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BIG STORY

FOREX: Dollar Hits N615, Local Raw Materials Sourcing Drops To 52%

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The pressure on the foreign exchange market keeps growing, with the dollar exchanging at N615 at the parallel market in Lagos and Abuja.

This is even as the percentage of local raw materials sourced by Nigerian manufacturers declined to 52.4 percent in 2021, from 57.5 percent obtained in 2020, according to data from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

Market research showed that a dollar sold for N613 and N614 at Zone 4 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, but the rate was N615 at Amuwo Odofin and Lagos airports on Tuesday.  At Abuja airports, a dollar was sold for N615. The situation was different at the Importers and Exporters window where a dollar went for N415.64, putting the margin between the official and the parallel markets at N199.36.

Bureau de Change players said dollars were becoming increasingly scarce and the price could get to N700 before the end of the year.

“We are looking for dollars to buy, but we can’t find it anywhere. People are hoarding their dollars and waiting for prices to rise further,” Aminu Bala, one of the BDCs in Zone 4, Abuja, said in pidgin English.

Abdullahi Isah, a BDC at Amuwo-Odofin in Lagos, lamented that they bought at N610-N612, saying that scarcity of dollars was hurting their business and the economy.

According to the President, of the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, no sensible person would like to sell his or her dollar when prices could rise within the shortest possible time.

Gwadabe noted that the naira was facing a war of attrition, worsened by currency substitution, speculation, politics, and exclusion of BDCs from the FX market.

He said due to the one-month notice given to travelers who needed basic allowances, many of them were finding their way to the parallel market, putting further pressure on the market.

Gwadabe called for the reinstatement of BDCs to the FX market, stressing the need for market liberalization.

Nigeria is facing a dollar crunch, coupled with declining government revenue and oil production. The revenue of the Federal Government has declined from N970.57 billion in July 2021 to N680.783 billion in May 2022.

Nigeria earned about $10bn in non-oil exports in 2021, but this is just about 30 percent of what Bangladesh earned from its textile exports last year. Oil production fell to 1.2 million barrels per day in April 2022 from 1.238 million barrels in March, according to OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report. This is far from the oil benchmark of 1.88 million barrels per day in the 2022 budget.

Manufacturers are also in the mix, scrambling for dollars to import inputs, spare parts, and machinery.

According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the decline of local input sourcing from 57.5 percent to 52.4 percent was attributed to the scarcity of raw materials.

“Since the full opening of the economy following the lockdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, local raw materials and other manufacturing inputs have been relatively scarce and costly. This has also affected the output of the sector negatively,” MAN said.

Professor of Ceramics Engineering, Patrick Oaikhinan, explained that his experience in ceramics-related raw materials showed that Nigeria was still far from developing its raw materials.

“The major reason companies are sourcing raw materials from abroad is the absence of details about chemical and mineralogical compositions of raw materials. Firms are also unaware of the physical and mechanical properties and areas of applications in various industries of these raw materials,” he said.

“We do not know the extent of the deposits, much less the chemical and mineralogical compositions of our raw materials. We do not have the laboratory to characterize the raw materials. If you do not know these compositions, you cannot formulate the products. If you are using trial and error, you cannot get the desired quality. Many local industries do not have the laboratories to characterize the raw materials before use because it is expensive,” he explained.

He called for a policy to develop the local raw materials and make them more marketable.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, who interacted with manufacturers while he was the director-general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it was high time Nigeria addressed the issue of its core industries.

“If we want to promote industrialization and self-reliance, we need to address the issue of our core industries. When I say core industries, I mean industries that form the pillar for other industries.

“Iron and steel is number one. Look at how much investment we have made in Ajaokuta Complex. The whole vision was to have an iron and steel sector that will support industrialization. The country wanted to get flat sheets, spare parts, and iron rods, among others, from Ajaokuta, but we didn’t make any headway. The second major one is petrochemicals. Look at the packaging industry. Almost 90 percent of packaging products are plastics.  Next is the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria. It was a gas-based industry and the vision then was to use it to support cable and wire industries, but again we made a complete mess of it.”

He said Nigeria must fix these industries urgently before talking about the industrialization of any kind.

BIG STORY

Buhari Was Uncomfortable With Politics, But He Believed In Rule Of Law — Amina Mohammed

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Amina Mohammed, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, said the late former President Muhammadu Buhari was not at ease with politics, but he put those feelings aside in order to focus on leadership.

Buhari passed away on Sunday in London and was buried in Daura, Katsina state, on Tuesday. He served as Nigeria’s president from 2015 to 2023.

Speaking in an interview with Channels TV, Mohammed, who was minister of environment under Buhari from 2015 to 2016, paid tribute to her former principal.

She recalled that Buhari had encouraged her to accept the position of deputy secretary-general at the UN when the offer came.

We were sitting in a meeting in Marrakesh at a climate meeting, and Ban Ki-moon came over and said, ‘We think that the new secretary-general is going to ask you to come and be his deputy,’ and I said, ‘No, it’s not possible; I’ve come home, and I’m serving’, she said.

And then, I had a discussion with him (Buhari) to say that I really needed his support and if they came to ask him, he shouldn’t say yes. He said, ‘Of course not. We need all our people back here in the team to serve Nigeria; we need the best’.

