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Tag: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

  • Anchor borrowers scheme not designed for poultry farmers – PANLAG

    Anchor borrowers scheme not designed for poultry farmers – PANLAG

    The Lagos State chapter of Poultry Association of Nigeria ( PANLAG ) on Wednesday in Lagos said that the Anchor Borrowers Scheme was not designed to favour poultry farmers.

    The Anchor Borrowers scheme was introduced in 2015 by the present administration through the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) to fund farming activities at a single digit interest rate of 9 per cent, engaging processors (serving as off-takers) in the process.

    Mr Godwin Egbede, the newly elected chairman of PANLAG, told our reporters on the sidelines of the association’s election in Lagos, that the scheme would not work with poultry farmers in Lagos.

    Egbede said that the association called for a meeting with the off-takers to state their reservations on the conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) but no meeting point was reached.

    He said: “The programme is a good one but there is a lot to be done, especially on the conditions in the MoU by the off-takers who are not ready to dare any loss.

    “Farmers cannot afford to produce and bear 100 per cent of transportation losses that occur in the condition of weight loss during the period of transportation.

    “The design is faulty and we told them our reservations, drafting our MoU with our lawyers and stating that they should bear some of the liabilities but they refused.

    “This should be a win-win situation for all the parties, the Federal Government, CBN, the commercial banks and farmers as a whole, and if we cannot have that, then poultry farmers will not be part of it,’’ he said.

    He pledged to move the association forward by supporting every member and pushing for a state poultry farm as in other states like Oyo and Ogun.

    Mrs Olabisi Ayo-Hamilton, a feed miller and livestock farmer, who was elected Deputy Chairman, said that she was excited about the new executives who she believed were formidable and vibrant.

    Ayo-Hamilton told NAN that she would work with the new chairman to drive productivity and accountability in the association.

    “As part of the executive, I will give my all to the chairman; especially in the area of the Anchor Borrowers scheme which should be rectified quickly to enable poultry farmers access the funds.

    “When we had the issue of the scheme and MoU, PANLAG as a body refused but some gullible farmers went ahead with the design and today they are not happy.

    “So, we hope and pledge to work together to take the association to the next level,’’ she said.

    A patron of the association simply identified as Alhaji Bello, said the anchor borrowers scheme was an issue that should be addressed as quickly as possible before the end of the present administration.

    According to Bello, there is still egg and chicken glut and the issue of smuggled poultry products which meant there is work to be done by the new executives.

    He said: “We need to focus on the market and educate the public on wholesome chicken and for them to stop patronising imported poultry products.

    “We all have our farms, the in-built capacity is there, how well are we utilising it to full capacity?

    “Opportunities abound if we can all find solution to our challenges,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • CBN spends N55bn to improve local food production

    CBN spends N55bn to improve local food production

    The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), says it has disbursed N55 billion to more than 250,000 farmers within two years of implementation of the Anchor Borrowers Programme ( ABP ).

    The Acting-Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Isaac Okorafor confirmed the figure on Wednesday in Abuja during a media briefing on the implementation of the programme.

    The ABP was launched in Kebbi State on Nov. 17, 2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    It was designed to create economic linkages between farmers and processors, not only to ensure increased agricultural output of rice and wheat, but also close the gap between production and consumption.

    Okorafor was accompanied to the briefing by the Special Adviser to the CBN Governor, Mr Olatunde Akande, and top executive of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria ( RIFAN ) led by its President, Alh. Aminu Gorongo.

    Okorafor said that out of the N55 billion provided by the apex bank to farmers, 80 per cent of the amount, N44 billion was given to rice farmers alone.

    He said the need to provide rice farmers adequate funding was to ensure self sufficiency in rice production and to also ensure that Nigeria becomes a net exporter of the product.

    “It goes to underscore the effectiveness and efficiency that the CBN has put into this programme.

    “We have assisted about 250,000 farmers across Nigeria to cultivate close to 300,000 hectares of farmlands and you can see the impact on the streets’’ he said.

    In his remarks, the RIFAN president Gorongo said that the association was partnering with the CBN to increase rice production by two million tonnes in 2018.

    He said under the new ABP partnership between the CBN and RIFAN, 200,000 farmers would be given fresh funds to plant rice in the dry season farming.

    According to him, another 500,000 rice farmers would also be mobilised during the wet season farming.

    Gorongo said that through the funding, the farmers would be able to employ a total of five million people to work on rice production value chain during the period.

