CBN forex allocation inadequate, say manufacturers

Manufacturers have described the $567.31m allocated to the industrial sector by the Central Bank of Nigeria in the month of January as a drop in the ocean.

The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Jacobs, said this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent.

The CBN had stated in a statement on Thursday that it disbursed $2.83bn for importation of various types of equipment to the real sector of the economy between December 2016 and January 2017.

Providing a breakdown of the allocation, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, stated that $609m and $228m were released for raw materials’ importation in December and January, adding that the manufacturing sector got $53m and $71m for raw materials, respectively in the period.

Jacobs told our correspondent that the CBN had informed him of the disbursement of $567.31m to the manufacturing sector in January, but described the amount as a drop in the ocean, adding that it was too small.

Our correspondent, however, learnt that the allocations from the apex bank for the months of December and January did not go round. Most of the manufacturers said they did not get any Forex in the months in question.

In the automotive sector, the Chairman, Nigeria Automotive Manufacturers Association, Mr. Tokunbo Aromolaran, said his firm did not get any Forex, adding that he did not know if others got.

Aromolaran, who remarked that a situation where somebody asked for $1m and got $100,000 could not be termed as Forex allocation, wondered how far $1bn could go to satisfy the needs of all the manufacturers in the country.

In the food processing sector, the General Manager, Erisco Foods, Mr. Adetokunbo Agbede, stated that the firm had not received allocation from the CBN in the past eight months, alleging that forex was being allocated to importers of frozen foods.

However, a few of the industrialists admitted that they got some forex, but said the amounts were nothing compared to what they needed.

“It was minimal compared to what we got in the past,” the Chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of MAN, Mr. Okey Akpa, said.

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Recession: Telcos may block Skype, WhatsApp calls, target N20tn revenue

With the economic crisis in the country hitting businesses hard, telecommunication firms are opting for drastic measures to boost revenue, OZIOMA UBABUKOH writes

Telecoms companies in the country are hoping to address concerns over revenue loss from international calls and hit a revenue target of N20tn by blocking subscribers from accessing Skype and other Over-the-Top services, The PUNCH learnt on Sunday.

It was reliably gathered that subscribers might also be prevented from performing certain functions like voice and video calls on WhatsApp and Facebook, among other OTT services.

Skype is a proprietary Voice-over Internet Protocol software for calling other people on their computers or mobile phones.

Phone calls using the Skype software can be placed to recipients on the traditional telephone networks; and calls to other users within the Skype service are free-of-charge, while calls to landline phones though reasonably priced, are charged via a debit-based user account system.

“It is an aggressive approach to stop further revenue loss to OTT players on international calls, having already lost about N100tn between 2012 and 2017,” a manager at one of the major telecos in the country said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the manager said, “If we fail to be pro-active by taking cogent steps now, then there are indications that we may lose between N20tn and N30tn, or so, by the end of 2018.”

The source added that the increasing rise of the OTT players, who provide voice and Short Message Services, or apps such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, BlackBerry Messenger and Viber, was eating deep into the voice revenue of telecommunications companies in the country by more than 50 per cent.

A United Kingdom-based research and analytics company, Ovum, stated in a report recently that $386bn loss would accrue over a period of six years – between 2012 and 2018 – from Nigerian customers using the OTT voice applications.

“Generally, the main fear of the telecoms operators here will be that customers will increasingly use Skype as a substitute for conventional international calls,” the Principal Analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media, Matthew Reed, said.

Telecoms operators in the country said that international calls made up a critical part of their revenue because of Nigeria’s large expatriate and Diaspora population.

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Ex-gov Aliyu receives Sheriff in Minna, both meet ex-dictator

Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who was recognised as the authentic National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Friday, arrived in Minna, the Niger State capital, on Saturday, to see a former Governor of the state, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, and a former military dictator.

This came two days after the appeal court recognized Sheriff, a former Governor of Borno State, as the chairman of the PDP.

The appellate court, on Friday, recognized Sheriff as the National Chairman of the PDP, throwing away the claim of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the party to the leadership of the PDP.

Sheriff, who arrived in Minna at exactly 2:30pm on Sunday and received by Aliyu, again described the Court of Appeal’s ruling in his favour as a victory for the PDP.

