CBN Admits Selling Dollar To Aisha Buhari But at The Rate N197 Per Dollar

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has asked politicians to leave it alone to concentrate on its work and avoid dragging it into mudslinging attempts for whatever gain.

Asked to react to the allegation of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, that the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, was involved in round tripping of foreign exchange, the bank’s spokesman, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, told Vanguard that the allegation was, “not only ridiculous but laughable.” He asked politicians to avoid whatever would impact negatively on CBN.

But they rather admitted that they only sold at the rate of 197 and not 185 as alleged by the PDP.

His words: “Politicians should spare this institution from deliberate falsehood because if they destroy the reputation of the institution, the economy suffers. Politicians should please allow us to do our job in the interest of the economy.”

“It was very laughable to say that the CBN sold forex to anyone at N185/$1. The records are there for anyone who is interested to crosscheck. The CBN has not sold the dollar at N185 in recent times. The movement of the exchange rate was N155/$1; N168/ $1; and from there to the current rate of N197/$1.”

Mr. Okoroafor said Nigerians should disregard what he described as “baseless” and “falsehood” that had been trending in the social social media.

The PDP, at its twitter handle, had alleged that Aisha Buhari and her unnamed company had been involved in buying about $22 million from the CBN at the official rates and selling same at the black market.

She has also denied the allegation on her twitter handle and threatened legal actions against the PDP.

She said:

“Be advised, any further attempt to malign the person of the wife of the President will be dealt with according to the law. This is grounds for a lawsuit on defamation of character.

“Making false and unfounded allegations without proof just to incite Nigerians on social media is wrong.”

No Government Can Stop Us From Moving Our Cattle Around Nigeria” – Fulani Herdsmen

The nomadic practice of moving cattle from one place to the other that is common among
Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria has led to violent clashes between the herdsmen and farmers but the end of these confrontations doesn’t seem to be near.

This is because the idea of providing permanent grazing reserves for herdsmen to prevent them from roaming with their cattle from the northern part of the country to the largely agrarian south is not welcomed by some herdsmen who feel their right to movement is going to be infringed.

In a report published by Daily trust, some herdsmen and milk sellers expressed displeasure at the idea of restricting their movement and claimed cattle could not survive restrictions. A herdsman, Muhammadu Tukur said the idea of a permanent reserve will not work.

“It will not work out because we always relocate to where pasture can be found.” Adamu Birniwa who is the secretary of the state chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association said he was aware of the federal government’s plan and that there was plan to educate the herdsmen on the importance and benefit of the grazing reserve. Halilu Alhaji Ya’u who is a herdsman condemned the idea and said it would not work. “If what you are saying becomes reality, it will inconvenience us.”

Alhaji Muhammad Hussaini who is the chairman of the Nasarawa state Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Nigeria said it was a bad idea and an invitation for to trouble. “We have over 35 million Fulani herdsmen in thecountry and stopping their movement with cattle might not be possible.” “If you force a Fulani man not to move with his cattle, you are inviting trouble.”

Hadiza Umar who sells Fura Da Nono rejected the idea and said it might kill her business.

Human Rights group names El-Rufai ‘threat to democracy’

A pro-democracy non-governmental organisation- Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has named the Kaduna State governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai as a major threat to peace and the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

 The group has, therefore, called on him to fundamentally amend his leadership style to avoid precipitating civil unrest in Kaduna State.

 HURIWA believes that any social cum religious warfare that is ignited in Kaduna would spread like wild fire across Nigeria.

 Corollary, President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked by HURIWA to quickly put workable measures in place to ameliorate the unprecedented poverty that has widened the gap between the few rich political elite and the millions of severely impoverished Nigerians.

 The Rights group reminded the Federal Government of the economic objectives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as enshrined in Section 16(1) (b) which provides:

 “The State shall, within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in this Constitution harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and self-reliant economy “.

 HURIWA expressed consternation at the level of involvement of young Nigerians in social crimes.

 It also asked government to act decisively to stem the wave of irregular migration by Nigerian youth through the dangerous Mediterranean Sea in search of the elusive greener pastures in the refugees-saturated Western nations of Europe.

 “Government must implement economic policies that would energize the rapid expansion of the manufacturing industry to absorb the millions of young University graduates roaming the streets of urban areas all across Nigeria.

 “We must act now before Nigeria implodes”.

 The Rights organisation through the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf said this in a media statement to commemorate the Easter celebrations.

 It particularly expressed strong worries about the spate of anti-people and anti-religious policies being churned out by the administration of Mr Nasir El-Rufai the governor of Kaduna State.

