NAIJAFEED

Thursday, February 8, 2024

No More Dollars: Banks in Nigeria to Pay Customers' Money from Abroad in Naira

Nigerian banks have begun full implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria's revised guidelines on international money transfer operations in the country.

The CBN released revised guidelines for the operations of International money transfer operators (IMTOs) and instructed banks to begin paying dollars and other foreign currency payouts from abroad in naira to boost forex supply and starve black market traders.

Part of the CBN circular reads: "All inbound money transfers to Nigeria shall be paid to beneficiaries in Naira through a bank account, or cash.

"Proceeds of IMTO more than the equivalent of $200 (KSh 32,100) shall be paid through an account. Cash payments shall be made upon the provision of a satisfactory/acceptable means of identification. “Where the beneficiary does not have an account with the IMTO agent bank, the agent bank shall credit the beneficiary account in another bank."

The apex bank also noted that the exchange rate for the naira payment shall be at the prevailing rate in the Nigerian foreign exchange market.

Banks begin full implementation.

In reaction to the new guidelines, Nigerian banks issued statements to their customers explaining the changes. Ecobank message to customers read:

"Dear valued customer, We would like to bring to your attention recent regulatory changes affecting international money transfers into Nigeria.

"With regards to the circular issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dated January 31, 2024, all in-bound money transfers to Nigeria will be paid only in Naira through a bank account or in cash at the prevailing rate in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market. "Furthermore, transfers exceeding the equivalent of $200 must be credited to the recipient's bank account while cash payments for amounts below $200 will require an acceptable means of identification. The acceptable means of identification is listed as follows: International passport, Driver's license, National Identity card, INEC Permanent Voters Card (PVC)"

What CBK said on dollar bids In related news, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) summoned commercial banks following the continued weakening of the shilling against the greenback. CBK governor Kamau Thugge met with commercial bank officials and senior staff from the Treasury on Monday, February 5.

The meeting aimed to persuade the industry players against setting aggressive dollar bids as Thugge assured banks of access to dollars.

By Dave Ibemere, Legit

Video - Nigeria caps foreign exchange position for banks

Video - Nigeria suffers from most power cuts in the world

The latest report by the International Energy Agency ranked Nigeria first in the world for the most power cuts. The country has for years struggled with challenges in its electricity sector due to limited grid infrastructure and underinvestment which has hindered economic development.

CGTN

Power being restored to Nigeria after nationwide blackouts

Government in Nigeria struggling to end perennial electricity challenge

House advances resolution to increase sanctions on Nigeria over persecution of Christians

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has advanced a resolution to increase sanctions and pressure on the Nigerian government over the rampant persecution of Christians and other minorities in the country.

Sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, the resolution would call on the Biden administration to designate Nigeria a “country of particular concern” (CPC), a designation that comes with additional sanctions.

The resolution would also urge the administration to appoint a special U.S. envoy to Nigeria to monitor and report on incidents of persecution.

Smith and other proponents of the bill, including Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF), maintain that adding Nigeria to the State Department’s CPC blacklist would be an effective means to pressure the Nigerian government to address the persecution.

Sean Nelson, a legal counsel for ADF, has previously told CNA that the CPC list is “the most powerful tool the U.S. government has to influence the religious freedom situation in other countries.”

For years now Nigeria has been recognized by religious rights groups as one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian. According to Open Doors International 4,998 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2023, meaning that 82% of all Christians killed for their faith last year were in Nigeria.

In late January, Nigerian Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi told CNA that the persecution amounts to a Christian “genocide” in which radical Islamic groups’ goal is to “systematically” eliminate the Christian population from Nigeria.

Despite this, the Biden administration has left Nigeria off the CPC list for the last three years. This year the administration’s decision to leave Nigeria off the list came just weeks after a series of attacks on Christmas left more than 200 Nigerian Christians dead.

Smith said in a Wednesday statement that the Nigerian government “has enabled widespread murder and violence through indifference and a gross failure to protect victims and prosecute Islamist terrorists” and that the US State Department “is not using all the tools provided to hold guilty parties accountable.”

“Following the Biden administration’s repeated failure to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern despite widespread outcry, we are grateful to the members of Congress who are taking these vital steps to increase pressure on Nigeria for its egregious violations of religious freedom,” Nelson said in a Wednesday press release.

“No person should be persecuted for their faith, and it is imperative that the U.S. government condemn the targeted violence, unjust imprisonments, and egregious blasphemy laws that plague Christians and religious minorities in Nigeria,” he added.

Nelson told CNA that the resolution “lays out an undeniable case that Nigeria has engaged in and tolerated egregious, systematic, and ongoing violations of religious freedom, and some of the worst in the world, particularly for Christians in the north.”

If Congress passes the resolution, Nelson said he hopes the Biden administration would “listen and change course.”

“More importantly,” he said, he believes the resolution’s passage “would send an immense signal of support for the victims of persecution in Nigeria themselves, who have asked for the international community to raise their voices and would put pressure on the Nigerian government to take the persecution seriously, hold attackers accountable, and free those who have been imprisoned and charged under blasphemy-related allegations.”

“There has already been a great amount of outcry over the lack of the CPC designation for Nigeria by the USCIRF and civil society organizations that focus on international religious freedom,” he said. “Having the voice of Congress echo those concerns would also give the concerns an international amplification that is sorely needed.”

According to Nelson, the Nigerian resolution will now move forward for a vote in the House. However, no date has been set for when the vote will take place.

By Peter Pinedo, CNA

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Video - Nigeria vs South Africa | AFCON 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

Two priests kidnapped from parish rectory in Nigeria

A religious missionary order in Nigeria is appealing for the safe release of two of its members who were abducted from a parish rectory on Feb. 1.

In a statement issued Feb. 2, Father Dominic Ukpong, the provincial secretary of the Congregation of Missionaries Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (also known as the Claretians), announced with “sadness” the abduction of Father Kenneth Kanwa and Father Jude Nwachukwu.

Kanwa, the parish priest of St. Vincent de Paul Fier Parish in the Diocese of Pankshin, and Nwachukwu, his assistant, were abducted “at the parish rectory on the night of Thursday, Feb. 1,” according to the statement.

Ukpong appealed for spiritual solidarity, saying: “We solicit your prayers at this challenging time for their safety and quick release from captivity.”

“May the Most Blessed Virgin Mary intercede for the sons of her Immaculate Heart. Amen,” he implored.

Nigeria has been battling a surge of violence orchestrated by gangs whose members carry out indiscriminate attacks, kidnapping for ransom, and in some cases, killing.

The West African nation has also been experiencing since 2009 an insurgency by Boko Haram, a group that allegedly aims to turn Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, into an Islamic country.

By Jude Atemanke, CNA

Traditional monarch shot dead and wife kidnapped from palace in Nigeria