The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on the CBN to allocate more FOREX to manufacturers to allow for importation of raw materials and machinery.
Dr Okwara Udensi, Edo/Delta branch chairman of MAN, made the call in Benin on Thursday while addressing the 36th Annual General Meeting of the association
Udensi observed that chronic dollar shortage was affecting the manufacturing sector negatively.
“Manufacturing companies are unable to access the dollar at the official rates and they need it for importation of raw materials.
“They have been consequently to go to the parallel market to get the dollar at higher rates.
“The sector is facing numerous challenges and it needs urgent attention of the Federal Government to provide adequate bailout for the sector to avoid total collapse,’’ he said.
Udensi stressed that the manufacturing sector would only be able to contribute to the country’s economic growth if the numerous challenges militating against its smooth operations were tackled.
He listed the challenges as poor electricity, high lending rates, multiple taxes and levies by government agencies, low patronage of made-in-Nigeria products and congestion at the Lagos ports, among others.
“It is our expectation that these identified challenges be addressed by government to move the country from an import-dependent to a self-sufficient and export-based economy.
“This can only be made possible with consistency in governments’ policies to guarantee the required enabling environment so that manufacturing companies are able to operate at maximum capacity,’’ he said.
Similarly, Mr Mansur Ahmed, National President of MAN, urged the CBN to direct commercial banks to process FOREX allocation applications by manufacturers transparently.
He also called on the Federal Government to evolve strategic response to the disruptive impact of the on-going Russian-Ukraine war on the global supply value chain.
He, however, commended Edo and Delta governments for prioritising youth empowerment through the Edo Innovation hub and the Graduate Employment Enhancement Programme in Delta.
Ahmed was represented by Dr Alofoje Unuigboje, a former Chairman of MAN, Edo/Delta chapter.
In her remarks, Prof. Mercy Anyiwe, a professor of Economics at the University of Benin, urged manufacturers to leverage on innovation and technology to make their products competitive at the global market.
She charged MAN to partner with research institutes and the academia to overcome some of their challenges.
The Annual General Meeting has “Nigeria’s struggling economy/unstable macroeconomic policies: Lessons and challenges for the manufacturing sector’’ as its theme.
Chief Executive Officer of an aviation company, Mr Segun Adewale has urged the Federal Government to expeditiously repatriate the 600 million dollars ticket revenue belonging to foreign airlines operating in the country.
Adewale, also former Vice-Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) gave the charge in a statement he issued on Saturday in Ikeja.
One of the airlines, Emirates Airlines on Thursday announced the suspension of its flight operations in Nigeria from Sept. 1, over its inability to repatriate its funds from the country.
International carriers operating in Nigeria have repeatedly complained about their inability to repatriate funds to their home countries.
Blocked funds belonging to these airlines have risen to about 600 million dollars as the CBN had not been able to make the dollar available for the carriers to repatriate.
Adewale stated that revenue from ticket sales which accumulated since 2021 till July 2022 was blocked by the CBN from being repatriated to airline operators through the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
“The repatriation of revenues of all tickets sold to travellers by airline operators to their home offices is the responsibility of the CBN, but it has refused to release the equivalent in dollars for service already rendered.
“We have lost so many airlines and jobs are being lost in the aviation sector and at airports generally.
“The development is inimical to our economic wellbeing as a nation; from the spiritual angle of thought, it is wrong to muzzle the ox that threads the corn,’’ Adewale stated.
The airline chief decried that the blocked funds had already led to reduction of air connectivity and restriction of flights.
He stated that it was disheartening that the same FOREX being denied the airlines was being released to import non-essential products such as champagne and tooth picks.
“If foreign airlines suspend flight operations, businesses will be shifted to neighbouring countries like Ghana and Benin Republic.
“The issue is so difficult for the operators, who now borrow FOREX from their home offices to fuel their airplanes.
“With the increase in dollar rate leading to rise in flight ticket prices, especially en-route America and Dubai, which is now over a million naira, the environment is getting hostile for businesses to thrive,’’ he stated.
