Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has disclosed that more than $26bn was channelled through a cryptocurrency platform, Binance, in the last four years.

Cardoso disclosed this on Tuesday at a press briefing after the 293rd meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja.

The Binance exchange is a leading cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017.

It features a strong focus on altcoin trading.

Binance offers crypto-to-crypto trading in more than 350 cryptocurrencies and virtual tokens, including bitcoin, ether, litecoin, dogecoin, and its own coin, BNB.

While answering questions from journalists on the recent restriction on Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms, the CBN boss said, “In the last four years, more than $26 billion have been funnelled through Binance without trace.”

He added that the CBN is moving to a very aggressive regulatory environment.

“Tolerance for people who will not abide by the regulations that are coming out is zero.

“People will have to comply with our regulations or face the consequences for not doing so,” he said.

The Naira began to appreciate against the USD amid the restrictions on Binance and other crypto platforms in Nigeria’s cyberspace.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria may raise the Monetary Policy Rate, otherwise known as the benchmark interest rate at the end of the meeting on Tuesday, according to finance and economic analysts.

The MPC began its two-day meeting on Monday, a few days after the National Assembly screened and okay new members of the MPC.

MPC meeting this week became the first meeting since the new CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, assumed the leadership of the apex bank.

There had been concerns over the failure of the MPC to meet. With rising inflation and the naira experiencing volatility against the United States dollar, there are reports the MPC may raise the benchmark interest rate.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday arraigned three men accused of hoarding foreign currencies.

The trio appeared at an Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court, Ibadan, Oyo State, for allegedly hoarding foreign currencies and selling the same at exorbitant prices illegally.

The suspects – Thomas Olatokunbo, 62, Dauda Ismail, 32, and Bello Muhammed 29 – all residents of Sabo area, Mokola in Ibadan, are facing a five-count bordering on conspiracy.

They are also accused of unlawfully procuring a licence or certificate for buying and selling of foreign currencies, and disobeying the executive order of the President.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Chief Magistrate, M. Mudasiru, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N1 million each, with two sureties in like sum.

Mr Mudasiru adjourned the matter until June 4, for hearing. According to the Police Prosecutor, Amos Adewale, the defendants, with others now at large, on February 21, at Sabo area, Mokola, Ibadan, allegedly conspired to commit the offences.

Mr Adewale said the trio allegedly obtained registration by false pretence in disobedience to lawful order.

“The defendants, wilfully and unlawfully, procured for themselves registrations, licences or certificates for buying and selling of foreign currencies without lawful authority. Without lawful excuse, Olatokunbo, Ismail and Muhammed allegedly disobeyed the executive order of the President proscribing the buying and selling of foreign currencies. The defendants allegedly conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause breach of peace by hoarding foreign currencies and selling the same at high prices,” the charges further read.

He said the offences contravened sections 203, 249 (d) 422, 425 and 516 of the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State 2000.

The Naira continued to appreciate against the US Dollar at the foreign market on Monday amid the Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

Data from FMDQ showed that the Naira appreciated significantly to N1,582.94 per USD on Monday from N1,665.50 on Friday.

This represents N72.56 or 3.4 per cent appreciation compared to the N1,665.50 recorded at the close of trading on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Naira was exchanged for N1,600 per USD on Monday at the parallel market from an average of N1,500 on Sunday.

Naira recorded a massive gain at the parallel foreign exchange market at the weekend.

The development showed that the gap between the official and unofficial exchange markets is almost closing.

However, the turnover of USD at the FMDQ market stood at $154.16 million on Monday.

The development comes as CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso and other members of MPC meet in Abuja.

Despite EFCC’s nationwide raid on bureau de change operators and the federal government’s ban on Binance and another cryptocurrency platform in Nigeria, the naira steadied at N1,900 per the U.S. dollar on Friday.

The naira plunged into a swift freefall in the past few days until Nigerian authorities stepped in to halt its dramatic fall. But in the last couple of days the currency steadied at N1,900 to a dollar amid concerns it would crumble to N2,000 per dollar by the weekend.

