Economy

Ghana Cedi Ranked Best Currency in Africa
Economy, Finance, Ghana, News

Ghana Cedi Ranked Best Currency in Africa

Ghana’s legal tender has been ranked the best performing currency in Africa for the first quarter of 2021. It appreciated at 0.6 per cent to the US dollar, bettering some other prevalent 15 currencies in Africa. Among the currencies are the Egyptian pound, Nigerian naira and the South African rand, Ghanaweb reports. A report by Joy Business monitored by GhanaWeb showed that the cedi's performance is almost similar to that of 2020. Also, the currency has benefitted from growth-related efforts such as diversified exports of cocoa, gold among others. Courage Martey, a Senior Economic Analyst at Databank Research, while adducing the rationale for the growth of cedi said, "the Ghana cedi ended the first quarter of 2021 with yet another impressive performance, similar to what it did ...
Femi Adesina: Flying on Wings of Gas
Economy, Finance, Infrastructure, News, Nigeria, Petroleum

Femi Adesina: Flying on Wings of Gas

By the time we remove hatred, malice, indecent politics, and all the ills that plague our country and its leaderships across different governments, President Muhammadu Buhari would go down in history as the one that pioneered different kinds of revolution in our national life: agriculture, infrastructure (roads, rail, bridges, airports etc.), and the latest; gas. In fact, Nigeria is set to fly on the wings of gas, courtesy of President Buhari. But let me give due credit for the headline of this piece, which is the brainchild of Mr Tony Attah, Managing Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG). At the conference on the Decade of Gas, flagged off by the President on Monday, Attah declared: “Gas is now everything for Nigeria. We must use what we have to get what we want. Saudi Ar...
Buhari, APC Have Failed to Deliver Campaign Promises – Fayemi
Corruption, Economy, News, Nigeria, Security

Buhari, APC Have Failed to Deliver Campaign Promises – Fayemi

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti has submitted that his party, All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Muhammadu Buhari, have failed to fulfil all their campaign promises to Nigerians. The Governor stated that despite the fact that some of the challenges facing the country preceded Buhari’s administration, elected officeholders should assume responsibility for not delivering on campaign promises to the citizens. Fayemi in an interview with Channels Television said, "I'm not going to shy away from the expectations people had before we came to office. I was a leading player in the campaign that brought my principal (Buhari) to power. "We promised Nigerians quite a number of things, particularly centring on security, anti-corruption, and on economic growth. Have we been able to ...
CBN Introduces New Charges for USSD Services
Economy, Finance, News, Nigeria, Press Statement

CBN Introduces New Charges for USSD Services

The Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced new charges for customers using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services. The apex bank said effective Tuesday, customers will pay a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction every time they use USSD services. It said the new charges was part of the agreement reached when banks and telecommunication operators met on Monday to discuss the N42bn debt owed mobile operators by banks. This was contained in a statement released on Tuesday and jointly signed by the apex bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi; and Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Ikechukwu Adinde. The statement was titled, ‘Joint Statement By Central Bank Of Nigeria and Nigerian Communications Commission On Pricing Of...
CBN directs Banks to Start Scan-to-pay System
Economy, Finance, Interview, News, Nigeria

CBN directs Banks to Start Scan-to-pay System

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has requested Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to begin the adoption of the contactless payment service option. The NQR payment solution, launched yesterday on Monday rs instant value by simply scanning generated digital code to make payment. The new ‘touch-free’ payment method would help create and offer better customer experience to the  public. Speaking during the launch in Lagos, CBN Director, Payment System Management, Musa Jimoh, said the NQR payment solution is an alternative payment plan that will  eliminate direct contact between merchants and their customers. The innovative solution will catalyse to boost financial inclusion while providing access to faster, easier and secure financial services to Nigerians. It provides a “touch-free” optio...
   Naira Trades at N481/$ at Parallel Market
Economy, Finance, News, Nigeria

  Naira Trades at N481/$ at Parallel Market

The naira has further taken a fall at the parallel market by exchanging for N481/$. It exchanged for an exorbitant N412 at the Exporter and Importer forex window. Recall that Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria had stated that the naira depreciated at the official market to N410 against the dollar. The CBN said, “In order to adjust for the decrease in supply of foreign exchange, the naira depreciated at the official window from N305/$ to N360/$ and now hovers around N410/$.”
Okonjo-Iweala Accepts Apology from Swiss Newspaper over ‘grandmother’ Remarks
Africa, Economy, Trade, United Nations, Women Empowerment

Okonjo-Iweala Accepts Apology from Swiss Newspaper over ‘grandmother’ Remarks

The first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization on Monday welcomed an apology from a Swiss newspaper that had dismissed the seasoned international professional as a grandmother. “It is important & timely that they’ve apologised,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a tweet. The development economist took over as the new WTO chief on Monday after a long, high-powered career serving as minister of finance and foreign affairs in her native Nigeria and 25 years at the World Bank. But when several Swiss newspapers announced her appointment last month, they decided the most noteworthy thing to mention about the new WTO chief was as a matriarch. “This grandmother will become the boss of the WTO,” read the headline of the article published by the Aargauer Zeitung and...
Naira Dips to 410/$ at Official Market – Emefiele
Economy, Finance, News, Nigeria, Petroleum

Naira Dips to 410/$ at Official Market – Emefiele

Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has said that the naira has suffered a dip in value to 410 against the dollar at the official market. The apex bank boss disclosed this while speaking at a summit on the economy by Bank CEOs on Friday. He said the depreciation was occasioned by the drop in crude oil revenue and the associated reduction in foreign portfolio inflows significantly affected the supply of foreign exchange into Nigeria. Emefiele said, “In order to adjust for the decrease in supply of foreign exchange, the naira depreciated at the official window from N305/$ to N360/$ and now hovers around N410/$.” Reports suggest the naira exchanged for 478/$ at the parallel market on Friday. Speaking on the state of the economy, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Os...
President Buhari: The Unheralded Achievements – Femi Adesina
Economy, News, Nigeria, Security

President Buhari: The Unheralded Achievements – Femi Adesina

Let me give due credit for the idea of this piece. President Muhammadu Buhari had said recently that elites in the country were not giving due accolades to his administration in terms of where it met the country, what it grapples with, and where it has been able to take the nation to, thus far. The position of Mr President was widely published by the traditional and digital media, and it became an object of debate. In the middle of it all, I received a phone call from Prince Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman of Arise Television and Publisher of Thisday Newspapers. “Mr President says the elite have not given due credit to the administration. That means there are achievements that are not reported, underreported, or not celebrated at all. Come to Arise Television, and talk about it.” It ...
I Was Surprised Trump Opposed My Candidacy – Okonjo-Iweala
Economy, Finance, Interview, News, Nigeria, Trade, Women Empowerment

I Was Surprised Trump Opposed My Candidacy – Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former Finance Minister, says she was surprised that President Donald Trump's administration could stand in her way of leading the World Trade Organisation (WTO). At a press briefing, the new Director-General of WTO said she did not see it coming. She said she felt she had a good understanding with the US government, which interviewed her about the job twice. "I think I was quite surprised when that came (opposition from Trump) because there was no indication that there was any problem with the US. "I had two good interviews with the authorities and with the administration, so it was a surprise. But that's the way life works. When things happen, you take them in your stride and you move on. "It was wonderful when the Biden/Harris administration b...