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☆ US Determined to Remain Strong Security Partner for Nigeria -Blinken
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said the United States is determined to remain a strong security partner for Nigeria, whose military is backed by the U.S., Britain and other allies in a long war against Islamist insurgents. "The United States is determined to be and remain a strong security partner for Nigeria," Blinken told reporters. Blinken added that he discussed how it is vitally important there be a focus on ensuring civilians are protected and humanitarian considerations. The coup in Niger was one of a series of military takeovers or attempted power grabs that occurred in West and Central Africa over the past three years. So far, about $2 billion of the backlog across sectors such as manufacturing, aviation, and petroleum have been paid, CBN spokesperson Hakama Sidi Ali said in a statement.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Bola Tinubu, Mohamed Bazoum, Hakama Sidi Ali, Chijioke Ohuocha, Felix Onuah, Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis, Ismail Shakil, Mark Porter, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Islamist, European Union, France, Central Bank of Nigeria Locations: ABUJA, WASHINGTON, United States, Nigeria, U.S, Britain, Niger, West, Central Africa, Abuja, Africa, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Angola, Jan, Africa's, Washington

☆ Nigeria naira hits record low near unofficial market rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ABUJA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira dropped to a record low against the dollar on Friday on the official market, close to the rate at which it trades on the unofficial parallel market. The currency of Africa's biggest economy fell as low as 1,160 naira to the dollar, LSEG data showed, before recovering to around 800 naira. The naira's official exchange rate has been drifting towards the parallel market level as the central bank is yet to clear outstanding foreign-currency amounts owed in forward deals. Last week, central bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso said he would allow market forces to determine exchange rates while setting clear, transparent and harmonised rules governing market operations. The currency sold at around 1,165 naira on the parallel market on Friday.

Persons: naira, Olayemi Cardoso, Chijioke Ohuocha, Alex Richardson Organizations: Thomson Locations: ABUJA

☆ Nigeria lawmakers pass 2024-2026 budget framework with naira at 700 to dollar next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Nigeria's lower house of parliament passed the medium-term expenditure framework for 2024-2026 on Tuesday, a set of assumptions that will be used to prepare the country's budget over the next three years. The naira last week briefly slumped to a record low of 1,105 against the dollar on the official market, bringing the official exchange rate within touching distance of the parallel market rate. The fiscal framework must also be passed by the upper chamber of parliament. Tinubu is also due to send the country's 2024 spending plan of 26 trillion naira ($34 billion) to parliament for approval. Below are some of the assumptions in the medium-term expenditure framework:Reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha Editing by Alexander Winning and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bola Tinubu's, firming, Camillus, Chijioke, Alexander Winning, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Tinubu, Camillus Eboh, Abuja

☆ Nigeria's naira firms on black market, central bank settles FX forwards
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The naira has hit successive record lows on the black market, where it trades freely, as excess demand on the official market gets funnelled to the unofficial market. The naira crossed the 1,000 naira mark on the black market on Sept. 26, the day newly-appointed central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso appeared before the Nigerian senate for his confirmation hearing. The central bank has not intervened on the official market since October, helping accelerate the naira's slide on the black market. The currency hit a record low of 1,300 naira per dollar on the black market, a month after it crossed the 1,000 naira mark, amid thin trading volumes on the parallel market and dollar shortages on the official market. On the official market, the naira was trading at 884.53 to the dollar at 1200 GMT.

Persons: Afolabi, firmed, Olayemi Cardoso, Cardoso, Wale Edun, Chijioke, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Finance, Thomson Locations: Rights ABUJA, Nigeria

☆ Suspected Boko Haram kills at least 40 in Nigeria's Yobe state, police say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Nov 1 (Reuters) - At least 40 people were killed in Nigeria's Yobe state between Monday and Tuesday after suspected Boko Haram militants shot at villagers and set off a land mine, in the first major attack on the northern eastern state in 18 months, the police said on Wednesday. The attack happened at about 8:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) on Monday, at Gurokayeya village, Gaidam local government in Yobe State, the state's police spokesperson Abdulkarim Dungus said. He said gunmen opened fire on villagers, killing at least 17 people and that on Tuesday a land mine exploded, killing at least 20 villagers who were returning from burying victims of the previous attack. The last time a bomb exploded in Yobe state was in April 2022. Lawan Ahmed, a resident, told Reuters the militants shot at villagers sporadically from motorbikes, killing about 18 people on Monday.

