Tag: Godwin Emefiele
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Photo: Annual Worldbank/IMF meetings in Washington
IMF Deputy Director African Department, Mr David O. Robinson, Nigerian CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Director monitoring Policy, Mr. Moses Tule, Senior Resident Representative in Nigeria African Department, Mr. Gene Leon, Alternative Executive Director Africa Group 1 Constituency, Mr. Okwu Joseph Nnanna and Director Budget Office Dr. Bright Okogu during a meeting at the 2014 Annual Worldbank/IMF Meetings in Washington DC. -
Photo: CBN Governor Emefiele CON
CBN Governor Mr. Godwin Emefiele being presented with the National Honour of
Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by President Goodluck Jonathan,
on Monday -
2015 elections will not deplete Nigeria’s reserves – Emefiele
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has said that the 2015 general election would not deplete the country’s reserves.
Emefiele gave the assurance on Wednesday in New York, United States, at the Africa Business Summit, a high level international forum on Africa’s investment climate and market with the theme: “Africa is Rising, There Are Challenges, Still We Rise.’’
He said the nation’s economy was currently doing well and the 2015 elections would not let it take a downturn.
He further said that Nigeria currently had a reserve of about 41 billion dollars, “which is the highest in Africa.’’
The CBN governor said though people were predicting a drop in crude prices and revenues, with 41 billion dollars reserve supporting imports and production for the next seven to eight months, “Nigeria’s economy is doing very well and 2015 will not be different.
“People are generally expecting crude prices to drop and maybe there will be reduction in production and crude prices will fall,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the CBN chief as saying at the summit.
He allayed the fears of investors in the stability of the economy, stressing that the country’s Gross Domestic Product was consistently moving up.
Emefiele said “Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves fell by 18 per cent year-on-year, although it climbed by 3.8 per cent in July to 38.49 billion dollars.
“Investors became nervous after the suspension of former Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, in February, and ahead of presidential election in February 2015 but I assure you we are in a comfortable position.’’
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who spoke at the event, said the summit, which was a Private- Public Partnership, was meant to educate and attract investors.
“This platform provides a level of advocacy for Nigeria’s economic image,’’ he added.
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Activists ask Emefiele to provide information on ‘money laundering’
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Mr. Godwin Emefiele to “provide information about the persons involved in alleged money laundering through the bank to fund the activities of the Boko Haram.
It also asked him to provide “within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, information on the nature and duration of any such transaction.”
The organisation threatened “appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act to compel you to comply with our request.”
In the letter dated September 15 and signed by the Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, SERAP said: “Given the involvement of the CBN in this matter and the fact that you are the governor of the bank, we believe you will use your position to provide information on what happened.
“SERAP is concerned about the damaging allegation, especially given that the CBN as a regulatory body has a responsibility under the UN Convention against corruption and other national laws to prevent money laundering in banks and ensure that its systems are transparent and accountable to the people.”
The body added: “It is necessary to provide clarity as to what happened through the CBN if the bank is to play a leadership role in the fight against corruption and money laundering and enjoy public trust and confidence essential for its effectiveness.
“Providing the information will also help ensure accountability for those involved in international crimes and contribute to providing effective remedies for victims.”
According to the organisation, “by virtue of Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011, SERAP is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information, including information on any transaction or money laundering that may have been carried out through the CBN, and the information is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution.”
SERAP noted: “By virtue of Section 4 (a) of the FOI Act, when a person requests for information from a public official, institution or agency, the official, institution or agency to whom the application is directed is under a binding legal obligation to provide the applicant with the information, except as otherwise provided by the Act, within seven days after the application is received. According to sections 2(3)(d)(V) & (4) of the FOI Act, there is a binding legal duty to ensure that the documents containing information relating to alleged money laundering through the CBN are disseminated and made available to the public through various means.”
The body said: “The information being requested does not come within the purview of the types of information exempted from disclosure by the provisions of the FOI Act. The information requested for, besides being exempted from disclosure under the FOI Act, bothers on an issue of national interest, public peace and concern, interest of human rights, social justice, good governance, transparency and accountability.
“The disclosure of the information requested will give SERAP and the public a true picture and a clear understanding of the extent of the involvement of the CBN in any money laundering to Boko Haram.”
A Perth-based international adviser to Nigeria, Dr. Stephen Davis, who for four months was involved in negotiations on behalf of the Federal Government with commanders of Boko Haram for the release of over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the sect in April, has named a former top official of the CBN among those, who have provided funds and other logistics to Boko Haram to commit crimes under international law.
