News
Price Crude Oil In Naira To Strengthen Currency, Expert Advises FG
A financial expert, Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, has advised the Federal Government to consider pricing the country’s crude oil, in Naira in order to strengthen the local currency.
Unegbu, a past president of the Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), said this in an interview with the newsmen in Abuja.
According to him, the country’s crude oil, bonny light, is of the highest quality and most sought after in the international market.
He said that the government could afford to ignore OPEC regulations and start pricing its crude oil independently in Naira, adding that it would not reduce patronage.
“Floating the Naira was a major error that has exacerbated inflationary trend and caused the people so much pain.
“Nigeria should do something about pricing its oil in Naira. We should leave the regulations of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and price our oil independently,” he said.
Unegbu also advised the government to ignore most economic prescriptions by the Bretton Woods institutions and produce indigenous solutions to the nation’s economic challenges.
Also, an economist and a past president of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Chijioke Ekechukwu, said that the Naira could be strengthened if the country could earn substantial foreign exchange revenue on a daily basis.
Ekechukwu urged the Federal Government to use every possible avenue to increase the country’s export base to earn more forex.
He advised the government to ensure that the country’s crude oil sales met OPEC quota of 1.8 million barrels per day.
He said that the government should ensure that the revenue from crude oil sales came in on a daily basis through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“If we sell our exports on a daily basis, we must get the revenue on a daily basis.
“The revenue must come through the CBN, and the apex bank must receive and distribute such revenue almost immediately.
“But if we have inflow coming in as revenue and the CBN is not seeing it, the NNPC is selling but we do not know where the money is going to, there will be shortage of forex.
“We need a situation where we earn forex on a daily basis, and we have excess of it in the market for both the banks and the Bureaux De Change.
“Until we have such a situation and we are able to meet all the demands of importers, the exchange rates will not come down in a hurry,” he said.
According to him, the Federal Government should also initiate a deliberate policy of total curtailing of importation so that what we cannot source locally should not be consumed.
He said that such a step would drastically reduce the demand for the dollar and other foreign currencies.
“It is either there will be a deliberate policy of total curtailing of importation so that whatever we cannot source locally we do not need, so that the demand for foreign exchange will drop, “ he said.
The expert said that the idea of unifying the dual exchange rates and floating the Naira as done by President Bola Tinubu, without a strong export base, had been counter-productive.
He urged the Federal Government to revisit the policy decision.
“Floating the Naira when your balance of trade is heavy on the negative side was ill-advised.
“We were not prepared with enough in our foreign exchange reserves. We did not have enough revenue in foreign exchange to float the Naira.
“If possible, the policy should be reversed so that we can go back to moderating the foreign exchange market, “ he said.
Ekechukwu also advised that payments of fees to foreign universities should be curtailed.
“There should be a deliberate policy to reduce payments to foreign universities, “ he said.
According to a renowned economist, Prof. Ken Ife, if inflation can be addressed; if we produce more food, things will improve. It will also address the issue of “dollarisation’’ of the economy.
Ike said that the importation section required four billion dollars monthly to import goods and services into the country.
“But because we have excess liquidity in the system, speculators are simply keeping the dollar as a store of value. Excess liquidity is a major challenge to the Nigerian economy.
“People with so much Naira go looking for dollars. They are now betting on the Naira, and the forward bet on the Naira is that it will continue to go down.
“Everybody keeps holding the dollar and using the dollar to trade with the expectation that the Naira will continue to fall.
“If the expectation is that the Naira will appreciate, people will quickly sell their dollars,’’ he said.
The Tide reports that the Naira experienced a free fall after Tinubu unified the dual exchange rates and floated the currency in 2023.
The policy, coupled with the prevailing dollar illiquidity had seen the Naira exchanging for as high as N1,900 to the dollar in February.
However, the currency started gradual appreciation in March, peaking at N1, 100 to the dollar at the parallel market in early April.
This was as a result of the monetary policy tightening by the CBN, and attempt to improve dollar liquidity by selling some treasury bills to foreign portfolio investors,
The Naira, again, started losing steam and becoming weak towards the end of April, and now exchanges at N1,400 to the dollar.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long trailers heading for Kano as it intensified efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.
The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.
According to the statement, the latest intelligence-led operation came barely one week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of tramadol concealed in the false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.
Babafemi said, “Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through Benin Republic into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move One Million Six Hundred and Thirty (1,630,000) pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.”
He added that one of the two trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor.
Babafemi said, “One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on 2nd July 2026 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru.”
He further disclosed that another trailer was intercepted two days later on the same route.
“Two days later, 4th July, NDLEA operatives acting on processed intelligence successfully tracked and recovered the second trailer from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the truck were evacuated and the 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu arrested,” the statement read.
According to Babafemi, investigations established a link between the three intercepted consignments.
He said, “Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on 21st June, 2nd July and 4th July belong to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis.”
The agency also intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Babafemi said, “Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70 kilograms have been intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The cargoes, which arrived the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons with ‘Odugwu’ boldly written on them, came aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24th June and 3rd July respectively.”
He said two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments, while another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has denied claims that it has commenced registration for a purported ?50,000 National Support Allowance.
The ministry, in a public notice posted on its official X handle, yesterday, described messages, links and websites advertising the alleged programme as fraudulent.
It urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and verify information only through official government channels.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has NOT commenced registration for any ?50,000 National Support Allowance,” the ministry said.
It added, “Disregard fraudulent messages, links and websites claiming otherwise. Verify any info only through official govt channels.”
The alert is in response to a circulating scam flyer that falsely claims the program is ongoing under President Bola Tinubu’s directives.
The fake advertisement, which includes text in Hausa and English, directs victims to a suspicious website (kluspz.com) for applications.
The ministry’s warning comes amid heightened concerns over digital fraud targeting vulnerable populations seeking social support.
Similar scams have previously surfaced around programs like N-Power, prompting questions from citizens in replies to the official post.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its preparedness for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, hinted at this while making his remarks at the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.
Ajaero said it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
He advised workers and pensioners to get prepared for the ideological and economic battles that lie ahead.
According to the NLC president, “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is one of the proud affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Therefore, your struggle is our struggle, and your welfare remains a priority for the organised labour movement.
“We are currently in the preparatory stages for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
“However, let me state unequivocally that it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
“Accordingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not only push for a new national minimum wage but will also demand the establishment of a national minimum pension. It is a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement.”
Ajaero noted that the cost of living has risen astronomically as food, healthcare and transportation have become increasingly unaffordable.
“We cannot continue to allow our senior citizens to survive on pensions that have become poverty wages. Every retiree deserves to live with dignity after decades of faithful service to the nation,” he said.
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He said the completion of the project should serve as a clarion call to all workers and lovers of the masses.
“We must not only build physical structures but also build a strong movement capable of compelling government to honour its commitments,” he said.
Ajaero further stated: “We will continue to demand the immediate payment of all outstanding pension arrears and the implementation of a pension regime that guarantees every retiree a life of dignity and security.
“Together, we shall continue to fight until every Nigerian worker and pensioner receives the justice, respect and welfare they deserve.”
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