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Tag: Godwin Emefiele

  • Agriculture way out of our hardship – CBN Governor

    Agriculture way out of our hardship – CBN Governor

    The Central Bank (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has urged Nigerians not to despair or contemplate leaving the country because of hardship but to stay behind and join hands in salvaging the situation through agriculture.

    Emefiele declared that “there is no more place to run to,” ostensibly advising Nigerian’s productive age to remain in Nigeria and embrace agriculture as there may not really be a greener pastures elsewhere any longer due to the global economic challenges.

    The CBN boss who gave the advice while speaking with  reporters in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, after inspecting some farm settlements in Eriwe, Kotopo and Odeda – all in Ogun State, on Tuesday, said CBN is poised to committed farmers financial assistance.

    He disclosed that the N250b Agricultural credit facility meant for farmers in Nigeria has not been fully disbursed to them.

    He also added that of the N220b earmarked for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), “less than N80b” of it is utilised.

    According to him, the CBN is ready to burst such idle funds with the agricultural credit scheme and make it available to serious state governments to enable them boost agricultural productivity,

    He said the measure is part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to boost agricultural production particularly in rice, cassava, maize, cocoa and palm oil, for local consumption and export.

    In the inspection team, also, are the Minister for Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, his Kebbi State counterpart, Atiku Bagudu, who is the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Agriculture.

    The CBN Governor said: “the point is this: there is no other place to run to but it’s just going back to farm according to Mr President and then improving agricultural potentials of this country.

    “We have under our Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme over N250billion which has not been fully disbursed.

    “We were also at a farm at Eriwe where we also talked about our micro and small and medium enterprise loan scheme, it’s about N220billion and just less than N80billion of it is utilised.

    “We are going to see to how small holder farmers can benefit from our anchor borrower programme through the micro, small and medium enterprise.

    “And for the states, when we find the state that is serious and ready to work with us, we burst the commercial agricultural credit scheme facility that we have because the President has mandated that those who are serious we must support. That is the essence of visitation.”

    According to him, the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) would be properly restructured and organised to make it more efficient in performing its statutory mandate.

    He rued that most of the agricultural schemes that helped to nurture and develop the nation’s first Republic have all remained largely “moribund” because they were abandoned.

    He explained that essence of the tour of Ogun state and other Southwest states
    state is enable them identify some of those age – long agricultural potentials and revive some of them.

    Emefiele noted that the mandate of  president Buhari to the CBN regarding the South West is situate how to get the region back to increasing  the production of cassava, maize as well as return to cocoa production.

    He said: “for us to go round the entire federation, it is not just about rice, tomatoes, millet (production), but also about even coming down south. What can we do to resuscitate some of our age-long agricultural potentials.

    “I see here a dam; I understand there are 11 dams in this state and in this facility, you have the facilities that were developed in the first republic that have become moribund as a result of the fact that they were abandoned. But I can assure you that the farm can be resuscitated. We can get nine season farming for maize particularly.

    “And in the South Western part of the country, the mandate the president has given is that for the South West, we must situate how do we get back in ensuring that we increase the production of cassava, maize and go back again into cocoa production, so that with maize you can now support the poultry productivity in the South Western part of the country.

    “After this, we will go to the South South and the South Eastern parts of the country. Again, how can we again go back and begin to say that we have species of palm trees that can begin to produce foods in three years, in three and half years.

    “This is the entire essence of it. Why am I here? That we should be able to put in place more funds to support agricultural production in this country.

    “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture is also working towards ensuring that the Bank of Agriculture is properly restructured so that they can perform the responsibilities that they have been given under the law to boost agricultural production in the country.”

    Also speaking with reporters,  the Agriculture Minister, Chief Audu Ogbe, reiterated his earlier call on Nigerians to return to agriculture as the road map out of the nation’s near mono economy.

    Ogbe warned that if Nigeria failed to embrace agriculture fully, the citizens may die of hunger.

    He said: “the time has come for us to get down to work. For too long, we have depended on imported commodities. We have almost destroyed our country. Let’s get back to work.

