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Economy

FG Must Scrap Petroleum Equalisation Fund—Oyegbami

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By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Author of ‘Reversing the Rot in Nigeria,’ Mr Olusegun Oyegbami, has condemned Federal Government for shielding the fraud behind the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), saying the PEF policy should be stopped.

Mr Oyegbami, who has spent more than four decades in the Nigeria petroleum downstream sector, described former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari as the co-founder of Nigeria’s woes.

“The Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) was put in place in early 1976 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo was Head of State and current President Muhammadu Buhari was the Petroleum Minister, and the intention might have been honest to let everybody have equal access to the petroleum product but equal access should not have been the mantra we should follow but equitable access.

“That is to say if you are in a particular place where you are close to the petrol, then you can buy it slightly cheaper but it should be available to everybody in that location at same price,” the author said.

Mr Oyegbami expressed further that the whole idea in economics is that Nigeria government operates on a comparative advantage and localization of citizens’ advantage.

“When you are in a place like Warri or Port Harcourt and when we are talking about importation, Lagos where the petrol lands should necessarily be cheaper than other places where they come to pick that petrol but where government is now paying to transport petrol to far places that is where the fraud comes into it, which make us to be running a non-economic platform, it is very wrong. Until we change this, Nigeria can never make any progress.

“Because it is looking like government is favouring those people transporting the petrol to their places at government expense, this should not happen and this is what has been happening for more than 40 to 42 years and until we change that, we cannot get it right as a country. I am very convinced about this, you run an economy on an economic template and not as a social platform,” he said.

Discussing fuel subsidy, Mr Oyegbami said the government has never subsidized fuel for its citizens for one day.

“The price at which petrol has been coming in has always been the economic price and up until the PEF scam came in, the money being collected started to be more than what has been voted out of the purse of fixing the price.

“It is like when you increase the price from N1 to N1.50k maybe before they use to allocate 5k out of that N1 for transportation but when it is now N1.50k they will add another 5k to transportation cost so that they will now have more money to pay for transportation and 10k will now be used for transportation.

“So, they have not subsidized the price of petrol as at that time, all they have subsidized is transportation of the product to distant locations. So, it was when, often time when the price began to sky rocket to N100 they now decided that because we are bringing it in at N80 we are going to be giving you additional money, but all the extras are being added to cost of transportation.

“Constantly, the cost of transportation that is the bridging element in the price builds up, that is what always goes up steadily.

“I am telling you that out of N145 as the cost of petrol today, N6.20K is still allocated for transportation.

“Why? It means that anybody using fuel down south is still paying N6.20k more than he should have paid. This is now gathered together to transport petrol to other parts of the country, especially the North.

“It is really an economic matter that the south should not continuously right from over 42 years ago be paying for transporting fuel to the North, because come to think of it whatever is coming from the North always has its own element of transportation that the South pays for. We have never eaten beef, cow, yam at the same price as the north.

“It is purely an economic matter, it is when you are looking at it from political angle that you will say this man is trying to incite one tribe against the other, No, it is purely economics. These are elements of deception that we have been having in this country. Sometime in the second republic, some people were arrested for ‘smuggling’ beans from Bida to Oyo. That is funny.

“Nigeria government should let the Nigerians trade fairly among themselves, if we are going to trade in petrol take the petrol at the available price at the depots, add your own transport cost and sell it there, we will have normalcy in this economy within a year or two but now we still have deception and manipulation going on even right now because anybody who is buying petrol in Lagos is still paying N6.20k for carrying it to the north, it is wrong. That should stop.

“It is when this manipulation stops then we know this government of Buhari is ready to fight corruption, because the same Buhari started the PEF far back then and he’s still protecting it till today, until we stop that before we know he is actually dealing with corruption honestly and he’s treating all Nigerians fairly across board. But for now, No, that is not happening,”

When asked about the inspiration behind written the book, Mr Oyegbami said the death of his mother, more than anything else, epitomizes the transience of existence because it is the departure of spaceship into the horizon.

“You feel lost and marooned leading to a compulsion and resolve to improve things in your society because the inevitability of my own imminent departure is more palpable”.

He said the feeling gave him rise to the writing of ‘Reversing The Rot In Nigeria’ a critical exposé on the nation’s Cul-de-sac.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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Economy

Trump Tariffs: Nigeria Faces Lower FX Earnings, Higher Tariffs on Wheat, Cars

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nigeria USA

By Adedapo Adesanya

President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed reciprocal tariffs on imports from all countries of the world.  This has been regarded as the biggest shake-up in the international trading system in decades and has the propensity to significantly affect trade.

According to the US government, there will be a baseline levy of 10 per cent on all imports and far higher tariffs on many key trading partners.

