The Nation Newspaper

Tag: forex

  • Banks eye forex from agro exports

    Banks eye forex from agro exports

    Banks are encouraging their agribusiness customers to explore export opportunities in Asia and Europe to boost their revenue profiles, it has been gathered.

    They took the step because of the naira’s depreciation and drop in revenues following the withdrawal of government deposits. Foreign exchange earnings from agribusiness have grown substantially following the increase in export price and value of some products.

    Weaker naira exchange rate has  improved the competitiveness of agricultural commodity exporters.

    Chairman, Multimix Academy, Dr Obiora Madu, said exporters, especially agricultural producers,   were taking advantage of this. Since naira has weakened considerably against the currencies of some of the nation’s major trading partners, such as Europe, Asia  and  the United States (U.S), agricultural exports have become more competitive in these markets.

    Following this, finance service operators are offering what they claim are better deals in handling money transfers or providing currency brokering advice for a diverse new class of small to mid-sized farm products exporters.

    The situation is encouraged by the fact that government is insisting on agro exporters using banks for foreign currency transactions.

    With foreign exchange becoming  scarce, Madu said agro exports  were proving a to be a lifeline as  global trade volumes continue to rise, as well as earnings by farmers and  exporters.

    He noted that the growth of agric exports is one of the success stories  of the economic crisis. This has prompted banks to assemble teams focused on exporters, with small to medium exporters exploring global markets, Madu added.

    Addressing an agro export seminar in Lagos, Head, Structured Trade and Export Finance at Zenith Bank, Godwin Essien, said agricultural exports would continue to dominate the nation’s foreign trade given the structure of the economy.

    He said farm exports were growing in value as exporters rush to sell a wider choice of produce to growing economies.

    Essien emphasised the need for more efforts at increasing the value of exports as well as the volume.

    To facilitate this, he said the bank was providing agricultural businesses with one-stop banking services, including the issuance of letters of credit and loans denominated in foreign currencies.

    He said the bank had a good understanding of the needs of agro export businesses and would work with them to speed up funds flows to facilitate sales.

    He said the bank had made efforts to expand financing and designing products and services targeted at developing the sector.

    The National Publicity Secretary, National Cassava Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr Sotonye Anga, advised farmers and others in the agricultural sector, to position themselves to benefit from agro exports opportunities.

    He said exporters must be alert to take advantage of the growth in global demand for agro produce, stressing that Nigeria was struggling to be cost competitive, particularly against emerging produce exporting nations.

    He advised the government to collaborate with farmers or investors to promote crops that have strong export potential.

    The  exchange rate has had a volatile run in recent months with no signs of abetting.

  • TSA: CBN bars nine banks from forex

    TSA: CBN bars nine banks from forex

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday banned nine deposit money banks (DMBs) from the foreign exchange market, for hiding over $2 billion belonging to  the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
    The President Muhammadu Buhari has been briefed on the breach by the banks, and they have all been mandated to move the monies to the TSA before any consideration for their re-entry into forex trading.
    On Monday, the banks came under fire from the apex bank which accused them of engaging in round tripping and threatened punish them for doing so.
    In a circular addressed to authorised dealers titled: Re: Transactions in ‘Free Funds’ by Authorised Dealers’, signed by its Acting Director, Trade & Exchange, W.D. Gotring, the apex bank accused banks of buying and selling forex without following stipulated guidelines.
    “The CBN has noticed that some Authorised Dealers have continued to buy and sell foreign exchange referred to as ‘free funds’ despite the provision of the circular of March 4, 2004 on the subject,” he said and cautioned the lenders that their action was a breach of extant regulations.
    “Against the background, authorised dealers are to note that dealing in foreign exchange without appropriate documentation, which includes relevant entries, blotters, physical documents and non-disclosure to the Regulatory Authorities is a breach of extant regulations”.
    He stressed that as provided for in the laws and regulations governing dealings in foreign exchange, authorised dealers shall not sell foreign exchange without appropriate documentation and disclosure to the regulatory authorities, irrespective of the source of the funds.
    “Accordingly, authorised dealers shall deal in eligible transactions only, and not engage in any foreign exchange transactions on terms inconsistent with the extant laws and or regulations,” he said.
    The banks, further findings showed, are engaging in round-tripping, taking advantage of the huge forex gaps between the official and the parallel markets.

