Travellers Stranded As Dollar Shortage Hits Banks – Newstrends
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Travellers Stranded As Dollar Shortage Hits Banks

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Nigerians are finding it increasingly difficult to access the United States dollar at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate for eligible transactions, Daily Trust findings revealed.

Worse affected are those travelling abroad who are experiencing delays in accessing Business Travel Allowance (BTA), Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) and monies to pay for medicals and others.

Parents are also affected as they are finding it difficult to access the dollar for remittances of school fees and upkeep allowances for their children.

Forces behind the shortage

Daily Trust investigations revealed that it is extremely difficult to access the dollar because the demand far outweighs supply, forcing some banks to extend the request period for PTA/BTA from two weeks to eight weeks.

But other sources said the CBN had tightened the processes of getting the dollar because some unpatriotic Nigerians have been abusing the process.

A source said investigations by the apex bank showed that many people had no plan to travel anywhere or to remit money abroad for legitimate purposes but yet forge papers and apply for the foreign currency only for them to hoard it or sell it at the parallel market.

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Recall that the CBN had deployed an electronic Form ‘A’ to expedite applications for PTA/BTA, medicals, education and other remittances.

The CBN assured Nigerians that all legitimate requests for foreign currency for eligible transactions would be fully met at the official exchange rate.

However, Stanbic IBTC Bank recently sent a message to its customers stating that it requires six to eight weeks before it can process the request for dollars.

“To serve you better, please be informed that we now require six to eight weeks to process your FX needs for international school fees, upkeep and medical payments. This will enable us to review your requests in line with regulatory requirements and ensure that we can source for FX to fulfil them,” it stated.

A visit to a branch of Polaris Bank on Gimbiya Street in Abuja and First Bank in Asokoro showed that customers have been in the waiting queue for more than 3 weeks

In Kano, many students and people on medical and business trips looking for official forex from banks narrated that they have been experiencing difficulties in getting dollars since the introduction of the new strategy.

They alleged that there were middlemen always working within the banks who were complicating the process thereby leading to difficulties.

Travellers narrate ordeal

Abdullahi Ahmad who had finished his preparations and the requirements to travel to Dubai for medicals said he could not get the $4, 000 he applied for over two weeks.

“I have only two weeks for my Dubai Visa to expire and yet I didn’t get the dollar from my bank. When I contacted my elder brother, he then contacted a bank manager, who later promised to give me $4,000 at the end of this week. But that is not enough, she (the bank manager) said I have to pay N340, 000 as a kickback to be able to get the money,” he said.

He said although he accepted to pay that amount, he was not sure of getting the money as his visa expiration date was fast approaching.

A marketer at the BDC market in Kano, who chose not to be named, said the banks have crippled their businesses and forced the dollar to be scarce leading to the high exchange rate in the parallel market.

He alleged that the banks now only give dollars to people who add a huge amount of money, adding that it has led to the hike in the price.

We’re battling fake applications – Banks

A top source in one of the banks in Lagos, who does not want his name in print, said the scarcity has led to rationing.

“It is an open secret that we have shortage but we are trying as much as possible to meet genuine demand of people. So, we prioritise from the most critical as we can’t meet all the demand.  We look out for the most urgent need,” he said.

He said the banks also have to battle fake applications in some instances.

“Many of the applicants are not going anywhere but they use different methods to apply for the dollar,” another banker said.

“You see them forging medical records, fake admission letters and others all in an effort to deceive us and get the scarce currency,” he said.

Asked if there was any way to solve the problem, he said, “The most important thing is to encourage export so that our earnings would increase. The federal government and the security agencies must also put some measures to track and prosecute offenders.”

However, Mavis Ikpeme via her Twitter handle, @mavisikpeme, lamented the difficulties in getting PTA/BTA from banks, noting that Nigerians were forced to patronise the black market.

“You can’t even file for PTA/ BTA from banks. Nigerians travelling are forced to patronise the black market. You can hardly cash USD from a dorm account too. Is the CBN not aware of these atrocities perpetrated by banks? These are part of the issues?” she said.

Another user, Olayinka Biu, accused banks of deliberately frustrating genuine applicants for PTA while making dollars available for Bureaux De Change.

“The actual problem is genuine applicants for PTA are not getting it. With excuses of dollars not being available or the queue being so long it couldn’t get to your turn before your travel date. Meanwhile, BDC agents are getting dollars directly from these banks,” she posted via her handle, @olayinkaBiu

We’re tackling the menace – CBN

The CBN has however assured that it was tackling the scarcity nightmare, even as it advised against succumbing to the speculative activities of some players in the exchange market.

The Director, Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mr Osita Nwanisobi said the apex bank remained committed to resolving the foreign exchange issues confronting the nation and as such has been working to manage both the demand and supply side challenges.

While admitting that there was huge demand pressure for foreign exchange to meet the needs of manufacturers as well as those for the payment of tuition, medical fees and other invisibles, Nwanisobi said the CBN was concerned about the international value of the naira, adding that the monetary authority was strategising to help Nigeria earn more stable and sustainable inflows of foreign exchange in the face of dwindling inflows from the oil sector.

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PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

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Port Harcourt Refinery

PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.

A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.

Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.

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Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”

He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.

“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”

 

PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

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Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

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Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.

This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.

The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.

The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.

He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.

The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.

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Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

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Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

 

Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.

The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.

The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.

“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.

“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.

“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”

Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.

Employment rate – 76%

The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.

“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.

Self-employment – 85.6%

The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.

It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”

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