The Trump administration said, “For years, hard working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense.”

Nigeria, a key trade partner of imports and exports, faces 27 per cent in US tariffs and a 14 per cent reciprocal tariff.

Giving a breakdown of how this may impact countries particularly on the continent, African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) in a research published on Thursday noted that these tariffs could reduce export revenues, increase production costs, and disrupt investment flows, particularly for nations heavily reliant on US trade.

For Nigeria, it could affect some key exports like crude oil, cocoa, and rubber as well as impact imports like wheat, refined petroleum, and vehicles.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the US was Nigeria’s fourth top trading partner by import as it carried out 6.4 per cent of its total imports from the US, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) valued at N1.055 trillion.

As a result of this relationship, this development could lead to challenges such as reduced oil demand which could lower the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

It could also lead to higher tariffs on wheat, which translates to Nigerians facing higher cost of food particularly bread, noodles, and pastries.

Imported vehicles are not exempt, as the cost of buying cars will increase as importers look to cover their profit margins.

“Impact: Reduced oil demand could lower forex earnings, while higher tariffs on wheat and vehicles could raise local prices,” it said in a post published on X (formerly Twitter).

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Economy

NASD OTC Bourse Weakens 0.23%

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Nigeria's Unlisted Securities Market Sheds 0.78%, NASD Shares up 8.31%

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.23 per cent on Wednesday, April 2, after the market resumed from a two-day holiday observed on Monday and Tuesday.

There were three price gainers and three price losers at the first trading session of the new week and month.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost 23 Kobo during the trading day to close at N36.50 per unit compared with last Friday’s N36.73 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc went down by 22 Kobo to sell at N2.48 per share versus N2.70 per share, and Food Concepts Plc slipped by 13 Kobo to end at N1.17 per unit, in contrast to last Friday’s closing price of N1.30 per unit.

On the flip side, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc grew by 23 Kobo yesterday to end at N2.63 per share compared with the preceding day’s N2.40 per share, IPWA Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to 55 Kobo per unit from N50 Kobo per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc marginally increased by 1 Kobo to close at 36 Kobo per share versus 35 Kobo per share.

When trading activities ended for the day, the market capitalisation lost N4.45 billion to settle at N1.910 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.915 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) shed 7.71 points to 3,308.46 points from 3,316.17 points.

During the session, the volume of securities transacted by investors increased by 625.8 per cent to 9.1 million units from the 1.3 million units, but the value of transactions went down by 17.5 per cent to N7.2 million from N8.8 million, and the number of deals rose by 100 per cent to 22 deals from 11 deals.

Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 70.2 million units sold for N23.8 million, and Geo Fluids Plc with 44.2 million units valued at N89.4 million.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, with the sale of 13.7 million units valued at N529.1 million, was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date), trailed by Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.8 million units sold for N364.2 million.

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Economy

The Rising Attraction of Crypto Presales

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crypto presales

Crypto presales have become a fundamental pillar within the blockchain fundraising landscape, providing a vantage point to investors for outstanding buying opportunities even before public and secondary markets. Due to these presales, the investor can avail discounted prices for tokens and acquire significant returns on the investment in case the project takes off afterward. For those with an eye on presale crypto, it’s believed that getting to either an illegal or an unreliable presale is pretty hard; thus every avenue must be exploited. Consequently, then, in the world of cryptocurrencies, presale has turned out to be a crucial modality for both developers and investors to somehow pave the way for seeding even better alternatives.

What Do You Mean By Crypto Presale?

Presales are the early fundraising events conducted by blockchain projects that let them sell their native tokens to a limited class of investors before they make an official public offer at retail or before listing on the exchanges. Here, the ones who are privileged to participate are on a whitelisting that mostly consists of very early supporters, venture capitalists, or community representatives. Through participation in a presale, investors get the chance to obtain tokens at lower price points, often including some additional bonuses or incentives. For the projects, presales present their funding opportunity and build a loyal community before going public.

Why Do Crypto Presales Matter to Stakeholders?

It is imperative for a project intending to develop a blockchain project to put on a crypto presale to assist in bridging the gap of capital necessary for the build-up and scaling of the platform; allowing early stakeholders the opportunity to benefit by truly supporting the project in its off-the-ground stages. For the stature investor, the presale is a particular investment opportunity in itself, developing a guarantee that projects of substantial promise might potentially reward high returns. Furthermore, presale tokens are based on either added governance rights, staking returns, or perquisites from the platform in a constrained fashion, vanishing all but one or two.

