The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

  • Three suicide bombers killed in Borno attack

    Three suicide bombers killed in Borno attack

    Three suicide bombers were killed Friday in a pre-dawn attack close to the NNPC depot on Damboa Road, Maiduguri.

    Three fuel tankers were set ablaze in the attack, ahead of a planned visit by the United Nations Security Council to assess the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria.

    One of the bombers, an elderly woman, blew herself up beside a stationary tanker loaded with fuel around 3 a.m.

    With her was a young man in his teens and a girl who continued down the road toward the fuel depot until they were challenged by soldiers who fired at them to avert what could have been a major attack on the fuel depot.

    “We are lucky. Today could have been another sad day for us in Maiduguri,” the State Police Commissioner Damian Chukwu told reporters at the scene.

    “They (soldiers) ordered them to stop but they chose to run,” Gajibo said. “The male suicide bomber detonated his explosives near S. Baba (gas) filling station, while the girl was shot at by the military and ran under a parked truck loaded with petrol products which went up in flames” when her explosives detonated.

    Firefighters razed to the spot, opposite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to put out the fire.

    Spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Abdulkadir Ibrahim confirmed three deaths.

    He said: “the fire has been brought under control while evacuation has been concluded.”

    “Three suicide bombers came into the city through Damboa around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) and they were spotted by civilian (vigilantes),” he said.

    “They quickly ran and hid under three petrol tankers, where one of them detonated his explosives, killing all of them.”

    The attack came just days before a delegation of the U.N. Security Council is due  in Maiduguri as part of a four-nation tour of countries in the Lake Chad Basin devastated by the seven-year Boko Haram uprising that has killed more than 20,000.

    Yesterday, the Security Council members were in Cameroon for meetings with top officials and an encounter with the multinational force that has been fighting Boko Haram extremists.

    Council members also plan to go to Chad and Niger, then on to Nigeria, where they are expected to visit a camp in Borno State for people displaced by Boko Haram.

  • CBN demands foreign exchange outlets at airports

    CBN demands foreign exchange outlets at airports

    To ease the burden of travellers, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all banks to open Foreign Exchange outlets to sell dollars and other hard currencies at major airports.

    According to a statement signed on Monday by the CBN acting Director of Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, the banks are to do so as soon as logistics permit.

    Okorafor said that this would also ensure that transactions were settled at much more competitive exchange rates.

    “Similarly, the CBN is providing direct additional funding to banks to meet the needs of Nigerians for Personal and Business Travel, Medical needs, and School fees, effective immediately.

    “For medical and school fees, such payments must be made by commercial banks directly to the institution specified by the customer.

    “The CBN would ensure that this process is as smooth as possible and that as many customers as possible get the foreign exchange they genuinely demand.

    “The CBN expects such retail transactions to be settled at a rate not exceeding 20 percent above the interbank market rate,” he said.

    Okorafor said that the apex bank had also reduced the tenure of its Forward Sales from the current maximum cycle of 180 days, to not more than 60 days from the date of transactions.

    “In order to maintain confidence in the FX market, the CBN will immediately begin implementing its articulated programme to clear all the unfilled orders in the interbank FX market.

    “Given our plan to meet all unfilled orders, and provision of FX to the manufacturing sector would remain the CBN’s strong priority, we will no longer impose allocation rules on commercial banks.

    “We will implement an effective intervention programme to support the inter-bank market to ensure adequate liquidity necessary to deliver an efficient FX market,” he said.

    Okorafor said that the FMDQ trading had also been advised to activate its Foreign Exchange Order-Book systems as soon as possible and also accelerate the onboarding of FX clients on the FX Relationship Systems to ensure total transparency of the FX market.

    The apex bank urged market participants to assist in ensuring that these new measures were followed to preserve the external reserves, the stability of the financial system and economic growth for the benefit of all Nigerians.

  • FG crude export increases to $195.40m in December 2016

    The total sale of crude oil that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) exported in December 2016 increased by $20.22million to hit $195.40million.

