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Tag: Isaac Okorafor

  • CBN warns Nigerians against virtual currencies

    CBN warns Nigerians against virtual currencies

    As Nigerians continue to seek ways of making more money, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned against investments in crypto currency, maintaining that virtual currencies were not legal tender in the country.

    It identified such crypto currencies as Bit Coin, Ripples, Monero, Litecoin, Doge Coin, One Coin and exchanges such as NairaEx.

    The CBN gave the caution in statement by Mr Isaac Okorafor, Acting Director of Corporate Communications Department posted on its website.

    According to Okorafor, dealers and investors in any kind of crypto currency in Nigeria are not protected by law.

    Okoroafor said that virtual currencies were traded in exchange platforms that were unregulated all over the world.

    He also said that customers might therefore, lose money without legal redress in the event that exchanges collapse or close business.

    Crypto currency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography.

    Cryptography is the art of writing and solving codes to secure its transactions, control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets.

    The CBN had in January 2017, issued a circular to banks and other financial institutions on virtual currency operations in the country.

  • Expert tasks FG to utilize rising oil price for economic growth

    Expert tasks FG to utilize rising oil price for economic growth

    A financial expert, Dr Samuel Nzekwe, has advised the Federal Government to utilise the rising oil price in the international market to achieve sustainable economic growth for the country.

    Nzekwe, who was the former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), gave the advice on Thursday in Ota, Ogun.

    He made the comment while reacting to the increase in the nation’s external reserves.

    Mr. Isaac Okorafor, the Director of Communication, CBN, on Monday in Abuja, said the nation’s external reserves increased from 38.2 billion dollars in December to 40.4 billion dollars in January.

    According to Nzekwe, the increase in the reserves due to rise in the price of oil at the international market is encouraging because it will support the country’s export for some time.

    The former ANAN president also said the international community would now be willing to do business with the country because it now had adequate financial back up.

    Read Also: Oil price slips below $65/bbl

    Nzekwe, however, warned that the nation’s external reserve was still fragile because any volatility in the petroleum sector would negatively affect it.

    “Any informal shock in the international market would hit the country, and the external reserves would not be able to move forward, rather it would decrease,” he said.

    The expert urged the Federal Government to focus on massive infrastructure development to support the productive sector.

    He said investment in infrastructure would attract more revenues.

    “The ability of the Federal Government to leverage on this development would attract foreign investors as well as achieve sustainable economic growth for the country.

    NAN

     

  • CBN spends N55bn to improve local food production

    CBN spends N55bn to improve local food production

    The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), says it has disbursed N55 billion to more than 250,000 farmers within two years of implementation of the Anchor Borrowers Programme ( ABP ).

    The Acting-Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Isaac Okorafor confirmed the figure on Wednesday in Abuja during a media briefing on the implementation of the programme.

    The ABP was launched in Kebbi State on Nov. 17, 2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    It was designed to create economic linkages between farmers and processors, not only to ensure increased agricultural output of rice and wheat, but also close the gap between production and consumption.

    Okorafor was accompanied to the briefing by the Special Adviser to the CBN Governor, Mr Olatunde Akande, and top executive of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria ( RIFAN ) led by its President, Alh. Aminu Gorongo.

    Okorafor said that out of the N55 billion provided by the apex bank to farmers, 80 per cent of the amount, N44 billion was given to rice farmers alone.

    He said the need to provide rice farmers adequate funding was to ensure self sufficiency in rice production and to also ensure that Nigeria becomes a net exporter of the product.

    “It goes to underscore the effectiveness and efficiency that the CBN has put into this programme.

    “We have assisted about 250,000 farmers across Nigeria to cultivate close to 300,000 hectares of farmlands and you can see the impact on the streets’’ he said.

    In his remarks, the RIFAN president Gorongo said that the association was partnering with the CBN to increase rice production by two million tonnes in 2018.

    He said under the new ABP partnership between the CBN and RIFAN, 200,000 farmers would be given fresh funds to plant rice in the dry season farming.

    According to him, another 500,000 rice farmers would also be mobilised during the wet season farming.

    Gorongo said that through the funding, the farmers would be able to employ a total of five million people to work on rice production value chain during the period.

    He said so far, farmers in about 34 states were presently under the new ABP with RIFAN.

    “We have started collaboration with the CBN to have a private sector driven ABP, which means that under this new agreement, the state governments are not involved.

    “We have launched this programme to put this country on the right part, especially in the area of agri-business.’’

    Also speaking, Akande, the Special Assistant to the CBN Governor on Development Finance, said the ABP had been digitised to keep account of the activities of all the farmers involved.

    According to him, under the new agreement with RIFAN, each farmer’s identity, home address, farm location and other vital information has been captured and each farmer is given a biometric card.

    He said the new system would help resolve the issue of delay in payments to farmers and also the recoupment of funds borrowed out by the CBN.

    “We have successfully digitally mapped all the farmers that are participating in the projects. This makes the new programme reliable, accessible and verifiable.

