Nigeria lost of its brightest minds in the banking and financial sector on Friday when the Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings died in a helicopter crash in California United States.

Wigwe was in a chopper with his wife, son and three other passengers, including former Nigeria Stock Exchange chairman, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, when the incident happened.

They were reportedly heading for Las Vegas to watch the Super Bowl, the annual league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States.

Patrick Yakowa

The former Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, died in a naval helicopter that crashed and burst into flames in the forest of Okoroba, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, shortly after take-off. Yakowa was a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Kaduna State from 2010 to 2012.

Sultan Muhammadu Maccido Abubakar III
The 19th Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Maccido Abubakar III, also died in a plane crash on ADC Airlines Flight 53 on October 29, 2006, while returning to Sokoto after meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo. Maccido died along with his son, Badamasi Maccido and both were buried in Sokoto.

Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, lost his life in the ill-fated aircraft that killed 11 military officers on board, on May 21, 2021.

The aircraft crashed near Kaduna International Airport while the military officers were on their way to the passing out parade of regular recruits slated for the next day.

General Andrew Owoye Azazi
Former National Security Adviser (NSA), General Andrew Owoye Azazi, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan, also died in a crash alongside the late Governor Yakowa in December 2012. He was Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of Nigeria, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

[DailyTrust]

Jose Peseiro has expressed sadness at Nigeria’s failure to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, in Ivory Coast.

Peseiro beat all odds, including financial constraints and injuries to key players to lead the Super Eagles to the final of the 2203 AFCON.

Peseiro’s men were unbeaten in six games, drawing against Equatorial Guinea and securing victories over Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, Angola, and South Africa to reach the final.

However, they lost 2-1 against the host in the final on Sunday.

In a tweet via his X account, Peseiro also said the Super Eagles are very proud of the tournament they played.

“We are sad for not having been able to win this title for Nigeria. But we are very proud of the tournament we played,” Peseiro, who is currently out of contract, tweeted.

“Guys, only we know how much we suffered and fought to have reached this final. I can’t find the words to thank everyone for what we did and achieved. I am grateful.”

[DailyPost]

The Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, disclosed on Tuesday, February 13, that social media content creators, Instagram users with larger followers, and TikTok users will soon be forced to register as businesses so they can start paying taxes to the government.

The RG disclosed this during a visit by the managing director, Opay, Dauda Gotring, and his team in Abuja, stating that the social media and content creators are generating a lot of money without paying any form of tax to the federal government.

He said: “This cannot go on, these groups of people are under mandate to register as a business considering the amount they make from the content creation, the government is all out to ensure every business in Nigeria no matter what or how is registered with the CAC.

“The commission is registering another batch of three hundred thousand business names from Opay. The visit from the Opay team is to ensure the regularisation of these business names in CAC. This will expand the tax net, encourage businesses, and create more jobs for Nigerians.

He noted that the idea behind Opay operations is to ensure every Nigeria uses a bank, even in the rural areas.

Opay is ready to partner with CAC to ensure these groups of people have their businesses registered, with their consent though.

Gotring said the Opay organization is working to ensure that all companies no matter how little, as long as you operate as a business you should be registered with the CAC.

He added that since Opay handles “these accounts they are working on sensitizing the owners of the accounts so they can be registered with CAC.”

[TheNation]

President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, rewarded the Super Eagles of Nigeria with a national award (Member of the Order of the Niger, MON) flats in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and piece of land.

President Tinubu made the pronouncement when he received the players and officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The delegation is led by the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh.

The Super Eagles finished as runners-up in the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), hosted by Côte d’Ivoire. 

All the team members, clad in green attire, and officials were in attendance, including Alex Iwobi, who had faced cyber attacks following Nigeria’s loss to Cote d’Ivoire at the final of the just concluded African Cup of Nations.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu commended the team, the coach, the crew, and the entire management team for their hard work, assiduity, and sacrifice to come this far in the tournament, acknowledging the hurdles they consistently surpassed with steadily improving performance as they pulled through to the finals.

The President had urged Nigerians to be of good cheer, emphasising that we won a great victory in the hearts of Africa and the world with our grit, rigour, and determination in the field of play.
 
“Let this passing event not dispirit us but bring us together to work harder. We are a great nation bound as one by the green-white-green banner of resilience, joy, hope, duty, and untiring love.