    The corporation disclosed this in its monthly financial and operational reports of December last 2016, stressing that “A total export sale of $195.40 million was recorded in December, 2016. This is $20.22 million higher than the preceding month’s performance. Crude oil export sales contributed $100.37million (or 51.36%) of the dollar transactions compared with $96.31Million contribution in the previous month.”

    According to the report that the corporation posted on its website yesterday,  the export gas sales amounted to $ 95.04 million in the month. January – December 2016 Crude Oil and Gas transactions indicate that Crude Oil & Gas worth $2,445,451.64million was exported.

    The report noted that the Domestic Crude Oil and Gas receipt during the month amounted to N58.21 billion, consisting of N5.11billion from Domestic Gas and the sum of N53.10 billion from Domestic Crude Oil. Out of the Naira receipt, the sum of N25.86 Billion (N18.16 Billion out of N53.10 Billion and NNPC augmentation of N7.70billion) was transferred to Joint Venture Cash Call (JVCC) being a first line charge and to guarantee continuous flow of revenue stream to Federation Account.

    Continuing, the reported said that “NNPC transferred the sum of N34.93 Billion into Federation Account during the month under review from the net domestic crude oil receipt and N5.11Billion from Gas receipts.

    “Also, the 29th installment of the refund to FG of N6.33Billion was transferred. In 2016, Federation, JV, and FG received the sum N653.06Billion, N355.17 Billion and N75.96 Billion respectively.”

    NNPC said that its group operating revenue for the months of November and December 2016 were ₦187.750billion and ₦206.40billion respectively.

    It added that “This represents 79.04% and 86.89% respectively of monthly budget. Similarly, operating expenditure for the same periods were ₦206.47billion and ₦223.40 billion respectively, which also represents 98.46% and 106.54% of budget for the months respectively.”

    NNPC, said the report, has been operating in a challenging environment which limits its aspiration to profitability.

    It said that overall, a trading deficit of ₦17.01 billion was recorded for the month under review as against the reported November, 2016 trading deficit of ₦18.72billion.

    The report said: “This represents a decrease of ₦1.71billion in trading deficit as against November, 2016. The marginal decrease is due to improved PPMC Coastal sales following completion of reconciliation with other marketers. Other factors that affected the overall NNPC’s performance include Force Majeure declared by SPDC as a result of the vandalized 48- inch Forcados export line after the restoration on 17th October, 2016 amongst others.”

    On federation crude oil and gas revenue, the December report explained that Federation Crude Oil and Gas lifting are broadly classified into Equity Export Crude and Domestic Crude. Both categories are lifted and marketed by NNPC and the proceeds remitted to the Federation Account.

    Equity Export receipts, after adjusting for Joint Venture (JV) Cash Calls, according to the report, are paid directly into JP Morgan Account operated by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Domestic Crude Oil of 445,000bopd is allocated for Refining to meet domestic products supply. Payments are effected to Federation Account by NNPC after adjusting crude & product losses and pipeline repairs & management cost incurred during the period.

    The report reads in part: “NNPC also lift Crude Oil and Gas, other than Equity and Domestic Crude Oil, on behalf of DPR and FIRS proceeds of which are remitted into Federation Account.

    “The Third Party finance lifting are Crude Oil and Gas from fields that are financed using alternative finance/loan facility which require the servicing of debt obligations before remitting the balance to Federation Account as Price Balance as shown below:

    “Total export proceeds of $175.04 million were recorded in December 2016 as receipt against $162.40 Million in November 2016. Contribution from Crude oil amounted to $97.87 Million while Gas and miscellaneous receipt stood at $77.16 Million and $0.015 Million. The total export proceeds was remitted to fund the JV cash Call for the month of December 2016 to guarantee current and future production.

