The Naira dropped N27.58 against the dollar at the foreign exchange market between Monday and Tuesday.

This is according to FMDQ data between Monday and Tuesday.

This comes as the Naira depreciated for two consecutive times to N 1,592.06 on Tuesday from N 1,564.48 exchanged last Week Friday.

Similarly, at the black market, the Naira lost N15 on Tuesday as it exchanged N1,615 per dollar from N1,600 last week Friday.

A further analysis showed that Naira has been on the decline since last week on the back of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Retail Dutch Auction System.

Recall that the apex bank’s commenced the Foreign Exchange auction at the beginning of August to curtail the FX demand spike.

The rDUS saw CBN sell $876.26 million to end-users through the banks.

However, weeks into the initiative, the Naira has lost its steam.

This is why the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Aminu Gwadabe said the apex bank is inconsistent with its FX interventions.

Meanwhile, the CBN in a statement by its spokesperson, Sidi Hakama on Tuesday reiterated that its policies and interventions would guarantee FX stability in the country.

The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police command has uncovered details of the famous crossdresser, popularly known as ‘Abuja Area Mama, who was murdered earlier this month.

DAILY POST recalls that the lifeless body of the crossdresser was discovered along the Katampe-Mabushi Expressway very early in the morning on August 8.

The FCT Police had commenced investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.

In a statement on Tuesday, the command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh said preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased is one 33-year-old Ifeanyi Chukwu-Agah Benedict.

She said the deceased hails from Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State and resides at Dapé in Karmo Area of the nation’s capital.

According to the PPRO, the family of the deceased have also been contacted, as they are aiding the police with necessary information.

Popular American singer and actress, Jennifer Lopez, also known as J.Lo, has filed for divorce from her husband, Ben Affleck.

DAILY POST reports that the couple, who have been in romance dates since early 2000s, tied the knot in Las Vegas in July 2022.

She filed for divorce on Tuesday August 20 2024, at Los Angeles County Superior Court. Two years after their marriage.

It was reported that the couple had been living separately since 26 April 2024.

Lopez and Affleck first met in 2001 while filming Gigli. Their off screen friendship gradually blossomed into a romance that attracted significant media attention.

Recall that the 55-year-old actress married singer Marc Anthony in 2004. In 2005 Affleck married actress Jennifer Garner.

This was Lopez fourth marriage and the second for actor Affleck, 52.

Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in Nigeria have raised concerns over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) inconsistent dollar allocations, which they believe are impeding the recovery of the naira. The operators pointed out that the lack of regular and predictable dollar supply from the CBN is causing a loss of confidence in the foreign exchange (forex) market, leading to increased pressure on the parallel market.

To alleviate the forex scarcity, the CBN had approved the sale of $20,000 to BDC operators at a rate of N1450 per dollar on July 18, 2024. This measure was intended to strengthen the naira, particularly in the retail segment of the market. However, despite this intervention, the exchange rate remains high and volatile, with the dollar trading at N1590 in the parallel market.

Aminu Gwadebe, President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), noted that the inconsistency in the CBN’s dollar supply has contributed to ongoing volatility in the forex market. He emphasized that the lack of frequent interventions has increased demand pressure and further weakened the naira.

“The problem is the streamlining, only once, is it on the 18th of July or so? Like you said, about three weeks, till now, no sales again,” Gwadebe remarked, highlighting the sporadic nature of the CBN’s interventions.

Gwadebe called for the CBN to engage in more frequent dollar sales to currency traders. He suggested that sales could occur once or twice a week to ensure a more stable and predictable flow of dollars into the market. According to him, regularity and volume, coupled with a clear cut-off time, would encourage market participants to engage more confidently, thereby improving liquidity and stabilizing the exchange rate.

“But if I know the window is open for one month for me to buy and with no cut-off time, and then I am not sure when it will come again, people will not be encouraged to come into the market,” he explained, stressing the need for consistency in the CBN’s forex interventions.

