Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has disclosed that various leakages in international border trade between Nigeria and Cameroon result in losses exceeding $15 million.

He lamented that the burgeoning trade at the Mfum International Border does not yield any meaningful revenues to the state tax net. He advised that the substantial trans-African trade through the border be closely monitored.

Otu spoke when he hosted a team from the World Bank in Calabar, the state capital.

The team was in Cross River State on a fact-finding mission to federal government agencies in the state, as well as to examine issues limiting trans-African free trade.

The Cross River State governor, Senator Bassey Otu, has called on the World Bank and other multilateral agencies to assist in bridging the socioeconomic gap between Africa and the rest of the world.

Otu described the team’s visit as timely, stating that it has become imperative to reduce the barriers inhibiting free trade, especially in the African region.

“My call to the World Bank is to strive to balance the world’s economy. We still have a lot of migrant pressure across the world. This is because the global economy is not stable. Once the economy is unbalanced, there is always going to be that pressure.

“It is time for things to be relaxed for other regions to grow at their own pace. International organizations like the World Bank and United Nations should make efforts to ensure that things are balanced.

“In Cross River, we have all it takes in terms of resources and productivity. But there is still some variance. You are coming at a more auspicious time when windows of economic development have to be open. We happen to be quite a blessed state with three corridors of wealth – water, land, and air.

“There is no excuse whatsoever for Cross River not to move up the socioeconomic ladder. Those times have passed. We want to truly move forward,” the governor enthusiastically stated.

He posited that the state is comparatively advantageous in the Gulf of Guinea, both in terms of proximity and cultural affinity, calling on investors to take advantage of the many opportunities for investment in the area.

“We are putting things in place to address such leaks for the benefit of the people and government of Cross River State.”

In his remarks, the World Bank team lead, Aleksandar Stojorov, thanked the governor for his support and cooperation, which enabled the delegation to visit the Mfum border in Etung Local Government Area and the Nigeria Ports Authority, Calabar.

He said the fact-finding mission will help his team in its engagement with the federal government of Nigeria’s Ministry of Trade and Investment as well as other related agencies, with the objective of making trans-African trade seamless and enhancing its export competitiveness for the overall benefit of the state and nation at large.

The President of the Calabar Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (CALCIMA), Mr. David Etim, also expressed his commitment to the success of the Ease of Doing Business initiative in Cross River State.

The World Bank has approved a $2.25 billion loan facility for Nigeria to back President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms despite the rising debt profile in the country.

Wale Edun, Minister of Finance disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Edun said the loan is to fund two critical economy projects, Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation (RESET) and NG Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms Programme-for-Results (ARMOR) with a proposed funding of $1.5 billion and $750 million respectively.

He noted that the loans are part of President Tinubu’s ongoing efforts to stabilize the economy, reposition it for sustained and inclusive growth, and provide urgent support to the poor and vulnerable.

“We have undertaken bold and necessary reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and put Nigeria on a path to sustainable and inclusive economic growth. We welcome the support of the RESET and ARMOR programs as we further consolidate and implement our policy reforms, consistent with accelerating investment and using public resources more sustainably to achieve our development goals,” Edun said in a statement released by the Ministry of Finance Thursday.

According to the statement, Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa said Nigeria’s comprehensive macro-fiscal reforms are placing the country on a new path that can stabilize the economy and lift people out of poverty.

“It is essential to maintain the momentum of these reforms and continue to provide support to the poor and vulnerable to mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. This financing package strengthens the World Bank’s strong partnership with Nigeria and supports efforts to rejuvenate the economy and expedite poverty reduction, serving as an example for Africa.”

Recall that the Minister of Finance, Edun announced intentions to get the loan at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in April.

The development comes as the total debt stock of Nigeria at the end of 2023 stood at N97.341 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office.

In Nigeria’s debt figure, foreign debt stood at which stood at N38.22 trillion, accounting for 39 percent of the total debt stocks as of the end of 2023.

Tinubu’s twin reform of fuel subsidy removal and Naira floating left Nigerians with the ripple effect of economic hardship.

Ram sellers in Zamfara State have cried out that they are facing low patronage ahead of the Sallah festivities.

