Naira depreciation continued as US dollar transactions at the official foreign exchange market dropped to an all-time low of $84.38 million.

This is according to FMDQ data at the close of work on Thursday.

The day-to-day FX supply turnover dropped from $160.77 million on Tuesday to $84.38 million on Thursday.

Consequently, the Naira further dipped to N1459.73 per dollar on Thursday from N1416.57 on Wednesday.

This represents an N43.17 depreciation against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market.

Similarly, the Naira dropped to N1,450 per dollar on Thursday in the parallel market section, compared to N1,438 the previous day. This brings the gap between the official and parallel markets to N9.73.

Naira’s depreciation has been consistent for days now in the FX market.

The country’s forex instability has persisted despite the recent surge in foreign reserves by $262 million.

American Express Co. has launched its inaugural business credit card in Nigeria amid the foreign exchange crisis.

The international firm is partnering with a Nigerian firm, neobank O3 Capital Nigeria Limited, potentially enhancing access to dollar transactions in the West African country.

The unveiling happened in Lagos on Thursday. 

The business card comes with a spending limit of $10,000 and offers a repayment window of up to 45 days for international transactions.

The President of Global Network Services, Amex, Mohammed Badi, said, “The first-ever American Express Business Card in the most populous African country will give us another way to support local businesses with their growth aspirations”.

Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of O3 Capital, Abimbola Pinheiro, said the O3-Amex card “solves the problem of queuing at banks for business travel allowance and the personal travel allowance.

The development comes amid the continued foreign exchange crisis in Nigeria.

On Thursday, the Naira dipped to N1459.73 per dollar at the official exchange market.

The World Bank says the conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme of the federal government has had a limited impact on household consumption and financial inclusion.

The Bretton Woods institution disclosed this in its latest report, titled, ‘Beta Don Come: Effects of Cash Transfers on Women and Households in Nigeria’.

According to the report, the intervention also had a limited impact on employment, especially for women.

The report cited the 2016 cash transfer programme when the federal government launched the National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP).

At the launch of the programme, it said, the federal government had provided households a cash transfer of N 5,000, disbursed as a lump sum every two months.

Payments were given to each household’s primary caregiver — predominantly women — the report stated.

The World Bank, however, suggested that there is a need for a complementary livelihood to support the intervention to generate sustainable improvements in households’ self-sufficiency.

“Program participation improved several dimensions of households’ and women’s welfare over time,” the report reads.

“Households in communities that entered the program earlier experience larger increases in household savings and food security, along with increased access to farmland and livestock ownership, compared to similar households in communities that entered the program later.

“We also find improvements in caregivers’ self-reported happiness, decision-making autonomy over how to spend their own income, and freedom of movement.

“Positive impacts appear to primarily result from the saving mobilisation component of the program.

“Households are substantially more likely to save the longer they have been receiving cash transfers and to switch away from exclusively using the cash for household consumption.

“However, in contrast to these strong positive impacts, we do not find any statistically significant effects on overall household consumption or on caregivers’ employment and financial inclusion.”

The World Bank also said in spite of the efficacy of the CCT programme, there is no evidence to “the impacts of participating in the program at all”.

“We find positive effects on households’ saving, food security, and economic activity along with increased caregivers’ decision-making autonomy and physical mobility associated with participating in the project for longer periods of time,” the report added.

“Nonetheless, the limited impacts on household consumption and women’s employment suggest that there is remaining scope for a complementary livelihood support intervention to generate sustainable improvements in households’ self-sufficiency.”

Approved in 2016, the CCT programme was established to benefit poor and vulnerable Nigerians with a monthly stipend of N5,000.

On July 13, 2023, President Bola Tinubu asked the senate to approve the $800 million loan request.

The president had said the loan would be used to scale up the national social safety net programme and cushion the effect of the removal of petrol subsidy.

He said the federal government would transfer N8,000 monthly to 12 million poor and low-income households for six months.

But on July 18, 2023, Tinubu ordered the immediate review of the proposed N8,000 conditional cash transfer.

