Today’s N2P continues with a thread of insecurity observed earlier. Also present is a theme of COVID-defiant wins, albeit small. And on the financial scene, Nigeria’s TSA account is doing well; customs fights the good fight.
12 Kidnapped
Yesterday we forecasted cloudy skies with a chance of banditry. Today, not only were the predictions apt, but show no signs of dispersing as BBC Hausa reports yet another kidnap ransom. In a boldfaced move, abductors kidnap not regular citizens, but 12 assistant superintendents of the Police Force. And on their way to a special operation, no less. This incident reportedly happened 12 days ago, but is only coming to light now. Already the kidnappers requested a ransom of ₦800,000, according to the wife of one abductee.
However, the spokesperson for Borno State Police Command, Edet Okon, told SaharaReporters that he does not know of the incident. Similarly, the Spokesperson for the Zamfara Police Command, Muhammed Shehu, also claimed that there was no such incident.
1.98 million Cases
Zooming out on Africa for a second, findings now show COVID-19 cases almost totalled 1.98 million. Per the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), confirmed cases stood at 1,977,165 while the confirmed death toll is 47,375, as of Monday. The total of recovered cases stands at 1,664,801. Africa CDC also stated that the countries with the highest cases are Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. South Africa also stands as the country with the most pandemic related deaths in Africa.
Recall in the early stages of the pandemic, many maintained that Africans were resistant. This was of course false. Later on, experts referred to it as artificial low numbers, as the black continent did not have adequate testing. But with the level of recovery and the dismal healthcare, something is afoot. Whether it’s the young population or experience from other endemics responsible for the low numbers, one thing remains certain, the pandemic is still here.
₦45 Billion Savings
In other news, good news, the federal government’s (FG) savings on its Treasury Single Account (TSA) has reportedly risen to ₦45 billion per month. Before implementing the TSA in 2015, FG kept these funds in a regular bank account, but this account was yielding massive charges and interest. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed revealed this during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Republic of The Gambia on Tuesday. And as a bonus, FG can now determine their aggregate balance with ease, making for better management of the public finances.
₦17.4 billion Leakage
Elsewhere, the Nigerian Custom Service (NCS) scored a big win in the ongoing battle against corruption. Specifically, its Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A Ikeja announced to have blocked products worth ₦17.4 billion in 9 months. Some of which include vehicles, rice, poultry products and textile. The Public Relations Officer of this unit, Theophilus Duniya, reported in a statement that from January up till September 2020, the unit has made ₦1.6 billion revenue for the government from demand notices raised on cargoes with illegal standings. Duniya further promised the unit shall continue to discharge their duties with due diligence and professionalism in order to make Nigeria better.
₦2.3 trillion
A quarterly report released by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), stated that the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed a sum of ₦2.054 trillion to the three tiers of government in the third quarter of 2020. This is the first disbursement to reach the ₦2 trillion mark. The breakdown of the disbursed funds are: the local governments get ₦429.16 billion; the state governments get ₦676.5 billion, while the federal governments get ₦812.22 billion.
Compared to the first and second quarters, there is an increase of 5.6% and 6.2% respectively. The reason given for the increased disbursement is the exchange rate change made by the CBN. But when compared to Q3 2018 and Q3 2019, there is a dip of 9.8% and 9.6% respectively. The impact of COVID-19 and its steep effect on oil price takes the cake for this. Not to mention its effect on economic activities and other diverse sources of revenue.