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Tag: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

  • FMARD to engage 2m youths, 997,500 women through LIFE programme – Report

    FMARD to engage 2m youths, 997,500 women through LIFE programme – Report

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ( FMARD ) says it will engage 1.9 youths and 997,500 women through its Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises ( LIFE ) programme.

    This was disclosed in excerpts of a Book entitled: ‘‘Making steady, sustainable progress for Nigeria’s peace and prosperity: a mid-term scorecard on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’’, authored by the Presidential Media Team.

    The book will be presented to the public on November 16 in Abuja.

    LIFE is a programme aimed at bringing life back to rural communities through the empowerment of youths, women and other vulnerable groups across the country.

    It stated that the programme design commenced in the past one year.

    It is geared to promote community-based on-farm and off-farm business activities as a model for job and wealth creation among unemployed youths and women in rural and suburban households.

    “Programmes under LIFE are expected to establish 150,000 cooperatives nationwide under commodity value chain groups, establish and operate up to 1,000 cottage industries in the country.

    “It is also expected to ultimately engage 1,995,500 youths and 997,500 women for enhanced productivity and, through these interventions, add about 5,965,000 metric tonnes of foods to the national food store,’’ it said.

    The report said the key challenge leading to the late take-off of the programme was related to the cumbersome procurement procedures.

    It stated that the Anchor Borrowers Programme, driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with FMARD, had provided substantial money for dry season farming in 2015, wet season rice and wheat farming in 2016.

    According to the report, the programme is currently supporting 2016 dry season farming in many states.

    “Anchor Borrowers Programme is an intervention aimed at fast-tracking access of rural farmers to finance for productivity.

    “This entails provision of agricultural credit for financing the production of rice, wheat, ginger, maize and soybeans in nine states.’’

    The states are Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Benue, Zamfara, Anambra and Kwara.

    “Through the programme for the out-growers in the past one year, massive harvest is expected to meet the national requirements of paddy and milled rice within the shortest possible time,’’ it stated.

    The publication was edited by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity; Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, and Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, ( Vice President’s Office).

    The book is a documentation of the notable achievements of the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Party (APC) administration since it was inaugurated on May 29, 2015.

    President Buhari wrote the foreword of the 348-page book, containing milestones of all the federal ministries and some select departments and agencies in the last two years.

    The Buhari Media Support Group also contributed to the compendium rich with text and visuals.

    The book will be reviewed by Prince Tony Momoh while APC National leader  Bola Tinubu is the keynote speaker/book Presenter.

    NAN

  • FMBN lauds CBN on data bank for Housing sector

    FMBN lauds CBN on data bank for Housing sector

    The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN) for initiating a programme on provision of accurate and reliable data on the housing sector.

    FMBN Managing Director, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, at stakeholders’ conference Tuesday, in Abuja said the National Real Estate Data Collation & Management Programme (NRE-DCMP) would address dearth of reliable and conflicting data in the industry.

    He explained that such programme was part of efforts to develop the sector and provide affordable homes.

    Dangiwa, who was represented by the bank Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services in the Bank Mr. Melville Ebo expressed concern emphasised the urgent need to critically look inward and device various means of harmonising data collation in the country.

    Speaking on the bank’s efforts on alternative sources of funding, he restated the Bank’s commitment to providing affordable financing for homes ownership in line with provisions of the National Housing Fund (NHF).

    According to him, the Bank has put in place a range of products that include NHF Mortgage Loans to finance affordable homeownership, FMBN housing cooperative loan product which is more amenable to overcome the credit difficulties faced by the non-salaried, informal sector; and home renovation loan, for the renovation or expansion of  houses.

    Dangiwa noted that the supports were in addition to construction finance loan windows via estate developments and the Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme run in conjunction with the Bank’s supervisory Ministry, to boost the supply of houses for mortgage creation.

    “This programme is closely tied to business focus of the Bank in addressing the housing needs of the low and medium income market segment,” he said adding that, “to drive homeownership amongst the low and medium income market segment, the Bank has financed the construction of about 20,000 housing units nationwide as it has also granted more than 20,000 mortgage loans to date. The Bank equally registered 21,320 contributors through 1,078 cooperative societies, as a strategy to integrate the non-salaried/informal sector into the Nigerian financial services, with the ultimate goal of doubling its NHF customer base in the medium term.”