    “Agriculture is important for you, younger people. The future is yours, not mine. If you don’t feed yourselves, you will die of hunger and migrating to Europe isn’t the answer. The conditions there are worse.

    “Many Nigerians who go to Brazil, China end up in prisons. Not long ago, a Nigerian was killed on the streets of New Delhi for pushing a wheelbarrow. They said he was taking their job.

    “We can grow the fishes, maize, cattle, chicken. We can export to every corner of the earth simply by organizing ourselves. That’s why we are here. That’s what the Governor(Sen. Ibikunle Amosun) is doing.

    “The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele is here. Kebbi state governor, Abubakar Bagudu is here. We travel around like this. The Federal Government has no farm. There is no farm where the minister can go.

    “The farms are in the state and the state belongs to the farmers who are doing the real work. I can assure that there is only one way for economic recovery, it’s agriculture, agriculture and agriculture and anything else can follow. We are collecting data.

    “The next year’s budget is a bit more sizeable than before. You will see evidence around here (Farm settlements and establishments in Ogun State) very soon,” Ogbe said.

  • Nigeria’s economic crisis needs bold, persistent strategy – Emefiele

    Nigeria’s economic crisis needs bold, persistent strategy – Emefiele

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele Thursday said that despite challenges being faced by the economy, there is need for all economy managers to be bold and persistent in finding lasting solutions to the problems.

    The CBN boss spoke at the 35th quarterly general meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria, held in Lagos.

    Emefiele who spoke on the theme: “Changing Business Environment: The Role of Internal Auditors” said the country was at a crucial point in its financial history as seen in the economy being in recession because of drastic fall in prices of crude oil.

    “The price of oil which is our main source of foreign exchange earnings and government revenue has significantly reduced, and may remain so for a long time. Money is scare for most citizens. Regrettably, because our economy is still largely import-dependent, this fuels the general rise in the prices of goods and services.  Hence, there is a noticeable decline in the purchasing power of the people. Indeed, there are many challenges. But, I also see opportunities,” he said.

    The CBN boss said that if the challenges are well tackled, the current situation can pave the way to future prosperity. “That is why the Federal Government and the CBN is constantly formulating and re-evaluating policies that we believe will set us on the path of greater economic prosperity. Where and when necessary, we must remain bold and persistent, and never afraid to try new ideas, as these are major requirements in a time of change. That is why I am confident that Nigeria will overcome our current challenges. But, I suspect that we can only overcome these challenges if we are ready to make fundamental change in many of our attitudes, orientations and practices,” he said.

    Speaking further, he said change is the categorical imperative of the moment, and applies to the CBN as the nation’s lender of last resort and the banking sector regulator; it applies to Deposit Money Banks (DMB’s) and other financial institutions – as financial entities and fiduciary intermediary agencies; and even, change is required from the public that we all serve.

    “For you as internal auditors, the changes may seem slow or rapid; they may be merely procedural or at times they may be radical. Whatever may be the case, the cumulative effect of change is to alter the business environment in which you serve. As a concomitant, you must also upgrade your capacities, operations and methods. If you do not do that, you will become victims of change. Therefore, you have a choice to either treat this gathering as a mere quarterly routine or treat is as an opportunity to analyze and prepare for the future. Let me explain why I hope you should choose the latter,” he stated.

    Continuing, he urged the auditors o understand that banking industry is built on people and is driven by services and technology. “People and organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Their needs are more diverse and so are the services and the technologies to meet those needs. Indeed, technology is dramatically changing the face and environment of banking. Transactions of high volume and value are consummated with the click of a button”.

    “Similarly, transactions are conducted simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions, across boundaries and time zones. As a result, efficiency has grown exponentially. As a corollary, the risks of doing business are equally high. The possibility that a careless mistake, let alone a fraud, can destabilize an entire institution and have systemic effects on the industry should be of concern to all of us.  This should be more so at a time of economic fragility. That is why you must stay ahead of the curve and be on top of your game,” he said.

    He said internal auditors must be proactive in identifying and addressing new risks or emergent issues in organizational controls and compliance requirements. The auditors, he added, cannot afford the luxury of professional complacency. Nor can they accept the risk of individual capacity atrophy or the consequences of group obsolescence.

