Business
Civil Servants, Traders Face Hardship After Yuletide Spending
Following the volume of expenses incurred during the Christmas and New Year celebrations, civil servants and traders in Rivers State are currently faced with the challenges of meeting their immediate needs.
Again, the delay in payment of the expected Christmas bonus to workers by the Rivers State Government has compounded the problem. Also, the liquidity crisis, as a result of reluctance of banks to lend micro-credit loans to customers has negatively affected sales in the market.
Compared to the huge patronage experienced last December, there is a remarkable lull in the market now, as many people are faced with the challenges of paying their children’s school fees, instead of considering household goods and other consumables.
The Tide investigations during the week in Port Harcourt revealed that while the level of patronage for stationeries and other school materials are on the increase, those of electronics, building materials, clothings and automobile have been on the decline.
A civil servant who spoke to The Tide on condition of anonymity decried the over delayed payment of Christmas bonus to workers in the state government civil service, adding that workers hoped to have a financial reverage from the bonus but their hope and expectations were dashed posing a serious hardship after lavishing during the Yuletide celebrations.
He lamented that they are faced with the children’s school fees, uniforms, books, transport and domestic upkeep.
A market woman, Mrs Janet Wigoh, who sells female clothings at Rumuwoji (Mile One) Market, Port Harcourt, painted a gloomy picture of what the current situation has been.
“Most of us who come to the market these days are doing so because we don’t want to be idle. At times, you sit down from morning till evening and would not attend to five customers. Things are generally hard because we are spending so much on transportation as a result of fuel scarcity we are working for our children’s school fees and the sales are not picking up”, she lamented.
On the contrary, despite the belief that what civil servants, traders and consumers are experiencing now is as a result of over spending in December, an entrepreneur, Dr Jude Asiegbu, chief executive officer of Jude and Sons Enterprise Limited, Port Harcourt, said the problem is multifaceted and cannot be hinged on the Yuletide spending alone.
Dr Asiegbu told The Tide that the current situation is still part of the fall out from the global economic meltdown and the crisis in the nation’s banking sector.
According to him, “before Christmas, a lot of things were comatose, banks were not lending and this made it difficult for business people not to do further investment. In fact, 2009 Christmas witnessed the lowest expenses in almost all the places, what mattered was to put food on the table and not to spend money on frivolities|”, he said.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.