The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says monitoring and evaluation of development projects is crucial to the overall success of such projects.

Cardoso said this on Monday in Abuja at the opening of a regional workshop on Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM).

The CBN Governor was represented by Dr Yusuf Bulus of the monetary policy department of the CBN.

According to him, the world today is tense with challenges across all sectors.

“Resources are increasingly becoming inadequate to address these emerging challenges.

“Managing scarce resources has become very necessary in a very tight fiscal environment which is characterised by growing human conflict, geo-economics fragmentation, cost of living crunch, and climate change.

“These conditions have put pressure on public finances, and the government has to implement fiscal measures to balance competing priorities with available resources,” he said.

He said that as government and organisations assessed, designed, and implemented crucial interventions, an important component of project management and implementation that required due attention was the monitoring and evaluation design.

“The monitoring and evaluation framework is the foundation of any development project and is key to its successful implementation and in achieving envisaged project goals and objectives,” he said.

The Director-General of WAIFEM, Dr Baba Musa, said that the success of projects depended on the identification of the defining moments throughout the phases of the project execution.

Musa said that this encompassed the life cycle of the project, which includes initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, evaluation, and closure.

According to him, you can perform an evaluation test after every phase to ensure that progress is sustained up to the end of the project.

“Poor management of project outcome can result in the objectives of the project not being realised.

“Monitoring and evaluation are in this regard, a continuous management function to assess if progress is made in achieving expected results.

“They will also help to spot bottlenecks in implementation and highlight whether there are any unintended effects or risks,” he said.

According to him, the workshop is expected to equip participants with skills in setting up and implementing projects on how the monitoring and evaluation system worked.

WAIFEM is a collaborative sub-regional capacity building organisation established in July 1996 by the central banks of five Anglophone West African countries.

Its mission is to develop human and institutional expertise in the field of macroeconomic, fiscal, debt and financial management for central banks and other relevant MDAs.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has opened the subscription offer for May FGN savings bonds, priced at N1,000 per unit.

The two-year savings bond maturing on May 15, 2026, is to be offered at an interest rate of 17.407 percent per annum.

The three-year savings bond with a maturity date of May 15, 2027, features an interest rate of 18.407 percent per annum.

These interest rates represent the highest ever offered by the DMO on FGN Savings Bonds, as the country moves in the direction of a further rate hike.

The subscription for these bonds began on May 6, 2024, and will continue until May 10, 2024, as per an announcement made by the DMO. Settlement is scheduled for May 15, 2024, with quarterly coupon payment dates set for August 15, November 15, February 15, and May 15.

In recent months, Nigeria has witnessed a significant surge in interest rates on government securities, reaching as high as 19 percent.

This sharp increase aligns with the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), reflecting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) hawkish stance aimed at curbing the inflationary pressures that have besieged the economy.

By tightening monetary policy, the CBN intends to withdraw excess money from circulation, hoping to stabilize rising consumer prices.

However, this approach carries a substantial fiscal burden. As the government implements measures to cool inflation, the cost of borrowing, particularly in the short term, escalates.

This scenario poses a considerable challenge for future debt management and fiscal sustainability.

Recent data illustrates this predicament starkly: Nigeria’s debt from Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bonds has more than doubled in just five years, ballooning from approximately N16.4 trillion in 2019 to N39.1 trillion in 2023.

The FGN Savings Bonds, primarily targeted at retail investors, have become a critical tool in the government’s debt strategy.

Tailored for retail investors, these FGN savings bonds assure quarterly interest payments along with the repayment of the principal amount upon maturity.

Saving bonds are offered at N1,000 per unit, with a minimum subscription of N5,000 and multiples of N1,000 thereafter, up to a maximum subscription of N50 million.

These savings bonds, like other government securities, are backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government and charged upon the general assets of Nigeria.

They also qualify as securities in which trustees can invest under the Trustees Investment Act.

Moreover, they qualify as government securities within the meaning of the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act for tax exemption and pension funds, among other investors.

Additionally, the bonds are listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and qualify as a liquid asset for liquidity ratio calculation for banks.

Most banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are dispensing cash for customers to withdraw, contrary to reports that most banks no longer load cash in their machines.

A correspondent, who monitored banks in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Sunday, reports that some customers were seen withdrawing cash.

The study also revealed that most customers using ATM of their banks were permitted to withdraw higher amounts than customers not using their banks’ ATM.

At Zenith Bank in Garki, customers with Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) ATM cards or other banks’ were only allowed to withdraw N10,000 and below, while those with the Zenith Bank’s ATM cards were allowed N20,000 withdrawal and above.

Also, at First Bank, Nyanya-Jikwoyi road, customers with other bank’s ATM card were allowed to withdraw N10,000 and below, while customers with the bank’s ATM card could withdraw up to N20,000.

Mr Tam Ubose, a customer at Area 3 branch of GTB, said the withdrawal limit slash was not a new development as banks had been doing it.

“This is not new; it has been going on for some months now, especially during the cashless policy season.

“Banks give preferential treatment to their customers.

“The best thing anyone looking for much  cash should do is to use his or her bank’s Atm card or patronise Point of Sale (PoS) operators,” he said.

Mrs Ijeoma Ukwu, another customer at First Bank, Nyanya-Jikwoyi, said that although it had been rumoured that most banks’ ATMs do not dispense cash, she was yet to experience it.

Ukwu alleged that most bank customers now preferred to patronise PoS operators instead of going to use banks’ ATM due to the convenience.

Mr Ade Bello, a PoS operator, said he had many bank accounts and ATM cards which he used to withdraw money.

“Some banks will give you N20,000 while some can only give you N10,000.

“I use almost all my ATM cards when I want to withdraw money for my business and I usually go in the morning when monies are being loaded in the machines.

“It was during that cashless policy thing that we did not see money in ATMs. At that period, I was buying money to save my business, but now, the situation is much better,” he said.

On alleged insinuations that most bankers own PoS, hence the limited loading of cash in banks’ ATMs, Bello said the rumour had filtered into his ears.

Bello, who said the rumours had yet to be confirmed, said he was in the business to cater for the needs of his family.

However, Mrs Susan Obong, a customer at United Bank for Africa (UBA) in Kubwa, alleged that most banks ATMs in the area do not dispense cash, especially during the weekend.

Obong appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to investigate the allegation with a view to finding punitive measures for the banks involved.

Reacting to the developments, a banker who pleaded anonymity, said that banks were constantly loading their machines with cash.

“There is no way a bank will see that there is no cash in their ATM machine and they will not quickly load it.

“Loading cash in ATM reduces the number of customers who enter the banking hall and the stress faced by bankers.

“In our bank, we have a stand-by official who will always go and load the ATM with cash.

“We are out to satisfy our customers,” the official said.

Another bank official who also pleaded anonymity, dismissed the allegation that most bankers own PoS business.

“Even though I do not believe this rumor, I do not think it is wrong for someone to own a business as long as you are not going about it the wrong way,” the official said.