    “Banks must maintain good internal control, ethical practice and sound risk management. Nigerians expect this, especially at a time of challenging operating environment.  All banks must be healthy and stress-free, so that they can absorb any unexpected shocks.  Therefore all the necessary measures for capital adequacy and indices of sound risk management must be in place and fully enforced. As internal auditors, you must all be proactive, look out for any factors that could destabilize the system, quickly identify and deal with them. You must pay particular attention to banks and customers operating in risk-prone and highly volatile sectors of the economy,” he said.

    Emefiele also urged the auditors to be vigilant and guard against fraud.  “For the sake of emphasis, I would like to specifically cast your minds to the issues of cyber-security and cyber-crimes. As Internet penetration continues to gather steam in Nigeria, greater volumes of transactions will be consummated online; and on various electronic formats and platforms”.

    “Unfortunately the electronic medium is very attractive to certain class of criminals: those that are dexterous in the use of information technology tools and protocols to perpetrate cybercrimes. This new trend in criminal activity will have an increasing impact on the Nigerian banking environment, especially because for the perpetrators, cyber-crimes can seem relatively low-risk; and if successful, there can be high yields. That is why you must be vigilant. Prevention is better than cure,” he said.

    He explained that the losses due to cybercrimes across all sectors have been estimated globally to hover between $400 to $550 billion in 2015. The figure could rise to $2 trillion by the end of 2019.

  • CBN Gov proposes N100b tax on mobile phone users

    CBN Gov proposes N100b tax on mobile phone users

    •Calls longer than 3 mins to attract surcharge

    •Says economy facing stagflation

    Mobile phone users will be in for hard times if proposal by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele to the federal government to introduce mobile phone call tax becomes a reality.

    The Governor, who broke the news at the 2016 Annual Bankers’ Dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on Friday night, in Lagos, said such tax, targeted at the middle, upper class and long phone call makers, can generate N100 billion annually into the federal government coffers.

    Speaking on the theme: “Policy options for reversing Nigeria’s economic downturn” he said the country’s economy is currently facing a classical case of “stagflation” and although the 2016 budget is well on track to tackle it, there is need to boost revenue generation base though increased taxes.

    He suggested that government could explore opportunities for more revenues to wriggle out of stagflation and recession by introducing a negligible telecom surcharge to be paid by initiator of a telephone call.

    “There are several ways we can raise additional revenue to finance the increased expenditure that is needed to engender fast and sustainable growth in the economy. I think we can consider introducing a negligible telecom surcharge to be entirely borne by the initiator of a call. In order to protect the poor and vulnerable amongst us, we could structure it to only take effect after the third minute of talk. Some analyses have indicated that the government could earn about N100 billion per annum from this alone,” he stated.

    Emefiele explained that the surcharge will mainly be borne by middle and upper class people since many poor people do not make calls for more than three minutes.

    He explained that stagflation occurs when a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is falling or stagnant while unemployment and inflation are rising, all simultaneously.

    “As recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate, Nigeria’s GDP growth decelerated by 0.36 per cent and 2.1 per cent in the first and second quarters of 2016, respectively. More also, the rate of price inflation for the months of September and October were 17.9 per cent and 18.3 per cent, respectively, while official statistics also indicate that the country’s unemployment rate increased to 12.1 per cent and 13.3 per cent during the first and second quarters,” he stated.

    Emefiele said that stagflation is a difficult condition for policymakers to deal with, insisting that no single macroeconomic policy can address rising inflation and slow growth simultaneously, because fighting inflation may require implementing policies that might, in the short term, be inimical to economic growth, whereas expansionary policies to stimulate growth usually worsen inflation.

    Still on taxes, the CBN boss said government could also consider introducing minimal property taxes across the country. “This not only raises money for the government but also could be a veritable weapon against corruption since it creates a database of who really owns homes in this country. Another option to consider would be to fully implement the 2003 Cabotage Act. This is Act stipulates that all cargoes and passengers in the inland and coastal waters be transported by ships and ferries built, owned, crewed and manned by Nigerians,” he said.