    He said so far, farmers in about 34 states were presently under the new ABP with RIFAN.

    “We have started collaboration with the CBN to have a private sector driven ABP, which means that under this new agreement, the state governments are not involved.

    “We have launched this programme to put this country on the right part, especially in the area of agri-business.’’

    Also speaking, Akande, the Special Assistant to the CBN Governor on Development Finance, said the ABP had been digitised to keep account of the activities of all the farmers involved.

    According to him, under the new agreement with RIFAN, each farmer’s identity, home address, farm location and other vital information has been captured and each farmer is given a biometric card.

    He said the new system would help resolve the issue of delay in payments to farmers and also the recoupment of funds borrowed out by the CBN.

    “We have successfully digitally mapped all the farmers that are participating in the projects. This makes the new programme reliable, accessible and verifiable.

    “The digitisation will ensure that no farmer will collect payment and refuse to pay. So loan repayment is guaranteed.

    “Also, in the new agreement, RIFAN will provide training, and ensure that whatever is given to the farmers are well utilised.

    “Depending on the season and the crop which is being cultivated, each farmer will get a support of about N250, 000 per hectare,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Foreign exchange market gets CBN ’s $210m boost

    Foreign exchange market gets CBN ’s $210m boost

    The inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market has received 210 million dollars from Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market.

    The CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, said 100 million dollars was sold to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market.He said the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got 55 million dollars, while another 55 million dollars was allocated for customers who needed foreign exchange for tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others.

    Okorafor assured Nigerians that the apex bank would continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market, in line with its pledge to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability.

    He said the CBN would not renege on its promise to manage the foreign exchange market with a view to reducing the country’s import bills and halting depletion of its foreign reserves.

    Last week, the CBN intervened in the foreign exchange market to the tune of 325.64 million dollars to cater for requests in the airlines, agriculture, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors.

    Meanwhile, the Naira continued its stability in the market, exchanging at an average of N361 to dollar in the Bureau de Change segment.

    NAN

  • NNPC in fresh corruption scandal

    NNPC in fresh corruption scandal

    The Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, yesterday accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ), of involvement in a fresh multi-million dollar corruption.

    Melaye at plenary yesterday, claimed that NNPC is involved a “monumental corruption” which the Senate should look into.

    He noted that the NNPC allegedly registered a company by the name Brass NLG.

    The firm, he said, is jointly owned by investors from Italy, Belgium, France, among others.

    Melaye said that contrary to statutory provisions that the account of the company be domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), NNPC and its partners, instead, opened an account with a commercial bank.

    He noted that the account has no Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    He claimed that monies running into millions of dollars have been withdrawn from the account so far.

    Melaye said: “While some individuals and government appointees would continue to steal, we have decided to continue to expose corruption in public life. This morning (yesterday), I draw the attention of the Nigerian Senate, a suspected colossal, monumental corruption in NNPC.

    “Mr. President, a company was registered with the name Brass NLG limited with the federal government having controlling shares and we have some Italians, Belgians, French people who are shareholders with the Federal Government in controlling shares of about 50 per cent.

    “It is known fact that once you have a joint venture, the account of such joint venture should be domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria. But in this case, that was not what happened. An account was opened with Keystone bank.

    “This account has no BVN and there have been periodic withdrawals. The last withdrawal from that account was to the tune of $4 million. As I speak to you, the balance of that account as at today is $137 million.”

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, sought the approval of the Senate to allow Melaye to bring a proper motion.

    When the motion was put to a voice vote, the senators voted in the affirmative.

  • CBN cries out over fake Emefiele twitter handles

    CBN cries out over fake Emefiele twitter handles

    The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) has raised alarm over the existence of several twitter handles purportedly owned by the Governor of the Bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

    CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communication, Mr Isaac Okorafor in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, urged Nigerians to ignore messages from such twitter handles.

    “We wish to inform members of the public, particularly members of the social media community that Emefiele presently has no twitter handle.

    “We wish to state categorically, that the twitter handles bearing his name and photographs are fake and targeted at misleading unsuspecting members of the public.’’

    Also Read: CBN stops banks from taking charges on bulk transfers

    Accordingly, we wish to advise all members of the social media community and the general public to be wary of the fake accounts and discountenance whatever message conveyed therein.

