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Customs Intercepts Niger Republic-Bound Grains

The Zone ‘B” Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted two Niger Republic-bound trucks loaded with grains, a  PREMIUM TIMES report said.

In the last few days, officials of the NCS intercepted grains being taken to Niger Republic in Katsina, Sokoto, Kano and Jigawa states.

 

PREMIUM TIMES said it gathered through a service intelligence report that the two trucks were intercepted on Thursday around 1pm by Kebbi and Kangiwa/Argungu Natsini “FOU roving team.”

Grains in the two trucks include maize, millet and beans, according to the report.

“Two canters loaded with grains, comprises maize, millet and beans going to Niger Republic were also intercepted. Both vehicles were taken to Customs House in Kebbi,” part of the report reads.

According to another memo seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the FOU Zone ‘B’ Kaduna has deployed more officers in its area of responsibility to ensure there is no movement of goods or people in and out of the country.

The memo, prepared by S. M. Mansur, the Unit’s staff officer, was approved by Wasa Chedi, the zonal comptroller.

“All borders in our Area of Responsibility under Zone ‘B’ remained closed pending federal government’s directives. All officers in charge should ensure that nothing goes out or comes in, including grains of all sorts,” the memo read.

 

 

 

Mansur warned officers in charge of units to ensure compliance as “any breach of this instruction, the O/C will be held responsible.”

Back story

Following the 2023 coup that ousted Mohamed Bazoum as president of Niger Republic, Nigeria shut its land borders with the country and cut its electricity supply as part of sanctions against the military junta.

Security has been intensified on the borders and around border communities, especially in the North where Nigeria shares expansive borders with Niger Republic, covering Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno states.

In recent months, Nigerians have been grappling with inflation and economic hardship being exacerbated by the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the naira last year.

The prices of foodstuffs and other commodities have been soaring, weakening the already fragile economy of the country.

The Customs Service said it intended to intensify surveillance to stop grains from being taken out of the country, which it said was aggravating the hard economic situation.

 

About 15 trucks of grain were intercepted in Sokoto State on Sunday, while 50 more were intercepted in Zamfara State on Monday and four intercepted in Kano State, also on Sunday.

Customs sells 25kg rice at N10,000

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Customs Service has commenced the sale of seized bags of rice to the public at the cost of N10,000 per 25kg.

The comptroller-general of the NCS, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, said the process for the sale of the food items had been done, such that a form with all the details of the applicant, including the National Identification Number (NIN), would be submitted and a bar code generated for the collection of the commodity.

Adeniyi stated that 10 registration points would be opened for members of the public, with a view to easing the purchase process.

 

He said the move to sell the seized items was to crash the price of food items and shore up the value of the naira.

He warned against the resale of purchased rice, adding that anybody caught reselling will be arrested and possibly prosecuted.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that thousands of people stormed one of the facilities belonging to the Service on Harvey Road at the Yaba area of Lagos to buy bags of rice.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to our correspondent thanked the Service for coming to their aid at a time they felt all hopes had been lost.

A petty trader who identified herself as Shade Tajudeen, said the price of rice in the market had made the items far from the reach of the downtrodden masses.

Another beneficiary, Chika Maduka, said the rice would go a long way in easing the suffering and hardship brought on common Nigerians as a result of food scarcity.

CBN slashes Customs duty rate to N1,488

In an action that appeared to have resulted from the call in a Daily Trust editorial of Thursday, 22nd February, 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in the official foreign exchange window on Friday,  slashed the exchange rate for computing Customs duties to N1,488.

The Customs duty rate was reviewed downwards from N1, 605.82/$ to N1, 488.896/$ yesterday,  according to information on the official trade portal of the Nigeria Customs Service. That cut rrepresented a reduction of about 7.3 per cent.

Still, on November 14, 2023, the rate was adjusted to N783.174/$, and in December, it was adjusted to N951.941/$. On February 2, it was moved to N1,356.883/$ and on February 3, it was moved to N1,413.62/$. Later this month, it was adjusted to N1,417.635/$ then N1,493.23/$ and ultimately to N1604.08.

Yesterday’s cut in the rate comes as some sort of relief to importers who have been battling high duty rates, which results in higher prices of items when they reach their final consumers.

[DailyTrust]

 

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FCT: Concerns as house rent skyrockets in Abuja, stakeholders provide reasons

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, are helpless over the soaring cost of rent in the nation’s capital.

