The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

  • Ohanaeze applauds FG on agric initiatives

    The President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, has applauded the agricultural initiatives of the Federal Government saying they are yielding positive results in Igbo speaking states.

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo is the apex socio-cultural organisation of Igbo speaking states in Nigeria.

    Addressing newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday, Nwodo contended that with the implementation of the initiatives, the federal government had taken the best move to take the people out of recession.

    He said that the various agricultural schemes embarked by the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were a huge success.

    The Ohanaeze chieftain said that the CBN governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, should be commended for the intervention of the apex bank in various empowerment programmes aimed at stimulating the economy.

    Nwodo said: “we want to use this opportunity to salute the governor of the Central Bank.

    “This gentleman has had one of the most difficult challenges that have faced any governor of the CBN.

    “What he has done lately in terms of fighting the value of the naira is most commendable.

    “His programmes at assisting agriculture have impacted positively on the sector.

    “It is working in Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, Anambra and it is beginning to work in Enugu state and we are immensely grateful to him.

    “We encourage him to continue to work in this way to ensure that the ordinary people in Nigeria can bounce back as this recession continues to recede in its calamitously effect on our standard of living.”

    Nwodo said that the achievements of the government in the petroleum sector should not be overlooked as the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had been reinvigorated.

    He said that the achievements recorded in the NNPC during the tenure of Dr Ibe Kachikwu as Minister of State for Petroleum and Managing Director were outstanding.

    “Since the NNPC was incorporated, no minister or managing director has ever put the corporation on public portal.

    “But by the click of the mouse, when our son was there, you could tell how much came into NNPC every day and how much was spent.

    “For the first time, petroleum subsidy was removed without the economy collapsing,” he said.

    The Ohaneze president appealed to the Federal Government to intervene and rehabilitate the Enugu/Port Harcourt expressway which he described as “death trap.’’

    “While we commend the minister of Power, Works and Housing for the work that has started on the Enugu/Onitsha road, we want to draw his attention to the road between Enugu and Port Harcourt.

    “The road is a death trap. It is tortuous and God knows how long it will take to rehabilitate the road especially with all the stops by security men,” he said.

    Nwodo expressed concern that the entire South-East seemed to be under security siege by officers of the armed forces, who he alleged, extort money openly from innocent citizens and road users.

    He said that complaints by the organisation against the brazen impunity of the security agencies on the roads across the zone had remained unattended to.

  • Lawmaker denies disbursement of N1bn agric loan to politicians

    Assemblyman Isiaku Aliyu-Adams, Chairman, Kwara House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, on Wednesday denied the speculations that the N1billion Agric Loan, which the state secured, had been disbursed to politicians.

    Aliyu-Adams told News Agency of Nigeria NAN) in llorin that the loan was never hijacked by politicians or given to “political farmers’’.

    NAN reports that the Kwara House of Assembly in January 2017 approved the request of Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed to obtain N1 billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost agriculture in the state.

    NAN also reports that the since the approval of the loan, there has been speculations in many quarters that the loan would be disbursed to “political farmers’’, just like the previous ones.

    Aliyu-Adams said that genuine farmers in the state were free to contact the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce and Cooperatives and obtain application forms for funds from the loan.

    He described the rumour regarding the disbursement of the loan to “political farmers’’ as baseless and a calculated attempt to derail the good intentions of the state government.

    He stressed that agriculture remained the most viable option in the ongoing efforts to diversify the nation’s economy.

  • DG NYSC expresses FGs commitments towards empowering corps members

    DG NYSC expresses FGs commitments towards empowering corps members

    Brig-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, Director-General, National Youth service Corps (NYSC) said on Thursday that the Federal Government was committed to   empowering corps members with skills to enable them become self-employed after their  service.

    Kazaure stated this when he inspected the NYSC Integrated Skills Acquisition and Vocational Centre project for the North- East zone in Lafiawo town of Akko Local Government in Gombe state , currently under construction.

    He said similar centres would be sited in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.

    Kzaure said the projects would not only enable the corps members to be self-employed, but also become employees of labour after their service year.

    “When we come on board, we discovered that we have problem of post-camp training in skills acquisition and therefore decided to initiate a project in the six geo-political zones.

    “If you look at the number of corps members we are producing, no government or private organizations can employ all of them,” he said.

    According to him, the project is being embarked upon in collaboration with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Industry (BOI).

    Kazaure expressed his satisfaction with the level of work on the projects in the state and urged the contractor to maintain standard.

