Some terrorists have abducted eight members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) along a highway in Zamfara State. The corps members were traveling with AKTC bus from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to Sokoto State en route Zamfara State, to take part in the mandatory national youth service when their vehicle was intercepted along a highway in Zamfara on Saturday. A source in the transport company confirmed the incident yesterday morning.
The source, who did not want his name mentioned in the report because he was not authorised to speak on the incident, said the corps members were 11 in number, but that three escaped from the gunmen. Apart from the eight corps members, the driver of the bus was also abducted, he said. “The corps members were offloaded (from the bus) and taken into the bush,” he said. “The police have recovered the bus.” “They left here (Uyo) on Friday, and slept over in Abuja.
It was when they were proceeding to Sokoto that they were kidnapped,” he said. He said the incident had been reported to government authorities and security agencies. A Facebook user, Malachy Blessed, at about 9:14 a.m. on Sunday disclosed in a Facebook post the identity of one of the abducted corps members as Emmanuel Esudue, a graduate of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University.
He said the corps member’s phone number has been unreachable since Thursday. Another victim has been identified as Betty Udofia. Another Facebook user, Edidiong Richard, said the kidnappers have contacted Ms Udofia’s parents, and that they were demanding N4 million ransom. When the police spokesperson in Zamfara State was contacted by journalists yesterday morning, he said he was going to verify the incident and get back. This newspaper could not immediately reach the NYSC spokesperson, Eddy Megwa for comment.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said the price of fuel surged by 215.95 per cent in one year, as that of diesel also increased by 2.60 per cent. The bureau said Nigerians paid an average price of N794.48 for a litre of diesel in July 2023 compared to N774.38 per litre recorded in the corresponding period last year, while the surge indicated a 215.95 per cent increase in fuel price when compared to the value recorded in July 2022 (N190.01). In its latest report on the automotive gas oil (AGO) price watch for July 2023, the NBS said there was a decline in the price of the product during the period examined, compared to the previous month. “On a month-on-month basis, a decrease of -2.62 per cent was recorded from N815.83 in the preceding month of June to an average of N794.48 in July 2023,” the report said. “Looking at the variations in the state prices, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 indicates that the N193.99 billion received from the Federation account as 13 per cent derivation revenue by oil producing states in the first six months of 2023, is, however, N73.99 billion (27.61 per cent) less than the N267.98 billionthe states got in the corresponding period of last year.
Nigeria’s constitution stipulates payment of 13 per cent of oil revenue from the Federation Account to oil producing states as derivation Fund that would be used for the exclusive benefit of their oil/gas producing communities, as such areas are usually negatively impacted by oil and gas exploration and production activities. For instance, at the end of its meeting last month the FAAC issued a communiqué, stating that it shared N907.05 billion among the three tiers of government for June 2023, of which oilproducing states received N47.48 billion as derivation revenue from the 13 percent mineral Fund. The communique said: “The N907.05 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N301.50 billion, distributable Value Added Tax revenue of N273.23 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy revenue of N11.44 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N320.89 billion.”
It added that from the total distributable revenue of N907.054 billion, the Federal Government received N345.564 billion, the State Governments received N295.948 billion, the Local Government Councils received N218.064 billion, while a total sum of N47.478 billion was shared to the relevant States as 13per cent derivation revenue. Further analysis of data obtained from the NBS shows that nine oil producing states-Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Abia and Anambra, shared N970.20 billion from the Federation account through the 13 percent derivation formula in 2022. A breakdown of the data shows that Delta state received the highest allocation, totalling N296.63 billion, representing 31 percent of the total revenue from the derivation account. Delta is followed by Akwa Ibom, which got N222.52 billion, representing 19 per cent of the total disbursement during the period. the top three states with the highest average price of the product in July 2023 include Niger State (N892.50), Abia State (N890.63) and Enugu State (N872.73).”