  • Rice farmers want FG to review conditions for ABP loans

    Rice farmers want FG to review conditions for ABP loans

    Alhaji Muatari Sani, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association in Katsina Senatorial Zone, has urged the Federal Government to review the conditions for granting loans to rice farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme ( ABP ).

    He made the call in an interview on Wednesday in Katsina.

    Sani said: “The system of granting loans to rice farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme ( ABP ) is flawed, as the farmers are often short-changed by off-takers who supply farm inputs and equipment.

    “The companies which supply water pumping machines, rice seedlings and other inputs usually provide the wrong materials to the farmers.

    “This year, for instance, rice farmers were provided with sub-standard rice seedlings that grow very tall and produce less rice.”

    Sani said that the panacea to the problem was for the Federal Government to deal directly with rice farmers, rather than through third parties.

    “In Katsina State, there are different varieties of rice that grow well in different zones. The rice seedling in the Funtua Zone would not thrive well in the Katsina Zone,” he said.

    Sani, however, urged the Federal Government to sustain the ABP in order to cater to the needs of rice farmers across the country.

    He said that in spite of the challenges facing rice farmers, they were able to produce large quantities of rice this year.

    It can be recalled that Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) granted N2 billion ABP loans to rice farmers in the 34 local government areas of Katsina State in 2017 to boost rice production.

    NAN

  • N8bn currency scam: Court refuses bail to ailing accused

    N8bn currency scam: Court refuses bail to ailing accused

    A Federal High Court in Ibadan on Thursday refused the bail applications filed by the seven accused persons standing trial over alleged N8 billion currency scam.

    The accused are; Kolawole Babalola, Muniru Olaniran, Kayode Togun, Isiaq Akano, Festus Adeyemi, Akeem Oyebanji and Ayodele Alese.

    Justice Joyce Abdulmaleek in a ruling turned down the applications believing that the accused might jump bail and refuse to show up for trial.

    “I have previously refused similar bail application and I know that the only option left for the applicants is to appeal the decision of the court.

    “The accused persons have also failed to convince this court that their ailment was contagious even though they said that the medical facilities in the prison were not adequate to cater for their deteriorating health.

    “In exercising my discretionary power, I see the possibility of the accused persons jumping bail if granted bail.

    “Therefore, the application for bail is refused and dismissed accordingly,” she ruled.

    After the ruling, the judge adjourned the case till Nov. 21, for continuation of trial.

    Earlier, Mr R. O. Sadiq, counsel to all the applicants had tendered a bail application, citing deplorable health conditions of his clients as reason for the bail application.

    Sadiq had asked the court to consider various portions of the constitution as well as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) in her decision.

    Mr Adebisi Adeniyi, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ), hwever, opposed the bail application, saying the accused persons might jump bail.

    Adeniyi also reminded the court that it had rejected all previous bail applications tendered by the accused.

    Similarly, the court also turned the bail application tendered by one Esther Olunike-Afolabi in a sister case.

    Olunike-Afolabi was earlier convicted and jailed in the case when she opted for plea bargain arrangement with the EFCC.

    Due to her involvement in another case, she was produced in court, but her bail was rejected.

    Meanwhile, in another sister case, Mr Eddwin Ennah, a former Head of Currency Processing and Disposal Unit, Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) Ibadan office, who testified in the case, said he was shocked to see newspapers cut to the size of Naira notes in a box meant to contain N10 million.

    Testifying before Abdulmaleek, Ennah stated that the box was supposed to be containing N10 million made up of N500 notes all through, however, the box was interleaved with N100 notes and cut papers.

    “My lord, another terrible thing during that box inspection period was when our then Branch Controller asked us to cover up that discovery.

    “However, I disagreed with him.

    “The Branch Controller asked each of us to contribute certain amount to make up the loss sum in the box that was interleaved,” Ennah told the court.

    The witness further pointed out that election fraud was not the only avenue of great corruption in Nigeria, but also that several billions of Naira were usually lost to such exercise at the CBN.

    Babalola, Olaniran and Togun along with others have since 2015 been facing multiple charges bordering on conspiracy, conversion, forgery, recirculation of mutilated currencies and stealing of N8 billion at Ibadan office of CBN.

    NAN

  • Katsina invests N200m in rice, cotton production

    Katsina invests N200m in rice, cotton production

    The Katsina State Government says it has invested N200 million in rice and cotton production under the Anchor Borrowers Programme in the state.