    Emefiele explained that contrary to the requirement of this Act, there are several foreign-owned vessels providing shipping services locally. “Out of about 600 ships that operate within our waters, only about 60 of them are owned by Nigerians and are mostly idle, in violation of the Act. Industry sources suggest Nigeria may be losing as much as N2 trillion annually from this anomaly. In addition to raising revenue, a full implementation of the Act could also spur job creation, capacity building, and significant backward integration,” he said.

    Speaking further, he said that exchange rate is simply a price that is determined by the forces of demand and supply.

    He said that while the proposal may seem controversial, variants of this policy have proven to be highly effective in other climes and even here in Nigeria. “For example, throughout the early days of South Korea’s economic renaissance, the government intermittently used excessively stiff tariffs, quantitative restrictions and prohibitive inland taxes to effectively ban many items with potential for high imports, and simultaneously, offered generous and subsidized loans to firms for export promotion causes. In fact, at some point, about 93 per cent of total imports into South Korea were subject to one or more such restrictions,” he said.

    Emefiele admitted that interest rates are a veritable tool for curtailing inflation but with inflation at over 18 per cent, the regulator would be abjectly failing on one of its cardinal objectives if it cuts interest rates at this time. “Second, for those who say we need a rate cut to spur growth, we need to remind that high inflation is highly inimical to economic growth. Indeed, many empirical studies have estimated the threshold level at which inflation becomes significantly growth retarding to be 11 per cent for developing countries. With ours at 18.3 per cent, one must question the judgment of cutting interest rates at this time,” he said.

    The CBN Governor insisted that interest rates reflect not just the cost of capital but also the cost of doing business, hence, the need to also look at interest rates from the perspective of the lender. “Given that most banks have to individually provide security, power, and other infrastructure, it is not surprising that some of these costs are passed on to customers in the form of high interest rates. Notwithstanding these facts, we will continue to use moral suasion to encourage commercial banks to be more considerate in interest charges on customers,” he stated.

  • We rescued Emefiele’s wife, says vigilante group

    We rescued Emefiele’s wife, says vigilante group

    • Accuses the Police, Emefiele of abandoning slain colleague

    Members of the Vigilante Group in Emuhun Community in Uhunmwode local government have accused the Nigeria Police and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele of abandoning one of their colleague who was killed during the rescue of Emefiele’s wife, Margaret, from kidnappers den.

    The Vigilante group said they were responsible for the rescue of Margaret and not the Police or the Nigerian Army.

    They claimed that they shot and held two of the suspected kidnappers whose confessions led to the arrest of five others.

    Speaking at a news conference in Benin City, Secretary of Emuhun Community, Deacon Samson Osagie, gave the name of the slain Vigilante member as Gabriel Okorare aged 64.

    Deacon Osagie said the late Gabriel joined other Vigilante members to mobilise into the bush to apprehend the kidnappers after the police from Okhuaihe Police Division called on them for emergency help.

    Osagie said the police described the kidnapping of Emefiele’s wife as an embarrassment to the state police command and Nigeria in general.

    He stated that Gabriel was shot dead in the rescue attempt and his cross was recovered by the police who deposited it at the Abudu Hospital Mortuary.

    His words, “It may interest Nigerians to know that late Gabriel was the bread winner of his family and left behind two wives and 11 children.

    “Since Gabriel’s death, feeding of the family has been a major challenge particularly at this harsh economic recession in the country. A situation that has forced his children out of school.”

    Osagie further said the State Commissioner of Police, Haliru Gwand, promised to convey the matter to appropriate authorities but failed to pay a condolence visit to the late Vigilante family.

    One of the Vigilante who said he was in the forest with late Gabriel when he was killed, Wilson Igbinosun, said they knew the kidnappers were in the area because women returning from the farm claimed they were harassed.

    Wilson narrated that when they fired the first shot, the kidnappers responded with torrents of gunshots during which Gabriel was hit.

    He said policemen and soldiers did not enter the forest during the encounter.

    His words, “Gabriel died instantly and the kidnappers took away his gun while  I lay down flat without making a noise. They shot more than 180 times.