    “Total export crude Oil & Gas receipt for the period of January, 2016 – December, 2016 stood at $2.40 Billion. Out of which the sum of $ 2.33 Billion was transferred to JV Cash Call in line with 2016 Approved Budget (See Table & Chart 6.3.1) and the balance of $0.073Billion was paid to Federation Account. However, this JVCC amount falls short of the 2016 Appropriated amount of $.8.55Billion (See Table & Chart 6.3.1). This is due to twin effect of production disruption in Niger-Delta and low Crude Oil prices during the year.”

  • Forex utilization: CBN disburses $2.83bn in two months

    Forex utilization: CBN disburses $2.83bn in two months

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has disbursed the sum of $2.83 billion for utilization in the critical sectors of the economy between December 2016 and January 2017.

    A release by the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor stated that manufacturing, industrial raw material and agriculture among others topped these disbursements targeted at employment generating and wealth creating sectors of the economy.

    A breakdown of the disbursement shows that, “the sum of $609 million and $228 million were released for raw materials in the months December and January respectively while manufacturing also attracted the sum $53 million and $71 million respectively during the same period.”

    The foreign exchange utilization figures indicate that the sums of $1.839 billion and $0.989 billion respectively were extended to critical sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, petroleum products and airlines among others in December 2016 and January 2017.

    Commenting further on the development, Okorafor, stressed the determination of the Bank to continue to ease the foreign exchange pressure on critical sectors.

    It will be recalled that the CBN in the month of November 2016, supported critical sectors with $1,070,175,392.04 equivalent of foreign exchange for agricultural machinery, industrial raw materials, education and personal travel allowances to source industrial raw materials and spare-parts through the interbank foreign market.

  • Lawyer urges FG to make whistleblowing policy a law

    Lawyer urges FG to make whistleblowing policy a law

    A constitutional lawyer, Mr Onyekachi Ubani, on Monday urged the Federal Government to make its policy on whistleblowing a law for proper enforcement.

    Ubani told newsmen in Lagos that the policy would be very effective in the recovery of looted funds when it becomes a law.

    The Federal Government on December 21, 2016, approved a new policy on whistleblowing that aims to encourage Nigerians to report financial and other related crimes to relevant authorities.

    The policy offers whistleblowers whose revelations lead to the recovery of money up to five per cent of the recovered sum.

    The federal government on Sunday said it recovered another $151 million and N8 billion looted funds from three sources through whistleblowers.

    “I’m very happy the government came up with this policy. The policy is very good and timely for us as a nation.

    “This is just a government pronounced policy; government should go further to enact it into law because it is when it is enacted into law that it can be enforced in a court of law.

    “As a pronounced policy, I do not know the efficacy or how it will be enforced.

    “I hear the Whistleblowing Bill is pending before the National Assembly; they should speed up its enactment into law for proper enforcement and to encourage more whistleblowers,” Ubani said.

    He urged the government to keep its promise of non-disclosure of the identity of whistleblowers and in dispensing money to individuals who gave out information without delay.

    The constitutional lawyer also urged the Federal Government to reform the banking industry in order to check money laundering and looting in the country.

    “Banks in Nigeria have not helped our economy; they aid and abet money laundering.

    “The Minister of Information said that fake names were used in opening some bank accounts and I wonder how come the banks did not process genuine documents for such persons making such deposit,’’ Ubani said.

    He also urged the government to change the policy of appointing a banker as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for efficiency sake.

    “The Federal Government must reform the banking industry by changing the policy of appointing a banker as the CBN governor because the man in charge will continue to protect his own.

    “The banks too should support government’s efforts by reporting any suspicious bank accounts to the appropriate authority,” he said.

    On lawyers who defend individuals involved in treasury looting and money laundering, Ubani advised lawyers to shun unethical practices and desist from manipulating the system in favour of criminals.

  • Oyo suspends LG elections indefinitely 

    Oyo suspends LG elections indefinitely 

    Oyo State Government has suspended the planned local government elections slated for February 11 following a court injunction obtained by 15 village heads in Oyo town.

    This was disclosed by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Seun Abimbola while addressing journalist on Tuesday in company of the State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Toye Arulogun, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bimbo Kolade and the Special Advicer to the governor on communication and strategy, Yomi Layinka.