“To those cherished Nigerian youths expressing their gifts in communities, drawing lines in the sand as they play football in their humble rectangles of play, you can be our heroes tomorrow, do not relent in your pursuit. My administration is here to make dreams come true,” the president said.

Vanguard News

How could such a fine gentleman, so generous, warm, humble and respectful die so violently with his wife, son and a friend? Why would such a visionary business leader, Godfearing and kindhearted human being perish so tragically? The United States aviation authorities should conduct full and detailed investigations into the helicopter crash that took away Dr. Herbert Wigwe, one of our finest and most industrious bankers and business icons, and his family. The callousness of the operators of that aircraft borders on criminal negligence. It is notable that Nigerian air accident investigators are collaborating with NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), the agency that investigates air and road accidents in the US, to unearth the causes of this crash. It was in January 2020 that Kobe Bryant, an American basketball star, died in a similar chopper crash with his daughter also in California. If those helicopters in the US are not well maintained, they should not be put up for charter. If the Californian weather is too treacherous in winters, those choppers should be grounded till the conditions improve. It is unconscionable wickedness to carry innocent people to their deaths.

 I am so sad, pained and devastated. This is one loss too much. The outpouring of griefs and the floods of messages from across Africa and around the world; from world leaders, colleagues and ordinary folks testify to Herbert’s extraordinary qualities and outstanding contributions. Millions of Nigerians from all walks of life, including millions of Access Bank’s customers, shareholders and employees, as well as the thousands of workers who are toiling to build Wigwe University are benumbed, stunned and pained by Herbert’s sudden death. To die at such a relatively young age with one’s wife and son is numbing, and, to say the least, disorienting. How is such a catastrophic calamity explained in the Bible? What does God say about good people dying so painfully and suddenly? Why did this happen, for goodness’ sake? The last time a young Nigerian’s violent and sudden death gripped the nation so painfully was on Sunday, October 19, 1986. If Dele Giwa’s death through a parcel bomb from some military evil planners had frightened the nation, Herbert Wigwe’s death in a helicopter crash in California has transfixed us all.

From all indications, I was chatting with Herbert some hours before his death. It was his habit to read his messages and respond promptly despite his grueling schedule. But when I noticed that he had not opened his phone for close to 15 hours on Saturday, I started developing a dreadful sense of foreboding, and I made a mental note to call him soon after the meeting I was attending that afternoon. But as soon as the meeting ended around 5pm, a call from a friend I haven’t heard from for long confirmed my fears. My hunch hardly goes wrong.

Herbert was an extraordinary human being who did not allow his outstanding attainments to dwindle his humanity. Some people disconnect completely from their roots when they get to the top. Not Herbert. He related well with the high and mighty as well as the low and forgotten. He kept in touch with his secondary school classmates; church members; village chiefs; community leaders as well as former staffs like me and other bank CEOs and Heads of governments. From one end of the spectrum to the other, he remains his witty, kind, humorous and amiable self. He was passionate about our youths and he created several mentorship programs for them. His philanthropic activities through his foundation are well known, but I guess, establishing a university for those he referred to as the ‘fearless’ generation will forever remain a timeless legacy. I am grateful that the people he assembled to midwife the institution have vowed to carry on the dream.

Working with Herbert in Access Bank, I realized early on that he was imbued with courage, boldness, determination and all the epithets that define fearlessness. The vision, mission and values of the bank were underpinned by the drive to conquer all obstacles and excel. It was for nothing that we called ourselves ‘’Access Warriors’’. I first met him on a Sunday afternoon in March 2008 when I appeared before him for an interview to join the bank. I was already used to his chubby face in the press, but in real life, Herbert looked serious, businesslike and his beady eyes were penetrating. I was slightly uncomfortable, but I was determined not to be intimidated. He asked just a few questions. My five years in the bank turned out to be some of the most rewarding.

The bank’s meteoric growth in the over 21 years he and his friend and partner, Aigboje, have been in charge reflects their collective business acumen. Herbert took over from Aig in January 2014, leading the bank through various growth phases till 2022 when it was restructured into a holding company structure. As the Group CEO of Access Corporation, the holding company, Herbert added economic diplomacy to his huge responsibilities. He visited foreign leaders, spoke about Africa renaissance, the climate crisis, green energy, the roles of tech in finance and the importance of giving our youths the opportunities they deserve as the bank expanded across Africa into Europe and Asia. The bank has invested billions of dollars in the 15 African economies it has operations in. The messages from Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa say it all.

