The Federal Government of Nigeria has launched Open Treasury Portal, aimed for the publicity of financial activities of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

It is part of the Financial Transparency Policy and Implementation Guidelines launched on December 9, 2019, by President Muhammad Buhari. The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) has been directed to publish daily treasury statements of financial inflows and outflows.

The AGF is also to publish reports of transactions made to MDAs at N10 million and above.

Represented by the Minister of State for Niger Delta, Tayo Alasoadura, Buhari said the AGF report will give details of all agencies responsible for each payment. And the transactions reports will provide details of each payment made daily; the beneficiary, purpose and amount of the payment. Moreover, MDAs must publish details of payments above N5 million.

“The Transparency Policy approved by the Federal Executive Council requires that the Accountant General of the Federation must publish a Daily Treasury Statement which will provide information about what came into the national purse and what went out every single day,” he said.

He also disclosed that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), and all MDAs are to publish monthly budget performance report, seven days to the end of every month. And that will include all economic activities, and other functions performed by them.

“My administration pledged to Nigerians that we will work towards changing the way we do business. We promised that we will improve revenue collection as well as spending through better systems,” he added.

The directive mandated the OAGF to publish monthly fiscal accounts within 14 days of the end of the month, detailing the fiscal performance of the federation in terms of revenue receipts from all collecting agencies and payments out of the Federation Account.

In addition to annual general purpose financial report, the OAGF is required to publish a quarterly consolidated unaudited financial statement of the Federal Government within a month of a the end of the quarter.

The audited financial statements for the federal government and all public sector entities are to be published within a month of the end of the first quarter of the following year.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who also embraced the occasion, said the full implantation of the programme by all MDAs is expected latest by the end of three months. She urged Nigerians to use the portal to keep themselves informed on the country’s finances, and hold public office holders accountable.

“Nigerians should not only use the information provided by the portal to discuss governance but also use it fight corruption,” she said.

The Treasury Portal has been hailed as a big step in the right direction in the effort of the government to promote transparency and accountability in the management of public fund. The idea was conceived and developed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

While the development is being applauded, states are encouraged to imitate the example by promoting transparency in their financial transactions. So far, only 10 states have signed up for the Open Government Partnership (OGP), while 26 states have indicated no interest in running a transparent government.

OGP was launched in 2011, by former U.S president, Barack Obama, and has since grown into a global coalition for transparent governance. The OGP encourages the implementation of measures that foster good governance and also bridge the gap between citizens and the government.

Therefore, it is perceived as a sign of unclean closet for states governments that have refused to sign up to the open governance initiative and choose to keep their finances from the public eye. The secrecy in state government’s activities has been noted as the principal technique used by state governors and lawmakers to embezzle state funds.

The public are therefore left uninformed and totally oblivious of how public fund is being utilized. The Open Treasury Portal has consequently, beckoned the responsibility of accountability to state governors and lawmakers.

SpaceX launched a network of 100 satellites this year, called Starlink, in a bid to expand the constellation to include more than 10,000 devices that will blanket the planet internet connectivity.

It is hoping to provide Wi-Fi for as many people as possible by building a constellation of satellites to deliver cheap, lighting-quick broadband from space. However, it is not going to come easy, some other companies have tried and failed.

While Starlink has proved the capability of Elon Musk’s Spacex to shoot satellites up to the space, the challenge remains if it could shoot as many as needed to keep the idea alive without running out of funds. And the hurdle doesn’t end with getting the satellites up: consumers will need user-terminals to access the network.

To make the idea functional and consumable, affordable, reliable and hosting terminals need to be established, or high tech antennas that consumers can mount on their roofs to enable internet reception. And that comes at a high cost, and it is what is needed to attract consumers.

Before now, other companies had tried to set up internet service enabling satellites but failed. In the 1990s, a number of these companies with the satellite-internet dream relinquished it for reasons related to fund. Some got liquidated while trying, others simply quit when they realized it’s much bigger a deal than they bargained.

But then, the failures didn’t stop the quest, not quite long ago, Facebook also failed in its bid to launch a satellite that will provide internet services worldwide. Spacex, Amazon and Oneweb are new crop of companies standing up against the odds once again. Their chances lie on the cheaper cost of satellite launch and rocket business compared to the 1990s when many tried and failed.

But the success of internet constellation business doesn’t lie on the activities of the space alone, what happens on earth is as important as what happens up there. So ground equipment (terminals) may pose the biggest challenge to the success.

Even though there have been significant improvement in antenna technology since the 1990s, experts believe what is available now will not enable affordable internet constellation business. This means, it will be difficult for operators to make a profit given the cost of services. It will be quite impractical to convince users to abandon the traditional internet providers and jump onto a satellite service if the cost is higher.

But making the services affordable doesn’t come cheap because it depends on antennas, and they are so hard. In the early 2000, Teledesic, an internet constellation company backed by Microsoft, now defunct, failed in its bid to establish user terminals, mainly because they underestimated the difficulties involved, and consequently went out of business.

The difficulty in establishing user terminals and antennas has been attributed to some factors like what happens in space. Space-based data services already exist, and they’re powered primarily by massive satellites in geosynchronous orbit more than 20.000 miles from Earth. At that distance, objects orbit at the same speed as the earth turns, meaning satellites can stay positioned over a specific area of land and provide uninterrupted service.

To some telecom providers, it’s ideal, mainly because the service is for voice communication. So they can provide a simple antenna for users that will be placed on the rooftop directly gazing at the satellite all the time. But that doesn’t apply to internet service for some reason.

