Economy

Inspection Failure Caused Dirty Fuel Imports, FG Admits

Published

2 years ago

February 21, 2022

Eric

The scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, which has lingered for about two weeks, is not due to the absence of products but inspection failure, the Federal Government stated on Sunday.

It disclosed this as queues by motorists persisted in various filling stations in Abuja and neighbouring states of Nasarawa and Niger, as well as in other locations across the country.

This came as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, expressed regrets over the importation of adulterated petrol into Nigeria and its attendant adverse impact nationwide.

In a statement issued in Abuja by his Senior Adviser, Media and Communications, Horatius Egua, the minister said inspection failure caused the scarcity of petrol in Nigeria, as he sympathised with Nigerians on behalf of the Federal Government.

He said, “In the last weeks, Nigerians have grappled with fuel scarcity, not because of the absence of supply of products but due to inspection failure, which allowed adulterated products into the country.

“This is regrettable, and the Federal Government sympathises with the citizenry over the unforeseen hardship, occasioned by the inevitable scarcity.

“Let me once again appeal to Nigerians to be patient with the government in finding lasting solutions to the crisis.”

Sylva appreciated the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for showing concern to the plight of Nigerians by coming forward with an apology.

“This is unprecedented and shows that we on the government side are not afraid to take responsibility,” he stated. He further noted that the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had been out on the streets to ensure that the situation normalised quickly, adding that the government was beginning to see the fruits of these efforts.

Sylva said, “This is a time that calls for collective action to save a situation that was not foreseen. It is not a time to trade blames as is customary in Nigeria.

“It is therefore not a time to query anyone but a time to come together to salvage the plight of the average Nigerian.

“After the storm settles there will be time enough to investigate and get to the bottom, so that this does not repeat itself.”

Meanwhile, the Coalition of Concerned Northern Forum has asked the Federal Government to sack the top management staff of the NNPC over the lingering fuel scarcity within 72 hours

The group said this in a statement jointly signed by the Chairman, Mallam Ibrahim Bature; and the spokesperson, Abdulsalam Kazeem, in Kaduna on Sunday.

The group warned that the failure of the government to act would lead to mass protest.

The Punch

Economy

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

Published

4 weeks 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