With EFCC’s nationwide raid on BDC operators and ban on Binance and another cryptocurrency exchange platform, the naira made some gains on Wednesday, trading for N1,600 to a dollar due to panic selling in the market.

But less than 24 hours later, the naira dipped back to N1,900 to a dollar on Thursday.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trade platform, confirmed the blockage of its website and other cryptocurrency exchange platforms to Nigerian users.

The blocking of the Binance website by the Nigerian authorities, though not officially announced, was mooted by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday, while many pro-Tinubu X users celebrated the ban, claiming it is already helping the naira recover its lost value.

Though the naira had been on a downward trend against the dollar before Mr Tinubu assumed office last May, the naira’s freefall accelerated following the floating of the currency.

In September, the naira exchanged at N1,000 to one dollar at the parallel market.

This historic dip spotlighted the weakness of Mr Tinubu’s efforts to manage the national currency amid runaway inflation.

In July, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) complained that floating the nation’s currency had caused a drop in vehicle importation in the nation’s ports.

The currency fell to N1,520.123 to a dollar on January 31, according to Naira Rates.

This is against the currency’s depreciation to N1,482.75 per dollar recorded in the official foreign exchange market on January 30, amounting to a N38 depreciation for the naira under 24 hours.

The fall made it the first time after the COVID-19 pandemic that the official exchange rate was higher than the parallel market exchange rate, which traded at N1,470 per dollar from N1,425 on January 29.

The monetary policy of President Bola Tinubu’s government played a huge role in the further downward slide of the naira after he floated the currency.

Mr Tinubu’s petrol subsidy removal and collapsing of multiple foreign exchange windows into the single Importer and Exporter, or I&E window, drastically depreciated the naira’s value by 98 per cent, a report by the Price Water Coopers stated.

The top global business advisory audit firm said in its report ‘Nigeria’s Economic Outlook: Seven Trends That Will Shape Nigerian Economy in 2024’ that Mr Tinubu implemented policies that had the domino effect of devaluing the naira by nearly 100 per cent but appealed to foreign investors as the move was projected to improve the economy in 2024.

On September 26, the naira witnessed an unprecedented historical low, dipping to N1000 against the U.S. dollar. Since then, the currency has lost 17 per cent of its value.

The persistent decline of the naira is a source of concern and a spotlight on the challenges associated with President Bola Tinubu’s fiscal policies.

Despite the far-reaching consequences, including inflation and diminished economic purchasing power, Mr Tinubu has undertaken what his cabinet refers to as strategic moves, such as the petrol subsidy removal, which was met with resistance and scepticism but reflects an attempt to reduce the government’s financial burden and promote a more market-driven economy as well as the decision to adopt a clean float foreign exchange management.

The Federal government has halted cooking gas exportation in a bid to lower the price of the commodity in the country.

Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo, broke the news to reporters at the ‘Internal Stakeholders’ Workshop’ in Abuja.

The theme of the workshop is ‘Harnessing Nigeria’s Proven Gas Reserves for Economic Growth and Development’.

He said the country will no longer, for the time being export Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly referred to as cooking gas, in a bid to alleviate the scarcity and steep price surge within the country.

“We are interacting with critical stakeholders to ensure that there is no exportation of LPG.

“All LPG produced within the country will have to be domesticated. And when this is done, the volume will increase and of course, the price will automatically crash.

“I am in contact with the regulation, NMDPRA, we hold meetings almost on daily basis, and the producers such as Mobil, Chevron, and Shell. So there is that hope that things will turn around. We don’t need to make noise about it,” the minister said.

Multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos has sold another 14 million Amazon shares, worth around $2.4bn (£1.9bn).

The latest sale brings the total number of shares he has sold in the firm over the last nine trading days to about 50 million, with a value of around $8.5bn.

The tech giant had previously said Mr Bezos would sell up to 50 million shares by the end of January 2025.

His sales of Amazon stock comes after they have risen by more than 76% in the past year.

Mr Bezos, who is the firm’s founder and executive chair, had previously last sold Amazon shares in 2021.