Geostationary satellites require data to travel 20,000 miles and back whenever a user clicks a link, which can be frustrating due to lag times. But Spacex has cut the travel time to orbit closer to the ground, enabling faster internet service. Starlink is designed to push satellites to circle 340 miles overhead – The closer the satellite, the faster the internet services.

The push for internet constellation has become necessary due to the wide gap in internet availability and usage. About half the population of the globe still lacks consistent internet access. And traditional Wi-Fi and cell services rely on an enormous web of underground cables and cell towers. So connecting billions of people using only ground-based technologies would be expensive and unaffordable to consumers.

So the idea is to use satellite to effect global internet connectivity that will serve as an alternative to the ground tech. However, the challenge lies in making the cost cheaper and affordable.

Some days ago I put up an article on how we can save for New Year. A reader dropped a comment that gave a wonderful insight on how to experience less pressure in January. You can find the post here.

However, if you must buy gifts for your loved ones for this Christmas season, you have to put a lot of things into consideration. The tips given below will help you to meet up to this expectation without you having to spend so much.

1. Gifts are tokens: Most times we are so bothered about what to gift people that we forget the essence of the gifts. Gifts are just gestures, signs or symbols of our affections and gratitude. Like the Igbos say, “nlota ka mkpa” meaning that to remember someone is the most important thing. So, when you go out to buy that gift, bear it in mind that what matters most isn’t the gift, but the message behind it.
2. Gifts won’t cure poverty. Sometimes when we think of what to get for people, especially for the less privileged among us, we tell ourselves that we can’t afford what they need. This notion most times discourages us from giving. Always bear it in mind that you are not gifting that person to elevate his financial status (unless you can afford to do so).
3. Gifts should not be expensive. In fact, all gifts mustn’t be bought from the market, as will be shown later. Give what you can afford and what won’t throw you into debts or wants.
4. Gifts are easily appreciated. The element of surprise that comes with gifts makes it easy to be appreciated. The most important thing here is that you give the person something he or she will utilise. The magnitude of the gift doesn’t really matter.
5. Most of the receivers already know your financial status. Remember most of these people you are gifting have been there for you and therefore understood what you are passing through. A lot of them may not even expect something from you. This is why all they need is a sign of appreciation or acknowledgement from you.
6. There is life after Christmas. This is the most important tip here. Always bear it in mind that after the Yule comes the season of hustle. So whatever you decide, remember January is just some days away from Christmas.

Well, here is the list of things you can gift people within this season. But remember that you have to consider your relationship with the person and, of course, the person’s personality, before picking a gift.

• Food and Foodstuffs: There are two options to this. One is buying in bulk, sharing them in smaller quantities and packing them yourself. The second option is buying producer-sealed gift-sized food and food stuffs that are already in the market. The first option is cheaper but it can only be gifted to very close blood relatives and friends. But the second option can be gifted to anyone.Bear it in mind when you decide to give out food stuff that you have to go for the type everyone uses. This means you have to buy higher quality ones. If you are not sure of good brands, ask the sellers, they always know which is good for gifts.Some of the common food stuffs used as gifts are rice, noodles, vegetable oil, tomato puree, live chicken, fresh and dried fish, yams, onions and bouillon cubes. Others are provisions such as milk, biscuits, bread, cocoa drinks, coffee, oatmeal and cereals.

• Perfumes and Deodorants: If you opt for these ones, I’ll suggest you first find out the one the person uses. This is because a lot of people have issues with changing their smells, or worse, feeling that they were given cheap perfumes. But if this is the best option you have, then go for fairly good ones and remember to consider the receivers gender and personality.
• Toiletries and Creams: This option is best for very close relatives, like siblings, parents, close cousins, and aunts. It is also ideal for very bosom friends. Remember to get the one the person uses. Detergents and laundry soaps are also ideal if you want to gift some distant relatives. It will be most ideal if you are using it as gifts for those that will come to greet you when you get back to your village. So, buy as many cartons of bar soaps as possible as you prepare for your journey and thank me later.

• Office Customised Souvenirs: If your office has custom gifts such as desk calendar, pens, jotters and so on, use that for those people whom you don’t know the right gifts to give. Unknown to you, they may appreciate this sort of gift more than any other you can bring.
• Pastries: Nigeria has this very good pastry – chin-chin. This snack has saved a lot of people from disaster. So, make your own Christmas chin-chin, or order for one; then package them beautifully and give out to people as your Christmas gift. You can add some cans of malt or a bottle of wine to it. Alternatively, roast groundnuts and cashew nuts and join them to the gift bag (i.e. chin-chin, groundnut, cashew nut and drinks) and you have made a perfect Christmas gift. Believe me, this gift is the cheapest of them all, except that it is time and energy consuming.
• Books: It is a pity that we don’t have good bookshops in many cities in Nigeria because Nigerian no longer read. However, if the person concerned is a voracious reader, you can consider buying him or her good books as a Christmas gift. In the same vein, if the person is a writer, there is nothing wrong with gifting him or her with writing materials and accessories such as biro, writing pad, reading lamp, pencil holder and so on.

• Clothes: Our children are not the only ones that have clothes as Christmas gifts. Most times it is safer to give people, especially those of the higher class, with cloths. Nigerian wax has made this very easy for us. You don’t have to buy the very expensive ones; those ones that sell for #3000 can go a long way in serving this purpose. One good thing about Nigerian wax is that everybody uses it, and it lasts. This means that the receiver will always remember you as long as that piece of cloth exists.
• SMS and Greeting Cards: Nobody said you must break the bank to show appreciation to people that have been there for you throughout the year. A simple well-drafted SMS can do a great job too. If you can afford custom-made greeting cards, go for it; you will be ever remembered for that.