Nigeria’s oil production sky rocketed marginally in September to an average of 1.25 million barrels per day from 1.24 million the previous month. This disclosure was made by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on the 2021 crude oil and condensate production. According to the report, the increase represented 0.8 per cent from the August production figure — but still among the lowest since January 2021. The production output is in contrast with the Reuters survey that oil output rose by 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September 2021. By implication, the development would continue to affect the…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
A professor and financial expert, Uche Uwaleke, has bluntly stated that the constant devaluation of the naira will worsen poverty and unemployment in Nigeria. Uwaleke made the disclosure in reaction to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s call on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow the naira to reflect the realities of the market. At the official market, the naira is changing at N411 to $1 and N570/$1 at the parallel market. Many believe the parallel market rate is a reflection of its true value. “As for the exchange rate, I think we need to move our rates to…
The Central Bank of Nigeria has established in its revised regulatory framework for Bank Verification Number operations that violators will be sanctioned. This was made known in a circular titled “Issuance of the revised regulatory framework for Bank Verification Number operations and watch-list for the Nigerian banking industry”, and addressed to all deposit money banks, mobile money operators, super agents and payment service providers. The circular listed watch-list stakeholders to include the CBN, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), banks, other financial institutions and bank customers. Part of the circular stated that “The following infractions by participants shall attract…
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has disclosed that recalcitrant debtors have taken advantage the lack of prioritization of credit recovery matters by the Nigerian judicial system to frustrate debt recovery efforts of financial institutions in the country. Emefiele established this at a workshop for judicial officers on recent reforms of the banking financial services sectors in Nigeria. The Governor was represented by the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN, Aisha Ahmad. It still has 7,902 outstanding obligors with a total outstanding loan of above N3.1trn, while 350 obligors alone account for over N2.053trn, with more…
The Nigerian naira has hit another low by 2.6% to N422 per dollar, hitting an all-time low at the Nigerian autonomous foreign exchange (NAFEX) rate — the default FX reference for official and legitimate transactions. The sharp decline came days after Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo called the CBN to allow the naira to reflect the realities of the market. Osinbajo had said the exchange rate is artificially low and deterring investors from bringing foreign exchange into the country. “Prof. Osinbajo is not calling for the devaluation of the Naira. He has at all times argued against a willy-nilly devaluation of the…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given a directive on the disposal of Non-Permissible Income (NPI) for Non-Interest Financial Institutions (NIFI). This was disclosed by the CBN in a statement signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, Chibuzo Efobi, said the guidelines were issued as part of efforts to standardise the treatment and disposal of NPI by NIFI in the country. The statement addressed to all Non-Interest Financial Institutions, said the NPI shall be put in a dedicated NPI account and shall not be mingled with the funds of non-interest banks. It reads: “In line with…
Bitmain, a Chinese manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining equipment, has been directed to stop its business in China beginning from Oct. 11 following the crypto ban imposed by local authorities. In addition to China’s blanket ban on crypto operations, the company has attributed the move to stop shipping Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency mining rigs as a response to China’s carbon-neutral policies. According to Bitmain’s announcement: “From October 11, 2021, Antminer will stop shipping to mainland China. For customers in mainland China who have purchased long-term products, our staff will contact them to provide alternative solutions.” While the company is yet to…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Sunday has beckoned on Petroleum Tanker Drivers to, in the interest of Nigerian people, call off its planned strike action. A statement by Garba Deen Muhammad who is the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, noted that the strike is about the condition of roads in various parts of Nigeria which are used for the distribution of goods and services including petroleum products. In the report, even though it is not the responsibility of the NNPC to build or rehabilitate roads, any disruption in the distribution of petroleum products to different…
The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) says the nation’s debt profile is worrisome and unsustainable for the economy. Timothy Olawale, NECA director-general, according to Vanguard, said this during the weekend, advising the federal government to adopt the public-private-partnership (PPP) approach to carry out infrastructural developments. Earlier in September, the Debt Management Office (DMO) announced that Nigeria’s total public debt (federal and state governments) rose to N35.46 trillion at the end of the second quarter (Q2) of 2021 — an increase of N2.3 trillion in three months. Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, had defended the federal government’s borrowing plans,…
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has said the country’s infrastructure has to increase by at least between five and seven per cent for it to stimulate productivity and sustainable growth for businesses. Mr Emefiele who was represented by the apex bank’s Director of Corporate Communication, Mr Osita Nwasinobi, made this disclosure in his keynote address at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria’s (FICAN) 30th-anniversary conference and awards which had the theme: “Financing Infrastructure and SMEs for Inclusive Growth in the Post-COVID-19 Economy,” in Lagos on Saturday. He expanciated that although the Micro, Small,…
