The depreciation of the naira continued over the weekend as the currency traded at N1,510 to a dollar at the parallel market and 1,466.31 at the official market.

The dollar-to-naira exchange rate increased by N40 between Thursday and Friday, having earlier closed at N1,426 to a dollar, according to the National Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the official exchange market.

Following a string of reforms and interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the naira had, in recent times, firmed up against the dollar, exchanging below N1,000.

The dollar exchanged at N1,450 Friday morning but closed the day with N1,510 at the black market.

A Bureau De Change operator who spoke to our correspondent yesterday said: “We have seen more demand in recent times, and this is what is causing the increase. I can tell you also that there is no enough dollar supply, and this is why the rate is increasing.”

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the CBN had sustained dollar sales to registered BDC operators under the aegis of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON).

It had on April 23, 2024 sold dollars at a discounted rate of N1,021 per dollar, the second time in the month and fourth time in 2024 as part of measures to stabilise the naira.

In February 2024, the CBN announced the sale of $20,000 to each BDC at the rate of N1,301/$. Subsequently, it reduced the allocation by 50 per cent and sold FX at the rate of N1,251/$1.

Other reforms by the CBN included substantially clearing foreign exchange backlog, including airlines’ trapped funds and taking action to stop speculation with the raids on unregistered BDC operators.

Despite the interventions, the crisis has persisted as the naira was rated the world’s worst-performing currency over the last month, according to a Bloomberg report.

BDCs say dollars not available, seek amnesty for hoarders

Speaking to Daily Trust on Sunday yesterday, the president of the ABCON, Aminu Gwadabe, said it was unfortunate that the gains of recent reforms and interventions by the CBN were being reversed.

He confirmed that the exchange rate was N1, 490 as at yesterday and blamed the depreciation on inadequate supply of the dollar.

He said: “The real issue is still the question of liquidity. The dollar is not available; and there is dollarisation of the financial system. People are really worried about the inflation rate that is hitting deep into the value of the naira. Some people say it is better to buy dollars now than to keep the naira.”

He called for amnesty for those hoarding foreign currencies in their homes to bring them out.

“There is a need for amnesty. A lot of people still have dollars in their houses. It is a crisis and stormy period. Sometimes we would not just remain at maximum compliance, voluntary compliance is key to effective regulations.

“Over regulation is toxic to effective compliance. People who keep dollars at home should be given amnesty, with less questioning to ensure liquidity,” he stated.

Gwadabe also asked the CBN to open up other channels of supply to BDC operators, especially the autonomous window against the direct supply by the apex bank.

He added: “I am happy the foreign reserve is going up, but it is unfortunate that the gains achieved have been reversed, although there was a kind of stemming of the volatility with some of the policies the CBN has taken. Recall that naysayers have predicted that it would have been around N3,000 to a dollar.”

Experts suggest solutions

The chief executive officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, attributed the naira crisis to supply and demand imbalance.

According to him, as long as the demand outweighs the supply, the crisis will remain.

Yusuf, a former director-general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said: “The fundamental issue is still that of demand and supply. It is more of a supply issue. Also related to that is a confidence issue because if we are not able to supply consistently, it will affect confidence, and once confidence begins to weaken, speculative demand will kick in, and that will begin to pile pressure on the system.

“That’s why it is good to have a framework because exchange rate volatility is not good for any economy. We should not leave the currency to float completely. There should be a framework to stabilise it, even if it is at N1,500. Whatever it is, let’s have a framework to stabilise it.”

“We need to build the confidence that in the next three months, this thing is not likely to change much.”

He also said Nigeria must ramp up its oil production to take advantage of the current oil price.

An economist, Dr Oluseye Ajuwon, in an interview with our correspondent yesterday, said the CBN must trace the source of the foreign currency to track any illicit inflow.

He said: “It is purely a supply and demand issue. Once demand is more than supply, the price will continue to depreciate.

“The Central Bank should start doing what it needs to do by tracing money to know where it is coming from and where it is going.

“All the interventions of the CBN amount to just treating the issue at a surface level, it is not actually addressing the real issue.”

[DailyTrust]

President Bola Tinubu, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, has told the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike and others that he will not take sides in the ongoing crisis rocking Rivers State.

Ngelale said that anyone with the belief that President Tinubu would take their side in the political crisis would be disappointed.