NBS said the top three lowest prices were recorded in Bayelsa (N683.20), Anambra/Bauchi (N700.00), and Ondo (N701.58). Explaining the price comparison by zones, the agency said the North Central sold at the highest price. “The zonal representation of average price of automotive gas oil (diesel) shows that the North Central zone has the highest price of N863.10 while the South West has the lowest price (of) N759.45 when compared with other zones,” it added. Recently, there have been reports of a significant increase in the price of diesel in some states. Oil suppliers had said the frequent fluctuation in the foreign exchange market rate was a major crisis facing the industry. In another report, entitled ‘Premium Motor Spirit price watch for July 2023′, released yesterday, the bureau said Nigerians paid an average price of N600.35 for a litre of fuel compared to N190.01 in the same month last year. NBS said the surge indicated a 215.95 per cent increase when compared to the value recorded in July 2022 (N190.01).
“Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (ie, June 2023), the average retail price increased by 9.99 per cent from N545.83,” the report reads. “On state profile analysis, Borno had the highest average retail price forfuel, at N657.27; Abia and Gombe states were next, with N643.13 and N642.22, respectively. “On the other hand, Edo, Kwara, and Benue states had the lowest average retail prices for petrol at N530.00, N535.44 and N537.00, respectively. “Lastly, on zonal profile, the north-east zone had the highest average retail price of N630.13, while the north-central zone had the lowest price of N551.58.” Last week, President Bola Tinubu said there would be no more hikes in the pump prices of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as fuel.
A chieftain of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, has urged the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, not to play a second fiddle.
He said the best person for Obi to open talks with is President Bola Tinubu and not the duo of his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP).
Isiguzoro warned that Obi will lose support from Nigerians if he plays second fiddle in the future and urged him to pull out of the alliance talks.
The Ohanaeze chieftain in a statement signed by him and made available to LEADERSHIP insisted that though the ongoing reported talks between the opposition political parties leaders might be viewed as a welcome development as it will put the APC led federal government on her toes to ensure that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration delivers all the campaign promises to Nigerians.
He maintained that anything contrary to the expectations of the average Nigerians are regarded as inconsiderate pursuits of drowning politicians whose aims are mischievous and laughable.
He said Ohanaeze Ndigbo has observed that there is the possibility of a collapse in their talks because Nigerians will not accept Atiku or Kwankwaso as the leader of the alliance.
“Nigerians know that the uncharitable disposition and desperation of Atiku Abubakar of PDP will never allow him to support Peter Obi to be the leader of the Nigerian opposition, the ill-fated journey of Atiku/Obi/Kwankwaso will crumble in the future.
“Nigerians are warning the presidential candidate of the Labour Party to be wary of failed politicians whose interests are looking for a way to exploit the credibility and popularity of Peter Obi to see how to depose President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from power.
“Nigerians are watching keenly the latest attempt of other politicians to use Obi to wrestle power from APC in the future or possible Rerun, the indelible stain of such alliance talks between Atiku, Kwankwaso, and Obi will destroy Peter Obi if he decides to play a second fiddle.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo caution the Labour Party candidate Peter Obi that the association with Atiku and Kwankwaso will destroy him except if the two will support him to lead the unified opposition political parties, which is unlikely,” he said.
Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education, took office following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inauguration.
Recall that the president swore in 45 Ministers at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday.
Flanked by the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, said:
I am going to work like a bricklayer.
Explaining how a bricklayer works, he said:
He goes to the sites every day and he is faced with hundreds of blocks to lay and by the end of day he wants to see that the building has come up to a certain level everyday so by three to six months the house is done.
While being welcomed by the Permanent Secretary, David Adejo, he stated that education is the foundation of all other sectors and the basis for everything they can do to help the country develop.
The new minister stated that he had spent ample time working with both the government and the private sector, admitting that there are constraints but promising to do what is best for the sector.
Sununu stated that he has been in the education field for a long time because all of his courses are education-related from beginning to end.
He said:
We will overcome all the challenges and make history. We are going to respect constituted orders as well.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary welcomed the ministers and pleaded with the staff to help them deliver service to Nigerians.
The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Public Affairs, Ajuri Ngelale, has said that Nigeria spends about $10 billion a year on foreign exchange earnings to the refiners and partners to get crude refined to fuel. He also said during an interview on TVC News, said that more refineries in Nigeria would not lead to lower fuel prices. He stated that people often say that if Nigeria’s refineries were working, fuel pump prices would be cheap.
