By Funmi Falobi

Financial expert, Mr Tilewa Adebajo has raised concern on the adverse consequences to the economy of the securitisation of Nigeria’s Ways and Means advances.

He noted that such an act by the Senate validates the conversion of Nigeria’s huge Ways and Means indebtedness to further loans as bonds and other securities. “Securitisation means the government now issues treasury bills and bonds to pay off the Ways and Means.”

Securitisation of the Central Bank’s ways and means advances was a feature of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. The Senate approved President Buhari’s request, sources say, without including it in the Order Paper. It was intended to restructure N22.7trn loans which the Federal Government took from the CBN under the ‘Ways and Means Provision.’ Securitisation increased Nigeria’s Debt to GDP ratio to 38.4 per cent in the public debt balance.

“Ways and Means was never supposed to exceed N1 trillion, yet now it has surpassed N30 trillion, which is against section 38 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act. Under Section 38 of the CBN Act, the government is granted the authority to borrow from the apex bank, but such overdraft should not surpass five per cent of the government’s revenue from the previous year. It should also be repaid by the end of the financial year the loan was obtained,” he said.

Speaking at the Audit Reporting Training organised by FrontFoot Media Initiative held in Lagos, Adebajo said that such an action has compounded Nigeria’s indebtedness.

“Ways and Means financing is now 30 times more than is legally allowed. Securitization of Ways and Means is an illegal act. Nigeria’s deficit is increasing annually. Now 95 per cent of Nigeria’s revenue goes for debt service,” he said.

Adebajo noted that while regular citizens cannot do much to stop the spendthrift direction of the Federal and State governments, the media and professional groups should be more active in calling out any misbehaviour and wrong direction.

“Unfortunately, the citizens are too busy struggling with survival. The key responsibility falls on the media and the elite. The elite have compromised. The media are not pulling their weight,” he noted.

While urging the citizens to pay close attention to the country’s financial management, Adebajo advised, “Anytime you have a budget, ask for the audited accounts for the same year. What did you say you would do? What did you really do? What revenue target did you project? What was the actual revenue? What was the expenditure projection? What was actually spent and on what?”

On his part, Emeka Izeze, Director and Partner, FrontFoot Media Initiative said the “Audit Reporting Training: X-Raying State Government Audit Reports” is a flagship capacity development programme.

“It is a targeted training of journalists which we are undertaking under the auspices of the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism and the sponsorship of the MacArthur Foundation,” Izeze asserted.

The Lagos workshop is the fourth in its series to train the media to pay close attention to the audit report for its significance. Earlier workshops were in Benin, Awka, and Abuja.

By sdnonline

As the world celebrates the 2023 International Girls’ Day, Initiative for Social Impact and Sustainable Development has called on the government and stakeholders to invest in leadership rights and remove every barrier to digital literacy for girls to be able to compete favourably in the technology age.

Speaking on this year’s theme, “Invest in Girls Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being,” ISISD Coordinator, Funmi Falobi said that girls cannot be left behind in the era of leadership and technology innovation if we want gender equality to thrive.
” No doubt the world now evolves around technology and it is important our girls are not left behind in this innovative drive to thrive and fulfil their potential.
We must invest in leadership rights for girls and they must be encouraged to take up leadership roles early in life which will boost societal well being.
“Although we have reached a point that we recognise this day as International Girls’ Day, much still needs to be done to improve lives for girls”, she added.

She noted that digital literacy will enable girls to use digital platforms and resources to find, evaluate, and obtain information which would help students become lifelong learners and help to engage them in the process of acquiring academic skills as well as stay connected and be informed about the things that are revolving around society.

“Digital literacy enhances both formal and informal learning, and it is of great importance that young girls are capacitated with digital literacy information so that they are empowered and their confidence and self-esteemed is boosted in decision-making, and healthy-conscious living, among others.”

Falobi however noted that as good as technology is to the good of all, there are some challenges with it, which may be inimical to the growth and development of the girl child.
“Investing in the rights of girls helps to boost their leadership skills and their well-being. While technology brings an open window for development of potential of the girl child, care should be taken to guide the girl child from being a victim of manipulated tendencies through online gender-based violence”, Falobi warned.

International Day of the Girl Child is an annual and internationally recognised observance on October 11 that empowers girls and amplifies their voices. Like its adult version, International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8, International Day of the Girl Child acknowledges the importance, power, and potential of adolescent girls by encouraging the opening up of more opportunities for them. At the same time, this day is designated to eliminate gender-based challenges that little girls face around the world, including child marriages, poor learning opportunities, violence, and discrimination.