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Again, ABCON raises concern over naira hoarding, speculation

Ehime ALEX
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Again, ABCON raises concern over naira hoarding, speculation

THE Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has again warned economic saboteurs who are speculating and hoarding the naira to desist from such actions amid the recent naira depreciation.

ABCON has raised several concerns about naira speculation and hoarding. It accused Binance, a borderless foreign exchange trade platform, of significantly influencing Nigeria’s currency market and determining its direction.

The reactions that followed the accusation were Binance’s suspension of its trading platform to Nigerians, the government slam of $10 billion compensation on the platform, and the subsequent arrest of two of its senior executives who are currently being tried in court.

The move saw the naira, which lost value to over N1,900 against the dollar, appreciate to about N1,000 after the clampdown. Still, the naira has returned to depreciating against the dollar in recent weeks.

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In the just-concluded week, the naira depreciated against the dollar after opening at N1,169.99 at the official window on Monday, April 22, and closing at N1,339.23 on Friday, April 26. At the parallel (black) market, the naira also slightly depreciated against the dollar when it closed at N1,290 on Friday from N1,245 on Monday.

In a statement on Friday, April 26, ABCON president Aminu Gwadabe expressed hope that the association would establish a unified retail-end forex market to tackle volatility and boost regulatory compliance among Bureau De Change (BDC) operators.

The strategic plan meant to unify operators from different cadres of the market would include the inauguration of state chapters for market coordination to ensure integration and administration of a united market structure in the BDC sub-sector.

He said ABCON would deploy technology to help fight the sabotage of CBN’s reforms.

Gwadabe said the new blueprint for a united retail end forex market structure would ensure the deployment of a centralised, democratised, and liberalised online real-time trading platform.

“Finally, we also condemned in its entirety the seemingly reappearance of illegal economic behaviours in forex conversion and P2P (person-to-person) trading that poses another recent surprises in naira volatility.

“I therefore want to warn that while surprises are the new normal, resilience is also the new skill.”

The ABCON boss expressed confidence in the efforts of the Central Bank and relevant security agencies to adopt measures to deal with any saboteurs and retain successes recorded on naira appreciation.

“It is, therefore, in our own interest to desist from hoarding and speculation as it is a bubble and will burst in no distance time,” he said.

He hinted that ABCON would extend its automation policies and platforms to all BDC operators across Nigeria markets and upgrade its Business Process Platform, formerly SAAZ Master.

Gwadabe also said the association would sustain its engagement with regulatory agencies, security operatives, and other government apparatus to entrench a secure and thriving forex market supporting regulation and government.

“Part of our vision for a united retail-end forex market include activating geo=mapping and automated BDCs physical office verification exercise using the remote gravity physical verification apps.

“This will enable forex buyers to easily locate where BDCs offices are for effective and seamless transactions,” he said.

Gwadabe continued that the vision for a united retail-end forex market would help provide market intelligence reports, enhance the local and global image of BDCs and other stakeholders and market operators, and boost employment generation.

He noted that it would also create a well-structured, transparent, and competitive platform to combat the menace of unlicensed platforms like Binance, Aboki FX, and ByBit.

The ICIR reports that ABCON’s primary goal is to ensure forex availability to the critical retail end of the forex market and bridge the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates.

Since assuming office last year, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has repeatedly said the apex bank was pursuing true price discovery for the naira.

Court summons EFCC chair for alleged contempt over Yahaya Bello

Bankole ABE
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Court summons EFCC chair for alleged contempt over Yahaya Bello

A KOGI  State High Court sitting in Lokoja has summoned the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, to provide justification for why he should not be subjected to committal order for allegedly breaking a court order regarding the state’s former governor Yahaya Bello.

The court ordered Olukoyede to appear before it on May 13.  

The EFCC boss is facing a contempt charge for carrying out “some acts upon which they (the EFCC) have been restrained” by the court on February 9, pending the determination of the substantive originating motion.

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The judge, I. A. Jamil, in his ruling in suit no: HCL/68M/2024 and motion no: HCL/190M/2024, requested that “the said act was carried out by the respondent (EFCC) in violation of the order, which was valid and subsisting when they carried out the act. 

The judge’s decision was based on a motion ex-parte that Bello filed through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf, asking the court to issue and serve Form 49 Notice, which requires the respondent (the EFCC chairman) to justify why an order of committal on him should not be imposed.

After hearing the applicant’s attorney’s arguments, reviewing the written address submission, and reviewing the evidence, Jamil granted Bello’s requests and ordered Olukoyede to be called before the court to address the contempt charge.

