Business

Democracy Day: Fiscal Discipline Key To Nigeria’s Sustainable Devt – Auditor-General

Published

5 months ago

June 12, 2025

…Urges National Assembly to Pass Audit Bill 2022

Joseph Bisi

As Nigerians commemorated a historic milestone in their collective pursuit of a more socio-economically robust nation, the Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF), Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira, has implored the nation’s leaders and citizenry to intensify their efforts in championing the cause of fiscal discipline and accountability within the public finance system. In a brief conversation with journalists to mark the 2025 ‘Democracy Day’ on Thursday, the AuGF commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for its ongoing fiscal and tax reform initiatives, describing these measures as essential for enhancing the nation’s revenue generation and budgetary expenditures. Chira explained that transforming the potential benefits of these reforms into tangible gains for the citizenry required more transparent fiscal mechanisms for the monitoring and evaluation of government expenditures, including the auditing processes and the timely appraisal of the Audit report by his Office, free from political interferences. He said: “Today’s Democracy Day is worthy of celebration, given the political history of the country and the prospects for sustainable development. Over the past few years, we have witnessed a series of reform initiatives by both past and present administrations aimed at improving the nation’s fiscal system, particularly under President Bola Tinubu, based on the current Tax Reforms and Fiscal Policy Bills that are being finalized by the National Assembly. “Let me emphasize that these measures are not merely desirable for Nigeria’s sustainable development; the enactment of the four pivotal bills will significantly contribute to stabilizing the financial system while also promoting transparency in public finance and prudent governance at all levels of government throughout the country. “It is imperative to underscore, however, that the role of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) in achieving these laudable objectives may be impeded if the Audit Bill currently before the National Assembly is not enacted into law. “The passage of the Bill, which seeks to augment the AuGF’s role in ensuring accountability, transparency and value for money in government expenditure while empowering the AuGF with administrative and financial autonomy, is crucial for enhancing transparency and accountability within Nigeria’s public finance system that aligns with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs). “Therefore, I seize this opportunity to appeal to our lawmakers in the National Assembly to prioritize the passage of the Audit Bill as a strategic legislative initiative to achieve the commendable goals of the Tax Reforms and Fiscal Policy Bills they are presently finalizing,” the AuGF added.Experts are of the view that the Auditor-General’s call for the passage of the Audit Bill 2022 aligns with the OAuGF Strategic Plan 2024-2028, which encapsulates the objectives of the Office being the Supreme Audit Institution(SAI) of Nigeria, aimed at enhancing public sector governance and accountability. The four principal objectives of the Strategic Plan include Goal 1: Focusing on the enhanced independence and mandate of the OAuGF; Goal 2: to mitigate mismanagement of public funds through more robust follow-up on audit recommendations; Goal 3: to ensure improved financial reporting within the public sector; and Goal 4: to establish the OAuGF as a model institution not only in Nigeria but on a global scale.

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Business

TAJBank Emerges Nigeria’s Biggest Non-Interest Bank

Published

1 week ago

October 23, 2025

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has become the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its total assets and gross earnings values.

Disclosing this during his paper presentation on the key performance indices in the non-interest banking space over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services with the theme “Roles of Non-Interest Banks In SMEs’ Financing” for SME entrepreneurs yesterday in Abuja, an investment expert, Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale, maintained that based on the non-interest banks’ approved financial statements for the half year 2025, TAJBank currently remained the biggest in terms of its total assets.

The expert, a chartered stockbroker, specifically confirmed that his recent investment researches on the NIBs and their financial performances showed that TAJBank, with its total assets rising to N1.017 trillion in half year 2025 up from N953.098 billion as of December 2024, which is about N53 billion higher than the nearest NIB’s assets, now ranked top in the banking subsector.

According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to N53.752 billion from N32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the nearest NIB’s gross earnings in the period under review.

This is even as he disclosed that on the NIBs’ earnings per share during the half year, TAJBank reported N61.36 kobo earnings per share, about 92% higher than the earnings per share of the next NIB during the period.

Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified: “The figures I am reeling out here on the NIBs are sourced from the banking and capital market regulatory institutions’ platforms, which anyone can access to verify.

“I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how the players in the subsector in Nigeria can help to leverage their competencies in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.

“Today, the MSMEs cannot access DMBs’ loans due to high lending rates and other inclement macroeconomic factors. This is where I think the NIBs have become very crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.

“Overall, my findings on the NIBs indicated that they are all trying their best with non-interest loans to support entrepreneurs, particularly the MSMEs owners. I have advised those of them at this seminar to explore the cost-friendly financing options of the NIBs to grow their businesses by opening accounts with the NIBs”, the expert added.

Another speaker at the event, Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended the NIBs for their “catalytic roles in helping SMEs to access interest-free loans and providing them the needed financial management advisory, which have been helping them in sustaining their operations in the face of rising cost of doing business in the country.”

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