So, I felt very confident and left Marrakesh for India, which was my next trip. And in India, I got a call from the current secretary-general to ask if I could be his deputy secretary-general.

So, I said with a lot of confidence, ‘I can’t. I can’t leave the service that I have, and I’m committed to President Muhamad Buhari.’

So, he said, “will you allow me to speak to him? I said, ‘Of course, you can speak to him’.

I have to tell you, I was very confident that my president would say no. So, I left India, I went home, and they said the president was looking for me.

I went and sat in front of him, and he talked to me for a long time about service, and I just thought, ‘My God, I know where he’s going’.

And at the end of it, after explaining why these things mattered in terms of representing the country. He said, ‘But of course, the decision is yours’. And in my head, I just thought, ‘My goodness me, of course, the decision is not mine’.

In our culture, when a man of that status, one that you look to as a father, speaks to you, know that he wants the best, and so the only thing you can say is ‘Yes, sir’.

Buhari was uncomfortable with politics

When asked about what Buhari’s leadership left behind for Nigerians, Mohammed said he believed in sacrifice and doing what was right for the country.

I think first and foremost is that this is an officer and a gentleman who went through from a military role to a democracy. He dropped his uniform, and he embraced democracy, she said.

I don’t think he was always comfortable with politics, but what he did was try and try and try again.

He believed in the rule of law, and he believed in a system that even if it was imperfect, he would keep trying until he got to where he needed to get to. And it was God’s will that he would be the president at the time he was.

Mohammed urged Nigerians to understand that, as Buhari did, national progress takes time and consistency.

The struggle of Nigeria is what I think he leaves—is that you don’t give up on this country; it’s the only one you have, and it is not perfect, but it’s up to us to do that nation building, she said.

And he was sometimes very excited and looked to see the potential and pushed us, but he was also at times disappointed in our responses in terms of what we were going to do and whether we were ready to go that last mile.

And I think that what we have to think about is that he gave it his all. Whenever he was asked to serve, he served, and we have to think about that.

To serve is not an easy thing to do. It is a sacrifice—enormous sacrifice to his wife, to his children, to his family, and to his lifestyle, because remember, he was also not a person who was always out there.

He was very much one that kept his own council and a very small gathering of trusted friends and family.

Mohammed said Buhari embodied conviction and consistency, and throughout her time working with him, he never strayed from his principles. She encouraged Nigerians to live by those same values.

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BIG STORY

President Tinubu Bows Before Buhari’s Remains As He’s Laid To Rest In Daura [PHOTOS]

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President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday paid his final respects to former President Muhammadu Buhari by bowing before his remains during the funeral held in Daura, Katsina state.

The ceremony drew dignitaries and thousands of mourners who came to honour the late president.

In one of the images from the event, Tinubu, dressed in blue, is seen bowing before Buhari’s body, which was placed on a stretcher and covered with the Nigerian flag.

Below are photos from Buhari’s funeral.

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BIG STORY

FG Addresses New US Visa Restrictions, Says UAE Yet To Communicate Revised Policy

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The federal government has said it is currently in talks with the relevant authorities in both the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to address recent changes in visa policies that impact Nigerian citizens.

On July 8, the US introduced a new visa regulation that limits the duration of most non-immigrant, non-diplomatic visas — including tourist, business, and student visas — for Nigerians to just three months.

Under the new rules, these visas are now restricted to single-entry, meaning applicants must apply for a new visa each time they wish to travel to the US.

In a statement released on Monday, Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, said the federal government is working through proper and diplomatic means to resolve the concerns raised.

“The United States Government has officially communicated that its decision was based on two principal factors: the current rate of visa overstays by Nigerian nationals and the need for reliable access to their records,” the statement reads.

“It further explained that the visa policy adjustment is part of its global visa reciprocity process, which is routinely reviewed and subject to change, including the number of permitted entries and validity durations.”

President Tinubu has also instructed all federal agencies to comply with international responsibilities and improve collaboration with foreign nations regarding identity verification and sharing of records.

“In response, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed all federal agencies to ensure full compliance with Nigeria’s international obligations and to strengthen inter-governmental cooperation in authenticating the identities of individuals seeking consular services abroad,” the statement reads.

“The President calls on all Nigerians to respect the immigration regulations of their host countries and to uphold the integrity of the permits and privileges granted to them under the laws of those jurisdictions.”

The statement also mentioned that the federal government has not yet received any official correspondence from the UAE about alleged new travel restrictions for Nigerian citizens.

However, the president acknowledged that visa applications by Nigerians appear to be “progressing in a gradual and orderly manner”.

“Regarding the new conditions for issuing UAE transit visas to Nigerian nationals, the Federal Government notes that it has not received any formal communication from the UAE authorities regarding a revised visa policy,” the statement added.

“The President appreciates the continued cooperation of the Government of the United Arab Emirates, which has remained constructive and engaged with Nigerian authorities.

“Any genuine concerns raised are being addressed through the appropriate channels, in a spirit of mutual respect and collaboration.

“The President assures all Nigerians that his administration will continue to pursue the best possible outcomes for citizens abroad, ensuring that Nigerians can travel, work, and live with dignity and respect in any part of the world, in line with the Tinubu administration’s 4-D Foreign Policy agenda and its Diaspora plank.”

The federal government reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with both the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

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