He has also given away shares in Amazon as part of his philanthropy, most recently in 2022.

As Mr Bezos moved to Miami in Florida from Seattle in Washington last year, he will save almost $600m in tax on the $8.5bn worth of stock he has sold.

Gains above $250,000 from the sale of shares or other long term investments, are taxed at 7% in Washington state. Florida does not have state taxes on incomes or capital gains.

However, he will still be liable to federal taxes as a result of selling the shares.

When Mr Bezos announced his move to Florida it prompted speculation over whether it was because of a potential tax bill he would have faced in Washington after the state approved a new tax on large stock sales.

Mr Bezos said in November that his parents had recently moved back to Miami where he spent some of his childhood and that he wanted to be close to them and to his Blue Origin space project, which was “increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral”.

“Lauren and I love Miami,” he wrote on Instagram, referring to his fiancée Lauren Sánchez.

“For all that, I’m planning to return to Miami, leaving the Pacific Northwest,” he added.

Mr Bezos remains Amazon’s biggest shareholder and is one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated fortune of more than $190bn.

World’s biggest cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, has confirmed collaborating with President Bola Tinubu’s administration to block Nigerians from dollar-naira trade on its platform.

Binance disclosed this in an announcement on its “commitment to P2P users in Nigeria” on Tuesday, warning that “users behaving in a manipulative way will be removed from the platform.”

“As industry leaders,” Binance said, “We are working hand in hand with local authorities, lawmakers, and regulators to ensure we act on non-compliance.’’

The crypto exchange platform further said it is “setting an upper limit for ads, filtering and removing bad ads, requiring and raising deposits for merchants posting ads as well as processes for actioning against any market manipulators.”

On Tuesday, Binance disabled sell option for its Nigerian users, blocking them from selling fiat currency, USDT, on the platform. It also capped the buy option to $1802 for Nigerian users.

It also disabled purchase of cryptocurrencies via P2P for its Nigerian users, leaving those who might want to sell their crypto assets such as Bitcoin, BNB, Ethereum via P2P stuck.

This comes as another desperate move by the Tinubu-led government to stem naira freefall against the dollar. The naira continues to decline even after the Economic Financial Crimes Commission raided perceived currency speculators at a popular Abuja Bureau De Change hub on Monday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, directed law enforcement agencies to take firm measures against anyone engaged in foreign exchange market speculation.

“In a concerted effort to safeguard Nigeria’s foreign exchange market and combat speculative activities, the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Central Bank of Nigeria are joining forces to address challenges impacting the nation’s economic stability,” a statement issued by Mr Ribadu’s office read.

It added, “The CBN’s proactive measures to stabilise the foreign exchange market and stimulate economic activities have been commendable.

However, the effectiveness of these initiatives is being undermined by the activities of speculators, both domestic and international, operating through various channels, thereby exacerbating the depreciation of the Nigerian naira and contributing to inflation and economic instability.”

The naira hit its all time low, trading for N1902 to a dollar on Tuesday before Binance blocked its Nigerian user from selling USDT on the platform.

Mr Tinubu’s government collaborating with Binance to block Nigerians from dollar-naira trading mirrors his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari’s ban on cryptocurrency trading in the country in 2021.

The CBN under Mr Tinubu’s watch in December 2023 lifted the ban on cryptocurrency.

Some Nigerian Binance users have criticised Binance on its latest move, threatening to migrate to other platforms for their dollar-naira trading.

An x user, @MikaelBernard, on Tuesday, dismissed Binance’s decision against Nigerian users as “absolutely ridiculous,” adding that “If this is how they plan to save the naira, I’m sorry but it’s going to fail woefully.”

“You can no longer sell your own tokens for above 1802/$. I don’t know what they aim to achieve, but traders are now on telegram, selling at 1850/$ and above. Binance was only a medium. If you block Binance, people will find new ways,” @MikaelBernard tweeted.

Another X user, MiracleOkeke said, “So, let me understand, you literally decided to put a peg or control a somewhat person to person transaction that should normally be determined by whatever price they wish? As an open market? Jokes on you, we will move to other platforms.”

