The 100 million euros agreement by the Bank of Industry with the French Development Agency (AfD) for the expansion of green finance in Nigeria to tackle climate change is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Guardian reports that the Bank of Industry (BoI) yesterday, signed an agreement worth 100 million Euros with the French Development Agency (AfD), for the expansion of green finance in Nigeria to tackle climate change.
The Managing Director, BoI, Olukayode Pitan, at the signing ceremony in Lagos, said the transaction was approved by AFD under its Transforming Financial Systems for Climate (TFSC) Program with the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Pitan said the TFSC was a $650 million programme developed in 17 countries for 100 per cent climate investments projects.
According to him, the 10-year facility is attractively priced at 2.47 per cent per annum with a four-year moratorium by mixing various concessional resources.
He pledged that the credit facility would focus on financing investments that contribute to climate change mitigation or adaptation.
The Country director, AFD, Xavier Muron, highlighted the importance of such a project in the framework of the fight against climate change globally.
Muron noted that Nigeria is highly vulnerable to climate change with several regions likely to suffer from the effects of global warming.
According to him, studies show that climate change would cause Nigeria about $400 billion, that is, between six to 13 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The newspaper says that stakeholders at the African Conference on Debt and Development (AFCODD) have raised concerns about Nigeria’s rising debt profile as the country’s debt stock stood at $100billion as of March 2022.
A breakdown by the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed that as at 31 March 2022, external debt stood at $39 billion while domestic debts stood at $60 billion.
Of concern to them is that despite the Section 42(1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 that states “The President shall, within 90 days from the commencement of the Act and with advice from the Minister of Finance, subject to approval of National Assembly, set overall limits for the amounts of consolidated debt of the three tiers of government,” the debt limit has not been set.
They described it as unfortunate that since the enactment of the FRA in 2007, the consolidated debt limits of the federal, states and local governments have not been set by any President and this has worsened the debt management crisis.
The Executive Director of the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), David Ugolor, while speaking at the conference, also raised concerns over the inability the country to account for the $3.5billion Special Drawing Right (SDR) allotted to the country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2021 as a direct response to the economic crisis unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ugolo lamented that the utilisation of the SDRs has been shrouded in secrecy with no information in public domain by the Federal Government neither is there parliamentary coverage of the SDRs issue in Nigeria.
To this end, he called on the National Assembly to hold a public hearing on the issue and invite the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Governor of Central Bank to explain the use of $3.4bn SDR allocated by IMF since 23 August 2021 sitting idle in the CBN, as well as to explain the use of the $3.4bn Covid-19 facility granted by the IMF which has been fully drawn down.
The Guardian also reports that though the National Broadcasting Commission’s (NBC) deadline for payment of debts owed by broadcast houses, amounting to N2.66 billion, is today, stakeholders in the industry have, however, called for a downward review of the licence fees, adding that the five-year advance payment method makes it difficult for many stations.
The Punch reports that different government security outfits operating across the country have recovered stolen oil worth N86.2bn in August, according to The Punch’s findings.
A total of 16, 000 litres of diesel valued at N800/litre (N12.8m) were on Monday reported to have been recovered by members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Cross River.
Speaking with the media, Rivers State NSCDC Commandant, Samuel Fadeyi, said the stolen products, which were mainly Automotive Gas Oil also known as diesel, were recovered within the last two weeks.
Also, last Wednesday, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Seme Area Command, said it intercepted 3,998 jerry cans of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, in 30 litres each, equivalent to 119,940 litres.
The products, according to the Customs Area Controller, Bello Mohammed Jibo, were about four tanker loads of 33,000 litres each.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, recently approved a price of N191 per litre of PMS (highest range). An estimation of how much Nigeria would have lost had the 119, 940 litres made it to the Republic of Benin would have been N161m.
The seized petroleum product had a Duty Paid Value of N28.9 million.
Unlike in Nigeria where the Federal Government subsidises petrol, one litre of petrol is currently being sold in the Republic of Benin at N396. If the 119, 940 litres of petrol had arrived safely in the neigbouring country, it would have been sold for at least N47m.
The newspaper says that the amount of money stolen by late General Sani Abacha and his cronies which have been repatriated to Nigeria by the United States has hit over $334.7 million, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, said on Tuesday.
According to her, the US government had been keenly aware of the devastating impact of corruption on societies, including eroding trust and the ability of governments to deliver to their citizens.
“It distorts the economies and access to key services. It hinders development, pushes citizens towards extremism and makes countries and their officials susceptible to malicious foreign interference”, the US Envoy emphasised.
Leonard expressed these views during the signing of an agreement with the Federal Government for the repatriation of $23 million, being assets looted by Abacha and his cronies.
While the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), signed the agreement on behalf of the Nigerian government, Leonard signed for the United States.
Malami said since 2016, the Federal Ministry of Justice, United Kingdom National Crime Agency and United States Department of Justice have been working closely with the legal representatives of the Federal Government to finalise litigations related to the Abacha linked assets.
Following agreement between parties, the AGF said the UK High Court granted the NCA a registration and recovery order on July 21, 2021, which was sealed by the court on August 4 2021.
Leonard, in her speech, said the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, seized the stolen funds because Abacha and his associates violated US laws, when they laundered the funds through the US and into accounts to the UK.
She said, “This agreement is also kind of collaboration that our government must continue in order to right the wrongs committed under the previous regimes, combined with a $311.7m seized and repatriated with the assistance of the Bailiwick of Jersey and the government of Nigeria in 2020.
“This repatriation brings to a total amount of funds repatriated in this case by the US to more than $334.7 million. As a result of today (Tuesday’s) agreement, $23 million will be transferred to the Nigerian government, which through the NSIA (Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority), will be used to continue the construction of three key infrastructural projects located in strategic economic zones of the country: The 2nd Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Abuja-Kano Road.
GIK/APA