    Mr Ibeh Chidube, NYSC Coordinator in Gombe said that the centre had the capacity to accommodate 500 corps members and 20 facilitators.

    He then commended the effort of the D-G for his initiative, and Gombe state government, for their support

  • Buhari renominates 82-year-old ambassadorial nominee, two others

    Buhari renominates 82-year-old ambassadorial nominee, two others

    . . .CBN board members too

    President Muhammadu Buhari has renominated 82-year-old retired Justice Sylvanus Nsofor (Imo) for the Senate’s consideration for a second time.

    The Senate had, a few weeks back, rejected Nsofor on grounds of old age and health related issues.

    Besides Nsofor also failed to recite the national anthem and refused to answer questions directed at him by the Senate committee on Foreign Affairs that screened him and others.

    The names of Joseph Olusola Iji (Ondo) and retired Commodore Yusuf Hinna (Gombe) were also included in the list.

    The bulk of the ambassadorial nominees had already been screened and cleared by the Senate and the successful candidates had already been assigned their designated countries of posting.

    President Buhari’s letter to the Senate was dated March 29, 2017 and addressed to the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

    The President also forwarded the names of five nominees for confirmation as Non-Executive Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The nominees are Prof Ummu Ahmed Jalingo (North East), Prof Justitia Odinakachukwu Nnabuko (South East), Prof Mike Obadan (South South), Dr. Abdu Abubakar (North West), Adeola Adetunji (South West).

    The President’s message was conveyed through a letter to the President of the Senate, dated April 11, 2017 addressed to the President of the Senate.

    President Buhari urged the Senate to expedite action on the screening and consideration of the two sets of nominees.

  • Nigeria will be out of recession by end of 2nd quarter – Emefiele

    Nigeria will be out of recession by end of 2nd quarter – Emefiele

    The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has assured Nigerians that the country would get out of economic recession latest by the end of June this year.

    This, according to him, is based on emerging positive economic indicators to that effect.

    Emefiele gave the assurance at the National Assembly Complex on Tuesday while fielding questions from journalists after a closed-door meeting with the leadership of the Senate.

    He said one of the indicators was the downward trend in the parallel market as regards the value of   Naira against the dollar which has appreciated from as higher as N525 per dollar to between N370 to N380.

    Other indicators according to him are the already confirmed reduction in the rate of inflation by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

    He said that the CBN had been involved in some form of intensive interventions in the foreign exchange market and this has fortunately resulted in a downward trend in the parallel market price of foreign exchange from as higher as N525 to as low as N370.

    “I think it’s an opportunity for me to say that we are going to continue this intervention because the reserve looks very good. As I speak to you our reserve stands at above 31 billion dollars and that provides us enough of firepower or ammunition to be able to defend the currency and we will do so with all intensity to ensure that foreign exchange is procured by everybody.

    “We have started to see a downward trend even in prices of goods and commodities and you have also must have observed that inflation is also trending downward as confirmed by NBS.

    “We are very much optimistic that by the end of the second quarter very latest third quarter this year, we should be out of recession that we are in right now”.

    He assured that the downward trend in the parallel market in favour of the Naira  would be sustained by the CBN through its needed interventions and in particular, through the policy of willing buyer and willing seller basis.

    “I think what is important is that last week we brought out an announcement which is meant to encourage our foreign investor community to get involved as well in the foreign exchange market.

    “It is the market or window that is opened for them to inflow their foreign exchange and come into the market on what we called a willing buyer, willing seller basis in which case there will be no form of any price intervention by anybody and indeed even including the Central Bank,” he said

  • Forex: CBN creates FX window for investors, exporters

    Forex: CBN creates FX window for investors, exporters

    Two weeks after opening a special Forex window for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, established a Forex widow for investors and exporters.

    The ‎Bank’s Director in charge of Financial Markets, Dr Alvan Ikoku,in a circular, said the purpose of the window was to boost liquidity in the forex market and ensure timely execution and settlement of eligible transactions.

    Ikoku listed eligible transactions under the new window to include invisible transactions such as loan repayments, loan interest payments, Dividends, Income Remittances, Capital Repatriation, Management Service Fees and Consultancy fees.

    Also on the eligible list are Software subscription fees, Technology Transfer Agreements, Personal Home Remittances and other eligible transactions including ‘miscellaneous Payments’ as detailed under Memorandum 15 of the CBN Foreign Exchange Manual.

    Ikoku said the invisible transactions under this window excluded international airlines ticket sales’ remittances.

    He said that the window covered Bills for Collection and any other trade-related payment obligations, which are at the instance of the customer.