    Dr Abba Abdullahi, the Special Adviser to Gov. Aminu Masari on Agriculture, disclosed this in Katsina on Tuesday, at the opening of a town hall meeting on the programme.

    The town hall meeting was organised by the state government in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), the co-sponsor of anchor borrowers programme.

    “We have rice and cotton farmers that collected the CBN loan under the anchor borrowers programme to boost rice and cotton production and the programme needed supervision.

    “We used the funds to supervise and inspect all the rice and cotton farms in the 34 local government areas of the state.

    “The Katsina state government also purchased over 35 motorcycles for extension workers to visit rice and cotton farmers with the aim of offering pieces of advice to them,” he said.

    Abdullahi said that part of the fund was used for the repair of 15 vehicles for officers involved in supervising the extension workers.

    Earlier, Alhaji Shehu Musawa, the Managing Director, State Agricultural and Rural Development Project (KATARDA), said the stakeholders’ meeting was to review how the programme fared during the rainy season.

    “Anchor borrowers programme has achieved the desired goal in the state as it has boosted rice and cotton production.

    “We are expecting bumper harvest of cotton and rice in the state,” Abdullahi said.

    In his contribution, Keystone Bank’s representative, Malam Ahmed Musa, said that the bank would continue to support agricultural programmes in the state.

    NAN

  • Nigeria cultivates only 40% of its arable land – Sen. Adamu

    Nigeria cultivates only 40% of its arable land – Sen. Adamu

    Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, says that only 40 per cent of Nigeria’s arable land is under cultivation.

    Adamu, who said this in an interview on Monday in Abuja, called for increased investments in agriculture, as the situation had elicited serious concern.

    He said that one good thing that the recent economic recession had done to Nigeria was that people from all walks of life were now going into agriculture.

    On some reports that foreigners had taken over farming in the country, the senator said that the Nigerian economy was a free and open economy.

    “We need large-scale farming to increase our agricultural output if we are talking about food security.

    “Yes, we have been fed by peasant farmers, smallholder farmers in this country for quite a long time,’’ he said.

    Adamu noted that one of the reasons why the country had not been able to attain food security was because smallholder farmers had certain limitations, including how to use the little funds at their disposal in a pragmatic way.

    “The smallholder farmer also has limits regarding the land he owns, how much money he requires to invest on it and the equipment he needs to some extent,” he said.

    Adamu said that as a country, Nigeria had decided to transit from smallholder farming to medium or large scale farming activities.

    He said that most farmers had some waiting period for them to mature, in terms of attaining all the requirements for large scale farming.

    “In the interim, if foreign investors can come in, on terms that are acceptable by government through policy, there is nothing wrong with it,” he said.

    On reports of kidnapping of farmers in the northern part of the country, Adamu said: “I don’t know if that is completely true or correct.

    “I accept the fact that there has been some degree of exposure of insecurity in farms across the country.

    “It is not something that is just in the northern part of Nigeria, but what I do know is that government is striving to check the development.

    “I know government has taken very specific steps to combat it,’’ he added.

    The lawmaker said that government was deploying security outfits to farms, while that the Ministry of Interior was training young men and women to provide security in farms.

    “We cannot be everywhere but at least, for a start, we cover substantially some of the farms where we know huge investments have been made, or where we know there is a menace of disruption of farm activities by these men of the terror world.

    “Government is trying to make sure that the farms have some level of security. It is a national phenomenon and we are seeing it in that light: We are taking the steps that are absolutely necessary to contain the menace,” he said.

    While assessing the Anchor Borrowers Programme ( ABP ) of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), Adamu said that unfortunately, the programme was not quite going round all the 36 states.

    The Anchor Borrowers Programme is designed to create a linkage between companies that are involved in processing of key agricultural commodities and smallholder farmers, among other things.

    Adamu said there was concentration of ABP projects in certain parts of the country, while some areas have yet to benefit from the programme.

    “Like anything in the world, everything has teething problems in the beginning; we can forgive the concentration in one part of the country to the detriment of the other part.

    “The good excuse we have is that the programme is just beginning and it has recorded some successes by the grace of God.

    “The CBN is anchoring the ABP projects through its various intervention funds and this is doing a lot of good to us,” he said.

    NAN

  • Big banks control 70%

    Big banks control 70%

    Big banks are dominating the Nigerian banking space, controlling as much as 70 per cent of its market share. The big lenders also have most of the bad loans in the industry.

