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Budget Padding: Senate Cleared Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed

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Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed
Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed
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…. Condemns poor implementation of National Social Investment Programme 

The Senate Monday gave the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, clean bill of health on alleged insertions in budgetary provisions of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

This is as it frowned at shoddy implementation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) based on lack of records of verifiable beneficiaries.

Finance Minister got her clean bill of health on alleged series of paddings in the proposed N20.51trillion 2023 budget from the Senate Committee on Appropriation when she made clarifications on them.

She explained to the committee that the various sums some heads of agencies feigned ignorance of during their interface with relevant committees for budget defence , were approved by the Federal Executive Council ( FEC),  before budget presentation itself by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday , October 7, 2022.

” All the proposed budgetary sums like the N206billion in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the N8.6billion in the Ministry of Defence , N195.468billion in the estimates for the Ministry of Power etc. , were all   captured before presentation by Mr President .

” Most of these sums are bilateral or multilateral loans captured in the budget of agencies selected for projects execution for sole purpose of transparency.

” The totality of such loans captured in the proposed budget of the relevant agencies is N1.771trillion.

” Had heads of the affected MDAs carried out thorough scrutinization of their approved budgetary proposals, the issue of insertion or budget padding wouldn’t have arisen at all, realization of which made the Minister of Defence , Bashir Magsshi to apologise after feigning ignorance of N8.6billion in his Ministry’s budget during interface with Senate Committee on Defence “, she said .

Satisfied by her submission, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North), said the clarifications made by the Minister were well understood by all the committee members and commended her for ensuring transparency with capturing of such loans or grants in the budget.

Earlier at an interface with the Senate Ad – hoc committee on uneven disbursement of N500billion Development fund by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, failed to supply the the committee with verifiable evidence of beneficiaries.

She said about 9.8million pupils nationwide are already benefiting from the School feeding programme on the rate of N100 per meal, aside beneficiaries of other clusters of the programme .

But the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sani Musa and other members like Ayo Akinyekure , Uche Ekwunife , Mathew Urhoghide etc , told the Minister that her presentation and that of the Coordinator of the program , Dr Umar Bindir , were beautiful on paper but lacked substance .

The implementation of the program according to them, is a nullity.

Consequentlty, the Committee directed her to furnish it with names of beneficiaries of different clusters of the program, their contact address, telephone numbers on the basis of states, local government and wards within the week.

Business & Economy

Mangal Cement Reiterates Commitment to Consistence Quality, Tightens Relationship with Stakeholders

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The General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Omowunmi Goriola Oduguwa Monday, July 14th, 2025 addresses Annual Stakeholders Forum, Abuja
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By AbdulRahman Obaje

Mangal Cement has reiterate its commitment to consistence quality while reinforcing its relationship with it stakeholders.

The General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Omowunmi Goriola Oduguwa made this known Monday, July 14th, 2025 during this year Annual Stakeholders Forum, Abuja.

Omowunmi said, “We are here today basically because of this title: ‘building stronger partnership, quality trading solution and value for money’. We are here; number one, to tighten the collaboration that we’ve been having with our stakeholders. We know that we’ve been having relationship with you by virtue of the fact that you are partner to our business, you are using our brand; that automatically has clarify the fact that we are in partnership”

”We don’t just want it to be like that, we want it to be tighter, so we want to strengthen that collaboration, we want it to be tighter. That is why we are here and that is why we have invited you to be part of this event.”

“And secondly. We are also here to reaffirm the consistency in quality and innovation. We want to assure you that our quality remain the way it has ever been since inception; since we started production. My colleague said this is first of its kind; I mean the stakeholder forum we are having. But obviously this is first of its kind in Abuja environment. And I want to also appreciate us for being part of this very first one.”, she continued.

Participants also expressed satisfaction with Mangal product. Obastar Block Industry Said the cement is very good. He said, “People should join in using it, we have been using it. The cement is good. We have been using other cements but since we have tried Mangal cement, we have not been disappointed.”

“The only place they need improvement is setting, outside that, the cement is very good.” he concluded.

Olayinka AbdulWahid, IBZA Blocks said, “Mangal cement is very good in terms of quality and durability.

The blocks that we produced with Mangal cement, the customer actually vouch for. I have some few friends that whenever they want to cast, they always request that make Mangal cement available.

So, in terms of quality, it is a very good quality/ the only challenge we have is the availability and most of the time the delivery is very very poor in which sometimes, some of us we are unable to wait. we have to look for alternative product.

But with this seminar we attend today, if we can have access to more of the vendor or more of the distributor, we can have alternative demand.

So, that is the only challenge, the availability.”

However, Omowunmi further revealed that Mangal Industries is not slowing down on innovation and quality assurance, asserting that this is the reason for the forum, so as “to reaffirm our commitment to quality and innovation as an organisation.”, she continued.

The forum saw notable personalities such as Engr. Yusuf Ibrahim, Industrial Training Fund, Silifa Shagaya, SON and others in attendance

High point of the event was the distribution of wheelbarrows and protective gears to all the participants of the stakeholder forum.

 

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Nigerian Economy Stabilising — CBN Governor, Cardoso

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CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso
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The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has said the Nigerian economy has stability.
He disclosed this at the press briefing at the end of its 300th Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday.

According to him, investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy has improved over the past eighteen months.

Responding to questions on how improved macroeconomic fundamentals of the Nigerian economy are impacting the lives of Nigerians, he said, “Investors do not go to where there is economic instability. They don’t go out to lose money but to make a profit. With that stability comes confidence and then investment and growth.

“What is now being recognised is that the Nigerian economy is not stable. The inflation numbers speak for themselves.”

Recall that the World Bank, in its latest Nigerian Development Update report, said the country is in good shape as it grew by 3.4 percent in 2024.

 

 

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 CBN Retains Nigeria’s Interest At 27.50%

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Yemi Cardoso,CBN Governor
Yemi Cardoso, CBN Governor
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The Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Committee has retained the country’s interest rate at 27.50 percent.

The governor of CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this in a press briefing on Tuesday after the 300th MPC meeting in Abuja.

“The committee unanimously agreed to retain MPR at 27.50 percent,” he stated.

Cardoso also announced that the MPC member decided to retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50 basis points for commercial bank and 16 percent for mortgage bank, the liquidity ratio (LR) at 30 percent, and the asymmetric corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR; other monetary policy decisions were retained.

He justified MPC’s decision to pause the rate hike on the easing of Nigeria’s inflation rate to 23.7 percent in April.

it would be recalled that last week the National Bureau of Statistics consumer price index showed that country’s inflation dropped by 23.7 percent.

In February, the MPC retained the country’s interest rate at 27.50 percent as inflation cooled off.

 

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