Participating in Crypto Presales

Becoming a spectator in a crypto presale must be well-earned; the investor must display a satisfactory level of underweight. Firstly, the probable investor should know any right projects-that is, to research the whitepapers, the team, and the roadmap. In many projects, one must be on a whitelist, which generally requires performing small tasks such as tracking social media accounts. Often following retweets, sharing posts, or joining other channels of this community will hide a whitelist. Once he/she is whitelisted, an investor will have to send various cryptocurrencies to the required address (mostly Ethereum or BINANCE) in exchange for presale tokens. It is important to check the legitimacy and be secure while scouting a presale.

Risks Associated with Crypto Presales

Well, crypto presales might offer fantastic opportunities, yet none are without risks. Due to the very little regulation in the crypto space, an investor has very minimal protection when it comes to scam projects. Most of the presale projects are in their very initial stages, which in turn makes it difficult to judge the long-term viability of the project. Moreover, the sphere is so great because the presale tokens can see very abrupt spikes or dips once the project is operational. Scams and marauding projects are no joke, thus it falls most urgently on you to research a bunch of these and stake only what you can afford to lose.

Key Factors to Evaluate in a Crypto Presale

There are a few criteria that shall be essential for making a positive effect on the project. The problem that is supposed to be solved must find proper rationale or should not better still just be significant and observable. This means a useful case here, which will only help to justify its chance of adoption. These experienced engineers and advisors are supposed to make the roles in the success of their projects and are commonly rewarded within the scope of project tokens. Tokenomics comes into the equation when fairly transparent with how tokens are used and distributed. A community that stands with a weak amount of support is not in the best interest, though partnerships and community support are in place to partner the project with success and enhance its reputation.

The Role of Community in Crypto Presales

The credibility of the community is very important for crypto presales. If the community is active and supportive, it can push for mass adoption, create network effects, and increase the value of presale tokens. Many projects actively engage their communities by providing forums for discussion using social media pages, forums, and Telegram groups, thus fostering a sense of ownership and loyalty among early supporters. An active community can be taken as a good indicator by investors, showing genuine interest and support towards the forward motion of the project.

Notable Examples of Successful Crypto Presales

Numerous great crypto presales have been able to change the lives of early investors, turning millionaires overnight. For instance, in 2014, holding its presale, Ethereum went on to make over $18 million, which eventually opened up the road for the subsequently occurring DeFi paradigm. Binance Coin (BNB) is the other excellent token that did a presale before launch and has grown to become one of the leading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The above few examples represent what crypto presales are capable of doing in the name of innovation and value for early contributors.

The Future of Crypto Presales

The future of presales will be engineered by the evolution of regulations, technological advances, and market trends. With maturity, one would expect to see relatively standardized administrative processes, in the hope of attracting society’s most unfathomable level of belief in us through due diligence by misaligned objectives in governance and scrutinization processes of the presales. Additionally, with the progression of artificial intelligence and IoT into blockchain integration, it is almost certain that there are other horizons to reach for presales. As the noise of presales dissipates, they may subside into more elaborate, more reliable tools of exploitation in the crypto life.

Spotting Scams in Crypto Presales

The increasing popularity of crypto presales has led to a corresponding increase in scam cases that investors need to guard against. Some triggers are extremely risky: especially those offering returns that seem unreasonable or lack transparency. Some of the worst offenders come with anonymous teams, greatly marked-up whitepapers and careful yet chaotic marketing campaigns. One has to complete thorough due diligence to check for such key things as audits, public opinion, and a proven track record by their team. Platforms that provide information on where to buy presale crypto also add insights and ratings from actual users to help in testing authentic projects.

The Relevance of Regulation in Crypto Presales

The regulation has become a key part of influencing the direction of crypto presales. Countries differ from one another; some nations have given in to pre-sales and accepted them as a way to raise revenue, while others have put forth stringent rules about pre-sales. Regulation can save investors by providing transparency and making people accountable, although it does come at the risk of stifling innovation. The harmony between investor protection and the evolution of innovation would be a key factor, using the increasing age of crypto to propel presales in the years to come. Websites that display information on the regulation of presale platforms, where investors can look up the rules governing it, make it easier for investors to navigate.

In Conclusion

Crypto Presales have become vital to the blockchain ecosystem, giving willing investors early access to potentially worthwhile projects with huge returns. For anyone still wondering where to buy presale crypto, the critical point for them is to engage in deep research and due diligence. While they have their risks, presales bestow their support in favor of breakthroughs while nurturing the possibilities of reaping the healthy fruits upon them. In the long run, presales are destined to play a crucial role in fundraising and innovation, and whoever can put in effort into the dynamic and malleable space will surely find the chance circulating it. Understanding the future of crypto assets in a changing world, hence, requires comprehensive realities on presales, be you an investor, developer, or just an enthusiast of the crypto sector.

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