    “The digitisation will ensure that no farmer will collect payment and refuse to pay. So loan repayment is guaranteed.

    “Also, in the new agreement, RIFAN will provide training, and ensure that whatever is given to the farmers are well utilised.

    “Depending on the season and the crop which is being cultivated, each farmer will get a support of about N250, 000 per hectare,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Foreign exchange market gets CBN ’s $210m boost

    Foreign exchange market gets CBN ’s $210m boost

    The inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market has received 210 million dollars from Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market.

    The CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, said 100 million dollars was sold to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market.He said the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got 55 million dollars, while another 55 million dollars was allocated for customers who needed foreign exchange for tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others.

    Okorafor assured Nigerians that the apex bank would continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market, in line with its pledge to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability.

    He said the CBN would not renege on its promise to manage the foreign exchange market with a view to reducing the country’s import bills and halting depletion of its foreign reserves.

    Last week, the CBN intervened in the foreign exchange market to the tune of 325.64 million dollars to cater for requests in the airlines, agriculture, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors.

    Meanwhile, the Naira continued its stability in the market, exchanging at an average of N361 to dollar in the Bureau de Change segment.

    NAN

  • Forex: CBN intervenes in retail SMIS with $325.64m

    Forex: CBN intervenes in retail SMIS with $325.64m

    The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) today intervened in the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) to the tune of $325.64 million.

    Figures obtained from the bank  showed that the amount released was for requests in the agricultural, airlines, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors.

    The figures were confirmed by the bank’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, who noted that the continued intervention were in line with the assurances made by the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to sustain market liquidity in order to boost production and trade.

    According to Okorafor, the feedback from the wholesale and retail segments of the Nigerian Forex markets showed that customers were satisfied with their level of access to foreign exchange. He said the degree of optimism displayed by all players underscored the fact that everyone was happy with the level of transparency in the market.

    Speaking further, Okorafor assured that, with the recession now over and foreign reserves now standing at $42 billion, the CBN had enough in its arsenal to maintain the international value of the Naira as well as guarantee access to forex by those requiring it to meet genuine needs.

    Read Also:  CBN lifts forex market with $210m

    He also reiterated that the desire of the Bank to ensure that all, particularly low end users, had access to foreign exchange to meet genuine needs prompted the Bankers’ Committee, in its first meeting of 2018, to agree to sell United States dollars to those requiring it for invisibles at the rate of N360/$1, without any commission whatsoever.

    It will be recalled that the CBN in its last SMIS, in January 2018, injected the sum of $304.4 million in the inter-bank foreign exchange market. Meanwhile, the naira exchanged at N361/$1 in the bureau de change segment of the market on Friday, February 9, 2018.

  • CBN cries out over fake Emefiele twitter handles

    CBN cries out over fake Emefiele twitter handles

    The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) has raised alarm over the existence of several twitter handles purportedly owned by the Governor of the Bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

    CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communication, Mr Isaac Okorafor in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, urged Nigerians to ignore messages from such twitter handles.

    “We wish to inform members of the public, particularly members of the social media community that Emefiele presently has no twitter handle.

    “We wish to state categorically, that the twitter handles bearing his name and photographs are fake and targeted at misleading unsuspecting members of the public.’’

    Also Read: CBN stops banks from taking charges on bulk transfers

    Accordingly, we wish to advise all members of the social media community and the general public to be wary of the fake accounts and discountenance whatever message conveyed therein.

    NAN

  • CBN tasks investors on job, wealth creation

    CBN tasks investors on job, wealth creation

    The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has urged the private sector to support the Federal Government’s efforts at increating jobs and stimulating growth of the Nigerian economy.

    The CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said that Emefiele made the call at the Blueband Factory launch organised by the Unilever in Agbara, Ogun.

    Emefiele also pledged the CBN’s continued support for companies committed to the objective of job-creation.

    He said that there were many Nigerian youths whose potential could be harnessed to strengthen the industrial base of the country.

    The CBN governor recalled the practice in time past when companies tested and offered jobs to the brightest among fresh graduates of different disciplines before they proceeded for their national youth service.

    He said that a vast number of Nigerian youths was hardworking and willing to contribute their quota to the development of the country.

    The CBN governor also commended the management of Unilever Nigeria Plc for heeding the bank’s call to return to Nigeria and build a world class plant after the foreign exchange restrictions on some 41 items, including margarine.

    Emefiele said the policies of the apex bank and its aggressive intervention in the inter-bank foreign exchange market management had ensured transparency in the foreign exchange market.

    Read also: CBN, Dickson, others laud Mosilo Bayelsa Rice Outgrowers Scheme

    With a population estimated at about 180 million people, the CBN governor said Nigeria was a ready market for investors and was indeed ready and open for business.

    He, therefore, reiterated his call to investors to take advantage of the opportunities in Nigeria by bringing more investments  into the country.

    Emefiele, however, cautioned that Nigeria, with the population growing at an average of three per cent per annum, had to focus on growth and prosperity if it would transform its population into assets.

