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Tag: Isaac Okoroafor

  • CBN injects $210m into foreign exchange market

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday injected 210 million dollars into the inter-bank Foreign Exchange market to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market.

    The CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okoroafor said that the CBN offered 100 million dollars to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market.

    Okoroafor said also that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got 55 million dollars while another 55 million dollars was allocated for tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA).

    Read Also: CBN sustains forex intervention with $210m injection

    He said 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.

    According to him, the CBN will not renege on its promise to manage the foreign exchange market with a view to reducing the country’s import bills and halt the depletion of its foreign reserves.

    It will be recalled that on July 03, the CBN intervened to the tune of 210 million dollars to cater for requests in the wholesale segment of the market.

    Meanwhile, the naira continued its stability in the foreign exchange market, exchanging at an average of N360 to a dollar in the Bureau De Change segment of the market.

    NAN

  • CBN resisted pressure to float the Naira – Okoroafor

    The acting Director of Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, said on Wednesday the apex bank resisted suggestions to float the Naira when the country was battling with economic recession.

    Okoroafor spoke at the Capital Chapter Congress/Dinner of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in Abuja.

    Delivering a lecture titled: “Managing Public Confidence in a Period of Economic Challenge -The Role of Public Relations,” the CBN spokesman said the bank was vindicated afterwards for rejecting the suggestion.

    A floating exchange rate is a regime where the currency price is set by the forex market based on supply and demand compared with other currencies.

    This is in contrast to a fixed exchange rate, in which the government entirely or predominantly determines the rate.

    He said: “Several people both local and international made the suggestions that we float the Naira but we said no.

    “We resisted the option because we felt it was a wrong option and dangerous to the economy and we are very happy we proved them wrong.

    “We believe we succeeded and what are doing now in to consolidate on the successes and address our failures.”

    NAN

     

  • Emefiele tasks graduates on job creation

    Emefiele tasks graduates on job creation

    Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), has tasked  graduating students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka ( UNN ) to create jobs in order to overcome the current economic challenges.

    In a statement by Mr Isaac Okoroafor, the Acting Director, CBN Corporate Communications, Emefiele gave the charge while delivering the institution’s 47th Convocation Lecture entitled: “A mindset for Succeeding in Today’s Nigeria”.

    He said that the rising unemployment was the greatest challenge facing the country, warning that failure to empower the youth could boomerang against the Nigerian society.

    He emphasised the need for young Nigerian graduates to change their mindset about the labour market, stressing that in spite of the challenges, Nigeria remained a land of limitless opportunities.

    Emefiele, an alumnus of the university, charged the graduating students to strive to be job creators and entrepreneurs rather than being mere job-seekers.

    He said the CBN, as part of its efforts to address unemployment and promote entrepreneurship, the bank had designed and formulated policies and programmes aimed at direct real sector intervention.

    The CBN chief encouraged the graduating students and youths with not more than five years post-service experience to take advantage of the CBN Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme ( YEDP ).

    According to him, the programme is run in collaboration with other banks and the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ).

    He tasked the graduating students to take cognisance of the opportunities in their respective environments to motivate themselves by creating innovative ideas as well as turn the ideas into profitable ventures.

    Earlier in is his address, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba, said the convocation lecture was one of the prestigious public lectures hosted by the university.

    He said the privilege of delivering the lecture was usually reserved for men and women, whose achievements would motivate and inspire graduating students and the entire university community for greater achievements.

    Ozumba used the occasion to call for adequate funding of some ongoing projects embarked upon by the institution.

    He said that the projects would not only boost entrepreneurship and innovation, but also help to curb youth restiveness in the country.

    NAN

  • CBN recovers N50bn excess charges from banks

    CBN recovers N50bn excess charges from banks

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Wednesday it has recovered over N50 billion from banks in excess charges imposed on customers in the last three years.

    This amount, the CBN said has been returned to bank customers who suffered from these excessive charges.

    Speaking at the ongoing Abuja International Trade fair, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said the apex bank was committed to ensuring that bank customers are not burdened with excessive charges from their banks.

    Okorafor urged bank customers to go to the CBN website to see the approved charges required by banks.

    Besides visiting the website, Okorafor advised the banking public to report excessive charges they feel their banks had imposed on them.

    The CBN spokesman also said the apex bank has so far disbursed N43.92 billion to local farmers through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), an agricultural intervention programme initiated by the bank.

    Okorafor said the programme was done in partnership with 13 participating financial institutions with over 200,000 small holder farmers from 29 states.

  • We’ll sustain forex interventions – CBN

    We’ll sustain forex interventions – CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday assured of its continued intervention in the inter-bank foreign exchange market in order to sustain liquidity and stability in the sector.