According to one of the ram sellers, Alhaji Ishiaku Mande, the business is no longer booming as usual.

“I used to sell more than 20 rams per day but now, I hardly sell five in a day as buyers are lamenting over lack of money.

“Last year, the business was lucrative because people were buying rams,” he said.

Another ram seller, Mallam Lawali Ibrahim told newsmen in Gusau, the state capital, that the rate at which business is moving is very discouraging.

“This is the biggest Islamic celebration and Muslims are supposed to be happy,” he noted.

He further stated that many people now are thinking of how to put food on the table for the families, lamenting that many people cannot even provide a square meal in a day.

According to another ram seller, Muhammad Babangida, the situation has become so worrisome as the cost of living has gone beyond the reach of most Nigerians.

He said, “Nigerians are dying of hunger and starvation and the government is busy calling on the people to be singing new National Anthem. Is it not somebody that is well fed that can sing?”

One Alhaji Kabiru Damba said observed that the cost of ram has gone beyond the reach of the common man.

“The celebration is between me and Allah and not with anyone. Allah does not look at the money one spends in the celebration but Allah looks at man’s mind,” he said.

He blamed both the government for making people’s lives miserable due to high cost of living.

MultiChoice Nigeria says it will appeal Friday’s ruling of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal in Abuja, which awarded a N150 million fine against it for challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

The tribunal had fined MultiChoice Nigeria N150 million for disobeying its order.

The order had restrained the pay-TV company from increasing its monthly subscription pending the determination of the suit brought before it by an Abuja-based lawyer, Festus Onifade.

The tribunal also ordered the pay-TV company to provide its Nigerian customers a one-month free subscription to its DStv and GOtv packages.

In a statement, MultiChoice reacted by saying it disagreed with the ruling and would file an appeal against it.

The statement read in part: “MultiChoice Nigeria is aware of the recent ruling by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal regarding its jurisdiction to entertain a price regulation matter.

“We disagree with the ruling and will therefore file an appeal against the said ruling.

“As the matter is currently sub-judice, we are restrained from making further comments.”

The naira on Friday recorded a loss at the official market, trading at N1,483.99 to the dollar.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, which oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), revealed that the naira lost N2.50.

This represents a 0.16 per cent loss compared to the previous trading date on Thursday, trading at N1,481.49 to the dollar.

However, the volume of currency traded increased to $269.27 million on Friday, up from $213.31 million recorded on Thursday.

Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s (I&E) window, the naira traded between N1,507.00 and N1,399.00 against the dollar.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it has revoked the banking licence of Heritage Bank.

Ag. Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, said the revocation was done in accordance with its mandate to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria.

She said: “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in accordance with its mandate to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria and in exercise of its powers under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Act (BOFIA) 2020, hereby revokes the licence of Heritage Bank Plc with immediate effect.”

Ali added that this action has become necessary due to the bank’s breach of Section 12 (1) of BOFIA, 2020.

The apex bank added that the Board and Management of the bank have not been able to improve the bank’s financial performance, a situation which constitutes a threat to financial stability.

Ali’s noted that this followed a period during which the CBN engaged with the bank and prescribed various supervisory steps intended to stem the decline.

She stressed: “Regrettably, the bank has continued to suffer and has no reasonable prospects of recovery, thereby making the revocation of the license the next necessary step.

Consequently, the CBN has taken this action to strengthen public confidence in the banking system and ensure that the soundness of our financial system is not impaired.

“The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is hereby appointed as the Liquidator of the bank in accordance with Section 12 (2) of BOFIA, 2020.

“We wish to assure the public that the Nigerian financial system remains on a solid footing. The action we are taking today reflects our continued commitment to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and soundness of our financial system.”

Crude oil prices have dropped amid anxiety surrounding the Organization of Petroleum Countries meeting at the weekend.

Brent crude futures fell by $1.74, or 2.1 percent to settle at $81.86 a barrel.

Similarly, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by $1.32, or 1.7 percent, to $77.91 a barrel.

“The Weakness in gasoline markets have continued to drag down the rest of the oil complex,” Alex Hodes, oil analyst at brokerage StoneX on Thursday according to Reuters.

A further analysis showed that Oil investors are also cautious ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on June 2, 2024. Accordingly, the oil producers’ countries group will decide whether to extend, deepen or unwind supply cuts.

