Friday, March 29 and Monday, 1st April have been declared as public holidays.

The federal government declared the holiday to mark the celebrations of 2024 Good Friday and Easter Monday respectively.

The minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the declaration on behalf of the federal government.

The minister made the declaration in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Aishetu Ndayako.

He urged Christians and all Nigerians in general to emulate the sacrifice and love displayed by Jesus Christ in dying for the redemption of man.

According to the Minister, Easter, beyond religious significance, promotes values of love, forgiveness and compassion which are essential for social cohesion and harmony.

He called on Christians to imbibe these virtues as they are capable of impacting positively on the socio-economic development in Nigeria by fostering unity, reducing conflicts and encouraging cooperation among Nigerians.

He further urged Nigerians to show acts of charity and generosity to help alleviate the material conditions of the less privileged amongst them.

This, he said, is in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

While wishing Christians at home and abroad a happy and blissful Easter celebration, the Minister also called on Nigerians to join hands with President Tinubu-led Administration in its determination to bring sustainable development and usher in prosperity for all.

The Kano government has approved a subsidy of N500,000 each for intending pilgrims in the state, following the recent hike in hajj fare.

On Sunday, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) announced an increase of N1.9 million to the initial N4.9 million paid by intending pilgrims.

The commission said the increase became necessary due to the forex crisis in Nigeria.

NAHCON also advised intending pilgrims to make payments based on the current dollar exchange rate and gave March 28 as the deadline to pay the extra money.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano, said intending pilgrims in the state will now pay the sum of N1.4 million.

“Following the sudden increase of N1.9 million Hajj fare increase by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, I have approved a subsidy of N500,000 each for intending pilgrims from Kano embarking on the 2024 pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia,” the governor said.

“With this, intending pilgrims who have registered and paid the initial total deposit of N4.7 million and N4.5 million with the state pilgrims board, will now deposit N1.4 million out of the N1.9 million increase.”

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has confirmed that his principal will attend the burial ceremony of 17 military personnel killed in Okuama community in Delta State.

The presidential aide stated this in a post via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday.

He claimed that it would be the first time in ten years that a Nigerian President has paid such homage to the gallant soldiers who died in service.

Onanuga said two other burials in 2018 and 2021 were not attended by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The presidential aide asserted that his principal is demonstrating that he cares about all Nigerians.

He wrote, “It is confirmed that President Bola Tinubu will be attending the national burial for the Nigerian military officers and soldiers killed on 14 March by some gunmen in Okuama Community in Delta State.

“It is the first time in the last ten years that a Nigerian President will attend such a solemn event, in honour of our men of gallantry and valor. Two other burials in 2021 and 2018 were not graced by the incumbent.

“We told you then that @officialABAT cares. He is demonstrating it yet again.”

Recall that the President had said last week that there would be a befitting burial for the 16 deceased soldiers who were killed while on a peacekeeping mission in Delta State.

Tinubu had expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the slain soldiers and pledged that the sacrifices of the fallen heroes would never be in vain.

Julius Abure has won re-election as National Chairman of Labour Party for a second term in office.

Abure was on Wednesday re-elected by a unanimous affirmation of delegates at the party’s National Convention in Nnewi, Anambra State.

The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the event attended by party leaders and members.

President Bola Tinubu has sent a congratulatory message to 44-year-old Bassirou Faye.

This comes after Faye won the Presidential election in Senegal.

Tinubu’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement on Wednesday by Ajuri Ngelale, a presidential Spokesperson.

President Tinubu noted that President-elect Faye comes with great promise and a sterling record, wishing him success as he takes on the critical job of leading Senegal.

The President also congratulated President Macky Sall for overseeing an election widely judged as peaceful and transparent.

President Tinubu stated that the success of the presidential election in Senegal and the successful conduct of the general election in Liberia a few months ago had affirmed his long-held conviction that the taproot of democracy is deeply established in West Africa and will only grow stronger as it is watered by good governance, justice, and fairness to all.

As the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, the President affirmed that the Senegal election was successful and boosted the sub-regional organisation’s efforts to promote peace and constitutional order and strengthen ties among member states.