    “We were surprised that the police did not give us credit. If the police were in the bush, they would have killed all of them but we shot two who were later handed over to the police.

    “We saw two bags of money which the police took away. The police and Emefiele should visit the family because his wife was rescued alive. Three other women and one man were also rescued.”

  • Recession: Northern youths want CBN Governor sacked within 21 days

    Recession: Northern youths want CBN Governor sacked within 21 days

    Group under the auspices of Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has called for voluntary resignation of Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele within the next 21 days or do something to put the nation’s economy on the right track.

    They said though they were not economists but they are aware that economy of the country is in shambles with foreign exchange rate worst in recent times, calling on President Mohammadu Buhari to look for people with technical know-how to join him to fix the economy before it gets out of hand completely.

    President, NYCN, Comrade Isah Abubakar in a statement on Wednesday noted that lack of economy and financial direction have increased poverty rate in recent times from 60 per cent to 75 per cent with attendant consequences that have increased number of impoverished Nigerians to about 120 million.

    The statement read in part: “after watching with keen interest the present economic hardship in the country, we are saying no thanks to CBN Governor who has not been able to come up with any plan that can take us out of the wood as head of our financial body, we at NYCN while supporting the administration of President Mohammadu Buhari are saying we are not happy with his economy team hence the need to look inward for better hands.

    “We now pay as high as about N500 to a dollar. This has brought serious hunger and hardship on our people because most of what we eat are imported and are been affected by high foreign exchange. Inflation has increased from 7 percent in 2013 to 17 percent in quota 4 of 2015 and quota 3 of 2016 which bothers the CBN Governor and Finance Minister, Funke Adeosun agreed to the fact that economy is in trouble.

    “Unemployment is another problem as it has soared to 24 percent at a period when millions of beverages, tobacco, banks and hospitality sector workers have been added to already saturated Labour market. Small and medium scale enterprises that were coming up are folding up as they can not bear the exchange rate that has sky rocketed beyond their reach.

    “This has show total failure of the CBN governor and he has proved his total incompetence to manage Nigeria economy. It is to this regard we demand for his resignation as the CBN governor and urged Mr President to appoint a competent hand not minding where he comes from, his ethnicity, or religion background. We only need someone with sound economics nitty-gritty who can manage our delicate economy. This is because we demand nothing but a better Nigeria.

    “Failure of the CBN governor to voluntarily resign or put the economy in the right track within the 21-day of this ultimatum, NYCN will be forced to organize and mobilize mass protests in front of the CBN headquarters in Abuja”, the statement added.

    The statement however called on All Progressives Congress (APC) led government at various levels to stop playing blame games and work for people that elected them into varying offices they are occupying, noting that they were voted in to effect positive change the country needed and not to keep complaining.

    “We know we are not broke. It’s just that only few cabal and multi national companies are holding it. The time to work is now”.

  • CBN mulls raising N183b Treasury Bills

    CBN mulls raising N183b Treasury Bills

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to raise N183.24 worth of Treasury bills (T-bills) to settle short-term obligations. The issue will come with mixed yields on all tenors, data from Debt Management Office (DMO) has shown.

    The debt office raised N48.10 billion of three-month paper at 14 per cent, down from 14.38 per cent during August 31 auction and sold N48.45 billion worth of the six-month paper at 17.77 per cent, higher than 17.50 per cent previously.

    A total of N86.69 billion was sold in the one-year debt at 18.48 per cent against 18.42 per cent at the last auction. The T-bills’ maturities range between three months and a year and would be raised today, according to the CBN.

    T-bills are marketable short-term money market securities that serve the purpose of raising money for the government and also help in monetary policy management of the CBN.

    The main investors in government securities are mainly pension funds and commercial banks which control more than 60 per cent of the market, followed by insurance funds and a few micro-finance institutions.

    Yields on fixed income securities have been rising in recent months with the CBN mopping up naira liquidity to try to lure back foreign investors who sold naira assets following the plunge in the price of oil, Nigeria’s economic mainstay.

    The bank lifted interest rates by 200 basis points last week to 14 per cent to help fight inflation, which hit a 10-year high of 16.5 per cent in June.