Soft fuel demand and rising global oil inventories may help convince OPEC+ producers, which include the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, including Russia, to maintain supply cuts when they meet on June 2, OPEC+ delegates and analysts say.

The National Bureau of Statistics says the average retail price of a litre of kerosene increased from N1,354.40 recorded in March 2024 to N1,439.64 in April 2024.

The bureau said this in its Kerosene Price Watch for April 2024, released in Abuja on Friday. It said the April price of N1,439.64 represented a 6.29 per cent increase compared to what was obtained in March 2024 at N1,354.40.

The report said the average price per litre of kerosene increased on a year-on-year basis by 24.04 per cent from N1,160.67 recorded in April 2023 to N1,439.64 in April 2024.

The report showed that based on state profile analysis, Benue recorded the highest average price of N1,788.47 per litre of kerosene, followed by Kaduna at N1,761.62 and Plateau at N1,717.78.

On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Katsina at N1,222.22, followed by Jigawa at N1,240.74 and Kwara at N1,252.38.

The NBS said the analysis further showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price per litre of kerosene at N1,525.27, followed by the South-West at N1,479.24.

It said the South-East recorded the lowest average retail price per litre of kerosene at N1,391.68.

The report said the average retail price per gallon of kerosene paid by consumers in April 2024, was N5,174.23, indicating a 5.61 per cent increase from N4, 899.33 in March 2024.

On a year-on-year basis, the average price per gallon of kerosene increased by 24.17 per cent from N4,166.94 recorded in April 2023.

State profile analysis showed that Kano recorded the highest average retail price, N6,862.50, followed by Adamawa at N6,266.05 and Yobe at N6,120.41.

On the other hand, the report said Kwara recorded the lowest price at N4,226.40, followed by Delta and Akwa Ibom at N4,300.00 and N4,356.67, respectively.

Analysis by zone showed that the North-East recorded the highest average price per gallon of Kerosene, N5,922.63, followed by the North-West, N5,538.58.

The North-Central recorded the lowest average price per gallon of kerosene at N4,634.60.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered all Bureaux De Change Operators to re-apply for licenses to sustain Naira’s appreciation against the dollar.

The apex bank disclosed this on Wednesday in a statement signed by its Director of Financial Policy and Regulations, Haruna Mustapha.

“All Existing BDCs shall re-apply for a new license according to any tiers or license category of their choice as provided in the guidelines,” the Bank partly said in a new guideline to BDC operators.

Recall that the apex bank issued draft guidelines to BDCs in February, during which it resumed sales of foreign exchange currencies to the FX parallel market.

Since then, the bank has released FX three times to BDC operators to defeat the Naira.

The Naira appreciated against the Dollar until mid-April when depreciation set in.

For the past four days, the Naira had continued appreciation against the Dollar, trading at N1462.59 per Dollar on Wednesday, according to FMDQ data.

The Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Committee has raised interest rates by 150 basis points to 26.25 per cent from 24.75 per cent in March to tackle rising inflation.

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso disclosed this on Tuesday at the 295th MPC press briefing in Abuja.

The apex boss said the decision to raise the interest rate was to tame the country’s soaring headline inflation which increased to 33.69 per cent in April.

CBN had continued tightening of monetary instruments to bring down inflation.

The 295th MPC meeting is the third since the appointment of Cardoso in September last year.

In May 2023, Nigeria’s interest rate stood at 18.75 per cent.

The naira continued its depreciation against the US dollar in the foreign exchange market.

Data from the parallel market section and FMDQ showed further depreciation against the dollar on Monday.

At the parallel market, a Bureau De Change operator in Wuse Zone 4, Mistila Dayyabu, said that the naira was sold as high as N1,517 per dollar on Monday before settling at N1,500 per dollar.

“On Monday morning, the dollar was sold at N1,517 per dollar. However, on hearing the information about the coming of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission operatives, we started selling at N1,500 this evening, ” he said.

The figure increased from the N1, 450 per dollar it traded at the weekend.

Similarly, at the official market, FMDQ data showed that they dipped to N1478.11 per dollar on Monday from N1466.31 last Friday.