I have reached out to Aig and a few other members of the Access family. The Group has lost three members in as many months. This must be the most difficult moment in the life of the institution, but I’m heartened to note that Aig has pledged to ensure that Herbert’s personal dreams, including the university, are not aborted. Now Herbert’s children are orphans. Losing their parents in such a circumstance could be traumatic. I trust that Aig will now step in to play a fatherly role to them (Proverbs 18:24).

I am told that we should not or cannot question the decisions of the Almighty God. I have also been told that God is not capable of doing bad things. But the mysteries of this life continue to confound me. Why are the good ones dying off so suddenly? While those who have stolen from this country and mismanaged it continue to flourish, others who worked hard to contribute to its development are quickly taken from us, some so violently.

The last message Herbert sent to me was that he would never be discouraged from working to change Nigeria positively. The development of this country was his obsession. May his aged parents, siblings, friends and colleagues be consoled.

Over the past few weeks, the social media sphere has been abuzz with a certain video showcasing cassava processing from a specific county (Name withheld). Predictably, the video quickly went viral, coinciding with a period of elevated prices for gaari/cassava. As a seasoned cassava expert and farmer, many of my admirers forwarded the video to me, accompanied by questions like...

"High Chief Dr. Odedina, why can't we replicate this?"
My response is simple and direct:
First and foremost, Nigeria reigns as the top producer of cassava globally, yielding over 60 million metric tonnes annually. However, the sobering reality is that we consume over 80 percent of this production as gaari, fufu, or akpu.

In 2006, during the inception of the Presidential Initiative on Cassava, I had the privilege of actively participating alongside other stakeholders on Cassava, precisely a collaborator on pre emotive management of Cassava Mossic disease and we multiplied and recommended top Cassava varieties that formed the basis of high yield been experienced today.The landscape initially shifted positively, but later took a downturn when investments in cassava processing faltered due to the lack of inclusive and sustainable supply of raw material to industries persuaded to be established to use Cassava as raw materials.

A few years later, the Bill Gates Foundation and other global donors launched the largest cassava intervention projects in Africa, namely CAVA 1 and CAVA 2 (Cassava Adding Value for Africa). I was honored to serve as the Productivity Advisor for these projects in Nigeria and other African nations
Over the span of eight years, significant efforts were made to unlock the immense potential of cassava and its derivatives, such as Glucose Syrup, ethanol, starch, and High-Quality Cassava Flour for various applications like bread and biscuits. Nigeria took the lead due to its strength, size, zeal, and commitment. While only a few flash driers were installed in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania, Nigeria boasted more than 20 in one state alone. I remember spending some time in the Northern states collaborating with cassava processors to ensure sustainable raw material supply. Remarkably, there are more large cassava processing firms in a single state in Nigeria than in any other country in the world or Africa. These mega-scale facilities process over 300 tonnes of cassava daily,Yes. each of those factories
Utilising up to 300 to 500 fresh Cassava roots per day ( 500 long trailers per day!) producing products like Gaari and Starch for both local consumption and export, thus presenting ample job opportunities for farmers and youth. To provide a glimpse into these operations, I'll share a video showcasing one of the large-scale cassava processing facilities I've been involved with in Nigeria. Stay informed about the facts on Cassava! Do not be misled!
The onus is on stakeholders and value chain actors to fashion out ways of reaping the benefits of the unique position of Nigeria in the world to facilitate how the crop can deliver food, jobs , foreign exchange and fuel Agricultural Industrialization.

Dr Adeola Odedina is the Immediate Past Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State, Nigeria
Former Rector of Moshood Abiola Polythecnic, Ogun State Nigeria
And Former Provost of Federal College of Agriculture Akure Ondo State Nigeria.

Big, loud and hearty congratulations to the people and government of the Republic of Ivory Coast for hosting and organizing what has been considered one of the best editions of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) tournaments. The last time the African Cup of Nations was hosted in West Africa was in 2022, delayed from 2021, and that was in Cameroon between January 9 and February 6, 2022. Originally scheduled to be held in June/July 2021, AFCON 2021 as it was otherwise known, had to be shifted for sponsorship reasons and COVID. By then participating teams in the African soccer fiesta had been increased from 16 to 24 teams, and the Cameroonians hosted the tournament in five cities and six stadiums. But this was against the background of security threats in Cameroon, majorly from separatist groups, and as it turned out, the violence that eventually occurred was at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde. Access to the stadium was the problem, during a last-16 match between hosts Cameroon and Comoros, resulting in a stampede and the unfortunate death of eight persons. 