    Meanwhile, DMO said it raised N121 billion ($372.88 million) in an auction of local-currency bonds on Wednesday, with yields higher across the board.

     The debt office sold N15 billion of 2021 paper at 15.14 per cent at Wednesday’s auction, compared with 15.08 percent at the previous auction last month.

    It also sold N30 billion of 2026 debt at 15.53 per cent, against 15.28 per cent, and N60 billion of 2036 debt at 15.59 per cent, compared with 15.53 per cent. The debt office also allotted an additional N16 billion worth of the 2021 debt on a non-competitive basis to mandate clients.

    Nigeria has said it will borrow about N900 billion locally to finance part of the N2.2 trillion deficit in its 2016 budget, to plug shortfalls. The country issues local bonds as part of measures to finance the government budget deficit and also to help manage liquidity in the banking system.

  • Nigerian economy: Recession trends on Google

    Nigerian economy: Recession trends on Google

    The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun appeared to take different positions on the state of Nigeria’s economy. Are we in a recession yet or not? is the question Nigerians have been asking and they have taken their search for answers to Google.

     

    …Anambra State leads search in Nigeria

     Perhaps there’s been some  uncertainty about whether Nigeria’s economy  is fully in a recession or just “technically” in recession, thanks to recent comments on the issue by the CBN chief and Mrs Adeosun.

    Local interest in the term peaked in the past three months, with questions about the recession in Nigeria  trending on Google in July.

    For those who may still be  still in the dark about the state of the economy , it may be a good idea to pluck a leaf from the tree of knowledge growing in Anambra State. Anambra currently tops the list of states in Nigeria searching for “recession” and other related terms.

    Perhaps the curiosity of the  gentlemen traders at Iweka road, Onitsha, who just needed to know why all  this fuss about a recession, sent the state to the head of the Search list, trumping cosmopolitan Abuja and Lagos, as seen below.

    1. Anambra State.
    2. Federal Capital Territory.
    3. Rivers State.
    4. Lagos State.

    So why are residents of other States not searching for terms related to the recession? Unfortunately, Google has no answers to that question, but globally, Nigeria is one of the top three countries with the most searches for the term. In other words, we are not alone on this one -even good old stable Canada is worried.

    1. United Arab Emirates
    2. Singapore
    3. Nigeria
    4. Canada
    5. Ireland
    6. South Africa
    7. U.S.A

    Below is a list of questions people are asking in Nigeria about the recession. You may want to Google numbers 6 and 9 while you are at it.

    1. Economic recession in Nigeria?
    2. what is recession / recession definition
    3. what is economic recession
    4. difference between recession and depression
    5. recession proof businesses
    6. how to survive in economic recession
    7. how to add value during a recession
    8. when is an economy in recession
    9. how to make money in a recession
    10. causes of recession

    According to analysts, Nigeria’s recession was triggered by a dip in government revenues and spending in the wake of the  fall in global crude oil prices. It’s likely to be a bumpy ride ahead for the country, so it’s important to live by the first rule for surviving a recession- Start saving money now.

  • Flexible forex policy still on trial – Emefiele

    Flexible forex policy still on trial – Emefiele

    The flexible exchange rate inter-bank market policy being implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is still on trial and would soon make room for more stakeholders including Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to participate, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, has said.

    Speaking during an interactive session between the BDCs and CBN  on the new policy and state of the forex market on Wednesday, Emefiele said all hopes to include BDCs in the policy guidelines is not lost, while also acknowledging the impact of the policy on BDC businesses.

    The broad framework and guidelines on the policy was released by the CBN on June 15 during which it restored the automatic adjustment mechanism of the exchange rate with the re-introduction of a flexible inter-bank exchange rate market.

    The apex bank said the workings of this market will be consistent with its objectives of enhancing efficiency and facilitating a liquid and transparent foreign exchange market.

    Emefiele, who was represented by CBN Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Anthony Ikem, said, “The CBN wants to accommodate and carry all stakeholders along. All that management is requiring for the BDCs is to be more patient. The new policy is being tested. Efforts will be made to see how the BDCs, which are critical to economic development, will be carried along.”

