₦airaland Forum

malcom1X:
Borrow more then seek for debt forgiveness.

😄😄😄

Nigeria has maintained its fourth position on the World Bank’s top 10 International Development Association (IDA) borrowers’ list after moving up from fifth in the 2022 fiscal year.

Even though Nigeria maintains the fourth position, it has accumulated about $1.3 billion in debt within one year.

This was disclosed in the World Bank Fiscal Year 2022 audited financial statement, which showed that Nigeria moved to the fourth position on the list with $13bn IDA debt stock as of June 30, 2022.

However, the World Bank Fiscal Year 2023 audited financial statement showed that Nigeria owed about $14.3bn IDA debt stock as of June 30, 2023, but maintained its fourth position on the list.

With $ 19.3 billion, Bangladesh moved up the list to become the topmost IDA debtor, taking over from India ($ 17.9 billion debt), which fell to the second position.

Pakistan maintained the third position from the last fiscal year with a debt of $16.9bn.

The World Bank 2022 audited statement also showed that Nigeria has the highest IDA debt in Africa, while the top three borrowers, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, are from Asia.

Also, in the World Bank 2023 Annual Report, Nigeria was among the top 10 countries that acquired fresh IDA loans this year.

The report showed that the bank committed $ 1.55 billion to Nigeria in the fiscal year of 2023, with the country recognised as the ninth-highest beneficiary.

KillahPriest:
yup

NzogbuNzogbu:
unprovoked when you sent missiles into israel first

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Thursday, October 12, 2023, announced, among other policy issues, the lifting of foreign exchange restrictions hitherto placed on the importation of 43 items.

1. Why was there a restriction?

On June 23, 2015, the CBN issued Circular TED/FEM/FPC/GN/01/010, which put 41 product categories on a list of items not valid for FOREX in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange market.

Two more product categories were added in subsequent years, bringing the total of imported product categories restricted from accessing FX to 43.

The restriction aimed at reducing foreign exchange demand for products that could be locally produced, improve employment generation and conserve foreign reserves.

The items were Rice, Cement, Margarine, Palm kernel, Palm oil products, Vegetable oils, Meat and processed meat products, Vegetables and processed vegetable products; Poultry and processed poultry products; Tinned fish in sauce (Geisha)/sardine; Cold rolled steel sheets; Galvanized steel sheets; Wheelbarrows; Head pans; Metal boxes and containers; Enamelware; Steel drums; Steel pipes, Wire rods (deformed and not deformed); Iron rods; Reinforcing bars; Wire mesh; Steel nails; Security and razor fencing and poles; Wood particle boards and panels; Wood fiberboards and panels; Plywood boards and panels; Wooden doors; Toothpicks; Glass and glassware; Kitchen utensils, Tableware; Tiles-vitrified and ceramic; Gas cylinders; Woven fabrics; Clothes; Plastic and rubber products; Polypropylene granules; Cellophane wrappers and bags; Soap and cosmetics; Tomatoes/tomato pastes, and Eurobond/foreign currency bond/share purchases.

2. Was there an import ban on these products?

No. There was only a restriction on buying FOREX in the official market to import these items.

3. Why is the CBN now lifting the restrictions?

i. The restrictions pushed importers into the parallel market, contributing to the surplus demand for FOREX. This weakened the parallel-market exchange rate, pushing up prices.

ii. The CBN wants to promote orderliness and professional conduct by all Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market participants to ensure market forces determine exchange rates on a Willing Buyer – Willing Seller principle.

iii. The CBN wants a unified market for FOREX with flexible and transparent pricing.

iv. The CBN wants to ensure price stability and is seeking to boost liquidity in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market. As liquidity improves, we expect the distortions to moderate.

4. What are the implications of removing the FX restriction?

i. Monetary Policy tools become more effective with the attainment of a unified, well-functioning market for FX, where pricing is based on a willing-buyer and willing-seller system. With this, the CBN’s core functions and mandates become realisable.

ii. The willing-buyer and willing-seller system allows the exchange rate to adjust to clear the market and ensure that there is always supply. In recent months, the widening premium between the official rate and the parallel market indicates that the rate has not been setting a clearing price.

iii. Importers of these products rely on the parallel market to source FX for importing these goods. This puts additional demand pressures on the parallel market, thereby widening the gap with the official rate and permanently segmenting the market. Removing these restrictions eliminates the need for importers of these products to go to the parallel market, reducing the pressure on the naira.

iv. The hitherto FX restrictions had implications on inflation, causing the prices of affected goods to increase.

5. How does this benefit local production?

i. Local production will benefit from cheaper imported inputs, and consumers will benefit from cheaper retail products. The policy is suitable for a unified FOREX market and positive as well for inflation.

ii. It is expected that employment generation will be boosted as closed factories re-open. Price stability will benefit the economy and the standard of living in general.

benuejosh:
Nothing good comes easy.