 It includes the alleged discriminatory demolition of the ancestral settlements of the Gbagyis/Gwaris and houses of the very poorest of the poor.

 HURIWA lampooned Governor El-Rufai over his anti-labour policy as against the Constitutional provisions that guarantees freedom of Associations.

 It also particularly stated that the newly introduced policy of granting licences to religious preachers is absolutely unconstitutional and illegal.

 It states that the 1999 Constitution has clearly stated in Section 10 that government must not make or implement policies that are exclusively targeted at some religious organisations.

 “Is the state authorised to treat one religion as a state religion?” HURIWA asked.

 HURIWA said the proposed illegal religious preachers’ licensing policy would negate the secular nature of Nigeria.

 “It is intended to attack not only the Christian religion but also outlaws the African Traditional Religions. This is absolutely unlawful,” HURIWA submits.

 HURIWA therefore called on the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress [APC] which produced Mr Nasir El-Rufai to call him to order so as to maintain the current atmosphere of peace and tranquility in Kaduna State.

 The group has also called on the Kaduna State House of Assembly not to pass any anti-labour and anti-religious legislations.

 The Rights group said thus:

 “We feel strongly obliged to name the Kaduna State governor as the single most notorious threat against the survival of Nigeria’s Democracy going by the high rate at which his administration is known to have introduced or implemented policies.

 “[They] are grossly anti-people and anti-religious even when the Nigerian Constitution in Section 14 (2) (a) states clearly that ‘Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all Powers and authority.”

 The Rights group lambasted Governor El-Rufai for specifically targeting the ancestral settlements of the Gbagyis/Gwaris for state imposed illegal demolition order in a manner that clearly violates section 42 (1) of the constitution which provides that:

 “A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community,  Ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion SHALL NOT, by reason only that he is such a person – be subjected either expressly by…”

 “…or on the practical application of any law in force in Nigeria or any Executive or Administrative action of the Government to disabilities or restriction to which citizens of other communities,  Ethnic groups, places of origin,  sex, religion, political opinions are not made subject to”.

 HURIWA said that it is imperative that President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly and the organised civil society community in Nigeria take immediate but transparent and effective measures to call Governor Nasir El-Rufai to order.

 This is because any social or religious crisis that originates in Kaduna State would have widespread implications because of the overwhelming presence of people of diverse Ethno-religious affiliations who cohabit peacefully in Kaduna State.

More Of Your Shops, Churches Will Burn Until You Leave Kano - Northern Youth Tell Igbos In Sabo-Gari

Following the fire that engulfed Sabo-Gari market, Kano in Northern Nigeria which left not less than 4,000 shops mostly owned by Igbos razed, a Nigerian from the Hausa speaking part has sent a strong message to the Igbos who resides and does business in Sabo-Gari, Kano. See his message below...

Fayose Rewards Afolabi Akanni With Car

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has rewarded a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Afolabi Akanni, who was detained for 18 days by the Department of State Services with a car gift.

At a ceremony held at the Jibowu Hall of the governor’s office while hosting the 26-member assembly, the governor again criticised the DSS.

He said the security agency had succeeded in tarnishing its own image by allegedly attempting to coerce members of the assembly to act the script of his detractors, which was to impeach him.

He said, “This House of Assembly is very unique and exemplary. You have refused to be bought over. My detractors have money and influence but Power of God starts where that of men stops. I’m so proud of you.

“You have shown that you can see beyond today. Wealth is not the amount of money in your bank but your level of integrity. You represent and carry yourselves as responsible Nigerians. The Old testament has to give way to the new testament. You are the ‘New testament’ House of Assembly.

“Betrayers will only contribute to the success of the person being betrayed. Those that betrayed us in the first term are no longer relevant today. Many of them even suffered and regretted their actions. Together we stand and I know the House will never divide. I don’t regret standing for those incarcerated. This is an opportunity for us to stand for our tomorrow.

Akanni in appreciation described Fayose as a “great leader and great mentor.”

“He remains a very honest man who also stand by his followers. I was so sure that he will fight my cause while in detention and I was not disappointed.

“The DSS asked me so many questions about the governor and I stood my ground. Governor Fayose is one man that I can never betray because he is my helper and my mentor. He has done a lot for me".

Dollar scarcity: Foreign airlines raise fares by 100%

The lingering foreign exchange scarcity, which has made it difficult for foreign airlines to repatriate their ticket sales proceeds for several months, has forced the carriers to increase their fares by about 100 per cent.

Foreign exchange risk is now a major component of airfares on Nigerian routes, the country managers of top foreign airlines have revealed.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the airlines operating on international routes in the country had increased airfares by as much as 100 per cent as a result of the development.

