The Naira is sinking after currency float

After the first day of trading following a currency float, the value of Nigeria’s naira dipped by 31%, selling at 288.85 naira as markets closed on Monday (June 20). It was the first day in recent history the naira was traded openly with its value decided by market forces in line with the Central Bank’s new flexible policy. The apex bank also says it has cleared a backlog of foreign exchange demand of around $4 billion.

The naira had previously been officially pegged between 197 and 199 per dollar as the government instituted strict currency controls in a bid to protect its foreign reserves following depleted earnings caused by the falling price of oil, the country’s main resource.

The plunge in the value of the naira in reflection of market realities validates the long-term calls for the devaluation of the currency before the country’s government finally budged last week.

In truth, for most everyday Nigerians and small to medium-sized businesses the naira is only just coming in line with its value on parallel markets, where it has traded between 300 naira to 350 naira per dollar for several months. Nigeria, which depends on oil sales for much of its foreign currency, has seen the naira hit by the global downturn in oil prices. Only a limited number of large banks and traders had access to foreign currency at the 197-199 naira rate. This often created arbitrage opportunities in the banking system.

As has been the case over the past year, the naira still has two different prices. While the interbank value of the currency weakened following the float, its value on the parallel market—which served as a primary source of foreign exchange in the last few months—was quoted up to 10% stronger. Over time, the Central Bank is counting on its new policy and increased availability of foreign exchange to result in a convergence of both values of the naira. Describing the first day of the float as a “robust take-off” of its new policy, the apex bank hopes investor confidence, previously frayed, will return to the country’s economy which shrank in the first quarter of the year.

The bank’s optimistic outlook will likely not be shared by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote whose fortune fell by $3.7 billion following the take-off of the new currency float.

Quartz

First lady of Nigeria calls opposition governor a 'mad dog'

The wife of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has become embroiled in a spat with an opposition governor over corruption allegations.

The spat began after the governor of Nigeria’s Ekiti state, Peter Ayodele Fayose, accused Aisha Buhari of involvement in a bribery scandal involving former U.S. Congressman William J. Jefferson. In 2009, Jefferson was found guilty of 11 counts of corruption and was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment. The court found that he took around $500,000 in bribes and an account in the name of Aisha Buhari in Nigeria was cited in the sentencing memorandum as one of the accounts from which transfers to Jefferson were made.

The Nigerian presidency has dismissed Fayose’s allegations, with presidential spokesman Garba Shehu characterizing them as those of a man “childishly obsessed with the desire to grab the headlines and insulting people at will because of his incurably boorish instincts.” Shehu said that the president’s wife had no connection to the Jefferson case and challenged Fayose to provide evidence to the contrary.

The former head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, told Nigeria’s Premium Times that the Aisha Buhari cited in the memorandum is not the same woman as the current president’s wife. Fayose made the allegations after the EFCC froze one of his personal accounts.

A tweet was sent from Aisha Buhari’s verified Twitter account on Tuesday evening apparently responding to Fayose’s allegations, Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper reported . “Enough is enough Fayose. A mad dog that isn’t chained. I refuse to keep quiet,” the tweet said. It was subsequently deleted and the Nigerian government has not made any public statement on the affair nor confirmed whether the tweet was sent by the First Lady.

Fayose is a member of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which was ousted from government when Buhari defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan in an election in March 2015. The PDP has accused the Buhari administration of focusing its anti-corruption crackdown on members of the opposition and not dealing with allegations of graft within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Aisha Buhari married the now-president in 1989 and the couple have five children. The First Lady oversees the Future Assured initiative, which aims to reduce the country’s maternal and infant mortality rates.

Newsweek

Niger Delta Avengers deny negotiating ceasefire agreement with Nigerian government

The Niger Delta Avengers, a militant group that has claimed responsibility for attacks on oil and gas facilities in Nigeria's southern energy hub, said on Tuesday it never agreed a ceasefire with the government.