Persons: Boko Haram, Abdulkarim Dungus, Bola Tinubu, Lawan Ahmed, Ahmed, Lanre Ola, Ahmed Kingimi, Chijioke Ohuocha, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Franklin Paul, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Yobe, Gurokayeya, Yobe State, Borno

☆ Explainer: What is pushing the Nigerian naira to record lows?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Chijioke Ohuocha | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Investors cheered when Tinubu lifted the currency controls, hoping a unified exchange rate would make it easier to access foreign currency, but that is yet to happen. Banks then repaid foreign credit lines with their own funds when the central bank did not pay out. New central bank governor Yemi Cardoso said clearing the backlog was a priority but he gave no timeline for how long it would take. The country's forex reserves fell to $33.5 billion in September from $37 billion in January, central bank data shows. Banks use their open net positions on foreign currency to finance short-term trade lines without resorting to the central bank for bidding.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, corporates, Banks, Yemi Cardoso, Chijioke Ohuocha, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Hugh Lawson Organizations: JPMorgan, FX, National Economic Council, BANK, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria

☆ Nigerian naira hits record black market low -abokiFx
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira hit a record low of 1,300 per dollar on the black market on Thursday, online platform abokiFX showed, driven by thin trading volumes on the parallel market and dollar shortages on the official market. The naira has been in free fall on the unofficial market, where it trades freely, after currency restrictions were lifted on the official market. Last month, the currency slid past 1,000 naira per dollar on the black market and has continued to weaken. On the official market, the naira recovered to 775 to the dollar from a record low of 999 it touched last week. It kept losing ground, however, on the black market due to thin trading.

Persons: naira, Yemi Cardoso, Wale Edun, Chijioke, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Finance, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria

☆ Nigeria expects $10 bln in forex inflows in weeks - finance minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Chijioke Ohuocha | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Nigeria expects $10 billion in foreign currency inflows in the next few weeks to ease liquidity in a foreign exchange market that has cramped growth in Africa's biggest economy, finance minister Wale Edun said on Monday. The West African country has faced chronic dollar shortages after foreign investors exited local assets during a period of low oil prices. Since then, investors are yet to return and the central bank has not yet settled outstanding demand for dollars from foreign investors seeking to repatriate funds or airlines seeking to send money from ticket sales abroad. Edun said President Bola Tinubu on Thursday signed two executive orders to allow domestic issuance of instruments in foreign currency and also allow all cash outside the banking system to be brought into the banks. He added that liquidity would also come from state-oil firm crude sales and foreign investment firms willing to invest in Nigeria.

Persons: Wale Edun, Edun, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Chijioke, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Bernadette Baum, Mark Potter Organizations: Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Africa's

☆ China's Xi Jinping commits to more investments in Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It added that another $4 billion worth of letters of intent was received for new projects and investments in different sectors of the economy. Nigeria also signed contracts with China Harbour Engineering Company for the construction of the Lekki Blue Seaport in Lagos. Shettima met Xi, who asked for the protection of Chinese workers in Nigeria, according to the vice president's office. China had committed to rail projects in Nigeria in the past and to a seaport in Bonny Island in the Niger Delta. China had earlier agreed to provide 85% of the financing for the rail projects.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Edgar Su, Kashim Shettima's, Shettima, Xi, Felix Onuah, Chijioke Ohuocha, Jamie Freed Organizations: Initiative, of, People, REUTERS, Rights, Nigeria's National Agency for Science, Engineering Infrastructure, China Harbour Engineering Company, China Exim Bank, Thomson Locations: Beijing, Rights ABUJA, Nigeria, Africa's, Lagos, China, Bonny Island, Niger, Nigeria's

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu picks banker Cardoso as next central bank governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - President Bola Tinubu has nominated the former head of Citibank in Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, to serve as the country's new central bank governor, days before its next interest rate meeting, a presidential spokesperson said on Friday. The central bank did not respond to a request for comment on whether Emefiele and his deputy governors had resigned. The central bank raised rates by a smaller-than-expected 25 basis points in July, contrary to analysts' expectations, under acting Governor Folashondun Shonubi, one of Emefiele's deputies. The central bank pursued unorthodox policies under Emefiele who kept the currency artificially strong, a policy backed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, which supported government borrowings on the international markets. He was a former commissioner for economic planning and budget in Lagos state when Tinubu was governor between 1999-2007.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Olayemi Cardoso, Godwin Emefiele, Tinubu, Cardoso, Ajuri Ngelale, Ngelale, Folashondun Shonubi, Emefiele, Muhammadu Buhari, Camillus Eboh, Chijioke Ohuocha, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Richard Chang, Jane Merriman, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Citibank, Central Bank of Nigeria, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Lagos

Emirates airliners are seen on the tarmac in a general view of Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates January 13, 2021. REUTERS/Abdel Hadi Ramah/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Emirates Airlines will resume immediate flight schedules to Nigeria and lift a visa ban on Nigerian travellers, following a meeting between the leaders of the two countries, the Nigerian presidency said on Monday. Tinubu stopped in Abu Dhabi on his way from G20 summit in India, where he wooed investors to Nigeria. Last month Tinubu said he wanted an immediate resolution to the disagreements with Emirates Airlines and visa issues by the Arab country. The UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians last year after Dubai's Emirates suspended flights due to an inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria.

