Improved Economy: Nigerians Fault Buhari’s Indices

Published

2 years ago

January 5, 2022

Editor

President Muhammadu Buhari’s assertion that the economy had improved has been opposed by Nigerians.

In his New Year speech, Buhari said his administration recorded significant achievements despite the downturn in local and global economy.

He noted that the lessons learnt from COVID-19 encouraged increased efforts to mitigate its socio-economic effects.

The President mentioned the most recent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The 4.03% growth recorded in the third quarter of 2021, according to him, confirms recovery, confidence and effective blueprint.

“This recent growth is closely followed by the 5.1% (year on year) growth in real terms recorded by Nigeria in Quarter 2 of 2021.

“This growth was one of the best recorded by any nation across Sub-Saharan Africa. The 5.1% growth at that time remains the highest recorded by the Nigerian economy since 2014”, Buhari stated.

But responding, a civil engineer based in Ibadan, Toba Atolagbe, disagreed with the President, stressing that the economy has become worse, “especially in the last three years”.

The builder advised Buhari against relying on figures on paper, but to meet people on the streets and allow the best brains handle policies.

“His ego is large, a big problem. He should let go of it and put his vice in charge of anything that has to do with the economy.

“We all witnessed how the economy progressed when Yemi Osinbajo took charge”, Atolagbe recalled.

Precious Tombari, a staff of a firm in Rivers, maintained that the government’s position was different from what was obtained nationwide.

The citizen said the rise in the cost of food items, transport, kerosene, gas and other necessities had made life become unbearable for the poor.

“The major success of any government is the provision of cheap livelihood for the masses and this isn’t the case.

“Basic things are now luxury for the ordinary man. There are now few affordable houses, food, amenities, etc.

“This government is a big failure. All they do is come up with ridiculous laws that frustrate the majority of the population.

“All sectors are failing; doctors and tech guys are relocating. The number of people who have left the country since 2015 is an all-time high.”

Tombari urged the government to put in place structures and regulations to help the commoners access the basic things.

Another respondent, Tosin, a fashion designer in Lagos, told the federal government to “get uncomfortable with 2%, 3% growth rates”.

“Nigeria needs to grow by at least 26% for the next 30 years to break away from shambles into abundance”, he advocated.

On Tuesday, Buhari appointed Doyin Salami as his Chief Economic Adviser. He was Chairman of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).

The Associate Professor obtained a Doctorate degree in Economics from the Queen Mary College, University of London.

FULL LIST: CBN Publishes List Of Licensed Deposit Money Banks

Published

11 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released a comprehensive list of licensed Deposit Money Banks operating within the country.

The list, which was made public on the CBN’s official website on Tuesday, provides insights into the banking landscape in Nigeria.

Banks with international authorisation include Access Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited, First Bank Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited, United Bank of Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.

Commercial banks with national authorisation include Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Heritage Bank Plc, Globus Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, Titan Trust Bank Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Premium Trust Bank Limited and Optimus Bank Limited.

Commercial banks with regional licenses are Providus Bank Limited, Parallex Bank Limited, Suntrust Bank Nigeria Limited, and Signature Bank Limited.

Players in the non-interest banking sector with national authorisation include Jaiz Bank Plc, Taj Bank Limited, Lotus Bank Limited, and Alternative Bank Limited.

In the merchant banking category, the apex banks listed, are Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, FBN Merchant Bank Limited, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited, Nova Merchant Bank Limited, and Rand Merchant Bank Limited.

The financial holding companies listed were Access Holdings Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, FSDH Holding Company Limited, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and Sterling Financial Holdings Limited.

The Mauritius Commercial Bank Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited was listed as the sole representative office.

Business

[ICYMI]FULL LIST: 16 Banking Transactions Exempted From CBN’s New

Published

2 days ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday directed all banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country.

The apex bank stated this in a circular signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi; and the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa; a copy of which was obtained by The PUNCH.

The circular, which was directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others; noted that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from Monday, May 6, 2024.

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy,’” the circular partly read.

In this piece, The PUNCH highlights all the 16 banking transactions that are exempted from the CBN’s new cybersecurity levy:

Loan disbursements and repayments
Salary payments
Intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer
Intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank
Other Financial Institutions instructions to their correspondent banks
Interbank placements,
Banks’ transfers to CBN and vice-versa
Inter-branch transfers within a bank
Cheque clearing and settlements
Letters of Credits

Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding – only bulk funds movement from collection accounts
Savings and deposits, including transactions involving long-term investments such as Treasury Bills, Bonds, and Commercial Papers.
Government Social Welfare Programmes transactions e.g. Pension payments
Non-profit and charitable transactions, including donations to registered non-profit organisations or charities
Educational institutions’ transactions, including tuition payments and other transactions involving schools, universities, or other educational institutions
Transactions involving bank’s internal accounts such as suspense accounts, clearing accounts, profit and loss accounts, inter-branch accounts, reserve accounts, nostro and vostro accounts, and escrow accounts.

Business

ICYMI: Five Things To Know About The New Cybersecurity Levy To Be Paid By Nigerians

Published

2 days ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria, on Monday, directed banks and other financial institutions to start charging a cybersecurity levy on all banking transactions.

According to the circular sighted by The PUNCH, the implementation of the levy would start in two weeks.

The circular read in part, “Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and pursuant to the provision of Section 44 (2)(a) of the Act, ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act,’ is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund, which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.”

Here are some things to know about the cybersecurity levy to be paid by Nigerians, according to the CBN circular:

1. A new levy of 0.5%, equivalent to half per cent, is applied to electronic transactions as mandated by the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024.

2. The levy is paid by the originator of the electronic transaction and deducted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration: “Cybersecurity Levy.”

3. Financial institutions will deduct the levy and remit it to the National Cybersecurity Fund administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

4. Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of the circular, May 6, and financial institutions must remit collected levies in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN monthly by the fifth business day of the following month.

5. Financial institutions have deadlines to update their systems to handle levy deduction and remittance. Failure to remit the levy can result in penalties, including a fine of up to 2% of a financial institution’s annual turnover.