  • BDCs in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, others await forex disbursements

    Bureaux De Change (BDCs) in Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Benin, among others are expecting the disbursements of their Diaspora remittances this week.

    No fewer than 350 BDCs in the Lagos on Friday got $30,000 weekly allocations from four lenders – First Bank of Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Ecobank Nigeria Limited, it was gathered.

    About $10.5 million was disbursed to beneficiaries at the interbank rate.

    To ensure stability of the exchange rate and encourage participation of critical stakeholders in the foreign exchange market, the CBN directed through a circular to authorised dealers that all agents to approved International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) sell foreign currency accruing from inward money remittances to licensed BDCs.

    The foreign currency proceeds of IMTOs sold to BDC operators shall be retailed to end users in accordance to CBN regulation. Only BDCs that have been cleared by the compliance department of the banks as fully compliant with the KYC requirement were allowed to buy.

    The CBN issued a follow-up circular to all the banks, asking them to sell dollar to BDCs.

    In the circular titled:  Re: Sales of Foreign Currency Proceeds of International Money Transfers to Bureaux De Change Operators, CBN Acting Director, Trade and Exchange, W.D. Goting, said   he authorised dealers should sell foreign exchange cash to BDCs subject to a maximum of $30,000 to a BDC per week.

    He explained that a BDC shall nominate its preferred authorised dealer, a commercial bank, and can only procure the said amount from only that bank of its choice in a week. The CBN warned that any breach of this condition will attract appropriate sanction.

    The commercial banks, which are the authorised dealers have been giving stringent conditions to the BDCs finally bowed to pressure from both the CBN to disburse the first set of cash. Nearly 2,600 BDCs are yet to get their alloocations, and are at various stages of documentation.

    The banks also obtained com-pliance set guidelines commitment from the BDCs before selling to them. Part of the commitment were that the BDCs would not purchase forex from any other bank, except its bank of choice; foreign currency cash purchased by the BDCs shall be sold to forex end-users at a rate not exceeding two per cent margin above the buying rate.

    The BDCs also pledged to ensure that purchased funds would be disbursed to end users and for eligible transactions only and shall render weekly returns on purchases from the banks to Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN.

    The BDCs further promised to ensure strict compliance to the provisions of the anti-money laundering laws observance of appropriate KYC principles in the handling of foreign exchange transactions.

  • Banks’ rules stop BDCs from accessing forex

    Banks’ rules stop BDCs from accessing forex

    Banks are introducing stringent rules to ensure that Bureaux De Change (BDCs) do not access the Diaspora funds-related foreign exchange (forex) being canvassed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it was learnt yesterday.

    The CBN had granted approval to authorised dealers who are a gents to approved International Money Transfers Operators (IMTSO) to sell foreign currency accruing from inward money remittances to licensed BDCs. The regulator also set the guidelines.

    The banks have however, gone beyond the CBN’s guidelines on accessing the funds, by introducing more  bottlenecks to frustrate BDCs from accessing the funds.

    President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) Aminu Gwadabe said yesterday that banks were asking BDCs to produce evidence of rendering returns on previously purchased forex, evidence of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) filings of company secretary, CBN registration certificate and funding of the beneficiary account.

    Gwadabe described the conditions as stringent and high-handed. He urged the CBN to intervene. He said the conditions were part of the banks’ plans to frustrate the BDCs from accessing the funds because the lenders want to disburse the funds to BDCs where they have interests.

    However, the CBN yesterday, issued a new circular to all the banks, asking them to sell dollar to BDCs. In the circular titled:  Re: Sales of Foreign Currency Proceeds of International Money Transfers to Bureaux De Change Operators, CBN Acting Director, Trade and Exchange, W.D. Goting, said  the authorised dealers shall sell foreign exchange cash to BDCs subject to a maximum of $30,000 to a BDC per week.

    He explained that a BDC shall nominate its preferred authorized dealer, a commercial bank, and can only procure the said amount from only that bank of its choice in a week. The CBN warned that any breach of this condition will attract appropriate sanction.

