The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

  • China partners with Nigeria to boost food production

    China partners with Nigeria to boost food production

    The Peoples Republic of China has expressed its readiness to a partnership with Nigeria to boost food production in the country.

    Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria  Zhou Pingjian, who made the promise said  the support would come through the provision of loan facilities to small and medium scale farmers and manufacturers through the China Development Bank.

    He spoke on Wednesday in  Abuja  when he paid a visit to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh.

    Pingjian  said the bank had over N10 billion which could be loaned to farmers and manufacturers in the country to boost agricultural production.

    “This visit and partnership is the aftermath of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to China.

    “This loan facility will work just like the Anchor Borrowers scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    “Agriculture is one of the priority areas that we want to support Nigeria,’’ he said.

    Ogbeh appealed to the Chinese Government to assist the country in developing processing machines that could facilitate mechanised agriculture.

    He listed some agricultural products that needed adequate processing to meet international standards.

    “We have so many young people in Nigeria that we want to leverage this opportunity of the support to establish.

    “This will help to boost our economy,’’ the minister said.

  • CBN warns against charging double digit interest rates

    CBN warns against charging double digit interest rates

    Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) in the country have been warned against charging double-digit interest rate on intervention funds guaranteed by the CBN.

    According to a statement by the CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor on Wednesday,The Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele gave the warning in Abeokuta, Ogun.

    He did so during an interaction between the Presidential Task Force on Agricultural Commodities and Production and young farmers at the Owowo Model Farm Estate.

    The governor assured the young farmers of the CBN funding support through their respective PFIs.

    Emefele asked them to report any bank that charged above 9 per cent interest on loans guaranteed by the CBN.

    He assured them that development finance officers of CBN were available to assist them on how to access credit from its various intervention funds to create wealth and meet the country’s food needs.

    The governor advised the young farmers to take advantage of the Bank’s Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP) and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) to create wealth.

    Also, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief AuduOgbeh, assured the youth that the Federal Government would support their quests to make legitimate earnings from agriculture.

    Ogbeh expressed confidence in the ability of the youth to produce agricultural commodities that would earn the country the much-needed foreign exchange.

    He also commended the effort of the CBN governor, who he noted was very concerned about the import bills of the country, particularly as it had to do with rice importation.

    Also, Gov. Atiku Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi commended the CBN for its support to  revamping agricultural value chains across different crop types.

    Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun thanked the presidential task force for visiting the state.

    He said that his administration would partner with the CBN and do all within available resources to fund the agricultural sector.

    It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, on Nov. 17, 2015, launched the CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme in Kebbi.

    The programme is aimed at upgrading small farmers to commercial farmers, thereby achieving the trio objective of stimulating the needed capacity to meet the nation’s increasing food needs.

    Some of the intervention fund by the CBN in the agricultural sector include Agricultural Credit Support Scheme, Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme and Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme.

  • Sanusi advises Buhari to jettison $30b loan plan

    Sanusi advises Buhari to jettison $30b loan plan

    …Says support to private sector will end recession

     

    The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi Friday kicked against plans by President Muhammadu Buhari to seek approval of the Senate on the $30 billion loan request.

    The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor said even if the Senate gave their ascent to the loan, no country or global financial institutions would be willing to grant the loan request.

    Sanusi during policy dialogue forum organised by the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), in Abuja disclosed that for a nation that has five exchange rates, it would be difficult for such request to scale through.

    He said the nation’s foreign exchange lacks credibility, thus federal government needed to embrace private sector investments as means to grow the economy out of recession.

    Sanusi emphasised that oil cannot help the nation out of the current economic situation and it would “never make Nigeria ‎rich.”

    His words: ‎”I can tell you for free, if the Senate today approve that we can borrow $30 billion, honestly, no one will lend us. It should be approved and I will like to see how you will go to the international market with an economy that has five exchange rates.

    “There is one rate for petroleum marketers, there is inter-bank rate, there is another for money market operators such as western union, money gram, there is bureau de change rate and there is a special rate you get when you call the CBN for a transaction.

    “So who will borrow you when they don’t know your exact reserve and exchange rate. I want to see who will borrow you money when the Niger Delta bombing of oil is there ‎when the main source of the loan repayment is oil.”

    He noted that the country’s population continued to grow to over 40 million people since 2015, yet government found it hard to increase capital expenditure.

    He warned on continuous dependence on China as good ally, adding that imports from China have scrapped the nation’s local industry.

     

    “We trust China too much. We need to be very careful. They are killing our textile and other industries and yet selling to us,” he added.

    However, he urged the federal government to reduce its debt service through greater loan concessionary.

    He said the country in the past 15 years had been borrowing money to pay salaries, fuel subsidy and there are possibilities for the nation to keep borrowing in the next 15 years, as those borrowed were not channeled into health, power or infrastructural development.