    NAN

  • Presidency urges Senate to lift embargo on confirmation of nominees

    Presidency urges Senate to lift embargo on confirmation of nominees

    The Presidency has urged the Senate to lift the embargo on confirmation of nominees sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    It would be recalled that Senate on July 4, 2017 resolved to suspend all issues relating to confirmation of nominees submitted by the executive over what it termed as a move to reduce its legislative powers.

    The senators had said the decision would remain until the issues of confirmation as contained in the Constitution and the laws of the federation were adhered to.

    All the same, the presidency had in October 2017 nominated Mrs. Aisha Ahmad as a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) to replace Dr. Sarah Alade, who retired from the bank in June.

    Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) Mr Ita Enang said “the president had submitted as required by law and the confirmations are pending before the legislature.

    “We are engaging with the legislature within the law.

    “Therefore we are conscious that the legislature, in particular the Senate, is very responsive and very concerned about the economy.

    “And the Senate is also conscious that nothing should be done that will be detrimental to the international image of Nigeria and perception of Nigeria.

    “So we are engaging with the legislature particularly the Senate on this and the Senate is very sensitive to the public to what is likely to happen.’’

    He said the senate must have been engaged  with a number of bills  last year and were prioritising issues.

    “They are going to attend to it. Any matter that is standing as an issue between the executive and the legislature which may be the reason for the embargo, we are going to address it and make sure it is surmounted.

    “Therefore, Nigerians should be comfortable that the Senate will answer questions within the law,” Enang said.

    NAN

  • Nigeria can achieve self-sufficiency in rice production – expert

    Nigeria can achieve self-sufficiency in rice production – expert

    The Chief Executive Officer, Raymos Guanah Farms, Mr Raymos Guanah says that Nigeria can achieve self-sufficiency in rice production if the present trend is sustained.

    Guanah said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Asaba.

    While commending the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Anchor Borrowers Programme, he advised government at all levels to create the enabling environment for sustained rice production in the country.

    Guanah also called for the introduction of modern milling machines which should be accessible to mechanised  farmers in the country.

    “Creating the needed environment as well as introduction of modern milling machines will help to boost and sustain production of rice in the country,’’ he said.

    Guanah, a former commissioner in Delta, also called for the training of  farmers in the country in order to boost their entrepreneurial skills.

    On the quality of locally produced rice, he noted that it was good, but there was still room for improvement with the provision of modern milling machines.

    According to him, local rice is richer and better, compared to imported ones because of the freshness and high nutritional value.

    Guanah identified flooding as one of the challenges of the agriculture sector and expressed the hope that it could achieve more in 2018

    On the involvement of more youths in agriculture, Guanah noted that if agriculture was mechanised, more youths would embrace it.

    Also read:  Guild wants FG to revamp building construction sector

     
  • Nigeria must regain its pride in food exportation – Buhari

    Nigeria must regain its pride in food exportation – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja reiterated Federal Government’s determination to continually review and strengthen ongoing reforms in the agriculture sector “until Nigeria regains its pride of place as food exporting country.”

    The president said this when he received a delegation of All Progressives Congress ( APC ) from Kebbi, led by the state Governor, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu in the Presidential Villa.

    He added that the country’s rice import bill had dropped significantly, noting, however, that “beyond self-sufficiency, Nigeria must strive to become net exporter of food commodities.

    “We are not doing badly in the agriculture sector: Nigerians and indeed the world, are beginning to appreciate our efforts. We will work harder until we start exporting food.

    “We are happy that rice and beans importation into the country have gone down by over 90 per cent, and everyone can see how productive states like Kebbi turned out to be and states like Lagos, Ogun and Ebonyi are following the example.”

    The President said Kaduna, Katsina, Kano and Sokoto states had already reported remarkable turn-around in the agriculture sector, with more youths taking interest in entrepreneurship.

    Buhari, who disagreed with the astronomical food import bill presented by the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) from the inception of the administration, pointed out that it was later discovered to be “fraudulent practices’’ by some elite to deplete the foreign reserves.

    He said “when I was told that the CBN had no savings after the windfall of selling oil for more than 100 dollars per barrel for many years and production was 2.1 billion barrels per day, I did not believe them.

    “I did not believe them because majority of Nigerians cannot afford imported food; they rely on what is locally grown. It turned out that 50 per cent of the export bills were fraudulent, courtesy of the Nigerian elite.

    “Unfortunately, we will not know all that happened because the elite worked in collusion with institutions in developed countries like insurance firms, shipping companies and other financial outfits, to perpetuate the fraud.”

