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There’s no room for overhaul in APC economic plan…says Soludo

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Soludo

Soludo

At the Vanguard Economi Discourse, the Former Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has said that, the All Progressive Congress Party, APC, manifesto in 2015 promised a conscious plan for post-oil economy in Nigeria and that there is no projection for exchange rate overhaul in the APC economic plan. He said, however, that even in 2023, it would be a miracle if the current government would be able to bring back the dollar, for instance, to match the Naira where it met it in 2015.

This is because, every government, according to Soludo, has promised to move away from depending on oil for revenue but have failed to do so. While talking on transitional plans from sole dependence on oil to other sources of revenue, Professor Soludo asked, “Is it a plan to post-oil economy that Nigeria has been waiting for? Whose plan is it?  Ownership would determine if the plan is just a public relations plan or a national plan.”
“At what rate is the Economic Recovery Growth Plan ERGP consistent with the APC manifesto? The APC manifesto promised a conscious plan for post-oil economy in Nigeria. To achieve this, APC shall restructure the country”

What has changed? The rapid accumulation of foreign reserves depletion was not an accident. There are no projection for exchange rate overhaul in the APC plan. The IMF complained that naira was undervalued and pressured. Nominal exchange rate would have been at 70 to 80 naira to the dollar if we had not maintained an under-valued naira Soludo added.

He went further to say “I can bet that not much would happen at the end of plan in terms of restructuring of the economy. Extended ERGP or ERGP plus-plus. No doubt, the federal government means well for Nigeria but the road to hell is always filled with good intentions. What Nigeria needs at this time is statesmanship politics.”

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CBN raises capital base of commercial banks to N500bn

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced an upward review of the minimum capital requirements for commercial, merchant and non-interest banks.

In a statement on Thursday, CBN said the increase was necessary due to prevailing macroeconomic challenges and headwinds occasioned by external and domestic shocks.

The statement was signed by Haruna Mustafa, director, financial policy and regulation department.

According to the apex bank, the upward review will enhance their resilience, solvency and capacity to continue to support the growth of the Nigerian economy.

CBN increased the capital base for commercial banks with international licences to N500 billion, while national and regional financial institutions’ capital bases were pegged at N200 billion and N50 billion, respectively.

Also, CBN raised the merchant bank minimum capital requirement to N50 billion for national licence holders.

The financial regulator said the capital base for national and regional non-interest banks is N20 billion and n10 billion, respectively.

To meet the minimum capital requirements, CBN advised banks to consider the injection of “fresh equity capital through private placements, rights issue and/or offer for subscription”.

CBN also suggested merger and acquisition (M&A), as well as upgrade or downgrade of licences.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING BANKS

  • The minimum capital specified above shall comprise paid-up capital and share premium only. For the avoidance of doubt, the new capital requirement shall not be based on shareholders’ funds.
  • Additional tier 1 (AT1) capital shall not be eligible for the purpose of meeting the new requirement.
  • All banks are required to meet the minimum capital requirement within a period of 24 months commencing from April 1, 2024 and terminating on March 31, 2026.
  • Notwithstanding the capital increase, banks are to ensure strict compliance with the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirement applicable to their license authorization.
  • In line with extant regulations, banks that breach the CAR requirement shall required to inject fresh capital to regularise their position.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSED BANKS

  • The minimum capital requirement shall be paid-up capital.
  • The new minimum capital requirement shall be applicable to all new applications for banking licences submitted after April 1, 2024.
  • The CBN shall continue to process all pending applications for banking licences for which capital deposit had been made and/or approval-in-principle (AIP) had been granted. However, the promoters of such proposed banks shall make up the difference between the capital deposited with the CBN and the new capital requirement not later than March 31

CBN said all banks are required to submit an implementation plan, clearly indicating the chosen option{s) for meeting the new capital requirement and various activities involved with their timelines.

“The plan shall be submitted to the Director, Banking Supervision Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, not later than April 30, 2024,” the apex bank said.

CBN said it will monitor and ensure compliance with the new requirements within the specified timeline above.