President Tinubu assured the people of Senegal of Nigeria’s best wishes and support.

DAILY POST recalls Faye defeated Senegal’s ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba at the Sunday presidential election.

The House of Representatives has launched a probe into some officials of Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies involved in alleged certificate racketeering with Nigerian students.

Rep. Abubakar Fulata, Chairman, Joint Committee on Certificate Racketeering, vowed to confront such a menace in tertiary institutions during its sitting in Abuja.

He said certificate racketeering could cripple healthcare system and various sectors of the economy if allowed to go unchecked.

Fulata said the House mandated its Committees on University Education, Interior Foreign Affairs, and Youth Development to investigate the matter and report back.

“This has been a burning issue in both public and private institutions where there are seemingly less observance of rules, regulations, processes, quality assurance, among others''.

He said there was a need to get to the root of the illicit act and proffer solutions while appealing to MDAs and relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the committee to achieve the desired result.

NAN reports that a Nigerian reporter, Umar Audu, had, in December 2022, bagged a degree from a university in Cotonou, Benin Republic, in six weeks and subsequently participated in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps scheme.

Audu subsequently accused unnamed officials of the Ministry of Education as members of the racketeering syndicate; a development that elicited widespread criticism by well-meaning Nigerians.

Leading the debate on the motion, Fulata called on the House to “identify officials of MDAs and students who benefited from such institutions and their campuses in the last ten years.

(NAN)

The further tightening of the Monetary Interest Rate to tame elevated inflation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may create more hurdles for the manufacturing sector and other debtors of commercial banks with a possible consequential negative growth rate effect on the economy.

Rising from its 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday, the central bank announced an increment in interest rate benchmark by 200 basis points to 24.75 percent from 22.75 in a continued chase to tame Nigeria’s stagflation that has seen food inflation rise to 37.92 percent in February 2024.

The decision by the MPC to increase the MPR by 200 bps makes it a total of 600 bps in just one month if one adds the 400 bps delivered in February.

The high cost of funds presents a significant challenge to businesses and the economy. For businesses, it translates to increased borrowing expenses, which can strain their financial resources and hinder investment in expansion, innovation, and hiring.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, face heightened difficulty accessing affordable financing, limiting their growth potential.

The MPC also adjusted the asymmetric corridor around the MPR to +100/-300 basis points, while retaining the Cash Reserve Ratio of Deposit Money Banks at 45 percent. It also adjusted the Cash Reserve Ratio of Merchant Banks from 10.0 per cent to 14 per cent, and retained the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.

Governor of the central bank Olayemi Cardoso who announced the decisions of the MPC meeting yesterday in Abuja said the “considerations underscore the importance of the CBN’s commitment to the price stability mandate and the need to urgently bring inflation under control to ensure that the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians is restored in the short to medium term.”

However, he said he doesn’t expect the tightening rates to be long-drawn.

The CBN governor also disclosed that his office refused to validate the outstanding $2.4 billion Forex forward transactions because they were ineligible for forex allocation.

Cardoso made the remark on Wednesday in reaction to airline operators who said they lied in their claim of settling all FX backlog to its members.

Cardoso said the central bank relied on the report by Deloitte Consultants to refuse approval for the applications. Deloitte Consultants had produced an audit report that revealed that most of the transactions did not qualify for payment.

“In some cases, some allocations were made without being requested. You also had some where they had no naira and they allocated foreign exchange. It was for that reason that we refused to validate those particular transactions. Because, apart from the fact that documentation was not satisfactory, many cases were outright illegal,” the CBN governor said, while responding to questions from journalists at the end of this month’s meeting of the MPC of the bank.

He said law enforcement agencies are now looking into the transactions that are not valid to be paid.

However, he said if there is any information to the contrary, the CBN management would reconsider its stand in due course.

“Other transactions have been settled. And as of today, the valid transactions – as far as the Central Bank of Nigeria is concerned – have been taken care of. We are also not unmindful of the fact that there may be some stakeholders who over some time may have had a backlog in one form or the other,” he stated.

