Business

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the sales of foreign exchange (FX) to the bureau de change (BDC) operators at the rate of N1,101/$.

The CBN disclosed this in a circular, titled, ‘Sales of FX to Meet Retail Market Demand For Eligible Invisible Transactions’, dated April 8.

The circular was addressed to the president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON).

The development comes less than a month after the second announcement of sales.

More to follow…

Popular Nigerian comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY, and his wife, Mabel, have separated after 16 years of marriage.

The comedian confirmed the development in a post on his Instagram page on Sunday.

He said he had reached a stage where he could no longer entertain the public with “deep personal family issues.”

He wrote, “Many people believe that staying silent simply means that one is incapable of dealing with issues. Projecting a negative narrative against someone who is not struggling to defend himself doesn’t mean he is weak. Some of us are just logical enough to understand the difference between opinions, values, beliefs, and facts.

“The personality and ability that I possess simply confirm that I have reached that stage in my life where I can not be entertaining the public with deep personal family issues. They just might be too much to handle concerning the individuals involved. Not even when I have a grown-up daughter who has access to social media. Her mental health needs to be protected from seeing things she can not be proud of online.

“Yes! Without compromising my family, I have found myself doing some things that I am not proud of today. It is one thing to watch my friendship/marriage of 20 years slip off my hands, but it’s another thing for the parties involved to understand how to appropriate the blame in a space that is designed for most women to always play the victims and win. I can tell you for free that no one is completely innocent enough to cast stones.

“Presently, I am loving the way that lies about me in all these blogs are travelling faster than the truth. But my painful truth will eventually beat away all the lies.”

Also, in a post on her Instagram page on Sunday, Mabel said she had stopped reacting to disrespect.

She wrote, “Distance is my new response to disrespect. I don’t react, I don’t argue. I don’t dive into the drama. I just remove myself.”

Ayo and Mabel got married in November 2008, and they are blessed with two children.

The Director of Banking Services, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)Mr Hamish Abdullah I, has highlighted the merit-based selection of Remita to provide an electronic platform essential for facilitating payments from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to beneficiary accounts across commercial banks.

He said this when officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria appeared before the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee to respond to queries about leakages through the Remita platform.

According to him “The CBN was directed to provide an electronic platform that would facilitate payments on behalf of MDAs to beneficiaries accounts in the commercial banks.”

“CBN deemed it fit to source for an alternative way of doing this and engaged two companies and out of the two, Remita, was selected based on merit and based on the fact they had been rendering similar services to commercial banks.”

The Managing Director of Remita Payment Services Limited, Mr. ‘Deremi Atanda also underscored the importance of incorporating all federal government agencies within the Treasury Single Account (TSA) framework to bolster accountability and transparency.

He said the TSA initiative was designed to create a single window through which all inflows and outflows of government can be monitored in real-time for transparency and accountability and especially for the effective management of the government’s cash assets.

“However, some MDAs are operating outside TSA. The investigations have unravelled that some MDAs are only partially complying with the TSA Revenue policy while some are in absolute breach,” he said.

The Nigeria Customs Service, Immigration, Federal Medical Centres, FRSC, and Nigeria Railway Corporation, were identified as entities not fully adhering to the TSA guidelines.

He further explained how the government can track and account for every single transaction through a unique Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) code assigned to each revenue inflow.

“It allows the government to identify the receiving MDA, the destination account, the date and time of the transaction, the purpose of the payment, and the name of the payer. The RRR has become the ultimate reconciliation reference point for all payers, banks, and MDAs involved in government revenue collection.”

As Nigeria continues its march towards economic stability, some government forex revenue collections still occur outside the TSA framework. Mr. Atanda highlighted the importance of adhering to the TSA’s original intent of consolidating all government inflows and outflows, regardless of currency. This is vital to prevent the diversion of the federal government’s foreign exchange revenues into the hands of unscrupulous entities.

“At a time when the Nigerian Government is seeking ways to generate Forex and prevent the devaluation of the Naira amid increased demand for the US Dollar, allowing such diversions is inadvisable,” he stated.

