The Naira-Dollar blues By Reuben Abati

"My brother, e ku exchange rate oh."

"Excuse me?"

"I am greeting you. I am saying how are you and the exchange rate palaver. The dollar wahala".

"So, that is why you are saying e ku exchange rate. Is something wrong with you Yoruba people?        Must you turn everything into a form of greeting?"

"You are insulting me?"

"I am making a statement"

"Meaning?"

 "Any serious matter at all, you and your people must turn it into something else. E ku exchange rate? What kind of greeting is that? Yoruba will say e ku election, e ku democracy, e ku change, e ku ana, e ku gbogbo e, gbogbo e, e ku democracy.I am tired of answering you people and your cynical greetings."

60% of fuel subsidy funds smuggled abroad –Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday lamented that a number of government programmes, which ought to have been effectively implemented for the benefit of Nigerians, could not be realised owing to poor data management system.

For instance, he listed the abuse of the fuel subsidy scheme, which was meant to reduce the cost of transportation for Nigerians as well as make life more meaningful for the ordinary people, as one of the disadvantages of not having an efficient national identity management system.

CBN orders banks to refund excess CoT charges

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has ordered banks to refund Commission on Turnover, CoT, charges above the regulatory maximum to customers.
It also banned banks from imposing account maintenance fees on customers.
The order was given in a circular by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation department, Mr. Frankline Ahonkhai, to all deposit money banks.
The CBN said that based on the Revised Guide to Bank Charges issued last year, maximum CoT charge for 2014 is N2 per mile (N1,000) but some banks are charging customers above this rate.

Court declines to reinstate Sanusi as CBN governor

ABUJA— The suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday, lost his bid to return to office as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja declined to set aside his suspension by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The court, in its 84-page judgment, said it was bereft of the jurisdiction to reinstate the ousted CBN Governor, stressing that the nature of his suit bothered on a dispute between an employer and his employee, which it said only the National Industrial Court, NIC, has the statutory powers to adjudicate on.

However, before referring the case to the NIC, presiding Justice Gabriel Kolawole described as baseless Sanusi’s claim that he was not an employee of the Federal Government but that of the CBN.
He ruled: “When I read through the arguments of the plaintiff, I then asked myself, so whose employee is he?
“It is not in dispute that the CBN is an agency of the Federal Government and a statutory body created by the National Assembly.

CBN orders banks to destroy cards trapped in ATMs

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed Deposit Money Banks to henceforth destroy Automated Teller Machine cards trapped in their ATM terminals.
The CBN also gave banks 24 hours to reverse debit entries arising from failed transaction attributable to system-related issues.

 The directives were contained in a 14-page ‘Guidelines for card issuance and usage in Nigeria’ released by the Banking and Payment System Department of the CBN on Tuesday.

CBN laments rising cases of money laundering

Dr. Mrs. Sarah Alade CBN Governor

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday lamented the rising cases of financial crimes in the country, noting that the trend was raising serious concerns about the integrity of the financial system.

The Acting Governor, CBN, Dr. Sarah Alade, stated this in Abuja at the opening session of the regional course on combating money laundering and other financial crimes.

The workshop was organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management.

Alade said the increase in money laundering needed to be addressed, adding that the dimension, nature and level of sophistication of the crime were becoming a major source of worry for the monetary authorities.

Sanusi financing terrorism –FG, SSS

The Federal Government and  the State Security Service have accused the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, of financing terrorism.
They made the allegation in  counter-affidavits  they deposed to before  a Federal High Court   which is hearing   a suit instituted by Sanusi. The ex-CBN chief    is seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain the SSS and the police from arresting him.
Sanusi’s lawyer, Mr. Kola Awodein,  who made reference to the  allegation  on Monday, told the court    it was an afterthought which government came up with after seizing  Sanusi’s passport.

Sanusi shuns FRC panel, sitting suspended

The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria on Thursday alleged that the Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of the suspended governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, spent N500bn as intervention fund in various sectors without obtaining the approval of its Board or the Federal Executive Council.

It also alleged at a sitting in Lagos in which the suspended governor was scheduled to appear that the bank under his watch spent N10bn to renovate five palaces of traditional rulers in the country under its education intervention projects.

Shareholders of defunct Intercontinental Bank sue Sanusi

Aggrieved former shareholders of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, led by Abdullahi Sani, Adaeze Onwuegbusi and Chijioke Ezeikpe, have dragged the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over the sale of the bank to Access Bank Plc.Sued alongside Sanusi are the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. The shareholders want the court to compel, direct and mandate the SEC, as the official and apex regulator of the Nigerian Capital Market acting under her powers pursuant to Section 13 of the Investments and Securities Act 2007, to conduct a detailed public investigation into the circumstances relating to and connected with the sale/acquisition/take over/ transfer of the shares, assets and securities of Intercontinental Bank Plc to Access Bank Plc, in order to protect shareholders and investors of Intercontinental Bank Plc and the maintain a fair and orderly securities exchange market so as to protect the integrity of the securities market against all forms of abuse as occasioned by the Sanusi and his friends/associates/cronies, and order appropriate sanctions against parties involved in Intercontinental Bank takeover fraud.

RESPOND TO CHARGES AGAINST YOU AND STOP MISINFORMING THE PUBLIC – PRESIDENCY TELLS SANUSI

RESPOND TO CHARGES AGAINST YOU AND STOP MISINFORMING THE PUBLIC – PRESIDENCY TELLS SANUSI
We have noted with disappointment, the unrelenting attempt by the  Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to falsely portray his recent suspension from office as an attempt by the Presidency to bury his allegation that huge sums of money due to the Federation Account are unaccounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The Presidency wishes to reaffirm that Mallam Sanusi's suspension has absolutely nothing to do with his unproven and inconsistent claim that $49.8 Billion, $12 Billion or $20 Billion is missing from the national treasury.

NNPC Rejects CBN's $49.8bn Non-remittance Claim

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Tuesday said the  report credited to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, where he alleged that it withheld the sum of $49.8 billion representing about 76 per cent of the total crude oil revenues from January 2012 to July 2013 was false.

The corporation in a statement signed by its General Manager, Media Relations Department, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, in Abuja said the allegation by the CBN was borne out of its  misunderstanding of the workings of the oil and gas industry and the modality for remitting crude oil sales revenue into the federation account.