The ICIR reported that EFCC operatives stormed Bello’s Abuja home on Wednesday, April 17, to arrest him.

The planned arrest on the alleged sleaze he perpetrated while in office.

However, the arrest was unsuccessful, as multiple reports say the Kogi State governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, smuggled out the former governor. 

Ododo drove into Bello’s residence while the EFCC surrounded the building.

According to reports, the development forced the commission’s operatives to leave Bello’s residence.

The ICIR reported that there was confusion when the EFCC obtained a warrant for Bello’s arrest from a Federal High Court in Abuja after another judgment from the Kogi State High Court prevented the commission from enforcing the arrest.

The Abuja order was in preparation for his planned arraignment on Thursday, April 18, though he had not yet been arrested.

Emeka Nwite, a justice of the Federal High Court, granted Bello’s arrest warrant on Wednesday, April 17, at the EFCC’s request.

The Abuja ruling contradicted the judgement obtained by Bello in Kogi State.

The Kogi order restrained the commission from arresting, detaining, and prosecuting the state’s former governor.

The EFCC is prosecuting Bello and others on an amended 17-count charge of money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of N84 billion.

After failing to appear in court, the EFCC declared Bello wanted.

Nigerian Breweries’ operational loss widens by 386% in Q1

Ehime ALEX
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Nigerian Breweries’ operational loss widens by 386% in Q1

NIGERIAN Breweries (NB) Plc’s net loss increased by 386.13 per cent to N52.09 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.

The consumer goods company temporarily shut two of its nine factories in 2023 following an operational net loss of N106 billion.

The Managing Director, Hans Essaadi, told journalists in Lagos at a conference earlier this month that the loss resulted from naira depreciation, high inflation, foreign exchange (FX) challenges, and diminished consumer disposable income.

As a result, NB has planned to raise N600 billion through a rights issue, among other strategic decisions.

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Essaadi stressed that the business recovery plan entailed a rights issue, a review of the company’s current organisational structure and size, the temporary suspension of operations in two of its nine breweries, and optimisation of production capacity in the other seven breweries—some of which have received significant capital investment in recent years.

Despite the strategic plans the company said it was implementing, its operational performance has continued in a loss streak.

In its Q1 financial statements released on Friday, April 26, NB posted a net loss of N52.09 billion, relative to the N10.72 billion loss reported in Q1 2023.

In a statement on Friday, NB blamed its Q1 loss on increased interest rates resulting from upward adjustments in monetary policy rates and continued volatility in the foreign exchange market.

A check by The ICIR showed that NB’s negative performance arose significantly from its borrowing costs (finance expenses) to creditors, representing expenses outside its core business.

The company reported N90.85 billion in negative net finance costs in the review quarter, which rose by 370.2 per cent from N19.32 billion in Q1 2022, as its finance expenses exceeded its income.

A net finance cost is the difference between financing the purchase of an asset (finance expenses) and the asset’s cash yield (finance income). Negative net finance costs occur when the expenses exceed the income.

“Looking forward, while the Nigerian business environment remains turbulent in the short term, we maintain our unwavering belief in the country’s positive long-term market fundamentals.

“We are committed to navigating these challenges with the implementation of our business recovery plan, which is a business-wide reorganisation programme involving the optimisation of our operations for efficiency and capital injection via a rights issue with a view to improving our financial position,” NB said.

In August 2023, The ICIR reported losses of most fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, including Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Sugar Refinery, and Cadbury Nigeria.

Brain drain: Less than 45% of registered doctors in Nigeria renew licence – MDCN

Ijeoma OPARA
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Brain drain: Less than 45% of registered doctors in Nigeria renew licence – MDCN

THE Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) said less than 45 per cent of registered doctors in Nigeria renewed their annual licence in 2023.

The MDCN Deputy-Registrar Victor Kolawole disclosed this at the induction/oath-takingceremony of the 2022/2023 Batch B Medicine and Surgery graduates of the Edo State University on Friday, April 26.

He noted that out of 130,000 doctors registered since 1963, only 58,000 renewed their licenses.

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Kolawole attributed the decline to the emigration of doctors and appealed to the inductees to remain in Nigeria and practice the profession.

He also urged the inductees to uphold the sanctity of the profession and called on the governor to improve facilities at the University Teaching Hospital.

“It is noteworthy that Edo State University Teaching Hospital Auchi is the first state-owned teaching hospital in Edo. I respectfully urge the state government to sustain efforts towards improving facilities at Edo State University Teaching Hospital, Auchi,” he said.

Doctors have continued to emigrate from Nigeria in search of greener pastures.