A survey of all the major Nigerian routes flown by the foreign airlines in the country showed that the cost of return tickets had been increased by between 80 per cent and 120 per cent of the previous fares, depending on the carrier, time of booking and the season.

The survey cuts across Nigeria-North America routes, Nigeria-South Africa route, and Nigeria-Europe routes. Airfares on the Lagos-London, Abuja-London, Lagos-New York, Lagos-Atlanta, Lagos-Houston, and Lagos-Johannesburg routes were examined.

Findings also showed that local airlines operating international flights, especially Arik Air and MedView Airlines, had increased their airfares.

For instance, airfares on the Lagos-London and Abuja-London routes now cost an average of N380,000 for the economy class seat, as against the average of N200,000 a year ago on the British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways. This represents an increase of 111 per cent.

Similarly, on Air France, an economic ticket on the Lagos/Abuja-London routes now goes for about N360,000, while Lufthansa German Airlines charges N380,000. These represent an increase of 80 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively, when compared with an average fare of N200,000 on the routes a year ago.

 A Business Class ticket now goes for as high as N3m as against the N1.5m a year ago on the Lagos-London route.

On the Lagos-Atlanta and Lagos-Houston routes, Delta Airlines and United Airlines, which used to fly Economy Class passengers for between N270,000 and N330,000 some 12 months ago, now render the same service at an average fare of N600,000, depending on the time of booking. This represents an increase of about 100 per cent.

South Africa Airways and Arik Air, which used to fly the Lagos-Johannesburg routes for between N100,000 and N120,000 for the economy class, now fly the route for between N180,000 and N220,000, depending on the time of booking and the season.

The Lagos-Paris route, which used to go for N180,000 on the average, now goes for around N400,000. This represents an increase of 120 per cent.

Operators link the increment in fares to the scarcity of foreign exchange to attend to the operational needs of the carriers and the erosion in the value of the ticket sales proceeds, which are now stuck in banks due to lack of forex to repatriate the funds.

Late last year, the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had unveiled a fiscal policy, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, restricting access to foreign exchange and funds transfer out of the country.

While this has had advantages for some sectors of the economy, foreign airline operators have complained of their inability to repatriate revenue to their operational bases as a result of the new policy.

An official of one the airlines told our correspondent that the carrier had close to N90bn as accumulated earnings in banks, which it had been unable to repatriate.

He said that the airline industry relied heavily on cash to meet its commitments, adding that it was sad that the government was not seeing things this way.

With huge airline revenue in the vaults of the banks, some of the operators nursed fears of being exposed to risks should the pressure on the naira lead to the devaluation of the currency, which could erode the value of the funds by about 35 per cent to 45 per cent.

Following the difficulty in repatriating earnings from Nigeria, some of the airlines initially began restricting cheap  fares  on the Nigerian routes in the last quarter of last year, leading to an indirect hike in fares.

At the time, the effect was felt more on second tier routes from Lagos-London-Atlanta, Lagos-London-New York, Lagos-London-Miami, Lagos-London-São Paulo, Lagos-London-Houston; or Lagos-Frankfurt-New York, Lagos-Frankfurt-Chicago, Lagos-Frankfurt-Los Angeles, and Lagos-Frankfurt-Shanghai.

Citing Nigeria’s slowing economy amid forex scarcity, some international airlines are now contemplating reducing flights to the country or operating smaller capacity aircraft as a short-term measure.

However, following complaints by the airlines, representatives of the International Air Transport Association are said to have pleaded with the CBN Governor, Godwin Emiefele, to intervene in the matter and make dollars available to them.

But the move has yet to yield any positive results.

The foreign airlines also reportedly met with the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, and urged him to look into their case.

A spokesperson for one of the airlines noted that the difficulty in repatriating revenues was affecting aircraft leases and fuelling, stating that the earnings were partly being used for fuel and renewing aircraft leases.

While the situation persists, the effect on air travellers and other businesses that depend so much on air travel has been immense.

A manager with a transport and logistic firm, Mr. Emmanuel Iruobe , said the company had incurred more costs than were provided for in the execution of most contracts this year.

Iruobe urged the government to look into the situation with a view to resolving it in the interest of Nigerians.

On their part, stakeholders in the travel industry under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies have faulted the astronomical cost of air tickets by the airlines, especially the foreign carriers.

Describing the situation where taxes that go to the airlines are higher than base fares as unacceptable, the group has petitioned the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Aviation, to caution the foreign airlines over the alleged sharp practices.