He, however, added that nothing could be farther from the truth. Ngelale said: “That is a myth, it does not happen anywhere in the world, even if we had the most refineries producing the most PMS in the world, you would find that the most prolific PMS producers with their refineries do not charge different from the countries without refineries. I am not saying that we should not have refineries, but there are benefits to having working refineries. “This is why phase one of our Port Harcourt Refinery is coming on stream in December 2023 and phase two by the end of 2024. Dangote Refinery is already up and is going to start dishing out products very soon. “BUA 200,000 bpd refinery is coming up in Akwa Ibom, we are going to have an excess supply that we can export internationally.
“The point I am making on this is that the reason why the price at the pump will not go down irrespective of what our refining capacity is as a country is that nobody spends tens of billions of dollars on building a refinery because of charity or corporate social responsibility, they do it to make money.” He added: “So that is why you find that no matter how many oil marketers you have, bringing the product into the country, no matter how many refineries you have producing mass amount of PMS (fuel), the price is dependent on an international benchmark of what the crude oil per barrel is. What the cost is. When the oil prices are high, the prices of the pump will go up and when the oil prices go down, the prices of the pump will go down.
“These are market fundamentals that are determined, not in one country but on the international stage. The benefit of having refineries in the country is not that you will have cheap fuel. No. The benefit is that you would have saved the country millions of dollars in transportation and logistics costs that we are spending on an annual basis of having to put refined PMS from an international refinery on the water to come to Nigeria’s shores we will have to offload and send to our distribution centres. You save that money.
“In addition to that, you save about $10bn per year on foreign exchange earnings that we are having to pay out to our refiners and partners to get that product exchanged from crude to refined PMS. We saved all that money within the Central Bank as a result of having a local refinery. So there are benefits, big benefits but one of them is not having cheap fuel.
THE Organised Labour, under the aegis of the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees, NUCFRLANMPE, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to come up with policies to cushion the removal of subsidy on petrol, saying Nigerians, especially workers are suffering.
The union urged the Federal Government to create local policies that would improve the economy and lives of citizens.
President of NUCFRLANMPE, Mr Babatunde Olatunji, who spoke at the opening ceremony of its 31st annual industrial relations seminar with the theme ‘Social Dialogue as a Vehicle for Promoting Decent Work and Industrial Harmony’, lamented that the removal of fuel subsidy had impacted on the citizens, especially workers.
Olatunji said: “We plead with the government to hasten up and come out with policies to lessen the suffering Nigerians, especially workers are going through because of the removal of subsidy on Petrol. Nigerians are suffering.
“It is time to revive the local refineries, build infrastructure such as road networks and electricity supply as well as develop the iron and steel sector which is key to economic growth.
“Insecurity should be tackled, multiple taxation, rent and charges should be regulated to allow manufacturing companies survive and promote Gross Domestic Products in Nigeria.”
Olatunji noted that economic issues in the nation were affecting industrial relations saying “One of the effects is job losses arising from factory closure and redundancy. Some managements have devised strange practices such as outsourcing and contract staffing which are odd to normal employment practices.”
…Says Tchiani’s 3yrs plan to reinstate civil rule provoking
The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, said yesterday it was more likely to use military force to restore constitutional order in Niger Republic, if the military junta, led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, was hell-bent on his three-year transition plan before returning the country to civil rule.
Fielding questions on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, also dismissed insinuations that ECOWAS was acting under the influence of a foreign power.
He explained that the community’s chances of using military force to restore constitutional order in Niger were very likely.
He said: “Right from the 1960s, I have never seen a coup that has not enjoyed continuous support from the people.
“The support can be engineered; you can rent crowds; that does not imply that people are unconcerned about their future.
”The high level of youth unemployment is a factor; mismanagement of our resources is a factor, but is the military a better sort of governance of our economy? Empirical data in our region never demonstrate that. So is that the right way to go about trying to change the system?
“A few years ago, you could not even talk of an incumbent president being defeated in an election. Since about 1992, we have seen alternations of power where sitting presidents were defeated and where ruling parties were defeated, whether in Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, or even Liberia. So there’s already progress.”
On the plan by ECOWAS to pragmatically restore peace to Niger after the crisis, he said: “What plans does the coup led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani have for the country?
”They are now embarking on a blind experiment, saying they are going to have a three-year transition, they are going to consult people, so they themselves came without a plan.
”Now that they have overthrown a democratically elected government, they are thinking about alternatives.
“We have seen that where coups have occurred, we have not seen any major alternative better to save the population the military claim to save in those countries.
