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Finance Minister opposes CBN plan to redesign Naira, raises alarm

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…warns CBN of  likely consequences 

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has rejected a plan by the Central Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign naira, warning the apex bank of its consequences on the country’s troubled economy.

Ahmed expressed her opposition to the policy in response to a question raised by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele during the 2023 budget defence session she had with the Senate Committee on Finance.

The Minister warned CBN of the consequences that may arise from the exercise.

Senator Bamidele had in his question, told the Finance Minister that barely two days after announcement of the policy by CBN , repercussions of it on the value of naira to US dollar was being felt.

He said, ” Just two days after announcement of the policy , value of Naira to a US dollar has risen from N740 to N788 to a US dollar due to rush in exchange of starched Naira Notes for foreign currencies , particularly dollar.

“To me , the policy may be a well conceived one , but the timing going by realities on ground , is very wrong as the Naira may fall to as low as N1,000 to a US dollar before January 31, 2023 fixed for full implementation of the policy.”

While answering the question, the Minister said she is not aware of the policy but only heard of it from the media .

She said, ” Distinguished senators , we were not consulted at the Ministry of Finance by CBN on the planned Naira redesigning and cannot comment on it as regards merits or otherwise .

SEE ALSO:  Frank Nweke jr withdraws petition against Gov. Mbah, as INEC insists Enugu Guber Election free, fair

“However as a Nigerian privileged to be at the top of Nigeria’s fiscal management , the policy as rolled out at this time , portends serious consequences on value of Naira to other foreign currencies.

“I will however appeal to this committee to invite the CBN governor for required explanations as regards merits of the planned policy and rightness or otherwise of its implementation now.”

Recall that CBN Governor Emefiele had on Wednesday said that the apex bank would redesign the country’s currency from 200 Naira denomination to N1,000 notes .

Emefiele said the action was taken in order to take control of the currency in circulation just as he posited that  the  bulk of the nation’s currency notes were outside bank vaults and that the CBN would not allow the situation to continue.

According to him, the planned policy he added , was  in line with Sections 19, Subsections a and b of the CBN Act 2007, upon which the Management of the CBN sought and obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to redesign, produce, and circulate new series of banknotes at N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

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Gov. Mbah submits UK Visa renewal application, urges patronage of UK Visa Centre in Enugu

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 •Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah and UK High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery
Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State, on Tuesday, urged South-East residents to patronise the United Kingdom (UK) Visa Application Centre in Enugu.

Mbah made the call when he submitted his visa renewal application at the centre.

The governor, who described the application process as swift and seamless, used the opportunity to appreciate the UK authorities for opening the centre.

He said the centre would strengthen the UK-South East socio-economic ties.

Mbah also urged Nigerians, especially the people of the South East in and outside the region, to apply for UK visas at the Enugu Visa Centre.

Speaking to newsmen after submitting his application, Mbah said: “It was quite an experience, adding that he was quite impressed.

“I noticed that first of all, the time you spend here to file your application is quite short. We do not have the heavy traffic, as you will experience in other places.

“I should also take this opportunity to call on our brothers and sisters in other South East states to know that there is now a visa centre in Enugu,” he said.

He said there was no need for them to go and stay in the long queues in Lagos and Abuja while they could easily come to Enugu and get their application processed expeditiously.

“If you are coming to a centre like this, you are thinking of comfort, confidentiality and the amount of time you spend being attended to and you have all those benefits here.

“So, it is an opportunity even for those who live in Lagos and Abuja, I will also enjoin them to visit this Enugu UK Visa Center to get attended to as quickly as possible,” the governor stated.

SEE ALSO:  Frank Nweke jr withdraws petition against Gov. Mbah, as INEC insists Enugu Guber Election free, fair

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the British High Commission in Nigeria on Sept. 11 announced the opening of a new submission centre for UK visa applications in Enugu State, starting from Sept. 13.

The UK Mission said the facility would operate from the Omedel Luxury Hotel, Independence Layout, Enugu, and would offer twice-a-week service on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery, said that the new visa application submission centre followed requests by Mbah and many others during his visit to Enugu in June. (NAN

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Senate confirms Cardoso as CBN Governor, 4 deputies

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•Newly confirmed CBN Governor by the Senate, Olayemi Cardoso
The Senate confirmed the appointment of Dr Olayemi Cardoso as the Governor of the CBN on Tuesday.

