New naira notes: 10 days extension, not enough – CPPE boss
Muda Yusuf, Founder, of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE), proposed a further extension of six months for the collection of the old naira notes before they were phased out of circulation.
Yusuf said this on Sunday in Lagos while reacting to the 10-day extension to the Jan. 31 deadline to change old naira notes to new ones by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He said that the 10-day extension was not enough to mop up all the old notes and that it has the potential to put a N100 trillion component of the national gross domestic product at risk.
He supported his argument by saying that the trade and commerce sector, including the agriculture sector, would be badly affected by this policy.
He added that the disruptive impact on both sectors would have a negative impact on the manufacturing value chain and the services sectors.
“This is because whatever is produced has to be sold; the trading end of the chain has been greatly disrupted by this currency swap crisis.
“The trade sector contributes about 14 percent of GDP, and the agricultural sector contributes 25 percent, with most of the activities in the rural or informal sectors of the economy.
“These are the sectors that have been driving the resilience of the Nigerian economy amid numerous domestic and global headwinds.
“Any policy measure that would negatively disrupt these sectors should be avoided,” he said.
Read also: Old naira notes: CBN eyes N900bn outside banks with new deadline
Customs collects N935.3m revenue in Jibia-Magama Border – Controller
Dalhatu Wada-Chedi, the outgoing Controller of Katsina Area Customs Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), said that the service collected N935.3 million since the reopening of the Jibia-Magama Border from 2022 to date.
Chedi made this revelation during a Thanksgiving and send-off party organised in his honour in Katsina on Sunday.
The outgoing controller stated that the Jibia-Magama border was one of four reopened by the federal government in April 2022 after a long period of closure.
He said the N935.3 million far exceeded the N60.8 million revenue target set for the command in 2022 by the Federal Government.
He said that in the command’s quest to facilitate export trade, it recorded a free-on-board (FOB) value of N4.4 billion from non-oil commodities, with 69,436 metric tonnes of exports through the border.
“In an effort to suppress smuggling, the command also recorded 379 arrests, out of which 258 seizures were made after thorough investigations.
The total Duty Paid Value of the goods was N144.7 million.
Nigeria, India begin advanced millet production to tackle food insecurity
At the commemoration of the International Year of Millet (IYM 2023), Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, and the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gangadharan Balasubramanian, said that both countries have begun an advanced millet production strategy and advocacy to increase millet production. This millet production will aid in combating global food insecurity and improving nutritional values.
The event which took place on Sunday was organised by the Indian High Commission in Abuja.
According to the minister and envoy, the advanced millet production strategy is a deliberate attempt to align with the UN declaration of the IYM 2023, which is to increase grain production and raise awareness about the benefits of grains.
Balasubramanian said that India has already taken innovative steps to increase millet production, and with a close partnership with Nigeria, this objective can be achieved.
UK Conservative Party chairman fired over alleged tax bill misconduct
Nadhim Zahawi, chairman of the governing Conservative Party, was fired on Sunday by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over allegations of a “serious breach” of ethics rules in failing to come clean about a tax dispute.
Sunak faced days of intense pressure to remove Nadhim Zahawi from his cabinet over allegations that he settled a multimillion-dollar unpaid tax bill while in charge of the country’s Treasury.
The prime minister’s action came after a report from a standard probe found Zahawi guilty of breaching the ministerial code of conduct. It said he had failed to disclose details of his dispute with tax authorities and the fact that he had paid a penalty.
Sunak said in a letter that he had been forced to kick him out because he didn’t want to look like he couldn’t keep his promise of making his government “have integrity, professionalism, and accountability at every level.”
Zahawi had acknowledged the tax dispute but argued his error was “careless and not deliberate.”
He did, however, promise to back the prime minister as a backbencher.
Donald Trump ‘more angry than ever’ as he begins 2024 White House bid
Former US president Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 presidential bid with a stop in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina.
His appearances in early-voting states are his first since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.
Trump told party leaders at the New Hampshire Republicans’ annual meeting in Salem: “We’re starting right here as a candidate for president.
“I’m more angry now, and I’m more committed now than I ever was.”
In New Hampshire, Trump promised a change from Biden’s immigration and crime policies.
He cited the Democrats’ move to change the election calendar, costing New Hampshire its lead-off primary spot. He accused Biden, a fifth-place finisher in New Hampshire in 2020, of “disgracefully trashing this beloved political tradition.”
“I hope you’re going to remember that during the general election,” Trump told party members. This is according to the Sunday World.
