Business
Banks to digitise FX sales, threaten to sanction fraudulent customers
The bankers’ committee, on Thursday, announced plans to begin the sale of foreign exchange to customers through the platform of the Nigerian Inter-bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).
The committee is a forum of chief executives of Nigerian banks and the directors of the different departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the CBN governor as chairman.
Last month at the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting, the apex bank said it would no longer sell FX to Bureau De Change operators(BDCs).
Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, said the apex bank would channel weekly allocations of dollar sales to commercial banks to meet legitimate FX demands.
Speaking with journalists at the end of the bankers’ committee meeting, Segun Agbaje, group managing director of Guarantee Trust Holding Company (GTCO), said that foreign exchange for personal travel allowance (PTA), tuition fees, among others, would soon be sold online.
At the Thursday meeting, the committee discussed the state of economy, foreign exchange (FX) policies and stoppage of FX to BDCs and the ongoing rehabilitation of the National Arts Theatre which is aimed at repositioning Nigeria on the global tourism map.
“I hope that many of you will see that the new Foreign Exchange policy with regards to Invisibles, Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), tuition fees, and medical payments, is working very well,” NAN quoted Agbaje to have said.
“We have taken it upon ourselves along with the regulator to make sure that this works; and this is just the first phase and if you noticed most of the things you are doing today, you are going into the branches to do most things.
“But, we are going to also try to digitise this whole thing the way the world is going; and that is being done by Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) where you will be able to buy online.”
According to him, the NIBSS already has a portal, through which banks share information on the application process.
Agbaje warned fraudulent individuals to have a change of mind as any one caught would not be able to do anything in the banking system again.
He further said the punishment would not only be meted to fraudulent individuals, but also to any bank and staff that contravened the apex bank’s rules.
In addition to digitising, Agbaje expressed the hope that customers would no longer carry out all their transactions by cash.
“The world today is not friendly about arriving in countries with cash, so we are hoping that people will be able to put this on their cards and card account,” he said.
“If you use a card, there is more KYC that can easily be done! It will be quicker, cheaper and faster, you will be less harassed when you arrive in countries and there will be no need for you to fill a cash declaration form.”
Speaking on the rehabilitation of the National Arts Theatre, Herbert Wigwe, managing director of Access Bank, said the entire project would be completed December 2022.
“What I want to say is just to let the public know that work has started in earnest,” Wigwe said.
“There is a second module to the national theatre which has to do with music, fashion, information technology as well as the film industry.
“What that does, apart from National Theatre, which can host major events, people can work on different structures in which they can rent, build spaces around them, to do whatever creative thing they need to do so long as valuable products will be coming out of it.
“So that second phase will start shortly, I think most of the contracts will be awarded sometime in September.
“And we expect that the entire project should be completed, that is, the National theatre and the various vatican should be ready by December 2022.”
Aviation
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.
The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.
All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.
A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.
Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.
The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.
“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.
“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.
“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”
Business
NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production
NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).
The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.
“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.
Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.
READ ALSO:
- BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year
- EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud
- FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.
He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.
On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.
NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production
Business
FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country.
This is contained in a statement issued by Anthonia Eremah, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Thursday, in Abuja.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made his know at the unveiling of the 2024/2025 National Dry Season Farming in Calabar, Cross River State capital.
Kyari explained that with the re-introduction of the national dry season farming to boost year-round agricultural production, the loan would be handy and guarantee national food security in the country.
The minister said the initiative is under the National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.
He said the federal government had declared an emergency on food production to enable all Nigerians to get easy access to quality and nutritional food at affordable rates.
Kyari also said government wants to use the agricultural sector for national economic revival through increase in production of some staple food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava during both dry and wet season farming.
He added that 107,429 wheat farmers were supported under phase 1 of the 2023/2024 dry season, and 43,997 rice farmers under the second phase of the 2023/2024 dry season.
READ ALSO:
- Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
- We are understaffed, ICPC boss laments
- Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
The minister said recently, government supported 192,095 rice, maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean and cassava farmers under the 2024 wet season across the 37 States including the FCT.
He said Cross River was leading 16 other states in wheat production, adding that over 3000 wheat farmers have been listed to benefit from the support to grow the grain.
Kyari noted the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production.
He said it informed why the federal government is partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing the current 2024/2025 dry season farming.
“The 2024/2025 dry season farming, the project is targeted to support 250,000 wheat farmers across the wheat-producing states with subsidised agricultural inputs.
“This is to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of about 750,000 metric tonnes of wheat to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on importation of the product and also increase domestic consumption.
“Equally the programme will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 states, including FCT, with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tonnes,” he said.
FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
(NAN)
-
Sports16 hours agoBREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025
-
Aviation18 hours agoDisaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
-
Railway3 days agoNigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route
-
International3 days agoUK announces 45,000 seasonal worker visas for 2025
-
Education2 days ago12-year-old Nigerian girl Eniola Shokunbi invents air filter to reduce spread of diseases in US schools
-
Business3 days agoTop 5 crypto apps that work with Nigerian Bank accounts
-
Politics2 days agoWhy I can’t form coalition with Peter Obi – Sowore
-
News19 hours agoEdo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name