In 2018, it was reported that at least 12 Nigerian doctors were registered in the United Kingdom weekly.

The emigration of doctors has been a source of concern for Nigerians, as the country currently has a doctor-patient ratio of only about one doctor to every 2,220 people.

In 2023, Nigeria’s House of Representatives passed a bill seeking to amend the MDCN Act to prevent Nigeria-trained medical or dental practitioners from being granted full licenses until they have worked for a minimum of five years in the country.

The bill was met with stiff resistance by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) as doctors threatened to go on strike, citing poor working conditions and inadequate remuneration for medical practitioners in the country as significant reasons for the emigration.

Benin, Liberia, Sierra-Leone join five other African countries to roll out malaria vaccine

Mustapha USMAN
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Benin, Liberia, Sierra-Leone join five other African countries to roll out malaria vaccine

The World Health Organisation has commended Benin, Liberia, and Sierra Leone for launching a ‘large-scale rollout’ of a life-saving malaria vaccine, targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. 

The vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks further to scale up vaccine deployment in the African region, according to the global health body.

This new development increased the number of countries on the continent offering the malaria vaccine as part of their childhood immunisation programmes to eight.

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Between 2019 and July 2023, the malaria vaccine, the RTS, S/AS01, was administered to more than 1.7 million children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. 

The vaccine has since reached over 2 million children from 2019 to December 2023, showing a significant reduction in malaria illness, a 13 per cent drop in overall child mortality, and substantial reductions in hospitalisations in the three countries. 

The WHO noted that since 2019, Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi had been implementing the vaccine through the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme and had demonstrated its safety and efficacy in reducing severe malaria and child mortality. 

The initiative is coordinated by WHO and funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund, and Unitaid.

Meanwhile, WHO said that several of the over 30 countries in the African region had expressed interest in the vaccine and were scheduled to roll it out in the next year through support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as efforts continue to widen its deployment in the region.

WHO stated that Benin, which received 215 900 doses, had added the malaria vaccine to its Expanded Programme on Immunization. The vaccine should be given in four doses to children around five months of age.

“The introduction of the malaria vaccine in the Expanded Programme on Immunization for our children is a major step forward in the fight against this scourge. I would like to reassure that the malaria vaccines are safe and effective and contribute to the protection of our children against this serious and fatal diseases,” said Benjamin Hounkpatin, a professor and Minister of Health of Benin.

According to WHO, the vaccine rollout commenced in Liberia’s southern Rivercess County and is scheduled to extend to five additional counties with significant malaria prevalence.

An estimated 45,000 children are anticipated to receive benefits from the 112,000 doses of the vaccine currently available.

Also, in Sierra Leone, the first doses were administered to children at a health centre in Western Area Rural, where the authorities kicked off the rollout of 550,000 vaccine doses. The vaccine will then be delivered to health facilities nationwide. 

“With the new, safe and efficacious malaria vaccine, we now have an additional tool to fight this disease. In combination with insecticide-treated nets, effective diagnosis and treatment, and indoor spraying, no child should die from malaria infection,” said Austin Demby, a doctor and Minister of Health of Sierra Leone.

The ICIR reports that malaria remains a huge health challenge in the African region, with the region accounting for 94 per cent of global malaria cases and 95 per cent of all malaria deaths in 2022, according to the World Malaria Report 2023.

Challenges in the fight against Malaria

WHO said in a statement commemorating International World Malaria Day that the fight against Malaria in African countries has stalled since 2017.

The ICIR also reported that despite concerted efforts and interventions, Nigeria continues to face significant challenges in its fight against the disease.

Some of the factors cited by WHO and the health experts who spoke to The ICIR include climate change, humanitarian crises, low access to and insufficient quality of health services, gender-related barriers, biological threats such as insecticide, drug resistance and global economic crises. 

They also identified a lack of state ownership, poor budgetary allocations, and high out-of-pocket expenditures as contributing factors.

Burkina Faso bans BBC, VOA over mass killing reportage

Itoro ETUKUDO
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Burkina Faso bans BBC, VOA over mass killing reportage

THE government of Burkina Faso has suspended the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA) radio stations for reporting mass executions of civilians by the country’s military forces, as detailed in a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.

According to the country’s Superior Council for Communication (CSC) spokeswoman, Tonssira Myrian Corine Sanou, both radio stations would be suspended for two weeks, warning other media networks to avoid reporting the story.

“The programmes of these two international radio networks broadcasting from Ouagadougou have been suspended for a period of two weeks”, she announced.

