Business
15.5% MPR Increase’ll Control Inflation – CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) says its Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to increase Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) is to control rising inflation.
CBN’s Director, Monetary Policy Department, Hassan Mahmoud, stated this, midweek, at a post-MPC briefing tagged “Unveiling Facts behind the Figures’’.
Recall that the MPC, in its 287th meeting on Tuesday, had increased the MPR by 150 basis points, from 14 per cent to 15.5 per cent.
The MPR is the baseline interest rate in an economy on which other interest rates within that economy are built on.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had explained that the decision was informed by persistent rise in inflation rate and fragile economic growth.
Mahmud had explained further that the MPC got to a point where stringent measures have to be taken to control inflation.
He said the committee took cognisance of global and local economic issues in arriving at its policy decisions.
“We raised the MPR because it is necessary to do so. The quantity of money in the system was too much for the economy to absorb”, he said.
He continued that monetary policy tools were meant to deal with short term risks, adding that the idea was to make the cost of funds expensive to drive down inflation.
According to Mahmud, the stimuluses that governments across the world provided for their citizens during COVID-19 increased the ability of people to spend, thereby, creating challenges with global supply.
“A lot of households and small businesses were injected with stimuluses; the U.S did two trillion dollars, Nigeria did about five trillion Naira, these increased the ability of people to spend.
“But the supply side could not meet up with the demand because that volume of injection was far more than the regular intake for those economies, this made prices to go up,’’ he said.
He also blamed the Russian-Ukraine war, as well as the resurgence of COVID-19 in China as responsible for rise in global inflationary trend.
“That region accounts for more than 50 per cent of global commodity supply and 38 per cent of global oil and gas supply.
“The war resulted to some shortages which made prices to go up. Then the COVID-19 lockdown in China. The country is the largest importer of commodities across the globe,’’ he said.
Speaking on the various economic intervention initiatives by the apex bank and the prospect of recouping the funds, the Director, Development Finance Department, Dr Yusuf Yila, said about nine trillion Naira had been invested in the various development finance interventions.
He, however, said all the monies would be recovered.
According to Yila, N9.3 trillion has been invested in various development finance interventions, out of which N3.7 trillion has been repaid.
“Most of the loans are still under moratorium, especially those in manufacturing. Manufacturing forms the largest part of our portfolio, about 31 per cent,’’ he said.
He said one of the best-performing interventions was the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, where out of the N800 billion that was lent out, about N700 billion had been repaid.
Yila said that through the flagship agriculture intervention scheme, the Anchor Borrowers Programme, one trillion Naira had been lent out to smallholder farmers, while about N400 billion has so far been recovered.
According to him, the department will restrict intervention to critical sectors like the SMEs and the electricity sector for now.
Speaking on the depreciation of the Naira, the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Mrs Ozoemena Nnaji, said the apex bank was taking steps to firm up the currency.
Nnaji said that demand for foreign exchange outstripped supply currency, adding that the CBN was doing a lot to mop up supply.
“One of the steps is the Naira for dollar remittance drive, which has resulted to a huge increase in diaspora remittances.
“There is also the RT200 bringing in forex. Repatriation has gone up from 20 million dollars in the first quarter to about 600 million dollars in the second quarter.
“In this third quarter we are looking at more than one billion dollars of repatriated inflows,’’ she said.
Business
NCDMB Hails Tinubu’s Oil Sector Executive Orders
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the announcement of three Presidential executive orders.
The orders, he said, are aimed at providing incentives in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, encourage new investments in the sector, reduce contracting costs and timelines, as well as promote cost efficiency in local content requirements.
According to a statement from the NCDMB’s Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, the Executive Orders are the “Oil and Gas Companies (Tax Incentives, Exemption, Remission, ETC) Order 2024”, “Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements, 2024 (EO 41)”, and the “Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines, 2024 (EO 42)”.
Speaking at the Nigerian Content Tower, headquarters of the NCDMB in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Executive Secretary stated that the policy directives had reinforced the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and codified the Service Level Agreements (SLA), which the NCDMB first introduced in May 2017, to fast-track approvals for the Nigeria LNG Limited Train 7 project, before expanding it to the entire industry after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), and five international oil-producing companies in September 2023.