    It said the selling rate by the authorized dealers to BDCs shall be the buying rate from International Money Transfers Operators (IMTSO) plus a margin not exceeding 1.5 per cent;

    “Foreign exchange cash purchased by BDCs from authorized dealers shall be sold to foreign exchange end-users at a rate not exceeding two per cent margin above the buying rate. For the avoidance of doubt, the two per cent margin stated in three above shall applicable to all funds to be retailed by BDCs regardless of sources of fund,” the CBN said.

    According to the apex bank, authhorised dealers shall continue to render weekly returns on sales to BDCs and the BDCs shall also continue to render weekly returns on the purchases from authorized dealers.

    It explained that funds purchased by BDCs shall be disbursed for the Business Travel Allowance/Personal Travel Allowance; overseas school fees; overseas medical fees, with maximum disbursement per transaction not exceeding $5,000.

    “Records shall be maintained for all transactions by the BDCs showing the Bank Verification Number of the end-user, including endorsement of the amount disbursed in the international passport of the beneficiary; International Money Transfer Service Operators shall continue to render weekly returns on their operations with agent banks directly to the CBN as specified,” it said.

    The CBN warned that: “Any authorized dealer and BDC that diverts funds or violates the provision of these guidelines shall attract appropriate sanction including, suspension of dealership licences”.

     

  • CBN sells forex to pilgrims at N197

    CBN sells forex to pilgrims at N197

    Intending Pilgrims  for this year’s Hajj will access dollar from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at a concessionary exchange rate of N197 to dollar.

    A circular to all authorised dealers signed by CBN Acting Director, Trade and Exchange, W.D. Gotring, said each pilgrim is entitled to purchase a minimum of $750 and a maximum of $1,000 as Personal Travel Allowance (PTA).

    “The Federal Government has approved that intending pilgrims are to be sold the PTA at a concessionary exchange rate of N197 to the dollar. No commission shall be charged by the banks for the sale of PTA to the intending pilgrims,” he said.

    He explained that the CBN shall sale the PTA to the designated banks in Lagos and Abuja and the accounts of the respective banks shall be debited as soon as the funds are disbursed.

    “Each designated bank is required to sell to the CBN the unutilised funds not later than two weeks from the date of the last inward flight to Nigeria from Jedda, while the accounts of the banks shall be credited promptly.

    The approved banks for the exercise are Union Bank, Unity Bank, United Bank for Africa, First City Monument Bank, Sterling Bank, GTBank, Sterling Bank, Skye Bank among others,” he said.

     

     

  • UK College seeks ways to help parents overcome forex challenge

    Abbey DLD Group of Colleges, a consortium of four colleges in the United Kingdom (UK) that prepares students for the best universities in the country, is discussing alternative ways to help parents address difficulties in getting foreign exchange for fees of their wards.

    Charles Johnson, Director of Sales in Africa for Abbey DLD, said at a press conference held in Lagos last Thursday, that some parents found it difficult to pay tuition and accommodation fees, and even send their children pocket money.

    To address the problem, he said the college may consider allowing them to pay in naira.

    “It has been very difficult for students to access Forex to pay fees in the past one year. There are parents who are finding it difficult to pay tuition fees and even send pocket money. We discussed in the Alpha group (management) to explore if parents can pay fees in the local currency,” said Johnson.

    However, Johnson assured parents that their wards would get the best possible preparation that would increase their chances of getting into top universities like Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College, London.

    Students Admissions Manager for Abbey DLD in Africa, Muazu Jalaluddeen, highlighted the importance of high quality programmes – such as the ones offered by Abbey DLD Group of Colleges – for preparing students to secure a place in some of UK’s most prestigious universities.

    “Most Nigerian students often complete their secondary school education with an O’Level which is not the same as the required A’ Levels needed to gain entry into UK’s universities.

    “Our courses include comprehensive GCSE, A’ Level Programmes and a number of International Foundation Programmes,” Johnson said, adding that going to Abbey DLD will allow Nigerian students to “acclimatise” and achieve the grades they need to outdo other international students competing for places at top universities.