With “more than half of its adult population” trading cryptocurrency “monthly,” according Binance, Nigeria ranks among countries with the largest population of crypto traders in the world.

Recent restrictions on domiciliary accounts in Nigeria by the Tinubu-led government could have also increased the number of Nigerians using the exchange to save their money or facilitate receipt of funds from abroad.

Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers have emerged as states with the highest foreign investments in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in the latest Nigeria Capital Importation Q4 2023 report.

While the total foreign investment rose by 66.77 percent on a month-to-month basis to $1,060.73, Lagos State received the highest of $771.68 million, accounting for 65.38 percent of total capital importation.

This is followed by Abuja (FCT) with $370.80 million representing, 34.07 percent and Rivers State with US$6.00 million 0.55 per cent.

The three states recorded similar feats in Q3 2023.

The development showed that foreign investors’ confidence was boosted during the review period.

The National Bureau of Statistics says the United Kingdom, Mauritius and the Netherlands had the highest capital investments in Nigeria in the fourth quarter of 2023.

NBS disclosed this in its latest Nigeria Capital Importation in Q4 2023.

According to the report, the United Kingdom, with US$267.24 million, recorded a 24.55 percent share during the reference period.

Mauritius followed the UK with US$226.18 million 20.78 per cent and the Netherlands with US$149.93 million (13.77 per cent).

The development comes as Nigeria’s total foreign investment increased by 66.77 per cent monthly to $1,060.73 in Q4 2023.

Mr Tinubu’s economic policy scrapping fuel subsidy and collapsing multiple foreign exchange windows into the single Importer and Exporter, or I&E window, drastically depreciated the naira’s value by 98 per cent, a report by the Price Water Coopers stated.

The top global business advisory audit firm said in its report ‘Nigeria’s Economic Outlook: Seven Trends That Will Shape Nigerian Economy in 2024’ that Mr Tinubu implemented policies that had the domino effect of devaluing the naira by nearly 100 per cent but appealed to foreign investors as the move was projected to improve the economy in 2024.

On September 26, the naira witnessed an unprecedented historical low, dipping to N1000 against the U.S. dollar. Since then, the currency lost 17 per cent of its value.

The persistent decline of the naira is a source of concern and a spotlight on the challenges associated with President Bola Tinubu’s fiscal policies.

Despite the far-reaching consequences, including inflation and diminished economic purchasing power, Mr Tinubu has undertaken what his cabinet refers to as strategic moves, such as the petrol subsidy removal, which was met with resistance and scepticism but reflects an attempt to reduce the government’s financial burden and promote a more market-driven economy as well as the decision to adopt a clean float foreign exchange management.

Cement buyers in Benue State have decried the sudden increase in the price of the product from N5,500 to N8,000.

They made their feelings known during an interview on Wednesday in Makurdi.

According to James Toryila, the increase in the price of cement is not genuine, stressing that sellers of the product only want to take advantage of the vulnerable economy to make huge profit.

“You cannot tell me that between last week and this week, the cost of producing cement increased to warrant this high price. What is happening to our economy is worrisome. The Nigerian economy has not been this bad,” Mr Toryila said.

Also, Simon Adzende condemned the sharp increase in the price of the product, describing it as shocking.

Mr Adzende said it would discourage low-income earners from embarking on any building project.

He called for the urgent intervention of the government to save the country’s economy from total collapse.

Oche Onah, who said that he bought the product on Monday at the rate of N7,500, expressed shock that cement had gone up to N8,000 on Wednesday.

A cement trader, Ternenge Shima, however, said that the increase was gradual and not sudden as most buyers were claiming.

The Lagos State Government, on Wednesday, flagged off the Lagos Market Trader Money Initiative to give N50,000 cash to each of 15, 000 traders in the state to boost their businesses.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while unveiling the programme at LTV8, Agidingbi, Ikeja, said the beneficiaries were selected through a methodical process.

The governor said 200 of the beneficiaries were selected from markets in each of the 57 local government areas and local council development areas.

