ICAN backs Senate probe of CBN’s Ways and Means

Following the economical issue and level of hardship In the country, the Institute Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN), has expressed support for the move of the Senate to probe the Ways and Means loan to the Federal Government under the administration of ex president, Muhammadu Buhari.

The Senate constituted a nine-member ad hoc committee to probe the disbursement and usage of the N30tn Ways and Means loan acquired by the Buhari administration from the Central Bank of Nigeria in February.

Dr Innocent Okwuosa, the president of ICAN made this known while addressing Yemi Cardoso, the CBN Governor to learn from the mistakes of the ex CBN Governor.

Okwuosa said, “Our expectation is that with the new administration, borrowing will be a thing of the past. However, I will advise CBN should continue to extend Ways and Means to the government but the CBN itself has stated that it will not continue to extend Ways and Means to the government. In fact, this is a good policy from our perspective. So, if CBN should stick to not increasing the Ways and Means that it gives to the government, that’s a policy that we support.

“I  think it is a Fiscal Responsibility Committee that placed a limit on what Ways and Means percentage would be. It’s something around five per cent. When CBN exceeded this, people kept quiet. They should have spoken up so that CBN does not continue to exceed this limit. Now, it is not five per cent, we are talking about N30tn, that’s huge. I understand it’s been converted into bond. But one good thing we support is the fact that the Senate has instituted an inquiry into those Ways and Means. I would guess that the investigation would lead to more revelation and would be a lesson which the present CBN would learn from and would not go into the mistake of the previous CBN.”

ICAN president asked the CBN to seek all means to support government deficit financing and discontinue increasing Ways and Means to the government.

He said, “They could go to the capital market and tie them to projects because each time you have a government deficit, it must be as a result of not having funds to back a project. So, if we want to raise funds for such a project, we (can) do that in the capital market and tie it specifically to the project that we couldn’t provide funding for in the budget. I think that’s the way CBN should go.”

Okwuosa stressed that Nigeria would benefit more if the nation promoted exports to African countries and took advantage of Africa’s free continental trade agreement.

“If we can also promote trade in Africa, assuming we cannot export to Europe, since we have an Africa Continental Trade Agreement that has come into place. It can be utilised, but we need to utilise it more. I think a combination of all these will increase foreign exchange for us and we begin to see the impact on the exchange rate,” he added.

Zainab Odunayo
Zainab Odunayo
Zainab Odunayo is a News Reporter at Wakadaily News, specializing in politics and current affairs. With a strong passion for storytelling and a keen interest in social issues, Zainab brings insightful perspectives to her reporting.

Popular Related

Customs Q1 revenue surpasses N1tn, rice tops N10bn seizures

In the first quarter of 2024 , the Nigeria Customs Service, declared on Wednesday that a 122.35 percent increase while comparing it to the...

Blue economy key to youth empowerment, says Oyetola

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has tasked Nigerian youths to take advantage of the potential in the maritime sector so...

Ibadan DisCo warns against paying cash to fake agents

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), has urged customers to stop making payment to fake agents, as it  announced the availability of meters following...

Tinubu plans to announce a new minimum wage on Workers’ Day

President Bola Tinubu might announce a new minimum wage on May 1, International Labour Day, with the implementation backdated to April. The National Minimum...

Gas infrastructure devt key to energy sector growth – NIPCO MD

Nagendra Verma, the Managing Director, NIPCO Gas Limited, has said that infrastructural development is key to developing the energy sector in Nigeria. Verma made this...

NEPC, Customs engage stakeholders on cross-border tra

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in partnership with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) have concluded a stakeholders’ engagement focused on mainstreaming informal cross-border...

Senate calls for CBN officials over N30 trillion naira loans

The senate had agreed to call in some officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria over the disbursement and utilization of N30trn Ways and...

Rwanda, Ogun to partner for economic growth

Christophe Bazivamo, the Rwandan Ambassador to Nigeria, expressed readiness to establish economic and educational ties with Ogun State for the mutual benefit of both...

Currency in circulation rises to N3.87tn – CBN

Following the value of Nigeria's currency in circulation, which has increased to N3.87tn at the end of first quarter in 2024. This is according to...

Government credit increases by 2% to N19.98 trillion

Government credit increased by 2.0 percent month-on-month (MoM) to N19.98 trillion in April, up from N19.58 trillion in March, according to the Central Bank...