The Publicity Secretary, NANTA, Mrs. Ngozi Ngoka, opined that the cumulative effect of taxes and surcharges by airlines also generated a final price to the passenger that could be as much as double the advertised airfare for a short-haul flight.

Another stakeholder, who is the Chief Executive Officer, Gadshire Travels, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, berated the airlines, describing the excuse of forex scarcity and multiple taxes given to increase fares as untenable.

According to him, the arbitrary increment and gap between what is charged in Nigeria and other African countries on the same routes are due to the failure of regulatory authorities to perform their duties.

‘We will sell fuel from Dangote refinery at international price’

Could you give us the update on the Dangote refinery, petrochemical and fertilizer project?
The project currently is under development as we have virtually completed the engineering design. We are now in the process of preparing the ground. It is a very huge complex of about 250,000 hectares there. As you know, it is in the Lekki Free Zone basically on the coastal waters so there is a lot of dredging and clearing that needs to be done. We are clearing the forest, filling up the land and getting it ready for the equipment and machinery that will come. We are also in the process of procuring the various machinery and equipment and getting them to site. We have already started erection of the fertilizer plant, which is part of the complex. We believe that by the end of next year the fertilizer plant should be in operation. The refinery will take longer because it is a much bigger complex. The capacity of the refinery is 650,000 barrels per day. It is about one and half times the capacity of all the Nigerian refineries that exist today.

How many million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol will the 650,000 barrels yield?

The output will depend on the crude you use but the output of all the products will be more than sufficient: petrol, kerosene and diesel will be produced in sufficient quantity to meet all the requirements of the domestic economy and to allow for export. This is why we are very proud that by the time this plant is ready, Nigeria will be transformed from an importing country to an exporting country. That plant itself is the largest single refinery plant anywhere in the world.

In addition to the refinery, we are also going to produce some petrochemical products from the same complex. These are polyethylene and polypropylene. 

Looking at the complexity of the industry and the targets you want to achieve, would one be right to say that you are over-ambitious? Don’t you lack the capacity? 
You would be wrong, why don’t we have the capacity? We have the capacity to be the largest producer of cement in Africa. Today we are producing 29,000MT of cement per annum in Nigeria, which is over 60 percent of the total cement capacity in Nigeria. We are the largest sugar refinery and our plant in Apapa is the largest sugar refining plant in the world. If we can do it in sugar and cement, why can’t we do in it petroleum products? 

How prepared are you in terms of the human capacity to drive the project?
Today, human capacity is mobile. If you want the best trained refiners in the world you can bring them, and we are open to bringing the best people we can.  Apart from that, we are also in the process of developing and training our own people. Last Sunday, we sent about 50 young Nigerians to train as refining engineers and technologists. This is the first batch and our plan is that as the plant is progressing we will send more and more until we have all the skilled people that we require. They will not just learn in classes they will also deployed in refineries such as ours in India so they become not just qualified in terms of the knowledge but competent in terms of skills and experiences.

You need more than $14bn dollars to see through these projects. How are you working around the forex challenges?
The total investments in all the projects-the refinery, petrochemical, fertilizer and gas pipelines is currently about $14bn. However, the refinery itself is only a part of this. As with everybody else we apply to the CBN. We apply to get as much as we can from the CBN but where we do not have enough to meet any particular transaction we can also get it from other sources. The financing includes a number of other bank and other investment facilities like loans from institutions both Nigerian and foreign, some of these in foreign exchange. That is how we will generate the forex to meet our requirement. You are absolutely right that there are very serious challenges. We are not getting as much as we can but challenges are part of every opportunity. We have other challenges beside the forex situation but we do not regard it as something that will impede our progress or discourage us.

Have you received any form of waiver from the government for the importation of some of the equipment for the projects?
Whenever there is a policy incentive and we believe we are entitled to that policy incentive, we apply. Let me give you an example. The federal government says if you are investing in any project that is supposed to help develop gas in this country you can apply for some custom duty waiver. Where we see that, we apply. Because the fertilizer plant is a gas related-project, we have applied for custom waiver regarding the fertilizer plant. But we do not and have not applied for any special waiver to ourselves. This is very important to highlight that as a rule we do not apply for a waiver only for ourselves.

As a pioneer investor in a massive refinery project as this, has the National Investment Promotion Council considered you for any form of pioneer status?
There are several other incentives we have applied for. Where we see a policy-approved incentive which is available to anybody who qualifies for it, we apply. If you are in business, incentive is like a tax allowance, it is to encourage you to do what you are doing.