This represents an N11.8 drop from the N1466.31 recorded last Friday.

Earlier, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will do everything to bring down soaring Nigeria’s inflation, which stood at 33.22 per cent in March 2024.

In light of an ongoing operational audit by regulatory authorities, Dana Air has revealed that it has let go of certain employees.

The Head of Corporate Communications for the airline, Kingsley Ezen, disclosed the development in a statement on Saturday.

Dana Air emphasised that the audit, which is currently in progress, is a joint effort between the company and regulatory authorities to ensure strict adherence to all required standards and regulations.

“In light of the ongoing audit, Dana Air has made the decision to temporarily disengage some staff members pending the conclusion of the audit,” Ezenwa said.

“The Management of Dana Air extends its sincere appreciation to all staff members for their resilience and dedication during this period of uncertainty. It recognises the difficulties that staff have had to endure and assures them that every effort is being made to resolve the situation promptly,” it added.

Dana Air’s statement reiterated its dedication to working closely with the authorities in order to facilitate a seamless and prompt resolution of the audit.

The airline also assured all that it will continue to provide updates and assistance to its staff during this process.

Dana Air also has initiated discussions with lessors and is actively involving stakeholders in the ongoing progress.

“Dana Air therefore urges for calm and understanding from our very dedicated staff for their altruism and stakeholders,” the airline said.

In April, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority suspended the Air Operators Certificate of Dana Air, 24 hours after the airline’s plane coming from Abuja landed at the Lagos airport runway and veered off into a nearby field.

The Dana Air plane with registration number 5N BKI, had 83 passengers onboard. However, all the passengers and crew members disembarked unhurt.

Emergency responders and regulatory agencies immediately rose to the occasion and opened an investigation to unravel the real course of the incident.

While awaiting the outcome of the investigation by the Nigerian Safety and Investigation Bureau, the NCAA said it was important to audit the operations of the carrier.

Airtel Africa has released its full-year financial report, which ended in March 2024. The report revealed an $89 million after-tax deficit, primarily impacted by a substantial foreign exchange loss of $549 million.

In the report released on Thursday, Airtel attributed the loss to the devaluation of the naira and kwacha (Malawian currency).

The report said, “Loss after tax was $89 million, primarily impacted by significant foreign exchange headwinds, resulting in a $549 million exceptional loss net of tax following the Nigerian naira devaluation in June 2023 and Q4’24 and the Malawian kwacha devaluation in November 2023.”

In constant currency terms, the telco achieved 20.9 per cent growth in the fiscal year, soaring to 23.1 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of 2023. It noted that despite challenging conditions, Nigeria’s constant currency revenue reached 34.2 per cent growth in that period.

However, in reported currency (dollar), it earned a revenue of $4.98 billion in the full year, indicating a 5.3 per cent decline from the $5.26 billion reached in 2022/2023.

Its customer base increased by 9.0 per cent, totalling 152.7 million. Furthermore, it witnessed a 17.8 per cent increase in data customers to 64.4 million and a 20.8% increase in data usage per customer.

According to Olusegun Ogunsanya, the CEO of Airtel Africa, propelling the telco’s growth remains crucial to its performance.

He pointed out, “The investment in our distribution to catalyse growth and the technology required to support this growth have been key.”

Mr Ogunsanya noted that the company took steps to minimise its balance sheet and properly allocate capital, reducing the negative impacts of the currency devaluation on the business.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released a comprehensive list of licensed Deposit Money Banks operating within the country.

The list, which was made public on the CBN’s official website on Tuesday, provides insights into the banking landscape in Nigeria.

Banks with international authorisation include Access Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited, First Bank Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited, United Bank of Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.

Commercial banks with national authorisation include Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Heritage Bank Plc, Globus Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, Titan Trust Bank Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Premium Trust Bank Limited and Optimus Bank Limited.

Commercial banks with regional licenses are Providus Bank Limited, Parallex Bank Limited, Suntrust Bank Nigeria Limited, and Signature Bank Limited.

Players in the non-interest banking sector with national authorisation include Jaiz Bank Plc, Taj Bank Limited, Lotus Bank Limited, and Alternative Bank Limited.