Cardoso said his administration has done what it could to make the FX market as transparent and liquid as possible.

In reaction to the outcome of the MPC meeting, economic experts said much as tightening is necessary at this time because of the elevated inflation, MPC should tighten policy incrementally and in a measured manner that optimises the CBN’s policy tool kit without undue reliance on the monetary policy rate. 

Professor of capital market and former commissioner of finance in Imo State, Uche Uwaleke, said the development is now driving undue pressure by banks on the CBN’s Standing Lending Facility and increasing cost of funds generally.

“The CBN should recognise that the challenge currently facing the Nigerian economy is not just inflation but stagflation, and to this end should equally have regard to growth concerns in future meetings of the MPC,” he stated.

Rate Hike To Limit Banks’ Lending To Businesses —- Experts

Analysts have expressed concern that the latest hike in benchmark interest rate will see deterioration of the lending books of banks and would also have a negative impact on growth in the country.

According to analysts, the MPC is trading growth for stability with its latest moves.

In line with the expectations of analysts, the MPC had for the second consecutive time this year raised the benchmark interest rate from 18.75 per cent to 22.75 per cent, and now 24.75 per cent.

Commenting on the latest hike, managing director and chief executive of Arthur Steven Asset Management Limited, Mr Olatunde Amolegbe, noted that he had expected the committee to continue with its hawkish stance.

According to him, the MPC is reading effectiveness to its massive rate movement of last month, given that the naira had begun to strengthen and this is expected to slow the rate of growth in inflation rate in subsequent months.

“I suspect that is why they kept applying the same measures this month albeit at a relatively less hawkish level. The rate increase will, of course, continue to attract foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) at a high rate as we have seen in recent weeks, which will continue to boost supply to the forex market and ensure price stability.

“It is also possible that local investors move towards fixed income instruments rather than speculating in the forex market which could reduce inordinate demand and strengthen the Naira further,” he said.

He, however, noted that ‘the flip is that finance cost increases sharply for industries with negative impact on production, unemployment and economic growth.”

Meanwhile, Amolegbe whilst stating that the CBN is trading growth for stability at this point, said, “The point at which this needs to be reversed is anybody’s guess. As costs such as interest rates rise, the probability of default or non-performance loans (NPLs) also tends to rise. “This, also coupled with rising inflation and lower consumer purchasing power, might mean higher NPL levels in the books of banks.”

This was also the view of the chief executive of the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, who stressed that the hike would mean a higher cost of credit to the real sector.

He said, “The new dramatic increase in MPR means that the cost of credit to the few private sectors that have exposure to bank credits will increase, which will impact their operating costs, prices of their products and profit margins, amidst very challenging operating conditions.”

Noting that in the Nigerian context, price levels are not interest sensitive, Yusuf said supply side issues are much more profound drivers of inflation.

According to him, the hike would further pose a risk to the financial intermediation role of financial institutions in the country.

“The increase would constrain the capacity of banks to support economic growth and investment, especially in the real sector of the economy because the increases are quite significant.

“Already, bank lending has been constrained by the high CRR, with many operators in the sector claiming that effective CRR is as high as 50 per cent for many banks. The Nigerian banks are yet to live up to their financial intermediation role because of these constraining factors,” he concluded.

Legal Luminary, Femi Falana has called for the advertisement of the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman and that of the Residents Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the sake of transparency and credibility in the system.

Falana suggested that after eligible persons apply for the office of the INEC chairman and the RECs, the National Assembly would conduct a thorough screening of the three best candidates before one of them should be announced.

The senior advocate, who is part of a movement for the Electoral and Judicial Reforms that emerged after the Haske Satumari Foundation Annual Colloquium, insisted that if a credible person emerges as INEC chairman through an open process, it will go a long way in the nation’s election credibility.

“In appointing INEC chairman and Residents Electoral Commissioners, the position should be advertised.

“The best three names should be sent to the Senate for screening before announcement,” Falana said.

Falana who said their interest is to ensure that Nigeria gets the best when it comes to election, urged the country to ensure that the Justice Uwais panel report on election should be fully adopted.

“We must go back to the Uwais panel report,” Falana said.

