The Nation Newspaper

Tag: circulation

  • FG to mop up arms in circulation

    FG to mop up arms in circulation

    •CBN stops issuance of Form N for rice importation
    •We’ve banned importation ‘unofficially’, says Customs boss Ali

    A policy on mopping up of arms currently circulating in the country is in the offing, Customs Comptroller-General Hammed Ali, announced yesterday.

    Ali,a retired colonel, said the policy would not only checkmate the influx of weapons into the country, it would also go a long way in controlling  the coming in of  other illicit items.

    He spoke in Abuja against the backdrop of general concern over the free flow of sophisticated guns by groups and individuals, including herdsmen who continue to kill innocent Nigerians across the country.

    Only two weeks ago, Benue state buried 73 victims of such herdsmen attacks, followed by Taraba which also mass buried scores of people killed.

    President Muhammadu Buhari,writing on his Twitter handle on Friday said the security agencies “already have standing instructions to arrest and prosecute anyone found with illegal arms.”

    Buhari, who was giving an update on Thursday’s National Security Council meeting said  government was “stepping up our efforts to tackle the proliferation of small arms and light weapons across the country.”

    Ali, addressing stakeholders at the 2018 International Customs Day in Gwagwalada, Abuja,said: “We need to join hands with our neighbours and that is only how we can effectively police our borders and ensure what we see in Libya and other countries that arms do not find their way into our territory.

    “Already we have enough of it, and I hope we will soon come up with a policy on how to retract these arms that are circulating within our publics.

    “But why we are doing that we thought we should also come up with a comprehensive mechanism to be able checkmate not only weapons arms but all illicit items into our territory.”

    One of such is rice which importation,he said, has been unofficially banned.

    He said the Central Bank (CBN)  has not issued Form N to any importer since 2017 to bring rice into Nigeria.

    He said:”I am very happy to support what Mr. President said in his New Year address, that this year that we would ban the importation of rice completely.

    “As at today, unofficially, rice is banned because since the beginning of 2017, Central Bank which is supposed to issue Form N which is the only permit for importation has not issued any Form N to  rice importers.

    “So, any parboiled rice you see, which is not our own local rice must have been smuggled in. So, if you go to buy this, then you are encouraging the smugglers and therefore negating the growth of our economy.

    “Any country that cannot feed itself cannot claim to be independent and I think we want to be independent.”

    Also speaking, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun announced that following the improvement in revenue collection recorded by the NCS last year, the ministry was working to ensure an increased salary package and condition of service for the personnel.

    The Director of Finance, MojisolaApata, who represented by her noted that the service was making revenue available for the three tiers of government, noting that “we are desirous of a better performance this year.”

    Asked how much revenue the NCS was targeting to achieve this year, Ali  said that “it is our prayer that we should be able to overshoot what we had done last year. It is our prayer that we should be able to get to N1.5trillion this year.”

    The Comptroller-General said that the NCS had commissioned its own Customs police to police the service, and operate as an internal mechanism to resolve disputes.

     

  • Over 70% of drugs in circulation is fake, says firm

    More than 70 per cent of is fake, the Executive Director, Fidson Health Care Plc, Bola Adebayo, has said.

    Adebayo regretted that the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has failed to curtail the circulation of fake drugs.

    He also blamed the situation on the abscence of genuine drugs manufacturers in the hinterland, as many  are concentrated in big cities.

    He told The Nation that the gap created by lack of genuine manufacturers in the hinterland has led to the over-bearing presence of counterfeit drugs in villages and semi-urban centres in the country.

    On the challenges faced by his members, he said before now manufacturers literarily ran out of raw materials as a result of forex scarcity.

    He, however, praised the apex bank for bending backwards recently by giving them concessionary rate to keep their factories running. He said this has prevented what would have resulted in mass closure of factories.

    Adebayo confirmed that most drug firms are encouraging the Federal Government’s Backward Integration Policy by insisting that they buy pet bottles and glasses locally.

    On the challenges facing the sector, he recalled that they spend over 50 per cent of their working capital on electricity generation.

    “Electricity is not available and where it is available it is not usable. We provide our water, security, roads, access to market and debts from both State and Federal Governments,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Pharmaceutical Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) has concluded plans to hold a forum on: Improving Access to Medicines: The Imperatives of Local Manufacturing and Effective Supply Chain Management.

    The Executive Secretary of PMG, Mr. Obi Adigwe. said that the group, with about 120 members, was desirous of bringing high quality, affordable, sustainable pharmaceuticals closer to the people.

    He called for a concept that will guarantee medicine security and sustainable access to the people in the hinterland.

    Adigwe said there is need for the support of Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN), which represents the country’s foremost private sector platform.

    The platform is led by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr. Jim Ovia, Mrs. Sola David-Borha, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede  and others. It has the target to save a million lives every year through various innovations including the setting up of the Africa Resource Centre for Supply Chain (ARC Nigeria).

    Adigwe said the forum hopes to deepen the debate regarding the most effective and efficient strategies to ensure sustainable access to affordable, high quality medicines for Nigerians.

    CEO, Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, Mr. Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, regretted that Nigeria has a complex healthcare system and pledged the preparedness of his organisation to optimise the nation’s innate abilities.

    He identified the challenges to include fiscal policies, taxes, regulatory agencies; supply chain, which has made it almost impossible for the majority of the people in the rural areas to have access to quality medication.

