Economy
Currency Swap Deadline Extension Shows Emefiele Misled Buhari—Doguwa
By Dipo Olowookere
The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr Alhassan Ado Doguwa, has accused the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, of misleading President Muhammadu Buhari on the Naira redesign policy.
On October 26, 2022, Mr Emefiele announced that the bank would change the look of the N200, N500, and N1,000 currency notes. The president unveiled the new notes a month later before hitting circulation last month.
During the announcement, the CBN chief said the old banknotes would cease to be legal tender in Nigeria from January 31, 2023, but last Sunday, Mr Buhari approved an extension of 10 additional days.
While speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Mr Ado Doguwa said the lower chamber of the National Assembly would not accept the 10-day extension because it violates the laws of the land.
The green chamber had asked the central bank Governor to extend the deadline by six months to July 31, 2023, to allow more Nigerians to return their old notes, especially because the new currency notes were still very scarce.
At the programme monitored by Business Post, the lawmaker accused Mr Emefiele of misleading President Buhari on the policy, emphasising that this was why he approved the 10-day extension.
“You see, Mr President may have been presented with a misleading briefing [on the policy], which may have made him act in the wrong direction by approving it.
“It (the extension) goes to confirm to you that if the President were actually briefed ab initio of the implications of the Naira redesign, he would not have come now to extend the deadline by 10 days, which means there is an issue.
“If the President were initially given the correct information of the policy with a specified deadline, certainly, he would not have made a U-turn to extend it. We are even saying the 10-day extension is not the position of the law and is not acceptable to the parliament because it contradicts the law.
“The CBN Act says when there is a redesign of the Naira notes, the old and the new currency notes are allowed to operate side-by-side until the old notes naturally vanish from circulation,” the lawmaker stated.
“I am sure Mr President will be one humble leader to understand when he is misled, and he should be able to come now to look at the right thing and take the right decision like he is doing now,” Mr Doguwa, who doubles as the Chairman of the House Adhoc Committee, added.
He further said the CBN did not consult with the National Assembly before redesigning the currency banknotes.
“The constitution of Nigeria says the central bank, being an institution of the land, must, at all times when it wants to embark on a new policy, must consult relevant committees or the leadership of the National Assembly.
“They did in the case of the cashless policy. You remember we invited them, the Governor was not able to attend, he sent the deputy governor to explain everything to us.
“But I want to tell you that for the Naira redesign, we were not consulted. It was purely their business and we believe this policy will affect the economy, the security of the nation and the forthcoming general elections. In fact, why change the Naira just some days before the election,” he said.
When asked if he suspects the election is being scuttled with the policy, he responded, “Yes, for someone who wanted to partake in the (APC) presidential primary. So, I won’t be surprised that he is doing all these to scuttle the polls.
“You don’t limit the amount of cash with politicians about 30 days to an election. Even INEC, and security officials will need cash for logistics and others. Their allowances are also paid in cash. So, I wonder how you create this problem at a critical period. I believe this move is political.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
For the fourth consecutive trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher on Friday by 0.63 per cent on sustained renewed buying pressure.
Apart from the energy and industrial goods sectors which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory, according to data obtained from the bourse.
Business Post reports that the insurance index appreciated by 1.52 per cent, the banking space improved by 0.63 per cent, and the consumer goods counter expanded by 0.46 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 617.47 points to settle at 99,378.06 points compared with the preceding day’s 98,760.59 points and the market capitalisation went up by 375 billion to close at N60.242 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s closing value of N59.867 trillion.
The volume of transactions on Customs Street yesterday grew by 11.13 per cent to 544.2 million shares from the 489.7 million shares transacted a day earlier.
The value of transactions increased during the session by 49.30 per cent to N10.6 billion from N7.1 billion and the number of deals went up by 1.93 per cent to 8,464 deals from the 8,304 deals posted in the previous trading session.
The busiest equity for the trading day was Japaul with the sale of 71.7 million units valued at N158.0 million, eTranzact exchanged 70.7 million units worth N477.5 million, Tantalizers sold 57.3 million units for N101.2 million, FCMB traded 33.0 million units worth N297.3 million, and Universal Insurance transacted 27.1 million units valued at N9.6 million.
A total of 36 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 15 stocks finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Aradel Holdings, Ikeja Hotel and Caverton gained 10.00 per cent each to trade at N550.00, N8.80, and N1.98, respectively, as Africa Prudential rose by 9.87 per cent to N17.25 and Golden Guinea Breweries soared by 9.64 per cent to N8.64.
On the flip side, Austin Laz lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1.62, ABC Transport crashed by 8.00 per cent to N1.15, Royal Exchange slumped by 7.69 per cent to 60 Kobo, Secure Electronic Technology plunged by 5.26 per cent to 54 Kobo, and The Initiates crumbled by 4.26 per cent to N2.25.
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