Treasury Single Account: A Viable Tool for Repositioning Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy in Nigeria is a government accounting system under which all government revenue receipts and income from Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are collected into one single account, usually maintained by the Central Bank of Nigeria and all payments done through this account as well in order to enhance accountability of government revenue; transparency and avoid misapplication of public funds. The implementation of TSA policy in Nigeria has generated mixed reactions on it effect on Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Based on the foregoing, the study assessed the effects of TSA on Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). To achieve the objective of the study, primary and secondary sources of data were used. Questionnaires were used for the collection of primary data. A sample size of 150 was purposively drawn from the study population which comprises of Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs. Descriptive statistic (percentages) and Chi-square (X2) analytical technique were utilized in the analyses of data and test of hypothesis. The calculated Chi-square (X2) results for the hypothesis Ho1: Treasury Single Account does not enhance the repositioning of Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for sustainable development, shows; X210.71 and the table X2 value at 5% level of significance was 2.733.The results show that Treasury Single Account has enhanced the repositioning of Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for sustainable development. The study results also shows that TSA has enhanced regular monitoring of government cash balances, accountability and transparency, efficient use of government financial resources, probity, reduction of cost of borrowing and help to check corruption in Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Also the study shows that MDAs in Nigeria have not been able to adequately used TSA to enhance economic development in Nigeria among others. The study recommended among others that TSA should be embraced by all Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at all level of governments; federal, states and local government councils in Nigeria and that MDAs in Nigeria should take advantages of TSA policy implementation to enhance economic development in Nigeria by keying into all aspects of the policy drive and urgently addressing all the shortcoming associated with the policy. The study concluded that TSA is a viable tool that enhanced repositioning of MDAs in Nigeria and as such it should be use to facilitate economic development in Nigeria. Keywords: Treasury Single Account, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Sustainable Development

Influence of Firms Attributes on Environmental Disclosure in Listed Brewery Companies in Nigeria

The thrust of this study was in the influence of firm attributes on environmental disclosure of listed breweries companies in Nigeria. The population of the study consist of five breweries companies listed on the floor of Nigerian stock exchange. The sample size of the study is four companies. The sample was drawn based on data accessability. Data were collected from annual reports of the selected companies for the period of five years that is from 2012 to 2016. Multiple regression technique was employed to analyse the data. Profitability (PROF), firm size (FRMS), leverage (LEV) and board size (BDS) were used as proxies to measure the firm attributes. While contents analysis was maintained to measure environmental discloure.The study found board size has negative but significant influence on environmental disclosure wirth value 0.0089, leverage has negative and insignificant influence on environmental disclosure with value 0.8229. Where firm size has positive insignificant influence on environmental disclosure with value 0.1951, profitability has positive significant influence on environmental disclosure of listed breweries companies in Nigeria. The study recommended that breweries companies should disclose more environmental information as it lead to increase in profit. Keywords: Environmental Disclosure, Firm Size, Leverage and Profitability

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Profitability of Quoted Food and Beverages Companies in Nigeria

The study examines the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Profitability of Quoted food and beverages companies in Nigeria from 2006 to 2015. . The population of the study consists of seventeen (17) quoted foood and beverages companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange out of which twelve (12) were sampled based on the data availability.  The study was carried out using secondary data collected from annual reports and accounts of the sampled companies. The data collected were analysed using multiple regression techniques.  The denpendent variable is profitability which is measured with profit after tax, while the independent variable is corporate social responsibility was measured using the amount spent on corporate social responsibility activities.The result of the study reveal that corporate social responsibility has a significant positive impact on profitability with value 0.007 and the R2 of 0.3704.The study recommend that companies should embark on corporate social responsibility since it has positive correlation with companies profitability. Government should come up with clearly defined responsibility issues and should ensure its full implementation. This is because CSR activities help in raising the standard of living of communities and that the activities of the companies affect the life of the host communities. Keyword: Corporate Social Responsibility, Profitability, Food and Beverages

Effect of Credit Risk Management on Financial Performance of listed Microfinance Banks in Nigeria