The PDP chairman stated, “My victory is a victory for the PDP all over Nigeria. There is no loser. It is just a misunderstanding within a family, and we are calling on everybody to come together so that the party can be a formidable one once again.”

Aliyu later joined Sheriff for a meeting with the former military dictator, which lasted for about 90 minutes.

The PDP chairman left the Niger State capital at about 4.30pm on Sunday.

Speaking to newsmen after a closed-door meeting with the ex-military dictator, Sheriff added, “During our meeting, he said he is happy with my statement after the court ruling. He told me to continue that way so that I can bring everybody back together to make the party a formidable opposition party.

“What we want to do now is how to put the party back in shape so that everyone, who is aggrieved, is brought back as one united family once again. Look, united we stand, divided we fall.

“I have even called Makarfi himself and I have called on everybody to come back so that we can work together.”

Aliyu said, “Now that we have a legal decision even though other people talk about going higher (Supreme Court), others are saying ‘no’, we should start widening the solution; that we don’t waste time in terms of legality.

“For the moment, Ali Modu Sheriff is the chairman of the party, and those of us who love to see the solution to the problems in this party, will continue to find ways of mending fences.

“I think we should all bury our ambition, you can’t have an ambition without a platform.

“We need to all come together and I appeal to all of us, all PDP lovers and members, to really look at the issues objectively so that we have a platform that we can call a party which can win elections. Not a fragmented party....

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Nigeria’s economy recovering fast — Presidency

The Presidency has said the nation’s economy which is currently in recession is currently on course for recovery and growth.

This was contained in the 23rd newsletter published by the Presidency Office of Digital Engagement, a copy of which was posted on the official website of the Presidency, @AsoRock.

The Presidency said there were 11 reasons to prove that the nation’s economy was gradually coming out of recession.

It said, “After two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the non-oil economy showed, in Q3 2016, a modest return to positive territory, at 0.03 per cent.

“This was partly due to the continued good performance of agriculture and the solid minerals, two sectors prioritised by the Federal Government.

“Agriculture grew by 4.54 per cent in the quarter under consideration of which growth in crop production at nearly 5 per cent was at its highest since the first quarter of 2014. Growth in the solid mineral sector averaged about 7 per cent.”

According to the document, the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria substantially raised local rice production in 2016.

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Family of footballer, Izu Joseph, allegedly murdered by Nigerian Army, petitions Human Rights Commission

The bereaved family of former 3SC/Shooting footballer, Izu Joseph, has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission, claiming N1 billion in damages from the Nigerian Army, who allegedly murdered the player in October 2016.

  

Izu Joseph was killed by the Nigerian Army who released a statement saying he was in a cultists den and was hit by a stray bullet, while his family and community strongly denied he was ever a cultist saying he was shot twice by the army. 

Source: linda ikeji blog 

UK deports 83 Nigerians

No fewer than 83 Nigerians are expected to arrive in the country on Wednesday (today) following their deportation from the United Kingdom.

The PUNCH gathered that among those to be deported were residents whose documents had expired and prisoners whose terms of imprisonment were nearing completion.

The spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, South-West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the deportees were expected to be in the country at 5am.

He explained that they would arrive through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, adding that officials of the agency and other government workers were expected to receive them.

Farinloye said the prisoners would complete their jail terms in Nigeria.

He said, “We were informed that 83 Nigerians would be deported from the United Kingdom on Wednesday morning. Some of the people affected are those who haven’t completed their prison sentences. They would be taken to Nigerian prisons to complete their terms. Although we cannot tell the various offences, we believe others could be drug-related and immigration problems.

“We expect that when they arrive in the country, we would be able to know the real reason for their deportation. The aircraft is expected to arrive in the country at 5am at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.”

Source: Punch Newspaper

BREAKING: Lagos Balogun market on fire

A section of the Lagos Balogun Market has reportedly been gutted by fire. The market caught fire early Wednesday morning after traders resumed for the early morning sales. Firefighters have arrived the scene and are currently putting the fire out. No causality has so far been recorded as of the time of filing this report.
source: Punch Newspaper