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EKEDC board debunks recall of Tinuade Sanda as CEO, says ‘It wasn’t authorised’

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The board of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) says a communication recalling Tinuade Sanda from her role as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) does not represent its position.

In a statement on March 28, Babor Egeregor, a director and chairman, legal and regulatory committee, said the directive terminating the appointment of Sanda has been nullified.

However, in a statement on Thursday, the board said it did not authorise Egeregor to issue any statement on its behalf.

“The attention of the Board of Directors has been drawn to the recent statements online and in print media from Mr. Babor Egeregor, supposedly acting on behalf of the board,” the board said.

“This is to state that the Board of Eko Electricity Distribution Plc (“EKEDP”) did not and has not authorized Mr. Babor Egeregor to issue any statement or press release on its behalf. We therefore urge the general public to regard all communications from him as his personal views and does not represent the position of the Board of “EKEDP.”

The board said only communications signed by the chairman are authentic and represent the position of the company on any issue.

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Detained Binance’s executive, Tigran Gambaryan sues Ribadu, EFCC

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Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, has sued Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA) and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alleging violation of his fundamental rights.

According to reports on February 28, Gambaryan was detained, alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, by the Nigerian authorities after honouring the invitation of the office of the national security adviser (ONSA) and EFCC to discuss issues relating to the company’s operation in Nigeria.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla’s passports were seized by ONSA.

However, on March 25, Anjarwalla escaped from custody and fled Nigeria with a smuggled passport.

Before escaping custody, on March 12, Anjarwalla was reported to have fallen ill while in detention.

According to NAN on Thursday, Gambaryan, in the originating motion dated and filed March 18 by his lawyer, Olujoke Aliyu, from Aluko and Oyebode Law Firm, sought five reliefs before Justice Inyang Ekwo.

Also, Anjarwalla filed a separate right enforcement suit before Ekwo.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, in the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24, had sued the ONSA and EFCC as 1st and 2nd respondents.

The duo sought the same relief.

Gambaryan, a US citizen, in his application, sought a declaration that his detention and seizure of his international travel passport contravened Section 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended).

He said the act amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to personal liberty as guaranteed by the constitution.

The Binance executive also sought an order directing the respondents to release him from their custody and return his international travel passport with immediate effect.

Gambaryan equally sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents and agents from further detaining him in relation to any investigation into or demands from Binance.

Also, he sought an order for the respondents to issue a public apology to him, and also prayed for the cost of the action on a full indemnity basis.

In a statement in support of the suit, Gambaryan said he is an American citizen who visited Nigeria on February 26, along with his colleague to honour the invitation of the ONSA and EFCC to discuss issues relating to Binance in Nigeria.

Giving an 11-ground argument as to why his application should be granted, Gambaryan said he and his colleague, Anjarwalla, dutifully attended the meeting.

Gambaryan said after the meeting, they were detained by the respondents and had remained in detention since then, adding that he did not commit any offence during the meeting, nor was he informed in writing of any offence he committed in Nigeria at any other time.

“The only reason for his detention is because the government is requesting information from Binance and making demands on the company,” he said,

Gambaryan also said he was not a member of the board of directors of Binance.

ANJARWALLA’S SUIT WITHDRAWN

When the two suits were called on Thursday, Tonye Krukrubo, appeared for Anjarwalla and Gambaryan.

Krukrubo told the court that though the respondents were served two days ago, they were not represented in court.

The lawyer, however, drew the attention of the court to their notice of withdrawal of legal representation for Anjarwalla filed on March 26, without giving details of why they were withdrawing their legal representation.

Also, upon resumed hearing in Gambaryan’s suit, Krukrubo said though the processes had been served on ONSA and EFCC, they were still within time to respond.

He, therefore, sought an adjourned date, saying the respondents’ time to file their applications would expire next week Thursday.

In his judgement, Ekwo said having withdrawn their legal representation, “it means that the applicant has no legal representation and requires that the matter be adjourned for the applicant to seek legal representation and for the respondents to be given an opportunity to come to court”.

The judge adjourned the matter until April 8 for further mention.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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