New hot track from the Ebgeri Papa 1 of Bayelsa State and it features the Pyeri boy!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Happy Independence Day Nigeria
Nigeria is 49 today. I took the privilege to create a video, well me and bossman. Just havin fun.
Hope u have been enjoying the previous videos on youtube. More to come. Been busy with mad stuff thats why you hardly see anything on the site.
But keep checking back. More funny videos, more entertaining stories. Lets go there. #LIGHTUPNIGERIA
Hope u have been enjoying the previous videos on youtube. More to come. Been busy with mad stuff thats why you hardly see anything on the site.
But keep checking back. More funny videos, more entertaining stories. Lets go there. #LIGHTUPNIGERIA
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
DON JAZZY: 27 YEARS EARLIER
I saw this picture somewhere online and I found it to be very hilarious.
Wale - Chillin (feat. Lady GaGa)
Born Olubowale Victor Akintimehin to Yoruba Nigerian parents in Washington, D.C. Naija here we come :).
Saturday, May 30, 2009
M.I. Album Listening Party
Album release party for M.I's acclaimed album, Talk About It, which was released in December 2008. Cameos from Kel, General Pype, Banky W, DJ Jimmy Jatt.
Friday, May 8, 2009
9JA ARTISTS MAKING MORE MONEY THAN YANKEE RAPPERS
$100,000..chai. I'm definitely in the wrong hustle :)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
VIDEO: 3 Naija Babes doin the Stanky Leg
Dem give me kokolet anyamator LOL. Ceck out the chick in white pants. cottdamn!!!!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
United States Deports 60 Nigerians
United States of America has deported 60 Nigerians for committing various offences ranging from stealing, credit card fraud and immigration misdemeanors.
The deportees, consisting of 53 men and seven females, were brought into the country through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport , Lagos, by 2.00 p.m. yesterday, by private aircraft chartered by the American authorities.
The deportees were accompanied by law enforcement agents from the United States.
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) source said 14 of the deportees were repatriated based on drug related offences, while others committed other immigration offences, ranging from illegal permit to fake visas.
They were received by Immigration officers, Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other law enforcement agencies.
The 14 drug offenders were whisked away by NDLEA officials for scrutiny, while immigration officials took those with illegal immigration papers into custody.
Those cleared of any criminal offence were transferred to the hajj camp side of the international airport, from where they were allowed to go to their homes.
According to the immigration source, the issue of deportation had been a daily recurrence at the international airport where Nigerians are regularly deported from Libya, Egypt, Italy, Rome, Europe and America.
Source
[BLOGGERS COMMENT: "I hope the shola shola boys made thru with cash before they cleared them if not...]
The deportees, consisting of 53 men and seven females, were brought into the country through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport , Lagos, by 2.00 p.m. yesterday, by private aircraft chartered by the American authorities.
The deportees were accompanied by law enforcement agents from the United States.
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) source said 14 of the deportees were repatriated based on drug related offences, while others committed other immigration offences, ranging from illegal permit to fake visas.
They were received by Immigration officers, Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other law enforcement agencies.
The 14 drug offenders were whisked away by NDLEA officials for scrutiny, while immigration officials took those with illegal immigration papers into custody.
Those cleared of any criminal offence were transferred to the hajj camp side of the international airport, from where they were allowed to go to their homes.
According to the immigration source, the issue of deportation had been a daily recurrence at the international airport where Nigerians are regularly deported from Libya, Egypt, Italy, Rome, Europe and America.
Source
[BLOGGERS COMMENT: "I hope the shola shola boys made thru with cash before they cleared them if not...]
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
VIDEO: Ruggedman "Banging"
Ruggedman released a video for his modenine diss. I can get down to this in a club
Friday, February 20, 2009
Nigerian Residents Fleeing to Ghana To Escape Hardship at Home
More Nigerians are fleeing to countries like Ghana and Vietnam to escape the harsh economic realities back home, even as some big businesses are gradually folding up and relocating.