The Special Adviser made the President’s position know during an interview on TVC, insisting that Tinubu won’t allow any attempt to frustrate the Rivers government.

“I believe that anyone who believes that by their actions, whether it’s from the Federal level, State level or the legislative branch in the State or the executive branch in the state, if they are banking on Mr. President to take sides on this matter, they’re mistaking and they’ll be disappointed,” he said.

“Mr. President will not do that. What he will do is to ensure that everybody has what they need in order to work.

“He will also ensure that any attempt to frustrate the operation of the Rivers State Government of conducting its affairs in a way that it would benefit the Rivers people, that’s obviously not going to be allowed by this President or anybody else.

“So, I think there’s a need for all stakeholders to understand that Mr President won’t take sides.”

[DailyPost]

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to suspend the implementation of the controversial cybersecurity levy policy and ordered a review.

This followed the decision of the House of Representatives, which, last Thursday, asked the CBN to withdraw its circular directing all banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions in the country.

The CBN on May 6, 2024, issued a circular mandating all banks, mobile money operators, and payment service providers to implement a new cybersecurity levy, following the provisions laid out in the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (Amendment) Act 2024.

According to the Act, a levy amounting to 0.5 per cent of the value of all electronic transactions will be collected and remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund, overseen by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Financial institutions are required to apply the levy at the point of electronic transfer origination.

The deducted amount is to be explicitly noted in customer accounts under the descriptor “Cybersecurity Levy” and remitted by the financial institution. All financial institutions are required to start implementing the levy within two weeks from the issuance of the circular.

By implication, the deduction of the levy by financial institutions should commence on May 20, 2024.

However, financial institutions are to make their remittances in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month.

The circular also stipulates a timeframe for financial institutions to reconfigure their systems to ensure complete and timely submission of remittance files to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement Systems  Plc as follows: “Commercial, Merchant, Non-Interest, and Payment Service Banks – Within four weeks of the issuance of the Circular.

“All other Financial Institutions (Microfinance Banks, Primary Mortgage Banks, Development Financial Institutions) – Within eight weeks of the issuance of the Circular,” the circular noted.

The CBN has emphasised strict adherence to this mandate, warning that any financial institution that fails to comply with the provisions will face severe penalties. As outlined in the Act, non-compliant entities are subject to a minimum fine of two per cent of their annual turnover upon conviction.

The circular provides a list of transactions currently deemed eligible for exemption, to avoid multiple applications of the levy.

These are loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, and intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.

Exemptions include other financial institutions’ transfers to their correspondent banks, interbank placements, banks’ transfers to CBN and vice versa, inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, letters of credit, and banks’ recapitalisation-related funding.

Others are bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings, and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments such as treasury bills, bonds, and commercial papers, and government social welfare programmes transactions.

These may include pension payments, non-profit and charitable transactions including donations to registered non-profit organisations or charities, educational institutions transactions, including tuition payments and other transactions involving schools, universities, or other educational institutions, and transactions involving the bank’s internal accounts, inter-branch accounts, reserve accounts, nostro and vostro accounts, and escrow accounts.

The introduction of the new levy sparked varied reactions among stakeholders as it is expected to raise the cost of conducting business in Nigeria and could potentially hinder the growth of digital transaction adoption.

‘Stop levy now’

Members of the House of Representatives on Thursday asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to withdraw the circular directing financial institutions to commence implementation of the 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy, describing it as “ambiguous”.

The development was in response to a motion on the urgent need to halt and modify the implementation of the cybersecurity levy, moved by Kingsley Chinda.

According to the House, the CBN is to withdraw the initial circular, and “issue a more understandable one”.

Chinda had drawn the attention of the House to multiple interpretations of the CBN directive against the specifications in the Cybersecurity Act.

The House then expressed worry, that the Act would be implemented in error if immediate steps were not taken, to address the concerns around the interpretation of the CBN directive and the Cybersecurity Act.

However, sources with knowledge of Tinubu’s position on the issue told Sunday PUNCH that the President was aware of the economic burden on Nigerians since his hardline economic reforms began last May, adding that he did not want to risk adding to the burden with more levies.

A senior presidency official who preferred not to be named told our correspondent, “The President is sensitive to what Nigerians feel. And he will not want to proceed with implementing a policy that adds to the burden of the people.

“So, he has asked the CBN to hold off on that policy and ordered a review. I would have said he ordered the CBN, but that is not appropriate because the CBN is autonomous. But he has asked the CBN to hold off on it and review things again.”