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, has come out to explain that the lack of adequate revenue to finance both human and capital infrastructure is the major problem of Nigeria, not the current debt it owes. Dr zainab Ahmed made the remarks at the Public presentation and Breakdown of the Highlights of the 2022 Appropriation Bill to justify the current level of the federal government borrowing to finance the deficit of the budget. She established that with the federal government expected to spend N16 trillion in the proposed 2022 Budget, its expenses are minute to…
The Nigerian Government has agreed that all visitors entering Nigeria, including the partially vaccinated and unvaccinated are required to do COVID-19 PCR tests on days 2 and 7 after arrival, while fully vaccinated people, will not be required to undergo 7 days isolation, but just a COVID test after 2 days. This was made known by the Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, in a statement on Friday. They added that the protocol would be effective from Monday, October 25, 2021. Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated in-bound passengers will also be…
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has unveiled that Nigeria maintained an inflation decline for about seven months, due to the introduction of policies by the government which impacted positively on most of the commodities. This disclosure was made by Mr Simon Harry, Statistician-General of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), at a news briefing in Abuja on Friday. He praised the Federal Government’s policies, which he said, reflected in the improved consumer price index. “Government is very conscious of the effects of the COVID-19 that have impacted negatively on the economy and as result, the economic sustainability plan that was…
The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele has established that Nigeria’s import of petroleum products using 30% of its forex can be reversed by the successful commencement of operations at the Dangote Refinery. Emefiele made this known during a foreign investors’ meeting held in New York while answering a number of questions raised by foreign investors. The questions hovered around Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves, exchange rate, balance of payments and the country’s increasing foreign debts. The CBN Governor stated that the commencement of the Dangote refinery will be a major saver of foreign exchange for Nigeria, while also insisting that Nigerians…
The Kogi State government has beckoned on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to apologize to the state over an alleged N20 billion bailout fund it sought a court order to freeze. The Lagos division of the Federal High Court on Friday granted EFCC’s application to discontinue the case against the Kogi State government. In the report, the anti-graft commission withdrew the suit that sought the state government to forfeit the N20 billion bailout fund meant for payment of salaries in the state. A Lagos High Court on August 31, 2021 froze Kogi State government’s account domiciled in Sterling…
The Lagos State Government has finalized plans to enrol at least 3 million residents into the state’s health insurance scheme within the next one year. This is part of the state government’s effort aimed at providing access to health to the over 24 million people living in the state in terms of improved financing and delivering of quality healthcare especially in the face of the recent Covid-19 pandemic which exposed the poor state of the health sector across the country. This was established by the General Manager of the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), Dr Emmanualla Zamba, on…
The new administration the united States of America led by Joe Biden, has announced that the United States will be donating 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union, thus bringing the total vaccine donation by America to the African continent to 67 million doses. Recall that prior to this, the United States had donated 50 million doses to the African Union to be distributed amongst the 55 countries under to the AU, including some of the world’s poorest countries, according to Reuters. The 17 million Johnson & Johnson doses are expected to be…
In line with the WHO epidemiological report, Covid-19 deaths, last week, fell to their lowest level in almost a year at almost 50,000 fatalities. Despite the weekly consecutive reduction in Covid-19 deaths reported across the world except in Europe, vaccine inequities in developing countries is still a matter of great concern to the health organization. The WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus disclosed recently that 56 countries, most of which belong in the African region, did not reach the 10% population vaccination benchmark required by the WHO by September ending. Reported deaths have been highest in countries with the least access…
The Delta State Government, through the State Executive Council (EXCO), has proposed the sum of N469.4 billion for the 2022 fiscal year, while Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from the projected budget is expected to be N75 billion to N80 billion. This was established by the Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, and Economic Planning State Executive, Dr Barry Pere-Gbe, on Thursday, in Asaba after the EXCO meeting, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. The State Government revealed that it had arrived at the N469.4 billion mark after a thorough review of the initial N425 billion indicative budget size earlier…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that it will continue to fund railway developments in Lagos State, despite the fact that N45 billion has already been disbursed for the state’s Blue Line project. Yusuf Philip Yila, Director, CBN Development Finance, announced this in Lagos yesterday during an inspection of the Blue Line project operated by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). CBN conducted the inspection to monitor and evaluate the project’s progress, according to Yila, who was given a tour of the Marina. The Blue Line is a 27-kilometre stretch from Okokomaiko to Marina being constructed in…