This cast a shadow on the hosting of AFCON at the time. Ivory Coast deserves plaudits therefore for organizing and delivering a largely hitch-free tournament. There were minor incidents of course: the Gambian team had to return to Banjul after their chartered flight, en route Abidjan, suddenly lost oxygen nine minutes after take-off; also, violence erupted after AFCON hosts, Cote D'Ivoire were beaten 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea in the final match of Group A. Aggrieved Ivorian fans vandalized vehicles and smashed the windows of buses. When Ghana’s Black Stars drew against Mozambique 2-2, in a final group game, and faced a sure exit, angry Ghanaian journalists barricaded the team’s bus and demanded to speak to the Black Stars’ players and manager. Fans also reportedly went after Ghana coach, Chris Houghton when the team lost to Cape Verde, 2- 1 in their opening Group B match. In the semi-final match between Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast, the DRC squad decided to make a political statement by protesting about the crisis in Eastern Congo while singing their country’s national anthem. More notably, over 50 journalists who went to Yamoussoukro, to cover Senegal vs Gambia (Group C) and Angola vs Burkina Faso (Group D) matches reportedly had an accident at about 2.30 am, Ivory Coast time, on their return to Abidjan. Some of them sustained injuries. 

Nonetheless, on the whole, these became minor issues. The Ivorian Football Federation delivered a successful tournament with no deaths recorded as a result of errors of organization or internal conflicts. The people of Ivory Coast also went a step further by winning the trophy on the back of what seemed like an imminent relegation. The Elephants of Ivory Coast qualified for the knock-out stage by sheer luck, as one of the best of the worst four, but from the moment they crossed that line, luck, destiny and strategy worked in their favour backed by extra-ordinary nationalistic fervour. Last Sunday, they beat the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s better-ranked team, 2-1 to lift the AFCON trophy for a record third time, thus matching Nigeria’s record in the tournament. It was a glorious moment for Cote D’Ivoire, the first country to host the tournament and win it since Egypt last did same as host-country in 2006. We saw true nationalism on display. The 60,000-capacity Allasane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan was filled to the brim, and the Orange-clad Ivorians stayed till the trophy was handed over. The crowd obviously put Nigeria’s Super Eagles under pressure. But both the crowd and the people of Ivory Coast obviously wanted the trophy more than the Nigerians. They had to sack their coach, Jean Louis-Gasset, and appoint Emerse Fae, who by default took them to the finals. They also made history through Sebastien Haller, a come-back kid, who despite recuperation from testicular cancer and a knee injury sealed Nigeria’s fate with an 81^st minute goal. 

CAF and its President Patrice Motsepe and the entire Board of CAF equally deserve to be applauded. The organization was superb. The quality of play was excellent with many of the players from the 24 teams that participated now certainly looking forward to better recruitments internationally. The money was good too. Motsepe and co before the tournament announced that the prize money would go up by 40% as follows: $7 million for winning, $4 million for the runners up, the two losing semi-finalists  got $2.5 m each, losing quarter finalists - $1.3 m, and the eight teams that got knocked out in the round of 16 - $800, 00 each, the teams that ranked third but failed to make the round of 16 - $700, 000,  the fourth teams in each of the six groups - $500, 000. So, in a sense, most of the teams would go home with some cash. But this was not a tournament driven by cash per se but history, ironies and revelations. And except for one or two informal complaints, by Ghana and Nigeria, the officiating was generally considered satisfactory, and perhaps that would attract the attention of FIFA to make the refereeing of global football more inclusive with the participation at the highest levels of African male and female referees. It was also agreed that the pitches were much better and that the entertainment value was top-notch. In fact, one married, Ivorian man in the stands got so carried away he propositioned a Senegalese woman next to him. His moment of distraction was fully captured on camera and televised. He had to apologize to his wife and family afterwards! 

