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Economy

Naira Begins Week on a Low, Trades at N1,419/$1 in Official Window

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The Naira began the week on a losing note against the American dollar on Monday, April 29, 2024 at the official window to trade at N1,419/$1.

This is according to data sourced from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window.

At the end of trading on Monday, the Naira lost N19.88 against the dollar compared to the previous exchange rate of N1,399.23/$1 on Friday, April 27, 2024.

The intra-day high and low recorded during the day were N1,451/$1 and N1,060 /$1 respectively, representing a wide spread of N391/$1.

However, the Naira gained against the dollar at the parallel section of the market trading at N1,330/$1 representing a gain of N100 compared to the N1,430/$1 it traded the previous day.

Contrastingly, the Naira gained against the pound. The domestic currency appreciated by N10 against the British Pound to trade at N1,640/£1 as against the previous trading price of N1,650/£1 representing a gain of N10 for the local currency,

The Canadian dollar however closed flat against the naira to trade at N1,000/CA$1 same as the previous trading day rate.

The Euro also slumped against the Naira to trade at N1,430/€1 as against the rate of N1,450/€1 the previous trading rate indicating a gain of N20 for the Nigerian currency.

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Economy

CBN Reviews ATM Fees, Imposes N100-600 Charges for N20k Withdrawal

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has imposed a withdrawal charge of between N100 and N600 for every N20,000 worth of interbank ATM withdrawals.

The new policy eliminates the three free monthly withdrawals that customers enjoy on interbank ATM withdrawals.

According to a CBN circular, FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/001/002 with title, ‘Review of Automated Teller Machine Transaction Fee,’ dated February 10, 2025, the new fees would take effect March 1, 2025.

The apex bank said: “In response to rising costs and the need to improve the efficiency of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) services in the banking industry, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reviewed the ATM transaction fees prescribed in Section 10.7 of the extant CBN Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, 2020 (the Guide)”.

The CBN said customers withdrawing at the ATM of their financial institution in Nigeria would not be charged.

“Withdrawal from another institution’s ATM in Nigeria (Not-On-Us): On-site ATMs (within bank premises): A fee of N100 per N20,000 withdrawal will apply,” the apex bank further directed.

For Off-site ATMs (outside bank premises), the apex bank said a charge of N100 plus a surcharge of not more than N500 for every N20,000 withdrawal would be applicable.

It said that international withdrawals would be based on the exact amount imposed by the international acquirer.

The CBN added:  “This review is expected to accelerate the deployment of ATMs and ensure that appropriate charges are applied by financial institutions to consumers of the service.

“Accordingly, banks and other financial institutions are advised to apply the following fees with effect from March 1, 2025.”

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Economy

NNPCL Shuts Warri Refinery, Cites ‘Routine Maintenance’ As Reason

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The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), on Friday, disclosed that the recently re-streamed Warri refinery has been shut down for routine maintenance, and would be back soon.

The company, through a statement by its Chief Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, clarified that there was no explosion at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), describing any report suggesting otherwise as “completely false”.

Soneye said: “On January 25, 2025, operations at WRPC Area 1 were intentionally curtailed to carry out necessary intervention works on select equipment, including field instruments that were impacting sustainable and steady operations.

“These intervention works are essential to ensure the production of on-specification finished and intermediate products, particularly Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Kerosene (Kero).

“The routine maintenance is progressing as planned, and Area 1 will be back in operation within the next few days. Despite ongoing interventions, over the past 11 days, AGO loading has been maintained at an average of eight trucks per day, with a sufficient supply available to sustain ongoing truck load-out operations.

“NNPC Ltd remains committed to ensuring uninterrupted product supply and appreciates the patience and cooperation of all stakeholders as it completes these essential maintenance activities”.

The 125,000 barrels per day refinery was re-steamed just before the new year after over 10 years in comatose with NNPC saying it was operating at 60 percent capacity.

The Federal Executive Council, in August 2021, approved the contract for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries at the sum of $1.48 billion.

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Business

Budgit: Akwa Ibom Most Creditworthy State in Nigeria

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Akwa Ibom State has been identified as Nigeria’s most creditworthy state. This is attributed to its strong fiscal position, allowing it to sustain its debt obligations and borrow further.

The verdict was delivered by Budgit, a Nigerian civic organisation that examines state and national budgets and applies technology for citizen engagement with a view at institutional improvement, in its State of the States Report 2024 Edition themed “Moving Healthcare Delivery from suboptimal to optimal”

According to Budgit, Akwa Ibom came tops in the States Performance on Index C, scoring 0.227. The report declared that states who score high are determined “by their debt-to-revenue ratio, and personnel cost to revenue ratio”.

“In contrast, states that rank lower on Index C need to check their appetite for the acquisition of more debt as they appear to be either above or very close to solvency for debt-to-revenue ratio, foreign debt to total debt, debt service-to-revenue ratio, and personnel cost to revenue ratio.

“The lower ranking states may need to rapidly adopt Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models in delivering public goods due to their relatively poorer credit worthiness.

“The state (Akwa Ibom) owing to its relatively low foreign debt to total debt ratio, ranked the most debt-sustainable state among the 36 states”

For Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State who has not borrowed any funds either domestic or foreign since assumption of office, this report further validates the government’s position on prudent management of state resources for the greater good of the people.

In the same report, Budgit indicated that regarding health expenditure, the state allocated funds for purchasing health and medical equipment, construction and provision of hospitals and health centres, purchasing drugs, renovating and building new primary healthcare centres and boosting health training.

It then stated “Overall, Akwa Ibom is working towards enhancing its healthcare system having spent about N1billion on primary healthcare and medical equipment. Still, there may be opportunities to increase investment in the sector to fully meet the population’s healthcare needs”

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