Adewale appealed to the Ministers of Aviation, Finance and the CBN to do the needful and ensure release of FOREX.
The management of Aero Contractors Company Nig. Ltd., said it would temporarily suspend scheduled passenger services operations from Wednesday.
This is contained in a statement issued by the company and made available to newsmen in Lagos on Monday.
According to the statement, the suspension does not affect Aero’s other businesses.
”These businesses are not suspended; the Approved Maintenance Organisation otherwise known as AeroMRO; the Approved Training Organisation also known as Aero Training School or the Helicopter and Charter Services operations”, it said.
The statement read, “Due to the impact of the challenging operating environment on our daily operations, the management of Aero Contractors Company of Nig. Ltd. wishes to announce the temporary suspension of its scheduled passenger services operations with effect from Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
“This does not in any way affect the maintenance activities of the Approved Maintenance Organisation known as AeroMRO, the Approved Training Organisation also known as Aero Training School, the Helicopter and Charter Services operations.
“This decision is carefully considered and taken due to the fact that most of our aircraft are currently undergoing maintenance, resulting in our inability to offer a seamless and efficient service to our esteemed customers.
“We are working to bring these aircraft back in the next few weeks, so we can continue to offer our passengers the safe, efficient and reliable services that Aero Contractors is known for, which is the hallmark of Aero Contractors Company Nigeria Ltd,” it said.
The management said in the statement that the past few months had been challenging for the aviation industry and the airline operators in particular.
It said that the challenges include; high cost of maintenance, skyrocketing fuel prices, inflation and forex scarcity resulting in high foreign exchange rates.
It noted that the management was working assiduously to return to service as quickly as possible.
The statement assured the esteemed customers and stakeholders of management’s determination, saying that that its short absence would not create any major void in the market.
”We are coordinating with our business partners to ensure minimum discomfort to ticket holders.
“As members of Spring Alliance (a commercial alliance with member airlines providing mutual support in the area of operations), we are liaising with our partner airlines to minimise the impact on our esteemed customers.
”Our customer service team will be working to help affected esteemed customers reach their destinations, ” the management said.
The announcement is coming a month after the airline operators at a public forum stated that three of their members might cease operations.
Their reasons include unavailable and high prices of Jet-A1, amongst other challenges airlines have had to face this year alone.
Gabriel was arraigned on four-count charges bordering on obtaining money under false pretence, cheating, fraudulent conversion and criminal breach of trust.
One of the counts read: “That you, Nyani Kubiliru sometimes in June, 2021 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court being entrusted with the sum of N7, 500,000 (Seven Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) by Mustapha Danjuma Baba for forex trading did dishonestly convert the sum of N1, 418, 750.00 (One Million Four Hundred and Eighteen Thousand Seven Fifty Naira) to your personal use in violation of the agreement in which such trust was to be discharged and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Act Cap. 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990 and punishable under Section 312 of the same Act.”
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the defendant pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges brought against him by the EFCC.
Upon his plea, prosecution counsel, Elizabeth Alabi, prayed the court for a trial date for the prosecution to open its case and call all the witnesses. However, defence counsel, M. K. Habila prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail pending the commencement of his trial.
Justice Bature thereafter admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N2, 000,000 (Two Million Naira) and a surety in like sum. The surety must be a civil servant not below the rank of Level 12 or a reasonable Nigerian with a means of living, and owns a property within the FCT, to be verified by the prosecution.
The case was adjourned till November 7 and 8, 2022 for commencement of trial.
In a related development, Justice O.A. Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, adjourned the trial of a former director, Legal Services of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Grace Taiga until September 29, 2022 for continuation of trial.
Taiga is facing prosecution by the EFCC for an alleged fraud involving the Process and Industrial Development, (P&ID).
At today’s sitting, defence counsel, Daniel Alumun, urged the court to grant an adjournment on the grounds that the defendant was on admission at the Garki Hospital, where she is also scheduled to undergo dialysis.