”So before the coup, ECOWAS had identified the cascading terrorism moving from Burkina Faso to coastal countries as an existential trend that threatened the livelihood of West African citizens and was an impediment to economic development.
”Let’s first remove that obstacle and put in place a regional plan for governance, which is already there. So there are rules and engagement for developing the country through regional and economic integration and increasing intra- and West African trade.
”All these are there, but they take time to bear fruit, and the military is not an alternative. We are just talking about West Africa as if it were an island. All these challenges we are talking about are global.
”Even in most advanced countries, ordinary people are suffering, and they have not chosen to take part in overthrowing their governments. So why here? The inflation in the US, UK, and other parts of Africa is not better than what we are seeing in West Africa today.
“In terms of ECOWAS reinstating constitutional order, it starts with consultation with all the active forces in the country, including political parties, the labour movement, and civil society organizations, they all have a say in it.
”So at the regional level, ECOWAS is already in the process of developing the economic and social council, which is the interface between civil society and policymaking in the region. The main driving slogan of ECOWAS is transforming the region from an ECOWAS of states, driven by the decisions of heads of state to an ECOWAS of the people. The process is ongoing.”
Asked on a scale of 1-10 how likely ECOWAS would deploy force in Niger, Amb Musah said: “Personaly, my wish is that it should be at zero, but I think given the posture of the regime, I will put it at 7, because if they continue to frustrate the non-violent proposal to reinstate constitutional order and then give an unacceptable timetable for return to constitutional order, they make the use of force more likely.
”At least, they have come forward to say they have an intention to return the country to constitutional order, but ECOWAS does not agree with the time frame, so even that agreement in principle is a move forward by the junta, but we will continue to consult to know the minimum, which would be the decisions by the authority of heads of state.”
Asked if ECOWAS was fixated on reinstating President Mohamed Bazoum, he said: “ECOWAS is asking for the release of Bazoum and his reinstatement. So we are calling on the junta to be reasonable because the three years they are talking about are nothing less than provocation to the ECOWAS community.”
ECOWAS denies influence of ‘foreign power
Amb Musah also disproved claims of manipulation of external powers in its efforts to resolve the political instability in Niger Republic.
While noting that foreign support was not part of the consideration of the West African body, he said: “We’ve never discussed our plans with any foreign power, whether they are on the ground, they are in the air, they are in their countries – ECOWAS is taking an independent autonomous decision.”
He noted that ECOWAS had not given any consideration to the complexities of the nationals and multinationals who had given a foot on the ground.
“I’m just coming from Accra where the chiefs of defence staff finalised their preparation for a potential military intervention in the country – foreign support was never part of the country at all.
“We are in with our contingent, own equipment, and our resources and we are not asking anybody for support, that is the position of ECOWAS,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong to immediately take over negotiations with the organized labour in order to arrive at amicable resolutions that will make workers overcome the current pains.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong disclosed this while addressing directors, heads of parastatals and agencies under the ministry and the entire staff immediately he assumed office.
The Minister also said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu shall not spare any effort to protect the Nigerian workers and guarantee their dignity at all times.
Lalong, flanked by the Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejecha said under his stewardship, the ministry will fulfil its mandate of ensuring decent work for all Nigerians and making sure that citizens particularly the youth and women get opportunity to deploy their energy, creativity, talent and gifts to the development of the nation.
He also assured that the government through the ministry shall work closely with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade Union Congress, TUC and their affiliates towards ensuring that all pending industrial disputes are settled amicably.
The Minister said the government will be addressing with strong determination the new minimum wage and other palliatives arising from the removal of fuel subsidy.
He said that his appointment and that of the Minister of State is a call to service and promised that they shall do everything within their power to give their best in assisting the President fulfill his Renewed Hope Agenda for a better Nigeria.
According to him, “Nigerians have trusted President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima with their mandate, and therefore expect a better nation where their dreams and aspirations will be fulfilled.
“The President has, in turn, mandated us to handle the very important aspects of Labour and Employment, which are critical to national development and prosperity.
“The task is certainly enormous but achievable, especially with the abundant human resources Nigeria is endowed with. We therefore need your support and understanding to succeed.
