Nigeria’s 2024 budget, NIN-meter linkage… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — October 23 to October 27.

FG PROPOSES N26TRN FOR 2024 BUDGET

The federal government, on Monday, proposed N26 trillion for the 2024 budget.

The budget is expected to be submitted to the national assembly before December 31.

Atiku Bagudu, minister of planning and budget, announced the budget proposal at the end of the federal executive council (FEC) meeting held on Monday, at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Bagudu said the council has approved the 2024-2025 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy papers (FSP).

Last year, the federal government had an executive proposal for a total expenditure of N20.51 trillion.

FG APPLIES FOR FRESH $1.5 BILLION, $80 MILLION LOAN FROM WORLD BANK, AFDB

Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says the federal executive council (FEC) has approved a $1.58 billion loan request.

At the last FEC meeting, Edun said the loan request is split into two; $1.5 billion from the World Bank and $80 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) on Thursday, said it will disburse £150 billion by 2027 through its global gateway initiative to enhance infrastructure in over eight sectors in Nigeria and other African countries.

IKEJA ELECTRIC ASKS CUSTOMERS TO LINK NIN TO METERS BY NOV 1

Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IE) says all customers must link their national identity number (NIN) to their meters by November 1, 2023, in order to receive energy tokens.

The DisCo made the announcement on its official X handle last Thursday.

IE said the NIN linkage is necessary to improve the security and efficiency of the electricity distribution system.

The DisCo warned that customers who do not comply with the directive will be unable to access tokens for energy more than once.

NNPC WARNS AGAINST PANIC BUYING, ASSURES OF 30-DAY PETROL STOCK

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says the country has adequate stock of petrol to last for 30 days.

In a statement on Thursday, NNPC Retail, the national oil company’s subsidiary, said the petrol queues in Lagos and some other parts of the country are due to reduced depot loadout in Apapa.

NNPC said the reason behind the lag has since been addressed.

The Nigerian oil cartel also advised motorists to desist from panic buying as distribution “will normalise over the next couple of days”.

‘CHINA TO FINANCE RAILWAY PROJECTS’

The federal government says the Chinese government will fund two railway projects in the country.

In a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media, on Wednesday, China’s President Xi Jinping made commitments to refinancing and completing the Abuja-Kano and Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railways.

According to Nkwocha, Xi Jinping made the pledge while responding to requests made by President Bola Tinubu during a bilateral meeting with the Chinese leader in Beijing.

FIRS TO BEGIN NATIONWIDE COMPLIANCE EXERCISE

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it is set to embark on a nationwide value-added tax (VAT) and withholding tax (WHT) compliance monitoring exercise for all taxable persons from October 23.

In a statement last week, Zacch Adedeji, the FIRS chairman, said the move would enhance tax compliance and revenue collection in the country.

VAT is a consumption tax placed on a product whenever value is added at each stage of the supply chain — from production to the point of sale.

FG SETS 2024 CRUDE OIL BENCHMARK AT $73.96, EXCHANGE RATE AT N700/$

The federal executive council (FEC) has projected that Brent crude oil price will depreciate and the naira will recover significantly against the dollar in 2024.

Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and planning, spoke about the federal government’s outlook for the exchange rate and crude oil price after the council’s meeting on Monday.

According to Bagudu, FEC established a reference price of $73.96 per barrel for crude oil and an exchange rate of N700/$ as key assumptions for budgetary planning.

Meanwhile, last year, the crude oil price had been benchmarked to $73 per barrel