Alumun further apologized to the court over his inability to present the defendant’s medical report. “Our major challenge has been obtaining report from the hospital. When I spoke to the daughter this morning for the report, she said the senior consultant who is supposed to sign it is not around, and we noticed that the hospital is reluctant to sign a report. In the circumstance, regrettably we are constrained to ask for a date,” he added.
Prosecution counsel, Abba Muhammad said he was only informed about the development in court, adding that he was in court with three witnesses, ready to testify.
“Our three witnesses are here… Mr. Dikko is also here, a former Director of Legal, at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and one of our investigators is also here. If the opportunity to take them today had materialized, we would have been left with only one witness to call and close the case of the prosecution. Apparently that is not going to be; it is unfortunate,” he lamented.
Justice Adeniyi adjourned the matter till September 29, 2022 for continuation of trial.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Godwin Emefiele, has called for collaboration from all stakeholders in the non-oil export value-chain, as the sector has the potential of generating $200 billion in revenue and stimulating growth of the Nigerian economy if properly harnessed.
Emefiele made the call on Thursday June 16, at the on-going maiden edition of the Bank’s non-oil summit holding in Lagos state.
He noted that the Nigerian economy has been challenged on many fronts due to a combination of local and global factors, making macro-economic management very difficult, especially foreign exchange availability and management.
These factors, he explained that while these factors exposed the fragility of the Nigerian economy and the need for a more diversified economy, the apex bank has been confronted with rising demands for foreign exchange for goods, services and other needs.
“With this unbaiting demand, the Bank has been working to manage both demand and supply sides, to meet the foreign exchange obligations in Nigeria,” the bank Governor said, stressing that monetary policy alone cannot all the burden of expected adjustments needed to manage these challenges.
“Nigeria can be great in export. Before we found oil, Nigeria was exporting commodities. We found oil and we all went to bed. It is time for us to get jolted to get out of bed and begin to do the right things for the good of our country; so that the CBN can refine foreign exchange.
“In fact, people do not need to come to Central Bank of Nigeria to ask for foreign exchange to import, the banks should be able to find foreign exchange for exporters to fund import needs of Nigerians; that is what we desire and we will need the support of everybody.
“While I welcome you all to this event, my hope is that this will be a problem-solving gathering; a summit that would guarantee that for every complaint, problem, issues, challenge difficulty that is presented or identified, there will be one or several agencies of practitioners that will articulate options for solving that problem
“I strongly believe that the ideas harnessed from this maiden summit, will be invaluable in helping us reach our ultimate goal of $200 billion in non-oil export over the medium-term. I am mindful that this goal itself may appear unattainable to some, but I’m resolute and determined that we can achieve them,” Emefiele stated.
Forex or simply FX, otherwise known as the foreign exchange market is a preferred choice of investment for many people. Trading with currency pairs using the right strategy can yield a significant return on investment (ROI), especially in short-term periods. That’s why there are well over $5 trillion of currencies being traded in the FX market every day.
What’s great about forex is that anyone can invest. If you use reliable sources, if you use reliable forex brokers, such as Hotforex Nigeria, you can start trading right away. The important thing is to avoid rookie mistakes that have the potential to ruin your financial status. With that in mind, here are a few forex trading mistakes to avoid.
Trading without any practice
Every forex trader needs practice every now and then. This is especially true for the beginners. However, even experienced traders practice from time to time so that they can test out different strategies.
The fact of the matter is that you can always use a demo account. Demo accounts are provided by your brokers and they are basically a simulation of the real-time trade. You don’t have to spend real money on demo accounts and you can practice trade strategies and other tactics.
Trading without a plan
Every currency trade requires a good plan. Without a plan, you’re basically going in blind. A trading plan outlines optimal strategies that work out best in specific market conditions. That said, 95% of rookie trades manage to fail at their first trade attempt.
They believe that they can multiply their investment on a single trade. The fact of the matter is that you cannot successfully predict the outcome of the trade. That’s why you need a plan that will help you develop an exit strategy and allow you to mitigate your losses.