    Ikoku further clarified that the permitted invisible transactions and Bills for Collection were eligible to purchase foreign currency sourced from the CBN Forex window limited to Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) Wholesale, that is Spot and Forwards sales.

    “international airlines ticket sales’ remittances shall only be eligible to access the CBN FX window (SMIS-Retail and Wholesale)spot and forwards.

    “The supply of foreign currency to the window shall be through portfolio investors, exporters, authorised dealers and other parties with foreign currency to exchange to Naira.

    “The CBN shall also be a market participant at the window to promote liquidity and professional market conduct,” he said. ‎

    The CBN said participants at the new window would trade via telephone until appreciable progress is made with the FX trading systems on-boarding process, which is the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange (FMDQ) Thomson Reuters FX Trading & Auction Systems.

    Ikoku advised authorised dealers to promote market transparency by encouraging their corporate clients to ensure the activities of the window are operated on the forex trading systems.‎

    As part of the operational requirements of the window, Ikoku said the exchange rates of the transactions in the window shall be as agreed between authorised dealers and their counterparties.

    He also said that the CBN reserved the right to intervene as a buyer or seller, as it deems fit, in the window, adding that information on transactions between authorised dealers would be reported to the CBN on a daily basis.

    It will be recalled that the CBN had injected over 380 million dollars into several segment of the foreign exchange market this week alone with hope of improving FX liquidity in the market and firm up the value of the Naira. (NAN)

  • Cashless Policy: CBN suspends charges on large withdrawals

    Cashless Policy: CBN suspends charges on large withdrawals

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed Deposit Money Banks to suspend charges on over-the-counter or ATM withdrawals of above N500,000 or deposit of same amount.

    The apex bank’s Director, Banking and Payments System Department, Mr Dipo Fatokun, in a circular dated April 20, 2017, said all the charges introduced in February, and meant to take effect from April 1, 2017, have been dropped.

    “For further clarification, the existing policy prior to the announcement of the new policy as earlier implemented in Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Anambra, Rivers states and the FCT shall remain.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the old charges to be reverted to are as follows: Individual charges on withdrawals or lodgment limit is now three per cent.

    “Corporate accounts will be charged five per cent for withdrawal or lodgment of over N3 million cash.

    “Henceforth, nothing will be charged as processing fees for lodgments,” he said.

    Fatokun directed banks to make all necessary refunds to customers with immediate effect.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the CBN in February announced its plan to extend the Cashless Policy to all the remaining states of the Federation by Oct. 1, 2017, to enhance the efficiency of payment systems.

    This policy, which received a lot of backlash from market analysts, was to commence in phases within the country with effect from April 1, 2017.

    The policy introduced charges on the cumulative cash withdrawals or deposits per customer per day, irrespective of the channels used either over-the-counter or ATM.

    The charges for individuals was two per cent for withdrawals above N500,000 to N5 million, 1.5 per cent on deposits for N500,000 to N1 million, and three per cent on deposits above N1 million to N5 million.

    Also, individual withdrawals above N5 million was to incur a 7.5 per cent charge.

    Similarly, corporate accounts were also to incur a charge of two per cent on withdrawals ranging from N3 million to N10 million, while withdrawals of that amount would be at a five per cent charge.

    Over-the-counter deposit of above N10 million to N40 million was to attract a three per cent charge and 7.5 per cent on withdrawals, while above N40 million attracts five per cent on deposits and 10 per cent on withdrawals.

    However, the policy exempted Revenue-Generating Accounts of the Federal, State and Local Governments, Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government from cash deposit charge.

    Also, accounts of Embassies, Diplomatic Missions, Multilateral, Aid Donor Agencies in Nigeria, Microfinance banks and Primary Mortgage Institutions were exempted from the cash deposit and withdrawal charges.

  • CBN to inject another $10,000 to BDCs

    CBN to inject another $10,000 to BDCs

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will inject additional 10,000 dollars proceeds of International Money Transfer Services Operators (IMTSO) to 3135 Bureau De Change Operators nationwide, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe says.

    Gwadabe, the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.

    According to him, the move by the CBN is to checkmate the activities of currency hoarders and speculators.

    NAN reports that the CBN had on Tuesday injected 10,000 dollars to BDCs nationwide.

    “Providing liquidity into the BDC subsector is the rat poison that will smoke the rat out of the hole in terms of speculation and hoarding.

    “The CBN’s action justifies its determination to continue to strengthen the Naira and get it out of the grips of speculators and hoarders,” Gwadabe said.

