₦airaland Forum

Nigeria’s Access Bank officials released a statement Tuesday in response to media speculation surrounding the invitation of their CEO, Herbert Wigwe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It reads as follows…

May 10, 2016

PRESS RELEASE

On May 6, 2016, officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (‘the Commission’), visited the Bank as part of its ongoing investigation into a specific transaction involving a customer of the Bank in the normal course of business. The visit came without any form of notification or invitation to the Bank.

The officials informed the Bank that they were investigating some transactions and sought the Bank’s cooperation. The officials met with the Group Managing Director and the Bank’s Chief Compliance Officer, who provided the needed information and documents. Thereafter, the Group Managing Director was requested to accompany them to their office to further their investigation which he willingly acceded to. Following the resolution of the underlying issues, he was allowed to leave the Commission’s office on the same day.

We have observed the wide ranging speculations in the media connecting the visits of the Commission to various personalities. We would like to state emphatically for the benefit of our stakeholders that the Bank has absolutely no link, interaction or relationship whatsoever with any of the personalities stated in the media reports.

As a Bank, we shall continue to operate in line with the highest level of professionalism, consistently seeking best practices, and hereby wish to re-assure our esteemed stakeholders that the Bank remains committed to its strategic goals and objectives.



Thank you.

SIGNED:

MANAGEMENT

http://www.fxmallam.com/news/access-bank-responds/

The economic evidence for deregulation is strong. In the long run, it will boost the refining of crude oil in Nigeria. In the short term, many Nigerians can't find fuel and are happy to pay N130 if and when they find it. It is certainly a move that will allow the government to reallocate resources. This should have been done in 2012 when GEJ wanted to. But as they say, the rest is history.

Hate snakes. Hope the thing didn't leave babies behind or something crazy.

Kudos Man! Keep up the good work. It is very difficult to create content these days. Those who can should be commended.

In spite of the rough start, I have to give kudos to Ambode. Not only does he appear to be working, he's doing it without excuses and his communication team is on point IMO. Lagos isn't an easy state to govern and the amount of infrastructure needed takes someone with real ambition, drive and know how to execute effectively.

The average middle class Nigerian according to 2011 survey of the group makes between N75,000 and N100,000 monthly which is around $250 and $330 in today’s money (since we like dollar too much). But as we know, we are in a period of economic crises and jobs are being lost left and right.

Now many of you are checking your bank accounts wondering how it gets empty easily every month. The smarter ones are talking about how to make a change. Let’s review this situation by discussing the top ways we waste money.

1. Phone Air time – There’s a reason why even in this time of austerity, the one industry that seems unaffected is telecommunication (Glo, Airtel, MTN, Etisalat) and that’s because of you and I. Okay, yes, some of these providers (eh…all) are crooked in the ways they help you burn credit. Yes, some of us need the usefulness of things like data plans and SMS plans. But to what degree? Does anyone really need to spend N100 on caller tunes?

How to stop – One word, budget. It will be a common word here. Cut your coat according to your size. Make an overall budget monthly and once that’s over, cut out. Better yet, do it weekly and once it’s finished, it’s finished. Also, if you have useless subscriptions, caller tunes, betting info, sports info, news, end those. They are just ways to make more money for the carriers.

2. Flexing – Flexing covers a lot of avenues for Nigerians. The worst part is that in the past, it was much hard to see other people flexing so you can copy them. Usually, you waited till you got to church or an engagement. Now, with Facebook and Instagram, we can see our friends and strangers flexing instantly and at any point we want which only leads to long throat a.k.a. I better pass my neighbor. From electronics to cars to designer goods. My guy buys iPhone 6s, I must buy iPhone 6s. Where do we flex? Everywhere…parties, wedding, work, school, church.

How to stop – Stop! The people that give you long throat, reduce the time you spend on their Facebook or Twitter or Instagram feeds. For the most part, it’s the blind leading the blind. We are all broke living from alert to alert.

