₦airaland Forum

Business seems bad for Bureaux De Change (BDCs) — no thanks to the naira’s new strength that has hit them with heavy losses.

The naira has strengthened below N381 to the dollar, the rate at which BDCs buy International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOS) cash from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The naira exchanged at N375 to the dollar in the parallel market at the weekend.

It is tipped to gain more within the week as the CBN sustains dollar interventions in the interbank market.

About $1.5 billion has been injected into the interbank market since February when the interventions started.

Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) President Aminu Gwadabe, who hinted of some BDCs likely closure after losing N130 million within the week, said the losses came from the disparity in applicable exchange rates among players in the market. He, therefore, called for rates harmonisation to give all players a level playing field.

According to him, the public has refused to buy foreign exchange from BDCs for invisibles, such as medicals, school fees, and personal and business travel allowances, at a rate above N375 to the dollar.

Commercial banks are selling the dollar for invisibles at N375. The parallel market rate closed at N380 last week. The BDCs, Gwadabe said, were at the receiving end of the market because they bought dollars at N381 and sold at N399, which is far higher than even the parallel market rate.

“All the banks’ selling rates are higher than even the purchasing rates of BDCs, let alone our selling rates. No one is presently buying from the BDCs. I managed to sell only $4,000 last week at N385, how are we going to survive?”, he asked.

“The development has been communicated to the CBN and relevant agencies for intervention and the CBN is giving it its attention. If the scenario is not reversed immediately, the CBN licensed BDCs of over 3,000 with 30,000 workers will be technically edged out of the market,” he said.

Continuing, Gwadabe urged the CBN to provide a level-playing field for all operators, because they are all operating within same market, and selling the same product.

Gwadabe said once the BDCs are no longer in the foreign exchange business, currency speculators will take over the market and that will not be good for the naira.

Stakeholders hope that the sustenance of the CBN’s efforts at the interbank market will further drive down the value of the dollar.

The naira has appreciated by 13 per cent in the parallel market in the last one week. The currency traded at N440 last Monday. It closed at N380 to the dollar at the weekend.

Experts have praised the CBN for its intervention at the foreign exchange market. They urged the apex bank to eliminate the multiple rates in the market.

As the naira continues to appreciate, experts say it is necessary for the CBN to adjust applicable rates in various segments of the market in the overall interest of the economy.

The CBN said yesterday that the dollar would be weakening further this week as it plans yet another round of interventions in the interbank market. It plans to pump in more dollars into the interbank market to meet the demands of wholesale and retail customers as well as strengthen the value of the naira against other international currencies.

The planned move by the CBN, sources say, will further firm up the naira against other currencies as the exchange rates of the greenback and the United Kingdom Pound Sterling continue to move southwards.

The Euro and the Pound exchanged at the parallel market at the weekend at N405 and N475. The figures will further nosedive this week, according to experts.

The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Isaac Okorafor, confirmed the plan to inject more foreign exchange into the market.

Grundig:
if this is the case then ikpeazu of abia state should start moving his baggages out of the govt house.

The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja sacking Mr. Christian Abah as a member of the House of Representatives representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadigbo Federal Constituency of Benue State.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja had in his judgment delivered on February 8, 2016 sacked Abah for submitting a forged certificate of academic qualification to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The judge had ordered the INEC to issue fresh certificate of return to Abah’s first runner-up in the Peoples Democratic Party’s primary election held on December 6, 2014, Mr. Hassan Saleh.

A five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Mary Peter-Odili, ruled on Friday that having been found to have forged the Ordinary National Diploma certificate purportedly issued to him in 1985 by the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa State, Abah remained constitutionally disqualified to contest the election into the National Assembly.

In the lead judgment read by Justice Sidi Bage, the Supreme Court upturned the judgment of the Court of Appeal which had dismissed the forgery allegation against Saleh and affirmed the Federal High Court’s judgment..

Justice Bageh, delivering judgment in Saleh’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s judgment, affirmed the verdict of the Federal High Court, Abuja, and held that criminality such as certificate forgery must not be allowed to continue to “contaminate” the nation’s polity.

He said whenever the opportunity presented itself, the Supreme Court had the responsibility of righting the wrongs.

He said sacking Abah was the beginning of the purification efforts.