Another presidency official who preferred to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to speak on the issue said these discrepancies prompted the President to order a review.

“If you look at it, the law predates the Tinubu administration. It was enacted in 2015 and signed by Goodluck Jonathan. It is only being implemented now.

“You know he (Tinubu) was not around when that directive was being circulated. And he does not want to present his government as being insensitive. As it is now, the CBN has held off the instruction to banks to start charging people. So, the President is sensitive. His goal is not to just tax Nigerians like that. That is not his intention. So, he has ordered a review of that law.”

Tax reforms not to frustrate Nigerians — Shettima

Meanwhile, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Saturday, said the tax reforms undertaken by the Bola Tinubu administration were not aimed to frustrate Nigerians but to sustain the country’s investment friendliness.

The VP, represented by his Special Adviser on General Duties Dr Aliyu Umar, spoke at the close-out retreat of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. Shettima’s Spokesperson, Mr Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement titled, ‘Our tax reforms initiated for overall benefits of Nigerians – VP Shettima’.

He argued that contrary to speculations in some quarters, “we are not here to frustrate any sector of our economy but to create an administrative system that ensures the benefits of a thriving tax system for all our citizens”.

Levy suspension welcome development – PDP

Reacting to the decision of the President, the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, welcomed the suspension of the cybersecurity levy policy implementation, noting that the policy should not have been introduced at all.

He said, “It was an anti-people decision from the beginning. It was an insensitive decision from the beginning. It was an ambush on the people who had already been frustrated by the multiple layers of taxes from the beginning. So, it was a very cruel introduction because you do not need to tax us to have cybersecurity.

“You do not need to tax the villagers or the people in the rural areas for cybersecurity. People who do not even have light. They don’t even have access to an internet connection. Well, if that is a show that the president is listening, then that is good. Then, he must now continue to listen more and begin to look at where the problem started and that is the issue of removal of subsidy without any cushioning of its effect. What will happen is that the president should go back further so that Nigerians can breathe by ensuring a policy that will reduce the hardship of the sudden removal of the subsidy.”

Also, reacting to the development, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprises, Dr Muda Yusuf, said the President’s decision shows he is a democrat, adding that the CBN should ensure that the reviewing process of the policy is very inclusive.

“The President’s decision is in line with the clamour by the people. There had been a lot of outcry about it and the fact that the president has responded shows that he is a democrat. It shows he is a listening leader. So we must commend him for listening to the voices of the people. It is a welcome development.

“The government should now look at the policy. I am sure it is not going to be only the CBN. Even the legislators should also look at it because they passed the law. But the key thing is that the policy needs to be reviewed. And the apex bank should take the review beyond the government level. It must consult the stakeholders and the organised private sectors. That is what will make the review very inclusive.”

Also speaking to Sunday PUNCH, the Director of Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said while President Tinubu should be commended for the decision, the Federal Government should consider a total cancellation of the policy instead of a temporary suspension.

He said, “This is the right step in the right direction. It further accentuates the fact that President Tinubu listens to the voice of the people. And maybe it is because he used to be an activist. He knows that the voice of the people is the voice of God.

“But then, the suspension of the policy is not enough. It should result in the total cancellation of the policy. All the taxes, rates, and levies that are being imposed on the people should be streamlined so that if we want to pay personal income taxes, we should know that that is what we are paying. It is not that the government will take off personal income taxes and we should now pay for every service that we should enjoy from the government. And the increase in micro-economic products like petroleum and others should be made cheaper and affordable for all Nigerians,” he stated.

 Also, a professor of Economics at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Sheriffdeen Tella, cautioned the Federal Government against creating additional hardship for Nigerians. He said while the policy was not a bad idea, the timing was inappropriate.

He said, “There is nothing wrong with the levy but it was at the wrong time. The government should stop creating problems for itself. People are battling inflation and all sorts of inefficiency and you are imposing a tax on them. The president has done well by reversing it. It is not the right time to impose additional burdens on Nigerians. I commend the President for having the courage to do the right thing.”

SERAP threatens lawsuit

Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project threatened to file a lawsuit if the Federal Government did not withdraw the levy within 48 hours. The group stated that the levy “patently violates the provisions of the Nigerian constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international human rights obligations and commitments”.