This is as some house owners in the capital city blame the high cost of building materials for the troubling situation.

Some landlords complained that while the cost of erecting a new building in Abuja has gone over 200 percent from what it used to be some months ago, maintaining the old ones is no less a task.

 

According to them, materials used for the construction, development, and maintenance of buildings were no longer affordable in Nigeria.

A building goes through maintenance throughout its lifespan and some landlords say it is no longer an easy task.

A check by DAILY POST at different markets where building materials are sold within Abuja, showed that major materials such as, sand, cement, granite, concrete, wood, Plaster of Paris, POP, glass, paint and plumbing materials are now beyond the reach of the ordinary man.

A 50kg bag of cement, for instance, is now sold for N15, 000 and above which is more than three times what it was sold just some weeks back.

Nigerian infrastructure development and economic growth are significantly influenced by the building and construction industry.

Cement is an essential ingredient in the construction of buildings, but DAILY POST understands that many buildings under construction have been abandoned by the owners due to the high cost of this material which now ranges from N10,000 to N15,000 per 50kg, depending on the product.

Flexible binding wires in Nigeria now sell between N8000 to N12,000 while a 10 kg roll costs between N85,500 to N125,000.

A bundle of solid binding wire ranges from N12,500 to N13,800, and a 10kg coil costs between N69,000 and N72,000.

For tiles, 30 × 30 ‌ranges from N12,500 to N13,500; 40 x 40 ranges from N12,400 to N13,800; 30 x 60 ranges from N12,700 to N13,000 while 60 × 60 ‌ ranges from N14,700 to N16,000.

Vitrified tiles within the range of 300×300 pack costs N9000-10,000 while 450×450 pack costs N10,100-12, 500

So are the prices of Polished Porcelain, Steel Rod, Concrete or Granite, Sands

Building Blocks, Laterite, Roofing Sheets, Woods In Nigeria, Woods, windows, Doors, etc, all on the high side.

Mr Jov Richard, who owns a 16-bedroom apartment at Gudu District of the FCT, told DAILY POST that the question of why rent is skyrocketing should not come into play since everyone is already aware of the economic situation in the country.

According to Jov, a Tiv native, “This question shouldn’t be asked at all. Who is not seeing what is happening? How much do you buy a bag of cement today? How much was the nails when I built my house? Do you know how much a block is sold today?

“Please go to the nearest block industry and ask. Have you tried to buy tiles or sand? I wanted to start developing my piece of land in Kuje but had to stop immediately when I heard the current price of cement. Anybody you see building a house now is a politician. So, this question has answered itself.”

Also speaking to DAILY POST on the subject matter, National President of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, REDAN, Mr. Aliyu Wamakko, blamed the high cost of building materials for the sky-rocking rent in Abuja.

He said, “You see, the high rise in price of everything, including commodities and rent is what we are experiencing now because of the economic downturn. You need to understand that. How can you now sell a bag of cement for N22,000 and expect an affordable rent? So, it is something you cannot even comprehend.

“The high rise of building materials’ price is the cause of the situation. Do you know that some house rents are being paid in dollars? And how much is a dollar to naira now? The exchange rate is what is now adding another problem to the rent issue. Some of the apartments you see are paid in dollars. And the forex is fluctuating to a terrible stage.

“So these are some of the reasons the house rent goes up. And to add to that, there is a lot of house deficit in the country which we feel this government should do something to ameliorate that issue.

“You could remember we have insurgency, banditry and natural disaster like the floods and all these are issues that encourage the house rent to move up.

“Also, these issues are connected to the subsidy removal and it is unfortunate that the government did not prepare well before taking the decision.

“Look at the salary of the workers, N30,000 (minimum wage). How much are they selling a bag of rice? So you should understand. You have house rent to pay, you have feeding, transport, school fees for your children and you need to cloth yourself. How do you think it is possible?

“I call on you people to ask the country, both Christians and Muslims to keep praying for the stability of our country. That is the only way out. For now, nobody can tell you ‘this is the way out.”

The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Director of Press, Tony Ogunleye had earlier told DAILY POST that there’s no law in Nigeria regulating how much a landlord decides to collect as rent.

He insisted that rent has always been on the high in Abuja.

According to him, “Abuja rent has always been high when you compare to places like Lagos and Port Harcourt; it is not something that started today.”

Speaking on unoccupied buildings around the FCT, Ogunleye said that “owners of those empty buildings you see are conducting themselves within the law. They have not gone against the law of the land.