    Sanusi said the June 2016 forex reform should be implemented to unite the market through single transparent rate rather than creating four new rates.

    “The Senate should support tax incentives and other benefits to encourage private sectors,” he added.

    In his remark, former Anambra State Governor‎, Peter Obi called for drastic reduction in cost of governance.

    He said only four states in the country are viable yet they are burdened with huge debts such as overheads.

    Obi called for a change of attitude in government activities.

     

  • Jonathan’s ex-aide bought Abuja house with N650m – witness

    A Federal High Court in Abuja heard Friday how former Principal Secretary to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan facilitated the purchase of a property in Maitama, Abuja with N650million paid from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Samuel Babatunji Adeniyi and Kabiru Yaro, who testified as 3rd and 4th prosecution witnesses in the trial of Jonathan’s cousin, Robert Azibaola, his wife, Stella and their company, One Plus Holdings Limited, gave details of how the property located at 15 Rio Negro Street was bought.

    Yaro and Adeniyi gave the name of the ex-Jonathan’s aide as Ambassador Hassan Tukur.

    They told the court that they did not know the defendants in person and have never related with them until they met them in court Friday. Both witnesses were led in evidence by prosecution lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir.

    Yaro , who described Tukur as his childhood friend, said the  property is located next to Jonathan’s house.

    “Sometime in October 2014, Nuuman Barau Dambatta, approached me that he had some debts in the bank and he wanted sell his two properties, one in Kano and one in Maitama, Abuja.

    “I told him I was not interested and he requested that the house in Maitama was a neighbour to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “He asked me if I could speak to Ambassador Tukur to see if he (Tukur) could buy the property. I called the ambassador and I told him that Barau was interested in selling the property and if he could assist.

    “I arranged, and Nuuman went to meet the ambassador (Tukur). Later Nuuman called me and asked for the Certificate of Occupancy and gave it to the ambassador.

    “Later Nuuman called me and said a valuation had been made on the property and that the valuation on the property was N650m, which the ambassador said he had got a buyer for, but he didn’t tell us who it was.

    “Later sometime in December 2014, the money was paid to Alhaji Nuuman Baraua’s estate agent.

    “Nuuman called me to say the payment he received came from the Central Bank of Nigeria, and I told him he sound call and ask the ambassador (Tukur) why the money came from there.

    “I said I didn’t know and that whatever name to he (Nuuman) saw was the one who had bought the property. After he signed the document, he gave them to me to take back to Ambassador Hassan Tukur.

    “That day he asked me to sign the original C of O. I collected it from him and signed it. From that time, the handing over is between him and the property buyers and I don’t know what else transpired until this matter came up,” Yaro said.

    Adeniyi, an estate surveyor and valuer, said he signed the sale documents, prepared in the name of One Plus Holdings, as a witness of the property seller.

    “Later our client (Nuuman) now told me that it’s like that and they (Tukur and his agents) are serious now. And he asked me to text our company’s account number to him.

    “Of course, I texted the account number details to him, I mean our account to him, I mean our account number at Wema Bank.

    “Suddenly on December 9, 2014, I got an alert of N650m from Wema Bank which tallied with the figure he had agreed with the prospective buyers.

    “Immediately I contacted him. I forwarded the text of the bank alert him that same night of December 9, 2014.

    “The details of the source of payment was ‘NEFT ONSA’ was the narration of the test that I got on the alert which I forwarded to our client.”

    He said the sale document was later prepared by a legal firm, M.B. Shehu & Co. which he said he signed as a witness.

    “The assignor is Alhaji Nuuman Barau Dambatta and the buyer was One Plus Holding.”

    Defence lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), while cross-examining Adeniyi, tendered his (Adeniyi’s) statement which he made to the EFCC.

    Although Tahir objected to the admission of the statement, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba overruled his objection to admit the statement.

    Justice Dimgba later adjourned to January 30 for continuation of trial.

  • CBN lifts manufacturing, power with $660m forex disbursements

    CBN lifts manufacturing, power with $660m forex disbursements

     The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disbursed $660.17 million to 1,342 manufacturers, power and other real sector operators for the procurement of raw materials, plants and machinery, foreign exchange (forex) utilisation report by apex bank has shown.

    The funds, sourced from the CBN and sold to the beneficiary customers at the official rate of about N30.5 to dollar, were handled by commercial, merchants and non-interest banks using the interbank market.

    The funds were specifically used for the procurement of raw materials, plants and machinery as specified in the Letters of Credit (LCs) under which they were sourced, and in-line with the CBN-stipulated import approval list.

    The forex utilisation report was  meant to promote transparency and accountability on the side of the lenders which act as a link between the regulator and the forex users.