    The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department at the apex bank, Isaac Okorafor, stated this in Abuja.

    He said the measures being taken by CBN had yielded positive results as far as forex supply was concerned.

    While acknowledging a marginal fluctuation in the exchange rate, Okoroafor noted that the naira remained stable against other major currencies around the world.

    He also observed that activities in the foreign exchange market remained dynamic.

    According to him, the interventions of the apex bank were in line with its commitment to sustain liquidity in the market to meet genuine requests as well as deepen flexibility in the foreign exchange market.

    Okorafor warned speculators against nefarious activities, adding that the CBN had put necessary checks in place to guard against sharp practices in the forex market.

  • CBN injects $462m into forex market

    CBN injects $462m into forex market

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday injected $462,336,426.74 into the foreign exchange market

    The bank had earlier injected $194 million to the forex market on July 24.

    The Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications at CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

    He said the intervention was in line with the CBN desire to sustain and deepen flexibility in the foreign exchange market and further enhance foreign exchange flow in the economy.

    Okorafor said the bank offered the largest allocation of $267.336, 426.74 to the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) and $100 million was offered to wholesale interventions.

    He said $50 million was allocated to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), while those requiring foreign exchange for Business/Personal Travel Allowances, tuition and medical fees, among others, got $45 million.

    NAN

  • CBN to sanction banks denying forex access to SMEs

    CBN to sanction banks denying forex access to SMEs

    The Central Bank (CBN) threatened on Friday to sanction banks denying Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) access to foreign exchange (Forex) from the newly instituted SMEs Forex Window.

    The window which opened about two weeks ago is designed to help SMEs import eligible finished and semi-finished items not exceeding $20,000 for an enterprise per quarter.

    Speaking on the sideline of the ongoing IMF/ World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, said appropriate sanctions are spelt out by the   CBN Act and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA).

    He said staff and even chief executives of banks could be punished where necessary.

    The CBN spokesman said the apex bank has already received series of complaints from bank customers, especially those that operate in the SMEs segment of the market that banks are frustrating their efforts at getting forex.

    Okorafor said some entrepreneurs still complain that banks are frustrating their efforts at obtaining forex for their eligible imports after the stipulated 48 hours.

    He said the regulator has reviewed the complaints and discovered they are not evidence-based.

    He appealed to bank customers and the SMEs to “please give us concrete evidence against these banks so that we can hold them responsible by way of sanctions.”

    He added: “Get a photocopy of your Form Q, Form X, Form A or Form M. Give us the name of the bank, branch and send to us and we will deal with them as example to others.

    “The only way we can make things better for Nigerians is for them to call the CBN whenever they are in trouble or whenever, or are getting frustrated by banks.

    “We have a number you can call or you send an email to our Consumer Protection Department. We want to urge everyone who is frustrated by banks to call and lay complaints. We assure you that you will get redress.”

  • CBN will eliminate naira black market – Adeosun

    CBN will eliminate naira black market – Adeosun

    The Central Bank will try to eliminate the currency black market, where the naira trades about 40 percent below the official rate against the dollar, Nigeria’s finance minister said on Tuesday.

    Nigeria, dependent on oil exports, is in its first recession in 25 years as low global crude prices take their toll, Reuters reported

    The CBN scrapped a 16-month-old peg of 197 naira to the dollar in June, but it continues to trade in the official market, so that the naira remains far stronger against the dollar there than on the parallel market.

    The government has blamed that black market for damaging the already shaky economy.

    The CBN “has been directed to do this and the apex bank has promised to do something by putting a system in place to eliminate the black market because it is damaging the economy, Kemi Adeosun told a conference.

    A CBN spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, said the apex bank was working towards “ensuring that the forex market operates as effectively as we would envisage.”

    He said the aim was to “ensure there is no black market” but did not give details of how this would be achieved.

     

     

  • Licence of 101 Bureaux De Change firms revoked

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the licence of 101 Bureaux De Change (BDC) companies for their involvement in money laundering and other financial infractions.

    The CBN, in a circular released on Friday in Lagos, said the revoked BDCs had inadequate documentations on huge foreign exchange purchased from banks.

    The CBN in the circular said the BDCs were unable to provide satisfactory evidence of the purchase and utilisation of autonomous foreign exchange.

    CBN spokesperson, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, in a text message, confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria the revocation of the operating licences of 101 BDCs.

    “The BDCs were involved in money laundering and failure to provide adequate records and documentation of huge autonomous foreign exchange purchased from banks,” Okorafor said.

    NAN reports that 17 other BDCs were fined N34 million or two million naira each for infractions of the BDC guidelines.