Economy

CBN Admits Printing Money to Boost Allocations to States

Published

5 years ago

16/04/2021

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that one of its functions under the law is printing money to support the government whenever there is a crisis.

The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, while speaking on Thursday in Tunga, Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, said one of its key mandates is to print currency.

Mr Emefiele was reacting to questions posed to him on the revelation by the Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, that the federal government printed N60 billion last month to shore the shortfall in revenue generated in February 2021 shared to the three tiers of government by the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Mr Obaseki had warned that the country was in a serious fiscal crisis and the monetary rascality must be put an end to by the federal government.

But Mr Emefiele rebuffed his name-sake, saying that printing money is a key mandate of the central bank anywhere in the world, adding that the bank must always act to support the government at times of financial difficulties.

“If you understand the concept of printing of money. The concept of printing of money, it’s about lending money; that’s our job – to print. It’s about lending money and so, there’s no need to put the controversy about the printing of money as if we are going into the factory printing the naira and start distributing on the streets,” he was quoted as saying by ThisDay.

“For us to see some people playing some games, overheating his polity talking about the printing of money, I think it is unfortunate and totally inappropriate. I would like to advise that this should stop. We should all work for the growth of our country and not play politics.

“It is very inappropriate for people to just give some colouration to the word printing of money as if it is a foreign word coming from the sky.

“In 2015/2016, we were in a similar [fiscal] situation, but it is far worse today. We provided a budget support facility to all the states of the country and that loan remains unpaid till now.

“We are going to insist on the states paying the loan back since they are effectively accusing us of giving them loans.

“Most countries of the world today are confronted by not just the health crisis from the COVID pandemic but also economic crisis.

“I keep saying this: it would be irresponsible of the central bank of Nigeria or any central bank to stand idle and refuse to support its government at this time. Whatever we do in Nigeria is being done in any clime.

“Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation and we cannot pretend about it in the sense that we are facing problems about productivity output which is gross domestic product (GDP).

“We are working very hard to see how we can get our heads above water. We are also concerned with issues of inflation.”

Obaseki’s Claims

Mr Obaseki on Monday, April 7, 2021, said the country was facing a serious financial crisis and called on the federal government to act quickly.

“When we got FAAC for March, the federal government printed additional N50-N60 billion to top-up for us to share,” he said.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, dismissed the claim, insisting the FAAC allocation was revenue from different agencies of the government.

Mr Obaseki then took to Twitter on Thursday to say the government was “playing the ostrich” and urged the government to take urgent steps to end the current “monetary rascality”.

He wrote, “While we do not want to join issues with the Federal Ministry of Finance, we believe it is our duty to offer useful advice for the benefit of our country.

“The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, should rally Nigerians to stem the obvious fiscal slide facing our country.

“Rather than play the Ostrich, we urge the government to take urgent steps to end the current monetary rascality, so as to prevent the prevailing economic challenge from degenerating further.

“We believe it is imperative to approach the Nigerian project with all sense of responsibility and commitment and not play to the gallery because ultimately, time shall be the judge of us all.”

Economy

PenCom Extends Deadline for Pension Recapitalisation to June 2027

Published

8 hours ago

19/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The deadline for the recapitalisation of the Nigerian pension industry has been extended by six months to June 2027 from December 2026.

This extension was approved by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the agency, which regulates the sector in the country.

Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, the Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, explained that the shift in deadline was to give operators more time to boost the capital base, dismissing speculations that the exercise had been suspended.

“The recapitalisation has not been suspended. We have communicated the requirements to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and we expect every operator to be compliant by June 2027. Anyone who is not compliant by then will lose their licence,” Ms Oloworaran told journalists.

She added that, “From a regulatory standpoint, our major challenge is ensuring compliance. We are working with ICPC, labour and the TUC to ensure employers remit pension contributions for their employees.”

The DG noted that engagements with industry operators indicated broad acceptance of the policy, with many PFAs already taking steps to raise additional capital or explore mergers and acquisitions.

“You may see some mergers and acquisitions in the industry, but what is clear is that the recapitalisation exercise is on track and the industry agrees with us,” she stated.

PenCom wants the PFAs to increase their capital base and has created three categories, with the first consists operators with Assets Under Management of N500 billion and above. They are expected to have a minimum capital of N20 billion and one per cent of AUM above N500 billion.

The second category has PFAs with AUM below N500 billion, which must have at least N20 billion as capital base.

The last segment comprises special-purpose PFAs such as NPF Pensions Limited, whose minimum capital was pegged at N30 billion, and the Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited, whose minimum capital was fixed at N20 billion.

Economy

Three Securities Sink NASD Exchange by 0.68%

Published

8 hours ago

19/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Thursday, December 18.

According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc led the losers’ group after it slipped by N2.87 to N36.78 per share from N39.65 per share, Golden Capital Plc depreciated by 77 Kobo to end at N6.98 per unit versus the previous day’s N7.77 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped 19 Kobo to sell at N60.00 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N60.19 per share.

At the close of business, the market capitalisation lost N16.81 billion to finish at N2.147 billion compared with the preceding session’s N2.164 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 24.76 points to 3,589.88 points from 3,614.64 points.

Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold increased by 49.3 per cent to 30.5 million units from 20.4 million units, the value of securities surged by 211.8 per cent to N225.1 million from N72.2 million, and the number of deals jumped by 33.3 per cent to 28 deals from 21 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value with a year-to-date sale of 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

Similarly, InfraCredit Plc ended as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units exchanged for N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX Index Crosses 150,000 points as Market Cap Nears N96trn

Published

8 hours ago

19/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has again crossed the 150,000-point threshold on Thursday as the demand of for local intensifies.

The market was up by 0.35 per cent during the session, with the NGX index inching higher by 520.23 points to 150,363.05 points from the previous day’s 149,842.82 points and the market capitalisation climbed by N332 billion to N95.857 trillion from N95.525 trillion.

During the session, the consumer goods index grew by 1.23 per cent, the banking counter expanded by 0.56 per cent, and the energy sector appreciated by 0.05 per cent.

However, the insurance industry went down by 0.23 per cent, while the commodity and the industrial goods sectors closed flat.

Nestle Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N1,958.00, Guinness Nigeria improved by 9.98 per cent to N289.70, Aluminium Extrusion Industries rose by 9.76 per cent to N11.25, DAAR Communications soared by 9.20 per cent to 95 Kobo, and Mecure Industries surged by 9.13 per cent to N55.00.

On the flip side, Stanbic IBTC lost 9.33 per cent to settle at N95.20, Lasaco Assurance went down by 9.09 per cent to N2.50, Africa Prudential slipped by 8.82 per cent, Austin Laz depreciated by 8.82 per cent to N12.40, and Sterling Holdings crashed by 6.12 per cent to N6.90.

There were 35 price gainers and 26 price losers yesterday, implying a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

During the session, a total of 839.8 million equities valued at N32.8 billion exchanged hands in 23,211 deals compared with the 5.9 billion equities worth N216.2 billion traded in 25,205 deals a day earlier, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 85.77 per cent, 84.83 per cent, and 7.91 per cent apiece.

The day’s busiest stock was First Holdco with a turnover of 385.6 million units sold for N15.6 billion, FCMB traded 76.0 million units worth N805.3 million, Lasaco Assurance exchanged 43.6 million units valued at N111.8 million, Access Holdings transacted 29.6 million units worth N616.8 million, and Chams sold 24.8 million units valued at N75.4 million.