This study examines the effect of credit risk management on financial performance in listed microfinance banks in Nigeria. Data were collected from annual report and accounts of the two microfinance banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange within 2012 to 2017. Data collected were subjected to statistical analysis of Pearson correlation, and Multiple Regression, Panel regression. The results revealed that, Capital adequacy ratio is negative and has significant effect on financial performance. Ratio of Non-performing loans to total loan is positive and has a significant impact on financial performance. Ratio of loan loss provision is negative and has a significant impact on financial performance of microfinance banks in Nigeria. The control variable, bank size and inflation are negative and not significant with financial performance. This study showed that there is a significant impact of credit risk management on financial performance of microfinance banks in Nigeria and recommended that microfinance banks in Nigeria should only give loans to borrowers with better future inflows, this is in line with the anticipated income theory under pining in this study. Keywords: Credit Risk Management, Financial Performance, Microfinance Banks. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-18-13 Publication date:September 30th 202

Impact of Environmental Disclosure on Performance of Cement and Brewery Companies in Nigeria

This research empirically assessed the impact of environmental disclosure on performance of listed cement and breweries companies in Nigeria. The population of the study consists of nine cement andbreweries companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange. Three listed cement and four breweries companies were selected as a sample for this study. Secondary data were used and were collected from annual reports of selected companies for the period of five years from 2011 – 2015. Ordinary Least Square regression technique was employed to analyze the data. Content analysis was used for measuring quantitative environmental disclosure and unweigted approach was used to rank environmental disclosure indices for measuring qualitative voluntary environmental disclosure. Return on Asset (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and Earning per Share (EPS) were used as proxies for measuring performance. The empirical result indicates that environmental disclosure quantitative (EDQN) has a positive insignificant on ROA and EPS at 0.707 and 0.616 respectively, it has negative insignificant impact on ROE at 0.756. On the other hand, environmental disclosure qualitative (EDQL) has positive significant impact on ROAat0.025 also with EPS at 0.00, it however has positive insignificant impact on ROA at 0.660. and is statistically significant, also negative impact on ROE and EPS and is insignificant. . The control variable firm size (FRMS) has positive significant impact on EPS at 0.009.  The study recommends that cement tand breweries companies should practice how to disclose more environmental information. Government should also come up with clearly define policy on environmental disclosure issues and should ensure its full implementation. Keywords: Environmental disclosure, firm performance, mandatory disclosure, voluntary disclosure

Comparison of Weibull and normal probability distribution of flexural strength of dense and porous fired clay

In this research, dense and porous fired clay were produced at a firing temperature of 1300°C. The flexural strength data of the dense and the porous fired clay were determined using three point bending test. Two-parameter Weibull and normal probability distributions were used to estimate the reliability of the flexural strength data of the dense and the porous fired clay. From the result, the Weibull probability distribution scale parameter for the dense (36.31MPa) and Porous (18.85MPa) fired clay are higher than the mean strength value for the dense (33.84MPa) and the porous (17.87MPa) of the normal distribution. Distributions of flaws in the dense and the porous fired clay have a significant effect on the Weibull and normal distribution parameters. The fractured surface of the dense fired clay shows a random distribution of cracks while that of the porous fired clay shows a distribution of pores in the morphology. The normal distribution considers failure at 50% of the flexural strength data while Weibull probability distribution is failure at 62.3% of the strength data. Therefore, two-parameter Weibull is the suitable tool to model failure strength data of the dense and porous fired clay

Cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of fruits extracts of Xylopia aethiopica against some selected beta-lactamase producing bacteria

