Business

CBN, ICPC, CSO, Others Monitor POS Transaction In Edo Markets

Published

3 years ago

February 10, 2023

As part of its efforts to ameliorate the suffering of the people occasioned by the recent naira notes scarcity, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Benin Branch, on Thursday, commenced the monitoring of banks agents also known as Point Of Sales (POS) payment with lower charges to resident in Benin City.

The banks agents under the strict supervision of the officials of CBN, Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and members of the Edo State Civil Society Organisations (EDOSO), were paying their customers a maximum of N5000 per N100 charges.

At the popular Oba Market, Ring Road in Benin, traders and sellers who benefitted from the effortless withdrawal of cash from the POS agents commended CBN for the initiative, saying the exercise would ease their stress of queuing for long hours at the Banks.

They appealed for optimization of the money from N5,000 to N20,000 at least so as to enable them meet other challenges.

The leader of the market women at Ekiosa, Mrs.Janet Ogiamien Iyase thanked the CBN for coming to their rescue through this initiative.

She said they have earlier cried to the state government who invited them to a stakeholders meeting with the leadership of the various banks in the state.

Mrs. Iyase said they were almost losing it, noting that they can neither buy nor sell because there was no money.

“I pray that God should bless the CBN for coming up with this method of cushioning our pains.

“We have really suffered in the past few days but today, I am happy because the money I should have gone to withdraw from the bank, I can now withdraw from you right away”, Iyase said.

Another woman, Mrs. Eghosa Ogiamien Obayagbona who made a withdrawal of N5000 after paying the sum N100 as charges, said the process was seamless.

She added that she had earlier gone to the bank to withdraw money but after wasting much time, she was told that there was no money.

Speaking to journalists during the exercise, the Director, Risk Management Department of CBN, Dr. Blaise Ijebor, said the exercise was to avail the people who have paid into their banks account the old naira notes to withdraw their money for their transaction.

Dr. Ijebor added that it was also aimed at reducing the long queues in the banks.

“We are at Oba Market and we want to help in reducing queues in banks.

“So, we are coming to the markets to allow people who had paid in their old naira notes into the banks to be able to withdraw N5000 at the normal charge of N100 so that we can serve the people and reduce the queues and tension at the banks.

“A lot of people are complaining that they cannot withdraw the money they paid into the banks, now we are giving them the opportunity right here in the market to collect money so that they can continue to transact.

“This is an opportunity for people to get their money and for business to continue to thrive in Edo state”, he said

The CBN director, however, disclosed that “we will be doing this in the next several days to reduce the queue in the bank”.

Business

Naira Records Second Consecutive Depreciation Against US Dollar

Published

7 days ago

November 12, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded its second consecutive depreciation against the United States dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday to continue the bearish trend this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira further weakened on Tuesday to N1,438.71 against the dollar, down from N1,437.2933 exchanged on Monday.

This means that the Naira again dropped by N1.42 against the dollar on Tuesday on a day-to-day basis.

At the black market, the Naira remained flat at N1465 per dollar on Tuesday, the same rate traded on Monday.

This is the second consecutive decline of Nigerian currency at the official market since the commencement of this week.

Meanwhile, the country’s external reserves had continued to rise, standing at $43.37 billion as of Monday, 10th November 2025, up from $43.35 billion on November 7.

Business

Tinubu Approves 15% Import Duty On Petrol, Diesel

Published

3 weeks ago

October 30, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved a 15 percent ad-valorem import duty on diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.

This was announced in a letter dated October 21, 2025, where the private secretary to the president, Damilotun Aderemi, conveyed Tinubu’s approval to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Tinubu gave his approval, following a request by the FIRS to apply the 15 percent duty on the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) to align import costs to domestic realities.

With the approval, the implementation of the import duty will increase a litre of petrol by an estimated N99.72 kobo.

The latest development has led to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announcing that it has begun a detailed review of the country’s three petroleum refineries, with a view to bringing them back online.

NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari, made the announcement in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday night.

According to Ojulari, one of the options being explored by the NNPCL is to search for technical equity partners to ‘high-grade or repurpose’ the facilities.

Tagged: “Update on Our Refineries”, Ojulari said: “The NNPCL continues to remain optimistic that the refineries will operate efficiently, despite current setbacks.”

It can be recalled that despite spending about $3 billion on revamping the refineries, only the 60,000 barrels per day portion of the facility worked skeletally for just a few months before packing up.

The Warri refinery has remained ineffective weeks after it was gleefully announced to have returned to production, while the one situated in Kaduna State never took off at all.

Business

NNPCL Raises Fuel Price

Published

1 month ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of petrol from ₦865 to ₦992 per litre, marking a fresh hike that has sparked widespread concern among motorists and consumers .

As of the time of filing this report, the company has not released any official statement explaining the reason for the sudden adjustment.

During visits to several NNPC retail outlets, The Nation observed fuel attendants recalibrating their pumps to reflect the new price.

At NNPC filling station on Ogunusi road, Ojodu Berger, petrol attendants at the station said they were instructed to change the price to reflect the new rate N992 per litre.

However, checks at Ibafo along the Lagos /Ibadan expressway showed that NNPC outlets still displayed the old price of N875 per litre, although they were not selling to commuters.

Most of the NNPC stations were not dispensing fuel.