The Nigerian paper, LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, learnt that Nigerians now seek refuge in far-flung countries hitherto not considered as lands of "green pasture". Countries like Vietnam, Mozambique, Ethiopia and China are fast replacing the traditionally favorites like the United Kingdom, Libya and the USA. Most of the people leaving are pointing to the lack of electricity and insecurity as the cause of their exodus. Those abroad are also vowing that they won’t return home until conditions become better.
Check by the Nigerian newspaper shows that influx of Nigerians into Ghana doubled after the Presidential election that ushered in a new government there. A Nigerian living in Ghana told correspondents that many of his relatives are pestering him to get them accommodation in Ghana. He said: "I’m amazed at how Nigerians are moving into Ghana these days. You know, in the past it was as if we were stupid leaving here for Ghana, but see what is happening. Each day we see Nigerians trooping in their droves."
The Ghana resident, who spoke anonymously, gave reasons why Ghana is becoming attractive: "the truth is that the society works. In Ghana, there is orderliness, not the chaos you have here. There is constant light and this is important for living. There is also security and respect for human rights. If you ask me it is the turn of Nigerians to run to Ghana like the Ghanaians did in the 80’s.
Many Nigerians are in Ghana today, intermarrying and looking for ways to become citizens. I don’t think they would want to return unless conditions change in Nigeria," he said.
Godwin Ukwu (not real name) told our correspondents that he has finished all arrangements to relocate next month. Ukwu said his friends are "making it" in Cameroon and have asked him to join them there.
He said: "I’m going to Cameroon to sell beer. My friends are there and they are making it big in their various business. In fact, last Christmas, some of them came home and told us that we are suffering here. For instance, transportation is such a huge problem there. In fact their roads are better than the ones in the East. Besides, my business is suffering as there is no light. Customers will come and they can’t drink my beer because it is not chilled. So, I’m losing customers and business is bad."
Another respondent told our reporters that if he has his way, he would flee the country.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, the man who gave his name as John said that Nigeria has become "hell" for him. John is a graduate of six years and has remained unemployed. According to him, every attempt to get a government or private job has failed. He said: "if I have the opportunity, I would leave this country. In fact, in looking for people who would tell me how to get to Libya. At least, I will get a job and my life would be safer," he said.
Like most unemployed youngsters in the country, John has tried to be self employed. He said: "my uncle gave me some money recently to start something. So I got a corner shop at Kubwa (In Abuja) to start a barbing salon. Right now, the place has been demolished and I’m looking for another place, but even if I get a place, what about light and water? Through the time I had the saloon, it was generator that powered the business and that is very expensive. Even with the generator some weeks, I will have nothing doing because of fuel scarcity. I really want to leave. I love my country but I can’t go on like this," he lamented.
A source in Vietnam, told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that the Vietnamese government is trying to restrict the influx of Nigerians into the country because of the huge number running there.
Libya too has not lost its appeal to Nigerians. In spite of the precarious route, Nigerians daily put their lives on the line to cross over. The journey, mostly done by foot, find Nigerians crossing the Sahara, risking arrest and deadly attacks by patrol team to get to Tripoli, the capital of Libya. Says an official of a prominent government agency concerned with human trafficking, who do not want to be mentioned, " most of the travelers are girls going to engage in prostitution. The men are often their pimps. And no matter the campaign our office is making, the truth is that the rush is still on. We can arrest them or even sensitize them, but what is clear to us is that this is an ongoing war. Sex slaves are still been trafficked abroad. Our agency is helping to stave it off. But no one should be deceived, human trafficking is not going to go away in a long time. The harsh conditions here, coupled with the lure of greener pasture is just too much temptation for many of the girls and their manager to bear. The arrest and pains they suffer during the trips is a little sacrifice they make."
An emerging trend also is that of businesses folding up. Dunlop, for instance has folded up and may be relocating to Ghana. Part of the reason for the relocation is the unstable power supply in Nigeria. Checks shows that many businesses are already rethinking their continued stay in the country.
South Africa and Ethiopia appear more appealing to such big businesses. Already, major stakeholders in tourism and hospitality business are looking downwards to South Africa- a country getting ready to host the world cup in 2010.