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has said information about a suspected financier of Boko Haram from the CBN was passed to President Goodluck Jonathan.
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A suspicious order
The attempt to compel INEC to award printing of ballot papers to the Mint could compromise the 2015 election
President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive that the printing of ballot papers for next year’s general elections be handled by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) apears curious. He instructed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should ensure that the expertise of the Mint be tapped to build up internal capacity in handling such sensitive materials.
No sooner was the directive issued than the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, made the move to sell the idea to INEC. He went to the commission and got its chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, to give his consent. This could be a landmine that would haunt the 2015 elections. The CBN boss then dissolved the NSPMC management committee, with its managing director and the two executive directors forced to retire and new ones appointed.
Mr. Joseph Ugbo, an engineer, is the new managing director, while a former special assistant to the CBN governor, Mr. Umar Masanawa, is the new executive director, finance and strategy. With the CBN governor himself an appointee of the president as chairman of the Mint’s board, the takeover is total, thus making the president’s directive curious.
While acknowledging that the President and others who advocate that such printing jobs should be handled in the country by the foremost security printing firm in order to combat the scourge of unemployment and build up the national pride is not totally misplaced, the danger should be noted as outweighing the benefits.
Elections have always led to combats and instability in the system. It sometimes leads to overthrow of presumably democratically elected governments. They have sometimes portrayed Nigeria as a country where anything goes. The 2007 elections, for example, led to an outcry not only nationally, but internationally. All the external observers indicated that the elections fell below even national standards.
Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Materials were in short supply, logistics was a nightmare, and officials perverted the process. The sincerity of the Federal Government has been called to question in recent times. In the Ekiti and Osun elections that showed that the electoral commission could have turned a new leaf, the security forces showed that they take instructions from the Commander-in-Chief. Now that the president wants the Mint to print sensitive materials, the integrity question is being raised to another level.
Can a company fully owned by the Federal Government, whose board and management are appointed by the president be trusted with faithfully producing ballot papers? And, where it does, would it be seen as having done so?
It is unfortunate that the president’s directive is a clear detraction from the powers of the commission as derived from the constitution, the Electoral Act and INEC Act. The process of electoral reform that produced the 2010 Electoral Act was largely informed by a quest for an independent electoral commission. By the Act, the commission is believed to be more politically and financially independent than it was previously.
But, by now deciding to issue directives to the commission, the president is acting ultra vires the provisions of these laws. If the president is allowed to get away with this action, he could begin to aggrandise his power more than envisaged by the extant laws.
Had the Mint performed optimally and above board over the years, the order might not have been so suspect. In 2012, about N2 billion was said to have been stolen. Some old officials of the Mint have been taking their turns to answer to charges at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Some officials of the CBN were also alleged to have received slush funds from Securency International Pty of Australia. The maladministration of the Mint has, over the years, led to steady decline in performance. There was an 85 per cent decline in its Profit After Tax between 2009 and 2012 and a N215millin loss last year.
We call on INEC to resist this attempt to hijack its powers. Professor Jega and his team owe the nation a duty to ensure that the reforms are given effect.
It is patriotic to expect that capital flight is halted. South African firms should not be encouraged to continually attract profit from Nigerian government parastatals. But this is the way to go in the future when confidence has been fully reposed in the commission. By then, INEC could establish good relationship with the Mint. By then, the management would have been tested, the competence would have been demonstrated and integrity would have been established.
Before the hope of all Nigerians could be invested in the Mint, it ought to be tested in by-elections. The general elections include the presidential, governorship, Senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly polls. It is too heavy to place all these on a wobbling company.
This is one situation that calls for disregard of a presidential order in the country’s interest.
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Emefiele emerges ECOWAS Central Bank Govs Chair
ECOWAS monetary union is not feasible from January 1, 2015
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele has been elected chairman of Committee of Central Bank Governors of the ECOWAS sub-region.