Ogbe clarified that the Presidential Executive Orders did not whittle down the powers of the NCDMB or abrogate the schedule of the NOGICD Act.
He said, rather, the Executive Order 41 mandates the Board to ensure the patronage of local companies with domiciled proven capacities and capabilities to achieve cost competitiveness and project delivery within schedule.
He also noted that Executive Order 42 re-emphasized NCDMB’s obligation to fast-track approval processes as required by the SLA and section 23 of the NOGICD Act, which mandates the Board to review projects’ documentation within 10 days and advise the concerned operating company.
The Board’s helmsman assured that the NCDMB would comply with the terms of the Presidential Executive Orders, insisting that the Board had always been pragmatic with its implementation of the NOGICD Act, and mindful of the cost competitiveness of projects and schedules.
He also stated that the objectives of the Executive Orders and the SLAs were directed to shorten the oil industry’s contracting cycle to six months or less, engender speedy development of new projects, contribute to increased oil production, and improve the national economy.
The Executive Secretary expressed delight that President Tinubu had put his stamp of authority on the noble objectives of the SLAs, and commended him for acknowledging the giant strides recorded in Nigerian Content development.
Particularly, he noted the impressive capacities built by local oil and gas service companies in key areas of the industry and the substantial benefits that had accrued to the Nigerian economy and her citizens through local content implementation.
The NCDMB boss assured that the agency would continue to serve as a business enabler and maintain the recognition conferred by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which awarded the Board the most efficient agency amongst all Federal Government’s MDAs in 2022, and the PLATINUM rating by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms in recognition of the self-imposed reforms of the Board’s processes.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Business
Nigeria Opens Land, Air Borders With Niger Republic
President Bola Tinubu has directed the opening of Nigeria’s land and air borders with the Republic of Niger.
He also directed the lifting of other sanctions against the country with immediate effect.
A statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said “President Tinubu has also approved the lifting of financial and economic sanctions against the Republic of Guinea”.
The statement is titled “Nigeria opens land and air borders with Republic of Niger, lifts other sanctions”.
The President’s directive has come just days after the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government lifted economic and travel sanctions on Niger, Mali, and Guinea at its extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024, in Abuja.
ECOWAS leaders had agreed to lift economic sanctions against the Republic of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
Consequently, the President directed that sanctions imposed on the Republic of Niger be lifted immediately alongside others.
The sanctions are: “Closure of land and air borders between Nigeria and Niger Republic, as well as ECOWAS no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger Republic.
“Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between Nigeria and Niger, as well as a freeze of all service transactions, including utility services and electricity to the Niger Republic.
“Freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger in ECOWAS Central Banks and freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger, state enterprises, and parastatals in commercial banks.
“Suspension of Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly EBID and BOAD.
“Travel bans on government officials and their family members”, the statement read.
Business
FG Targets Standards For Electric, CNG Vehicles
The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has announced plans to validate its National Occupational Standards for the conversion and maintenance of electric vehicles and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)vehicles.
The Director-General of NADDC, Joseph Osanipin, disclosed this during the validation workshop exercise for the draft of the national standards for auto gas vehicles in Nasarawa recently.
He stated that the primary objective of the workshop was to develop a blueprint for skills development and standardised operational procedures in the conversion, calibration, and maintenance of those new automotive energy sources, aligning with the government’s renewed hope agenda.
Osanipin noted that upon approval of the draft by the National Assembly, it would facilitate job creation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as ongoing plans include the establishment of more CNG gas stations in Abuja.
He said, “If we achieve what the Federal Government wants us to achieve with autogas, it will reduce the dependency on PMS and diesel and mitigate environmental concerns. It will also create more jobs and wealth for the nation”.
According to Osanipin, the essence of the workshop was to ensure that the input of all relevant stakeholders was captured in the making of this national document.
“This is in line with international best practices. It is expected that the document will come out of this effort at international standards and help to drive the auto sector to global standards”, he added.
He emphasised the significance of the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan 2023 – 2033, relaunched by the Federal Government in 2023, aimed at revitalising the automotive industry and fostering sustainable growth through technological and skills development.
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