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I didn’t accuse foreign airlines of running drug cartels, says Dabiri – Erewa

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The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said she did not accuse the Ethiopian and Egyptian airlines of running drug cartels in the nation’s airports.

Dabiri-Erewa had on Wednesday appeared before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the plight of Zainab Habibu Aliyu, who was arrested by Saudi Arabian Police for a drug-related offence.

She had expressed worry that the two airlines were not doing enough to check the activities of drug cartels operating in the nation’s airport.

She had also expressed concerns over the alleged non-functionality of the scanners at the airports.

She had said, “To start with, the airlines I am sorry to say, in most cases we investigated, only two airlines have been involved; Ethiopian air and Egypt air, never Bellview,  never Saudi Air, never KABO,  never Emirates, no other airline.

“All the cases have either been Ethiopian Airline or Egypt Airline. So those two airlines have to ensure compulsory baggage identification, everybody going on that route, you must ensure every passenger identifies their bags.

“If they don’t do that don’t carry those bags. There are cartels inside there working on these things.”

But Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement on Thursday by her media aide,  Abdur-Rahman Balogun, distanced herself from newspaper headlines quoting her of accusing some foreign airlines of running drug cartels in the country.

Dabiri -Erewa, according to the statement, described “the headline which reads “Egypt, Ethiopian Airlines Running Drug Cartels in Nigeria”  as a figment of the Reporter’s imagination.

The statement further read,  “The headline is totally incorrect and not a true reflection of what she said during the Senate committee public hearing chaired by Senator Kabiru Gaya on Wednesday.

“Dabiri-Erewa had during the hearing stressed the need for those two airlines to ensure compulsory baggage identification as all cases recorded on the issue of drugs had been from both airlines.

“Luckily enough,  the representative of Ethiopian Air, who was at the public hearing, promised that baggage identification would be strengthened.

“The Senate public hearing was geared towards probing the circumstances surrounding the framing and eventual arrest of Zainab Aliyu in Saudi Arabia over allegation of carrying tramadol in her baggage.

“Members of the public are hereby urged to discountenance a previous publication that is contrary to this clarification.”

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Economy

Naira Makes More Recovery, Sells at N1,453/$1

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The Naira continued its appreciation at the official market on Thursday, March 21, 2024 to close at N1,453.28/$1, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

This represents an appreciation of N39.33 when compared to the N1,492.61/$1 it closed on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

The intraday high was N1,598/$1, while the intraday low was N1,300/$1, representing a wide spread of N298/$1.

Similarly, the Naira appreciated against the dollar at the parallel window to trade at N1,500/$1, this represents an appreciation of N20.00 as against the N1,520 /$1 it traded the previous day.

The Naira also appreciated slightly against the British Pound to trade at N2,000/£1 as against the previous trading day’s price of N2,020/£1 representing a gain of N20 for the local currency.

The Canadian dollar, however, closed flat against the naira to trade at N1,270/CA$1 same as the N1,270/CA$1 it traded the previous day representing a decline of N20 in the local currency.

The Naira gained N30 against the Euro to trade at N1,670/€1 as against the previous closing price of N1,700/€1.

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Economy

Naira Gains Against Dollar, Trades at N1,603/$1

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The Naira, Tuesday continued its recovery against the American dollar as it traded at N1,603.38/$1, data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window has shown.

This represents a gain of N15.48 when compared to the N1,617.96/$1 it closed on, on Monday, March 11, 2024.

The intraday high was N1,637/$1, while the intraday low was N1,425.35/$1, representing a lean spread of N211.65/$1.

Meanwhile, the Naira gained N12 against the dollar at the parallel market as the local currency appreciated to N1,603/$1 as against the N1,615 /$1 it traded the previous day. As it stands, the naira is trading at the same rate at both official and parallel windows.

The Naira, however, slumped against the British Pound to trade at N2,050/£1 as against the previous trading day’s price of N2,030/£1 representing a loss of N20 for the local currency.

After about two weeks of closing flat against the Canadian dollar, the naira slumped massively to trade at N1,300/CA$1 on Tuesday, representing a decline of N150 when compared to the N1,150/CA$1 it traded the previous day.

The Naira lost N35 against the Euro to trade at N1,740/€1 as against the previous closing price of N1,705/€1 representing a loss of N35 for the local currency.

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Economy

Binance to Close Shop in Nigeria, Stops Transaction, Trading in Naira

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By Reuters – Binance will stop all transactions and trading in Nigeria’s local currency after March 8 amid a country-wide crackdown on crypto exchanges that have been blamed by authorities for feeding a black market for foreign exchange.

It will stop supporting withdrawals after Friday and any remaining balances in Nigerian Naira will be automatically converted into Tether – a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Last week, Nigerian authorities detained two Binance senior executives on undisclosed charges as part of the crackdown.

They were still in custody, their local lawyer said before a parliamentary committee on Monday.

Source: Reuters

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