CBN Supplies $210m to Forex Traders to Strengthen Naira

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Nigerian Naira weakened by 17.9 per cent or N144.49 against the American Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 6 as confidence waned in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) ability to boost the market with enough foreign exchange (FX). Yesterday, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar closed at N951.22/$1 in the official market compared with the preceding session’s rate of N806.73/$1. This happened as the forex turnover slightly went down by 4.9 per cent or $7.05 million to $135.58 million from the $142.63 million reported in the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of fake Naira notes currently in circulation, vowing to prosecute those engaged in the illicit acts. The apex bank in a release signed by Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, the acting Director of Corporate Communications, said the counterfeit notes have been spread by some individuals for transactions in food markets and other places where commerce takes place across the country, noting that this is a punishable offence. “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to the circulation of counterfeit banknotes, especially

By Dipo Olowookere The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Nigeria’s revenue–to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of about 9 per cent was too low to trigger the economic growth projected by President Bola Tinubu in his Renewed Hope Agenda. Addressing journalists at its last press briefing for 2023 on Thursday, the global lender said the administration of Mr Tinubu must boost the government’s revenue to have funds to achieve his goals. On May 29, 2023, Mr Tinubu took over from Mr Muhammadu Buhari, promising to jump-start the economy and work tirelessly to address food security, end hunger, eradicate poverty, create

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira recovered from the previous day’s loss after closing stronger against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 7, by 11.4 per cent or N108.15 to trade at N843.07/$1 compared with the previous day’s rate of N951.22/$1. This occurred as the value of foreign exchange (FX) transactions slightly increased during the session by $1.67 million or 39.5 per cent to $137.25 million from the $135.58 million achieved in the preceding trading session. Similarly, in the official market, the Nigerian Naira strengthened against the British Pound Sterling on Thursday by

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has rubbished claims that he has lately been diverting money from government’s coffers. An aide to the Oyo State Governor-elect, Mr Seyi Makinde, had accused the Mr Ajimobi-led administration of siphoning funds from government’s purse so as to cause financial crisis for him when he eventually takes charge on May 29, 2019. Mr Makinde defeated candidate of Mr Ajimobi’s All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Adebayo Adelabu, in the March 9, 2019 gubernatorial election in Oyo State. Reacting to the allegation, Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Oyo State, Mr Toye

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The sum of N680.7 billion has been shared among the federal government, the 36 state governments and the 774 local government areas of the federation. The money was shared by the three tiers of government after the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, April 22, 2021. It was the first to be held after the Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, alleged that the federal government printed N60 billion to augment the allocation shared in March 2021. According to a report by The Nation, the states and local governments had

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has declared that the bank would limit the amount of cash in circulation, noting that the bank will intensify its cashless policy and ensure that stringent procedures are put in place to discourage cash withdrawals at over-the-counter. According to him, for large withdrawals, customers would have to fill out several forms, which would be aimed at collecting data concerning the use of the funds. Speaking after President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the newly designed Naira notes of the N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations in Abuja, the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Recently, some female entrepreneurs in Nigeria were put through some business expansion strategies by Keystone Bank Limited in partnership with EcsCorps Resources Limited. This was part of efforts to ensure that female small business owners can grow their ventures into corporations, which will, in turn, stimulate huge economic activities like job creations and others. The beneficiaries, over 100 women drawn from across the country, had the opportunity to learn from various experts at a virtual event themed The Incubator Reality: Female Entrepreneurs’ Forum. The role of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in economic development cannot

By Sodeinde Temidayo David President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday asked the Senate to confirm the nomination of Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf for appointment as the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This information was disclosed by the Senate President, Mr Ahmad Lawan, when he read a letter from Mr Buhari on the floor of the red chamber of the National Assembly. This is coming after Mr Buhari had earlier named Justice Baba-Yusuf as the Acting Chief Judge of the FCT. It could also be recalled that in August, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, swore in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has been described by the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, as God’s gift to Nigeria. Mr Ambode said this on Wednesday as the renowned man of God clocks 75 on Thursday, March 2, 2017. The Governor, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Habib Aruna, said Mr Adeboye is a minister of God who has over the years exhibited an unrivalled passion to expand the work of God and humanity at large. He said that aside the fact that the

By Adedapo Adesanya The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has completed the acquisition of a data firm, Refinitiv, for £20billion ($27 billion). The deal creates a company to rival the likes of Bloomberg, S&P Global and Intercontinental Exchange in everything from data to clearing and trading. The Refinitiv takeover includes taking on the data provider’s net debt of £9 billion, while the investors selling Refinitiv, led by US private equity giant, Blackstone, will get a 37 per cent stake. Speaking on the deal, LSE chief executive officer, Mr David Schwimmer, explained that his main focus was now on completing the integration

By Adedapo Adesanya   Warns unlicensed dealers of illegal operations Promises to carry out further investigation The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), after a preliminary investigation, has revealed the cause of the Kaduna gas explosion, saying the unfortunate incident was as a result of illegal decanting (transfer) of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) into another cylinder by operators of the facility. This disclosure was made by Mr Paul Osu, Head, Public Affairs, DPR in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos, adding that the agency commiserated with the families affected by the unfortunate incident. He further said that the gas explosion