“As far as they are paying their ground rent. Someone can build 10 houses and decides to leave them empty, it’s nobody’s business. They don’t have anything to worry about as much as they are complying with what the government demands of them.”

[DailyPost]

 
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2023 polls: How we survived naira swap, attacks, others

  • Says election results reflection of the voters’ will
  • ‘Why upload of presidential poll result was slow’

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told of the challenge posed by the naira swap to the conduct of last year’s general elections in the days leading to the commencement of the polls.

The election umpire, in a 526-page Report of 2023 General Election just released in Abuja, also opened up on the hiccups over the uploading of the results of the presidential election.

 

It attributed the problem to a technical challenge which, according to it, was later fixed by 8.55 pm on the election day.

The commission said the currency swap and the limit placed on cash withdrawals from banks made it difficult for it to pay for some critical items and services including fuel procurement and transportation of personnel and materials.

 

It said the situation “constituted encumbrances on the Commission’s operations for the payment to some unbanked service providers and the ability of particularly transport providers to service and fuel vehicles in boats and motorcycles in readiness for election duty.

“The prevailing fuel scarcity across the country and inadequate number of vehicles and boats for the transportation of election personnel and materials within the required timeframe posed a great challenge to the logistics plan for the election.

 

“This is more so considering the size and diversity of Nigeria, as well the state of national infrastructure.

“Indeed, election is the largest and most complex logistics undertaking in Nigeria involving the simultaneous movement of personnel and material to 176,846 polling units across 8,809 wards spread across 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 36 states and FCT.”

 

But it said the most devastating of the challenges was the spate of attacks on its personnel and facilities by thugs, unknown gunpersons and arsonists nationwide.

“During the period between the 2019 General Election and 12th December 2022, the Commission suffered over 50 attacks on its buildings and facilities in various LGAs and State Offices across 15 States of the federation in which vehicles, office equipment and election materials were destroyed,” it said.

 

However, it submitted that the elections were not only generally free and fair because they reflected the wishes of Nigerians they were also “notable for their peaceful and orderly conduct, marked by the absence of significant instances of violence, with over 25% of registered voters casting their ballots.”

Going into the specifics, it said the analysis of the polls showed that no party was dominant while the spread of results across party lines was better than in all previous elections in the country.

The commission said the polls were unique in terms of keeping to the time table, the new 80 clauses in the Electoral Act and the introduction of new technologies which made voting easier.

The National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Sam Olumekun, in a statement on the release of the report, said: “On Thursday, 22nd February 2024, the Commission convened for its weekly meeting where the 2023 General Election Report was reviewed and approved for publication.

 

“In keeping with our tradition over the last four electoral cycles, and our commitment to transparency, we are pleased to announce the release of the official INEC report on the 2023 General Election.

“This comprehensive 526-page document, structured into 13 chapters and enhanced with 60 tables, 14 boxes and 10 graphs, offers an in-depth analysis of the election’s key processes, achievements and challenges, alongside valuable lessons learned.

“The Report showcases the election’s unparalleled diversity in party representation, demonstrating significant democratic progress.

 

“This election saw four political parties winning gubernatorial races, seven parties winning senatorial seats, eight in federal constituencies and nine in State legislatures, illustrating a broad shift in political representation across Nigeria.”

The commission described the elections as “perhaps the best planned and most innovative election in Nigeria.”

It said: “The election witnessed the highest number of eligible voters and voting locations across the country with the participation of over one million election duty officials and deployment of enormous logistic requirements including over 100,000 vehicles and about 4,000 boats protected by gunboats.

 

“Given the meticulous preparations for the election, the transparency of the entire electoral process, from the casting of the vote, the publication of the number of collected Permanent Voters Card for the election down to the polling unit level for the first time ever, the presence of security personnel, party agents, election observers and the media along the entire voting process and result collation chain, as well as the layers of stringent checks and control put in place by the Commission before making a declaration and return for an election, the outcome of the election, based on immutable provisions in the electoral legal framework is a true reflection of the wishes of the electorate.”

Explaining the uniqueness of the polls, INEC said: “Several other innovations by the Commission in the 2019-2022 period peculiarly made the 2023 General Election unique. It was the first general election to be conducted after the amendment of the Electoral Act 2022.

” Furthermore, the Presidential and National Assembly election, for the first time in two Electoral Cycles 2010-2015 and 2015-2019, held on schedule without postponement as a result of logistics or other challenges.