Former President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has described the President Bola Tinubu-led administration as the toughest in history of Nigeria.

This comes on heels of the backlash he received following media blackout on the Chicago State University, CSU, certificate saga of Tinubu pending the Supreme Court decision on the matter.

Agbakoba, in a recent interview with Vanguard, decried the hike in food prices as a result of the subsidy removal by the Tinubu-led administration.

According to him, Tinubu has a lot of controversies to contend with: The socio-economic crisis occasioned by the policy of subsidy removal, the unified single exchange rate, the threat by the Labour Congress to shut down the country, the struggle to provide palliatives to calm frayed nerves, and now the issue of credibility as a result of the Chicago State Certificate saga.

“President Tinubu has taken on a very challenging assignment. Let us assume that President Tinubu is the captain of an aircraft. Tinubu takes off from the runway; he has to climb out to a particular altitude. You know, in climbing, some pilots have a very smooth climb, while others have very turbulent climbing. Tinubu has been contending with two major headwinds.

“One is the issue of the removal of subsidies, and another is the exchange control issue. How he handles them will depend on his skills as a pilot. But the climbing is very difficult.

“When you are climbing out and you hit the headwind, you have to be in full focus. So, the climb-out has been extremely tough.

“There is no doubt about it. What I think is that he ought to be using full power because when a pilot is climbing, he has the power to trot. What I see Captain Tinubu doing at this stage is using only 50 percent of his throttle power.

“He needs to push that throttle to the limit so that the climb-out can be great. I will say that the turbulence will continue until the Supreme Court makes its final decision.

“What is obvious is that Nigerians have to go through a very tough time. It has been the toughest time in the history of this country since independence, as garri, rice, vegetables, and other staple foods are way out of the reach of the common man,” he said.

The Acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Caroline Adepoju, has said that not all types of passport issuance have a timeline of two weeks.

Adepoju, in a press statement signed by the spokesman of the Service, Aridegbe Adedotun, weekend, said the Service“has received with deep concern, some complaints of misconduct levelled against our personnel in some passport offices across the nation”.

The statement read: “The Comptroller General has ordered an investigation into the matter, especially in regards to the noncompliance with ministerial directives on the timeline of passport administration.

“Following the complete clearance of passport application backlogs nationwide in line with the directive of the Honourable Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, a new timeline of 2 weeks for processing and issuance of passport was announced by the minister on the 4th of October, 2023. The Honourable Minister and the Ag. CGI provided different phone numbers to the general public to report misdemeanors by NIS personnel at any of our offices. From NIS we gave two numbers: 08028320751 (SPRO), 08067761196 (SA – SERVICOM), and we are not only ready to answer your calls but resolve issues.

“The Service has on a daily basis, monitored the compliance level at all passport offices nationwide and at our missions abroad. We receive daily reports on production and issuance of passports from all Passport Control Officers. As at today, Friday 13th October, 2023, most of our passport offices are producing passports of applicants enrolled on Wednesday, 11th October, 2023.

“The Service wishes to use this opportunity to enlighten the general public that applications for reissuance of lost passport and change of data takes a longer time. Some applicants in this category may put the Service in bad light when they complain of delay and noncompliance with the new timeline. These applications are required to go through security clearance and correspondence with Service Headquarters before approval for production.”

The statement added that: “Meanwhile, the Acting Comptroller General wishes to appeal to members of the public to feel free to contact the Service through its various public communication channels including Twitter, Facebook handles (@nigimmigration) and our Contact Center on; 09121900655 • 09121556359 • 09121477092 to report any form of misconduct by any member of the workforce for appropriate sanctions.

“The Service enjoins prospective passport applicants to please visit the Nigeria Immigration Service’s official website at immigration.gov.ng to apply for passports and make payments for their preferred passport categories and avoid patronizing individuals or entities that request cash payments for passport services.”

Niece:
Michael Ali

Agwotulumbe:
Seun needs to do a thorough reshuffling of his mods especially the partisan ones

iCauseTrouble:
Why is most of the comments in the first page deleted?

SARSCoV2:
The USA masterplan playing out. NATO territory and boundaries with Russia will only increase.

And same time use the war to stretch Russian economy to breaking points. Putin should know he will fight forever at the detriment of his economy cos NATO will keep pumping funds in to the war.

Mopropertiesng:
real estate provides the highest returns, the greatest values and the least risk.

krustykrabs:
doesent work

Seeeker:
Picture attached

Anytime a doctor gives me antibiotics for treatment of sickness, my skin would start glowing for at least a month and the sickness would be gone. But bad skin condition would return despite being not sick. The only thing is that I don't like using body cream because I always feel like they constitute a load on my facial skin. So, if I buy a cream, I don't use it consistently. If I use the one my wife is using, miss carowhite or something, rashes would start crawling out of my face in their number.