A federal high court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to restrain the federal government from securitising the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means loan received from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Securitisation is the practice of pooling together various debt instruments and selling them as bonds to investors.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, James Omotosho, the presiding judge, held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi (legal right) to institute the case, noting that they failed to prove the case.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1286/2023, was filed by Justin Edim and Akinfewa Akinwunmi against President Bola Tinubu, the federal government of Nigeria, CBN, and the ministry of finance as first to fourth defendants.

Others in the suit are the debt management office (DMO), national assembly, and attorney-general of the federation (AGF) as fifth to seventh defendants, respectively.

The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Victor Opatola, claimed they initiated the legal action on behalf of themselves and other Nigerian citizens.

They asked the court to stop the conversion of the debt to a promissory note or any other promise to pay at a future date or securitisation through the issuance of treasury bills, bonds, or other forms of security.

In December 2022, the federal government requested the 9th national assembly for permission to securitise the debts it incurred from the CBN over the years.

The plaintiffs claimed that the series of loans secured by the government from the CBN had amounted to N23.7 trillion.

They added that the federal government was planning to restructure the loans to something that could be traded.

They further stated that the federal government had over the years secured various loans from the CBN under the Ways and Means provision of section 38 of the CBN Act in contravention of relevant laws.

They argued that the laws stipulate that the total amount the government could borrow shall not exceed five percent of the previous year’s revenue.

Recently, according to the plaintiffs, the Ways and Means debt of N22.7 trillion was decided to be converted into bonds (promissory note) contrary to section 38(3)(b) of the CBN Act.

The plaintiffs wanted the court to declare that the effect of securitising the ways and means debt would adversely affect millions of Nigerians, as well as rob them of the true worth of their savings and further drive Nigerians below the poverty line.

Delivering the judgment, Omotosho struck out the name of the national assembly from the suit, noting that the plaintiffs had breached the condition precedence of filing a pre-action notice on the legislature three months before filing the case.

The judge said though the plaintiffs claimed they filed the matter on behalf of the masses, the instant case was not a fundamental enforcement rights suit.

He said the claim that the suit was brought on behalf of the public was incomprehensible.

The judge added that the plaintiffs failed to show how the actions of the defendants affected them personally.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan will arrive in Nigeria on Friday, May 10, for a three-day private visit.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are visiting Nigeria at the invitation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa.

The Director of Sports, Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Air Vice Marshal Abidemi Marquis, said the founder of Invictus Games will spend three days in Nigeria and would interact with wounded soldiers and their families.

Marquis said: “Because we realized that 80% of our soldiers have been involved in this recovery program, they are getting better. Their outlook on life is positive. You know, when you are engaged in, you experience a permanent disability, you know, issues, it affects your mental health and also your outlook on life.

“But the recovery program has given them an opportunity to improve their personal self-esteem, to improve their mental health, their emotional intelligence has been improved and also their families seeing them, you know, as they used to be a breadwinner who is capable of, you know, continue living. So this engagement with Invictus is giving us the opportunity for a recovery for our soldiers.”

Marquis said Nigeria being a member of the Invictus community, the visit will lay credence to the fact that the Nigerian Armed Forces are accepted.

He added that Nigeria is also looking forward to hosting an Invictus game hence, the reason for the visit.

AVM Marquis also stressed the need to build a state-of-the-art structure for the management of the wounded and injured soldiers, “particularly the post-traumatic syndrome and the post-traumatic stress syndrome that are manifesting due to our engagement in the counter-insurgency operation.”

He disclosed that the couple would visit Kaduna and Lagos states where they would also interact with the Governors

He said: “So, to be specific, now, they will be arriving here tomorrow and they will be received and the reception will be a quiet reception because they will be traveling 14 hours to get to this place. They will be taken to the hotel.”

Marquis said the couple, after resting at the hotel, would return to visit the Chief of Defence Staff by noon tomorrow.

The director added that Prince Harry and his wife would before that visit, “They have their own NGO they are supporting somewhere in Wuse Light Academy. They are going to visit that place.

He said: “They will be proceeding to Kaduna to visit the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital. You know, that is where our wounded and injured soldiers are kept for their medical recovery. He will be going there.

