In recognition of the effect of the economic lockdown across major cities in the country due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has announced the extension of the timeframe for the submission of 2019 audited financial statements of banks and other financial institutions (OFIs).

This was disclosed in a letter to OFIs that was signed by CBN’s Director of Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Nkiru Asiegbu, as seen by Nairametrics.

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In the letter, which was dated April 30th, 2020, the CBN extended the timeframe for submission of its audited financial statement by 3 months to July 31st, 2020, as against the initial timeframe of April 31st, 2020.

The decision by the apex bank is in recognition of the fact that the lockdown of most of the cities in the country and movement restrictions have seriously affected the operations of the external auditors and all other financial institutions across the country. Part of the letter said:

“Pursuant to the provisions of section 27 (1) (a) of BOFIA, all the banks and OFIs are required to forward the audited financial statements of each financial year to the CBN for approval before the end of the fourth month following the year to which they relate. Accordingly, the 2019 Audited Financial Statements should have reached the CBN on or before April 30, 2020.

“However, we have observed that the lockdown of most cities in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic has restricted the engagement of External Auditors and the daily operations of all OFIs across the country.

“Therefore, the deadline for submission has been extended by three months. For the avoidance of doubt, all Other Financial Institutions are required to submit the 2019 Audited Financial Statements on or before July 31, 2020.”

The CBN also threatened to sanction defaulters as they would monitor the compliance to the extended date.

The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continues to rise as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 9,302 confirmed cases.

On the 29th of May 2020, 387 new confirmed cases and 2 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.

To date, 9302 cases have been confirmed, 2697 cases have been discharged and 261 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Covid-19 Case Updates- May 29th 2020

• Total Number of Cases – 9,302
• Total Number Discharged – 2,697
• Total Deaths – 261
• Total Tests Carried out – 58.726

The 387 new cases were reported from 14 states- Lagos (254), FCT (29), Jigawa (24), Edo (22), Oyo (15), Rivers (14), Kaduna (11), Borno (6), Kano (3), Plateau (2), Yobe( 2), Gombe (2), Bauchi (2), Ondo (1).

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The latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 4377, followed by Kano (942), Abuja at 564, Katsina (358), Oyo (275), Jigawa (265), Borno (264), Edo (262), Ogun (246), Bauchi (236), Kaduna (232),  Rivers (190), Gombe (154), Sokoto (116), Plateau (101).

Kwara State has recorded 87 cases, Zamfara (76), Nasarawa (62), Delta (57), Yobe (49), Akwa Ibom (45), Osun (44), Ebonyi (40), Adamawa (38), Imo (34), Kebbi (33), Niger (30), Ondo (25), Ekiti (20), Taraba and Enugu (18), Bayelsa (12), Anambra (11), Abia (10), Benue (7), while Kogi state has recorded 2 cases.

Lock Down and Curfew

In a move to combat the spread of the pandemic disease, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days, which took effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30th March 2020.

The movement restriction, which was extended by another two-weeks period, has been partially put on hold with some businesses commencing operations from May 4. On April 27th, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari declared an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am across the country, as part of new measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. This comes along with the phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States, which took effect from Saturday, 2nd May 2020, at 9 am.

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Given the vulnerability of Nigeria to the current global economic disruption, a series of key adjustments have been made to the 2020 fiscal framework. One of such is the fiscal deficit and deficit financing strategy following revisions to projected revenue and planned expenditure.

Reports from the Addendum to the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP), reveal that the revised fiscal deficit is estimated at N4.58 trillion from N1.85 trillion in the 2020 Budget Framework passed by NASS.

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This level of deficit is 3.29% of GDP and this is above the threshold of 3% of GDP as stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007. Section 12 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007 (as amended), stipulates that:

(i) “the estimates of aggregate expenditure and the aggregate amount appropriated by the National Assembly for each financial year shall not be more than the estimated aggregate revenue plus a deficit, not exceeding three% of the estimated Gross Domestic Product or any sustainable percentage as may be determined by the National Assembly for each financial year”; and,

(ii) “aggregate expenditure for the financial year may exceed the ceiling imposed by the provisions of (i) above, if in the opinion of the President there is a clear and present threat to national security or sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

(READ MORE: FG discloses how it will finance N5.36 trillion budget deficit)

According to the report, when the revenues and expenditures of the 10 GOEs as well as expenditures financed from project-tied loans are captured in the FGN’s budget, the aggregate fiscal deficit for 2020 will be N4.95 trillion, which is 3.55% of GDP.”

 “We believe that the COVID-19 crisis poses a threat to national security within the contemplation of the FRA 2007, and therefore the President can legitimately approve a deficit in excess of 3% of GDP.” 

The deficit will primarily be financed by new borrowings estimated at N4.17 trillion – N1.98 trillion from external (multilateral) concessional sources like the IMF, World Bank, & African Development Bank, and new domestic debts of about N593.89 billion. N126.04 billion will also be derived from Privatization proceeds, N263.63 billion from the Federal Government’s Special Accounts to fund covid-19 expenditures, and N387.30 billion will be drawn down on multilateral/bilateral loans obtained for specific development projects.