₦airaland Forum

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A host of countries have urged their nationals to leave Ukraine, amid growing warnings of a Russian invasion.

The British foreign office said all UK nationals "should leave now while commercial means are still available".

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc was "united and prepared for any scenario", while the US warned Russia could attack "at any time".

Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite massing more than 100,000 troops near the border.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said new Russian forces had arrived at the border in what he described as "very troubling signs of Russian escalation".

Moscow has just begun massive military drills with neighbouring Belarus, and Ukraine has accused Russia of blocking its access to the sea.

The Kremlin says it wants to enforce "red lines" to make sure that its former Soviet neighbour does not join Nato.

"We're in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics [which end on 20 February]," Mr Blinken said.

US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said Russian forces were "in a position to be able to mount a major military action at any time" and urged American citizens in Ukraine to "leave as soon as possible" in remarks seen as a clear escalation in the urgency of warnings from US officials.

"We obviously cannot predict the future, we don't know exactly what is going to happen, but the risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that [leaving] is prudent," he added.

President Biden has said that he would not send any troops to rescue any citizens left stranded in the event of Russian action.

Among other countries calling on citizens to leave are the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. In its warning Latvia cited "a serious threat to security posed by Russia".

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are under way to defuse the current crisis.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned his counterpart in Moscow that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have "tragic consequences" for both countries. But Sergei Shogiu said growing military tensions in Europe were "not our fault".

The current tensions come eight years after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula. Since then, Ukraine's military has been locked in a war with Russian-backed rebels in eastern areas near Russia's borders.

Moscow says it cannot accept that Ukraine - a former Soviet republic with deep social and cultural ties with Russia - could one day join the Western defence alliance Nato and has demanded that this be ruled out.

Russia has been backing a bloody armed rebellion in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region since 2014. Some 14,000 people - including many civilians - have died in fighting since then.

There is some suggestion that a renewed focus on the so-called Minsk agreements - which sought to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine - could be used as a basis to defuse the current crisis.

Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany backed the accords in 2014-2015.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60355295

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THE Financial Services Leader and Chief Economist at PwC Nigeria Andrew Nevin says he foresees a positive effect on the nation’s parallel market rates following the current rise in oil prices.

Early this week, Nigeria’s most valued crude grade, Bonny Light, rose to $95 per barrel, with the expectation it could soon hit the $100 mark.

Nevin, speaking at the 2022 FATE Annual Business Outlook on Thursday, said the parallel markets would witness a positive change despite the failure of the Central Bank of Nigeria to harmonise the exchange rates.

He said, “I don’t think there would be a harmonization of the exchange rate this year before the elections. I don’t see a major policy shift before the elections, so be prudent with the risks you take. I think as the oil proceeds from $90 begin to roll in, there would be a positive effect on the parallel rates.”

In a separate event last week, the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation Ben Akabueze explained that naira devaluation and subsidy dragged the revenue made from oil down.

According to Akabueze, Nigeria ended with oil at 50 per cent of the target despite oil prices significantly higher than the budget benchmark.

“We made no provision for subsidy because in 2020 there was a pronouncement that subsidy was gone. Unfortunately, subsidy resurfaced and the combination of oil prices and devaluation in naira got to a point that it didn’t seem feasible to continue to adjust the pump price of petrol.

“The subsidy scheme operates as a deduction upfront from the gross oil and gas revenues before it even hits the Federation Account to be shared. We lost over a trillion naira in terms of impact in 2021. Oil revenues came short by that much. The other reason oil revenues came short was production. For 2021, it came in below the 1.86 million barrels per day that we projected,” he said.

Yesterday, the exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N415.15/$1 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, as observed from the FMDQ Security Exchange.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Nigeria’s fiscal and monetary authorities to remove fuel subsidies and official exchange rates.

https://www.icirnigeria.org/rise-in-oil-prices-to-positively-affect-dollar-rate/

Does the woman resemble......

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......because of top 4?

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Bloody Friday.....

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Nepotism....

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Sometimes the bitter leaf tries to overthrow the egusi taste......

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Yummy.......

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Expensive coal....

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....it full Enugu!

Lalas best friend.....

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SadiqBabaSani:
all na smoke

Aboki Fulani don corner ALL forex be dat!

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.....on top of the refining of petrol.

Case wey dey take 8 years to resolve?

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Thursday said it will stop selling forex to Deposit Money Banks by the end of 2022.

Making this disclosure after a Bankers’ Committee meeting, CBN governor Godwin Emefiele said it was time for banks to source for forex by funding entrepreneurs with ideas.

Mr Emefiele disclosed that the apex bank will provide banks with rebates and other support needed for them to be able to independently source for forex without the CBN.

He detailed that policies and measures introduced under his leadership of the apex bank have resulted in an improved diaspora inflow to an average of over US$100 million per week by January 2022 from a $6 million per week inflow in December 2020.

He further disclosed that the apex bank would henceforth review its intervention programmes to ensure that they continue to achieve the desired results.

This development comes months after the apex bank blocked foreign exchange transactions with bureau de change operators.

The bank also suspended the issuance of new licences to money changers across the country.

Bureau de change operators have long been a major black market, providing exchange rate support to those unable to formally access foreign currencies directly from the CBN. The suspension of their ability to source foreign exchange from the CBN has placed a significant impact on the country’s economy and brought the naira under further pressure.

The Buhari regime has faced criticisms for mismanaging the country’s economy after the naira tumbled by wide margin against the United States dollar and other major international currencies. A dollar was about 180 to naira when the administration assumed power in 2015, but it now exchanges for about 411.50 to naira, and about 510 to naira at parallel markets.

https://gazettengr.com/just-in-cbn-to-stop-forex-supply-to-banks-by-end-of-2022/

Scores?

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....or a few?

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Or wheelchair.....

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Serious?

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Ex cons....

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Dis Buhari don 'grey' small....

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+ his 'share' of Lagos!

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It was PDP.........

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.....We know already!

dawnomike:
He bought his roots

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