National Union of Electricity Employees, (NUEE), has threatened to shut down the power sector if the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Joe Ajaero, is arrested.

WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that the Intelligence Response Team, (IRT), arm of the Nigerian Police Force, (NPF), had on Monday, August 19, invited Ajaero, for questioning over alleged Criminal Conspiracy, Terrorism Financing, Treasonable Felony, Subversion and Cybercrime. 

NUEE’s Acting General Secretary, Igwebike Dominic, while reacting in a statement, said that NUEE noted with utter dismay the political machinations surrounding the police invitation of its General Secretary-cum-President of Nigeria Labour Congress – Comrade Joe Ajaero as a purported fall out of the politically-motivated investigation into an alleged trump up charges of terrorism financing, cybercrime, subversion, criminal conspiracy and treasonable felony against him.

The statement noted that it was not only embarrassing, but childish and clueless for the Federal Government of Nigeria to take to the antics of witch-hunting, harassment, intimidation and name-calling instead of coming out openly to apologize to the Congress and its leadership for the unlawful invasion of NLC National headquarters few days ago.

According to the statement, the choice by the Government to stifle labour and free speech in the country as a tool to compel Nigerians to continue to suffer in silence in the face of government policies that were not favorable to the people was quite deplorable. 

The statement said, “Those in government, especially elected leaders, should be mindful of their actions in times like this, if they have the love of the country at heart.”

It emphasised that it was so painful to see this happening in a democracy where it is supposed to be ‘Government of the people, by the people and for the people’, lamenting that what Nigerians have is simply the government of the selected few, for themselves against the people.

The NUEE’s Acting General Secretary noted that it was a blatant abuse of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and International Labour Organization Conventions especially convention 87 and 98, was unacceptable and would be vehemently resisted.

The Union condemned in its entirety what it called Government’s interference in the Labour movement through the weapons of intimidation and official harassment of Labour Leaders, in the country, warning that in the event that Comrade Ajaero is arrested, they will have no choice but to go with the NLC directives.

NUEE called on their National, Zonal, State and Chapter leadership to commence immediate mobilization of their teaming members in Generation, Transmission and Distribution to withdraw their services in the event that Comrade Joe Ajaero is arrested.

They also called on the Federal Government to tread with caution as the entire Nation was angry and heated up already because of the hunger and hyper-inflation in the land.

According to NUEE, “The rights of citizens must be respected and guaranteed if the country must move forward.”

Four petroleum products hawkers have been apprehended and over 2,000 litres of the products recovered in Lagos State.

The Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit made the disclosure on Tuesday.

According to the agency, the hawkers were arrested in the Mile-2 area of the State.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency’s spokesperson, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, stated that the hawking of Petroleum products is a recipe for disaster, hence the arrest of those indulging in such illegal and unwholesome practice.

According to him, apart from the fire outbreak, the illegal structures where they sold the products were seriously impeding traffic in the Mile-2 Oke area. 

The spokesperson noted that the operation was carried out following directives from the state government and the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, CP Adegoke Fayoade.

Abdulraheem said the illegal structures were also used by suspected criminals, who always attacked motorists and other road users at night and early morning.

“We have directives to dismantle the illegal structures and clear the area of vendors selling goods, particularly petroleum products, by the roadside.

“Among the most pressing issues addressed is the illegal sale of petrol and diesel by the roadside, where over 2,000 litres of petroleum products have been seized.

“This is a dangerous practice that poses a significant risk of fire hazards and explosions. We will ensure that such activities that endanger the lives of these illegal merchants and other road users are brought to a complete halt,” he said.

Mr Abdulraheem added that the agency would continue to monitor the area to prevent the resurgence of illegal activities and to ensure the roads remained clear for safe and smooth transportation.

He said those arrested would be charged to court, and items confiscated would be forfeited to the Lagos State government through the court.

(NAN)

President Joe Biden recently revealed the reasoning behind his decision to step down from the 2024 United States presidential race. Speaking at the Democratic National Convention, Biden emphasized that his decision was not influenced by anger towards those urging him to step aside but was driven by his love for the country and the need to preserve democracy.