    Umar-Sadiq called for the reorientation of sovereignty and ownership by the Nigerian government and policy makers to move the country away from being a dumping ground for all manner of products.

    He said: “We should take the issue of health care for the majority of the citizenry as a priority and that of national security. The idea is to prioritise sovereignty over aids and grant.

    “Why should we allow our country to be a testing ground for all manner of vaccines and drugs? What our manufacturers need is encouragement and the provision of an enabling environment with the required and competitive infrastructure.”

  • Currency in circulation drops to N1.47tr

    Currency in circulation drops to N1.47tr

    The volume of currency in circulation rose by 3.4 per cent to N1.47 trillion at the end of the third quarter, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

    In a report obtained by The Nation the apex bank said the increase is in contrast to the decline of 5.5 and 1.1 per cent at the end of the preceding quarter and corresponding period of last year.

    It said the development, relative to the preceding quarter was attributed, largely, to the 3.5 per cent increase in currency outside the banks.

    It explained that the value of Commercial Paper (CP) held by the banks rose by 94.1 per cent to N29.1 billion by September, compared with N15 billion at the end of the preceding quarter.

    The development was due to the increase in holding of CP by the banks during the review period adding that the CP constituted 0.44 per cent of the total value of money market assets outstanding, compared with 0.23 per cent at the end of the preceding quarter.

    “The value of BAs held by DMBs increased by 53.2 per cent to N24.5 billion at the end of the review quarter, compared with the increase of 58.1 per cent at the end of the preceding quarter. The development reflected increase in investments in BAs by the banks. Consequently, BAs accounted for 0.37 per cent of the total value of money market assets outstanding at the end of the review quarter, computed with 0.24 per cent at the end of the preceding quarter,” it said.

    Also, bills of various maturities, ranging from 55 to 227 days, were used for liquidity management during the review period. Total sales amounted to N750.98 billion, while total subscription was N1,512.42 billion, compared with N2.7 trillion and N4.2 trillion allotted and subscribed to in the preceding quarter.

    The bid rates ranged from 11.50 to 14 per cent, while the stop rates ranged from 12 to 13.20 per cent, compared with 11.500 to 13.299 per cent in the preceding quarter. Matured bills worth N1.5 trillion were repaid during the period, resulting in a net injection of N778.40 billion.

    According to the report, the primary market segment, treasury bills of 91-, 182- and 364-day tenors, amounting to N739.37 billion, N1.8 trillion and N739.37 billion, were offered, subscribed to and allotted, in the third quarter of 2013, compared with the respective sums of N1 trillion , N1.7 trillion and N1 trillion in the preceding quarter.

     

  • CBN: currency in circulation drops to N1.45t

    CBN: currency in circulation drops to N1.45t

    Currency in circulation fell by 10.7 per cent in January to N1.45 trillion, according to an Economic Report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    This figure contrasts with an increase of 4.2 per cent in December, last year, showing an a 11.2 per cent decline in currency outside banks. Total deposits at the CBN amounted to N6.7 trillion, mainly due to the fall in the Federal Government and commercial banks’ deposits.

    The report showed that Treasury Bills (TB) worth N888.3 billion matured for repayment in January while total amount offered, subscribed to and allotted amounted to N1.4 trillion, N2.9 trillion,  and N1.7 trillion.

    The amount offered, subscribed to and allotted for December were N800 billion, N952.9 billion and N650.3 billion while bid rates ranged between 11.7 to 14.0 per cent; stop rates were between 12 to 13.34 per cent.

    Also, reserve money (RM) fell by 8.5 per cent to N3.2 per cent, reflecting the trends in commercial banks’ deposits with the CBN.

    The report also showed that the money market experienced liquidity ease, as most financial market indicators trended downward. High subscription for T-bills was sustained due to increased foreign portfolio investor interest and improved market liquidity.

    It also indicated that the value of money market assets outstanding at end-January was N6.2 trillion, depicting an increase of 0.54 per cent, compared with the increase of 20.99 per cent in December.

    Available data indicated mixed developments in the banks’ deposit and lending rates during the month. With the exception of the average savings and 1-month deposit rates, which rose by 0.03 and 0.28 percentage point to 1.69 and 8.43 per cent, respectively, all other deposit rates fell from a range of 5.16 to 11.88 per cent to between 5.14 to 11.67 per cent.

    At 7.66 per cent, the average term deposit rate fell by 1.33 percentage point below the level in the preceding month. Similarly, the average maximum lending rate fell by 0.07 percentage point to 24.54 per cent. However, the average prime lending rate rose by 0.03 percentage point to 16.57 per cent.

    With the headline inflation rate at nine per cent, most rates, with the exception of the lending and the average interbank call rates were negative in real terms. The value of commercial paper (CP) held by the commercial banks in January stood at N1.05 billion, same as in the preceding month. Therefore, commercial paper constituted 0.02 per cent of the total value of money market assets outstanding. The value of bankers’ acceptances (BAs) declined by 12.40 per cent to N8.64 billion, compared with the decline of 12.17 per cent in the preceding month.

    The development, the apex bank said, reflected the fall in investments by deposit money banks and discount houses. Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) of various maturities were auctioned to mop-up excess liquidity from the banking system in line with the tight monetary policy stance of the apex bank.