In the merchant banking category, the apex banks listed, are Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, FBN Merchant Bank Limited, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited, Nova Merchant Bank Limited, and Rand Merchant Bank Limited.

The financial holding companies listed were Access Holdings Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, FSDH Holding Company Limited, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and Sterling Financial Holdings Limited.

The Mauritius Commercial Bank Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited was listed as the sole representative office.

The naira on Tuesday depreciated at the official market, trading at N1,416.57 to the dollar.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, showed that the naira lost N62.36.

This represents a 4.60 per cent loss compared to the previous trading date on Monday when it exchanged at N1,354.21 to a dollar.

However, the total daily turnover increased to 160.77 on Tuesday, up from 84.83 million dollars recorded on Monday.

Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s window, the naira traded between N1,445 and N1,301 against the dollar.

The Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday resumed raids on bureau de change operators in Abuja as naria dipped against the dollar.

A BDC operator at Wuse Zone 4, Abuja’s currency exchange hub, confirmed EFCC’s raid to Peoples Gazette.

“EFCC people are here!” he said.

Today’s raid comes as another episode since the EFCC started raiding.

Today’s raid comes as another episode since the EFCC started raiding BDC operations nationwide in a bid to stabilise the naira.

Last week, the anti-graft agency paraded over 20 BDC operators arrested in Abuja.

On claims that BDC operators aid currency speculators damaging naira, the anti-graft agencies have continued to raid BDC operators since February.

The Naira lost N112.38 against the US dollar at the foreign exchange market in April 2024.

FMDQ data showed that the Naira traded at N1,390.96 per dollar on Tuesday, 30th April, compared to N1,278.58 per dollar at the beginning of the month.

This represents a 10 per cent depreciation against the dollar in the period under review.

The development comes despite the Naira recording a 12 per cent gain against the dollar in the first 12 days of April, adding to its 14 per cent surge in March. Consequently, Goldman Sach described the Naira as the best performing currency.

However, the losses recorded in the second half of April have resulted in a month-on-month decline.

Meanwhile, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor, Olayemi Cardoso, stated that the apex bank is planning policies to tackle Naira’s instability in the forex market.

The founder of cryptocurrency firm, Binance, was sentenced to four months in US prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to money laundering charges, in the most high-profile crypto case since Sam Bankman-Fried was jailed.

Changpeng Zhao, a Canadian, resigned from his post at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform late last year as part of a deal with US authorities.

According to investigations by two Treasury agencies, Binance failed to prevent transactions by movements such as the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda or the armed wing of Hamas.

Zhao pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws and Binance agreed in February to pay $4.3 billion to settle charges.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose three years behind bars for a crime that typically results in probation, according to a court filing.

“He made a business decision that violating US law was the best way to attract users, build his company, and line his pockets,” Justice Department lawyers said of Zhao in a sentencing memorandum.

“The sentence in this case will not just send a message to Zhao but also to the world.”

Attorneys for Zhao countered in a filing that being punished with probation is just, appropriate, and in line with legal precedent.

They cited Zhao’s acceptance of responsibility along with what they called his philanthropic track record.

“I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility,” Zhao, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in November.

He has been in the United States since that time.Binance was created in 2017 and cornered much of the crypto-trading market, turning its founder and chief executive Zhao into a billionaire.

While Binance was founded in China, Zhao moved its operations to other locations internationally after a crackdown on the crypto sector by Beijing.

Binance runs crypto exchanges and provides other services around the world, but it took a severe hit when crypto markets collapsed and regulators began probing the legality of its business.

The volatile industry surged in 2021, with a range of complex products and celebrity endorsements propelling it to a valuation in excess of $3 trillion in 2022.

But a series of scandals, including the November 2022 collapse of Binance’s main rival exchange, FTX, and criminal charges for several industry executives, saw public confidence evaporate and investors pull their money out of crypto.

FTX founder Bankman-Fried was given a 25-year jail term in March.

The crypto industry has bounced back in recent months, thanks in large part to US regulators giving the go-ahead for exchange traded funds (ETFs) in bitcoin which allow investors to trade the asset without actually opening a crypto account.

Binance’s new CEO Richard Teng told AFP this month that the company spent hundreds of millions of dollars on compliance and was working very closely with regulators.