Chairman of the Committee said there is a House resolution that has mandated the PAC to investigate an allegation concerning revenue leakages through Remita platform as well as none adherence to service level agreements between parties on the Remita gateway platform.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has resumed the sale of foreign exchange (forex) to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, issuing a circular informing them of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at a rate of N1,251/$1.

The development comes after the CBN’s prolonged ban on forex sales to BDC operators.

In the circular signed by the bank’s Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Dr Hassan Mahmud, on Monday, each BDC is directed to sell the purchased dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price, which translates to a maximum selling rate of N1,269/$1.

The CBN had previously announced its decision to sell foreign exchange worth $20,000 to each eligible Bureau De Change operator across the country in February, marking a significant shift from the policy implemented more than two years ago when the former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, halted the sales of forex to BDC operators.

The circular from the CBN read, “We refer to our letter to you referenced TED/DIR/CON/GOM/001/071 in respect of the above subject wherein the CB approved a second tranche of sale of FX to eligible BDCs.

“We write to inform you of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at the rate of N1,251/$1. The BDCs are to sell to eligible end-users at a spread of not more than 1.5 per cent above the purchase price.”

The decision to resume selling to BDC operators is expected to provide easier access to forex for businesses and individuals alike, facilitate international transactions, and ease pressure on the naira.

Naira appreciates massively to N1,492 against USD at forex market amid foreign reserves surge

It appreciated massively to N1,492.61 per US dollar at the official foreign exchange market as foreign reserves surged to $34.11 billion.

FMDQ data showed that the Naira gained N67.96 on Wednesday compared to the N1,560.57 per USD it traded the previous day.

This is the first time the Naira has reached below N1,500 per USD since last month.

The appreciation comes as USD transactions turnover surged to $268.29 million on Wednesday from $195.13 million on Tuesday.

Similarly, at the parallel market, the Naira appreciated to N1,520 per USD on Wednesday from N1,600 on Tuesday.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria said it has cleared the $7 billion valid forex backlog.

Accordingly, the apex noted the country’s foreign reserves increased to $34.11 billion by $993 million as of March 7, 2024.

The federal government has asked cryptocurrency trading firm, Binance, for information on its top 100 users in Nigeria as well as all transaction history for the past six months.

According to the Financial Times, the request was made to establish the negotiations between Binance and Nigeria.

In the report, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was also asking the exchange to resolve any outstanding tax liabilities in country.

In recent weeks, the Federal Government had clamped down on Binance for allegedly undermining its efforts to stabilise the local currency, the naira. Me

The debacle between the government and Binance started when the special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Binance and other crypto platforms should be prohibited from operating in Nigeria.

He alleged that Binance was “blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria,” and hijacking the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

A few days after Onanuga’s statement, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said $26 billion passed through Binance from unidentified sources.

Cardoso said the apex bank, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and security agencies were working together to ensure there is no manipulation in the foreign exchange (FX) market.

On March 8, the crypto firm discontinued all transactions in naira on its exchange platform, following reports that the government demanded $10 billion as retribution for profiting from “its illegal transactions” in Nigeria.

In the meantime, the ONSA is requesting that the exchange settle any unpaid tax obligations, according to reports received by the Financial Times.

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin reached a new peak of $71,000 on Monday, Bloomberg data reports.

The demand for Bitcoin comes amid optimism that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in 2024.

LeadingReporters recalls that the Nigerian government ordered restrictions on Bitcoin activities in the country’s cyberspace on February 21 amid efforts to rescue the Nairaat the foreign exchange market.

The development comes amid a claim by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, at the 293rd Monetary Policy Committee meeting that $26 billion was funnelled through Bitcoin in one year without a trace.

The statement had elicited a call for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency restrictions. Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information & Strategy, championed the call for cryptocurrency restrictions.

Consequently, on Monday last week, Binance announced it would discontinue all services for Nigeria’s fiat currency, the Naira, amid Nigerian government regulatory clampdown.