New central bank Governor of Nigeria Cardoso pledges to clear $7 billion forex backlog

Nigeria's new central bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso said on Tuesday his top priority was to clear the bank's backlog of unsettled foreign exchange obligations to local lenders, which he estimated could be as high as $7 billion.

The Senate unanimously approved Cardoso's nomination as central bank governor after he appeared before lawmakers to answer questions. Four new deputy governors were also confirmed.

Cardoso pledged to improve transparency, fix corporate governance, and restore diminished confidence in the autonomy and integrity of the central bank.

President Bola Tinubu had promised a thorough house cleaning of monetary policy at his inauguration in May after criticizing former Governor Godwin Emefiele's handling of the currency.

Cardoso said once the central bank has verified the extent of its obligations, it will need to find a way to settle them quickly.

"We need to promptly find a way to take care of that. It would be naive for us to expect that we'll be making too much progress if we're not able to handle that side of the foreign exchange market," he said.

Cardoso said he will maintain price stability, revert to evidence-based monetary policies and discontinue his predecessor's unorthodox monetary policies to bolster the country's naira currency.

Cardoso, who began work on Sept. 22 in an acting capacity, takes office following the resignation of Emefiele, who was suspended as central bank chief by Tinubu in June and later detained by security agents and charged with procurement fraud.

Cardoso's comments come at a time when the naira has slumped to a record low, reaching the psychologically sensitive 1,000 naira per dollar on the parallel market.


The official exchange rate was quoted at 785 to the dollar as of 1710 GMT.

Unmet forex demand on the official market due to inadequate liquidity and speculation in street trading added downward pressure to the currency, widening the gap with the official market where restrictions on trading were lifted in June.

By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo, Reuters

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Labour unions call indefinite strike over cost of living in Nigeria

Nigeria's two biggest workers' unions plan to start an indefinite strike next week to protest against a cost-of-living crisis after the government scrapped a popular but costly petrol subsidy, union leaders said on Tuesday.

Unions have been pushing President Bola Tinubu to reverse his decision in May to scrap the decades-old subsidy that had kept fuel prices low but was draining government finances.

Prices have risen sharply, including the cost of food, transport and power as most businesses and households rely on petrol generators for electricity.

The Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Nigeria, the biggest unions, said they would begin the strike on Oct. 3.

"It's going to be a total shutdown ... until government meets the demand of Nigerian workers, and in fact Nigerian masses," the union leaders said in a joint statement.

"The Federal Government has refused to meaningfully engage and reach agreements with organised labour on critical issues of the consequences of the unfortunate hike in price of petrol which has unleashed massive suffering on Nigeria workers and masses."

The government had urged unions to continue negotiations instead of resorting to strikes, saying this would hurt an economy grappling with double-digit inflation, foreign currency shortages and low oil production.

Tinubu has defended his two biggest reforms - removal of the subsidy and foreign exchange controls - saying although this would lead to hardships in the short term, they were necessary to attract investment and boost government finances. 

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

14 students abducted in Zamfara, Nigeria rescued

Security forces have rescued 14 of at least 20 students abducted from a university in northwestern Nigeria and are searching for the remaining captives, school authorities say.

Gunmen attacked the school in Zamfara state’s Bungudu district last week and fled with the students and some workers in the first mass school abduction in Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu took office in May.

The 14 students from the Federal University Gusau were rescued with two other people, a statement from the university said on Monday without providing details about when they were freed or the nature of the rescue operation.

“The sad and unfortunate incident has indeed thrown the University community into serious tension and apprehension,” the statement said, adding that security forces were “doing their best” to rescue the remaining students. It also said steps were being taken to boost security around the university.

Such abductions from schools are common in northwestern and central Nigeria, where armed groups often take people hostage in exchange for huge ransoms that analysts said help them to buy guns and sustain their operations.

Nigeria’s military has been fighting armed groups like Boko Haram in the northeast, which has left it thinly stretched to tackle the kidnapping gangs, known locally as bandits.

The bandits are believed to be mostly ethnic Fulanis, but pastoralists and mercenaries from the region as well as neighbouring Chad and Niger are also involved.

An estimated 12,000 people died and hundreds of thousands more displaced across the northwestern states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna from 2011 to 2022 due to the crisis, according to the Centre for Democracy and Development, an Abuja-based policy and advocacy think tank.

In Zamfara, one of the kidnap-for-ransom hot spots, many vigilante groups have sprung up with teenagers joining their ranks and wielding knives and clubs.

The latest attack poses a new challenge to Tinubu, who extended the ruling party’s reign with his election victory after promising to solve Nigeria’s security crisis. It adds to growing pressure from the opposition and activists who have accused Tinubu of not doing enough to guarantee security.

Armed groups have been carrying out attacks in many remote communities, often taking advantage of the inadequate security presence in those areas.

While condemning the university abductions in a statement issued by his office on Sunday, Tinubu said his government is “determined to ensure that educational institutions remain sanctuaries of knowledge, growth, and opportunity, and totally free from the menacing acts of terrorists”.

Al Jazeera

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According to the regional governor’s spokesperson, 24 students, ten workers and a security guard were seized in the early hours of Friday from the Federal University of Gusau in Nigeria. 

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