Speaking, the founder of Haske Satumari Foundation, Hon Kudla Satumari, said they are working to ensure that both the electoral act and the constitution provided for full transmission of election results electronically.

“We want electronic transmission of election results to be fully adopted,” Kudla said, adding that the non-transmission of election results electronically has denied many people victory.

Speaking on why many lose in court, Kudla said their movement is suggesting that once grounds of an appeal are clear and acceptable, the onus of proof should be shifted to the acclaimed winner.

“While dealing with the principles of evidence, some people only look at the technicalities. So, once you are able to prove your case in the petition, the onus of proof should be shifted to the acclaimed winner,” Kudla said.

On the issue of immunity, Kudla said it should be removed in all political offices adding that their movement is also working on how the constitution and the electoral act would be amended to ensure that only the number of people that voted for a lawmaker is required for a recall process.

“If you are recalling a member, it should be a similar percentage that voted for the person. A simple majority that elected the member should be enough for the recall of the member,” Kudla said while disclosing areas they will be pushing for amendment in the electoral act and the constitution amendment.

Transfer speculations swirling around Nigeria International striker Victor Osimhen has yet assumed another dimension after each of the trio, Arsenal, Chelsea and PSG, are reportedly ready to table a staggering €90m (about N138,974,356,080.00) for the Napoli star striker.

Several Italian outlets claim Napoli President, Aurelio De Laurentiis, could accept a bid below the striker’s release clause, said to be around £113 million ($143m) when the Nigerian ace signed a one-year extension last December.

But citing a report in Il Mattino newspaper, Football Italia has reported that Napoli are prepared to part company with Osimhen at the end of the season with Chelsea, Arsenal and PSG each ready to offer €90m for the Nigeria international.

According to the report, Osimhen is ‘fed up’ with Serie A and is looking forward to leaving the Stadio Maradona.

Intermediaries are already working with the striker’s agent, Roberto Calenda, to find a new club for the ex-Lille striker, who has scored 72 goals in 125 appearances with the Partenopei since 2020.

The 25-year-old recently signed a contract extension until June 2026 and the new deal includes a release clause of €120-130m.

However, Il Mattino claim De Laurentiis could accept an offer below the release clause, given that Osimhen has already decided to leave the club with words rife that his next destination is Chelsea.

In fact, Italian journalist Rudy Galetti was quoted as saying that Osimhen has agreed to personal terms with Chelsea, signalling a potential move to the London club in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Galetti, via his X account (formerly Twitter), disclosed that Chelsea are prepared to activate Osimhen’s release clause once the 2023/24 season ends.

”Victor Osimhen is always a main target for Chelsea to strengthen their attack,” Galetti said.

The naira yesterday appreciated to N1,350 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,430 per dollar on Monday.

Similarly, the naira yesterday appreciated to N1,382.95 per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM). Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM fell to N1,382.95 per dollar from N1,408.04 per dollar on Monday, indicating N25.09 appreciation for the naira.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market rate and NAFEM widened to N32.95 per dollar from N21.96 per dollar on Monday.

Over the past month, the Nigerian naira has surged by 18.28 percent to reach N1,408.04 on Monday, up from its low of N1,665.50 recorded on February 23, 2024, as per data compiled from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

The recent appreciation of the naira against the dollar can be attributed to foreign exchange reforms implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Key reforms include the consolidation of exchange rate windows, liberalization of the FX market, resolution of FX backlog obligations for banks and airlines, implementation of a Price Verification System (PVS), imposition of limits on banks’ Net Open Position, removal of the daily cap on remunerable Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) to N2 billion, and restructuring of the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment.

The additional measures implemented are aimed at promoting a market where both the buyer and seller are willing participants. These measures include the removal of margin limits for International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) remittances, the introduction of a two-way quote system, and comprehensive reforms within the BDC segment to bolster stability, transparency, supply, and price discovery in the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold dollars to Bureau De Change (BDC) Operators at a rate of N1,251.

In a circular issued by the CBN, the BDCs were directed to sell to eligible customers at a rate that does not exceed 1.5 percent above the purchase price.