He said 50 beneficiaries were selected by the Iyaloja/Babaloja General in each LGA/LCDA making a total of 14,250 traders.

“750 beneficiaries were identified from markets within the barracks and military formations across the state in collaboration with their respective Iyaloja/Babaloja.

This brings the total number of beneficiaries to 15,000.

“To ensure fairness in the selection process while demonstrating the spirit of Lagos as being home to all, the beneficiaries were drawn from across all the geopolitical zones of the nation with 11,039 from the South-West, 914 from the South-East, 868 from the South-South, 1,710 from North-Central, 373 from the North-West and 107 from the North-East,” Sanwo-Olu said.

He added that 74 per cent of the beneficiaries were women while the remaining 26 per cent were men.

He said 33.7 per cent of them are below 40 years while 66.3 per cent are above 40 years.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, explained that: “This initiative is part of the government’s efforts towards ensuring sustainable livelihoods and wealth creation for traders across the state.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it arrested four suspected internet fraudsters in Maiduguri, Borno State.

This is contained in a statement by the EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday in Maiduguri.

He said operatives of the commission arrested the suspects at the former Trafalgar Hotel, Bolori area of Maiduguri, following actionable intelligence on their criminal activities.

Mr Oyewale said the operatives recovered four smartphones, three HP laptops and power banks from the suspects.

He said the suspects would soon be charged to court.

The Board of Directors of Access Holdings Plc has appointed Ms Bolaji Agbede as the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer of the company.

The company’s Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, stated this in a notification to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) on Tuesday in Lagos.

Mr Ekwochi said the decision followed the demise of the firm’s former Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr Herbert Wigwe on Friday.

Mr Wigwe, Group Chief Executive Officer, Access Holdings, his wife, son and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former Chairman of NGX Group died on Friday in a helicopter crash in Southern California, U.S.

The company’s secretary said that the appointment was subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He said until Ms Agbede’s appointment, she was the company’s most senior founding Executive Director in charge of Business Support.

According to him, Ms Agbede has nearly three decades of professional experience cutting across banking and business consultancy services.

She commenced her professional career in 1992 at Guaranty Trust Bank and served in various capacities within the commercial banking and operations functions rising to the position of a manager in 2001.

The acting group CEO subsequently served as the chief executive officer of JKS Ltd., a business consulting outfit in 2003.

Ms Agbede joined Access Bank Plc in 2003 as an assistant general manager and was responsible for managing the bank’s portfolio of chemical trading companies.

She served as the bank’s head group human resources between 2010 and 2022 and was appointed the company’s founding executive director, business support in 2022.

Ms Agbede has a track record in successful people integration in business combination and culture transformation.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Lagos in 1990 and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Cranfield University, UK in 2002.

The acting group CEO is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management, UK and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria.

Ms Agbede has attended several renowned leadership and professional development programmes including the High Performance Leadership Programme organised by IMD and the Strategic Talent Management Programme organised by the London Business School.

Commenting, Chairman, Access Holdings, Abubakar Jimoh, said that the appointment of Mr Agbede was in alignment with the firm’s robust succession planning practices.

Mr Jimoh said, “We are strongly convinced that Agbede, being the company’s most senior executive with exceptionally rich, professional and leadership experience and understanding of the Access culture, will provide the much-needed leadership to steer the company.

This is towards the attainment of our strategic vision of building a globally connected community and ecosystem, inspired by Alice for the world.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has assured Nigerians that there is no imminent increase in the cost of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popularly known as petrol.

NNPCL urged Nigerians to disregard unfounded rumours and assured them that there are no plans for an upward review of the PMS price.

This was disclosed in a terse statement by NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi O. Soneye, on Thursday.

According to Soneye: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. assures the public that there is no imminent increase in the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.

“NNPC Ltd. urges Nigerians to disregard unfounded rumours and assures them that there are no plans for an upward review of the PMS price.

“Motorists nationwide are advised against engaging in panic buying, as there is presently ample availability of PMS across the country.”

The Naira closed the week positively, appreciating marginally against the US Dollar at the Foreign Market amid the Central Bank of Nigeria’s sweeping policy interventions.