Relying on speculations and random news
Information flows everywhere you go, including the forex market. However, that doesn’t mean you should listen closely to everything you hear. Economic statuses and current state of affairs in various countries may affect currency pairs you trade with.
That being said, day trading isn’t affected by the fundamental points of view. Your trading plan and strategies and your trading plan should give you an advantage. Relying on news and speculations of others will hurt your investments. The main reason is that you shouldn’t divert from your original strategies because you heard a rumor.
Closing Words
Forex trading can be quite complex to figure out. However once you figure it out, you can actually devise a strategy that will allow you to gain profits on both short-term and long-term investments.
A commercial cab driver Adewole Kufuriji, looked both exhausted and worried. He had spent the entire night of Friday, March 4th inside his car parked along the road close to a filling station around Jakande Estate Isolo, Lagos Nigeria, not because he didn’t have a house to retire to or that his vehicle broke down, but because he needed to refill his near-empty fuel tank to guarantee food for himself and his family, and attend to other exigencies.
The many hours he risked on the road in the dead of the night was responsible for his tired look, but his worry was that this effort proved futile, as he was unable to refill his car and could not work to provide for his wife and three children.
“I wasted seven hours in the queue and still could not buy fuel. The stations don’t sell for more than one hour and before it could reach my turn, they stopped selling. I have parked my car at home because to buy from the black market is expensive and passengers will refuse to pay if you increase the price of transport. I don’t know how I will continue to provide for my family,” Kufuriji said.
Happiness Illiya, a young lady in her mid-thirties resides in one-man-village, a settlement in Nasarawa State close to the Federal Capital Territory border. Speaking with our correspondent, she said transport fares have gone up by at least 50 per cent since the fuel scarcity started, and that commuting to her workplace in the Abuja central area has been physically stressful and financially difficult to cope with, considering she earns N40,000.00 monthly.
“In a day, I spend close to N1,000.00 on transport and there has been no plan to cushion the effects of this fuel scarcity. At the end of the month, I would have spent more than half of my income on transport and have little remaining for food and other expenses. Government should do something to help low-income earners in the country,” Illiya appealed.
For Fumilayo Ajao residing in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, her worry was about the rising cost of foodstuff and other basic commodities like cooking gas occasioned by the hike in transportation. She said surviving in Nigeria is becoming more and more difficult even for the working class, saying she has had to cut down on some expenses in order to cope with the situation.
Despite reassurances from the government, the fuel scarcity which began about a month ago continues to bite harder, causing physical and economic hardship to the populace. Long queues at filling stations persist across many cities in the country both in the day and at night, causing heavy gridlock, with motorists spending an average of four hours to buy fuel.
The hydra-headed reasons for the prolonged fuel scarcity
TNG’s investigation has revealed that the latest fuel scarcity, which was initially thought to be caused by the importation of off-spec gasoline and then panic buying, is now being sustained by a raise in the ex-depot rate from the official N148.77 per litre to as much as N185 by some private depot owners due to prevailing circumstances, including the recent Ship-to-Ship Coordination Charge introduced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) last month.
TNG reports ex-depot price is the price at which depot owners sell the product to retail outlets and fuel marketers across the country. Findings by this newspaper revealed that out of about 130 depots in the country, 21 are owned by the NNPC, with the remaining 109 owned by private entities, and satellite depots, among others.
For about five years running, the NNPC has remained the sole importer of fuel, as most depot operators have been forced out of business due to scarcity of FOREX and the official retail price range of N162-N165, which oil marketers say leaves very little profit margin. So rather than import directly, these oil majors who own private depots buy from the NNPC and resell to retailers.
Petrol import into Nigeria between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 1st quarter of 2021 (in billion Naira)
Ideally, this should be done at the Corporation’s inland depots to reduce administrative bottlenecks and enable oil majors to sell at the approved N148/litre ex-depot price; but in reality, vessels are discharged at sea and third-party marketers say they incur additional costs such as clearance fees that make it unrealistic to sell petrol at the official ex-depot rate to retailers.
