NUMBERS II PONDER: NIGERIA’S AGRIC EXPORT FALLS 30% DESPITE FG’S DIVERSIFICATION RHETORIC

30% fall

Nigeria has seen its 2019 agricultural export volumes fall by 30.23 percent despite the Federal Government’s diversification efforts. The value of the country’s agricultural export decreased by N32billion from N302billion exported in 2018 to N270billion in 2019, indicating a 10.6percent decline, data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows. [BUSINESS DAY]

$4m consultancy fee

The Senate Committee on Finance has demanded the identity of lawyer paid $4 million from the Excess Crude Account as a consultancy fee. The fee was reportedly paid by the managers of the ECA. The Chairman of the committee, Adeola Olamilekan, made the demand at a session with the Accountant-General, Idris Ahmed, on the dwindling status of the Excess Crude Account. [PREMIUM TIMES]

$71.8m ECA

The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris revealed on Tuesday that the excess crude account of the country has depleted to $71,813,941.84. Idris disclosed this while appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance to offer explanations on the achievement made so far on the revenue projection for the 2020 Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly. [BUSINESS DAY]

N3.7bn Recovered

President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja disclosed that law enforcement agencies had recovered over N3.7 billion and assets worth billions of naira from contractors and former directors of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The president made this disclosure while inaugurating the NDDC Advisory Committee.[THISDAY]

N1trn loss

The Nigerian stock market lost about N980billion in just two trading days into this week, fueling concerns over possible recovery in the near term. This historic loss seen within just two days was caused by an additional N656billion loss on Tuesday, March 10. This negative on Custom Street comes despite a fading sense of panic over the recent oil price dip. [BUSINESS DAY]

N100bn

The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) and the ICPC have signed an MoU to embark on a system study and review of revenue-generating agencies in the country. The exercise, seeks among other things, to curb further revenue losses and leakages to the government and help save as much as N100 billion which could help fund the 2020 budget. [THISDAY]

$20.4b yearly

SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila on Tuesday said the country is losing  400,000 barrels of oil per day (BPD) amounting to about $20.4 billion annually to theft. But the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation said there was no record of the quantity of oil lost daily to crude theft. [THE NATION]

N125b yearly

THE Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) on Tuesday said it would require N125 billion annually to carry out maintenance on all federal roads in the country. The agency has been allocated N36 billion in the 2020 capital budget to carry out its work this year. Managing Director of FERMA stated these when members of the Senate Committee on FERMA visited the agency. [THE NATION]

240-day rainfall

Tunji Bello, the commissioner for the environment and water resources, has urged residents of Lagos state to prepare for likely consequences of 240 to 270 days rain with the 2020 rainfall predicted to begin on March 19 and end November 22. He said it is necessary to inform Lagos residents about the 2020 rainfall prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). [THE CABLE]