    A Federal High Court judge in Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, ordered the Oyo State Independent Election Commission (OYSIEC) not to proceed with its plan to conduct local government election slated for February 11.

    The judge also directed the Accountant General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Ministry of Finance to withhold monthly allocation to the 33 local government councils in the state.

    The orders were made in Abuja on Friday, January 20, following a motion ex-parte filed in the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/11/2017 on behalf of 15 Baales from Oyo Federal Constituency by the lawyer, Ahmed Raji SAN, pursuant to the creation of 35 local council development authorities (LCDAs) in the state.

    The creation of the LCDAs by the state government last year was said to have tampered with the boundaries of the 33 existing local government areas recognised in the 1999 Constitution.

    The 15 village heads in some communities, which were hitherto under Oyo Federal Constituency, got ceded to local government areas which fall within the boundary of Oyo North Senatorial district.

    The four local government councils in Oyo Federal Constituency are within Oyo Central Senatorial district.

    The court also directed that monthly allocation to the 33 councils should be lodged in an interest-yielding account to prevent the state government from using same to fund the LCDAs as prayed by the plaintiffs.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was also restrained from supporting OYSIEC in the conduct of the election through the release of voter register or any other material.

    Abimbola explained that the state government set up a petition and review committee which was headed by him when the government received petitions and complained from some communities that their land has been ceded or encroached upon by another communities with the creation of the LCDAs.

    “The peace loving governor after receiving all this petitions set up the committee to look into it, and different aggrieved party, including the 15 village heads who appeared in person before the committee, but we were shock when we learnt that they have obtain a court injunction without waiting for the resolution of the committee.

    “We were served with the court injunction just yesterday by the federal high court at our liaison office in Abuja.” he said

    The Commissioner for Justice said as a law abiding government, they will abide with the court order and suspend the conduct of the election indefinitely, promising that the order will be contested vigorously in the court.

    He urge the resident and the political parties in the state to remain calm and uphold peace in the state.

    Similarly, Arulogun dispel the rumour making rounds that the state government was behind the court injunction.

    He said:” The court order stopping the conduct of the election is not government orchestrated or induced. If the state government does not want to conduct election, he will not release funds for OYSIEC or set date for the election”.

    Also, Kolade said the creation of the LCDAs has not been cancelled, noting that it was only the election into the council areas that has been suspended.

    He said the creation of the LCDA areas was the request by the people and not the state government.

    The Commissioner promised that once the order has been vacated, the election will be conducted immediately.

  • Farmers allege fraud in CBN anchor borrowers programme

    Farmers allege fraud in CBN anchor borrowers programme

    Farmers in Cross River State who are beneficiaries of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme have alleged fraud in the programme.

    The programme is a Federal Government initiative to boost production for rice farmers in the country.

    According to them, they signed for a loan of N250, 000 at the Bank of Agriculture, but were given N95, 000.

    They claimed, according to the terms of the agreement, they are to be given N250, 000 as well as rice, fertiliser and insecticides among others.

    One of the farmers, who gave his name as Adoga said: “After being told that the fertiliser was given at a subsidised rate, officials of the bank have now said that the N95,000 was the balance after deduction for fertiliser which is given at N7,500 against the market value of N6,000 and the other items.

    “They made us signed for the sum of N250, 000 but our accounts were credited with just N95, 000. We want the Federal Government to explain this disparity to us.

    “We don’t know why the Federal Government handed over the program to the state to coordinate. We should have been made to deal directly with the Presidential Committee handling the programme. Please, this issue should be addressed urgently.”

    But the Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Prof Anthony Eneji, said the farmers misunderstood the terms of the agreement.

    He explained: “The whole scheme is calculated based on per hectare basis. Loans are given to farmers based on per hectare basis. For each hectare, what was agreed with the farmers in a stakeholders meeting was N235,000 and not N250,000. That is the sum of the loan. Not all of that was to be given to them in cash. Mostly it is in the form of the improved rice treated seed, the fertilisers, fertilisers and then other agrochemicals. We did this because if the money is given to them cash, they would not buy all those things.