It also confirmed the nomination of Mrs Emem Usoro, Mr Muhammad Dattijo, Mr Philip Ikeazor and Dr Bala Bello as the bank’s deputy governors.

Their confirmation followed the consideration and approval of a motion moved by Senate Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti Central).

Before their confirmation, the Senate suspended its orders to facilitate the admittance of the nominees into the chamber.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Sen. Abdullahi Gumel led the nominees into the chamber.

Thereafter, the CBN governor and the deputies took turns to highlight their career profiles and professional experiences.

Cardoso said for 12 years, between 2010 and 2022 he had the privilege of serving as the chairman of Citi Bank where: “I dedicated myself to enhancing both the financial and non-financial operations of the institution.’’

He told the Senate that the issue of exchange rate of the Naira to other currencies was worrisome.

“For the type of economy that we want, we need to have an exchange rate that is stable and we must apply short and medium term measures to achieve this,’’ he said.

Cardoso added that CBN’s new management team would evolve rules that were open and transparent and comprehensible by all players in the finance business.

“We cannot expect serious foreign investors, portfolio investors who have an impact on the market to do so if we do not have a transparent system that everybody understands and can rely on,’’ he said.

SEE ALSO:  MRA condemns NBC’s revocation of licenses of 52 broadcast stations

On the issue of inflation and costs of goods, Cardoso said the CBN management would adopt evidence-based monetary policies.

“There is the need to significantly revamp the infrastructure at the central bank with respect to data and to ensure that our data gathering capacity is significantly enhanced.

“This is necessary so that we can make decisions based on stellar data. This is crucial in measuring inflation,’’ he stressed.

He added that reliable studies showed that in the past 10 years to 15 years, at least 50 per cent of inflation resulted from money supply and deficit financing.

“This is a big problem; at least it certainly has been over a period of time and it is something we have to face frontally,’’ he said.

Cardoso also told the Senate that the CBN would ensure that the issue of deficit financing ceased to be a national problem.

Earlier, President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio (APC-Akwa Ibom North-West) said the Senate reconvened from its annual recess to expeditiously consider and confirm the nominees.

He said the expeditious confirmation also resulted from of the emergency resignation of the former CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

Akpabio urged the Senate Committees on Finance and Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to regularly conduct thorough oversight of the CBN. (NAN)

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Naira crashes to N1,000 per dollar

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The naira on Tuesday exchanged at N1,000 to the United States dollar at the parallel market, a historic dip that spotlights the weakness of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to manage the national currency amid runaway inflation.

While the central bank’s rate appeared to stabilise at N768 per dollar over the past week, the currency value has sunk to critical depths for those trying to access it at the parallel market, where most foreign exchange transactions are conducted in Nigeria.

According to Abokifx, a website that aggregates daily rates for Nigerians using parallel market sources, the dollar sold at N1,000 on Tuesday morning.

Abokifx gained prominence shortly after the naira began a steep freefall in 2016, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s brazen display of power over the central bank’s activities, which turned off international investors and reduced dollar inflow into Nigeria even as demand grew from within the country.

Ousted Governor Godwin Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) attacked Abokifx in 2021 for allegedly manipulating the exchange rate at the parallel market.

Abokifx’s shutdown in September 2021 has so far done nothing to stop the naira’s free fall and steep crashing at the parallel market. But critics admonished Mr Emefiele at the time to focus on stabilising the naira rather than his 2023 presidential ambition, which appeared to have distracted him from functioning efficiently as Nigeria’s top banker.

The naira has continued to depreciate considerably against the dollar despite Mr Tinubu’s attempt to allow the free market to determine its value. It was exchanging at about N650 when Mr Tinubu took over from Mr Buhari on May 29.

SEE ALSO:  MRA condemns NBC’s revocation of licenses of 52 broadcast stations

Spokespersons for both the presidency and the central bank did not respond to requests seeking comments about the naira’s historic fall on Tuesday.

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