Persons: Abdel Hadi Ramah, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Emirates Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, Ngelale, Chijioke Ohuocha, Felix Onuah, David Evans, Peter Graff, Richard Chang Organizations: Emirates, Dubai International, United Arab Emirates, Rights, Emirates Airlines, United, UAE, Dubai's Emirates, Etihad Airlines, Thomson Locations: Dubai, United Arab, Rights ABUJA, Nigeria, Emirates, Abu Dhabi, India, State, Nigerian

☆ Nigeria mulls G20 bloc membership, president to attend summit in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

President Bola Tinubu will leave on Monday to attend the G20 summit in India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said. "While Nigeria's membership of the G-20 is desirable, the government has embarked on wide-ranging consultations with a view to ascertaining the benefits and risks of membership," Ngelale said in a statement. Tinubu's attendance was in part to further Nigeria's membership objective, he said. On Friday, Ngelale said Tinubu will attend the G20 summit to try to promote foreign investment in Nigeria and mobilize global capital to develop infrastructure. Tinubu will attend the summit with some of his cabinet members including foreign affairs, finance and trade ministers.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Lewis Joly, Narendra Modi, Ajuri Ngelale, Ngelale, Tinubu, Felix Onuah, Chijioke Ohuocha, Andrew Cawthorne, Angus MacSwan Organizations: New Global Financial, Rights, Thomson Locations: Nigeria, Paris, France, Rights ABUJA, India, South Africa

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu to attend G20 summit in India to promote investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria, arrives for the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit, Friday, June 23, 2023 in Paris, France. Lewis Joly/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu plans to attend the G20 summit in India this month to try to promote foreign investment in Africa's largest economy and mobilize global capital to develop infrastructure, his spokesman said on Friday. The summit in India will hold on Sept 9 and 10. Ngelale said Tinubu will meet leaders from Brazil, India, South Korea and Germany on the sidelines of the G20. Tinubu also plans to meet Indian executives, including Jindal Steel and Power Company, among others, Ngelale said.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Lewis Joly, Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, Ngelale, India's Bharti, Joe Biden, Felix Onuah, Chijioke Ohuocha, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: New Global Financial, Rights, Jindal Steel, Power Company, India's, India's Bharti Airtel, U.S, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Nigeria, Paris, France, Rights ABUJA, India, West African, Brazil, South Korea, Germany, Africa, New York

☆ Nigeria's suspended cenbank governor to face fraud charges on Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nigeria's Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele briefs the media during the MPC meeting in Abuja, Nigeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Nigeria's suspended central bank governor Godwin Emefiele will appear in a high court in Abuja on Thursday, when he is expected to enter a plea in a 20-count indictment, a government lawyer said on Wednesday. Government lawyers, on Tuesday, said they had filed additional graft charges against the governor, including allegedly "conferring unlawful advantages" and "unlawful procurement". Local papers said the central bank employee was a director in the private company. Emefiele, suspended by President Bola Tinubu in June, had already pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing a firearm illegally, which were subsequently withdrawn.

Persons: Nigeria's Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, Afolabi, Godwin Emefiele, Emefiele, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Camillus Eboh, Chijioke, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Nigeria's Central Bank Governor, MPC, REUTERS, Rights, Government, Thomson Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, Rights ABUJA, Lagos, Africa's

☆ Google to train 20,000 Nigerians in digital skills
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc FollowABUJA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Google plans to train 20,000 Nigerian women and youth in digital skills and provide a grant of 1.2 billion naira ($1.6 million) to help the government's create one million digital jobs in the country, its Africa executives said on Tuesday. Nigeria plans to create digital jobs for its teeming youth population, Vice President Kashim Shettima told Google Africa executives during a meeting in Abuja. Google Africa executives said a grant from its philanthropic arm in partnership with Data Science Nigeria and the Creative Industry Initiative for Africa will facilitate the programme. Google director for West Africa Olumide Balogun said the company would commit funds and provide digital skills to women and young people in Nigeria and also enable startups to grow, which will create jobs.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Kashim Shettima, Shettima, West Africa Olumide Balogun, Charles Murito, Felix Onuah, Chijioke Ohuocha, Josie Kao Organizations: Google, Chelsea, REUTERS, Google Africa, Data Science, Creative Industry Initiative, West Africa, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, ABUJA, Africa, Nigeria, Abuja, Data Science Nigeria

