Nigeria central bank says old bank notes to remain legal tender

ABUJA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank said on Tuesday old bank notes that were due to be removed from circulation next month would now remain legal tender, ending months of uncertainty after an attempt earlier this year to remove them caused serious cash shortages.

The Supreme Court in March ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend until Dec. 31 the use of old 1,000, ($1.18) 500 and 200 naira notes, whose initial withdrawal from circulation became an election issue after it caused widespread hardship and anger.

The bank had defended the removal of the notes, saying new ones would be harder to counterfeit and that the process would also help control liquidity in an economy where most money is held outside banks.

On Tuesday, the CBN, which has had a new governor since September, said the old bank notes "will remain legal tender ad infinitum, even beyond the initial December 31, 2023 deadline".

During the election campaign, President Bola Tinubu had opposed the removal of the old bank notes.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

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Boat carrying 20 fishermen capsizes in Nigeria

KANO, Nigeria

At least 20 fishermen died after their boat capsized Monday in the Anyiin area of River Benue in northeastern Nigeria’s Taraba state.

Taraba Governor Agbu Kefas confirmed the incident.

“Today’s boat incident is even more unfortunate, since it comes on the heels of a similar one in Karim Lamido that plunged the state into mourning,” Emmanuel Bello, the spokesman for the governor, quoted him as saying.

According to Taraba State Water Transportation Chairman Alhaji Jidda Suleiman, the boat was carrying fishermen from the Ibi and Wukari local government areas of Taraba to Kwara state.

“I was informed that the fishermen converged and boarded the boat to Kwara state in search of greener pastures, and along the way, they had an accident and over 20 people died.

"Twelve of the dead are from Ibi, while some are from Gareji, in Gindin Doruwa, Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba state,” he added.

He said the governor has condoled with the families of the victims.

“It has been the tradition of our fishermen in Taraba state that once it is close to December, some will travel to Cameroon, some to Chad and other places to fish until August of the following year. It’s unfortunate that the usual tradition turned out to be sorrowful this time.”

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Nigeria to Lure Foreign Investment With Tax Incentives

Nigeria will boost incentives for foreign investors in an attempt to address a decline in capital coming into the country as part of the government’s plans to revive the economy.

The administration in Abuja will introduce measures to eliminate double taxation and allow speedy remittances of foreign money, Doris Uzoka-Anite, the minister of industry, trade and investment, said in an interview late Saturday in Riyadh.

“We have the free-trade zones where they can situate their businesses, export and import their raw materials without any taxes,” she said. She called it a “strong incentive” for foreign direct investment, which plunged 52% to $698 million in the six years through 2021.

Since taking office in May, President Bola Tinubu has instituted reforms to revive Africa’s biggest economy from almost a decade of decline. They include scrapping a $10 billion annual fuel subsidy and liberalizing the foreign-exchange market, which led to a more than 40% devaluation in the naira.

Nigeria has also been reviewing its bilateral agreements with countries to drum up investment. In September, it entered into several agreements with India that could see companies set up auto and steel factories in Africa’s top oil producer. A number of investors from India have begun to make their commitments tangible, Uzoka-Anite said.

Key is to show investors their money will be protected, she said. The minister was in Saudi Arabia as part of a Nigerian delegation meeting officials in the Gulf country after the two established a business council and joint chamber of commerce, industry, mines and agriculture. “We’re very keen on making sure that the investments happen very quickly,” she said.

Ruth Olurounbi, Bloomberg