CAPITALDIGEST DAILY NEWS, 31/10/2022

PETROL SCARCITY: MARKETERS BLAME LACK OF IMPORT VESSELS Oil marketers on Wednesday said the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, in many parts of Nigeria was due to the unavailability of mother vessels to ship the product to the country. Also, they insisted on raising the price of the commodity following the hike in the rate of the United States dollar against the naira, as it was gathered that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited was lacking products in many of its depots. “There is a serious lag in product sufficiency from NNPC because of the unavailability of mother vessels. These are vessels that ship the product from abroad. That is why we have a gap,” the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, told our correspondent. He added, “It is not just about flood, because the scarcity is hitting many other parts of the country. There was serious scarcity in Port Harcourt and you can see what is happening in Lagos now. In Abuja it has been there since.” Ukadike stated that depots in the western zone were lacking products, as “all the private depots and even NNPC don’t have products.” CBN PLANS NAIRA REDESIGN TO COUNTER COUNTERFEITING, KIDNAPPING The Governor, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, announced on Wednesday that the bank would release re-designed naira notes by December 15, 2022. Emefiele made this announcement during a special press briefing in Abuja yesterday where he gave reasons for the move. According to the CBN governor, this was targeted at controlling currency in circulation as well as curb counterfeit currency and ransom payment to kidnappers and terrorists. He noted, “Indeed, the integrity of a local legal tender, the efficiency of its supply and its efficacy in the conduct of monetary policy are some of the hallmarks of a great central bank. “In recent times, however, currency management has faced several daunting challenges that have continued to grow in scale and sophistication with attendant and unintended consequences for the integrity of both the CBN and the country.“More specifically, as at the end of September 2022, available data at the CBN indicate that N2.73tn out of the N3.23tn currency in circulation was outside the vaults of commercial banks across the country, and supposedly held by members of the public. Evidently, currency in circulation has more than doubled since 2015, rising from N1.46tn in December 2015 to N3.23tn as at September 2022. I must say that this is a very worrisome trend that cannot continue to be allowed.” NGX BUILDS CAPITAL MARKET CAPACITY Nigerian Exchange Limited has expressed its commitment to building the capacity of stakeholders in the capital market. It organised a webinar on the impact of the 2021 Finance Act on the operating environment themed ‘Capital market advancement and the implications of the 2021 Finance Act’ organised in conjunction with the Association of Securities Dealing Houses, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The webinar focused on helping stakeholders garner expert insight into amendments such as the Capital Gains Tax; Companies Income Tax Act; Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act; Personal Income Tax Act; Stamp Duties Act; Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act and Value Added Tax Act. Giving his opening remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Mr Temi Popoola, spoke on the importance of the event as the Exchange plays a leading role in driving capacity building, fostering effective collaboration, and deepening and enhancing the liquidity of the Nigerian capital market He said, “The amendments made by the Act are part of the expansion of the Federal Government’s fiscal policy and harmonisation with international best practices for the taxation of new areas of the modern global economy and existing economic areas that have not been fully maximised. NAIRA REDESIGN NOT ECONOMIC PRIORITY — CISLAC The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre has said that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s plan to redesign 200, 500- and 1,000-naira notes is not an economic priority for the country, considering the current challenges facing the economy. The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa, made this known in a statement on Thursday, adding that there are more pressing needs that the CBN ought to attend to, to set the economy on the path of revival. Musa added that Nigerians’ concerned reactions to the announcement was proof that the decision is a misplaced priority on the part of the CBN. He said the CBN should be more concerned with protecting foreign exchange reserves from external outflows and making forex available to the ordinary citizens who genuinely and legitimately need it, adding that the huge blow to foreign direct investment was tantamount to the inability of the CBN to do its job effectively. He said, “Firstly, the CBN’s decision to redesign and reissue new 200, 500 and 1000 notes is not an economic priority and barely a solution to addressing Nigeria’s poor monetary policy challenges and growing economic woes. FG DISBURSES N17TN TO SMES, REGISTERS 650,000 BUSINESSES The National Collateral Registry in collaboration with the Development Finance Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria has said it has disbursed over N16.6tn since 2017 and registered over 650,000 businesses under the NCR scheme. This was disclosed  at an event in Lagos organised by the Development Finance Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with the National Collateral Registry,  the Pro-poor Growth, and promotion of Employment in Nigeria program-SEDIN of Deutsch Zusammenarbeit stakeholders’ town hall meeting on the use of Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act 2017 and the benefits of the transactions regime in Nigeria. Also, the Pro-Poor Growth and the Promotion of Employment in Nigeria Program-SEDIN of Deutsch Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)- partnered with NCR to sensitise the stakeholders on the use of Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act 2017 and the benefits of its regime in Nigeria. Musa said, “Over 650,000 have been registered and the credit that has been disbursed and collaterised is about N16.6tn since 2017 on the National Collateral Registry portal. The NCR is an initiative of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. It is an initiative from the International Finance Corporation and Central Bank of Nigeria.”