While there have been calls for an upward review of the ex-depot price, the NNPC last month introduced a Ship-to-Ship Coordination Charge of N500,000 for each trans-shipment operation to cover manpower, logistics, among others.
“Please be informed that the NNPC management has directed that effective February 10, 2022, the sum of N500,000 will be charged for STS Coordination fees for each trans-shipment operation involving the NNPC Marine Logistics. A Remita payment request will be generated by our accounts section for each operation to effect necessary payment upon the vessel’s tendering Notice of Readiness,” the letter from NNPC addressed to all oil marketers read in part.
Subsequently, some private depot owners have reflected this additional operational cost in their ex-depot price causing it to soar from the official N148/litre to between N180-N185/litre. In turn, some retailers afraid of being sanctioned for selling above the N165/litre are unable to purchase the product for N180/litre, but in many states like Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Bayelsa, Niger and Nasarawa, some daring retailers have adjusted their pump price to between N200-N250/litre in order to stay afloat, while black marketers sell between N300-N500 per litre.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had threatened that its members would not distribute products for any depot that sells above the official rate, but defending the increased pump price, Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Benin Depot, Douglas Iyike, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the increment was due to a hike in the ex-depot price of petrol and not any fault of the oil retailers.
“We want to place it on record that the increment is not due to any fault of oil marketers because we can only sell based on the price at which we buy petrol from the depots. There has been an increment in the ex-depot price which has left marketers with no option but to increase the pump price of petrol above the official N165 per litre in recent weeks,” Iyike said.
He added: “We believe that addressing the issue of the ex-depot price should be the focus of NUPENG and not attempting to picket petrol stations, which might lead to a breakdown of law and order”.
Sources at the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, the regulatory body in charge of ensuring that oil marketers operate within the approved standards told TNG that some oil majors like Total, Oando and Conoil who appear to sell at the official N165/litre, short-change the public by exceeding the tolerable error limit of 300-500 millimetres to above one litre.
“The standard for measurement is 20 litres. So what that means is that for every 20 litres of fuel you pay for, you are getting 19 litres. Total is the worst as they sometimes have up to 2 litres error, depending on the location of the station. It is difficult to enforce sanctions such as sealing of the station or revoking of certificates at a time like this because the consumers are willing to pay for it,” one source said.
In addition to these challenges, there has been an increase in the global cost of crude oil, from a market price of N234 ($0.61) per litre last year, to N310 ($0.74) per litre this month as the market price of a barrel of crude hit $118. Nigeria’s N17.126 trillion budget for 2022 and the supplementary budget of N2.56trillion for subsidy were anchored on an oil price benchmark of $62 per barrel.
The NNPC has been importing fuel at the market price and selling at N162 ($0.42) per litre through a subsidy intervention, but analysts fear that the country could go bankrupt if oil price continues to soar and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the IMF and World Bank have advised Nigeria to stop the fuel subsidy scheme to free resources for development.
Reacting to the escalating price of crude oil at the international market, President Muhammadu Buhari said at the opening ceremony of the 5th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2022) that the trend presents a unique revenue opportunity that Nigeria must seize.
“Crude oil prices are on the rise again after turning negative in April 2020. It is a great opportunity for us as a country. With the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in place, there should be no excuses. The enabling investment environment, which has been the bane of the industry has been taken care of by provisions in the PIA,” Buhari said.
On his part, Chairman of MOMAN Adetunji Oyebanji, explained that: “The benefit of a liberalized downstream is the most visible means of growing the economy in the medium to long term. Nigeria can become the refining hub of West and Central Africa and eventually the whole of Africa if we stick to this path of investing in new refineries, adopting a cost optimization initiative, building an environment that promotes competition and creates a sustainable petroleum sector.
“These actions would lead to increased employment, reduced poverty and reduced social inequity. We must take advantage of the opportunities brought by the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) and fully benefit from our barrels of crude, getting the maximum value it can bring Nigeria”.