“On Saturday, we’ll be having something like an exhibition of novelty matches. The CDS team and the Duke team will be having a volleyball match at armed forces officers’ mess in the morning. And this is just to engage with the wounded and injured soldiers. It’s a sitting volleyball match coming in the morning.

“So after that, we have a programme for them, 01:00 p.m. A reception, where they will be interacting with families of wounded and injured soldiers and families of soldiers and officers killed in action and service members generally. The program will start at 01:00 p.m. On Saturday thereafter, they will go back to the hotel to rest.

“So on Sunday, we have a program in Lagos. They will pay a courtesy call to the governor of Lagos State, and they also have an NGO. They are supporting Lagos over time, and we are going there. They built a basketball court for the school in Lagos. So they will be going there also. And there will be a basketball exhibition Match, 20 minutes, 30 minutes will be played.

“From there, they proceed to the governor’s place. After that, there is a reception also for them in Lagos. And when we finish that, we come back to Abuja, and they’ll be leaving Nigeria on Monday morning.”

The Senate has passed for third reading the NDLEA Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, thereby approving death sentence as the maximum penalty for drug traffickers in the country.

The Bill was into law on Thursday when the Senate dissolved into Committee of the Whole for a clause-by-clause consideration of a report of its Joint Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters, and Drugs & Narcotics on the Bill.

The report was earlier laid at plenary by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters, Senator Tahir Munguno.

In a review of the provisions for penalties in the amendment Bill towards strengthening the operations of the anti-narcotics agency, a proposed amendment to award a death sentence to drug traffickers rather than just a life sentence was raised by the Senate Chief Whip, which was eventually adopted.

However, there was slight uproar in the Red chamber as some lawmakers appeared displeased with the new provision.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole expressed his displeasure over what he considered a hasty consideration and passage of the amended clause to the Bill.

The Deputy Senate President, who presided at the session, rejected Senator Oshiomhole’s call to reverse the ruling, insisting that it came late.

The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has explained that his visit to the residential quarters of the State House of Assembly was to undertake on-the-spot assessment of condition of the structures for a possible rehabilitation work to restore its status and make it habitable.

The Governor had made a brief stop at the Assembly Quarters yesterday enroute Emohua – Abalama -Tema Junction on inspection of the 15.24 kilometers long dual carriageway road project.

According a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, Fubara, who spoke after the inspection stated that the assembly quarters is part of state government properties, adding that the facility needs to be taken good care of.

He noted that the state now has a new speaker for the State House of Assembly, noting that his visit was to see what were necessary to be done.

Fubara, who took a walk round the facility, said that he decided to visit the place to get better appreciation of what needs to be done to make the quarters conducive for lawmakers.

The Governor said: “Is the Assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there? You are aware of the developments. We have a new speaker, and I went there to see for my myself how things are. There might be a few things I might want to do there for the good of our people.”

The Governor speaking on the road project, said he was assessing the extent of job that had been done to know what else was needed in preparing the road for commissioning during his one year anniversary.

He pointed out that the road project was inherited from the immediate past administration but a greater chunk of the cost was borne by his administration.

“As a matter of fact, we added this section of the road as one of the projects we will be commissioning. So, I needed to see it myself, and what is remaining is just the lighting. By the grace of God, we will commission it.”

Emergence of two speakers in Rivers Assembly mockery of democracy, says group
“We feel justified to add it as our project and to commission it for the good of our people here. Governance is all about the people. When the people are out of the centre of governance, then it is no longer governance.

“So, this road, as we all now know, was in a very bad state. A lot of criminal activities were being carried out here: kidnapping and all sorts of things. So, putting this road in order is appropriate,” he said.

The Governor further added: “You can see the little hour we spent coming here. Before, it takes you 30 to 45 minutes to drive from Emohua to this place. But look at it, less than 15 minutes we are here. So, it is about the people, the good of the people, making life easy for the people. That is the way I see governance. Anything outside that has nothing to do with me.”

Renowned political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, has named the groups that will form the mega political party to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2027. 