Government officials told Reuters a one-month ceasefire had been agreed last week after talks between the oil minister, community groups and state governors in the Niger Delta, the source of most of Nigeria's crude oil.

Militants say they want a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth to go to the impoverished Delta region. Crude sales make up about 70 percent of national income and the vast majority of that oil comes from the southern swampland.

A petroleum ministry official said the Avengers, who have claimed responsibility for most attacks in the last few weeks that have pushed Nigeria's crude output to 30-year lows, were among those who agreed to a truce.

"It was very difficult getting the Niger Delta Avengers to the negotiating table, but we eventually did through a proxy channel and achieved the truce," said the official, who asked not to be identified. A second government official also said a ceasefire was agreed.

But hours later the Avengers issued a statement on Twitter denying that it had an agreement with the government.

"The NDA High Command never remember having any agreement on ceasefire with the Nigeria government," said the group.

It would be difficult to achieve a ceasefire in the hard to access swamps where militants are divided into small groups that tap widespread anger over poverty and oil spills. Leaders have little sway over unemployed youths willing to work for anyone who pays them.

RIGHT PEOPLE?

A Nigeria-based security expert, who did not want to be named, said he did not believe the government had been holding talks with the right people.

Earlier this month, the government said the military campaign in the Delta would be scaled down as part of an attempt to pursue talks with militants, who laid down arms in 2009 in exchange for cash benefits under a government amnesty scheme.

Nigeria, an OPEC member, was Africa's top oil producer until the recent spate of attacks pushed it behind Angola. Oil production has fallen from 2.2 million barrels at the start of the year to around 1.6 million barrels. The impact has helped push up global oil prices.

Speaking after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari and Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the oil minister, incoming OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said on Tuesday he had been told Nigeria's oil production was "beginning to rise again". He did not provide details.

Barkindo said the government was trying to resolve militancy in the Niger Delta through talks, but did not elaborate.

"Government is negotiating and we are seeing positive results. I remain confident that through this resolution a stable and permanent solution will be found," he said.

Neither the presidency nor the petroleum ministry have issued official statements on a truce. Buhari has said the government wanted to hold talks with Niger Delta leaders to address poverty and oil pollution.

But his administration angered former militants when it cut by two-thirds the budget allocated for the amnesty program set up in 2009. Ex-militants were paid stipends and given employment training from that program.

A number of new militant groups have sprung up in the last few weeks, each with their own set of demands, which has made the insurgency increasingly fractured. It is not yet clear how many groups took part in the talks.

In a sign of apparent discord among groups in the Delta, former militants who were known as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) have criticized the Avengers and urged them to negotiate with the government.

In a statement on the Avengers' website, dated June 18, the group said of the ex-militants: "If you and your criminals want to resurrect the defunct MEND and negotiate with the government that is your business".

"We, once again, restate that we are not going to be part of any dialogue."

Reuters

Boko Haram kill at least 18 women at funeral in Adamawa state, Nigeria

Boko Haram militants are said to have rampaged through the village of Kuda in Adamawa state, killing at least 18 women at a funeral. During the attack, which took place Thursday, at about 5pm local time, houses were also set on fire amid the random shooting. Reports say some women, who were present at the funeral are still missing. The numbers of those killed have not been independently confirmed by the authorities. Kuda is close to the Sambisa Forest, which is known to harbor majority of the Boko Haram militants. The same village was last attacked by the militants in February.

Video - Football academy looking to get Nigeria back to its best

Nigeria once enjoyed a comfortable place among the top-rated football nations of the world, but lately its rankings have been in a free-fall. At its best, Nigeria was ranked 5th best football nation in the world...but that was back in 1994. It has since dropped to number 61 in the latest global FIFA ranking. In the following report, CCTV's Kelechi Emekalam takes a look at efforts to revive that past glory by one man who captained the national team in the 1980's.