APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The announcement by President Muhammadu Buhari that the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in the country and the report that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said that the rehabilitation of three refineries in the country which it has embarked on would reduce fuel scarcity are some of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Punch reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in the country.
The president made this known on Thursday morning during an address to Nigerians where he also apologized to Nigerians over the difficulties experienced in accessing the scarce new naira notes.
He, however, said that the old N200 note will be legal tender for the next 60 days, till April 10, 2023, while besieging Nigerians to deposit their old N500 and 1000 notes with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The president said, “Let me re-assure Nigerians that strengthening our economy, enhancing security and blockage of leakages associated with illicit financial flows remain top priorities of our administration. And I shall remain committed to my oath of protecting and advancing the interest of Nigerians and the nation, at all times.
“In the last quarter of 2022, I authorized the Central Bank of Nigeria to redesign the N200, N500, and N1000 Nigerian banknotes. For a smooth transition, I similarly approved that the redesigned banknotes should circulate concurrently with the old bank notes, till 31 January 2023, before the old notes, cease to be legal tender.
“During the extended phase of the deadline for currency swap, (from January 31 till February 10) I listened to invaluable pieces of advice from well-meaning citizens and institutions across the nation.
“I similarly consulted widely with representatives of the State Governors as well as the Council of State. Above all, as an administration that respects the rule of law, I have also noted that the subject matter is before the courts of our land and some pronouncements have been made.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said that the rehabilitation of three refineries in the country which it has embarked on would reduce fuel scarcity.
The NNPCL Executive Vice President, Danladi Inuwa, disclosed this on Wednesday during a workshop sensitization program with The Natives, a civil society organization in Abuja.
He also revealed that the Port Harcourt refinery will start operations by the second quarter of 2023, adding that the Warri and Kaduna refineries have been contracted for quick rehabilitation.
The program titled, “Understanding our national oil company post-Petroleum Industry Act” was aimed at enlightening the public and moving citizens’ involvement from protests to participation in the decision-making process of the profit-oriented company.
The president of the group, Olalekan Edwards, in his address, voiced concerns about citizen participation in influencing key project decisions in host communities, noting that the narrative needed to change from protests to participation in key decisions.
He said, “The accurate picture here is we want to change the narrative from protest to participation.
“We most times address them at the aftereffect of misapplication of funds or projects that are not in developmental the communities, so we have decided to rise up. If you go to different host communities, you will hear issues that boil down to their development.
The Guardian reports that the prolonged fuel crisis may have been working through consumer prices, pushing the headline inflation to 21.82 percent, a level not seen in about two decades.
The inflation rate is 6.22 percentage points higher compared to a year earlier when it was 15.6 percent.
The inflation rate eased slightly in December, from 21.47 to 21.34 percent, which many interpreted as a sign it might have reached the peak. The Guardian, however, reported that election spending posed a considerable threat.
According to the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday, the composite food index also rose to 24.32 percent year-on-year (y/y), which is also the highest in decades.
Core inflation, which is the segment stripped of volatile items such as food and energy, was 19.16 percent. The figure is 0.66 percentage points higher than the December index.
Month-on-month (m/m) change, which tracks the current strength of inflationary pressure, was 1.87 percent – also the highest in decades. The monthly change points to rising inflationary pressure despite the aggressive interest rate hike to stem the growth.
The urban inflation was 22.55 percent, while that of the rural area was 21.13 percent. The sharp difference between the two segments and the elevated m/m change in the former (1.95 percent) underpins the role of transportation of especially food items in the worrisome price growth.
As the inflation rate continues to trend up, economists said the government is not taking any deliberate steps to tame the menace.
Professor Godwin Oyedokun, a council member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), said he never believed that the inflation rate would come down, given that there is no deliberate policy by the government to control it.
He said the fundamentals driving inflation are far from the money supply, blaming much of it on import dependence.
“In December, when it came down, I said it cannot last because the policy direction of government is not addressing the fundamental issue, which is increasing local production. Until we do that, the inflation rate will continue to rise,” he said.
He also said that some people in government may be manipulating the system to favor them.
The newspaper says that commercial activities were paralyzed yesterday, in various parts of the country, as protesters took to the streets, barricading roads in protest against the hardship occasioned by cash scarcity and high costs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
In Benin, the Edo State capital, residents barricaded the ever-busy Ugbowo-Lagos expressway and other major roads in the state capital to protest the scarcity of the new naira notes.
The incident is coming weeks after a similar protest rocked the city, where residents marched against fuel scarcity and price hikes, which led to the setting up of a special Petrol Monitoring Committee by the Edo State government.
Yesterday’s protest resulted in gridlock in the Ugbowo area near the University of Benin, Kingsquare, popularly called Ring Road and other link roads and left motorists and other road users stranded for several hours.
Also, commuters plying the Ugbowo-Lagos expressway, which is a major Federal road that connects Benin City to the South-South and South-East routes, had a hectic time gaining access to their destinations.
Commercial Banks located within Ring Road and adjourning streets of Akpakpava, Mission Road, and Forestry, recorded losses as customers and angry protesters attacked the banks, destroyed facilities, and demanded their money.
The protests left school children in confusion as parents hurriedly rushed to pick them up from school for fear of being attacked.
Some residents, who spoke to The Guardian lamented their frustration, saying they had been going to banks for cash withdrawals, but they could not access their money.
The protesters who lamented the hardship said they became agitated when commercial banks refused to accept the old naira notes as deposits.
The protests were taken to the popular Akpapava Road, housing most of the commercial banks’ head offices, as the angry protesters attacked the banks.
Youths and traders who formed the protests erected roadblocks and bonfires on major roads, and stormed Point of Sale (POS) centers, destroying their cubicles, and thereby disturbing commercial activities in the state.
Three people were feared killed in the protest, but the Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, Chidi Nwabuzor, was yet to confirm the number of casualties at press time.
Also, angry customers, yesterday set fire to Access Bank in Warri, Delta State, to protest their frustration against cash scarcity and the refusal of Commercial Banks to accept the old banknotes.
GIK/APA