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FG to blacklist 18 banks owing telcos N200bn on USSD

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There are indications that the Federal government will tomorrow list out names of 18 banks owing almost N200 billion to Nigerian telecom operators on Unstructured Suplementary Service Data, USSD, and remained adamant towards settling it for several years.

The reason for the public disgrace seems to be for the telcos to stop offering them services that enable their customers to conveniently do online banking.

Vanguard gathered that the telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has been given the nod to publish the names and approve that telcos withdraw services to them if after two weeks they fail to settle the debts.

Recall that the issue of banks’ multi billion naira USSD debt to telcos has lingered since 2020, rising from below N40 billion to N57 billion by the end of 2021 and N80 billion in 2022.

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But now, the telcos claim the debt has risen above N250 billion and accused the banks of not complying with the repayment plan.

The recent development, cannot be unconnected with a December joint meeting between the two regulators, NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria which resolved that the banks pay part of the money by December 31, last year and defray the remaining gradually.

However, Vanguard gathered authoritatively that only four banks complied with the directive, while 18 others are still adamant.

Similarly, when the matter brewed heavily a few years ago, the National Assembly, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, waded in and also generated such a gentleman’s agreement, which gave the banks leverage to defray the debts gradually.

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However, that did not also happen as the banks allegedly reneged.

A few weeks ago the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, accused the banks of deliberately frustrating any move to resolve the issue and threatened that the only option, since the banks have consistently failed to honour the agreements, would be to withdraw the support that gives the USSD platform life.

USSD, commonly known as ‘bank transfers’, is done through short codes on mobile phones.
The support is provided by the telcos.

If the latest approval Vanguard gathered that telcos will be given, to blacklist the 18 banks is carried out, it means that in the next two weeks all the short code services to such banks may be suspended and users will not be able to carry out some online banking services from the comfort of their homes.

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2025 Budget: NASS Joint Committee Directs NCS To Block Revenue Leakages To Achive N10.5trn Target

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1 hour ago

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January 15, 2025

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By Gloria Ikibah
The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance has directed Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to block leakages and put stringent measures in place in other to achieve the N10.5 trillion revenue target for the year 2025.
The Joint Committee also issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Chief Executive Officers of key revenue generating agencies including Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, Managing Directors of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Adedayo Adeyeye and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola.
The lawmakers who zealously opposed the N6.5 trillion revenue projection presented for the year, called on the need for the Service to ensure effective monitoring of its personnel, address issues bothering on under-declaration, among other sharp practices at the nation’s ports.
In his address, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa explained that the N10.5 trillion new revenue target was achievable after due consideration of available information obtained from the Budget Office of the Federation.and other parameters.
He however noted that the Parliament will not hesitate to raise the revenue target to N12 trillion if the issue of non-remittance of 80 percent Operating Surplus as provided by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 is not addressed with Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
In his presentation, FRC Chairman, Victor Murako alleged that NCS which started to comply with provisions of the Act in 2015 to 2019, has failed to remit the Operating Surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund till date.
According to him, the Service is indebted to the tune of N8.6 billion as at 2019, adding that the agreement reached after the intervention of the Public Accounts Committee last year was not honored by Nigeria Customs Service.
While responding to the presentation, NCS Comptroller General, Mr. Adeniyi Adewale promised to work with the Legal Department to address the issue of operating surplus between one or two weeks.
On the question bothering on the revenues accruing to Nigerian Customs Service as raised by Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Rep. James Faleke, the NCS Comptroller General disclosed that the Service collects 2 percent Value Added Tax, 7 percent collection while 4 percent FOB was yet to be implemented but being worked out by the Ministry of Finance and office of Accountant General of the Federation.
He however observed that the CISS comes occasionally over the past two years.
The lawmakers who spoke during the interactive session with heads of key revenue generating agencies including Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC), however decried the failure of heads of some government revenue generating agencies to honour invitation and appear for 2025 budget defence.
They highlighted that the affected agencies including: Nigerian Postal Service (NPS) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), risk withdrawal of funding for 2025 fiscal year.
Others are: Nigerian Copyright Commission, National Insurance Commission, National Pensions Commission, National Space and Research Development Agency and Nigerian Metrological Agency.
Also included are: Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporations, Airspace Management Authority, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Bank of Industry (BoI), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaira.
In his remarks, Chairman, Senate Committee of Finance, Senator Musa observed that President Bola Tinubu while presenting the 2025 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly, mandated all the Ministers and heads of agencies to appear to defend their respective budgets before assembly with every sense of responsibility.
The Senator said that members of the National Assembly had to cut short their Christmas holidays to attend to the national assignment.
“But to our dismay a lot of agencies have refused to honor our invitations to appear before us, for us to scrutinise their performances in 2024 and look at their 2025 projection, if it is justifiable.
“The all these agencies have refused to honour the joint committee’s invitation. So by virtue of the constitutional powers that have been given to the joint Committees on Finance of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, we are given the chief executives of these agencies 48 hours within which to appear before this joint committee.
“Failure to do that the committee will not hesitate to recommend to the Appropriation Committee to withhold any appropriation to these agencies.
“If these agencies are self funded, we will also request both the Minister of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to withhold their funding,” he said.
Also speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon. James Faleke (APC-Lagos state) said that the essence of the budget defence exercise was to boost revenue generation and cut down on borrowing.
“If these agencies refuse to appear before us, I the needful will be done by the National Assembly,” he said.
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CDS Says Arrest Of Simon Ekpa Helped Reduced Tension In S/East