    He also explained the UK has an international reputation for the quality of its education system and qualifications offered by British schools, colleges and universities are recognised globally as hallmarks of excellence and distinction.

    Jalaluddeen said the two-year pre-university programme at Abbey DLD Group of Colleges not only allows Nigerian students to pass their A’ Levels with flying colours, but also helps them understand and get used to the British education system, which is slightly different from Nigeria.

    Abbey DLD Group of Colleges have first class reputations in the education community and in the wider employment world; reputations which grow every year with each new cohort of students.

    “Forty-nine per cent of international students achieved A-A* grades in their A’ levels and 25 per cent of students have secured places to study STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) in 2015.

    Jalaluddeen said Nigeria has the highest number of African students in Abbey Colleges, though other African countries are also gradually catching up.

  • Forex losses depress corporate earnings

    Early reports by quoted companies have shown that most companies have suffered considerable declines in profitability due to foreign exchange (forex) losses. The release of many operational reports showing forex losses last week compounded the downtrend at the Nigerian stock market as investors sought to hedge against future losses.

    The Nation’s investigation showed that the change in forex policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in June 2016 had adverse effect on the bottom-line of companies. The apex bank in June started the implementation of its new flexible foreign exchange policy, freeing the Naira from its long-held peg of N197/$. Under the new flexible foreign exchange system, the apex bank merged all the segments of foreign exchange market into a single “window”, which pricing is now determined by market forces with limited intervention from the apex bank. In essence, Naira will be flowing according to market forces.

    Reports by companies showed varied negative impacts of the forex change on corporate earnings. In one of the reports, Lafarge Africa Plc posted a net loss after tax of N30.25 billion by the period ended June 30, 2016 due partly to forex losses. Highlights of the unaudited report and accounts showed that turnover dropped to N107.36 billion in first half 2016 as against N152.18 billion in comparable period of 2015.

    As against pre and post tax profit of N30.85 billion and N27.32 billion in first half 2015, the company recorded pre and post tax loss of N30.18 billion and N30.25 billion in first half 2016. Financial charges had risen from N1.76 billion to N4.56 billion. Compared with earnings per share of N5.86 in first half 2015, loss per share stood at N5.54.

    Also, the cement group’s net assets dropped from N176.15 billion in first half of last year to N139.95 billion in first half 2016. The management of the company attributed the contraction to forex losses, gas shortages and repair works during the period. Lafarge Africa said it was considering refinancing certain dollar-denominated loans to stave off forex losses.

    Also, Nigeria’s second most capitalised quoted company, Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, reported 11 per cent decline in net profit. The company attributed the decline to forex losses.

    In a statement, the Board of the company stated that in the first half of the year, the company was able to deliver top line growth with revenue increasing by four per cent compared to the first six months of 2015, adding that rising inflation combined with higher inputs costs as a result of scarcity of foreign exchange led to a flat operating profit compared with the preceding year.

    The report stated that despite a lower interest cost from the Commercial Paper Programme, profit after tax declined by 11 per cent, mainly due to foreign exchange losses arising from the rates going up in June.

    The company declared revenue of N157.37 billion for the first half of 2016, as against N151.67 billion declared in the corresponding period in 2015. Profit before tax dropped by 17.64 per cent from N33.99 billion to N25.52 while profit after tax dropped by 11.24 per cent to N19.06 billion in first half 2016 as against N21.47 billion in comparable period of 2015.

    FSDH Merchant Bank at the weekend downgraded Nigerian Breweries’ share valuation, citing the impact of forex losses on its earnings among others. FSDH noted that despite the lower interest rates from NB’s commercial paper programme, the net finance costs increased by 187.7 per cent to N8.39 billion, mainly as a result of forex losses that arose from dollar-denominated payables to related parties.

    Already, Oando Plc had forewarned investors that it might record lower profit in the first half due to forex losses during the second quarter. In a profit warning, Oando stated that it expected that half-year earnings for 2016 would be materially affected by forex.

    According to the company, the impact of the forex change is expected to amount to an unrealized foreign exchange loss arising from dollar-denominated liabilities, outstanding bank trade facilities as well as vendor payables. As at the time of the devaluation the company had dollar-denominated borrowings of $261 million in its Naira-dominated earnings businesses, consisting of $68 million in core loans, $89 million in bank trade facilities, $83 million in asset financing and $21 million in other payables.