“Moreover, voter access to polling units was expanded countrywide after 25 years when in June 2021 the Commission converted the 56,872 Voting Points and Voting Point Settlements into full-fledged Polling Units, bringing the number of polling units in Nigeria to 176,846.

“In addition to expanding voter access to polling units, the Commission also relocated 749 polling units from inappropriate to more appropriate public facilities or open spaces to guarantee unencumbered access for all voters.

“Sequel to the forgoing, there was voter migration and inadvertently, de-congestion of some over-crowded polling units. This exercise is on-going as some polling units are still congested as a result of voter reluctance to relocate mainly for security consideration.”

 

Continuing, INEC said: “Polls opened on time in most polling stations and was generally smooth and orderly. There were some reports of technical glitches with the BVAS, although these were addressed by the roving technical staff assigned to address such issues. The counting, collation, and declaration of results process was largely peaceful, transparent, and credible nationwide.

 

“While the former was tailored to serve as the nerve centre for monitoring the conduct of elections across the 774 LGAs nationwide, the latter served as the venue for National Collation of results emanating from States. Throughout the electoral process, Election Monitoring Support Centres (EMSCs) in every state served as a vital source of field information and intervention.

“The National Situation Room was also set up for the conduct of the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections, held on the 18th March 2023. This time, it was replicated in all 36 states. The Situation rooms both at the national and State level were managed by a team of experts from INEC, the security agencies and other relevant organisations.”

On the failure to upload Polling Unit results of the presidential election to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal in real-time at the close of polls on Saturday 25th February 2023, the commission said: “To begin with, it is important to note that the IReV portal is one of the most significant innovations introduced by the Commission prior to the 2023 General Election to promote the integrity and transparency of the electoral process. As a public-facing website, the IReV portal shows the images of the original Polling Unit result sheets as recorded in Form EC8A.

“The operational methodology and the concept behind the upload of results to the IReV for public viewing is quite simple. At the end of polls, Polling Unit results (Form EC8As) are scanned and uploaded to the IReV by the Presiding Officer(s). These results are then available for viewing to the public and all stakeholders.

“The system, which was first deployed during Nasarawa Central State Constituency bye-election in August 2020 and tested in 105 subsequent elections, including three (3) off-cycle governorship elections, has tremendously improved public confidence in the integrity and transparency of the Commission’s result management process.

“The challenge of uploading the PU presidential election results on the IReV after the presidential and NASS elections on 25th February 2023 was unique. As voting ended across the country and POs began the process of uploading the images of the PU result sheets of the elections for the various constituencies around 1 4:00pm, the commission began to receive reports that attempts to upload presidential election result sheets was failing.

“Following these reports, the Commission immediately engaged with its field officials for details in order to understand and trace the origin, source, scale and magnitude of the problems across the result management ecosystem to devise appropriate solutions.

“In the troubleshooting process, it was established that there was no issue in uploading the PU result sheets of the Senate and House of Representatives elections through the Election Result Modules.

“However, there was a problem with uploading the presidential election results to the system. Attempts to upload the results were generating internal server errors, which refer to a significant impairment that usually originate from within an application due to problems relating to configuration, permissions, or failure to create or access application resources correctly.

 

“Further interrogation of the Election Result Modules indicated that the system was encountering an unexpected configuration problem in mapping the presidential election results uploaded into the system to the participating Polling Units.

“Due to the complex, sensitive and critical nature of the systems and the real potential for malicious cyber attacks, the Commission immediately put in place several strict security and audit control measures to prevent any unfettered or elevated access to the Result Upload System.

“In the process of resolving the challenge, it was discovered that the backend system of the IReV was able to query and detect the base States for uploading the PU result sheets based on the mapping of all Senatorial District and Federal Constituency elections to the respective 36 States of the Federation and the FCT as established in the database structure deployed within the system.

“In configuring and mapping the election results for the presidential and NASS elections, the Commission created Four Hundred and Seventy (470) election types consisting of one presidential constituency covering the entire country, 109 Senatorial Districts and 360 Federal Constituencies.

“Each Senatorial District and Federal Constituency election on the database was mapped to their respective states. However, the presidential election result is a single, countrywide constituency and therefore, does not belong to any one state.

 

“Consequently, while the uploads for the NASS elections succeeded as the application was able to identify the respective state and build the folder hierarchy for the results organisation process for the election, attempts to upload the presidential election results sheets, which does not belong to or mapped to any State on the database, failed. Instead, it returned a HTTP server error response.