    The ABCON chief commended the “doggedness of the CBN in its interventions in the entire official window.

    NAN also reports that the CBN had on Monday vowed to stamp speculators out of the nation’s foreign exchange market through its interventions.

    The move by the CBN to rightfully explore the BDC window in stabilising the Naira exchange rate has shown the apex bank as a listening institution geared toward ameliorating the plights of FOREX end users.

     

  • Obaseki urges Edo farmers to see agriculture as a business venture

    Obaseki urges Edo farmers to see agriculture as a business venture

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo has urged farmers in the state to see agriculture as a veritable business that can be used to grow the state’s economy.

    The governor gave the advice on Tuesday when he received members of the state chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Benin.

    Obaseki said that the state government was creating the enabling environment for farmers in the state to thrive and become millionaires through its agribusiness initiative.

    “We want to help you improve your yields and reduce the challenges you are facing such as lack of access roads and storage facilities.

    “We are interested in structured cluster farming, where farmers can cultivate large hectares of lands via mechanisation.

    “We are also rehabilitating the fertiliser plant in Auchi, so as to expand the farmers’ access to fertilisers to boost their productivity.

    “So we want farmers in the state to see agriculture as a business with self-sustenance capacities,’’ he said.

    Obaseki said that the aim of his administration was to make available about 200,000 to 250,000 hectares of land for agricultural purposes within the next four years.

    “We have acquired lands in some local government areas and we are carrying out the pilot phase of our cluster farming.

    “We have prepared about 2,500 hectares of land for maize production in some local government areas.

    “We intend to replicate the model in other local government areas across the state,’’ he said.

    Besides, Obaseki informed the farmers’ association of the government’s plans to curb the menacing activities of herdsmen in the state.

    He said his administration was considering the establishment of cattle ranches across the various local government areas in the state.

    He said that the ranches would not only curtail the menace of the herdsmen at farms but would also serve as means of generating revenue for the government.

    Earlier, the state Chairman of AFAN, Chief Emmanuel Odigie, commended the governor for diversifying the economy via investments in the agriculture sector.

    Odigie said that the farmers’ association had over 80,000 registered members who were involved in full-scale crop growing across the state.

    He also said that the association was about to initiate an insurance scheme for its members, as part of its efforts to secure their farm produce.

    He, however, urged the state government to sign the some agreement documents with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to facilitate the release of the first batch of the Anchor Borrowers Programme’s loan to farmers in the state.

    He listed the challenges facing agriculture in the state as the heinous activities of herdsmen, poor storage facilities, lack of irrigation facilities and poor access roads to farmlands, among others.

  • PayPorte suspends ‘payment on delivery’

    PayPorte suspends ‘payment on delivery’

    The Managing Director of PayPorte, Mr Bassey Eyo said that the online store, Payporte.com has suspended Payment On Delivery (POD) as part of its payment options.

    Eyo said in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday that the decision was in line with the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cashless policy.

    It will be recalled that a delivery staff of Jumia, another online store in the country was brutally murdered in Port Harcourt, Rivers, after delivering goods to some customers on the Payment On Delivery basis.

    He added that the decision was because of the increasing security challenges posed by POD option and the need to improve customers’ satisfaction.

    According to him, only online secured payments and bank transfers will be accepted as means of payment from April 3.

    “We have suspended the Payment On Delivery option on our website with effect from April 3.

    “This is in our bid to better serve customers better and to re-position the business for profitability.

    “Our decision was necessitated by the increasing risk and security challenges posed by this payment option. Also to reduce the amount of cash carried from one location to another by our delivery staff.

    “We encourage our customers to make use of our other secured electronic payment options such as online payment or bank transfer for payments.

    “We believe this will also play an active role in the growth of e-commerce business in Nigeria as well as give a new dimension to the business,” he said.

    The PayPorte Head of Operations, Ms Boma Igah said that in line with the suspension, refunds for unsatisfied customers would now be processed within a maximum of 48 hours.

    Igah said that only customers who had shopped on PayPorte for five times or more would be able to have access the POD option from April 10, pending its total discontinuation.

    She said that the e-commerce platform understood the likely challenges which customers might face as a result of the new policy.

    “Customers that have already placed orders using the Payment on Delivery orders before March 3, 2017 will be allowed to pay using that option.

    “But for future orders, customers will be required to make payments using our various secured payment options,” Igah said.

    PayPorte started business activities in 2014 with products ranging from fashion and fashion accessories, shoes, electronics, smartphones, perfumes and home appliances.

    The online store is the sponsor of the ongoing Big Brother Naija reality show