    “We must plan to feed our growing population so it does not become a disadvantage,” he said.

    Earlier, the Executive Vice President of Unilever Ghana and Nigeria, Mr Yaw Nsarkoh, lauded the CBN for supporting the company to achieve its goal of setting up the plant in Nigeria and boosting capacity in Africa.

    While urging investors to disregard negative stories about Nigeria, Nsarkoh noted that businesses must be part of the solution to thriving communities.

    According to Okorafor, the high point of the event was an inspection of the new Blueband factory by the CBN governor and other guests.

    NAN

  • CBN injects $210m into Forex market

    CBN injects $210m into Forex market

    As the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) commenced its last meeting for 2017, the bank injected has 210 million dollars into the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market.

    The CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, said the interventions were in the Wholesale, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisibles windows.

    He said the bank offered the 100 million dollars to the wholesale segment, while the SMEs segment received the sum of 55 million dollars.

    Okorafor also said that the invisibles segment, comprising tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others also received an allocation of 55 million dollars.

    According to him, the releases are aimed at boosting liquidity, trade and ease of remittances for legitimate personal commitments.

    He said the bank was quite pleased with the rate of N360 to a dollar, noting that the continued intervention by the CBN in the inter-bank forex market had largely checked unwholesome activities of currency speculators.

    He, however, stressed that the CBN would not relent in its monitoring of the market in order to ensure that authorised dealers abide by the extant rules.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the CBN had in its last intervention injected 195 million dollars into the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market.

    Meanwhile, the naira maintained its steady rate against major currencies around the globe, exchanging for N360 to a dollar, N420 to the Euro and N470 to Pounds Sterling in the Bureau De Change segment of the market.

    Read Also: Forex: CBN boosts liquidity with $195m

  • CBN injects $195m into Forex market

    CBN injects $195m into Forex market

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday injected another 195 million dollars into the various segments of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market ahead of Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) decision.

    Mr Isaac Okorafor, the Bank’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, said this in a statement in Abuja.

    According to Okorafor, the bank offered 100 million dollars of the sum to the wholesale interventions while 50 million dollars was offered to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).

    He said the invisible segment, comprising Business/Personal Travel Allowances, tuition and medical fees, received 45 million dollars.

    According to Okorafor, the apex bank has continued to intervene in the inter-bank sector, to ensure adequate liquidity in the market.

    He said,“ the CBN Management is quite pleased with the performance of the naira against other major currencies around the world, particularly now that the forex rates at both the inter-bank and BDC segments neared convergence.

    He expressed optimism that the Bank’s intervention had put a check on the activities of speculators.

    He also underscored the determination of the CBN in sustaining stability in the forex market through monitoring of authorised dealers, to reduce sharp practices.

    Meanwhile, the naira maintained its steady rate against major currencies around the globe, exchanging for N363 to the dollar in the BDC segment of the market on Monday.

  • $1.2b Etisalat loan: CBN, NCC intervene to save jobs, asset stripping

    $1.2b Etisalat loan: CBN, NCC intervene to save jobs, asset stripping

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Friday intervened in the $1.2 billion controversial syndicated loan owed by Etisalat Nigeria to a consortium of 13 local banks.

    The regulators’ intervention was to save jobs of over 4,000 workers employed by Etisatat and prevent asset stripping.

    Confirming the intervention of the two regulators in the loan dispute, the CBN Spokesman, Isaac Okorafor said: “Although it should ordinarily not be the role of a regulator to decide how individual bad loans are resolved, the CBN believes that Etisalat is a systemically important telecommunications company with over 20 million subscribers that if not well handled, may have negative implications for the banking system itself.

    He further explained that the CBN and NCC, sensing that banks might go ahead in the usual way and downsize the company’s over 4,000 staff, reached an agreement to intervene and implore the consortium of banks to reassess its position in dealing with Etisalat.

    Okorafor described some media reports insinuating handwriting by CBN on the issue as “the height of mischief and insensitivity” explaining that the collaborative move by the regulators was aimed at preventing job losses and asset stripping and to ensure that Etisalat remains in business and is able to pay back the loans.

    According to him, the CBN and the NCC, in the coming days, will meet with the syndicate of banks and the IHS Towers, the tower managers and the equipment suppliers, in order to achieve what he termed “a win-win outcome” for all stakeholders.

    It will be recalled that Etisalat has been embroiled with a consortium of 13 Nigerian Banks that gave it a facility of about US$1.2 billion, on which the company has been unable to meet its repayment obligations in line with agreed terms of the facility.

    Given the inability of Etisalat to come to an acceptable agreement with the banks, the largest shareholder in the company, Dubai-based Mubadala Development Company of the United Arab Emirates, has now pulled out of the company as well as the ongoing negotiations, leaving only their local partners, led by Hakeem Belo-Osagie, to carry the burden.

    It was based on the attempt of the banks to take over the company that the financial and telecommunications regulators have moved in to intervene and forestall down-sizing and asset stripping.