The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made it clear that the cybersecurity levy, which was previously suspended, has not been reinstated.

This clarification came in a statement released by the CBN on Friday.

More to come…

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) achieved significant milestones in the first half of 2024.

According to the NBS, the NRC successfully transported 1.4 million passengers and generated an impressive N3.11 billion in revenue during this period.

These figures, which represent the corporation’s revenue performance for the first six months of the year, were officially published in the bureau’s latest rail transportation report on Thursday.

The report reveals that the NRC’s half-year revenue represents a remarkable 66 percent increase over the corresponding period in 2023, during which the corporation generated N1.87 billion.

A breakdown of NRC’s performance revealed that in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, 675,293 passengers travelled via the railway system, contributing N1.42 billion in revenue.

A similar number of passengers was recorded in the second quarter (Q2), leading to about N1.69 billion in revenue, the NBS said.

• ‘Cargo Transport Revenue Surged By 221%’

In addition to the rise in passenger traffic, the bureau said the NRC moved 304,409 tonnes of goods and cargo in the first six months of the year, generating N1.14 billion in revenue.

The result was a 221 percent increase relative to the N356.49 million recorded in the same period last year.

The report further highlights that 13,940 tonnes of goods were transported via pipelines, a significant jump from the 2,856 tonnes moved in the first half of 2023.

The data body said revenue from pipeline operations also surged to N101.21 million during the period under review, up from N12.81 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Additionally, the NRC was said to have recorded N1.02 billion in revenue from other income receipts, a significant increase compared to the N52.91 million generated in 2023.

Wale Edun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, announced that the country’s foreign reserves have seen a significant boost, with a net inflow of $2.35 billion in the first seven months of the year.

He made this revelation on Thursday at the Access Bank corporate forum in Lagos.

According to Edun, the stability of the naira in the foreign exchange market has been instrumental in driving this growth.

The naira’s relative stability has led to an increase in foreign reserves, and access to foreign exchange has also improved.

“We have relative currency stability. And of course, the all important margin of the rates. We’ve seen a gradual elimination of multiple exchange rates,” Edun said.

“We also have foreign exchange liquidity. The gross reserves are up. There has been a net inflow in the first seven months of this year of about $2.35 billion every month.

“On the fiscal side as well, government revenues are growing and the key to government revenue is not so much that the government has revenue to compete with the private sector.”

Edun, however, said Nigeria’s tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is as low as 10 percent, that revenue to GDP is also around 15 percent.

As at September 12, Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $36.08 billion, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN had, on September 17, said the country’s foreign exchange reserves are at risk due to the petrol subsidy removal and lower crude oil earnings.

The apex bank also said increased external debt servicing obligations could pose risks for the growth of external reserves.