Labour rejects levy

However, the Nigeria Labour Congress stated that the cybersecurity levy and several other levies and taxes already imposed on the citizens had deepened the financial burden on the populace currently grappling with economic challenges.

A statement signed by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, demanded the reversal of the directive by CBN, adding that the Federal Government should prioritise policies that alleviate the financial burdens of Nigerians. NLC said the move, which was ostensibly aimed at bolstering cybersecurity measures, could exacerbate the financial strain already faced by the populace.

•Says the beheading of one Alhaji sparked killings
•‘How sponsors of attack tried to eliminate me in prison custody
•Pleads for legal help to appeal the death sentence
•Miyetti Allah disowns latest mayhem

Eight years after the massacre of April 25, 2016, that left no less than 40 persons dead in Nimbo in the Uzo-Uwani local government area of Enugu State, the only person who was convicted for the mass murder, Mohamed Zurai, has confessed to his participation in the crime.

But he said he was complicit to the crime to the extent of video recording the killings and not killing anyone.

Zurai, a herdsman, told Sunday Vanguard that the Nimbo massacre was carried out because one Alhaji was beheaded by assailants in the Enugu community.

He spoke to our correspondent during an undercover operation in Enugu Correctional Center where he is waiting for the hangman’s noose.

Justice Anthony Onovo of the Nsukka Division of Enugu State High Court had, on May 17, 2023, pronounced the death sentence on him.

The murderer was among five suspects arraigned on May 9, 2017 for the mass murder in Nimbo on April 25, 2016.
They were charged with murder contrary to Section 274 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap 30 Vol II of the Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.

Zurai was the prime suspect whose cell phone was found to have recorded the Nimbo killings.

Delivering judgment on the matter on May 17, 2023, Justice Onovo said, “In all, the only person who has been shown to have participated in the killing at Nimbo community on 25/4/2016 is the 1st defendant, Mohammed Zurai.

“He is hereby convicted as charged. The 2nd defendant (Alhaji Ciroma Musa) and the 3rd defendant (Sale Adanmu) not having been found guilty are hereby discharged and acquitted.”

According to him, many went for the operation but he used his phone to do a video recording of the killings in his image also appeared in the video as a selfie.

He disclosed that sponsors of the killings wanted to eliminate him while in prison custody, alleging that some persons were offered N300,000 to kill him so that he would not live to tell the story of what happened but that the request was turned down.

The murderer, who said there were over 20 that carried out the operation, however, denied killing anybody at Nimbo but said he was behind his colleagues and that his only job was to record the killings.

Zurai wondered why only he was convicted while his friends who were arraigned with him also participated in the operation but were freed.

He, therefore, pleaded for the telephone number of this reporter so that he could communicate with him afterwards since he agreed to help him get a lawyer who could appeal his death sentence.
Zuari looked 30 years old and fair in complexion.

MACBAN disowns fresh attack

Meanwhile, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, has dissociated itself from the suspected herdsmen’s attack on the Nimbo community around the anniversary of the 2016 incident.

The latest attack came on Sunday, April 28 2024 and killed four members of the community.

The attack, which occurred at Ugwuijoro community where villagers had gathered to mourn the dead, also left many injured.
Reports had it that a member of the community was also shot dead at the nearby Opanda community, three days before the Nimbo incident.

The people of Uzo-Uwani LGA allege that there are many herdsmen camps around Ugboda, Adani and Opanda in the council area because of the thick forests there.

Governor Peter Mbah described the attack as unacceptable, vowing that the government would track down and bring the attackers to book.

Mbah footed the medical bills of the wounded people and awarded scholarships and jobs to bereaved family members while the Nimbo community asked the state government to strengthen their neighbourhood watch group.

MACBAN, dissociating itself from the attack, accused native security operatives of killing their members in the South-East.
National Deputy Director General of the group, Gidado Siddiki, who made the allegation, said their members and livestock had been targeted while he exonerated herdsmen of any wrongdoing in the zone, blaming kidnappings and other crimes committed in the bush and farmland in the zone on criminals.

Sidikki lamented that their markets had been indiscriminately destroyed under the guise of rooting out criminality, with no evidence of wrongdoing found on them, stating that even in the remote areas where they graze cattle, they face increasing threats from criminals without a response from the government or local leadership.

He appealed to the state governments in the South-East and leaders of host communities to recognize them as strategic stakeholders and refrain from “unfounded” attribution of wrongdoing to every herdsman out there.

[Vanguard]