•Nigeria joins IFRS in 2012
Akeem Oyetunji, Abuja
The Federal Government has approved, for immediate disbursement, N130 billion to refinance and restructure the ailing manufacturing sector.
Minister of State, Information and Communications, Labaran Maku, who disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, said the guidelines for the implementation of the whole N500 billion has been prepared.
Another critical decision taken by the FEC was the approval of January 1, 2012 as the effective date for conveyance of accounting Standard in Nigeria with International Financial Report Standards (IFRS). Maku said the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, briefed the council on the performance of the economy in the second quarter of 2010.
He informed that there had been steady growth in GDP moderation in inflation while Inter-bank rates and other money market rates, including lendingand foreign exchange market have remained substantially stable and moderate.
According to him, Sanusi also “briefed the council on the Bankers Committee initiatives to support government economic programmes such as, interactions with state governments to generate a pipeline of projects that the financial system will fund, support towards the effective use of infrastructure bonds and providing economic advocacy for power and agriculture”.
He said the CBN Governor concluded that “the Nigerian economy remains resilient and that the near-to-medium term outlook is positive and that monetary policy will continue to be supportive of government objectives. The growth that will create employment can be achieved with the provision of critical infrastructure and the concurrent implementation of on-going reforms in all the sectors of the economy”.
However, Sanusi admitted that the growth in monetary and private sector credit aggregates remained sluggish but hastened to add that “the implementation of the banking sector reforms have continued to engender confidence in the system and credit by the rescued banks to grow, while most of them have returned to profitability”.
The modalities for operating the AMCON, which Act was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan on July 19, 2010, he informed, is being finalised, noting that without the establishment of AMCON, the rescued banks would have been eventually liquidated if there are no viable buyers.
The council, Maku noted, “appreciated the candour and depth of the CBN governors’ report on the economy, especially his determination to press ahead with critical reforms despite pressures from vested groups to derail the reforms which have saved the nation’s financial sector from deep crisis.
“The report shows the economy on sustainable growth, especially the non-oil sectors led by Agriculture, retail trade, services and construction. The need for deeper reforms in the Energy, petroleum and power sectors was emphasised to realign economic policies to the financial reforms to encourage credit flow into the real and strategic sectors of the economy”.
The council directed the CBN to shield AMCON from the sharp practices and financial engineering of the past that have plunged global and natural economies into avoidable crisis.
“The council is encouraged by the effort of CBN to align our financial sector to international best practices and assured the CBN of government’s support for the reforms it initiated”, Maku said.
On the need to key into the global financial reporting bench mark as expressed by both the CBN and the Security and Exchange Commission ( SEC), he said: “The council, having seen the enormous benefits for the adoption of the International Financial Report Standards (IFRS) for Nigeria, approved 1st January, 2012 as the effective date for conveyance of accounting Standard in Nigeria with International Financial Report Standard.
“Consequently, the council directed that the Nigerian Accounting Standard Board (NASB) under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry should take further necessary actions to give effect to council’s approval”.
On the memo presented by the Minister of Science and Technology, the council, according to Maku, approved Nigeria’s ratification of the statue of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Nigeria has already paid the agency a voluntary contribution of $20,000 as well as studied the legal provisions of the Agency.
Also, through a memo from the Minister of Water Resources, the council considered the expansion, completion and approved the revised total cost of the expansion and completion of Bagwai irrigation project in favour of Messrs Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Ltd in the sum of N5, 438, 683, 257.62. out of which N1, 959, 869, 212.61 had been paid.