“This failure is attributable to the inability of the application to create and build a folder structure to organise the uploaded images of the result sheets of the presidential election. Having identified and established the source of the problem, the Commission quickly created and deployed ‘Hotfixes’ which are software updates for fixing a bug or any vulnerabilities in a system.

 “The deployed hotfixes eventually resolved the HTTP error on the system and the first presidential election result sheet was successfully uploaded at 8.55pm on the 25th of February 2023. After the problem with the upload was resolved, the Commission noticed a high volume of uploads on the queue.

“All results that scanned but could not be uploaded due to the error were queued waiting to be automatically processed. Due to the large volume and high traffic from the queue, the system was running slower, even though it tried to scale up automatically to handle the unanticipated heavy traffic.

“The density of the traffic that slowed the uploads was one issue. Another was that the offline queue requires the BVAS devices to be switched on and connected to the internet for the upload. However, some of the POs had at the time left their PUs, and the devices had either been switched-off, or were out of internet coverage.

“Switched-off devices could not connect and upload the results sheets. The Commission had to reach out to the POs of affected areas to switch on their systems and ensure internet connectivity for the uploads to continue. This accounted for the delay, with some of the results coming in the next day.

“By and large, the glitch experienced in uploading the scanned images of PU presidential election result sheets on 25th February 2023 was due to the inherent complexity within the System, which was difficult to anticipate and mitigate.

Thereafter, the Commission has made improvements on the IReV and taken additional steps to build more resilience and undertook additional checks to ensure the stability and optimal operation and performance of the IReV portal. Additional Quality assurance checks are now done to complement the end-to-end testing of the entire result upload ecosystem before the conduct of any election.

“However, the glitch in the upload of the presidential results sheets to iREV did not affect the credibility of the election. Agents of political parties and security agents were given copies of polling station results after they were announced in public.

“The results were also displayed at polling units for scrutiny by voters. So, when they were eventually uploaded, it was easy to compare them with the copies displayed at polling centres and given to party agents and party officials.”

[TheNation]

 
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Ban cash dollar transactions across Nigeria to save Naira, Lai Omotola tells Tinubu

*Offers pathways to save Naira, build robust economy

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CFL Group of companies, Lai Omotola has called on President Bola Tinubu to sign an executive order banning all cash dollar transactions across Nigeria, as one of the ways to save the Naira.
Omotola, who briefed newsmen on the State of the nation’s economy and the naira in Maryland, Lagos on Friday added that the president should ensure that all dollar transactions should now be bank to bank.

 

He proposed that the maximum cash any citizen and foreigner could hold in Nigeria should be 100 dollars, adding that any amount exceeding this should be automatically forfeited to the federal Government, while also proposing a total ban on street vending of dollars.

“To save our Naira. We propose that the President signs an executive order banning all cash-dollar transactions across the length and breadth of Nigeria. All dollar transactions should now be bank to bank.

“The maximum cash any citizen and foreigner can hold should not be more than 100 dollars. Any amount exceeding this will be automatically forfeited to the Federal Government. There should be a total ban on street vending of dollars.”

The business mogul, who said it is no longer news to say the nation’s economy is in a precarious state, argued that the dual policy of fuel removal and floating of the naira had resulted in depreciating the economy.

“Today, there is foreign exchange crisis and food crisis. We are not here to labour time on the problems rather our time will be to proffer solutions.

“As a business concern that had been in existence for the past 25 years, just one year more than our democratic period of 24 years, we have lived 100 per cent of all different administrations,” he said.

Omotola further proposed that amnesty should be given to everyone paying dollar cash for the next 90 days and that such cash lodgment should not be probed by the EFCC or any security agency.

“In as much as cash dollar deposits cannot be probed, every dollar payment from banks will be scrutinised,” he suggested.
Omotola also said the Federal Government should adopt a 100 per cent cashless policy in five commercial states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

 

He further urged the government to activate the Whistleblowers Act such that a reward is made to anybody who is able to tell the Federal Government about hidden dollars, with such persons receiving their rewards seamlessly, arguing that “this will put everybody on their toes.”“The following states should go 100 per cent cashless. Lagos, Kano, Kaduna Rivers, Enugu and Abuja. The maximum amount of cash anyone can hold in these states should not be more than N50,000,” he suggested.