    These and more facts are contained in the 2017 Nigerian Banking Sector Report, “Nigeria Reopens for Business”, which was released at the weekend in Lagos. The report will be launched by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Friday.

    The CBN classifies lenders into three groups: large or big banks, those with assets greater than or equal to N1 trillion; medium banks with assets greater than or equal to N500 billion but less than N1 trillion and small banks with assets of less than N500 billion.

    The report, prepared by Afrinvest West Africa, an independent investment banking firm, shows that naira’s depreciation affected all the banks and the oil and gas/ power sectors. It observed a continued widening of the gap between the Tier-1 and the Tier-2 banks due to naira devaluation and foreign exchange (forex) crisis.

    “Once upon a time, Tier-1 banks accounted for about 60 to 65 per cent of the market share of the banking sector. In the universe of 14 banks we covered in this report, we have seen that percentage rise to over 70 per cent. Tier-1 banks have continued to grow, often at the expense of the Tier-2 banks,” Ike Chioke, Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa told financial journalists in Lagos.

    On whether the Tier-1 banks will eventually swallow the Tier-2 banks and push them out of the market, he said: “No. There must be specialisation for everybody. The banking industry is growing and we have seen double-digit growth over all. It’s just that the Tier-1 banks are growing faster. So, it could be a Tier-2 bank that may see its business double. There will be areas of specialisation. There are certain transactions that go to Tier-2 banks because they are more specialised in that area and get decision making faster. So, you will always find space for each of the banks”.

    Chioke spoke of how banks that extended foreign currency loans to the power sector and oil and gas sector had their problems magnified by devaluation of the naira.

    He said that some of the Tier-1 banks with more foreign currency deposits that were risk assets benefited from the devaluation and, therefore, were booking forex gains.  “The likes of Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa and Access Bank belong to that group,” Chioke said.

    He went on: “You might also recall that some of the members of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria have observed that some of the Tier-2 banks might be challenged. While one may say that the system itself is sound, but if we have multiple Tier-2 banks that are challenged, and if all of them were to go down at the same time, you could have a pack of a systemically important bank.”

    The forex crisis, he noted, created problems in the power sector because a lot of people had borrowed money in foreign currency to build gas pipelines, gas processing systems to deliver power to the power stations and now the power stations cannot pay for that. That, he said, led to massive bad loans.

    Chioke said some of these bottlenecks had been resolved. The positive profit momentum, which most of the banks registered, has given them some buffer to get away with some of the ailing problems mentioned, according to him.

  • ‘Why those without BVN may forfeit money’

    ‘Why those without BVN may forfeit money’

    A presidential aide has defended the government’s decision to enforce the Bank Verification Number (BVN) policy.

    Senior Special Assistant on Prosecution Okoi Obono-Obla said 46 million accounts in various banks were not linked to BVN. This, in his view, is an act of corruption, which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been directed to stop.

    He said: “These accounts have not been operated for a long time. Some of these accounts belong to state agencies, some of them of the board of parastatals of the federal government of Nigeria. These accounts contain billions of naira.

    “That is what informed the decision of the Accountant General of Nigeria to go to court to obtain an interim order of forfeiture and then put the parties concerned on notice, so that if they own these accounts they can go to court to explain why they have not linked these accounts with BVN.

    ”Under the money laundering Act, if a bank refuses to make a report to the CBN, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the EFCC or other regulatory authorities or judicial authorities on those who have accounts that have remained dormant for years, they are guilty as well.

    “If the money laundering Act is followed, the banks are guilty and should be questioned for not reporting the operators of such account.”

    Reacting on the forfeiture of accounts not linked to BVN, Lagos lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa said it is mind boggling that these accounts would have to be forfeited.

    “It is mind boggling and constitute a serious setback for the fight against corruption. This government cannot be speaking from both sides of the mouth. A policy that provide for the goose, should embrace the gander. “

  • We don’t owe Union Bank – Ontario

    We don’t owe Union Bank – Ontario

    The management of Ontario Oil and Gas Limited has denied any fraudulent sale of refined petroleum products, as alleged by Union Bank Plc in what the company described as a “hurriedly” procured ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ).

    The company spoke on Monday in the matter of a commercial transaction between her and the bank which dates back to 2014.

    Speaking through its counsel, Ben Udoh, Ontario acknowledged that it did approached Union Bank Plc for a facility to import and market petroleum products in 2014.