Data from FMDQ showed that the Naira appreciated N1,435.53 per US Dollar on Friday from N1461.90 on Thursday.

This represents a 1.8 per cent or 26.37 gain compared to N1461.90 recorded at the close of trading on Friday.

This is the second time the Naira has appreciated marginally in the week under review.

Similarly, the Naira recorded a gain at the parallel Market, which traded at 1,440 per US dollar on Friday from N1,470 the previous day.

In the last four days, CBN, under its Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has released four policy reforms to wrestle down the free fall of Naira.

CBN also issued a guideline on Wednesday to curb foreign currency hoarding and speculation.

Also, during the week, the bank issued fresh guidelines for International Money Transfer Operators in Nigeria and removed the cap on the exchange rate quoted by IMTOs.

However, the most popular African nation’s currency, the Naira, hiked to N1,435.53 in the week under review from N891.90 per US dollar it traded seven days ago.

Amid its fresh moves to stabilise the nation’s volatile exchange rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered Deposit Money Banks to sell their excess dollar stock latest February 1, 2024.

The CBN, which made the disclosure in a new circular released on Wednesday, also warned lenders against hoarding excess foreign currencies for profit.

According to officials, the central bank believes some commercial banks hold long-term foreign exchange positions to enable them profit from the volatile movements of exchange rates.

The new circular introduces a set of guidelines aimed at reducing the risks associated with these practices.

In the circular titled, “Harmonisation of Reporting Requirements on Foreign Currency Exposures of Banks”, the CBN raised concerns over the growing trend of banks holding large foreign currency positions.

The latest circular came barely 48 hours after the CBN released a circular, warning banks and FX dealers against reporting false exchange rates, among others.

The new development also came on the heels of the adjustment of the methodology used for the calculation of the nation’s official exchange rate by the FMDQ Exchange.

The review has pushed the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market rate (official exchange rate) from approximately N900/dollar to N1,480/dollar. The naira closed at 1,450/dollar at the parallel market on Tuesday.

The move which is aimed at unifying the official and parallel market exchange rates has been hailed by economists and other stakeholders.

They however challenged the CBN to clear FX backlogs estimated at over $5bn and also fund FX demands at the official market.

This, they said, would forestall a situation whereby the parallel market rate would move away from the official rate again.

Apparently as part of the moves to fund FX request at the official window, the CBN in its latest circular released on Wednesday accused banks of holding excess foreign exchange positions.

As a result, the central bank gave lenders until February 1, 2024 (today) to sell off excess dollar positions.

The circulated, dated January 31, 2024, was signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange, CBN, Dr. Hassan Mahmud, and representative of the Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mrs. Rita Sike.

The circular read in part, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has noted with concern the growth in foreign currency exposures of banks through their Net Open Position (NOP). This has created an incentive for banks to hold excess long foreign currency positions, which exposes banks to foreign exchange and other risks.”

To address these issues, the CBN in the circular issued prudential requirements that banks must follow. A key focus of these requirements is the management of the Net Open Position (NOP).

The NOP measures the difference between a bank’s foreign currency assets (what it owns in foreign currencies) and its foreign currency liabilities (what it owes in foreign currencies).

The circular mandates that the NOP must not exceed 20 per cent short or 0 per cent long of the bank’s shareholders’ funds.

This calculation, the apex bank said, must be done using the Gross Aggregate Method, which provides a comprehensive view of the bank’s foreign currency exposure.

Furthermore, banks with current NOPs exceeding these limits are required to adjust their positions to comply with the new regulations latest by February 1, 2024.

Additionally, banks must calculate their daily and monthly NOP and Foreign Currency Trading Position (FCT) using specific templates provided by the CBN.

The CBN also directed banks to maintain adequate stocks of high-quality liquid foreign assets, such as cash and government securities, in each significant currency.

According to the circular, all banks are required to adopt adequate treasury and risk management systems to provide oversight of all foreign exchange exposures and ensure accurate reporting on a timely basis.

Banks are expected to bring all their exposures within the set limits immediately and ensure that all returns submitted to the CBN to provide an accurate reflection of their balance sheets.

