The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the introduction of an electronic foreign exchange matching system (EFEMS).

In a circular on Thursday, Omolara Duke, CBN director, financial markets department, said the system, which is for FX transactions, would be implemented no later than December 1.

CBN said there would be a 2-week test run in November.

“Authorised Dealers would subsequently conduct all foreign exchange transactions in the interbank Fx market on the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System approved by the CBN where transactions will be reflected immediately,” CBN said.

“The new system is expected to enhance governance, transparency and facilitate a market-driven exchange rate that will be accessible to the public.

“This development is expected to reduce speculative activities, eliminate market distortions and give the CBN improved oversight capabilities to effectively regulate the market.”

The CBN said it would publish real-time prices and buy/sell order data from the system.

In partnership with the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), the bank said it would publish the rules for the EFEMS.

“The Nigerian FX Code and revised Market Operating Guidelines for the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market will also provide guidance to market participants,” CBN said.

Therefore, the apex bank said authorised dealers are required to abide by extant guidelines and regulations governing the FX market.

CBN also asked authorised dealers to ensure that all necessary documentation, training, and systems integrations are concluded before the go-live date.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says it has commenced implementation of the federal government directive to coordinate service provision from all stakeholders for the smooth sale of crude oil in naira to the Dangote refinery.

Abubakar Dantsoho, managing director of the authority, announced the development when he chaired the inter-agency stakeholders meeting on the one-stop-shop (OSS) at the NPA headquarters in Lagos.

According to a statement on Thursday by the NPA, this is in line with the directive of the federal government for the OSS to be located in the NPA.

“We are poised to collaborate and provide the efficiencies necessary to deliver on this national imperative of ensuring the availability of premium motor spirit (PMS) and other petroleum products,” he said.

“We are also setting up a one-stop-shop that will coordinate service provision from all regulatory, and security agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this initiative.”

The OSS team is comprised of representatives from NPA, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Dangote Group, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Maureen Ogbonna, an official at the NPA marine and operations directorate, serves as the committee’s focal person.

On July 29, the federal executive council (FEC) approved a proposal by President Bola Tinubu directing the NNPC to sell crude oil to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other refineries in naira.

The federal government said the sale of crude oil to the Dangote refinery and other refineries in naira would commence on October 1.

On September 30, Eche Idoko, publicity secretary of Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), said the sale will start with refineries producing petrol.

President Bola Tinubu has approved the introduction of electric vehicles in the geopolitical zone to reduce transportation costs.

Mohammed Alkali, CEO of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), disclosed this while speaking with state house correspondents on Wednesday.

He said the decision was reached as a result of plans to create modular solar power units across states in the region.

He said NEDC has conducted a “thorough” analysis of compressed natural gas (CNG) and e-vehicles and concluded that the later are better suited for the region.

Abdulsalam Ahmed, executive director of operations for NEDC, said the e-vehicle fleet will comprise three categories.

These are e-buses designed for intra-state movements with a minimum capacity of 40 people per trip, e-taxis capable of carrying three people including the driver, and modified tricycles enhanced to carry eight people including the driver.

He said the commission prioritised local content and will ensure that the vehicle bodies can be fabricated locally in the north-east or other parts of the country.

“We are here today to brief Mr president on one very critical activity he has approved which we had to engage in the last two months,” he said.

“As you can recall, there is a directive from the president that cars as soon as possible should use CNG or electric vehicles. We, at the north-east development commission, did a thorough analysis of our region, and looked at the comparable advantage between CNG and e-vehicles.

“After our thorough analysis, we came to the conclusion that for the north-east region, yes, the CNG could work, but e-vehicle can work better for many reasons.

“One is that our plan at the end of day is to create modular solar power units across the state which can be used to power this percentage of e-vehicles.

“On that note, earlier on, we sought and got approval of the presidency for us to go ahead and come up with the framework of how we are going to deploy this e-mobility in the northeast and what kind of e-mobility, etc.

”Mr. President graciously gave approval, and today, we came to present to him the kind of e-vehicles we are going to introduce in the morth-east.”