    On security, President Buhari said the return of farmers to their farm lands in the North East, with glaring results of high yields, was a testimony to the relative peace that had been achieved.

    He assured that more would be done to check the mayhem of suicide attacks.

    The President said his administration would put in more effort to reposition the education and health sectors to compete with other global institutions.

    While introducing the delegation, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, commended government’s policies toward reviving the agriculture sector.

    The Kebbi Governor, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, said “the state government and the APC family was pleased with the performance of Federal Government in securing the country, reviving the economy and fighting corruption.”

    Bagudu and members of the delegation, which included former Governor of the state, Alhaji Usman Dakingari and other former PDP stalwarts, prayed for the quick recovery of the President’s son, Yusuf Buhari who was involved in a bike accident.

    NAN

  • Edo, CBN set aside N500m credit facility to de-risk Agric investments  

    Edo, CBN set aside N500m credit facility to de-risk Agric investments  

    The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has inaugurated a nine-man committee to oversee the N500 million Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) initiated in alliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to de-risk investments in agriculture in the state.

    Obaseki inaugurated the committee headed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Prince Joe Okojie, at the Government House, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

    He said the programme, which was set up by the Federal Government through the CBN, is aimed at providing credit for agricultural transactions in the state, stressing that the scheme is critical to his administration’s agricultural initiatives.

    He said members of the committee were selected based on their expertise and accomplishments, noting that it is not another avenue for political patronage.

    He emphasised that the idea is to support large scale commercial agriculture so that their growth would stimulate and scale up activities of small scale farmers.

    “Time, experience and technology are very important in agriculture. We need to engage the services of consultants and experts to work with the committee and use the advantage of the dry season to our benefit,” he said.

    Obaseki said the committee members would serve as monitoring team and manage funds from the CBN to guarantee its judicious use by farmers across the three senatorial districts.

    He stressed that government was not interested in agribusiness to start farms, but only interested in de-risking the process and creating an environment for entrepreneurs to emerge and thrive.

    He said that over N500 million is available from expected funds and the committee’s terms of reference include: to oversee and ensure equitable distribution of fund; promote an efficient and inclusive participation of key stakeholders; ensure proper monitoring and evaluation, guarantee integrity of each access to information; ensure fund usage by beneficiaries are in line with the terms of the scheme; monitor the impact and constantly look for ways to improve the probability of reaching the expected result of the scheme.

    In his vote of thanks, Chairman of the committee, Prince Joe Okojie, pledged to deliver on the terms of reference and promised to be fair and objective in the management of the credit facility.

  • Emefiele tasks graduates on job creation

    Emefiele tasks graduates on job creation

    Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), has tasked  graduating students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka ( UNN ) to create jobs in order to overcome the current economic challenges.

    In a statement by Mr Isaac Okoroafor, the Acting Director, CBN Corporate Communications, Emefiele gave the charge while delivering the institution’s 47th Convocation Lecture entitled: “A mindset for Succeeding in Today’s Nigeria”.

    He said that the rising unemployment was the greatest challenge facing the country, warning that failure to empower the youth could boomerang against the Nigerian society.

    He emphasised the need for young Nigerian graduates to change their mindset about the labour market, stressing that in spite of the challenges, Nigeria remained a land of limitless opportunities.

    Emefiele, an alumnus of the university, charged the graduating students to strive to be job creators and entrepreneurs rather than being mere job-seekers.

    He said the CBN, as part of its efforts to address unemployment and promote entrepreneurship, the bank had designed and formulated policies and programmes aimed at direct real sector intervention.

    The CBN chief encouraged the graduating students and youths with not more than five years post-service experience to take advantage of the CBN Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme ( YEDP ).

    According to him, the programme is run in collaboration with other banks and the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ).

    He tasked the graduating students to take cognisance of the opportunities in their respective environments to motivate themselves by creating innovative ideas as well as turn the ideas into profitable ventures.

    Earlier in is his address, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba, said the convocation lecture was one of the prestigious public lectures hosted by the university.

    He said the privilege of delivering the lecture was usually reserved for men and women, whose achievements would motivate and inspire graduating students and the entire university community for greater achievements.

    Ozumba used the occasion to call for adequate funding of some ongoing projects embarked upon by the institution.

    He said that the projects would not only boost entrepreneurship and innovation, but also help to curb youth restiveness in the country.

    NAN