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2 hours ago

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January 15, 2025

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By Gloria Ikibah
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has said that the arrest of Simon Ekpa in Finland has greatly reduced the tension in South East Nigeria.
According to the CDS, with this development, alongside ‘Operation Udoka’ by the Defence Headquarters, peace is gradually been restored in the region.
Naijablitznews.com recalled that ‘Operation Udoka’ was established to flush out banditry and end the sit-at-home situation in the South-East.
Musa who stated this this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Defence for the 2025 budget defense on Tuesday in Abuja, assured the Nigerian military was working with the people to ensure stability in the region.
He said: “With the arrest of Simon Ekpa, it has greatly reduced the tension. Also with Operation Udoka, we’re also doing that, picking up most of the leadership that are there, taking them out, and then making sure that the place is peaceful.
“The sit-at-home on Mondays is gradually diminishing. We’re also working with the political leaders there because we understand, like I said always, we need to have the local support because without it, it’s difficult. You know, the terrain is very challenging, so we need to work together. It is improving.”
The CDS testified that the last Christmas and New Year holiday period was very peaceful because the military was proactive.
He reiterated their commitment to non-kinetic measures of addressing the security problem and this was yielding positive results.
“We had some intelligence and worked ahead to ensure that everywhere was kept peaceful. That has happened and we intend to do that and continue to do more. What we try to encourage is jointness, synergy in our operations.
“And like we always appeal for Nigerians to understand that they have to take ownership of their armed forces, they have to take ownership of the security challenges we are facing. It’s not the challenge for the armed forces alone or security agencies, it’s everybody’s responsibility to do.
“And we’re happy that we’re beginning to get that support from everywhere. Human intelligence information is coming, it’s flowing quite very well and we are taking adequate action and that’s why we see things are improving.
“What we have done is that we have established and enhanced the kinetic efforts for the three services for our operations. We have the Delta Safe, which is in the South South for Oil theft and Militancy. At least for the first time now we have been able to reach our OPEC oil quota for Nigeria and we intend to do more.
“Our target is to hit 2.2 million barrels a day for Nigeria. It’s not something that we can also do alone. We also need the other stakeholders in the oil industry to also play their own role. We are doing more, providing more security. We are close to 2 million barrels per day. We intend to do more. This year, we want to intensify our operations so that we take out.
“We have formed groups that are discussing with the locals. And we have found that that discussion has helped a lot. So we have the religious leaders, the cultural leaders, and every stakeholder is also part of it. We realize that if we carry everybody along, it makes it a lot easier. Like we said, the best general is that general that does not need to shoot. If you are able to solve the problem without firing it is better.
“So that by the time we do that, those ones are willing to move, we move them out, and those ones that are unwilling, then we go after them. But the kinetic and the non-kinetic must continue to go hand in hand. And it is working very well,” he added said.
The CDS therefore called for the improvement of border management to address the problem of smuggling. According to him, a number of children who were being trafficked have been rescued.
“We have rescued a number of children being trafficked across Nigeria to other countries. And then trafficking of drugs, small arms, light weapons. We’re working in tandem with the Customs. When we make such arrests, we call either the NDLEA or call the Customs and hand over to them. So these are extra things that we’re doing,” he said.
He reiterated the commitment of the military to ensuring peace across the country, but expressed concern about troops welfare, which he said was poor.
“Without peace, there cannot be development. And nobody is happy when things are not peaceful. Because even if you think you have, sometimes you might be the ones at the receiving end. So that has equally helped us a lot.
“Now what is our other concern? Troops’ welfare. We know generally the economy, everybody is having the heat. And we’re no more different. So we’re looking at the aspect of also improving the welfare for our troops, the RCA, Ration Cash Allowance. We’re still struggling at less than N2,000 per soldier per head to feed.
“We’re happy that Mr. President has recently increased the salaries to some extent of the junior class, which is the junior grade of personnel, which has also enhanced their ability.
“We know the country is going through so much and it’s not only the military that needs support, but I think we want to get more, we can do more.
“We also need accommodation. Every year we are recruiting almost 25,000 for all the services. And those ones going on retirement, every year they are not up to 5,000. So you see we’re getting almost 20,000 into the system. The issue of new barracks, construction, old barracks, renovation, these are issues we have to addess because now that we’re beginning to get peace.
“Gradually we’re going to return to barracks. We don’t want to go back to barracks and then we’ll start living in tents or in batchers like it was before. So it’s important that we’re able to work ahead to establish new barracks that have been established and then to be able to carry out renovation”, Musa added.
He further stressed the need to drive local manufacturing of weapons as it was difficult getting weapons internationally, this he said was a major reason the fight against insecurity has persisted.
“We also need equipment. We have also tried to increase, because we realized that, because we don’t produce what we need, it’s been very difficult. That’s one of the reasons why the warfare has continued for this long. Because we have to rely on getting hard currency to go abroad.
“When you go there to buy, again, you don’t get this thing off the shelf. Sometimes you have to pay. And now with the Ukraine-Russian war, it has made it extremely more difficult. Because America particularly is paying off most of the items. So when you go there, they say it’s already been booked. So to get it is a problem. So we realize thatWe need to also start producing what we need.
“And that we have started with the DICON bill that Mr. President signed. We are doing a lot together to try and bring for regional equipment manufacturers to come and produce in Nigeria With the DICON, what we are doing again is we have a number of local manufacturers of weapons.
“They have the talents, but they don’t have anywhere to showcase it. So the tendency is if they are not used positively, they will go because they want to survive, they will go negatively. And that’s why in some areas we have identified some people that produce very good weapons, automatic, but local.
“So what we are doing is we are trying to get them, bring them in, give them the platform so that they can come and legitimately produce this thing. And gradually, Nigeria can start producing its own kind of weapon. So we don’t have to rely on foreigners to get our own weapon.
“We are doing that and looking at experts. What we are doing, we are talent hunting them all over the country and then bringing them in to be able to produce this item for us”, he stated.
In his remarks the Chairman Committee on Defence, Rep. Babajimi Benson, said as representatives of the people, it was their duty to ensure that every Naira is judiciously spent to strengthen the operational capacity of the Air Forces and deliver tangible results.
Rep. Benson explained that this year’s budget defense was particularly significant as it comes against the backdrop of evolving global and domestic security threats.
“These recent developments highlight the need for heightened vigilance and inter-agency collaboration.
“We must leverage intelligence, technology, and best practices to neutralize emerging threats and safeguard our citizens. As we deliberate on the 2025 budget, I urge all defense agencies to prioritize strategic initiatives that align with national security objectives,” he said.
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2025 Budget: Reps Panel Reject Envelop System Of Budget