Bage held, “This court, it is a must, to take the lead, righting the wrong in our society if and when the opportunity presents itself as in this appeal.

“Allowing criminality and certificate forgery to continue to percolate into the streams, waters and oceans of our national polity, will only mean that our waters are and will remain dangerously contaminated.

“The purification efforts must start now and be sustained as we seek, as a nation, to now change from our old culture of reckless impunity.

“The Nigerian Constitution is supreme. It desires that no one who has ever presented a forged certificate to INEC should contest election into the Nigerian National Assembly. This is clear and sacrosanct.

“More compelling, as a judicial determination, as a judicial decision has been taken by no less a technical panel sitting in at least a panel of three judges as election tribunal with constitutional mandate to determine such issue as they relate to elections and its outcome including eligibility. This was also affirmed by the trial court.

“On this issue, our duty is to apply the Constitution and the law as it stands, in original form undiluted by coloured interpretation.”

Abah was said to have, in addition to tendering a forged certificate for the 2015 election, falsely claimed in the INEC’s Form CF001 ahead of the 2015 general elections that he had never submitted a forged certificate to INEC, contrary to an earlier judgment of an election petition tribunal in 2011, declaring that the certificate submitted by him was forged.

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has asked the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to jail his arch rival, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, and some of his loyalists.

Apart from the former governor of Kaduna State, Sheriff, who is also a former governor of Borno State, also listed three other prominent leaders of the party as those to be jailed by the appellate court.

Sheriff and the National Secretary of the party, Prof. Wale Oladipo, accused Makarfi and others of flouting the order of the court, which was delivered on February 17, 2017.

The court, in the judgment, had pronounced Sheriff as the national chairman of the party while it also upheld that Oladipo remained its national secretary.

Apart from Makarfi, others named as alleged contemnors are the two other members of the sacked National Caretaker Committees, Senator Ben Obi (secretary) and Mr. Dayo Adeyeye(publicity secretary).

He also listed a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, among the alleged contemnors.

Sheriff, in suit number FHC/ PH/CS/524/16, asked the court to commit the four persons to prison for one year over the alleged contempt.

Apart from the four named above, the PDP national chairman also listed a former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha; a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; Chairman, Board of Trustees of the party, Senator Walid Jibrin; and an aspirant to the office of the party’s national chairman, Chief Bode George, as alleged contemnors.

However, he did not pray the court to commit Ihedioha, Gana, Jibrin and George to prison, rather, he asked the court for an order restraining them from “proclaiming or otherwise holding out to the public that the 1st to 3rd alleged contemnors are national officers of the PDP for any purpose whatsoever.”

Listed as defendants in the case are the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services.

The duo asked the court to stop Makarfi and his group from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

They also asked the court to direct the IGP and the DSS to close down the factional secretariat being operated by the Makarfi group.

Apart from that, they also asked the court not to transmit the records of the court proceedings to Markarfi and his group, saying they didn’t have the permission of the party to get it.

Oladipo, who signed an affidavit in support of the claim, stated that on February 17, “soon after the judgment was delivered, the alleged contemnors proceeded to address the media and to comment negatively, contemptuously, disparagingly and contumeliously on the findings and order of the court set out above.”

He added, “Rather than accept that the justice of the matter as determined by this honourable court was as expressed in the findings, holdings and order set out above, the 4th to 8th Alleged Contemnors made statements encouraging the 1st to 3rd respondents to defy the order of the court and flout the purpose of the court’s judgment delivered on the 17th of February 2017.”

He said it was on this basis that the alleged contemnors placed notices in newspapers, where they convened a meeting of what they called “PDP stakeholders.”

He stated, “The said meeting was held on Monday, February 20, and was attended by the 4th to 8th alleged contemnors, who made further statements encouraging the 1st to 3rd alleged contemnors to defy the holdings and order of the court.”

The motion on notice for the committal of the alleged contemnors was filed by eight lawyers, led by a former Minister of Justice, Akin Olujimi (SAN), who was joined by two other SANs – Dr. Alex Izinyon and B. E. Nwofor – among others.

The lawyers said, “The actions of the alleged contemnors, as shown in the affidavit in support of this application, have the effort of flouting the purpose of the judgment of this Honourable court, which purpose is to properly regulate the exercise of powers by the alleged contemnors against the applicants and 1st Respondent; avoid any further anarchy, lawlessness and deepening crisis capable of heating up the Nigerian polity; and establish the requirements of the rule of law and due process in the administration of justice.