    “Indeed, we approached Union Bank in 2014 for an $11 million facility. A letter of Credit (LC ) was issued same year but was amended to $9.9 million in May 2015. The said sum ($9.9)was paid to the supplier, Petrocam Trading Limited.

    “Contrary to impressions created by Union Bank, there was no case of fraudulent diversion and conversion of proceeds as alleged. We would like to confirm on good authority that the products were duly imported and sold in the open market,” Mr Udoh said.

    He added, “Total proceeds from the transaction was N1.9billion, and in line with our offer letter and best practice, same amount was provided for. The management of Union Bank was subsequently advised to bid for appropriate foreign exchange to discharge the LC.

    “Unfortunately, Union Bank, for reasons best known to them, failed to heed several exchanges for the liquidation of the debt which Ontario diligently dealt with within the 60-day expiration of the facility.”

    Speaking further, he regretted that “Union Bank had unwittingly shot itself on the foot by its failure to register the Form M with Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), nearly 8 months after, which made it difficult for them to successfully bid for forex to tidy up the transaction.”

    “Finally, we are surprised that the ex parte order which targeted Ontario Oil and Gas Limited was used to seize the assets of The Renoire Logistics which is an independent entity with no similar directors or ownership. Union Bank failed to transparently manage this transaction and should blame itself for allowing the devaluation of the Naira to hurt its interests.

    “We do not owe Union Bank. All proceeds arising from the transaction has been fully redeemed. Any differential is as a result of devaluation of the Naira. Ontario would do everything legal to vacate the ex parte application,” Mr Udoh noted.

  • Nigeria, Morocco signs MoU on agric insurance coverage

    Nigeria, Morocco signs MoU on agric insurance coverage

    The Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending ( NIRSAL ) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Moroccan firms to expand agric insurance coverage in the country.

    The two firms are Mutuelle Agricole Marocaine d’Assurance ( MAMDA ) and MAMDA Reassurance (MAMDA-RE).

    The partnership would also cover the expansion of agricultural insurance products in the country.

    Signing the MoU in Abuja on Friday, the Managing Director of NIRSAL, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, said the partnership was a product of the bilateral agreement signed between President Muhammadu Buhari and King Mohammed VI of Morocco in December 2016.

    He noted that the MoU would cover `index based insurance products’ which included weather, pricing and yield to protect farmers’ investments in case of flood, fire or pestilence.

    Abdulhameed said the move was to de-risk agriculture, facilitate flow of finance to the sector to diversify the economy, attain self-sufficiency in food production and entrench inclusive economic growth.

    According to him, NIRSAL’s target is to move insurance coverage from about 0.5 million to 3.8 million agricultural primary producers to help reduce credit risks, increase lending and investments across the agriculture value chain.

    Abdulhameed said the partnership would involve advanced technical training on surveying aggregated farmlands, large commercial and plantations farms and loss assessment methods.

    Others are technical training on Geographic Information System (GIS), technology for agriculture and Remote Sensing application in Agricultural Crop Insurance.

    “This signing means a lot to the agriculture sector of the country.

    “As a risk management corporation for agriculture and agribusiness of the Central Bank of Nigeria, it is important for us to have capacity for risk analysis, management and mitigation.

    “For us to be able to deliver on our mandate of enabling the flow of finance and investment into the agriculture value chain, the capacity to do risk analysis, management is a second nature to us.

    “What you have seen today is symbolic, NISRAL leveraging the experience of MAMDA, the number one agriculture insurance company of Morocco, to learn the tools and skills of risk management in agriculture.’’

    Mr Khalid Abdellaoui, the Deputy CEO of MAMDA and MAMDA-RE, commended the Federal Government and NISRAL for the MoU.

    He said the companies were committed to assisting Nigeria to expand and move agriculture insurance forward in the country.

    Also speaking, Mr Moha Ou Ali-Tagma, the Morocco Ambassador to Nigeria, said that agriculture was a very important sector in Morocco, contributing over 20 billion dollars annually to the economy.

    “For our countries, it is important to develop the agriculture sector. This is a very important step in the long way of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

    “It correspondents with the interest of the King Mohammed the VI and President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Nigeria can count on Morocco and Morocco can count on Nigeria,’’ Ali-Tagma said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MAMDA, through its subsidiary MAMDA-Re launched in 2014 enables African partners to have access to global reinsurance capacity for agricultural risk.

    NAN