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2 hours ago

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January 15, 2025

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…as it decry poor funding for Nigerian missions abroad

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has criticized the Federal Government envelope system of budgeting, and stated that it lacks legal backing under Nigerian law.

The Committee also expressed dissatisfaction with the allocation of only ₦286 million to sustain Nigeria’s 109 foreign missions, describing the amount as grossly inadequate.

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According to documents submitted by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry had proposed a budget of about ₦1.5 trillion based on the needs of these missions.

During an interactive session with the Ministry and Budget Office of the Federation on Tuesday, the Committee Chairman, Rep. Wole Oke, expressed frustration and said, “I have not seen anywhere in our laws where envelop budgeting is mentioned.”

He described the proposed funding as insufficient for missions tasked with projecting the country’s image internationally.

“We’re concerned that what was submitted to Mr. President does not align with the actual needs assessment and is inconsistent with the law”, he added.

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In response, Director General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, stated that the allocation for foreign missions has been increased by 25 percent in the 2025 budget. He however, called on the National Assembly to pass the tax reform bills to enhance revenue generation.

Yakubu further suggested a temporary reduction in the number of Nigerian foreign missions, stating, “Why don’t we consider a significant reduction of our foreign missions until we’re able to improve our revenue?”

He noted that his hands were tied on the envelop budgeting system.
“We have 109 diplomatic missions abroad, comprising of 76 embassies, 22 High Commissions and 11 Consulates. The problem as you rightly described is as ubiquitous as Nigeria’s present worldwide.
“The situation was certainly worse three years ago when Nigeria’s debt service was proclaim almost 100 percent of the country’s revenue. We start to see improvement under this administration, when through debt financial engineering in year one, debt service was brought from as high  as 100 percent to 55 percent
“If you talk to our missions abroad, they will tell that last year was the year they started experiencing some relief.  We’re still not there yet. Bold reforms have been embarked on by the current administration, starting with the liberalisation of the foreign exchange rate, and the withdrawal of subsidy on PMS and other products.
“We expect to save about N11 trillion from this two models adopted. The savings started to materialize in October last year, but the main beneficiaries, especially the state governments collected the money and kept mute, but we knew that they took a lot more than they have for several years.
“We have brought before the National Assembly, tax Bills that you’re considering, that we expect you to improve so that we’ll be able to collect more revenue
“Mr President has gone out of his way to inisit on 2.12 million barrels per day, a very ambitious target for oil output… He has seen that we must look  for the revenue to be to attend to these needs. That’s why this year’s budget is ambitious. Last year, it was about N36 trillion but this year, it almost N50 trillion.
“We have to continue to manage scarcity,  whether we call it envelop budgeting”, he said.
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