    The report, which was for September, showed that large part of the funds went to 20 companies, with Dana Motors ($12,877,278.81), Nigeria Breweries ($6,240,000), A-Z Petroleum Products Limited ($12,962,425.04), Rahamaniya Oil & Gas ($19,220,000), Dag Motorcycles Industries Nigeria ($27,964,123) and Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited ($5,882,293.67) benefiting.

    Others are Biswal Limited ($6,779,858.11), HIS Nigeria Limited ($10,006,405.57), IPI Power Tech ($7,405,595.55), Promasidor Nigeria Limited ($5, 122, 472.80), Saba Steel Industries Limited ($11,147,478.58), and Crown Flour ($10,254,558). Also in the list are African Foundries Limited ($4,020,679.36), Parco Enterprises Limited ($6,558,320), Prime Plastochem Nigeria Limited ($5,668,012.75), TempoGate Oil & Gas ($7,145,279.25), Saro Agro Sciences Limited ($10,106,833.54), Midland Rolling Mills Ltd ($9,895,653.60), Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc ($11,968,016.74) and Matrix Energy Limited ($14,872,223.91).

    The report also showed the raw materials that the beneficiaries used the funds to import. Dana Motors Limited used its funds for import of Kia brand of vehicles in semi-knocked; Nigeria Breweries Plc for malt row winter specifications while for Dag Motorcycles Industries Nigeria Limited, they were used for  Bajaj vehicles spare parts import.

    The African Foundries Limited used its funds for the importation of industrial raw materials; Parco Enterprises Limited for the importation of hard wheat and  Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited, for the importation of 273 units of Pesi-Cola, the report showed.

    A-Z Petroleum Products Limited, Rahamaniya Oil & Gas Ltd, TempoGate Oil & Gas for gasoline import while for Biswal Limited, the funds were  used for Yaanmar engines import.

    HIS Nigeria Limited used its funds for telecom plant and equipment import while for IPI Power Tech it was for automatic board panel import. Promasidor Nigeria Limited procured Cowbell powder with its funds while for Matrix Energy Limited it was for unleaded gasoline import among others.

    The CBN said providing forex to the manufacturers and other key players in the economy was meant to enable it keep its promise to strengthen the real sector of the economy by ensuring that 60 per cent of available forex are used to procure industrial inputs, such as raw materials, machine spare-parts, telecom equipment, plastic raw materials, agricultural machines and pre-payment meters, amongst others.

    The CBN has also expressed its commitment to ensuring that manufacturers of goods for which Nigeria does not enjoy comparative advantage, are able to get LCs to import the required materials for their businesses.

    The exercise, the CBN insists, would provide a new lease of life in the manufacturing sub-sector, and also boost industrial output and employment. The regulator said it will continue to support and facilitate hitch-free procurement of necessary industrial inputs to sustain productive activities in the manufacturing sector.

    The gesture, it said, buttresses its commitment to rejuvenate and sustain industrial activities and retention of jobs.

  • CBN, SEC, others fingered in N450bn un-remitted operating surpluses

    CBN, SEC, others fingered in N450bn un-remitted operating surpluses

    The Federal Ministry of Finance said it constituted a committee to recover unremitted operating surpluses of agencies of government, running into N450billion.

    The committee led by the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, was mandated to reconcile the operating surpluses of 31 revenue-generating agencies of government for the period 2010-2015.

    A statement from ministry of finance signed by Festus Akanbi, Special Assistant, media to the finance minister said “the findings of the committee so far, have shown under-remittance of over N450 billion, which has accrued within the period.”

    The Finance Ministry stated that staff of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation have critically reviewed the accounting statements of these agencies, which include the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Petroleum Technology Development Fund, (PTDF), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), among others.

    The Committee will therefore be inviting the management of these agencies to explain why their operating surpluses have not been remitted as mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.

    Some of these agencies the ministry said “have incurred huge expenses on overseas training and medicals, and huge expenses on behalf of supervisory ministries and/other organs of government involved in oversight or regulatory functions without appropriate approval.”

    Other infractions include payment of salaries and allowances to staff and board members, governing councils, and commissions which are outside or above the amount approved by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) and the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

    The list also includes unacceptable expenses incurred on donations, sponsorships, etc; unfavourable contract signed for revenue collection by a third party; granting of staff loans that have not been repaid as well as sale and transfer of assets to board members, among others.

    According to the Finance Ministry, the overall effect of these practices is that operating surpluses of these agencies are lower than should be.

    As a result of this, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has directed the Accountant General of the Federation to issue a circular that will limit allowable expenses that can be spent as part of measures to ensure these agencies face strict monitoring.

    This development the statement said is part of the resolve of the Minister to ensure that leakages are tackled.

