal Government, after deducting cost of collection of  FIRS got  N8.8 billion, while states pocketed N29.36 billion and local governments got N20.55 billion.

    The finance minister attributed the decline in allocation to reduction in revenue which was caused by shutdown and shut-in of production at various terminals during the period.

    She however painted an optimistic picture when she said: “Even though the revenues were currently down, non oil revenue is beginning to make up for the shortfall in oil revenue. Ongoing maintenance and the shutdown and shut-in of production for repairs at different terminals during the month continued to impact crude oil and gas revenue negatively.

    “We don’t have to rely on oil with its price going down and very unstable. We are focusing on revenue from non-oil and you can see impressive N369.882 billion compliance with tax.”

    Apart from repairs and maintenance, members of the FAAC were told that there was also a revenue loss of $19.43 million as a result of reduction in export even though the average price of crude oil increased from $46.96 in September to $49.58 in October while non oil revenue also decreased by N114.2billion in November in comparison to the previous month of October.

  • Fed Govt assures on IPSAS’ implementation

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun at the weekend, said the Federal Government was committed to the adoption and implementation of international Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the country.

    She stated this in a message to a one-day workshop on “Making Change Happen  in the Public Sector’ jointly organised by the Association of National Accountants  of Nigeria (ANAN), International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Office of the Accountant- General of the Federation in Lagos.

    The minister, who was represented by Omoniyi Fagbemi, said IPSAS would enable the government to reap the benefits of transparency, accountability, probity and better decision making.

    She urged participants to ensure the success of IPSAS, adding that she expected deliberations to cover capacity gap, ICT infrastructure, inventory and valuation of assets and others which were germane to effective implementation of IPSAS.

    Adeosun praised the initiative of the organisers of the workshop designed to enhance ongoing national efforts to entrench transparency, prudence and accountability in governance.  “The workshop is also designed to ensure that the method of reporting the public sector follows global best practice.

    “The government has intensified efforts at introducing and strengthening reforms in Public Financial Management. This can be seen in the implementation of Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS); the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS); the Treasury Single Account (TSA); and the international Public Sector Accounting standards (IPSAS), the minister said.

    According to Adeosun, arrangements are in top gear for the commencement of IPSAS Accrual Accounting by January 2016.

    “Prior to this, the nation had commenced the implementation of IPSAS Cash Basis of Accounting in 2014, the minister said.

    The ANAN President, Anthony Nzom, said the association would support the Federal Government in its crusade of Change. According to Nzom, people resist change out of ignorance and stick to the old order.

    “We know that this country is endowed with human and material resources with Nigerians in different parts of the world. ‘ANAN would not be claiming one of the foremost in Africa and in public sector without playing important roles in the change,’’ the ANAN chief said. He described the collaboration between ANAN and IFAC a strategic.

    Prof Stephen Ocheni of Kogi State University, spoke on Treasury Single Account (TSA), and said the TSA was designed to achieve a consolidated view of government’s accounts.

    Ocheni said the TSA was also meant to undertake optimum utilisation of available funds, ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability in the budgetary process. “The budget performance of government can be ascertained from one point and this is TSA,’’ he said.

    Director, Consolidated Accounts, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Prof.  S. A. Zubairu, spoke on IPSAS, saying that the office had prepared all tiers of government for the scheme.

    He said the office had issued literature and IPSAS Accrual Accounting manuals. According to him, the manual is applicable to Federal, states and local governments.

  • Finance minister inaugurates Insurers’ Committee

    Finance minister inaugurates Insurers’ Committee

    THE Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun will  inaugurate the Insurers’ Committee.

    Spokesperson for the National Insurance Commission, Rasaaq’ Salami in a statement made available to journalist yesterday said the event is scheduled to hold at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

    He statement further read: “CEOs of all insurance companies are members of the Committee are expected to attend the inauguration. Commissioner for Insurance Mohammed Kari will chair the Committee.

    “The Insurers’ Committee is similar to the Bankers’ Committee and offers opportunity to industry players to engage in meaningful discussions on the issues and challenges of the sector while proffering solutions. Post-inauguration, the Committee is expected to meet once every month.”