Business

Group Backs Calls For Emefiele’e Resignation

Published

4 years ago

September 17, 2021

The Nigeria Citizens Action Group (NCAG), a coalition of 35 civil society organisations, has supported the call of concerned Nigerians that Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, resigns his position with immediate effect to save the country from total collapse.

Comrade Isah Abubakar, Convener, NCAG, in a joint statement, said, “The Nigeria Citizens Action Group (NCAG), a coalition of Thirty-Five (35) Civil Society Organisations, is constraint to lend its voice with that of numerous other concerned Nigerians that have been calling on Mr Godwin Emefiele, Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor (CBN) to resign with immediate effect to save the country from total collapse, which is imminent.”

The coalition noted that the call became necessary following the extensive review of the tenure of Emefiele as the head of the nation’s apex bank.

The statement explained that it has come to the sad conclusion that Emefiele should humbly step aside and allow a more competent person to step in, to save the country from total collapse.

“We understand that it will be difficult for him and his hangers on to reason with us, but we wish to beg on them to put on their garment of patriotism and save our country,” the statement explained.

The statement noted that it was during the formative stage of the first tenure of Emefiele that monies meant for the procurement of arms to fight Boko Haram terrorists and budding bandits in other parts of the country were converted to campaign funds and some given to “prayer warriors”, adding that many prominent Nigerians are facing trials for benefitting from that bazaar and wondered why he is still enjoying total freedom till date

It said that when Adedoyin Salami, a member of the country’s monetary policy in 2017, cautioned the CBN Governor against the excessive funding of the Federal Government which was 20 fold higher than the approved threshold. It added that Emefiele refused to take correction, lamenting that many sound economists described Emefiele’s Monetary Policy as “reckless and illegal” which will set the Nigerian economy for a “Big Fall”.

It noted that the big fall is here as $1 is currently equivalent to over N545.

The group noted that the CBN acted in error and was guided by copy and paste policy when its included foodstuff import prohibition lists despite having the foreknowledge that the country largely depends on subsistence farming which was under serious threat by bandits, terrorists, and farmers/herders crisis in various part of the country.

It said that currently, Nigerians have been thrown into a state of acute hunger, which is contributing to the rising insecurity in the country.

The group further stressed that the CBN under the watch of its incumbent Governor claimed to have reeled out several interventions running into trillions of Naira whose impact could only be felt on papers not in real life, stressing that many of the failed and corruption challenged programs of the CBN is not limited to Anchor-Borrowers Programme.

The statement noted that recently, the United Arab Emirates government arrested, convicted, and blacklisted some Bureau de Change Operators of Nigerian origin who have been fingered in financing terrorism globally, adding that the monies have been passing through the ineffective eyes of the CBN unnoticed into the hands of terrorists.

It said took the intervention of foreign government to block such a channel, as the CBN under Emefiele is more concerned with frivolities rather than the general well-being of the country.

The coalition, therefore, called on the CBN governor to resign with immediate effect to allow an independent and hitch-free probe of his tenure.

It also called on the Federal Government to delist rice and some food materials from import prohibition items, saying that this would help to reduce the prices of food that is beyond the reach of common Nigerians.

The statement called on the anti-graft agencies to arrest Emefiele with immediate effect to ascertain the level of his involvement in the arms procurement scandal and other programmes that failed under his watch due to growing corruption.

(DAILY POST)

Business

Naira Depreciates Against Dollar

Published

1 week ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

The Naira experienced a slight depreciation on Friday at the official market, trading at N1,528.56 to the dollar.

Data obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Naira lost N2.73.

This represents a 0.17 percent loss compared to the N1,525.82 recorded on Thursday.

The Naira, which opened the week on Monday with a gain of N9.52 against the dollar, held steady gains until Thursday.

On Wednesday, the local currency gained N3.42 against the dollar and received commendation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF, in its 2025 Article IV Consultation report on Nigeria, commended the CBN for its reforms to the foreign exchange market, which supported price discovery and liquidity.

Business

JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Ex-depot Price

Published

3 weeks ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

Nigerians may soon pay more for petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Friday increased its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit to N880 per litre, raising fresh concerns over fuel affordability and price volatility in the downstream sector.

Checks on petroleumprice.ng, a platform tracking daily product prices, and a Pro Forma Invoice seen by The PUNCH confirmed the hike, representing a N55 increase from the previous rate of N825 per litre.

The increment would ripple across the entire fuel distribution chain, likely pushing pump prices above N900/litre in some parts of the country, especially in areas far from the distribution hubs.

The hike comes despite global crude prices falling. Brent crude dipped by 3.02% to $76.47, WTI fell to $74.93, and Murban dropped to $76.97 on Friday. The decline in benchmarks offers little relief due to persistent fears of sudden supply disruptions.

The refinery has increased its reliance on imported U.S. crude and operational costs amid exchange rate instability, which adds to its pricing pressure.

On Thursday, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said his 650,000-barrel capacity refinery is “increasingly” relying on the United States for crude oil.

This came as findings showed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is projected to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months, amid ongoing allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy.

Dangote informed the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the sale of crude and refined products in naira initiative that the refinery was still battling crude shortages, which had led it to resort to imports from the United States.

On Monday, the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, accused oil marketers of exploiting Nigerians through inflated petrol prices, insisting that the current pump price of PMS should range between N700 and N750 per litre.

He criticised the disparity between falling global crude oil prices and the stagnant retail price of petrol in Nigeria.

“If you go online and check the PLAT cost per cubic metre of PMS, convert that to litres and then to our Naira, you will see that with crude at around $60 per barrel, petrol should be retailing between N700 and N750 per litre.”

He asserted that if Nigerians bear the brunt of higher fuel costs, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefit of low pricing.

His forecast of increased costs now appears spot on, considering the latest developments.

Marketers are already adjusting. Depot owners and fuel distributors in Lagos and other cities anticipate a domino effect, with new price bands expected to follow Dangote’s lead.

Many had held back pricing decisions since Tuesday, when the refinery halted sales and withheld fresh PFIs. The delay fueled speculation, allowing opportunistic price hikes across various depots.

Business

Naira Appreciates At Official Market

Published

2 months ago

May 24, 2025

Editor

The Naira, which has seen steady appreciation against the Dollar all week, closed stronger on Friday, trading at ₦1,580.44 in the official forex market.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website show the Naira gained ₦4.51k against the Dollar on Friday alone.

This marks a 0.28 per cent appreciation from Thursday’s closing rate of ₦1,584.95 in the official foreign exchange window.

The local currency maintained consistent strength throughout the week, recording gains daily.

On Monday, May 19, it traded at ₦1,598.68; on Tuesday, at ₦1,590.45; and on Wednesday, at ₦1,584.49.

These gains suggest increased investor confidence and improved forex supply, contributing to the naira’s performance.

Meanwhile, the CBN, at its 300th Monetary Policy Committee meeting held Monday and Tuesday, retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 27.5 per cent.