“Although the alleged contemnors were not parties to the action in court, it is our humble submission that they have a responsibility to ensure that they do not aid and abet the disobedience of the judgment order or treat the said judgment with disdain and disrespect.”

Markarfi and the other faction of the party are believed to have filed an application seeking for stay of execution of the judgment and leave for appeal.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of Sheriff’s case, which was filed on February 24, 2017.

slimfit1:
I think it makes sense if Igbo people figure out how to rule themselves first before asking for Biafra. Think how you are going to survive because if you go once there is no coming back. Not a lot of people or countries would like to do business with you.

paramakina202:
IkpeAzu is incompetent fat fool that does nothing but party all night with married women.
I pity my people from the day Ochendo Ochi had his way and foisted this fool on us.

rusher14:
I thought they said it was Buhari

Corrinthians:
Ipob cave dwelling, flat headed, bald headed, hairy chested zombies with big abdomen would avoid this thread since it is not about Okoroawusa. But in case they show up, we would be ready for them like..

sarrki:
Feeeglobe and others come and see ooo

Abi nah osun state them Wan talk ?

Chai Chai

Recession is really biting hard here ooo

Ipobs come and see ooo

hisgrace090:
Sorry to abia state, I know their newly collected allocation has been shared as usual to stall case against the govt in power.

iokpebholo:
what a shame to see this kind of comment coming from our so called leaders of tomorrow.

PMBNG:
‎How can you congratulate a man who INEC helped rig the poll by conducting the election in his compound?‎

Rivers State Governor , Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has accused the Nigerian Army and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad ( SARS) of the Nigerian Police of killing PDP agents, hijacking electoral materials and working to deliver a particular candidate in Rivers South-East Senatorial District.

The governor added that no matter the use of the Nigerian Army and SARS personnel by the APC Government, Rivers State will never be conquered .

Governor Wike , reacting to the mass shootings by the Nigerian Army and the Police in Khana, Gokana, Akuku-Toru and Etche Local Government Areas on Election Day , Governor Wike said that the Security Agencies were deployed to the State to manipulate the result of the polls.

He said that true to the claim by the APC Governors and leaders that they will use Federal Might against the Rivers people, the military have been used to rig rerun elections in parts of the State .

The governor said that in Khana Local Government Area , election Materials for the entire Local Government Area were hijacked by the Nigerian Army and SARS personnel .

He added that in Gokana Local Government Area , soldiers hijacked election materials for Wards 2 and 3 in Bodo City where the military also killed two persons in the process of fleeing with the materials.

Governor Wike said that out of the 19 wards of Etche Local Government Area , soldiers and SARS personnel hijacked election materials for 4 wards.

He informed that One Mr Charles Anyanwu , Etche APC Chieftain has been arrested with two AK47. He noted that the security agencies may release him .

The governor noted that the unfortunate onslaught by the military and SARS personnel started in the night of Friday , when the Minister of Transportation , Rotimi Amaechi backed by a battalion of soldiers and over 20 SARS personnel attempted to hijack materials from the Isiokpo INEC headquarters , but was resisted by youths.

He thanked God that there was no loss of lives on Friday night at Isiokpo in Ikwerre Local Government Area .

Governor Wike noted that in Opobo-Nkoro Local Government Area , soldiers hijacked election materials and took same to the home of Dr Sam Sam Jaja of APC .

He said: “I anticipated it. I tried to let the world to know that these are the plans of the security agencies .

“In all my political career, I have never experienced this kind of invasion by security agencies . What causes violence is when you give certain persons undue advantage .

“Be assured that we are resisting it, it may take our lives, but we will resist to the last . That is what is expected , when you are fighting for freedom. You must make sacrifices.

“It is unfortunate that we are congratulating the opposition for winning in Ghana, but here the military are directly involved in rigging and hijacking materials . ”

The governor added: “They say that they want to give Rivers State Governor problems, but you are not giving Rivers State Governor problems, you are giving Nigeria problems”.

He noted that he has informed a National Commissioner of INEC and the Resident Electoral Commissioner on the problems in Khana Local Government Area and Gokana LGA and he was assured that action would be taken..