Utomi told newsmen, on Thursday, that the redemption of the country could not be achieved by the ruling APC, or any of the opposition parties. 

While listing the groups, Utomi said the present political parties failed Nigerians. He said they had not added value to nation-building. 

According to him, the planned mega party is to disrupt the current political order and deliver that impactful leadership that the country truly deserves. 

“It is precisely the reason I arrived in Nigeria yesterday (Wednesday) to continue that work (formation of mega party).

“I believe that the political party system in Nigeria has failed completely. Political parties are not democratic and they are not serving the purpose.

“Political parties and politicians of these parties cannot save Nigeria now. It is clear.

“The nature and the structure of our politics is such that even good people, when they enter these existing political parties, will play to their interests.”

Utomi, Founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership, returned to Nigeria on Wednesday after a long stay in the U.S.

Also, he was the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in 2007.

‘New order needed’

According to Utomi, parochial culture has consumed civic culture in the country and this has affected the mindset of politicians.

Therefore, he said, a new political order must be birthed to get Nigeria out of the woods. Also, citizens and leaders must begin to do the right things to reposition the country.

“Nigeria must be saved by its citizens and this is precisely what I am advancing. 

“We are talking about value-driven citizenship with integrity, work ethics, respect for the dignity of people, and regard for labour.

“We are created for others; we are not created for ourselves. A tree does not take benefit from the shades it creates. 

“We want Nigerians to develop that mindset. Right now, the mindset that Nigerians have is me, myself, and I.

“Self-love is so consuming and that is why Nigerian politicians don’t act in the interest of the people or the state. They act so narrowly in their self-interests,” he said.

Utomi said in continuation of work to float the mega party, he would hold meetings in Lagos this week, and in Abuja next week before a news conference.

The political economist added he hoped to achieve much with the mega-party talks before going back to the U.S.

The groups

Utomi said groups that would come together to form the mega platform were two cohorts of politicians- the ‘mea culpa’ and ‘new value’ cohorts. 

“The mea culpa cohort are politicians who have seen that what they did while in power had not helped Nigeria and are remorseful. And they are now willing to become part of the redemption initiative.

“There are also new Nigeria new value cohorts. This cohort will be working together, and they will include people from all these other political parties,” he said.

He said that some elder statesmen would also be brought into the fold.

Recall that Utomi had, in January 2024, said he had had conversations with leaders of some opposition parties on plans to form a new mega political party that would take power from the ruling APC in 2027.

He disclosed that he had held discussions with some of the presidential candidates in the 2023 general elections. 

According to Utomi, the discussion was the possibility of bringing them and other opposition politicians together to form a new party. (NAN)

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Ifeanyi Ubah, has said that two refineries- Port Harcourt and Warri would be fully operational by the end of 2024.

Ubah said plans have already been put in place to achieve the target, stressing that the Kaduna Refinery would also be operational before the end of next year.

He said that the completion of the plants and the addition of supply from the 650,000 barrels per day, bpd Dangote Refinery would enable the nation to meet its domestic fuel demand.

The senator also called on the federal government and other stakeholders to work toward the establishment of modular refineries to further expand the nation’s domestic capacity to refine crude oil.

“My mandate is to ensure that the refineries in Nigeria are up and functional. By my involvement, before the end of this year, two refineries will be up and running.

“Also, before the end of next year, the Kaduna refinery will come on stream.

“I can assure Nigerians that I will tirelessly pursue and ensure that these refineries are up and running before the end of the year. We have set up a technical team to visit the refineries every two weeks in order to meet the set target,” he said.

In Abuja, a Federal High Court has granted bail to former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika, along with his daughter and two others, requiring a ₦100 million bail bond and two sureties.

Sirika and others are being tried over an alleged ₦2.7bn fraud.

The sureties, according to the court, must have landed properties in Abuja and also responsible citizens.

The sureties must depose to an affidavit of means. The court also restricted the defendants from traveling abroad without its permission.

Justice Oriji ordered that the defendants should be remanded in prison custody if they failed to meet their bail conditions.

Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has slammed six counts on the former minister, his daughter, and two others.