Xylopia aethiopica commonly known as the West African pepper tree is consumed as food condiment and also used traditionally in the treatment of cough, bronchitis, dysentery and female sterility. Air-dried and ground fruits of Xylopia aethiopica were extracted using ethanol and the recovered extract was partitioned to give chloroform, water, methanol and n-hexane fractions. The five extracts were screened for antibacterial activity against strains of β-lactamase producing bacteria: Escherichia coli, Proteus sp., and Klebsiella pneumonia as well as cytotoxicity against brine shrimp larvae. The result of the antibacterial screening showed that all the extracts exhibited selective activity against Proteus sp., the interface-2 demonstrated the highest activity with diameter of zone of inhibition of 14mm at 1000μg/disc. On the other hand, methanolic extract showed high cytotoxic activity in the brine shrimp lethality bioassay with LC50 value of 3.4μg/mland moderate antibacterial activity with diameter of zone of inhibition of 12mm at 1000μg/ml.Keywords: Xylopiaaethiopica; Extracts; antibacterial activity; β-lactamase producing bacteria; cytotoxicity; brine shrimp lethality bioassa

Effect of Internal Control Activity on Financial Accountability and Transparency in Local Government Areas of Borno State, Nigeria

Local governments in Nigeria being the closest tier of government to the people, occupies a strategic position in public governance. The ordinary expectation is that it should impact meaningfully on the life of the people. However, these objective remains largely unachieved due to lack of financial accountability and transparency in the utilisation and management of public funds. Internal control activity is an important mechanism of transparent and accountable financial resources utilisation in an organisation. This study therefore examines the effect of internal control activity on financial accountability and transparency in local government areas of Borno State, Nigeria. The study was carried out using cross sectional survey design. The study drew a sample of 330 out of 1886 staff of the Treasury and Finance, Administration, and Audit Departments and the Local Government Council Members out of five  of the local government areas of Borno State. The data for the study were collected through the use of the questionnaire instrument. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square statistics as well as regression analysis. The result of the chi-square statistics revealed that internal control activity is ineffective in the local government areas of Borno state. The regression results revealed that internal control activity has insignificant impact on financial accountability but has positive impact on financial transparency in the local government areas of Borno State. The study therefore recommends that Borno state government through the Ministry of local government affairs in conjunction with the local governments’ management should revisit the policies and procedures of internal control activity through reforms in order to strengthen the effectiveness in financial accountability and transparency of the local government areas in the state. Keywords: Local government, internal control activity, financial accountability and Transparenc

Conceptual Model of Game Aesthetics for Perceived Learning in Narrative Games

Narrative games may offer reasoning on players’ behaviour or make-believe on players’ personation as a pursuit to achieve specific goals. One of the goals is probably the intention to instil learning, which subconsciously provide information on the content of the game. However, there is lack of studies on the contribution of game aesthetics towards player’s perceived learning. By means of expert review, this article reports on conceptual model of game aesthetics towards perceived learning and the degree of importance of each attributes in perceived learning.  Findings reveal that all experts agreed on the contribution of game aesthetics towards perceived learning. In additon, expert recommends three other factors that may contribute to learning: player’s motivation, learning content, and gameplay. Future work will continue to design and develop the game prototype and to investigate the relationship between game aesthetics and perceived learning

Influence of firing temperature on the physical, thermal and microstructural properties of kankara kaolin clay: A preliminary investigation

In this study, natural deposits of Kankara kaolin clay were collected and investigated in order to determine physical, microstructural, thermal, and firing properties and assess clay’s suitability as starting material for various ceramic applications. Chemical analysis of the clay was performed using XRF. Mineralogical analysis and thermal analysis of the clay were conducted using XRD and thermogravimetric thermal analysis (TGA)/differential thermal analysis (DTA), respectively. In order to assess its ceramic behavior, the clay was fired at 900–1200 °C. Maturation characteristics of fired ceramics were assessed by measuring bulk density, apparent porosity, and shrinkage. It was found that main oxides in the clay are alumina, silica, and potassium oxide, while other oxides are present in trace quantities. Kaolinite, quartz, and illite are the phases found from the XRD results, while mullite ceramic phase formed at firing temperature above 1100 °C. Maturation tests showed that ceramic properties such as bulk density and shrinkage increase with temperature, while apparent porosity decreases with temperature. The results presented in this study prove that the clay is an appropriate material for producing traditional ceramics