  • Security agents raid black market forex dealers

    Security agents raid black market forex dealers

    Security agents raided the offices of black market currency dealers yesterday, detaining some dealers and ordering others to sell dollars at a lower rate in a bid to break the fall of the currency, dealers said.
    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been unable to stop the naira’s slide on the black market, where importers go to buy dollars due to severe hard currency shortages. Nigeria has been hammered by a slump in prices for oil, a key source of revenue – in the form of dollars.
    The CBN has kept the official naira rate to the dollar artificially high, effectively driving hard currency dealing away from commercial lenders and towards the black market, the real benchmark.
    “The police and state security service officials are raiding black marketers in Lagos and Abuja to compel an appreciation of the naira,” Mallam Adamu, a bureau de change operator, told Reuters.
    Another trader said security agents visiting bureau de change operators told dealers not to sell dollars for more than N395. The Lagos police had no immediate comment.
    A source at the central bank declined to comment on the raids, saying only that the bank was concerned about the spread between the official and parallel market rate.
    The currency is changing hands at 460 naira per dollar on the black market, in contrast to the official rate of 305.5. The naira had regained some ground this week after dropping earlier from 470, but dealers said hard currency supplies were limited.
    “We’ve stopped buying dollars from just anybody that walks into our shop due to the harassment from security agents and a directive from our association,” said a dealer, asking not to be named.
    In June the central bank said it would float the naira but in reality it has reinstated a dollar peg at 305.5 via its daily interventions on the official market. The West African nation is in the middle of a recession as low oil prices have eroded public finances and hard currency reserves.
  • Naira appreciates against dollar

    Naira appreciates against dollar

    The Naira on Tuesday appreciated against the dollar in all the segments of the forex market, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The currency gained N44.95 to exchange at N305.27 to the dollar at the interbank market after its Monday’s record of N350. 22.

    At the parallel market, the naira gained N5 to exchange at N465 from N470 it traded on Monday, while it went for N565 and N510 against the Pound Sterling and the Euro, respectively.

    Trading at the Bureau De Change (BDC) Segment saw the currency exchange at N385, the control rated of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and at N564 against the Pound Sterling and N510 for Euro.

    Assessing the market, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), said that the naira had prospects of further appreciation in the days ahead.

    He told NAN that the CBN was working with Nigerians in Diaspora to woo more remittances back home.

    According to Gwadabe, the CBN had a robust meeting with stakeholders and Nigerians in Diaspora at the weekend in London on way to boost liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

    He said that more International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) had indicated interest in facilitating the repatriation of remittances from abroad. 

  • Naira stabilises at N304.75/$ at interbank market

    Naira stabilises at N304.75/$ at interbank market

    The naira on Wednesday stabilised at N304.75 to a dollar at the official interbank market, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the nation’s currency traded at N385 to a dollar, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N564 and N509, respectively.

    The naira, however, weakened at the parallel market, losing five points to exchange at N470, from N465 traded on Tuesday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N565 and 510 respectively.

    Prof. Sheiffdeen Tella, a senior Economist at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye in Ogun, said that the nation’s currency required a continuous inflow to sustain its appreciation at the market.

    Tella said that the market had been witnessing marginal appreciation because the inflow was not based on production.

    According to him, speculators take advantage of the movement of the naira to manipulate the market.

    The don explained that manufacturers were also looking the way of the parallel market to source for forex, thereby putting undue pressures on the naira.

    NAN reports that the sale of the proceeds of Diaspora remittances to BDCs had helped in sustaining the appreciation of the naira for about four weeks.

    Stakeholders are, however, troubled that in spite of the weekly sale of forex by Travelex and First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) in Lagos and Abuja, the naira was still struggling to survive.

     

  • NASS requests for detailed report on bailout from CBN

    NASS requests for detailed report on bailout from CBN

    The National Assembly has demanded for the detailed hard copy report of the federal government bailout to states from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Addressing journalists at the end of a “routine friendly oversight visit to the CBN” the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking and Other Financial Institutions, Senator, Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, disclosed that members of the committee were happy with the presentation of the apex bank on all issues raised but giving the importance of the bailout to state governments, the senate, he said, needed further clarification which required that the CBN forward the hard copy of the report to the committee for further perusal.

    According to Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, “we requested for a detailed hard copy of a report of the bailout and loans, we are satisfied with their (CBN) presentation, they have told us what they have done so far.”

    The senator also stated that members of the committee did not see any major problem between fiscal and monetary authorities. The alleged differences between both policy authorities the senator said “is only a matter of perception, they are working together in the interest of the country.”

    He assured that “the role of the National Assembly is to help the CBN perform its duties very well.”

    On his part, the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, assured the members of the senate committee on banking and other financial institutions that the current economic challenges are easily surmountable.

    Emefiele appealed to the senators “to work together with the apex bank to make Nigeria a habitable place for all.”