According to Omotola, “If the above is implemented fully to the letter, which also includes a stop on the continuous printing of the new naira notes, but rather the old ones, within the next 30 days the naira will appreciate by 50 per cent; that is in the next 30 days, you will see the naira moving between N700 and N800 and by the end of the year, the true value of the naira to the dollar will emerge.”

[Vanguard]

 

 
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Ways and Means: FG turns to financial markets to raise funds for repayment

Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy said the current administration is looking into bringing down the ways and means debt.

The minister who spoke on Friday on Channels Television, said the move would be done through “specific actions that have been well laid out”.

Ways and means is a loan facility through which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) provides short-term financing to cover the government’s budget shortfalls.

On February 9, 2024, while addressing the senate committee on banking, insurance and other finance institutions on inflation, Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, said the financial institution will halt its ways and means advances to the federal government.

 

“The ways and means need to be brought down by specific actions and those are being taken in the financial markets and funds are being garnered, revenue is being raised with a particular intent to pay down the Ways and Means and have the government’s accounts imbalance,” Edun said.

“The government’s day-to-day accounts where it spends from and takes out revenue to have that imbalance,  that is the commitment of the administration and the strategy and the path to achieving that in the nearest future. This has been well laid out.

“In addition, there is a need for collaborative collaboration between the monetary and the fiscal side.  As we know, the central bank is in charge of the exchange rate, in charge of interest rates, money supply and so forth. And in terms of interest rate, the exchange rate it is doing everything it can to bring improvements to that situation.

 

“But the fiscal side, the government side has a role to play in that. And that is why taking a cue and collaborating and cooperating we want the monetary authorities to know what we’re doing. Interest rates have been raised.

“So the rate at which the government sells these treasury bills, and bonds has gone up in order to help attract foreign portfolio investors, foreigners who are willing to hold the naira and invest in the Nigerian economy by buying government securities. 

“That is a sign of the type of collaboration and type of cooperation that will help the economy as a whole with the fiscal and the monetary side working together.”

‘OTHER REFORMS BY FG TO BOOST REVENUE’

 

Speaking on the measures put in place to boost revenue and control inflation, Edun said the federal government has identified the problem and was working rigorously to improve the economy. 

He said the government has ensured oil revenue and production go up, adding that for the non-oil revenue sector, tax is being looked at to ensure it is less burdensome.

“In terms of inflation we have looked at the reason why you don’t build up money in the system not much by supplying productivity production to reverse and improve and eradicate that inflationary effects on the economy and the system as a whole,” he said

“The reforms that have been put in place include the fact that there needs to be removal of that overhang in the system. Therefore, in addition to a robust revenue system, we’re starting from ensuring oil revenue goes up.”

 

The minister said federal government-owned enterprises now have a much stricter regime of cost management because, through technology, the government is taking its revenue immediately rather than waiting for the enterprise to meet and comply with the rules.

“Rules are being enforced from the start by taking what is due to the government as soon as that revenue is paid,” Edun said.

 

“On the expenditure side, a totally new system of expenditure management has been authorised and approved by Mr. President, and has been implemented once again using the power of technology and digitalization.”

Edun said with this,  the payments to suppliers, contractors, and beneficiaries will go directly to the federal treasury straight to the beneficiaries without having different places where it is redistributed.

 
[TheCable]
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CBN hikes BDC license fees to N2bn

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a fresh set of guidelines to keep Bureau De Change (BDCs) in check.

Under the new guidelines BDCs in the Tier 1 category must have a capital requirement of N2 billion, while Tier 2 BDCs must have a capital requirement of N500 million.

Tier 1 BDCs formally were expected to cough out N15 million to acquire the license. This represents a 13,233.33 percent licence fee hike.


The CBN was forced to come up with a new set of guidelines in order to address the ongoing foreign exchange crisis in the country.

The Financial Policy and Regulation Department of the CBN headed by Haruna B Mustafa detailed what is now expected of BDCs in Nigeria.

The guidelines specify that banks, government agencies, and NGOs are prohibited from having ownership stakes in BDCs. The permissible activities for BDCs include buying and selling foreign currencies, issuing prepaid cards, and acting as cash points for money transfer operators. BDCs are not allowed to take deposits, grant loans, deal in gold, or engage in capital market activities.

In terms of sourcing foreign currencies, BDCs can obtain forex from authorized dealers, travelers, hotels, embassies, and other sources. For large transactions exceeding $10,000, a declaration of the source is required.