    “A circa 40 per cent devaluation in the value of the Naira against the US dollar from the bank rate of N199.00:$1.00 to N280.00:$1.00, has effectively resulted in these significant foreign exchange losses which we have prudently booked into our financial statements,” Oando stated.

    Exotix Partners, an international finance and investment firm, in its latest review, said the 2016 business year would likely be the most challenging year for Nigerian consumer companies in 15 years as economic depression and fiscal and monetary imbalance combined to constrain the operating environment.

    According to the firm, besides its negative impact on earnings on account of an expected surge in input costs, associated foreign exchange (forex) losses will be significant, particularly in 2016 owing to a build-up in payable accounts, mainly by multinationals as they seek to avoid interrupting production in light of challenges sourcing forex.

    The report noted that naira weakness and challenges of sourcing foreign exchange are major concerns, given the dependence of Nigeria consumer companies on imported raw materials in the absence of a robust local supply chain.

  • Banks fail to meet CBN’s forex terms

    Banks fail to meet CBN’s forex terms

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to cancel the Foreign Exchange Primary Dealers (FXPDs) status of some of the 15 FXPDs banks for recording low forex volumes of transactions against set guidelines, The Nation has learnt.

    Some of the FXDPs banks include FirstBank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Bank, GTBank, Stanbic IBTC and Ecobank Nigeria.

    The CBN appointed the FXDPs lenders to boost dollar liquidity in the forex market but their performance in achieving the set target has not met the CBN’s expectations, given the continued dollar scarcity and poor liquidity in the market.

    The FXDPs lenders met a minimum of N400 billion in total foreign currency assets; minimum shareholders’ fund unimpaired by losses of at least N200 billion and minimum liquidity ratio of 40 per cent set by the regulator.

    Besides, the lenders operating as FXPDs were expected to have strong forex trading capacity to deploy all FMDQ Thomson Reuters FX trading Systems or any other systems approved by the CBN.

    The CBN expects FXPDs banks to act as professional counterparties and market participants in their overall conduct and support of market efficiency and liquidity. The participants are also required to resell a minimum of 70 per cent of any dollar uptake from the CBN in the inter-bank market on the day of purchase.

    They are to participate in the market on a daily basis or such period as may be required by the CBN. “FXPDs that record low volumes of FX transactions with the CBN during the evaluation period, that repeatedly provide bids and offers that are not reasonably competitive, or that fail to provide useful market information and commentary, shall be deemed not to have met the expectations of the CBN,” the guidelines stipulated.

    “Furthermore, while the main responsibilities of the FXDPs shall be to foster liquidity of forex purchases, CBN may trade on their offers. FXDPs that constantly give uncompetitive quotes risk the CBN trading on their offers. In such circumstances, the CBN may limit  FXDP’s participation in any or all operations, approved products and may suspend or terminate the authorised dealer’s status of FXDP if it continues to fail to meet these aforementioned expectations,” it added.

    But since the appointment of the FXDPs lenders in June, the CBN has consistently been intervening in the market, with little or no inputs from the lenders because of poor dollar liquidity. The CBN intervened via the Special Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) – Retail (End-users) and the Interbank FX market to clear a total forex backlog of $4.02 billion in the early days of the policy.

    When contacted, CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, said the FXDPs policy is still in force. He said the apex bank, like every other participant, intervenes in the market only when the need arises.

    But Currencies Analyst and Head Treasury at Ecobank Nigeria, Olakunle Ezun, said the CBN still remains the major supplier of dollar to the market despite the appointment of the FXDPs banks.

    “So far, it appears the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) still remains the major supplier of dollars, with over 95 per cent of market volume. The CBN has supplied around $1 billion spot and $3.5 billion forward to Authorised Dealers (Banks) and direct to end-users since Monday, June 20 2016. Trading in the interbank foreign-exchange market is yet to pick up, partly because there is too little foreign-exchange liquidity in the market. The interbank average turnover is barely about $40 million a day, compared to weekly volumes of around $1 billion about three years ago,” he said.