Promoting Local Refining of Crude Oil through the PIA
Refineries in Nigeria are key national assets, and experts believe it is in the national interest if they are optimally run from a commercial perspective. The NNPC has four refineries – two in Port Harcourt (PHRC) and one each in Kaduna (KRPC) and Warri (WRPC), which together have a combined installed capacity of 445,000 barrels per day.
Despite the fact that the country has expended N1.47 trillion running and maintaining them between January 2015 to June 2020, these facilities have remained largely moribund, as the capacity utilization of the three refineries was put at 4.88 per cent in 2015; 11.92 per cent in 2016; 18.13 per cent in 2017; 10.13 per cent in 2018 and 2.19 per cent in 2019.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) establishes a new reality for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry Section 32 (e, f) empowers the NNPC to provide pricing and tariff frameworks based on a fair market value and not set or dictate prices and tariffs or pay subsidies.
In a bid to implement the Act, the Nigerian government had only provided subsidy for the first half of 2022, but the plan to remove subsidy was met with stiff resistance from labour unions that threatened to ground the country, compelling the government to extend the subsidy to the second half of 2022 through a supplementary budget sent to the National Assembly.
However, oil and gas expert Omowunmi Iledare, said subsidy removal would not only lessen fiscal budget debt financing but will also reduce drastically, FOREX volatility with less pressure from petroleum import demand on FOREX and in the long run encourage competitive pricing at the pump.
“There are those who will argue that if PIA 2021 is implemented within the context of petroleum price deregulation, there is going to be societal misfortunes – diminished energy access and affordability in terms of multi-dimension energy poverty index (MEPI), rising public transport fares, disproportionate income redistribution among the poor, inflation, and public discontentment.
“Nevertheless, the benefits of deregulation far outweigh the highlighted misfortunes in the long run. Political expediency trumping economic efficiency and effectiveness must not render PIA helpless in this debate,” Iledare argued.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, recently decried the huge subsidy spending, as he explained that Nigeria was a net importer of refined petroleum products and that this was counter-productive in terms of the rising prices of crude.
“In Nigeria right now, we are a net importer of petroleum products and when the prices of crude oil go up, they also affect the prices of petroleum products,” Sylva said.
On his part, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, insists that the transition “must have sanity” and guarantee the most-friendly fuel for the country in the short term of 10 years.
To this end, many Nigerians eagerly anticipate the commencement of the Dangote refinery, which is expected to begin processing of crude oil in the third quarter of 2022 at 650,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 102 million litres of oil per day, to meet Nigeria’s current 60 million litres per day consumption level.
In the meantime, the PIA stipulates that market forces should determine the price of fuel and many Nigerians view the current situation as a way of “testing the waters” before the total deregulation of the downstream sector; and they are bracing up for the challenges ahead.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will stop the sale of foreign exchange (FOREX) to commercial banks before the end of the year, its governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said in Abuja on Friday.
He said the banks would have to start sourcing their FOREX from export proceeds by massively supporting the non-oil sector of the economy.
Addressing newsmen as fallout of the 364th Bankers’ Committee Meeting, Emefiele said the decision was in line with CBN’s commitment to boost the country’s foreign reserves through proceeds from non-oil exports.
“The era is coming to an end when, because your customers need 100 million dollars in foreign exchange or 200 million dollars, you pass it to the CBN to give you dollars.
“It is coming to an end before or by the end of this year. We will tell them not to come to the CBN for foreign exchange again; they should go and generate their export proceeds.
“When those export proceeds come, we will fund them at 5 per cent for them and they will earn rebate.
“Then they can sell the proceeds to their customers that want 100 million dollars. But to say they will continue to come to the CBN to give them dollars, we will stop it,’’ he said.
Emefiele added that Nigeria could not continue to depend on FOREX earnings to fund import obligations of products whose prices and quantities were beyond the control of the CBN.
CBN had earlier introduced a new FOREX intervention programme – “Race to $200 billion’’ (RT200) – to help to boost non-oil exports and FOREX earnings.