During his speech, which marked the culmination of his lengthy political career spanning over five decades, Biden reflected on his time as senator, vice president, and president. He expressed deep pride in his accomplishments while acknowledging the importance of stepping aside for the greater good. “I love the job, but I love my country more,” Biden stated, underscoring his commitment to the nation’s future.

Despite winning the Democratic nomination five months ago and being expected to run for a second term, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. He called on the crowd to support Harris and Tim Walz as the party’s president and vice president candidates.

Biden’s speech was punctuated by moments of reflection on key events that shaped his decision to enter the presidential race, including the 2017 white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville and the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. He highlighted the importance of standing against hate and violence and reiterated his commitment to moving America forward.

In his remarks, Biden humorously acknowledged his age, noting that he was too young when he first entered the Senate at 29 and now too old to continue as president. However, he reassured the audience that he had always done his best to serve the American people.

Biden’s decision to step down and his endorsement of Kamala Harris reflect his dedication to ensuring the continued strength of American democracy, even if it means stepping aside from the role he has held with honour and distinction.

Financial institutions that have started raising capital have stated that they will allocate $1.20bn from the proceeds to invest in technology and bolster their cybersecurity infrastructure.

This was indicated in the offer prospectus of five lenders that have commenced their capital raise, to meet the new capital requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

In late March, the CBN announced new capital requirements for the banks operating in the country.

The apex bank directed commercial banks with international authorisation to increase their capital base to N500bn, national banks to N200bn and those with regional authorisation were expected to achieve a N50bn capital floor.

CBN gave the financial institutions two years to achieve the target and three options: raising additional capital, mergers and acquisitions, and licence upgrade or downgrades. According to PwC, there is a significant capital shortfall of N4.2tn across all licence categories, as much as between 35 per cent and per cent of the new minimum capital.

An analysis of the offering documents showed that Guaranty Trust Holding Company had budgeted the highest amount to be invested in technology.

GTCO offered nine billion ordinary shares of 50 each at N44.50 per share with the intent to raise about N400.50bn.

Of its net proceeds of N392.49bn, the holding company said 94.3 per cent of the proceeds (N370bn) would go towards the recapitalisation of its banking subsidiary, GTBank, while the remaining 5.7 per cent would be on the acquisition of pension fund administration and asset management businesses.

The offer document revealed that GTBank intends to spend N98.50bn (26.6 per cent) of the net offer proceeds on technology infrastructure upgrades, with a majority of it going towards, “Core banking application implementation, associated hardware infrastructure, network architecture, and ancillary costs related to optimisation of data centre/disaster recovery centre.”

Meanwhile, information security & fraud prevention and detection software get about N15bn (4.1 per cent) of the net proceeds.

Access Holdings indicated that 20 per cent of the net proceeds from its rights offer (N343.09bn) would be invested in IT infrastructure upgrades and development.

About N41.17bn would be invested in network infrastructure and N27.48bn in cybersecurity capabilities, bringing the total spend on IT to N68.62bn.

A significant portion of the net proceeds would go towards local and international business expansion (N223.01bn).

Zenith Bank Plc said that the proceeds of its offering would “enable the bank to conclude the overhaul of its information technology infrastructure and provide additional working capital to support its expanding operations and enable the Bank to take maximum advantage of emerging opportunities”.

For investment in technology, Zenith Bank noted that it would spend about 20 per cent of the net proceeds, N99.27bn, which amounts to N19.85bn.

A breakdown showed that Zenith Bank planned to spend N8.93bn on computer hardware/servers, N3.97bn each on software licences, registration and network infrastructure upgrades and another N2.98bn on cybersecurity architecture/software.

Fidelity Bank, which has closed its offering, planned to invest about N19.01bn in IT infrastructure, which is about 20 per cent of the net proceeds from the offering.

The bank, which raised about N127bn in its combined offer, said that it intended to invest N9.03bn in cybersecurity capabilities, N7.60bn in software licences and hardware and N2.38bn as additional investment in its network infrastructure.