    “So the money is given when they want to floor their land to till it and then when it is time to harvest, then the balance cash is given so they can harvest. So it is not that they are supposed to have everything in cash. That is how the scheme operates.

    “What is given to them now is part of the N235,000. Like they are given six bags of fertilizers each, they know how much a bag of fertilizer is selling. Then there are chemicals, and improved rice seeds, all the costs are deducted from there and the balance is given to them to floor their land and also during the harvest. So they are coming with a wrong understanding.”

  • CBN, Sokoto to spend N1.12bn on wheat farming

    CBN, Sokoto to spend N1.12bn on wheat farming

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Sokoto State Government had spent over N1.12 billion on the 2016/2017 Anchor Borrowers Wheat Farming Programme, an Official said in Sokoto on Thursday.

    The Chairman of the Framework Committee on Agricultural Development in the State, Alhaji Chiso Abdullahi, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    Abdullahi, a former Deputy Governor of the state, said that out of the amount, the apex bank contributed about N990 million, while the state government provided over N125 million.

    According to him, no fewer than 4,305 farmers are benefiting from the gesture for the season that commenced Nov. 2016 and will end in the first week of Feb. 2017.

    ”The state government had since distributed over 1500 bags of wheat seeds free to the farmers across the state.

    ”In the same vein, the state government had sold additional 2,094 bags of wheat seeds to the farmers, with each bag bought at N 35,000 and sold at N 18,219.

    ”The government had also given assorted fertilisers to the farmers at highly subsidised rates as well as other farm inputs,” he said.

    The chairman further said that the farmers had been fully trained, while adequate extension officers were provided for them, with each farmer billed to get a package of N 235,000 in cash and kind.

    He further stated that both the CBN and the state government have made adequate arrangements to provide all the logistics needed for the success of the programme.

    Abdullahi added that the state government has also bought 3,000 water pumps and sold to tomatoes farmers at highly subsidised prices.

    He said that each water pump was bought at N42, 000 and sold to the beneficiaries at N10, 000.

    ”In the same vein, the state government had bought 6,000 bags of fertilisers for sale to the tomatoes farmers at subsidised prices.

    ” The state government has also concluded arrangements to establish a mini-tomatoes paste production company in the state.

    ”All these are being done in the bid to have more value addition, reduce poverty and unemployment, curb post-harvest losses and boost food security in the state,” Abdullahi said.

  • FG should remove hindrances, check corruption at seaports -Experts

    Dr Samuel Nzekwe, former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) on Thursday advised the Federal Government to remove all hindrances delaying the clearing of goods at the seaports.

    Nzekwe, who gave the advice in an interview with journalists in Ota, Ogun added that the move would boost the nation’s revenue.

    “The Federal Government should make clearing of vehicles and other goods easier at the seaports because Nigeria is losing huge revenue to neighbouring countries,’’ he said.

    The financial expert added that there was the need for government to look into reasons why people preferred to use the land border than the seaports.

    He said that if seaports were conducive for clearing of goods, the issue of bringing vehicles through land border would not happen.

    The  Federal Government on Monday banned the importation of vehicles into Nigeria through land borders.

    The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Wale Adeniyi, said this in a statement he made available to newsmen on Monday in Lagos.

    Nzekwe stressed that the ban on importation vehicles through the land borders would reduce government revenue in the short-run.

    He, however, urged the government to address corruption among the customs officials, so that more funds could be generated into the nation’s treasury.

    Another expert, Dr Titus Okunronmu, former Director, Budgetary Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), however, expressed concern on the ban on the importation of vehicles through land borders.

    He said that the ban might not achieve its objective, considering the size of the country.

    Okunronmu also stressed the need for government to tackle sharp practices among customs officials with a view to making them accountable for money collected in the discharge of their duties.