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JUST IN: CBN Commences Sales Of $20,000 Each To Eligible BDCs

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has announced its decision to sell foreign exchange worth $20,000 to each eligible Bureau De Change (BDCs) operator across the country.

This is coming more than two years after the suspended former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, stopped the sales of foreign exchange to BDC operators in that segment of the forex market.

The apex bank disclosed this in a new circular issued and signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Hassan Mahmud, on Tuesday.

The circular titled, “Sale of Foreign Exchange to Bureau de Change Operators to meet retail demand for eligible invisible transactions” said the move aimed at rectifying the persisting distortions in the retail segment of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market and bridging the widening gap in the exchange rate.

It said the allocation will be sold at a rate of N1,301/$, reflecting the lower band rate of executed spot transactions at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market as of the previous trading day, dated February 27, 2024.

The circular read, “Following the ongoing reforms in the foreign exchange market, aimed at achieving an appropriate market-determined exchange rate for the Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria has observed the continued price distortions at the retail end of the market, which is feeding into the parallel market and further widening the exchange rate premium.

“To this end, the CBN has approved the sale of foreign exchange to eligible Bureau De Change to meet the demand for invisible transactions. The sum of $20,000 is to be sold to each BDC at the rate of N1,301/$- (representing the lower band rate of executed spot transactions at NAFEM for the previous trading day, as of today, 27th February 2024).

“All BDCs are allowed to sell to end-users at a margin NOT MORE THAN one per cent (1 per cent) above the purchase rate from CBN.”

It further directed eligible BDCs to make Naira payments to the designated CBN Foreign Currency Deposit Naira Accounts and submit confirmation of payment, with other necessary documentation.

“All eligible BDCs are directed to make the Naira payment to the designated CBN Foreign Currency Deposit Naira Accounts and submit confirmation of payment, with other necessary documentation, for disbursement at the appropriate CBN Branches ABUJA, AWKA, LAGOS and KANO,” it added.

The CBN in frantic efforts to save the free fall of the naira has made a number of significant reforms towards addressing Naira depreciation, such as probing and clearing FX backlog, limiting forex for foreign education and medical tourism, increasing BDCs’ minimum share capital, and curbing FX speculators, among others.

 

More to come…

BIG STORY

Popular Islamic Singer Ibraheem Labaeka Resigns As Kwara Governor’s Special Assistant

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  • Laments Collecting Salaries “For Doing Nothing”

 

Ibraheem Abdulhameed, popularly known as Labaeka, has formally resigned as Special Assistant, Artiste to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Abdulhameed’s resignation was confirmed in a letter dated September 12, 2023.

In the letter, he expressed frustration with his role, citing the lack of a clear schedule of duties and inadequate opportunities to fulfill his responsibilities.

“I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary for doing nothing,” he wrote, signalling his disappointment with the lack of clarity surrounding his position.

The letter reads, “I am writing this letter with all sense of humility and gratitude for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Special Assistant, Artiste, in your cabinet.

“Having served in this capacity for a period of 1 year and 7 months, I wish to respectfully tender my resignation.”

He continues, “Your Excellency, as you may recall, I was offered an appointment to serve as your Special Assistant, Artist, on 6th January 2023. I accepted the offer because I saw it as a call to service and an opportunity to showcase my talents.

“Regrettably, I have not been able to achieve any of these things. Aside from the fact that I don’t have a specific schedule of duty, circumstances have not availed me the opportunity to perform my responsibilities maximally.”

He added “since my appointment is based on public trust, I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary, for doing nothing”.

“As an Islamic cleric. it is against my beliefs, and I haven’t been at peace with myself. So, I want my salary to be stopped immediately,” he said.

“I am grateful for the confidence reposed in me, and I hope that one day, I will be able to fully utilize my talents for the development of our state.”

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King Charles III Receives President Tinubu At Buckingham Palace

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In a historic meeting, King Charles III welcomed Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Buckingham Palace in London on September 11.

The Royal Family announced the meeting on its verified X handle, @RoyalFamily, stating, “Yesterday, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria visited His Majesty at Buckingham Palace.”

This significant encounter marks a milestone in UK-Nigeria diplomatic relations, with the two leaders discussing matters of mutual interest and importance.

While specific details of the meeting remain undisclosed, it is anticipated that key issues such as trade, security, and bilateral cooperation were addressed.

President Tinubu’s visit to Buckingham Palace underscores the strong ties between Nigeria and the UK, as both countries continue to foster a strong and lasting relationship.

According to another tweet on his verified X handle, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, recalled that Wednesday’s meeting was the second between both leaders in the last one year.

“President Tinubu visits King Charles in London. They first met in Dubai last November, on the sideline of the COP 28 Climate Summit”, Onanuga said.

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BIG STORY

Husband Dismembers, Blends 38-Yr-Old Model With Blender In Switzerland

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Kristina Joksimovic, a 38-year-old former Miss Switzerland finalist, was allegedly strangled and dismembered by her 41-year-old husband.

According to reports, the husband used a jigsaw and garden shears to dismember Joksimovic, and then allegedly pureed her remains in a blender, as stated by the Daily Mail.

The couple, who married in 2017, resided in a spacious semi-detached house in an affluent area of Basel, and had two children together.

Kristina’s body was found in February in Binningen, near Basel, Switzerland.

Kristina had posted pictures of a ‘couple’s getaway’ on her Instagram account four weeks before her death.

Her husband, identified only by the pseudonym Thomas in local media, had his appeal for release from custody rejected on Thursday by the Federal Court in Lausanne after admitting to killing his wife.

An ongoing investigation has revealed ‘concrete indications of mental illness’ underlying the case.

Kristina’s husband is reported to have claimed he killed her in self-defence after she allegedly came at him with a knife, before later admitting he dismembered the former model.

Kristina’s body was found on the evening of February 13.

Investigators determined she had been strangled before dying.

The verdict states the suspect confessed to strangling his wife.

An autopsy concluded that the body was then dismembered in the laundry room with a jigsaw, knife, and garden shears.

Body parts were then chopped up with a hand blender, ‘pureed’, and dissolved in a chemical solution, local outlet Blick reported.

A medical-forensic report also ‘contradicts his description of self-defence’, according to Swiss outlet FM1 Today.

Thomas, a Swiss national, was reportedly arrested a day after her remains were found.

Investigators have said Thomas, a businessman, displayed a ‘conspicuously high level of criminal energy’ in their assessment.

They cited a ‘lack of empathy and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife’, and his efforts to cover up her death, adding that the defendant exhibited ‘sadistic-sociopathic traits’.

The deceased won the Miss Northwest Switzerland pageant in 2003 and was a finalist in the 2008 Miss Switzerland competition.

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