Finally, the CBN warned banks that non-compliance with the NOP limit would result in immediate sanction and suspension from the foreign exchange market.

PayPal says it will cut another 2,500 jobs, or 9% of its global workforce, a year after making a similar move.

Chief executive officer Alex Chriss told staff that the decision was made to “right-size” the company “through both direct reductions and the elimination of open roles”.

The staff who are affected will be notified by the end of the week, the digital payments giant said.

PayPal faces rising competition from rivals such as Apple, Zelle and Block.

Mr Chriss was brought in from software company Intuit last year to help turn around PayPal.

Investors hoped he would be able to revive the company’s share price which has fallen by more than 20% in the past 12 months.

In November, the PayPal reported its first earnings under its new boss, which topped analysts expectations, giving investors some hope that its turnaround was underway.

Last week, the firm launched new artificial intelligence-driven products as well as a one-click checkout feature.

The latest job cuts follow tens of thousands of layoffs by other technology giants in recent months.

More than 260,000 jobs were lost in the sector last year, according to the Layoffs.fyi website, which tracks technology industry job cuts.

In just the last month, almost 100 tech firms – including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, TikTok and Salesforce – have announced a total of 25,000 job cuts.

This week, Block, which is led by Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey, began cutting jobs as part of its goal to trim its workforce by 1,000 by the end of the year.

Last year, executives blamed job losses on the pandemic hiring spree and high inflation which resulted in weak consumer demand.

However, some technology industry workers are fighting back. Earlier this month, a union representing workers at Google said it was “needless” for the tech giant to cut hundreds of jobs when it makes billions of dollars a year

The newest oil refinery in Nigeria, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, has expressed interest in buying two million barrels of crude from the United States of America in a move highlighting the damage and degree to which coordinated oil theft has rendered the oil-producing nation incapable of catering to its citizens’ crude oil needs.

According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, U.S.-based Trafigura Group and Dangote Refinery have completed a crude purchase agreement for the delivery of two million barrels of petroleum by February ending.

The newspaper quoted individuals acquainted with the business deal as saying.

The purchase would make it the first time a Nigerian owned refinery would be purchasing non-Nigerian crude for the Nigerian people, evidencing the oil-bunkering operations that have skyrocketed under chief of naval staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, whose palms are constantly greased with millions of American dollars to turn a blind eye to the illicit activities of oil thieves.

Peoples Gazette last week exclusively reported how Mr Ogalla, now desperately fighting to keep his job under investigation, had freed several oil tankers busted for transporting stolen crude off Nigerian shores after collecting kickbacks in millions of foreign currency.

A ripple effect of the bunkering was the nation’s inability to meet the daily processing supply quota of Dangote Refinery, its first-ever private indigenous refinery, which has resorted to importing crude oil from the U.S. to sustain its nascent operations.

With the purchase, Dangote Refinery, which launched its operations in December 2023, is poised to first reach a daily processing goal of 350,000 barrels before going into full capacity mode of 650,000 barrels per day.

The United States’ crude will supplement Dangote’s domestic crude supplies from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the country’s major oil company.

Last month, Dangote purchased its first cargo of crude from Agbami via Shell Plc. Other subsequent crude offloads came from Nigeria’s Amenam, Bonny Light and CJ Blend streams, according to the Bloomberg report.

Analysts deemed the foreign crude purchase necessary as it would help the new refinery run smoothly and independently in its first weeks of operation without any glitch even amid unforeseen challenges.

A new refinery needs a lot of crude on standby for refinement as it cannot suddenly halt operations when short of crude supply.

The foreign purchase was seen as an essential stop-gap measure until Dangote is able to locally source the crude required to meet its daily processing quota.

Still, the reality that Dangote Refinery, based in an oil-producing nation like Nigeria, relies on crude import from the U.S. to meet its daily processing quota has increased worries about the extent of irreversible damage and humiliation the nation is forced to endure under corrupt leaders such as Mr Ogalla and others who allow plundering of Nigeria’s oil resources due to greed.