Ensure availability of new Naira, save economy, NECA tells FG
Adewale Samtt Oyerinde, Director General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), called on the Federal Government on Sunday in Lagos to prosecute saboteurs of its policy on the redesign of the Naira notes.
Oyerinde also pleaded with the government to speed up the delivery of the new naira notes to ease the frustration of Nigerians.
He said the government had no other option but to speed up the process in order to avoid an imminent collapse of the fragile Nigerian economy, despite the fact that the country is facing a fuel shortage crisis, among other things.
“The country is not short of good policies, but implementation by relevant authorities remains a challenge; while the naira redesign is commendable, the implementation so far is short of commendable.
‘’A policy purportedly designed to curb inflation, encourage the cashless culture, and foster financial inclusion, among others, is inadvertently pushing many Nigerians into frustration.
‘’This is in view of the current epileptic bank transfers, inefficient e-payment systems, and general inadequacy of online banking infrastructure.
‘’The current situation portends grave danger for the economy because Nigerians have no access to the new notes, businesses are short of sales and most employees find it difficult to go to work because of lack of cash.
‘’It is apt to conclude that it could be counter-productive to seek to implement a cashless economy abruptly when at the same time the new Naira notes are being rolled out in limited quantities within an impracticably short timeframe”, he said.
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Many FCT residents allege banks officials hoarding, selling cash
Many residents of Abuja have accused some bank officials of allegedly hoarding the new naira notes, saying that they prefer to sell them to the highest bidder instead of making them available to customers.
Many stakeholders have called on the CBN to impose heavy sanctions on Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) found complicit in worsening the Naira scarcity, as well as other currency abusers, in response to this situation, which has caused untold hardship for many residents.
According to the stakeholders, in spite of the CBN’s threat to sanction banks found to be hoarding or involved in shady deals with the naira, not one bank has been sanctioned.
The stakeholders said if just one bank was sanctioned, it would serve as a deterrent to others.
Oshiomole criticizes CBN naira redesign policy
Adams Oshiomole, member of the presidential campaign council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former national chairman of the party, has condemned the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign policy, saying that the policy is “senseless.”
Oshiomole made his feelings about the policy known while fielding questions on Channels Television’s “The 2023 Verdict.”
“There was no consultation, not even within the government; at least the Minister of Finance cried out, and she warned that there could be economic consequences arising from this decision,” he said.
The former Edo State governor acknowledged that the policy wasn’t new, but faulted the approach taken by the CBN leadership to introduce this change.
Liberian President Weah accepts nomination for second-term
Liberian President George Weah’s presidential ambition was strengthened on Sunday after he accepted his party’s nomination to run for a second term in office.
In accepting his party’s nomination, the former Men’s Best Player in the World promised to stick to his programmes aimed at lowering inflation and strengthening the country’s economic fabric.
Weah, the former Chelsea FC player, won a landslide victory in the 2017 presidential election.
“I will be a presidential candidate on the ballot box,” Weah told hundreds of thousands of supporters at a rally in the Liberian capital of Monrovia on Saturday. “Let’s continue what I have started for economic growth and prosperity.”
Retaliation likely as US moves to recover Chinese balloon
The diplomatic relationship between the US and China got worse on Saturday over a Chinese spy balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina. This latest incident between the two largest economies seems to be increasing the pressure on President Joe Biden to hit back with much stiffer sanctions on export control of sensitive technology.
According to Bloomberg, the government expects to find equipment capable of taking detailed photographs, as well as other sensors, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Sources on Capitol Hill say that a significant number of US lawmakers are already demanding to know if the balloon’s payload contains technology from the US or its allies.
The balloon is said to be the size of at least two school buses, and its sensors are lying in 50 feet (15 meters) of water and scattered over a seven-mile (11-kilometer) area off Myrtle Beach.
