The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday raised the
alarm that about $20bn (N3.94tn) was lying idle in different domiciliary
accounts of the citizens.
The Deputy Governor, Financial System Surveillance,
CBN, Dr. Joseph Nnana, stated this during a meeting of the Joint Appropriation
Committees of the National Assembly with government officials on the 2016
budget.
Nnana said, “Distinguished chairman sir, we have
$20bn lying idle in various domiciliary accounts of many customers at the
various banks across the country.
“This is part of the reasons why the naira has
continued to slide against the US dollar.”
He alleged that some privileged Nigerians were
behind the consistent slide in the value of the naira by embarking on dollar
speculation to the detriment of the local currency.
The CBN deputy governor, however, expressed the hope
that the passage of the 2016 budget would put a stop to the unrestrained drop
in the value of the naira.
He said, “The CBN will embark on aggressive
liquidity mop-up to enable the naira regain confidence. The CBN will not sit
down and watch the consistent fall of the naira. After the passage of the 2016
budget, the naira will begin to bounce back.
“Those who speculate on dollars will have their
fingers burnt.”
In her submission, the Minister of Finance, Mrs.
Kemi Adeosun, told the gathering that the amount in the Treasury Single Account
had risen to N2.9tn.
Adeosun explained that the money in the TSA was not
meant to fund the budget contrary to a general impression.
She said that the money belonged to different
agencies of government, which had the right to access the funds.
Her explanation was against suggestions by the
legislators that the Federal Government should use the TSA to fund the 2016
budget amidst liquidity problem arising from the slump in global crude oil
prices.
Adeosun said all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies
of the government had their monies transferred into the TSA and should have
access to them.
She said that the government had commenced the
training of its personnel on the operation of the TSA such that any agency of
government that needed its share of the funds in the account would not find it
difficult accessing it.
The Chairman of the Joint National Assembly
Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, asked the executive to
consider the postponement of the Special Intervention Programme till next year.
He argued that the implementation of N500bn
intervention fund contained in 2016 budget proposals would not be feasible
since there were no clear implementation strategies.
Goje said the explanations being offered by
government officials about the implementation strategy for the programme were
not satisfactory.
He said, “There is no detailed and clear-cut
structure being laid down for implementation of this project because what we
have in this budget is N300bn recurrent and N200bn capital. We had to push hard
yesterday to get some details, which are not convincing. For instance, the
explanation we got is that N5,000 will be given to one million Nigerians.
“Who will choose the one million people? What
structures do you have in place to make sure that you choose the right people?
“You want to give money to about one million market
women or there about, and in my place we do not have many market women; how
will you choose the market women to represent all interests? We have not had
clear explanations on the numerous issues surrounding the implementation of
this programme.
“Even the afternoon school feeding contained in the
budget is not feasible, because some students study under non-conducive
environment. Will feeding them enhance their learning?”
Goje said while the National Assembly was in support
of the programme, implementing it this year might not be feasible.
He, therefore, suggested that the money allocated to
it should be added to the allocations for sectors like power, transport and
health, while those responsible for its implementation should map out better
strategy for it in 2017.
But the Minister of Budget and National Planning,
Udo Udoma, said the special intervention programme was a political commitment,
which the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would not hesitate to
fulfil.
He promised to meet with relevant stakeholders to
discuss on better strategies for its implementation.
Punch
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