Regarding the sale of foreign currencies, BDCs can sell forex for purposes such as travel, medical bills, and school fees, up to specified limits per customer annually. At least 75 percent of the sales must be conducted through electronic transfers, while the remaining 25 percent can be in cash.

There are two tiers of BDCs: Tier 1, which has a national presence with branches and franchises, and Tier 2, which is limited to operating in one state with a maximum of three locations.


BDCs are required to verify the identity of their customers, maintain transaction records, connect to CBN systems, and display rates clearly. They must also submit specified regulatory returns, make their records available for inspection, and comply with the guidelines.


The guidelines also outline standards for Tier 1 BDCs that appoint franchises, covering areas such as policy, monitoring, and branding. Prudential requirements are set for BDCs, including limits on open positions, fixed assets, borrowings, and dividend payments. Additionally, BDCs must comply with anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regulations, with regard to policies, monitoring, and reporting.

The Nigerian naira has recently hit an all-time low of N2,000 against the dollar due to the prevailing economic crisis in the country. In response, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, instructed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS), and other security agencies to crack down on currency speculators in the forex market. This has led to raids on BDCs nationwide and the arrest of some illegal operators.

In a related development, the Central Bank of Nigeria has announced new measures regarding the foreign exchange (FX) rate to be used for Import Duty Assessment.

Read Also: Senate confirms Cardoso, 11 other CBN’s MPC members

The bank has advised that the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant parties should adopt the closing FX rate on the date of opening Form M for the importation of goods as the rate to be used for assessing import duty.

This rate will remain valid until the completion of the importation and clearance of goods by the importers.

This decision the CBN said is intended to provide clarity and reduce uncertainty for both the Nigeria Customs Service and importers, allowing them to better plan and manage their revenue and cost structures amid fluctuating daily exchange rates.


“Effective from February 26, 2024, the closing rate on the date of opening Form M for the importation of goods and services will be the rate applied for the assessment of import duty” the CBN circular read.

This replaces the requirements outlined in Memorandum 9, J (2) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Foreign Exchange Manual (Revised Edition), 2018.

While the Central Bank of Nigeria acknowledges the initial volatility and price distortions following the liberalization of the FX market, it is confident that these reforms will ultimately stabilize the market and establish the necessary market confidence to attract investment capital for the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.

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“It’s A Deceit” — Obi Rejects INEC Explanation On Failed IREV, Describes It As “Medicine After Death”

Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of deceiving Nigerians with report of the poll released earlier on Friday.

In the 526-page report of the 2023 elections, formally released ahead of the first anniversary of the election, INEC explained why the IREV failed to upload the presidential results despite the seamless working of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS).


The commission attributed the challenge to technical glitches, which was, however resolved and that this did not in any way affect the credibility of the elections.

Obi, who spoke through Dr Yunusa Tanko, the Chief Spokesperson, Obi-Datti Campaign Committee, described the report as medicine after death.

“I think the INEC report is medicine after death. The truth about it is that if I didn’t mean that INEC actually deal with this issue as it happened during the election, possibly Nigerians will have believed and trusted this particular report.”

“But here we are, the report of the INEC which signifies that the IREV refused to function or been uploaded during the election is false. Considering the fact that there were three elections that happened on that day, the Federal House of Representatives, the Senate, and the result was uploaded and there was no issue.

“Why must there be issue as regard to the presidential election? So totally for us is deceit, disdain for the people and is trying to promote an indecency,” he said.

He lamented that unfortunately everyone knew when INEC gave a written document, citing that they would not agree with any result that is not posted on the IREV.

“It is documented and everybody saw it. But then this is the same INEC who went again to the Supreme Court citing that they had an authority to collate the result manually and it was stamped on authority on illegality by our judiciary.

“And you want to convince me that that particular issue of glitch was not done deliberately? The truth is that nobody was arrested. Somebody ought to have been arrested who has been saddled with that responsibility.

“And if he is saddled with the responsibility, he must be held responsible and account for why the glitches occur.

“And even if there was a glitch, it’s just like your network taking off. It shouldn’t take up to a whole day. A few seconds it is off, three seconds it is back. Why was the server not back or why is the glitch not resolved?

“So for me and many of us, this is totally unacceptable. The report is deceitful to the Nigerian people. Our electoral Act and electoral law must be revisited to give clarity as regard to the process of our election.

“We don’t want to give any lacuna to any of our election process and give room for the judiciary only to decide who wins election. Election should be done and dusted at the polling units,” he said.