3. Relationships – Specifically, unhealthy relationships. The goes for women and men but men are notoriously bad about this. It’s no longer uncommon for men to healthy extra marital relationships or multiple girlfriends if they’re single. All these are suckers. The moment you stop spending, the relationship dies. Worse many don’t end up with anything other than broken relationships with those they care about.

How to stop – First, be born again. No joke. Find Jesus and you’ll see that he’s also good for your bank account. Also seek healthier relationships i.e. the ones that have no strings attached. In the end you’ll be happier and have a larger bank account. Note, most if not all unhealthy relationships are very expensive in one way or another.

http://www.fxmallam.com/news/7-ways-average-nigerian-wastes-money-tips-stop/

Senator Ben Murray-Bruce Thursday released on his Facebook account, snippets of a bill he plans to introduce to the Senate. The ‘Common Sense” Senator called the bill, the Right of Return Bill. He shared this,

“The #RightofReturnBill will attract African American and Euro African diaspora willing to make Nigeria the domicile for their investments.

“In the 80s and 90s, Nigerian lost her best human resources during the brain drain. My #RightofReturnBill will reverse that phenomenon”

The criticisms were fast and furious. One of the most liked were from K.D (initials are being used to protect privacy)

K.D – “Please Sen Ben Murray-Bruce, if there is anything you political leaders need to jointly fight for their establishment in Nigeria, its the right to “basic amenities” once 1. Electricity 2. Good tarred roads 3. Security of lives and properties 4. Good health care infrastructures and a few others are put in place, jobs will naturally get created and investors from all nooks and crannies of the world will find Nigeria suitable for investment.”

Another individual O.T. brought up the current security challenges as a deterrence to the effectiveness of such a bill.

O.T – “After having a moment of respite from the Boko Haram sect, the Fulani herdsmen came into limelight after them only God knows what is next? but i pray it will be the end security insurgencies in Nigeria. Who will be that coconut head Nigeria in diaspora that will come and invest in a country that’s with battling security issues? Wisdom demands that we solve our security problem and make our economy stable before inviting them.”

So to be even handed, while in the minority, the bill, even with the lack of details did find some support.

ONF- “Sir I encourage you to move on,nothing is impossible even me,I live in the states and I am looking for where to invest my money back home.

This is the best time to seize the opportunity and invest in Nigeria because things won’t be like this forever.”

The concept of brain drain and the detriment to Nigeria’ ability to compete on the world stage is no small matter.

I like Senator Ben Murray-Bruce and in large part, he appears to be the one Senator putting himself out there and willing to engage with people in the public concerning his ideas, plans and opinions. Unlike many Senators, you never get the sense that he’s just there to collect. So regardless of what your politics are or your feelings towards him, it is fair to say that Senator Murray-Bruce is willing to engage others especially through unforgiving media like Facebook and Twitter.

I applaud the Senator for trying to think outside the box to find solutions to that issue (brain drain that is). However, the current sentiment by this small sample of users is that priorities should be placed on the current hardship the average Nigerian in Nigeria faces.

Perhaps in a different world, we could tackle all these problems simultaneously. That is to say that we can fix our infrastructure while recruiting foreign investments and talents (something I would like to address at a later date).

But our government hasn’t been known to be able to handle multiple large scale endeavors at once so perhaps taking care of the basics should be the focus and organically other benefits will come with it. At least, that’s the general sentiment.

So, while the bill may be from a heart in the right place, there’s no doubt that many Nigerians outside of the so called social media sphere will also see it as at best poorly timed. Eventually, the details will be released and then we will know if it has any life or if will be returned to sender.

Don’t forget to check out our Home Page for the latest Forex Rates. For tips on saving money, check out one of our most popular posts.

http://www.fxmallam.com/news/senator-bruces-right-return-bill-gets-return-sender-treatment/

Now that the budget has been signed, all we need to know if if the implementation can be completed since we are already through 4 months. Plus the N350B injection into the economy has to be in addition to the almost N2 Trillion they should have been operating with since Jan 1st. Otherwise, boys in the system will see loophole to still collect.