“Under my stewardship, the Ministry of Labour and Employment will fulfill its mandate of ensuring decent work for all Nigerians and making sure that our citizens particularly the youth and women get the opportunity to deploy their energy, creativity, talent and gifts to the development of the nation.
“We shall therefore mobilise and deploy all the resources of the Ministry towards ensuring that the matters relating to Labour and Employment are galvanised across relevant MDAs and sectors of the economy in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. Our workers must get value for their labour and operate in safe and conducive environment.
“Because of the level of unemployment, underemployment, and challenges associated with the work environment, we have been mandated by Mr. President to ensure that Nigerians get decent employment and are adequately remunerated for their labour both in the public and private sectors.
“We shall not spare any effort to protect the Nigerian worker and guarantee his dignity at all times.”
The Minister said the administration will escalate the relations with the private sector, development partners, international agencies, NGOs among others to make sure that unemployment and underemployment is reduced to the barest minimum according to the plan of the Tinubu administration.
He further said, “On the relationship with the organised Labour, the Government through the Ministry shall work closely with the NLC, TUC and their affiliates towards not only ensuring that all pending industrial disputes are settled amicably, but also addressing with strong determination the new minimum wage and other palliatives arising from the removal of fuel subsidy.
“I use this opportunity to specially convey the appreciation of Mr. President to the organised labour and Nigerian workers in general for exercising tremendous understanding and patience with the current situation.
“The Government does not take this for granted and Mr. President has directed that we move on with negotiations to arrive at amicable resolutions that will make our workers overcome the current pains.”
He said that the Ministry shall leverage on technology, skill acquisition, entrepreneurship, agriculture among others to open up more employment opportunities for all Nigerians.
“This is in addition to current Safety Net Jobs and new ones that this Government will initiate within the coming weeks and months, ” he said
On the expectations of Nigerians, he said, ” In the coming weeks, we shall unveil detailed plans of President Tinubu’s vision for Labour and Employment and also spell out the role that the Ministry and its agencies, development partners and Nigerians in general will play in actualizing it.
“We shall be engaging all relevant partners and receiving briefings towards a robust performance.”
In her brief remarks, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon Nkeiruka Onyejecha, said her appointment was not by her might or power, rather by the grace of God.
He advised staff of the ministry to put in their best, stressing, “Whether we like it or not, there will be a time we will give account of our activities.”
He urged the staff to help Tinubu’s administration to implement all the promises he made to Nigerians.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi has promised Nigerians that his duty, as mandated by President Bola Tinubu is to tell the citizens the truth about the government and its policies.
The Minister said under his watch, there will be no room for lies or fake news about government activities and policies, promising to operate an open door policy.
Naija News reports Magagi stated this on Monday during an official reception, organized in his honour by the ministry on Monday in Abuja.
The new Minister said the President has given him the mandate to tell Nigerians the truth about the government and as an experienced practitioner with about thirty years of experience, he is reporting for duty.
Malagi vowed that under his watch the Ministry would be reinvigorated and repositioned.
The Minister made the pledge in the company of his Arts, Culture and Creative Economy and Tourism counterpart who were also part of the official reception by the ministry.
In his words, ‘‘For me, I am actually a reporter reporting for duty, and I meant it with every sense of the word. The President has asked me to come and tell you, this is a brand new ministry of Information and National Orientation. This is a ministry that is set to be re-positioned like never before. I have been in the industry for nearly three decades and I should know where the shoe pinches.
“Today is not for policy announcement but a day to familiarize ourselves with all the stakeholders in the ministry.
‘‘We are poised to ensure that the Renewed Hope of Mr President gets serious traction. Mr. President has sent me to come and say it the way it is, Mr. President didn’t send me to come and lie, and this is the new covenant with you and Nigerians.
“We are going to say it as it is, Mr. President is somebody who is truthful, honest, transparent, he has said that when we come, we should own up where there are mistakes, we should own up where we erred, we should not be shy to say, No this is wrong and we are going to correct it. The ministry will be at the core of its job, the job of info dissemination.’’
The Minister in his speech also assured media practitioners that the Ministry will be open and transparent. He promised answers would be provided for everything they want to know as much as possible.
‘’The ministry is going to be open, transparent and accountable to Nigerians. There will be no hold back here, everything you want to know, you will get to know. Please ask your question, we will let you know, if you don’t understand, go and seek clarification. If we are wrong we will apologize. We must ensure that transparency is the watch word in this ministry. Join us in helping Mr President in building enduring legacy for our dear nation, that’s why we are here,’’ Malagi added.