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CAN Youth Calls For Immediate Arrest, Prosecution Of Muslim Cleric Over Hate Speech Targeting wife of the President

The Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) has demanded prompt arrest and public legal proceedings against Muslim Cleric, Idris Abdulaziz Dusen Tenshi.

Naija News reports that the cleric was reportedly advocating for the killing of Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the wife of the President, branding her an “infidel” because of her Christian faith.

This demand was put forth during the 2024 National Prayer Day and the 1st Quarter National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of YOWICAN, held at the National Christian Centre in Abuja on Friday.

The YOWICAN Chairman, Belusochukwu Enwere, articulated the council’s unified viewpoint in a formal communication, underscoring the immediate necessity for governmental and security authorities to intervene.

The communiqué partly stated, “NEC is calling for the immediate arrest of the Muslim Cleric (Idris Abdulaziz Dusen Tenshi) who has called for the killing of the wife of the President, Sen Oluremi A Tinubu, for being a Christian. Describing her as an infidel.

“The NEC is calling for the public prosecution of the cleric and wish to request the said preacher should be restricted from preaching in Nigeria to serve as a deterrent to others.

“The NEC is giving the Federal Government and security agencies to act immediately to avoid the further deterioration of security situation in the country because of the unguided statement/utterance.”

The NEC meeting also addressed comprehensive concerns affecting the nation, including economic challenges faced by citizens amid rising living costs and the deteriorating security situation marked by widespread killings across the country.

YOWICAN emphasized the employment crisis, urging the government to enact targeted policies to tackle youth unemployment, stressing the significance of engaging young individuals in the country’s development endeavours.

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Last modified on Saturday, 24 February 2024 05:14

Reps Orders NAFDAC To Suspend Ban On Sachet Alcoholic Drinks

The House of Representatives Committee on the National Agency on Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has decided to temporarily lift the ban on the sale of spirits and alcoholic drinks in sachets and pet bottles until the investigation is completed.

Chairperson of the House Committee on NAFDAC, Regina Akume, made this announcement in Abuja on Friday following a public hearing on the ban of these products last week.

She emphasized the importance of following proper procedures before imposing a ban, highlighting the necessity of implementing access control measures to prevent children and young people from accessing and consuming alcoholic beverages sold in sachets and pet bottles.

Akume underscored the committee’s responsibility in ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of NAFDAC in promoting job creation and economic development.

She promised to reach a level playing field between NAFDAC and manufacturers that would not be detrimental to children or public safety.

Earlier, the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasized that the prohibition was implemented with the intention of safeguarding the well-being and safety of children, young individuals, and other susceptible populations.

“We tried to protect the market, and that was why we agreed to a five-year moratorium for the manufacturers to phase out alcoholic drinks in sachets and pet bottles in December 2018,” Adeyeye said.

She further explained that the decision was not solely made by NAFDAC but rather a ministerial directive, and now the five-year period has elapsed.

Adeyeye expressed her surprise at the manufacturers’ campaign, despite the agreement to ban alcohol in sachets and pet bottles.

She emphasized that many problems could have been resolved earlier, clarifying that the agency does not oppose the production of alcoholic beverages but rather the packaging in sachets and pet bottles in order to prevent children from having easy access to them.

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Buhari Should Be Blamed For Economic Crisis – Northern Group Tells Nigerians

A Northern group, Civil Society For Credible Election has stated that erstwhile president, Muhammadu Buhari should be blamed for the economic crisis plaguing the nation.

The group lamented that President Bola Tinubu inherited the challenges from his predecessor.

They shared their reservations while addressing newsmen in Kano.

Umar argued that Tinubu had since hit the ground working to reverse the situation through various steps and policies put in place.

He subsequently called on Nigerians to exercise patience with the President as things will be better in no distant time in the country.

According to him, “We recognize the fact that Nigerians are passing through hardship at the moment. It is a result of a global economic meltdown, but only further compounded by some shortcomings of the last administration under former president Muhammadu Buhari.

“What people need to know about Nigeria’s present challenges is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited them from the past administration of former president Buhari but as a determined leader, Tinubu is pulling all strings together to overcome them head-on.

“Nigerians are all living witness to the phantom steps and policies of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address the country’s sociocultural, economic and political indices.

“What President Tinubu need from all Nigerians now is patience, cooperation and understanding of the administration reforms policies. These reforms are strategic and competent enough to in no distant time make all Nigerians proud of their beloved country.”

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