• It is untrue we printed N60b, FG replies Obaseki
• Seek alternative funding options as country risks falling into hyperinflation
• Senate summons minister, AGF over N7.5b secret withdrawals
Five days after Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, released a bombshell, saying Nigeria was in huge financial trouble after the Federal Government printed N60 billion as part of federal allocation distributed to states for March, the Presidency yesterday described the statement as complete falsehood.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, at a briefing after the 41st virtual Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, described the governor’s claim as very sad and untrue.
account.
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Ahmed Idris, accountant-general of the federation, was also summoned over the withdrawal from the NADDC levy account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Mathew Urhoghide-led panel issued the summons on Wednesday following a query raised in the auditor-general of the federation’s (AuGF) report.
The AuGF said the funds were withdrawn on various occasions from 2000 to 2006 for government transactions carried out by the presidency.
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Jelani Aliyu, NADDC director-general, told the lawmakers that the money was withdrawn without the knowledge of the agency.
He also said previous efforts by the agency to get the money refunded have failed.
The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed Idris
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Thu Apr 15 2021
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts Wednesday summoned the Minister of Finance, Ahmed Zainab and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, over the secret withdrawal of N7.5bn from the account of National Automotive Design and Development Council domiciled with Central Bank of Nigeria.
The first N3.8bn was withdrawn in two installments of N2.8bn in 2005 and N1bn in 2006, according to the report of the Auditor-General for the Federation being considered by the Senate committee, chaired by Senator Matthew Urhoghide.
Since the coming into effect of its Automotive Development Policy (GADP) in October 2019, Ghana has been attracting the attention of the auto world with at least three of the biggest names in the industry now assembling vehicles in the country less than two years after.
This is coming at a time when Nigeria’s National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) is on the slow lane with the assembly plants gasping for breath.
Last month, the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) followed the trend in Ghana by hosting an exploratory visit of automotive component manufacturers to the West African country. The objective was to introduce potential investors to the Ghanaian automotive market, and to Nigeria’s, which is bigger, with incomparably higher number of assembly plants.
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“What has just been commissioned today is the nation’s first 100% solar powered electric vehicle charging station. 100% renewable energy, 100% clean energy to power 100% electric vehicles. Absolutely zero emissions, zero waste: from energy generation to energy utilization,” Aliyu said.
“This charging station is an important component of our national vehicle electrification programme.
“We are collaborating with three universities: UDUS; the University of Lagos and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.”
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He explained that the charging station contains arrays of installed solar panels with 86.4 kilowatts per hour capacity.
They are then coupled to three online-offline hybrid inverters with 5-kilovolt ampere (KVA) each and synchronized to give an output of 15KVA/48watts.