Emefiele who was elected by fellows central bank governors from ECOWAS countries at the 31st Meeting of the Committee of Governors of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) in Abuja on Wednesday also hinted that the January 1, 2015 date for the sub-regions monetary union may not be realized.Nigeria’s Emefiele lamented to his fellow governors that “over the years, appraisals have continued to show that the level of macroeconomic convergence in the Zone remained inadequate relative to the set targets.”According to him, “since 2009, no two countries satisfied all the four primary convergence criteria consistently for two consecutive years. Accordingly, we have missed several launch dates for the monetary union.”This development he said “may have informed the decision of the Heads of State and Government to approve the Modified Gradualist Approach to monetary integration by 2020.”Emefiele noted that “the performance of Member States’ on the convergence scale relative to that required for the establishment of a monetary union is still inadequate.” Also member countries’ business cycle synchronization in terms of real GDP, inflation, broad money and interest rates remained weak, and their level of institutional preparedness for the monetary union remain inadequate.”He then urged other central bank governors “to objectively examine the numerous challenges before us, assess the state of preparedness of Member States for monetary integration at short notice, and realistically appraise the directive of the Heads of State and Government for a Modified Gradualist Approach to monetary Integration by 2020.”Their role he stated, “is to honestly appraise this directive and design strategies to ensure a sustainable monetary union in the zone.”In doing this, Emefiele urged other ECOWAS countries “to think outside the box, realistically assessing and providing innovative options as well as the costs and benefits of implementing the Modified Gradualist Approach.”He however said that member countries “have continued to make remarkable progress towards the establishment of a common market and the implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Integration Protocols and Convention as well as significant progress towards the reforms of their financial systems.” -
N10b jet-hire probe: Makarfi faults judiciary interference
….Senate to intervene in CBN’s N35m capital requirement for BDC operators
Chairman Senate committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Makarfi yesterday condemned attempts by the Judiciary to stall the probe of N10billion allegedly spent by the Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Deziani Alison-Madueke to hire private jets.
Makarfi also faulted the new policy of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele that Bureau De Change (BDC) would henceforth require a capital base of N35million to operate, up from N10million.
He said the Senate would intervene to amicably resolve the rift between the CBN and BDC operators over the new capital requirement.
He also noted that since the National Assembly cannot stop the court from hearing any case before it, the courts should not also stop the National Assembly from its legislative and investigative activities.
On attempts by the Judiciary to stall the House of Representatives probe of N10billion allegedly used by the Alison-Madueke to hire private jets, Makarfi said: “I think it was wrong for any court to stop the National Assembly from legislating or investigating.
“The National Assembly cannot stop any court from trying any case before it. Equally the court should not interfere in the operation of the National Assembly to make laws or to investigate any matter. The court can find faults at the end of the day.
“If a legislation is unconstitutional, it can annul such a legislation, it has that power. Or if an investigation was biased. That is, somebody took his case to court and he can prove before the court that he was not given fair hearing, that is a post investigative issue not a pre-investigative issue.
“That is my honest and personal opinion and I think the heads of the judiciary and the heads of the legislature should really talk to each other and streamline so that we adopt a code of conduct that is good for the judiciary, good for the legislature, good for democracy and good for this country.”
On the promise to reduce bank interest rates by the CBN Governor which he later reversed after meeting with the Bankers Committee, the lawmaker said leaders ought to be abreast with facts of any issue before making pronouncement.
Makarfi said: “The issue of the statement made by the CBN governor talking about the reduction of the interest rate could be compared with when the late Chief Bola Ige made a statement on the improvement of power supply before he assumed office as Minister of Power and met something different on resumption.
“Of recent, the Chief of Defence Staff said something and had to quickly came out to say he was misquoted.
“What this mean is that leaders should always think before they talk, they should know the fact before they make statement especially when they are occupying a sensitive position.
“It is not good you say something today and change your position tomorrow. It is good to wait a while, gather the necessary facts you needed so that when you speak, you speak once and people can make medium and long term decision.
“May be that is a baptism for him and may be that will teach him a lesson not to talk before knowing all the facts.”
The senator said it was wrong to tie down N35million that would not yield any interest to the BDC operators.
“How much forex is the CBN prepared to be selling to those who will be tying down their interest free N35million,” he queried, adding, “Look at the opportunity cost. Except if you will be selling forex that somebody ties down N35million and make a living.”
According to him, if the reason for raising the capital base is due to scarcity of forex, it means government does not have enough to sell.
He added: “You should not be looking for high capital because that would make the operators to record losses. It is a plus, minus issue here.
In other countries, according to Makarfi, government can sell forex to BDC in order to regulate exchange rate through various means “but the day to day activities of the bureau de change is not like that, they sell based on what they buy.”
He insisted that with the minimum capital requirement to open BDC, operators should be allowed to operate and buy forex where they can get them and sell and make a living.
He added: “But if the CBN is saying you need a minimum capital base of N10million or more, before it can sell, then it must sell what is commensurate with the capital outlay.
“The CBN should make it an option, pay the minimum capital base if you want to buy forex from CBN or ignore the directive if you have alternative way of sourcing forex.