Opta, the AI supercomputer got many of the predictions wrong as did the bookmakers too. Opta, working with BBC, crunching the numbers based on recent and historical performances, identified Senegal as the country with the most likely chance to win with a 12.8% chance, followed by Ivory Coast with 12.1%, and Morocco with 11.1%.  By the quarter-finals, the same Opta was already projecting Nigeria’s Super Eagles as strong favourites. Opta’s AI was wrong. Ivory Coast took the trophy. This was a tournament of surprises and vanishing stars.  Sebastien Haller, the Ivorian winning goal scorer, from Borussia Dortmund, whose face was also all over billboards in Abidjan in fact looked like he was not going to play at all, but destiny brought him into reckoning. Mohammed Salah of Egypt whom everyone thought would make a difference for his country, left the tournament early due to injury. Egypt did not even make it to the knock-out stage. Liverpool that had been worried sick about Salah being in AFCON 2023 had nothing to worry about at the end of the day. Riyad Mahrez, had to drop from his country, Algeria’s first XI after two false starts. Mahrez is Algeria’s star, but he was out of action literally in AFCON 2023. Yves Bissouma of Mali and Dango Quattara of Burkina Faso were afflicted by injury. Andre Onana, Manchester United’s goalkeeper was also in Abidjan, but he played only one match for his country Cameroon, out of three. New stars emerged. Senegal may have dropped out, but they gave us the 20-year-old gifted Lamine Camara, who helped his country to top Group C with a 100% record.  Soon after, Senegal crashed out, losing 5-4 to Ivory Coast on penalties in the knock-out stage. 

It was also a tournament in which coaches lost out. Algeria sacked their coach Djamel Belmadi after the two-time winners’ shock loss to Mauritania. Ivory Coast also sacked their coach after an embarrassing loss to Equatorial Guinea. Ghana fired Chris Houghton. Rui Vittoria, the Egyptian coach was also sacked. Jalel Kadri, the Tunisian coach did not wait to be sacked. He resigned. Tunisia left Ivory Coast without a single win to their name. They only just managed to score one goal in a 1-1 draw with Mali, and came last in Group E.  Algeria was knocked out by Mauritania. Ghana was sent out by Mozambique, Morocco, the same Morocco that did well at the World Cup was defeated by South Africa. Egypt did not go beyond the last 16. Cameroon did not get to the quarter finals. Instead, the big revelations were Democratic Republic of Congo whose team made it to the final play-off against South Africa. Cape Verde and Equatorial Guinea surprised even themselves. There were no minnows.   

Which is why, I think that the Super Eagles deserve some praise for making it to the finals and winning the Silver medal. Silver is not gold, yes. But it is still something. Nigeria won the trophy three times in the past: 1980, 1994, and 2013. Nigeria have been runners-up in 1984, 1988, 1990, 2000, and now 2023. If we must be honest with ourselves, it was clear that we were not ready to win this time around. Our preparation for the tournament was shoddy. We simply got there by chance, prompting Brown Ideye, who was part of the 2013 South African winning squad to say ahead of the tournament that the Super Eagles lacked the hunger and discipline to win a fourth trophy. “We have good players but we don’t have a team to win the AFCON now,” he said.  Ideye was absolutely right, as evident on Sunday when the Super Eagles put up their worst performance in the tournament. The statistics clearly confirmed the outcome: the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire had better ball possession – over 60%, and better shots on goal – 8. Nigeria trailed behind, playing a highly defensive game that made no sense. We scored the only shot at goal. Our midfield was non-existent. People have been trying to blame Alex Iwobi in the midfield – but what can one man do? Others have said Osimhen could have played better. What do you want him to do? He is who he is because he plays for Napoli- a team that is structured differently. In Napoli, other players give him the ball. With the Super Eagles, he had to look for the ball himself and try to create chances for others. One man doing the work of three men!  Osimhen was completely marked out by the Angolans and the South Africans and in the finals, the Ivorians were determined to break his legs. Nigeria’s game plan looked stupid. The players were flat-footed. There was no creativity in the midfield. Patriotism took the better side of me when we qualified for the finals. We all have an obligation to support our country. I certainly agree with those who believe that this is not the end of the road for the Super Eagles given the circumstances. Win some, lose some. That is life. 

