Updated Dec 21 2020: The Nigerian Senate has passed the appropriation bill of N13.588 trillion (about $35 billion), which is N505 billion higher than the proposed N13.082 trillion Buhari presented to the Senate in October for 2021 budget. The Senate disclosed here.

Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, has presented the 2021 national budget estimate to the National Assembly. The proposed expenditure is N13.08 trillion (about $34 billion). The price of crude oil is pegged at $40 per barrel with a daily production estimate of 1.86 million barrels. Recurrent expenditure is N5.65 trillion; personnel cost is N3.76 trillion, and debt service is N3.12 trillion. If you run the math, about 25% of the budget goes to service debts!

Selected ministries and allocations:

• Ministry of Defence –  N840.56 billion
• Ministry of Interior –  N227.02 billion
• Ministry of Police Affairs –  N441.39 billion 
• Ministry of education – N545.10
• Ministry of health- N380.21 billion

Special Allocations

• North East Development Commission – N29.7 billion
• Nigerian Judicial Council – N110 billion
• Universal Basic Education Commission – N70.05 billion 
• INEC – N40 billion
• Public Complaints Commission – N5.20 billion;
• Human Rights Commission – N3.00 billion; 
• Basic Health Care Provision Fund – N35.03 billion.

Key capital spending allocations:

• a. Power – N198 billion 
• b. Works and Housing – N404 billion.
• c. Transportation – N256 billion.
• d. Defence – N121 billion.
• e. Agriculture and Rural Development – N110 billion.
• f. Water Resources – N153 billion.
• g. Industry, Trade and Investment – N51 billion.
• h. Education – N127 billion.
• i. Universal Basic Education Commission – N70 billion.
• j. Health – N132 billion.
• k. Zonal Intervention Projects – N100 billion.
• l. Niger Delta Development Commission – N64 billion.

The National Assembly will later work on the finance bill when ready, and will harmonize for passage. The president will now sign into law. 

Data from Premium Times

Tekedia members now spend an average of about an hour (53 minutes) every day co-learning. Like I have noted, we achieve close to 87% completion on our academic programs within the stipulated time. Extending the time by extra 2 months, we hit close to 92%. Our members come and actually get in the mindset of learning. We have seen some spending 4 hours studying.

We are ranked well globally by Amazon’s Alexa, and when you have thousands spending one hour co-learning on a platform, you will agree that the platform has value.  

Last week, the top course downloads were in Finance and Capital Markets. “Investing and Fundraising” by Victor Ndukauba, Deputy Managing Director of Afrinvest West Africa, and “Capital Market Operations” by Azeez Lawal, CEO of  TrustBanc Capital, spiked. 

People, learn from the best here!

Nigeria extends the deadline for telcos to block SIM cards with no National Id Number (NIN) to Feb 2021. No one believed that the previously planned two weeks would do it. So, it is not a surprise that it is being extended to Feb 2021. Yet, the original model was 6 months. I am sure when we get to Feb 2021, the government will extend it again since this cannot be done in three months. 

Good progress generally by NIMC: we need to have this done for Nigeria if we ever hope to unlock the credit economy in the nation.

The full press release.

NIN: Options for Nigeria Instead of Blocking Phone Lines in 2 Weeks [Video]

There is a change in the management of Union Bank Nigeria Plc; Emeka Emuwa retires and Emeka Okonkwo will take over on March 31 2021, pending the customary approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

More from the press release

The Board of Union Bank Nigeria Plc announces today that, after eight years leading the Bank, its Chief Executive Officer, Emeka Emuwa, has communicated his decision to retire from the Bank and his role as CEO on March 31, 2021. Emeka Emuwa joined Union Bank in November 2012, following a US$500 million investment by Union Global Partners, with a mandate to transform and restore one of Nigeria’s oldest
institutions back to its rightful position as a respected provider of financial services.

With his imminent departure, the Board has appointed Emeka Okonkwo, an Executive Director currently leading the Bank‘s Corporate Banking business, to succeed him. The appointment is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Prior to joining Union Bank, Emeka Emuwa led a distinguished 25-year career at Citibank. Following several senior roles in Nigeria and across Africa, he became the first Nigerian to be named Country Officer and Managing Director of Citibank Nigeria. On his retirement, Emeka Emuwa will also step down from the Board of Union Bank. Union Bank’s Chair, Beatrice Hamza Bassey, said;

Emeka Okonkwo is a seasoned banker with 30 years of experience. He joined Union Bank in 2013 as an Executive Director to lead the Corporate Banking and Treasury business. As the Bank embarked on its transformation, he was responsible for rebuilding the business and strategically positioning Union Bank for success in the Corporate Banking space.

Mr. Okonkwo began his career at Citibank Nigeria where he rose from officer level to become Executive Director in charge of Commercial Banking and Global Subsidiaries in 2009. At Citibank, he worked across various disciplines including Corporate Finance, Credit Risk Management, Marketing, Treasury and Strategic Management in Nigeria and London.

Prior to joining Union Bank, he was the Head of the Corporate and Investment Banking Division in Citibank Bangladesh. Emeka Okonkwo has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka; an MSc in Construction Management from the University of Lagos and an MBA from Warwick Business School, UK.

Good People, the numbers look great: portfolio Bitfxt’s BoundlessPay which launched two weeks ago has processed a total value of $40,000. CEO Franklin Peters Odoemenam just shared the data. Also, reviews are in at Google Play and from 38 reviews, BoundlessPay app has 4.9/5.

The Boundlesspay app turns your phone into a mobile bank! The users are given access to a digital wallet which enables them to store and spend cryptocurrencies with ease. This is the first indigenous company in Nigeria with a crypto exchange, decentralized finance “currency” (BitDefi) and mobile-app linked to physical debit cards in Africa.

Talk to Franklin on how to partner or learn more here .

More so, it connects to a community of products with a stablecoin powering decentralized finance, BITDeFI, which is available on Coinmarketcap. I want to thank our team, led by blockchain oracle, Franklin Peters, for executing at a high level. Please go and download BoundlessPay at Play store here.

Now, we have an exchange, a mobile “bank” and a DeFi, and are positioned to implement and execute any blockchain and crypto-related projects to power local and global commerce. To join this party, talk to Franklin.

(Bitfxt will run a session lab on Blockchain and Decentralized Finance during Tekedia Mini-MBA 4 to help our members master the practical business systems in this evolving sector. We have added it in curriculum, last page below)

Bitfxt Launches BoundlessPay to Make Crypto Owners Spend in Naira