    The CBN governor promised the operators that they will be part of the policy, adding that more collaboration between the regulator and operators is needed to move the economy forward.

    He said the CBN will review the BDC operational guidelines to ensure they are in line with regulatory requirement and prepare the operators for the task ahead.

     

  • Dasukigate: Court dismisses suit seeking Emefiele’s prosecution

    Dasukigate: Court dismisses suit seeking Emefiele’s prosecution

    Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday struck out a suit seeking the prosecution of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, over alleged unlawful disbursement of funds to the immediate past National Security Adviser,  Sambo Dasuki .

    The judge’s decision was informed by  a notice of discontinuance filed by the plaintiffs –  Achilike Anderson, Uchenna Nnadi, Ohazuruike Tochukwu, Fatima Musa, Olamide Buba, Hassan Haruna, Elochukwu Nweke, Amina Abubakar, Eroni Ada and Joy Moses.

    The plaintiffs, who said they are lawyers, were silent on the motive behind their sudden change of mind and the decision to withdraw the suit.

    Listed with the CBN governor as defendants to the suit were President Muhammadu Buhari, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Senate.

    The plaintiffs had in their suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/218/16, sought 10 prayers, including  an order, “directing the EFCC to arrest and prosecute the CBN governor for offences of money laundering, unlawful, illegal and fraudulent direct cash payment to the Office of the National Security Adviser via a letter  dated November 26, 2014 referenced: NSA/366/S.”

    They also wanted the court to order the EFCC to carry out an investigation into the “unlawful, illegal, and fraudulent act of the first defendant in making direct cash payment to the office of the NSA.”

    The plaintiff wanted the court to direct the second defendant (the President) to write to the Senate, pursuant to the provision of Section 11 (2) (c) and (f) of the CBN (Establishment) Act Cap C4 LFN 2004, to demand the removal of the CBN governor.

    The plaintiffs  urged the court to declare that by “virtue of the combined effect of Sections 1 and 10 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004, the act of the first defendant (the CBN governor)  in making direct cash payment in various sums of money to the Office of the NSA under the cover of ‘special services” in excess of the authorized limit cash payment and without giving the requisite report in writing within seven days to the third defendant (EFCC) constitutes a gross abuse of  and misconduct in relation to the discharge of his duties.”

  • Bank restates commitment to MSME growth

    Bank restates commitment to MSME growth

    The banking industry has restated its commitment to growth of the Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (MSME) in the country.

    The Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the bank had raised N30billion in corporate bonds on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Okonkwo said that the capital raising exercise was expected to enable the bank fulfil its promise to increase MSME lending to 50 per cent by 2017.

    He added that the bank had earmarked 80 per cent of the net proceeds of the bond to finance MSMEs which have been peddled as the next cash cow.

    In a similar development, Heritage Bank Ltd said on Wednesday that it had boosted its entrepreneurship support by the launch of N500 million Young Entrepreneurs and Students (YES) Grant.

    Its Managing Director, Mr Ifie Sekibo, said in Lagos that the initiative was a partnership with the Nigerian Youth Professional Forum (NYPF), to support students and young entrepreneurs toward socio-economic freedom.

    Sekibo said the Heritage Bank’s support for the programme arose from the fact that the initiative aligns with the vision of the bank, which is to help create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.

    He added that the bank would also support the project in terms of training the beneficiaries, disbursement of the grant, monitoring and evaluation of the project’s milestones agreed with the beneficiaries.

    Also same day, the National Assembly finally passed the 2016 budget submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The 2016 budget of N6.06 trillion was reduced by N17 billion, to make it lower than the N6.07 trillion estimates presented by the President in December.

    The banking industry during the week also witnessed a policy decision that made the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), an anchor rate for commercial banks.

    The CBN, through the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the MPR, the reference interest rate by 100 basis points from 11per cent to 12 per cent.

    It also raised the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 250 basis points from 20 to 22.5per cent, while retaining the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30 per cent.

    The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the Committee, “in its assessment of relevant internal and external indices, came to the conclusion that the balance of risks is tilted against price stability.

    The MPC, therefore, voted to tighten the stance of monetary policy.