But what next? Morocco is the next venue of AFCON. The qualifiers will start in March 2024. We may have lost at AFCON 2023, but now is the time to begin to prepare for the next challenge. Serious-minded nations start preparing for the next tournament the morning after. They don’t wait till the last minute as we do in Nigeria. In AFCON 2023, South Africa fielded ten local league players from one home-based club – the Mamelodi Sundowns and they went away with the Bronze Medal, their very first medal in 24 years. We were lucky they didn’t beat us during the semi-finals. They outplayed Nigeria, and that is the truth, the same way Cote D’Ivoire outplayed us on Sunday. Nigeria must have learnt one big lesson and it is this: luck is not enough in international competitions. There is something extra teams bring to the table and we saw this with Cote D’Ivoire. Nigeria must begin to find that extra by working to build a team of the future. Jose Peseiro, the current manager, cannot help us in that regard. I don’t see the point in renewing his contract.   His contract has expired by the way. It had to be extended to cover the AFCON 2023, and now that we made it to just the finals, can we aim higher? It is even a shame that Nigeria over the years has not been able to develop enough local expertise to compete with the rest of the world, and yet the country has to make do with absentee, tourist foreign coaches. 

Whatever it was however, it must be possible for us to agree that success of any kind tends to bring out the best in all of us. When Nigeria does well, the people bond together, because we all want the same thing. As the Super Eagles advanced in AFCON 2023, they provided us all with useful distraction from the problems at home. Whenever we scored and won, nobody talked about the religion or the ethnicity of the player. Nobody cared where Victor Osimhen, Troost-Ekong, Lookman Afolabi or Moses Simon or Stanley Nwabali came from. At one viewing centre in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwoolu was shown leading a chorus of celebration when Nigeria beat Angola to get to the semi-finals. Some of the people at the viewing centre must have voted for Labour Party and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, but party affiliations were suspended for the objective of national glory. Nigeria needs to build on opportunities for such cohesion. And kudos to all the private sector units who helped along the way to bolster the excitement of the country’s participation: TotalEnergies, sponsored the tournament, MTN Nigeria too, Nigeria Breweries  set up viewing centres across the country with its Life, Zagg Malt and Goldberg brands,  the Lagos State Government had 29 viewing centres across Lagos State, and Glo/Otunba Mike Adenuga publicly identified with and supported the national aspiration  to win the trophy, and of course thank you, all Nigerians who suspended disbelief to cheer on your country. Five persons died in the process out of patriotic excitement. May their souls rest in peace. Now that the battle has been won and lost, we must now all return to the reality of our urgent dilemma: hyperinflation, poverty in the land, and the continuing search for good governance. The game is over, the struggle continues… 

Naira plunged to a record low on Monday after exchanging at N1,534.39 to a dollar at the official market segment.

According to data published on the FMDQ website, the local currency moved to an intraday high of N1000/$1 and a low of N1,550 to a dollar before it eventually settled at N1,534.39 at the close of business on Monday.

The rate implies a 4.38 per cent depreciation from the previous market sales on Friday last week.

On Monday, forex turnover at the authorised market stood at $89.61 million amidst increased demand and inflationary pressure across sectors of the country’s economy.

However, the dollar was exchanged at N1,489/$1 and above across parallel markets in the country as against N1,488 recorded in the previous session last Friday.

Based on this, it is the first time in months the naira will trade at a significantly lower rate at the official market than that of the unofficial market.

Financial experts suggest this could affect the rate at which individuals source dollars from the black market since they can get a better rate at the official window.

In a recent analysis of the naira following its continuous depreciation, Bismarck Rewane, Financial Derivative Executive Director, explained that the naira is depreciating due to low forex supply, and loss of confidence as a store of value.

The financial expert listed other factors causing the fall of the domestic currency including increased naira speculation and fear, restrictions and exchange rate control, as well as negative real interest rates.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised the Nigerian government to completely phase out costly fuel and electricity subsidies that are inefficient in reaching the most vulnerable.

“Fuel and electricity subsidies are costly, do not reach those that most need government support and should be phased out completely,” IMF said in a report.

This recommendation comes in a new report titled “IMF Executive Board Concludes Post-Financing Assessment with Nigeria,” published on Friday, February 9.

The IMF commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for tackling structural issues by removing fuel subsidies and unifying exchange rates.

“The new administration has made a strong start, tackling deep-rooted structural issues in challenging circumstances. Immediately, it adopted two policy reforms that its predecessors had shied away from: fuel subsidy removal and the unification of the official exchange rates.

[NationalDaily]