AFR Business

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike said on Tuesday in Abuja that the FCT Administration had secured funding from SUKUK to complete the Abuja Millennium Tower and Cultural Centre.

The minister disclosed this while inspecting various project sites in Abuja and assured that part of the fund would be used to complete other ongoing projects.

Mr Wike said SUKUK management had agreed to fund projects outside its coverage areas, mainly roads and bridges.

The Millennium Tower, located in the central area of Abuja, is a multifunctional edifice with facilities for cultural exposition, tourism, socialisation, recreation, hospitality, and commercial activities.

The contractor on the project is Salini Construction Nigeria Ltd.

The project, conceived in 2005, had reached 40 per cent completion but was abandoned because of paucity of funds.

Upon completion, it is expected to self-finance itself from revenues generated from commercial activities.

“As I speak with you, we have more than N70 billion to N100 billion that we shall access, and we are going to attach the fund to specific projects.

“We have also submitted a supplementary budget for 2023, and President Bola Tinubu has approved it and will transmit it to the National Assembly.

“We are asking that we should be allowed to spend N61 billion, and we want to use that money for specific projects so that by May 29, these projects are completed,’’ he said.

The minister assured that no project would be abandoned under his watch and expressed joy that residents were witnessing the completion of abandoned projects.

Mr Wike expressed optimism that when completed, the Millennium Tower would change the landscape of Abuja and boost its tourism potential.

He assured residents of the territory that all ongoing projects would be completed before May 29, 2024.

The Millennium Tower and Cultural Centre project is one of several projects in the Central District of Abuja. At 170 metres (560 ft.), it is the tallest artificial structure in Abuja.

The tower was designed by Manfredi Nicoletti, an Italian architect, who died on October 29, 2017, in Rome.

The tower includes the Nigerian Cultural Centre, an eight-storey, low-rise, pyramid-shaped edifice.

Construction of the tower started in 2006 and was suspended in 2014.

In spite of expectations from stakeholders, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shelved its bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for the second time.

The meeting scheduled for November 20 and 21 would have been the first presided over by Yemi Cardoso as CBN governor.

This second postponement had kept stakeholders in suspense as to what Mr Cardoso’s approach to bridging the exchange rates and addressing rising inflation would be.

The MPC meeting, which is the 293rd in the series, was earlier scheduled for September but postponed indefinitely.

At the 292nd meeting on July 24 and 25, presided over by erstwhile acting CBN governor Folashodun Shonubi, the committee decided to raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 18.5 per cent to 18.75 per cent.

It also adjusted the asymmetric corridor to +100—300 basis points around the MPR, retained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 32.5 per cent, and retained the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent

According to Uche Uwaleke, a Professor of Capital Markets at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, the postponement of the MPC for the second consecutive time could be a blessing in disguise.

Mr Uwaleke, also the President of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, said that if the MPC had been held in September, it was most likely that the MPR would have been jerked up, thereby further increasing the cost of doing business and reducing access to credit.

“This would have been the outcome of the meeting against the backdrop of the pressure from the IMF for an MPR hike to reduce the money supply.

“It would not have had any significant impact on the rising inflation,” he said.

A past president of the Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Okechukwu Unegbu, said that the MPC meeting was an ongoing process.

“Maybe the committee has not exhausted the outcome of the last meeting in July.

“Cardoso is a technocrat; he knows what to do. I believe he is settling down and trying to understand where he is. He needs to study the environment properly before getting down to business.

“I think that is what Cardoso is doing. We should give him some time, but the politicians should allow him to do his job without interference, ” Unegbu said.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises, Muda Yusuf, said that the meeting must urgently be reconvened to give information about the economy and guide the public on government policy direction.

According to Mr Yusuf, “Because the leadership of the bank is new, I imagine that they are trying to put their acts together at least to familiarise themselves with the issues.

“The most challenging issue is the foreign exchange, and they have been taking some steps even without a meeting, trying to clear the backlog, which is commendable.

“The MPC gives information about the economy and the direction they are going, so the fact they have not met means there is a lack of communication.

“Monetary policy communication is important to guide investors, and to that extent, it is important to have those meetings,” he said.

Finance Minister Wale Edun says the federation account is witnessing improved revenue inflow since the subsidy removal, from an average of N650 million monthly to over N1 trillion in the last four months.

The minister stated this on Monday in Asaba at the opening ceremony of a four-day retreat organised for members of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Mr Edun, represented by the Permanent Secretary of Finance, Special Duties, Okokon Udo, said the government had long realised that petroleum subsidies were unsustainable.

According to him, the subsidy regime eroded revenues that should have been available to fund viable expenditures critical to the populace’s well-being.

“We all know that achieving a tax revenue to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) target of 22 per cent and a tax to GDP of 18 per cent by 2026 are parts of the cardinal objectives of this administration.

”However, in doing that, we appreciate the need not to overburden the taxpayers by introducing so many new taxes.

”What is necessary to be done is to broaden the tax base, simplify and streamline tax administration for ease of collection,” he said.

Mr Edun said the constitution of the Presidential Committee of Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms had submitted an interim report, which, according to him, is full of optimism.

The minister also noted that the present administration was aware of the untold hardship Nigerians faced following the removal of fuel subsidies and the harmonisation of exchange rates.

“The government is bent on ensuring that the economy bounces back to normal as we continue to consolidate recovery efforts while focusing on achieving inclusive economic growth and development,” he added.

In an opening remark, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta tasked the federal government to muster the political will by putting the necessary policy and institutional framework in place to diversify the nation’s economy.

The governor, represented by his deputy, Monday Onyeme, said there was no magic wand to diversify the nation’s economy from over-dependence on revenue from crude oil unless concerted efforts were made in other key sectors.

The governor commended the FAAC committee for its commitment to duty by enhancing revenue accruals into the federation account.

The Accountant Generals from the thirty-six states, the FCT, and other stakeholders such as customs are attending the retreat.