The Kaduna State Government has announced that it will reduce the price of school fees for all its state-owned tertiary institutions.
The State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, announced that the downward review of the fees is in tandem with the rise in the cost of living in the country, especially following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu in May this year.
According to a statement signed by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mohammed Shehu, Governor Sani made the announcement while speaking to the media at the government house on Monday.
In the statement, Kaduna State University fee was slashed by 30 per cent from the current fee of N150,000 to N105,000.Nuhu while the Bamalli Polytechnic was reduced by 50 per cent from N100,000 to N50,000.
The College of Education, Gidan Waya was also reviewed downward from the current fee of N75,000 to N37,500, which is a reduction of 50 per cent.
For Shehu Idris College of Health Sciences & Technology, Makarfi, the fee for HND Courses was reduced by 30 per cent from N100,000 to N70,000 while for National Diploma, it was cut from N70.000 tp N52000.
The statement read in part, “On assumption of office on May 29, 2023, we made a solemn commitment to the citizens of Kaduna State to run a people – centred, all-inclusive administration that shall leave no one or any part of Kaduna State behind.
“In response to the public outcry over the current fees being charged by tertiary institutions in Kaduna State and its effect on school enrolment and retention, I directed heads of tertiary institutions in conjunction with the Ministry of Education to obtain relevant information on the extant fees regime in state owned tertiary institutions.”
“This downward review of the extant fees regime aligns with the KDSG’s commitment to offer palliatives to cushion the effect of general rising cost of living in the polity, especially in the wake of recent petrol subsidy removal in Nigeria.
“The welfare of the people remains this administration’s topmost priority and the Kaduna State Government shall continue to take all measures necessary to ensure access to free and qualitative education for every child in Kaduna State from primary to secondary school.”
The development comes at a time where tertiary institutions across the country, public and private, are raising their fees to keep up with rising costs of goods and services.
Bayero University stated that it had to increase it fees because of the high cost of running a university, stating that it spends N75m on diesel and electricity supply monthly.
Similarly, students of Babcock University had taken to social media
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JP Morgan’s shock reveal puts Nigeria’s foreign reserves at $3.7bn, not $37.08bn reported by CBN
AdminA combination of foreign exchange forwards, securities lending, currency swaps, and outstanding contracts has weakened Nigeria’s net external reserves to an all-time low of $3.7 billion as of the end of last year, according to JP Morgan.
The American multinational financial services firm noted in an August 17 report that Nigeria’s net FX reserves are significantly lower than previously estimated.
The external reserves stood at $33.88 billion as of August 10, down from $37.08 billion at the end of last year, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“We estimate that CBN’s net FX reserves were around $3.7 billion at the end of last year, from US$14.0 billion at end-2021,” JP Morgan said.
In arriving at the estimate, JP Morgan made a few assumptions: “FX forwards ($6.84 billion), securities lending ($5.5 billion) and currency swaps ($21.3 billion); and estimating currency swaps by backing out FX forwards and outstanding OTC Futures balances from an overall aggregate published in the financial accounts.”
The report noted that Nigeria’s low net FX reserves mean continued FX market pressures, “but the CBN still has the ability to source FX at commercial and semi-commercial rates”.
“Nigeria’s exchange rate market remains fragmented. Since the adjustment of USD/NGN at the Investors and Exporters window a few weeks ago, interbank FX liquidity has not improved as much as anticipated, partly due to the re-introduction of de-facto controls limiting local trades and loose monetary policy conditions,” JP Morgan said.
It said Nigeria’s apex bank continues to intervene in small amounts at a rate of around N740-N750/$, without clearing the backlog of unmet FX demand.
“Given the highly profitable nature of the currency swap arrangements between the CBN and domestic commercial banks, we expect these to continue for some time, albeit in smaller sizes and arguably more punitive rates,” JP Morgan said.
The global investment bank noted that Nigeria is upping its game to unlock $17 billion from asset sales, a move aimed at relieving pressure on the country’s struggling FX liquidity.