“CBN should guarantee selling at minimum rate of exchange. For me, a policy like that could make sense if they have much to sell but to clamp such a standard on everybody even an assurance of what they can sell, that will be commensurate with the capital you are asking the people to tie down, I think it is not just, it is not fair, it is not equitable.
“The House of Representatives has taken it as a motion, we (Senate) will adopt a different method to intervene, and to bring a dialogue and discussion between the operators of the industry and the regulators so that something more workable, more humane, may emerge at the end of the day.”
END
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Emefiele reshuffles CBN Deputy Governors
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has redeployed three Deputy Governors in the Bank.
A statement from the apex bank signed by Isaac A. Okorafor, For: Director, Corporate Communications said Alhaji Suleiman Barau, Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate is now the Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate.
Dr. Kingsley Moghalu the Deputy Governor, Operations, has been returned to the Financial Systems Stability (FSS) Directorate while Mr. Adebayo Adelabu who was in charge of Financial Systems Stability (FSS) is now the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services. Dr. Sarah Alade retains her position as the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate.
The statement said the re-deployments are in line with Godwin Emefiele’s vision of entrenching a more professional and people-focused central bank.
These redeployments, Isaac A. Okorafor said will take effect from Monday 23rd June 2014, and “are expected to contribute to the Bank’s vision of being the Model Central Bank delivering Price and Financial System Stability and promoting sustainable Economic Development.”
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Fayemi, Emefiele for integrity award
EKITI State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the new Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, will receive the 2014 prestigious integrity awards of the Nigerian Association of Christian Journalists (NACJ).
The award is an annual event designed to specially recognise Nigerians who have demonstrated high sense of integrity in their respective official capacities.
A statement by the Secretary General of NACJ, Charles Okpai, said the recipients were painstakingly nominated and voted for by the public in a transparent process.
According to him, they become automatic ambassadors of the association as well as symbols of integrity.
The 2014 edition of the awards, he stated, holds on June 12 at the Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja Lagos.
Lt General Theophilus Danjuma(Rtd.) will chair the occasion while Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, will deliver the keynote address with the theme: Integrity in leadership: A panacea to peace, economic growth and sustainability.
Professor Jerry Gana will be the special guest of honour while Rivers State Police Commissioner, Tunde Ogunsakin, will be the presenter of the most prestigious integrity man of the year award to the winner.
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CBN Governor Emefiele to unveil agenda tomorrow
Former Zenith Bank Managing Director Godwin Emefiele resumed as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor yesterday, promising to unveil his agenda tomorrow. He succeeds Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was suspended in February. Sanusi’s five-year tenure expired on Monday.
Emefiele, 52, received the handover note from the former Acting Governor, Dr. Sarah Alade, at the CBN, Abuja headquarters.
A statement by a CBN spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, said: “Mr. Emefiele, who was cleared by the Senate on Wednesday, March 26, 2014, arrived at the CBN Headquarters at 7.30 a.m yesterday, June 3, 2014, to the warm embrace of the four Deputy Governors at the Bank and expectant staff, led by Dr. Sarah Alade, whose tenure as Acting Governor ended on Monday, June 2, 2014”.
Emefiele has over 20 years banking management experience. He is a 1984 graduate of Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He hold MBA in Finance from the same institution. He is also an alumnus of Executive Education at Stanford University, Harvard University (2004) and Wharton Graduate School of Business (2005).
Also yesterday, the Senate confirmed the re-appointment of four members of the CBN Monetary Policy Committee.
They are: Dr Adedoyin Salami (Microe-conomic Policy), Prof. Chubuike Uche (Banking and Finance), Dr Shehu Yahaya (Development Economics) and Mr Abdul-Ganiyu Garba (Monetary and Fiscal Policy).
Their confirmation followed the approval of the recommendation of the report of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions which screened them.
Committee Chairman Bassey Otu, said the nominees met the criteria for appointment.
The Senate also confirmed the appointment of Alhaji Hassan Bashir (Bauchi State) and Mr Olarewaju Fayemi (Ekiti State) as members of the National Population Commission (NPC).
They were confirmed after scaling through the screening conducted by the Senate Committee on National Identity Card and National Population.
Senate President David Mark urged them to assist the commission to resolve the controversy surrounding the population figure.
Mark said: “Population is a very serious issue in this country and I believe that they would bring something on board so that we know our true figures.
“Every time we talk about statistics in this country, depending on who you are talking to, we don’t appear to have the accurate figures.
“I hope that they would help to bring something on board so that we can know our true population in this country.”