☆ Nigeria turns to natural gas for fuel as petrol prices rise after subsidy removal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File PhotoLAGOS, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria is turning to gas as an alternative fuel after it scrapped a popular but costly subsidy on petrol that has seen pump prices rise sharply, angering motorists and businesses that use petrol to generate their own power. State-oil firm NNPC said late on Thursday it has partnered with NIPCO Gas to speed up the adoption of compressed natural gas for buses, cars and tricycles to lower transportation costs. Under the NNPC-NIPCO deal, 35 compressed natural gas stations will be rolled out in phases to be completed next year and will be able to serve more than 200,000 vehicles daily. NIPCO already operates 14 compressed natural gas stations, NNPC said, and that the local firm has turned more than 7,000 vehicles to gas, it said. Last month, NNPC signed an agreement with UTM Offshore for the local company to construct a 1.5 metric tonnes per annum floating liquefied natural gas plant.

Persons: Afolabi, NNPC, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Chijioke, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, NIPCO Gas, Offshore, Thomson Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, LAGOS, State, Africa's

☆ GSK Nigeria calls an end to its business, to return cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Chijioke Ohuocha | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Nigeria (GLAXOSM.LG) said on Thursday it plans to stop doing business after evaluating the options for moving to a third-party distribution model for its drugs and consumer healthcare goods. GSK Nigeria, which has faced increased competition from local companies and imports from India and China, said its half-year sales had dropped to 7.75 billion naira ($9.82 million), from 14.8 billion naira in the same period a year ago. GSK Nigeria said it is working with advisers to agree next steps and plans to submit a scheme of arrangement to Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission, which if approved will see it return cash to shareholders except its parent GSK. "For the above reasons, and having, together with GSK UK, evaluated various other options, the Board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc has concluded that there is no alternative but to cease operations," GSK Nigeria said in a statement. Shares in GSK Nigeria, in which British drugmaker GSK has a 46.4% stake and Nigerian shareholders the remaining 53.6%, closed at 8.10 naira, down from a peak of 42.24 naira in 2014.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Chijioke Ohuocha, Alexander Smith Organizations: GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, Nigeria's Securities, Exchange Commission, Haleon, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, British, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, GSK Nigeria, India, China, British, Africa

☆ Nigeria to distribute grains, fertiliser to soften impact of rising fuel prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The grain and fertiliser distribution will be through the central bank, the vice president's office said in a statement, adding that state governors have backed the plan. Last week, the Senate approved a request by President Bola Tinubu to borrow $800 million from the World Bank to help address rising fuel prices after stopping a popular but costly petrol subsidy in May. Nigerian petrol prices reached 617 naira ($0.78) per litre on Tuesday, the highest ever. Labour unions have criticised government's ending of the fuel subsidy without measures to mitigate rising prices. Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, imports almost all its refined fuel due to inadequate refining capacity and neglect of existing refineries.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Felix Onuah, Chijioke Ohuocha, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: World Bank, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Africa's

ABUJA, July 20 (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira traded at a record low of 860 per dollar on the black market on Thursday, according to traders, weakening below its official rate a month after the country devalued the currency and ahead of a central bank policy meeting next week. The naira has been swinging widely on the official market since the devaluation. It touched a new low of 853 naira per dollar on Wednesday, according to OTC market regulator, FMDQ Exchange. The currency closed at 742 naira against the dollar on the official market on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed. Dollar shortages on the official market have seen customers turning to the black market, helping to widen the gap between the spot rate and the black market, one trader said.