“The authorities are in the initial stages of identifying assets for sale, which may provide some medium-term relief,” it said. “For example, the President’s policy advisory council has recommended the government sell down its stake in the most joint-venture oil and gas assets, a proposal that is estimated to bring in up to US$17bn.”
On Monday, the naira remained flat as FX dealers in the parallel market bought and sold dollars to customers at N855 and N860.
Investors said Africa’s biggest economy is in desperate need of dollars to boost its declining external reserves and prop up the value of its currency.
“JP Morgan has come out to confirm. The President really needs to address this thing and tell Nigerians the truth. Everyone knows he inherited a mess, but admitting reality is the first step to salvation,” Kelvin Emmanuel, CEO of Dairy Hills Ltd, said.
The lack of clarity on Nigeria’s external reserves worsened after the apex bank audited reports revealed it has a standing $14 billion loan obligation to entities including to American investment bankers, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
“The CBN reports suggest that some of its loans were used to bolster Nigeria’s (Caa1 stable) foreign exchange reserves. Should this be the case, and given the liabilities’ short tenure, our assessment of Nigeria’s foreign-exchange reserve adequacy would weaken,” Moody’s Investors Service, a global financial rating agency, said in its note published on August 18, 2023.
The CBN’s audited report showed that it owes JP Morgan $7 billion and Goldman Sachs $500 million, while $6.3 billion is owed as foreign currency forwards.
Moody’s noted that assuming that the CBN borrowed the whole $14.2 billion to bolster foreign reserves, “we would roughly halve the 2022 year-end gross reserves of $30.3 billion to $16.1 billion”.
“Similarly, our External Vulnerability Indicator, which measures short-term external debt plus maturing long-term external debt and non-resident long-term deposits relative to official foreign reserves, would worsen to up to 200 percent from its 2023 forecast level of 100 percent,” it added.
Apart from Moody’s, JP Morgan also raised concerns on the recent news around the potential re-introduction of fuel subsidies at some level.
The global investment bank noted that Nigeria’s high debt-servicing needs and relatively lower net FX position make it imperative to continue on the reform path to attract FX flows.
“While Eurobonds only start maturing from 2025 onwards with continued maturities from 2027, Nigeria still has to service close to $2.5-$4.5 billion of public and publicly-guaranteed debt over the next few years,” it said.
To change the narrative, it said Nigeria would need foreign direct and other portfolio investments to attract FX inflows.
“Thus, in our view, continuing on the reform path would be imperative to allay concerns on the external side,” JP Morgan said.
Former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave him the green light to accept the ministerial position under the Bola Tinubu administration.
Wike, who described the PDP leaders as reggae dancers for threatening to sanction him, said the party was well informed before he accepted the position.
The former governor also said that Tinubu wrote the 36 state governors, including those of the PDP, who, according to him, gave 10 names to the president to appoint as ministers.
“Can you even mention who is my enemy? Can you even mention one person that is my enemy?” Wike said at his first press briefing as a minister of the Federal Republic in Abuja on Monday.
“See, people carry propaganda. Let me use this opportunity to tell you that I don’t like people who don’t tell the truth.
“They said they’re going to sanction me because I accepted the appointment. I don’t have any clause.
“The president wrote to the 36 state governors to bring names of people to appoint, didn’t PDP governors submit names?
“Every PDP governor wrote a letter and nominated ten persons to be appointed by this government.
“But the one they talk about is Wike. Before this appointment came, I wrote to the national chairman. I wrote to the minority leaders of the House of Reps and Senate.
“I wrote to the zonal chairman of the party and my state chairman. I wrote to my governor and all of them wrote me back and said “accept.”‘
“I have my evidence documented. Forget these reggae dancers. I call them reggae dancers because when you’ve lost your opportunity, you’ve lost your opportunity because of arrogance and impunity.”
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has officially resumed as Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, thereby succeeding former AGF, Abubakar Malami SAN.
Following his swearing in, Fagbemi has been advised by a key stakeholder in law, Olisa Agbakoba, to address some urgent issues bedevilling rule of law.
The new AGF served as the lead counsel of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which urged the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja to dismiss petitions against Tinubu for lacking in merit.
The AGF is a chief law officer of the federation and personal attorney and adviser to the president on matters relating to relevant applicable laws.
Olisa Agbakoba, in series of tweets on Monday, highlighted areas that require the urgent attention of the new AGF, including unbundling of the EFCC and creating a prosecution outfit separate from it.