How do you plan to overcome the problem of pipeline vandalism? We understand Dangote has an oil block; do you plan to source your crude from the field?
We are involved in oil exploration and we expect that we will have some of our own crude that we can use but the refinery is designed to use different types of crude so that if we don’t have enough Nigerian crude we can also import. On how we plan to escape vandalism, the arrangement we are making is that our crude is going to come through a subsea pipeline. The chances of anybody going down to vandalize is limited. We are going to even have our own field lay pipelines that will deliver the crude and if we are importing it will come from major vessels that will come close to the refinery and pump the crude . We are not unconscious of this issue. 

If perhaps the Nigerian government puts up the state-owned refineries for sale again, will Dangote still be interested in buying?
This is speculative! If and when the governments put those refineries up for sale, which from all indications they are not going to do soon, we will look at the situation and see if it of interest to us and we will bid. We have bid before; we bought two of them but the transaction was reversed. So, we do not speculate at this stage, we will look at the situation when the opportunity arises and this is pure business. The real issue is that we will not speculate on any federal government-owned refineries.   

The participation of government in fixing fuel price has discouraged investors who have refinery licences. How does Dangote refinery intend to cope with the government still controlling the prices of petroleum products?
One would prefer if it was deregulated so that we know that we are playing in the open market. The key issue is that if I buy crude whether from Nigeria or anybody, I buy at an international price. If I produce product and want to sell, I should sell that product at an international price. So, I would not be affected by the decision of local pricing, it is on that concept that we went into refining. We expect that we would buy our input, especially crude on an international market price and that when we produce products we will sell those products at an international price. The refining industry is a global industry, if you use those international benchmarks you shouldn’t really worry about price.
It is about time Nigeria completely deregulated the downstream industry. The kind of reason that has compelled government to fix petroleum product prices has not been tenable. If it is said it is done because of the ordinary people when you do the study you do not see the ordinary people benefit from it, it is a few people who benefit. This is the best time to deregulate. 

What is your take on the current reforms the present government claims it has activated in the oil and gas industry? 
Part of the current reforms have been on the table for many years. The current reform effort is to remove the impediments to the past that have impeded the value Nigerians drive from it and to make the industry competitive worldwide. Third is to open up the industry so that Nigerians can also participate. Some of them are regulatory; like the PIB some are structural, some are intended to increase the efficiency of the industry. 
My understanding of the reforms announced by the Petroleum Minister (state) is to break up the behemoth NNPC to a semi autonomous company each with a clear pattern and a clear flow of resources going in and out to ensure there are no leakages. 
Whether this will achieve the intended effectively or not?  In some areas, I have some concerns.  It depends to a largest extent.  We haven’t seen the full implementation of the reforms so it would be unfair to make any judgement. But in my view,  unless those independent units are clearly self-accounting and one can see whether these units are actually making profit or loss. If it is making profit and we can see it,then the reform will be valuable, but if on the other hand we are putting them as independent units but still under one umbrella then it may probably not make the purpose. 

Away from petroleum, we have seen dramatic changes in the cement industry but till now your interventions in the sugar sector are not visible. There is the target for Nigeria to be self-sufficient in sugar. What are the challenges there? 
We have been able to influence the cement side both in terms of supply and in terms of pricing because we are fully integrated. We operate from the quarry to the cement bag so we are in control of the full value chain. In sugar we are not yet, we import raw sugar, refine it and then sell as dry sugar. Because we are only refining means that we do not have full control over the price behind the raw sugar. 
Second, the competition in the market is intense but we are changing it. Already we have a small sugar integrated plant in Adamawa. However, part of our plan is expand the sugar plantation from the current 6000 hectares to 150000 hectares that will help us produce sugar, at least, about 1m tons per annum that will enable us also have the kind of impact that we can have in the sugar market. We are in the process of negotiating with other state governments principally for now, Kebbi state. We have developed new acreages in those areas. I am confident that in the next four years we should be able to see change in the sugar industry as well.

There has been a sustained advocacy for the use of cement in road construction. Shouldn’t we be concerned about the quality and cost of this new technology?
What you think are the disadvantages are actually the advantages. 
Based on the current cost of imported asphalt and given the high rate of foreign exchange and given the fact that we are bringing cement prices down, we have established beyond reasonable doubt that for the same length of road and for the same terrain, a concrete road today will cost anything between 15 and 20 percent lower than the equivalent cost of an asphalt road.
Concrete road is less maintenance-intensive than asphalt road. Third,  with limited maintenance, concrete road will last between 25 and 35 years. An asphalt road of the same standard will not last more than 10 to 15 years. It is just that in this country we are so used to the normal black asphalt road. But we have been selling this and I can assure you that in the next two years you will be surprised there will be many concrete roads in this country.