Business

Fuel, Naira Scarcity: Osun CSOs Accuse Buhari, Emefiele Of Insensitivity

Published

3 years ago

February 6, 2023

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been described as inconsiderate and insensitive to the plight of the citizens.

This is as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been accused of playing hide-and-seek on the circulation of the new naira notes.

This formed the basis of the text of a press conference jointly addressed by the Osun Civil Societies Coalition and the People’s Advocates on the lingering scarcity of fuel and the redesigned Naira notes in the country on Monday, February 6, 2023, in Osogbo.

The statement jointly signed by Waheed Lawal and Emmanuel Olowu, Chairman and Publicity Secretary, Osun Civil Societies Coalition and The Peoples Advocates alluded to the fact that Nigerians are going through hell to get fuel and cash for personal use and business purposes.

While accusing the CBN of refusal to make available the redesigned Naira notes, they alleged that it amounted to a deliberate attempt to punish Nigerians unjustly.

It also demanded that the Central Bank of Nigeria make enough amount of the new Naira notes available to the banks for onward disbursement to the general public.

“Considering the pains being experienced by the common men in getting cash for their livelihood, it would not be out of place to declare that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government is inconsiderate and insensitive to the plight of the citizens.

“We need not to tell you the agony of Nigerians who queue for more than six hours to get cash from ATM. Some people are even unlucky as they will not be able to get cash at the end of the day after spending several hours in the queue.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria led by Mr Godwin Emefiele has clearly been playing hide-and-seek in the circulation of the new naira notes. We acknowledged the fact that there are saboteurs among the top echelon of the banking industries but the CBN has not also released enough amount of the redesigned denominations to banks through which they can be disbursed to the generality of people. This is responsible for the ridiculous amount of cash being paid to people over the counter.

“Economically, the scarcity of cash has crippled many businesses and further pushed millions of Nigerians far below the poverty line. Petty traders no longer make sales because of cash transactions which their trading depends upon. We make bold to say that this financial policy of the Federal Government is doing more harm than good presently. There should have been another way round to maintain a balance between cash control and the wellbeing of the people.”

Describing the sufferings of Nigerians as double jeopardy, the Civil Societies Organisations added that President Muhammadu Buhari has been laying lip service to ensuring that fuel is available at an affordable rate for Nigerians even as he directly supervises the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

“It equally speaks volumes of a President that has been supervising everything that has to do with petroleum resources to ask for seven days to address the fuel scarcity.

“The two key issues have taken away the dignity of the majority of Nigerians. We have seen videos where men and women stripped themselves naked in protest against their inability to get cash. Car owners have long been sleeping at filling stations for fuel. Many people have been injured as a result of fights at filling stations and ATM centres. In Osun today, we have filling stations selling fuel between N350 and N400 per litre. The masses remain the end receiver of this economic mismanagement. The reverberating effect falls on the common people who go to the market to buy foodstuffs, board public transport, pay bills, etc.”

While calling for an urgent address of the calamities, the group warned that if action is not taken, violent protests may be triggered nationwide.

“It is the awareness of this fact, coupled with the intelligence report that made us to suspend the mass protest that was supposed to be held today. We do not want to create a platform for some elements whose only language is violence. The outcome of last week’s protest in Ibadan and Benin is an indication that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder. The hardship is becoming unbearable to the generality of the people.

“While we suspend our protest for today, we will hit the streets anytime soon if the cash and fuel scarcity persists.”

The group also called on security operatives and anti-graft agencies to go after bank managers and other officials who have been hoarding the new naira notes and sabotaging other processes of getting the new denominations widely circulated.

While demanding an end to fuel scarcity, they also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to be more sensitive to the plight of the people.

Business

Tinubu Approves 15% Import Duty On Petrol, Diesel

Published

1 week 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

4 weeks 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.

Business

CBN Directs Banks To Refund Failed ATM Transactions Within 48hrs

Published

4 weeks ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions to refund customers for failed Automated Teller Machine transactions within 48 hours, in a sweeping reform aimed at protecting consumers and restoring confidence in the banking system.

The directive is contained in a draft guideline released by the apex bank on Saturday, titled “Exposure of the Draft Guidelines on the Operations of Automated Teller Machines in Nigeria.”

The document, signed by Musa I. Jimoh, Director of Payments System Policy Department, was circulated to banks, payment service providers, card schemes, and independent ATM deployers, with a call for stakeholder feedback by October 31, 2025.

Under the draft, failed “on-us” transactions, where customers use their own bank’s ATM, must be reversed instantly. If technical glitches prevent immediate reversal, the bank is required to manually refund the customer within 24 hours.

For “not-on-us” transactions, involving other banks’ ATMs, refunds must be processed within 48 hours.

“Customers must not be made to suffer for failed transactions caused by system errors or network failures,” the circular stressed.

In a significant shift, the CBN mandated banks and ATM acquirers to deploy technology that automatically reverses failed or partial transactions, removing the need for customers to lodge complaints.

Institutions holding customer funds due to failed disbursements must reconcile and return balances immediately.

According to the apex bank, these measures respond to widespread frustration over delayed refunds and poor customer service and form part of a broader effort to enhance consumer protection, improve reliability, and modernise Nigeria’s payment infrastructure in line with global standards.

The guidelines will also overhaul ATM operations nationwide. Banks and card issuers are now required to deploy at least one ATM for every 5,000 active cards, with phased targets of 30% compliance in 2026, 60% in 2027, and full compliance by 2028. Any future deployment, relocation, or decommissioning of ATMs must receive prior approval from the CBN.

To ensure safety, ATMs must be fitted with anti-skimming devices, CCTV cameras, and placed in enclosed or well-lit areas.

Machines are expected to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, maintain audit logs, and display functional helpdesk contacts. At least 2% of all ATMs must feature tactile symbols for visually impaired customers.

ATMs are also required to dispense cash before returning cards, allow free PIN changes, issue receipts for all transactions except balance inquiries, display clear transaction fees, dispense only clean banknotes, and provide backup power to reduce downtime.

Downtime must not exceed 72 consecutive hours, after which operators must inform the public of the cause and expected restoration time.

The CBN will enforce compliance through regular audits, on-site inspections, and monthly reports from ATM operators detailing deployments and locations. Defaulting institutions risk sanctions, though fines were not specified.

The apex bank explained that the overhaul was necessary due to rising complaints about failed transactions, cyber fraud, and declining service quality, noting that “the goal is to build a payments system that works seamlessly for everyone, urban and rural users alike.”

Nigeria’s electronic payments landscape has grown rapidly in recent years, with 200 million cardholders and rising reliance on digital banking, but network failures, poor infrastructure, and delayed reversals have continued to undermine confidence.

The fresh guidelines, coming eight months after a revision of ATM fees, are expected to streamline service delivery, enhance transaction security, and hold banks accountable. Stakeholders are invited to submit feedback ahead of the final policy adoption, which could take effect before the end of the year.