Persons: Nigeria's naira, Bola Tinubu, Elisha Bala, Andrew Cawthorne, John Stonestreet, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: FMDQ Exchange, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu is embarking on the country's biggest reforms in decades, including scrapping the popular but expensive petrol subsidy and unifying the country's multiple exchange rates. World Bank lead economist for Nigeria Alex Sienaert said during a presentation in the capital Abuja that savings from the reforms did not amount to a fiscal windfall. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund had for years called on Nigeria to remove the petrol subsidy, which cost $10 billion last year, and free its exchange rate. To deepen foreign exchange reforms, Siernaet said Nigeria should remove restrictions on a list of 43 items, including sugar and flour, that the central bank says cannot be funded from official dollar sales. Nigeria has the second-largest population of poor people in the world and is one of the least developed countries globally, the World Bank says.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Nigeria Alex Sienaert, Sienaert, Siernaet, Wale Edun, Chijioke Ohuocha, Elisha Baba, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Christina Fincher, Susan Fenton Organizations: World Bank, Bank, International Monetary Fund, Labour, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Nigerian, Abuja

ABUJA, June 14 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank allowed the naira currency to drop as much as 36% on the official market on Wednesday, days after the central bank governor who oversaw much-criticised multiple exchange rates was suspended. The naira hit a record low of 750 to the dollar on the official market, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, down from a previous low of 477 naira to the dollar struck on Tuesday. Traders said the central bank had removed trading restrictions on the official market. Central bank governor Godwin Emefiele was suspended late last week, after new President Bola Tinubu criticised Emefiele's handling of the currency and monetary policy at his inauguration. Tinubu has called on the central bank to work towards a unified exchange rate, rather than the multiple exchange rates Emefiele oversaw to keep the naira artificially strong.

Persons: Godwin Emefiele, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Emefiele, Charlie Robertson, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Rachel Savage, Karin Strohecker, Alexander Winning, Chizu Organizations: Traders, FIM Partners, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Central, Lagos, Johannesburg, London

☆ Nigeria's President Tinubu suspends central bank governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, June 9 (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has suspended central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele with immediate effect, following ongoing investigation of his office and planned reforms in the financial sector, the head of the government said on Friday. Tinubu criticised Emefiele's handling of the currency and monetary policy at his inauguration last week and called on the central bank to work towards a unified exchange rate. "President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, from office with immediate effect," the government said in a statement. Emefiele has been directed to hand over operations to the deputy governor, who will act as the central bank governor pending the conclusion of investigation and the reforms, the statement said. On Wednesday, the central bank allowed the naira to weaken by 2% on the official market to a record low.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Godwin Emefiele, Tinubu, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mr Godwin Emefiele, Emefiele, Muhammadu Buhari, Felix Onuah, Chijioke Ohuocha, Marguerita Choy, Chris Reese Organizations: Central Bank Governor, Financial, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria

☆ Nigeria central bank allows naira to weaken 2% to record low
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Chijioke Ohuocha | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, June 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank allowed the naira to drop about 2% on the official market to a record low on Wednesday, but the currency's rate remained above where it trades at central bank auctions and on the black market. Nigeria is trying to find a way to unify its multiple exchange rate system, used to keep the naira artificially strong. In the past, the bank has allowed the naira to weaken in 5 naira increments. The central bank has been adjusting the naira gradually on the official market to avoid a large-scale devaluation. Last Thursday, the central bank denied devaluing the naira, following media reports of a big fall in the currency after Tinubu met the central bank governor.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Chijioke, Alexander Winning, Christina Fincher Organizations: New, U.S, Traders, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria

SummarySummary Companies Tinubu succeeds former military leader BuhariNigeria divided after disputed electionAfrica's biggest economy faces headwindsInsecurity spread under BuhariABUJA, May 29 (Reuters) - Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria's president on Monday, facing mounting calls to improve economic and security conditions which many complain worsened under his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari. Tinubu, the former Lagos state governor and a member of Buhari's party, has promised to be a better steward of Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation. A raft of protectionist economic policies and foreign currency interventions have also spooked investors. Buhari defended his record on Sunday, saying new infrastructure such as roads, bridges and airports, and the protectionist policies have laid the foundations for future growth. Separatist and gang violence plague the southeast, and clashes between farmers and herders persist in hinterland states known as Nigeria's Middle Belt.

☆ Nigeria to commission Dangote refinery, crude supply a concern
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Despite being Africa's biggest oil producer, Nigeria imports petrol, diesel and processed petroleum products because its refineries were run down over the years. The refinery needs a constant supply of crude but Nigeria's oil production has been declining due to oil theft, vandalism of pipelines and underinvestment. Lower production would affect state-owned oil company NNPC Ltd's ability to fulfil an agreement to supply Dangote refinery with 300,000 bpd of crude, said economist Kelvin Emmanuel, who authored a report on oil theft last year. "There are risks with supply of crude oil feedstock. Energy Aspects, however, said in the long run, the Dangote refinery could end Nigeria's gasoline deficit, reshape the Atlantic basin gasoline market and export diesel that meets European Union specifications.

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