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The CSC spokeswoman further added that BBC Africa and the United States-funded VOA had also published the report on their digital platforms, stating that the report by HRW contained “peremptory and tendentious declarations against the Army likely to create public disorder and it had hasty and biased declarations without tangible proof against the Burkinabe Army”.

The CSC also noted that the country’s internet service providers had been ordered to suspend access to the websites and other digital platforms of the BBC, VOA and HRW from Burkina Faso.

According to HRW’s findings, the massacre seemed to be a part of a larger military operation against civilians who were thought to be working with armed organizations.

The report revealed that about 44 people, including 20 children, were slaughtered by the nation’s military in Nondin village, while 179 people, including 36 children, were killed in nearby Soro village of Thiou district in the northern Yatenga province.

Ondo poll: ‘We will defeat APC roundly’, PDP boasts

Mustapha USMAN
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Ondo poll: ‘We will defeat APC roundly’, PDP boasts

FOLLOWING the emergence of the former deputy governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, the party has boasted that it was on its way back to power.

The party’s publicity secretary,  Kennedy Peretei, said this while speaking with The ICIR on Friday, April 26.

Ajayi, who served under the late governor Rotimi Akeredolu, picked the party’s ticket on Thursday, April 25, having defeated six other aspirants at the primary held in Akure, the state capital.

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Akeredolu and Ajayi parted ways after an unresolved feud at the end of the late governor’s first term in 2020.

Akeredolu picked the incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as his running mate instead of continuing with Ajayi in the 2020 poll.

Coincidentally, Aiyedatiwa who succeeded Akeredolu after his demise on December 27, 2023 is the candidate of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), for the November 16 election.

In 2020, Ajayi defected from the All Progressives Congress to the PDP and subsequently joined the Zenith Labour Party in his bid to become the state governor but lost to Akeredolu. 

Common things between Ajayi, Aiyedatiwa

Both leaders served as deputy governors under the late Akeredolu.

Ajayi served as the chairman of the House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from 2007 to 2010, when he was in the House of Representatives. Aiyedatiwa was the Ondo State’s representative on the NDDC Board from 2018 to 2019.

They are both from the Ondo South senatorial district.

They are both in their 50s (quinquagenarian). Agboola is 55, and Aiyedatiwa is 59.

Controversies continue to trails APC primary

The ICIR reported that Aiyedatiwa was declared the winner of the APC primary on April 22.

The primary committee chairman and Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo, declared him the winner, having gathered 48,569 votes. He edged out his fellow contender, Mayowa Akinfolarin, who polled 15,343 votes, while Olusola Oke came third with 14,865 votes.

Although several contestants alleged that the election was married with irregularities, Ododo said the exercise went on “smoothly”, with little skirmishes recorded.

In addition, some party supporters staged protests in Akure, calling for the cancellation of the primary and removal of Ododo as the committee chairman.

PDP vows to unseat APC

Meanwhile, speaking with The ICIR, the PDP publicity secretary in the state said the party was ready to give the ruling party a run for its money.

Responding to a question on suspected friendship between between Agboola and Aiyedatiwa which might not make the election very competitive, Peretei said, “Do you know that all the 16 people that contested in the APC are from the South? Do you know that even the seven who contested from the PDP are all from the South?

“Seven plus 16 is 23. All the 23 are from the South. They are all kinsmen. All of them are kinsmen. There is no issue of being friends, they can’t fight each other. It’s a political warefare. We are saying that APC has not done well to deserve another term in government. The PDP is going to give them a run for their money.”

Asked if there were aggrieved aspirants in his party as the APC recorded after its primary, he said, “Not to my knowledge. This is because the process was free and fair. The delegates were known two weeks before the primaries. Nobody was in the dark.”

When reminded that the PDP had not been in power for nearly a decade in the state and there could be challenges with its structures, especially at the local level, he said “We’ll defeat them (the APC) roundly.”

CJID seeks delegates for journalism, digital tech, AI dialogue

Blessing Amala Muonwe
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CJID seeks delegates for journalism, digital tech, AI dialogue

THE Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) is inviting journalists interested in digital technology and AI to attend its dialogue on the intersection of journalism, digital technology, and artificial intelligence (AI).

During the dialogue, experts will discuss the intersection of these fields and strategies for navigating digital disruption, harnessing the power of AI, and ensuring the continued vitality of the media ecosystem.

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The programme is scheduled for May 27-28, 2024, in Abuja and will be hosted by the (CJID).

All interested applicants in Nigeria are welcome to apply, as the CJID has limited and highly competitive travel or accommodation support for some selected delegates outside Abuja.

The deadline for applications is May 6, 2024.

