Economy

Amaechi Inaugurates, Mandates Panel to Probe All Contracts Awarded Under Bala-Usman

Published

3 years ago

May 11, 2021

Eric

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Monday inaugurated an 11-member investigative panel to probe the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) over all contracts awarded since 2016 when Hadiza Bala Usman became managing director.

On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Bala Usman as managing director of NPA and approved the setting up of a panel of inquiry based on Amaechi’s recommendation.

Denying the allegation of non- remittance, Bala Usman insisted that the purported failure of the NPA to remit an outstanding balance of N165.32 billion from 2017 to 2018 was a misrepresentation of facts.

She said that contrary to the figures given by the budget office as outstanding operating surplus, the NPA had remitted all that was due to the consolidated revenue fund (CFR)— as stipulated in the fiscal responsibility act of 2007.

Only Bala Usman, who had been having a cold battle with Amaechi, was asked to step aside, effectively suggesting that she, and not the management, is the target of the investigation.

She was nominated as NPA MD in 2016 by Amaechi. At the time, she was serving as the chief of staff to the Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state.

Amaechi tasked the members of the panel to accurately examine procurement processes in the NPA from 2016 to date.

The terms of reference of the panel include examining and investigating the administrative policies and strategies adopted by the managing director of NPA and confirming compliance with extant laws and rules from 2016 to date.

“Examine and investigate issues leading to the termination of pilotage and other contracts of Nigerian Ports Authority and confirm compliance with the terms of the respective contracts, court rulings and presidential directives,” the transportation minister added.

“Examine and investigate compliance with the communication channel as obtained in the public service.

“Examine and investigate the procurement of contracts from 2016 to date. Come up with suggestions and advice that would strengthen the operations of Nigerian Ports Authority and forestall such occurrences in future.”

The panel, which is headed by Auwal Suleiman, director of maritime services, transportation ministry, has six members from the office of the head of the civil service of the federation (OHCSF) and the remaining five from the ministry of transportation.

TheCable

Economy

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

Published

1 month ago

March 22, 2024

Eric

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.

Economy

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

Published

1 month ago

March 13, 2024

Eric

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.

Economy

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

Published

2 months ago

March 5, 2024

Eric

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