Nigeria: Press spotlights rebound of Naira as banks offload excess dollars, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report of the rebound of the naira ahead of the midnight February 1, 2024 deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria to commercial banks to sell all excess foreign exchange holdings dominate the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Punch reports that ahead of the midnight February 1, 2024 deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria to commercial banks to sell all excess foreign exchange holdings, Deposit Money Banks on Thursday made frantic efforts to offload their surplus dollar stocks.
It was learnt that the treasury departments of the DMBs spent the entire day battling to sell their excess FX holdings. Officials processed several foreign exchange request forms of their customers as they sold more dollars to them, The PUNCH gathered.
The increase in the level of forex sale activities at the official foreign exchange market, it was learnt, led to the rebound of the naira at the parallel market on Thursday.
Several top bank executives, who spoke to The PUNCH on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the matter, confirmed there were huge forex transactions in the banks.
As of 6pm on Thursday, bank officials especially those of the treasury departments, were making efforts to meet the new prudential requirements of the regulator.
Amid its fresh moves to stabilise the nation’s volatile exchange rate, the CBN had in a circular released on Wednesday, ordered DMBs to sell their excess dollar stocks latest February 1, 2024. The CBN also warned lenders against hoarding excess foreign currencies for profit.
The newspaper says that mechanical completion of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of this year, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said.
WRPC, located in Warri, Delta State and established in 1978, is one of Nigeria’s three refineries under the management of NNPCL.
The other two include the Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State, and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company in Kaduna State. Rehabilitation work is also ongoing at both facilities.
The Warri refinery is a complex conversion refinery with a capacity to refine 125,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The facility includes a petrochemical plant (established in 1988) producing polypropylene and carbon black.
It supplies petroleum products to southern and south-western Nigeria, but is not producing refined products currently due to the rehabilitation of the facility by the Federal Government.
However, in a brief response to an enquiry by our correspondent with regards to when the plant would be mechanical completed, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, state that target was to have it sorted in the first quarter of this year.
“Warri should be done by Q1 (first quarter) 2024,” he stated.
Recall that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated on Wednesday that the Warri refinery was still being worked on.
He disclosed this while responding to a question about the Port Harcourt refinery, whose mechanical completion was widely celebrated on December 21, 2023 by the Federal Government.
The Guardian reports that the United States (US) government said it has contributed $160 million to support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and expand trade in goods and services between the U.S. and Africa.
The United States Mission Commercial Counselor to Nigeria, Julie LeBlanc, stated this in her keynote address at the Business Day Africa Trade and Investment Summit titled: “AGOA, AfCTA, top U.S. programmes and priorities for Africa and Nigeria,” held in Lagos.
The theme of the summit was “Reimagining Economic Growth in Africa.”
She said this funding supports the development of digital trade and investment protocols as well as stakeholder engagement across Africa and trade facilitation efforts with a focus on expanding trade in goods and services and supporting the Women and Youth Protocol of the AfCFTA.
According to her, the U.S. Mission to Nigeria is particularly optimistic about the future of U.S.-Africa Continental Free Trade Area Memorandum of Understanding and investment relations.
LeBlanc also stated that the U.S. supported and finalised 547 new deals worth $14.2 billion in two-way trade and investment with Nigeria and other African countries in 2023.
She said this marked a 60 per cent increase in both the number and value of deals compared to 2022 and has led to tangible benefits for both American and African communities, thereby creating inclusive growth, supply chain resilience, and quality jobs.
LeBlanc further stated that with two-way trade exceeding $10.6 billion in 2022 and U.S. foreign direct investment totaling $5.6 billion, Nigeria stands as the U.S.’ second-largest trading partner in Africa.
LeBlanc said the U.S. has significant investments in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem with collaborative efforts to tackle global challenges in education, healthcare, agriculture, and other key areas.
The newspaper says that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has said that miners and operators in the sector owed the Federal Government more than N2 trillion.
During a meeting with licensed minerals holders and laterite/sand operators in Kaduna, yesterday, he stressed that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is determined to halt the activities of illegal miners across the country.
Warning against the activities of illegal miners, Alake has said miners in Kaduna State alone were owing the Federal Government over N300 billion.
Alake pointed out that the government would not relent in its effort to take adequate measures against anyone caught in illegal mining across the state and the country in general.
He described illegal mining as a big crime that could not be accepted in the country.
Alake, who was represented by the Acting Zonal Mines Officer, Northwest Zonal Office of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Kutman Ali, urged the operators not to go to the field without a mining licence.
He directed those who collected their mining licence to report to the mines office in Kaduna to collect their permit.
“After collecting a licence, you must come to our office, so that you will be given what we call a permit to mobilise to the site. It is a letter that will introduce you to the state and local councils, as well communities through their traditional ruler, and security agencies to make carrying out mining activities easy for you,” he explained.
According to the minister, the purpose of the meeting was to explain his mission and vision on his plan for the mining sector, particularly miners and operators for 2024 and beyond.
GIK/APA