Tag: Zainab Ahmed

$10m Monthly Gas Deal: Senators demands probe of ex-Finance Minister, Zainab

Aminu Imam

Senators yesterday shielded former Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, from a probe over a monthly payment of $10 million Make Up Gas (MUG) reprocessing deal. Concerns about the controversial payment was raised at plenary by Sen. Aniekan, Bassey (Akwa-Ibom Northeast) on the need to investigate the controversial Make up Gas (Mug) Reprocessing Deal involving the Federal Ministry of Finance, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Calabar Generation Company Limited, and ACUGAS Ltd. In a Motion he sponsored, Bassey had argued that the federal, states and local governments owned NDPHC had…

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“Naira scarcity pain a temporary sacrifice for a saner economy” FG

Aminu Imam

The Federal Government has explained the persisting cash scarcity and its attendant pains by Nigerians as a result of the introduction of redesigned naira notes should be seen as a temporary sacrifice to achieve long-term economic sanity. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who stated this when she appeared as the 65th guest on the Ministerial Briefing, organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the State House in Abuja, also said President Muhammadu Buhari is not happy about the situation. Ahmed likened the current situation being experienced…

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“Nigerias economic growth is weak, needs more taxes”, says Finance Minister, Zainab

Aminu Imam

Nigerias economy may have been growing over the last seven quarters, but this growth rate is not strong enough to drive the needed developments in the country, and for this to happen, more people need to pay their taxes. This was one of the views expressed by Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance during a plenary session at the on-going 28th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES28). These consecutive quarters of economic growth have not resulted in improved standards of living for the average Nigerian, as alluded to by the minister, who said…

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Nigerias foreign debt unsustainable – Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, finally admits

Aminu Imam

After a long period of insisting that Nigeria had no debt problem, but only revenue short-fall, the Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, has finally admitted to the contrary, saying that the nation’s debt stock is no longer sustainable. Recall that the Minister had argued stridently in the past three years that Nigerias debt-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was within a safe threshold, which became the administration’s mantra for contracting more frivolous loans for consumption. However, she recently made a U-turn, as she was quoted to have stated that Nigeria was considering re-ordering…

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President Buhari approves fuel subsidy removal to take effect June 2023

Aminu Imam

…’Nigeria spends N18.69bn daily on subsidy – Finance Minister The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has set June 2023 as the date for the removal of fuel subsidy. Ahmed disclosed on Thursday, while appearing before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the fuel subsidy regime from 2013 to 2022.  This clearly means that the burden of the policy, which has been described by many as a major drain and waste of resources, would be shifted to the next administration from May 29,…

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Reps fault N18.37bn daily subsidy payment, N448 per litre as PMS landing cost in 2022, 2023

Aminu Imam

…Differ on computation of N6.79tr fuel subsidy The Federal Government, yesterday, disclosed that it is currently paying N283 as a subsidy on every litre of premium motor spirit (PMS) imported into the country by Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed this at the resumed investigative hearing into the Ad-hoc Committee investigating the payment of the controversial fuel subsidy payment between 2013 and 2022, chaired by Hon. Ibrahim Aliyu, who picked holes in the Ministers presentation on the…

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Covid-19: 109 million Nigerians to be plunged into poverty by 2022 – FG reveals

Aminu Imam

The Federal Government yesterday said the total number of poor Nigerians would hit about 109 million by the end of next year as a result of the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the nations economy. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, revealed this yesterday, at the on-going National Covid-19 Summit, in Abuja. Represented by the Director-General of Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, at the event, themed Pushing Through the Last Mile to End the Pandemic and Build Back Better, the Minister explained that the pandemic…

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Covid-19: “Weve spent N502.3bn for intervention” – Zainab Ahmed

Aminu Imam

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has disclosed that N502.3 billion has so far been spent by the Federal Government to stabilise the economy after being hit by the rampaging Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, at the ‘National Dialogue on Covid-19: Economic Impact and Assessment of National and States recovery plans and Policy options‘, the minister explained that Nigeria was deeply affected by the pestilence because it was recovering from recession before Covid-19 led to an all-time fall of crude oil prices being the…

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FG to slash civil servants’ salaries, merge agencies, others – Zainab Ahmed

Aminu Imam

…Says it’s to cut cost The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the salaries committee to review payroll and also review the number of agencies. Ahmed disclosed this at the on-going National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Cost of Governance in Nigeria, which held in Abuja yesterday. The government also said it will also remove some redundant items from the Budget, as a move to cut the cost of governance in the country. The programme was organised by the…

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Obaseki fires back at Finance Minister, insists N60bn was printed to bridge FAAC allocation

Aminu Imam

Asks FG to end Monetary Rascality The disagreement between Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki and the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has intensified, with the governor backing his claim concerning the countrys rising debt profile. Obaseki, yesterday, advised the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to rally Nigerians to stem the obvious fiscal slide facing the country. The Edo State governor had last week averred that the Federal Government printed about N50-N60 billion to make up for state allocations. While speaking on the…

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