Nigeria Super Eagles move up to 53rd in FIFA rankings

Nigeria rose up four spots to 53rd place in the Fifa rankings released on Thursday, though are tenth-ranked African side.

In July’s grading, the Super Eagles dropped 14 places to 57th – their poorest drop in 2015.

One the continent, they are ranked Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Cape Verde Island and Egypt.

Copa America champions, Chile entered the top ten at the expense of the Netherlands who that two places to 12th in the world. Argentina remain the best football playing country in the world and they are followed by Belgium and Germany respectively. Likely Nigeria opposition in the second round of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Swaziland and Djibouti are placed 132nd and 206th respectively in the world.

Former world champions Spain moved a place up to the 11th spot as Brazil are fifth in the world and third in South America.

GOAL

Nigeria bans foreign currency cash deposits

Nigeria's central bank has banned the acceptance of foreign currency cash deposits by commercial banks in order to stem illicit financial flows, the bank said late on Wednesday.

Commercial banks had already started to either cap or ban such deposits last week due to the unavailability of outlets that could absorb their cash.

"For the avoidance of doubt, only wire transfers to and from Domiciliary Accounts are henceforth permissible," the central bank statement added.

A domiciliary account allows an individual or business to make transfers and save directly in British pounds, euro or dollars from within the Nigerian banking system.

Communications advisor to the central bank governor, Ugo Okoroafor, added that the move was also aimed at curbing the "increasing dollarisation of the economy".

Nigeria's currency, the naira, dropped sharply in July to around 240 against the dollar in the parallel market versus the official rate of 197 on the back of persistent dollar shortages.

Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said last month that the naira, which has lost around 15 percent against the dollar over the past year, with an official devaluation in November and a de facto one in February, was "appropriately priced" at its current level.

Reuters

Video - Banks in Nigeria publicly shaming debtors

Nigerian commercial banks have begun publishing lists of debtors in national dailies in a bid to check the rising non-performing loan profile of Deposit Money banks in the country. The action follows the expiration of the Central Bank of Nigeria's three-month deadline for these debtors to meet their obligations or be exposed to the public.

Video - Nigeria's unemployment problem

In the second quarter of the year, Nigeria's economy shed over 1.3 Million jobs. As a result, the overall unemployment figure rose to 8.2%. That's the 3rd consecutive quarter in which unemployment figures in Nigeria have fallen, and women and people below the age of 25, are the hardest hit. Earlier on, I spoke to Adesola Oludamilare, an Economic Analyst with the Financial Derivatives Company. Our conversation started by asking how accurate the latest unemployment data, is.

Related story: Video - Entrepreneur Adeyoin Oshinbanjo talks about her successful venture Mile 12 Marketonline

President Muhammadu Buhari appoints new head of NNPC

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a new head of the country's corruption-hit state oil company, weeks after after sacking the entire board, his spokesman said on Tuesday.

Buhari took office on May 29 and axed Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) chief Joseph Thlama Dawha and his directors less than a month later after vowing to tackle what he called "the evil of corruption".

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu's appointment as NNPC group managing director was announced in a statement from Buhari's spokesman Femi Adesina, which also listed other changes at the top of the state-run company.

No reason was given for Dawha's removal after just 10 months in the job, but changes at the much-criticised NNPC have become routine and observers believe the move may have been a prelude to an in-depth probe of its activities.

"This appointment marks the beginning of the reforms which will establish the NNPC as corporation which fights corruption and drives growth in the Nigerian economy," the company said in a statement.

Kachikwu, a former executive vice-chairman of Exxon-Mobil Africa from the coastal Delta State, is a Harvard-trained lawyer with 30 years' experience in the energy sector, according to the NNPC.

"I am excited to be taking up this challenge," Kachikwu was quoted as saying in the NNPC statement.

"Being in a position to manage the most important natural resource in Nigeria is a source of pride and responsibility for the NNPC and I am committed to taking this forward and helping the NNPC achieve its potential as a globally competitive national oil company."

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, churning out roughly two million barrels of crude per day.

Ordinary people have largely not benefited from the nation's oil wealth, however, with much of the revenue lost to graft.

The NNPC is regarded as one of the world's most opaque and corrupt publicly-controlled oil firms and has been linked to the massive theft of vast crude revenues.

AFP