To apply, click here

 

 

 

Naira depreciation pushes Customs duty rate by 11% in 2 days

Harrison EDEH
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Naira depreciation pushes Customs duty rate by 11% in 2 days

THE latest naira depreciation has resulted in import duty spike as Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) exchange rate for import duty collection has risen by 11.0 per cent.

A check by The ICIR showed that the duty has risen from N1,150/$ charged on Tuesday, April 23, to N1,277.52/$ on Thursday, April 25.

This is according to the latest update on the customs exchange rate window.

The rise indicates an increase of N127.36 within the two days.

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The 11 per cent rise is coming on the heels of concerns about an incessant increase in Customs duty. Economic analysts have urged the government to have a fixed rate on duty payment, which would reduce inflation.

“Let the Central Bank of Nigeria have a fixed rate for import duty. It will help to moderate inflation rise which is causing lots of problems to the economy,” an economist and the former Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf, told The ICIR.

The constant adjustments of exchange duty enable ‘price gouging’ by businesses instead of allowing traditional market fundamentals to determine the price of goods.

This development does not sit well with manufacturers who had, on several occasions, engaged the government on this while seeking a rate that would remove uncertainties in the prices of commodities.

“It will lead to moderate cost of production and raw materials inputs, and it will bring down the cost of end products and increase the volume of sales. More production and sales means more revenue for the government and overall moderate inflation,” the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Segun Ajayi-Kadir told The ICIR.

Notably, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had previously announced that the exchange rate indicated on the Form M application date would be used for duty collection calculations.

Collaborating closely with the CBN, the NCS regularly updates the exchange rate to synchronise with the official market rate on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, consequently leading to frequent adjustments in the rate.

The exchange rate for Customs import duties collection has steadily increased after the naira depreciated from a peak of N1612.28/$ earlier in March to just over 1,100, occasioned by the strengthening of the naira.

The Customs duty has risen more than six times under President Bola Tinubu, prompting concerns about its impact on the rise of commodity prices and growing food inflation at 40 per cent.

However, the exchange rate has steadily risen since the naira depreciated last week.

On April 21, the exchange rate stood at N1,150 from N1,147 because of the marginal weakening of the naira.

On Thursday, the naira closed on the official window at N1329.4 to the greenback, according to data from the CBN.

The naira slumped 17 per cent to a one-month low at N1,300/$1 on the official window on Wednesday, April 24.

 

Abuja school to refund $760,000 advance fee paid by Yahaya Bello for his children

Bankole ABE
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Abuja school to refund $760,000 advance fee paid by Yahaya Bello for his children

THE American International School Abuja (AISA) has sought to refund the $760,000 advance fee paid by the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, for his children.

In a letter, the school asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for “authentic banking details” to refund the fee.

The EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had alleged that Bello paid $720,000 in advance as fee for five of his children from the Kogi State government coffers.

The fee was to take care of their education for years.

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Bello is currently battling a corruption case worth N80.2 billion with the EFCC.

The EFCC had trailed the transaction between Bello and the school before the school issued its letter in 2022.

Reacting to the EFCC’s demand for the money in a letter dated October 24, 2022, the school stated that since it had already deducted the cost of the educational services, it would only refund $760,910.

The school said $845.8 in tuition and other fees has been deposited into its account since September 7, 2021.

The school noted, “We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the state after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84.”

It claimed in a statement signed by Greg Hughes that “Ali Bello contacted the school on Friday, August 13, 2021, requesting to pay the family school fees in advance until the students graduate from high school,” 

Bello has been on EFCC’s radar over corruption charges.

The commission’s operatives stormed Bello’s Abuja home on Wednesday, April 17, to arrest him.

The planned arrest on the alleged sleaze he perpetrated while in office.

His house in the Wuse Zone 4 area of the nation’s capital was cordoned off as the operatives made spirited attempts to gain entry.

However, the arrest was unsuccessful, as multiple reports say the Kogi State governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, smuggled out the former governor. 

Ododo drove into Bello’s residence while the EFCC surrounded the building Wednesday afternoon.

According to reports, the development forced the commission’s operatives to leave Bello’s residence.

The ICIR reported on March 15 that the EFCC filed charges against Bello, his nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Sulaiman, and Abdulsalam Hudu for alleged N84 billion money laundering.

The case was initiated before James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

The EFCC is prosecuting Bello and others on an amended 17-count charge of money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of N84 billion.

After failing to appear in court, the EFCC declared Bello wanted.

The anti-corruption Agency revealed this on its verified Facebook handle on Thursday, April 18. 

The photograph of the former governor was displayed with the inscription ‘WANTED’ in the notice.

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