    Ezun admitted that forex liquidity remains a challenge despite CBN and FMDQ efforts to support interbank forex market with Forwards and Over-the-Counter (OTC) Forex Futures/Naira Settled Forwards transactions.

    “The CBN’s ability to meet its matured obligations as at when due is not in doubt, but recent development as per frequency and volume of CBN’s forex sales to the Foreign Exchange Primary Dealers (FXPDs) have questioned CBN capacity to support the market as growing import and investment demand are not being settled,” Ezun added.

    The guidelines insist the nature of the relationship with the FXPDs is primarily a counterparty relationship and require that the FXPDs qualified lenders register as authorized dealers designated to deal with the CBN on large trade sizes on a two-way dollar quote basis. They serve as the bulk traders dealing directly with the CBN on forex matters.

  • Manufacturing loses over N300b to forex policy

    Manufacturing loses over N300b to forex policy

    Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Vice President Mrs. Stella Okoli has said the sector lost over N300 billion to the distress in the economy, accentuated by the foreign exchange (forex) policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Mrs Okoli, who explained that though she was not privy to the method used in computing the loss, a critical look at the sector would reveal that more than N300 billion had actually been lost.

    Her position is based on the forex rate when compared to what it was about seven months ago.

    “When you really look at it, you will find out that more than the N300 billion has been lost because we (manufacturers) bought foreign exchange (forex) last year between N170 and N200, but now technically, we are buying it for N350. This is because with the new forex policy, manufacturers have to wait for a certain period of time to be able to get forex allocation from government,” Mrs Okoli said. The earliest allocation of forex to some manufacturers would mature by July 22, whereas some of the commitments made to their suppliers have not yet been redeemed, she said.

    Shedding more light on manufacturers’woes, Mrs. Okoli, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Emzor Pharmaceuticals, explained that those that placed orders for raw materials at the old exchange rate and hadn’t paid for them because they didn’t have access to forex at the time, are now worse off as they must redeem the payment and commitment to their suppliers at a higher cost now given the current rate.

    “So, we have lost and people have scaled down operation; while some others have closed shop. We lost through forex; interest rate and manpower and though it causes us so much to produce, but we can’t pass on the extra cost to consumers because they will complain,” she said.

    But irrespective of this development, Okoli says there is a very bright future for the sector. Her conviction is derived on the belief that the government is not going to neglect the manufacturing industry.

    “The government had made it clear that they are going to support manufacturing and we will believe them, it’s just that maybe they need more time, but we cannot get worse than we are now. So, the future is very bright because without manufacturing we are dead,” Okoli added.

  • Forex shortage hits DisCos’ metering plan

    Forex shortage hits DisCos’ metering plan

    These are not the best of times for power distribution companies (DisCos).

    They are finding it difficult to get enough foreign exchange (forex) for the importation of meters and other equipment, The Nation has learnt.

    A source, who does not want to be mentioned, said the Discos could not procure meters because of their weak financial positions caused by non-payment of bills by customers.

    The source said many of the power firms supply meters which they imported before the exchange rate went up.

    The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) Executive Director, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, said funds were limiting the capacity of the firms to import meters for their customers.

    He said the firms have not been able to close the metering gap of over five million households, which they inherited from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in November 2013, due to scarcity of forex.

    He said the firms were seeking forex concessions from the Federal Government to import meters for customers, among others.

    Oduntan said: “The capacity of the DisCos to meet the metering needs of their customers has been limited by scarcity of forex. At N350 to a dollar at the parallel market, it is impossible for the firms to buy dollars that would be enough to import meters and other equipment. The cost of buying dollar has increased by over 100 per cent when compared to an exchange rate of N165 to a dollar few years ago.

    “The development hinders DisCos from closing the metering gap of over five million households inherited from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in 2013. Out of this figure, only 2.8 million households have gotten meters. Inability of the DisCos to get forex concessions for importation means many people would not get their meters in time.”

    Oduntan noted that power firms, such as the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Ikeja Electric (IK) and Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC), have supplied meters to customers in recent times.

    According to him, people who need meters are growing by the day as more houses are being built.