Agbakoba added that the AGF should work towards advocating for Constitution review and decentralisation of the police.
“Major reforms of the criminal justice system with particular reference to the utter confusion in the duplicated work of our law enforcement agencies in particular EFCC and ICPC are urgently needed.
“Also, there is a need to unbundle EFCC and restrict them to investigation only while a new National Prosecution Agency ought to be established.
“Another key reform would be a completely decentralized Police Force at the local state and Federal levels,” Agbakoba stated.
He insisted that a major revamp of Nigeria’s outdated laws is urgently needed to redirect the country towards progress
“Last but not least the AGF must work on Speed of Justice. It’s a crying shame it takes upwards of 15 years to conclude cases from the High Court to the Supreme Court.
“Finally but not exhausted is to create sector-specific dispute resolution Agencies to free up the utterly cluttered dockets of the regular courts.
“The other very important task before the Attorney General will be the unnecessary and wholly inefficient matter of over centralization of our superior courts. There is no better time than now to hack down the highly centralized Court systems in Nigeria.
“The AGF is invited to consider major constitutional amendments to create a system of Federal and State Courts. State Courts ought to have exclusive jurisdiction over matters related to them. This is also the case for Federal Courts whose Jurisdiction must be limited to Federal causes. This will free up the Clutter at the Supreme Court and make it the Policy Court it ought to be in the first place,” he added, saying Fagbemi was capable of the task.
The call for the unbundling of the EFCC, the country’s anti-graft agency, seems to align with the thinking of the current AGF.
During his ministerial screening at the National Assembly, Lateef Fagbemi, representing Kwara State, held that unbundling EFCC was the way to go.
He said “left for me, the EFCC and ICPC must be unbundled for proper functioning.
“You can’t have an investigating body prosecuting, it’s wrong.
“Let there be a body to investigate and another to prosecute,” he had said.
Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi on Monday described reports that he is discussing the possibility of a merger with Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as a rumour.
There were reports on Monday that Obi, Atiku, and Kwankwaso have commenced talks towards forming a formidable party that will effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in elections.
It was also reported that towards the actualisation of the objective, the three political leaders, who contested the February 25 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu of the APC, have held a number of meetings.
According to the reports, Atiku first met Kwankwaso, before Obi held talks with PDP stakeholders.
The reports said the planned merger would present a united front to challenge the APC, if the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal nullifies Tinubu’s election and orders a rerun or fresh election.
However, if the tribunal goes ahead to uphold Tinubu’s election, Obi, Atiku and Kwankwaso are considering forming a formidable political party that can wrest power from the APC in 2027, the reports said.
But, addressing Labour Party members in Edo State on Monday, Obi suggested that the reports are mere speculations.
Obi spoke at the LP rally in Benin ahead of the local government elections in the state.
Apparently commenting on the reports that he was in merger talks with Atiku and Kwankwaso, Obi said, “The Labour Party will continue to grow. We will continue to get stronger (and) better.
“Half of the things you are hearing everywhere are rumours, don’t listen to them.
“We are committed to building a better and a new Nigeria where we will move Nigeria from consumption to production.”
Obi was a member of the PDP before moving to the Labour Party.
He was the running mate of PDP presidential candidate, Atiku, in the 2019 presidential poll.
The former Anambra State governor indicated interest in the PDP presidential ticket for the 2023 general elections before leaving for the LP.
According to the result released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso finished second, third and fourth, respectively, behind Tinubu of the APC, in the February 25 presidential election.
Obi and Atiku are challenging Tinubu’s election at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The tribunal has reserved judgment on separate petitions filed against Tinubu’s election by Atiku, Obi and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
Meanwhile, speaking further at the LP rally in Edo State on Monday, Obi urged the party’s candidates to ensure that they fulfil their campaign promises, if they win the election.
“Those of you who are contesting, go and tell the people what you will do and whatever you say, if you succeed, do it.
“No more promise-and-fail. The time for fake promises has passed in this country; we don’t want anybody to promise us fake things now. Anything you promise you must deliver.”
Obi is also expected in Owerri, Imo State, as the special guest of honour at the flag-off of the campaign of Athan Achonu, Labour Party candidate for the November 11 governorship election in the state.