$20bn idle in Nigerians’ domiciliary accounts –CBN
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.
