Business
No agenda to Islamise Nigeria, says Islamic Devt Bank
The Islamic Development Bank, IsDB, has no agenda to Islamise Nigeria, Dr. Thamer Baazeem, Director of Marketing and Communication, has said.
Leading a four-man delegation to Vanguard Regional Office, Abuja, yesterday, Baazeem explained that the IsDB was like any other development finance institution mainly focusing on the socio-economic development of the people in member countries.
He said: “Sometimes, because our name is Islamic Development Bank, some people think that we do projects to Islamise the places we operate, especially here in Nigeria, we have heard that a lot. I can assure you, this is not in our agenda at all.
“We are a socio-economic development agency or institution. Our projects can be in a Christian dominated community, depending on the needs of the country.
“If the national development plan says we have a need here and the project went well, the project will be done there, no matter the religion or ethnicity in that part of the country.
“Even our projects in non-member countries we help Muslim communities in non-member countries but we help them in projects like schools and hospitals.
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‘’These facilities are open to everyone and we help them to be better citizens of their countries because when people have better economic status, they begin to contribute to the development of their nations, no matter whether they are Muslims or not.
‘’We need the media to help us in tackling this perception because that will help a lot in the success of our projects in Nigeria and other countries.”
He commended Nigeria for its leadership role among African region members countries and the bank, as a whole, which prompted it to establish the African regional hub in Abuja.
“Our decision to open the Region Hub Office in Nigeria is a demonstration of how important Nigeria is for us and to also show the people the impact of our projects.
“We have a portfolio of $1.8 billion in Nigeria with quite a number of projects. These projects are in several sectors to improve the socio-economic status of the people of Nigeria,’’ he said.
He also commended Nigeria’s quick response in contributing to the Special Fund for Afghanistan, following the Taliban take-over of government of that country last year, which precipitated the crisis there, saying Nigeria was the first country to contribute to that fund, along with Saudi Arabia.
In his remarks, Senior Regional Communications Specialist, Mr. Assane Ba, Mustapha, said the IsDB usually runs four-year programmes with member countries, adding that such programmes were determined by the priority and the needs of each country.
The Regional Editor, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Soni Daniel, who received the delegation on behalf of the Editor-in-Chief/General Manager, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, assured of the organisation’s readiness to collaborate with the bank to improve the socio-economic status of Nigerians.
According to him, Vanguard is driven by a philosophy based on how to make the society a better place for all Nigerians.
Vanguard
Business
Govt paying N600bn for fuel subsidy monthly — Rainoil CEO
Govt paying N600bn for fuel subsidy monthly — Rainoil CEO
The CEO of Rainoil Limited, Gabriel Ogbechie, has claimed that the federal government resumed the payment of the controversial fuel subsidy following the devaluation of the Naira in the foreign exchange market.
Ogbechie made this statement on Tuesday during the Stanbic IBTC Energy and Infrastructure Breakfast Session held in Lagos.
He pointed out that with Nigeria’s daily fuel usage at 40 million liters and the foreign exchange rate at N1,300, the government’s subsidy per liter of fuel falls between N400 and N500, culminating in a monthly total of approximately N600 billion.
He said; “When Mr. President came in May last year, one of the things he said was that Subsidy is gone. And truly, the subsidy was gone, because immediately the price of fuel moved from 200 to 500 per liter. At that point truly, subsidy was gone.
“During that period, Dollar was exchanging for N460, but a few weeks later, the government devalued the exchange rate. And Dollar moved to about N750. At that point, subsidy was beginning to come back.
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“The moment the two markets officially closed, officially the market went to about N1,300. At that point, that conversation was out of the window. Subsidy was fully back on petrol. If you want to know where petrol should be, just look at where diesel is. Diesel is about N1,300 and petrol is still selling for N600.
Furthermore, he said that NNPC being the only petrol importer in the country implies that there is an ongoing subsidy, as prices had to be fixed.
Earlier yesterday, the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai, said the federal government is spending more on petrol subsidy than before.
In addition, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Veŕheijen, said that the Federal Government reserves the right to pay fuel subsidy intermittently to cushion hardship in the country.
“The subsidy was removed on May 29. However, the government has the prerogative to maintain price stability to address social unrest. They reserve the right to intervene.
“If the government feels that it cannot continue to allow prices to fluctuate due to high inflation and exchange rates, the government reserves the right to intervene intermittently and that does not negate the fact that subsidy has been removed,” she said.
Govt paying N600bn for fuel subsidy monthly — Rainoil CEO
Business
Breaking: Dangote brings diesel price down to N1000/litre
Breaking: Dangote brings diesel price down to N1000/litre
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a further reduction in the price of diesel.
When it commenced operation a few weeks ago, Dangote Petroleum Refinery pegged the price of diesel as N1,200.
While rolling out the products, the refinery supplied at a substantially reduced price of N1,200 per litre three weeks ago, representing over 30 percent reduction from the previous market price of about N1,600 per litre.
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However, on Tuesday, a further reduction of N200 was noticed in the price, with the product now pegged at N1,000.
This significant reduction in the price of diesel, at Dangote Petroleum Refinery, is expected to positively affect all the spheres of the economy and ultimately reduce the high inflation rate in the country.
The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had during the Eid-el-Fitr celebration said if the cost price of diesel comes down, the inflation rate will be substantially reduced.
Dangote spoke when he visited President Bola Tinubu in his residence in Lagos State to celebrate the end of the Ramadan fast with him.
Breaking: Dangote brings diesel price down to N1000/litre
Business
Naira records five-month highest gain, sells below N1000/$ at parallel market
Naira records five-month highest gain, sells below N1000/$ at parallel market
The naira continued its positive showing against the United States dollar on Monday, selling below N1000/$ in some segments of the parallel market.
Newstrends reports that the Federal Government, groups and some individuals have mounted a spirited campaign for those hoarding the dollars to push them out as naira continues to appreciate.
On Monday, the naira was offered in some parts of Lagos and Abuja between N995 and N1,050 per dollar in the parallel market. It was N1,230/$ on Friday.
The latest gain, being over five-month highs, came in the wake of the Iranian attack on Israel and a rise in the crude oil price.
Goldman Sachs, American investment bank economists, had earlier predicted that the naira’s bullish momentum on the foreign exchange market would likely cause it to trade for less than N1,000 per US dollar in the coming months.
According to a report by Nairametrics, the group claimed that the rally in Nigerian currency helped recover from large losses after two devaluations since last June by being bolstered by capital inflows and successive interest rate hikes.
In March, Goldman Sachs projected that the Naira would appreciate to N1,200 per dollar in 2024.
At the official foreign exchange market, the rate was put at N1,136/$ in contrast with N1,205/$ last Friday.
The top bank has implemented several policy initiatives in recent months to bring stability to the foreign exchange market.
The CBN increased interest rates to 24.75% at the most recent meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which helped it recover losses from the two devaluations that occurred since June of last year.
Further gains for the naira result from the CBN’s ongoing intervention, which involves selling foreign exchange to Bureau De Change operators at a revised rate.
The market anticipates higher inflows of US dollars from the sale of foreign currency bonds in the second quarter as disclosed by Finance Minister Wale Edun.
The Federal Government has just offered high-yield short-term debt products at a premium to entice overseas capital into the economy.
The Middle East’s geopolitical unrest and
Notwithstanding a drop in Nigeria’s production volume, crude oil prices have risen beyond $90.
Nigerian grades of oil are trading at a premium to the ICE Brent benchmark.
The Middle East’s geopolitical unrest and the anticipation of an Iranian government strike on Israel caused oil prices to soar.
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