Emefiele said RT200 aimed at generating 200 million dollars exclusively from non-oil exports over the next three years to five years.
He said that the CBN would provide concessionary, long-term loans for business people interested in expanding existing plants or building new ones for the purpose of adding value to non-oil commodities before exporting same.
“These loans will have a tenure of 10 years, with a two-year moratorium and an interest rate of 5 per cent,’’ Emefiele said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to take appropriate measures to improve access to foreign exchange for importation of raw materials and machines that are not available locally.
Buhari stated this during an advocacy visit of the leadership of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), led by Mansur Ahmed, to the Presidential Villa Abuja, on Wednesday.
The president, who was reacting to requests on making the manufacturing sector contribute more to the Nigerian economy, said the relevant Ministry would revisit their concerns about the increase in excise duties on the identified products and other tariff-related matters
On the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the president said Nigeria would fast track the process of setting up the Designated Competent Authority that will superintend the administration of Rules of Origin and Commission as well as the automation for issuance of electronic Certificate of Origin.
According to him, the federal government will also ensure that relevant structured platforms are established for monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the Ease of Doing Business and improved Government patronage of made in Nigeria products.
‘‘Our strategic plan to boost manufacturing activities in the country is on course.
‘‘We will continue to improve the patronage of locally made goods, bridge the gap between skills required by industry and those provided by our tertiary institutions and ensure seamless access to long term finance for our Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
‘‘We recognize that MAN remains a key stakeholder in this journey and we will continue our engagement with you,’’ he said.
According to the president, a private sector led economy is the way to create jobs in the country.
He, therefore, urged the leadership of MAN to continue to encourage manufacturers that government recognized the resilience of their members and other private sector organisations in promoting a virile manufacturing sector in Nigeria.
‘‘I beseech you to continue to support the Government in our quest to provide the appropriate environment that will attract the necessary investment both domestic and foreign for the upliftment of the nation’s economy,’’ he said.
On the impact of COVID-19 on world economies, the president noted that while the pandemic had an adverse impact on the Nigerian economy with the attendant fluctuations in the price of oil, his administration had effectively contained the spread of the pandemic and other diseases.
He added that the federal government would continue to consistently deploy prudent means of judiciously utilising the limited revenue to sustain the economy and stimulate growth.
President Buhari also reemphasised that in spite of limited resources, his government had made appreciable progress in road and rail infrastructure development.
He said the government had also provided stimulus packages for the manufacturing sector; improvement in energy management and support for exporters with a view to improving the operating environment for businesses in Nigeria.
‘‘These projects are there for all to see.
‘‘Furthermore, we are vigorously pursuing reforms on ease of doing business and currently putting in place other necessary policy measures and incentives that will guarantee full recovery from the consequences of COVID-19, sustain economic development and further shield the economy from the potential impact of fluctuations in the price of crude oil in the global market.
‘‘I have listened carefully to all the challenges enumerated by the president of MAN and would like to assure you that, like we have done in the recent past, we will give consideration to some of the constraints that are yet to be fully addressed, especially those that align with our policies and programmes for economic recovery and sustainable development.
‘‘Let me assure you that this Administration is fully aware that the survival of Nigeria lies in Agriculture and having a viable domestic Manufacturing sector.
‘‘I must emphasise here that when I say Agriculture, I also refer to Agro-Allied business which is the value-added component in the value chain.
‘‘A strong manufacturing sector creates more jobs and wealth for our people.
‘‘It will usher in sustainable economic prosperity because we will produce what we consume as a nation and generate foreign exchange by exporting surpluses and by import substitution,’’ he said.
In her remarks, the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Mariam Katagum pledged that the Ministry would continue to work with MAN in the areas of policy, trade and creating an environment to facilitate the growth of businesses in Nigeria.
‘‘MAN is in business to create a climate of opinion in this country so that manufacturers can operate efficiently and profitably for the benefit of all,’’ she said.