Of the five banks reviewed, FCMB Group has the least amount budgeted for technology at N16.22bn (15 per cent of the net proceeds). About N11bn would go to upgrade its information technology infrastructure and N5.23bn towards investment in cybersecurity capabilities.

Fresh budgets for IT infrastructure are being allocated amid a recent surge in attacks on banks’ technology infrastructure, resulting in financial losses and subsequent legal actions.

Also, days ago, GTB confirmed that there was an attempt to compromise its website, which left customers unable to access online services. 

The bank, in a mail, reassured its customers that the hacking attempt was not successful and that its website was not cloned.

“While there was an isolated incident of an attempt to compromise our website domain, we would like to reassure our customers and stakeholders that the bank’s website has not been cloned and that we do not store customer information on our website, and as such, there has been no instance of compromise of customer data,” GTB said in the statement.

The International Monetary Fund’s Global Financial Stability Report in April indicated that the risk of extreme losses from cyber incidents was increasing.

“Such losses could potentially cause funding problems for companies and even jeopardise their solvency. The size of these extreme losses has more than quadrupled since 2017 to $2.5bn and indirect losses like reputational damage or security upgrades are substantially higher,” another IMF report said.

Meanwhile, the reviewed banks intend to spend about N22.94bn on the offer costs to raise a combined N1.06tn.

Offer costs include all costs, expenses and taxes on them, stamp duty, spending on underwriting, legal, accounting, printing, distribution, filing and registration fees, marketing and advertising expenses and other miscellaneous expenses.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reaffirmed that the federal government’s prohibition on rice importation via land borders remains firmly in place.

This clarification was made amid recent announcements concerning new fiscal measures aimed at food imports, specifically paddy rice.

Speaking during an inspection at the Apapa port in Lagos, Comptroller-General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, stressed that while the fiscal policies have been updated, they primarily focus on brown rice and paddy rice, allowing them to be imported duty-free.

However, these changes do not affect the existing ban on rice being brought into the country through land borders.

Adeniyi emphasized, “The new fiscal measures do not permit rice to be brought in through land borders. The only modification is that brown rice or rice paddy will now be allowed duty-free.”

He further explained that rice imported in smaller quantities via the seaports, especially by those with access to foreign exchange, does not fall under the Customs Service’s import prohibition.

Periodic inspections reveal rice being imported at the port, typically in smaller packages.

These imports, according to the Comptroller-General, are not covered by the prohibition act and are allowed under the new fiscal guidelines.

The NCS remains committed to enforcing this policy across all land borders, maintaining Nigeria’s push towards local production and food security.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has said it will not be silenced by state-sponsored harassment, intimidation, attacks and persecution, following the invitation of its President, Joe Ajaero, by the police on allegations of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion and cybercrime.

Naija News reports that one of the leaders of NLC in an interview with Vanguard said it remained committed to its opposition to mass suffering and hunger occasioned by the anti-people policies of the Federal Government, saying some interest groups are doing everything possible to silence the current leadership of Congress.

NLC also called on its affiliates to shut down the economy should Ajaero be arrested by the police.

The leader said, “There are grand designs by some interest groups to silence NLC under the current leadership. But they fail to understand that we cannot be silenced.

“We are fighting a just cause. We have the right to express our views in a democracy. The workers elected us to fight and make demands for them. They are hungry, they are suffering, and they are dying and are in pain. These are what we are telling the government which they do not want to hear. These are the reasons they are after us, trying to cow us by all means.

“The operator of the bookshop (Iva Valley) has been on the second floor of Labour House for years. We did not bring him there. If he has issues with the police, what concerns us? We believe the state is using this as a cover-up. They aim to emasculate Labour because of their vested interest.”

Meanwhile, human rights activist and lawyer to the NLC, Femi Falana, SAN, has explained why Ajaero could not honour Police invitation for him to appear at the Force Headquarters on Tuesday, saying the labour leader can only appear on August 29.