On his part, the MAN president said the advocacy visit was largely motivated by two things: namely, to thank the President for all the support extended to the manufacturing sector since his assumption of office in 2015, and seek the urgent support of the federal government for the manufacturing sector to overcome the binding constraints to competitive manufacturing in Nigeria.
On the challenges facing the sector, Ahmed said the association had articulated remedial measures for these challenges in the Blueprint for Accelerated Development of Manufacturing in Nigeria, which would be formally presented to the president within the first quarter of 2022.
He, however, highlighted a few challenges that could be addressed in the immediate term in order to improve the manufacturing environment.
They include: inadequate supply of foreign exchange, inadequate electricity supply, poor access to long term fund, patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Goods and local content development, looming increases in tax rate, among others.
Ahmed also used the occasion to formally present the new logo and annual report of the association to President Buhari.
Mr Emmanuel Auta, the Managing Director, Abegyi Nigeria Limited has narrated how he lost N80 million in Forex trading.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Mr Auta was standing as a witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when he gave the narrative.
He narrated to an FCT High Court, Kubwa how Mr Philemon Gora allegedly swindled him of N80 million in Forex trade.
The EFCC charged Gora, Managing Director of G Commanding Resources Limited with 12-counts charges bordering on obtaining under false pretence.
TNG reports Auta, made the allegation while being led in evidence by the EFCC prosecution counsel, Samuel Ugwuegbulam.
He said he wrote a petition to the EFCC on the matter, through his lawyer, Ayodeji Ayodele on November 23, 2017.
“Sometime in 2014, I was introduced to the defendant as a forex trader in his office, at Area 8, Abuja.
“The defendant made a presentation to me about forex trading, saying if I could invest in it, he will remit 20 per cent to me monthly.
“After the presentation, we had another meeting in his house and he guaranteed me of the interest rate so I deposited N20 million with him in April, 2014.
“I gave him a letter of authority based on the resolution of my company to transfer funds from my company account with Time Microfinance Bank located in Kafachan, Kaduna State (owned by the defendant) to his company account.
“He transferred N40 million in May 19, 2014 and N20 million on June 3 of the said year, including my initial N20 million, totaling N80 million.
“After all the transfers, I could not get through to him on phone so I went to his house and discovered he had moved out but got a hint that he moved to A.Y.A, Asokoro.
“I confronted him on why I had not gotten any interest as agreed and he apologised and gave me another phone number to reach him which I tried in his presence and it went through.
“So, I left with the assurance that I would get interest on my investment within 30 days,” Auta said.
He said after 60 days he did not hear from the defendant and learnt that he was no longer in the country.
“I got a phone number to reach him abroad and I called but he told me he was on a business trip and would return.
“After that, all efforts to reach the defendant proved abortive until sometime in 2015, I got a hint that he was in the country and was at a meeting in the Ministry of Justice.
“I reported the case to the FCT Police Command and was given two policemen who joined my lawyer and I to the ministry where the defendant was taken to the Area Command, Abuja and he wrote his statement.
“The defendant admitted to the police about our transactions, so they gave us opportunity to dialogue between ourselves, and that was the last time I heard from him until I wrote to the EFCC and was invited to write my statement; I discovered he was in their custody,’’ he said.
The prosecution counsel asked the witness what convinced him to believe the defendant was into forex trading.
The witness said the defendant delivered a presentation, showed him a certificate of bank registration he owned and two documents that involved Bureau de change.
TNG reports the letter of authority to transfer funds issued by the nominal complainant to the defendant, and petition written to the EFCC and documents received from the defendant were tendered as exhibits and admitted.
However, the defence counsel, Unekwu Enegbani asked for an evidence to show that the witness paid the said sum directly to the defendant.
Enegbani further asked if the witness was aware that the defendant’s bank accounts were frozen.
In response, the witness said he collected a statement of payment showing the transaction flow from Time Microfinance Bank and was not aware the defendant’s account were frozen.
Justice Kezziah Ogbonnaya, however, adjourned the case until Oct. 18 for hearing.