Source
The Nigerian paper, LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, learnt that Nigerians now seek refuge in far-flung countries hitherto not considered as lands of "green pasture". Countries like Vietnam, Mozambique, Ethiopia and China are fast replacing the traditionally favorites like the United Kingdom, Libya and the USA. Most of the people leaving are pointing to the lack of electricity and insecurity as the cause of their exodus. Those abroad are also vowing that they won’t return home until conditions become better.
Check by the Nigerian newspaper shows that influx of Nigerians into Ghana doubled after the Presidential election that ushered in a new government there. A Nigerian living in Ghana told correspondents that many of his relatives are pestering him to get them accommodation in Ghana. He said: "I’m amazed at how Nigerians are moving into Ghana these days. You know, in the past it was as if we were stupid leaving here for Ghana, but see what is happening. Each day we see Nigerians trooping in their droves."
The Ghana resident, who spoke anonymously, gave reasons why Ghana is becoming attractive: "the truth is that the society works. In Ghana, there is orderliness, not the chaos you have here. There is constant light and this is important for living. There is also security and respect for human rights. If you ask me it is the turn of Nigerians to run to Ghana like the Ghanaians did in the 80’s.
Many Nigerians are in Ghana today, intermarrying and looking for ways to become citizens. I don’t think they would want to return unless conditions change in Nigeria," he said.
Godwin Ukwu (not real name) told our correspondents that he has finished all arrangements to relocate next month. Ukwu said his friends are "making it" in Cameroon and have asked him to join them there.
He said: "I’m going to Cameroon to sell beer. My friends are there and they are making it big in their various business. In fact, last Christmas, some of them came home and told us that we are suffering here. For instance, transportation is such a huge problem there. In fact their roads are better than the ones in the East. Besides, my business is suffering as there is no light. Customers will come and they can’t drink my beer because it is not chilled. So, I’m losing customers and business is bad."
Another respondent told our reporters that if he has his way, he would flee the country.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, the man who gave his name as John said that Nigeria has become "hell" for him. John is a graduate of six years and has remained unemployed. According to him, every attempt to get a government or private job has failed. He said: "if I have the opportunity, I would leave this country. In fact, in looking for people who would tell me how to get to Libya. At least, I will get a job and my life would be safer," he said.
Like most unemployed youngsters in the country, John has tried to be self employed. He said: "my uncle gave me some money recently to start something. So I got a corner shop at Kubwa (In Abuja) to start a barbing salon. Right now, the place has been demolished and I’m looking for another place, but even if I get a place, what about light and water? Through the time I had the saloon, it was generator that powered the business and that is very expensive. Even with the generator some weeks, I will have nothing doing because of fuel scarcity. I really want to leave. I love my country but I can’t go on like this," he lamented.
A source in Vietnam, told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that the Vietnamese government is trying to restrict the influx of Nigerians into the country because of the huge number running there.
Libya too has not lost its appeal to Nigerians. In spite of the precarious route, Nigerians daily put their lives on the line to cross over. The journey, mostly done by foot, find Nigerians crossing the Sahara, risking arrest and deadly attacks by patrol team to get to Tripoli, the capital of Libya. Says an official of a prominent government agency concerned with human trafficking, who do not want to be mentioned, " most of the travelers are girls going to engage in prostitution. The men are often their pimps. And no matter the campaign our office is making, the truth is that the rush is still on. We can arrest them or even sensitize them, but what is clear to us is that this is an ongoing war. Sex slaves are still been trafficked abroad. Our agency is helping to stave it off. But no one should be deceived, human trafficking is not going to go away in a long time. The harsh conditions here, coupled with the lure of greener pasture is just too much temptation for many of the girls and their manager to bear. The arrest and pains they suffer during the trips is a little sacrifice they make."
An emerging trend also is that of businesses folding up. Dunlop, for instance has folded up and may be relocating to Ghana. Part of the reason for the relocation is the unstable power supply in Nigeria. Checks shows that many businesses are already rethinking their continued stay in the country.
South Africa and Ethiopia appear more appealing to such big businesses. Already, major stakeholders in tourism and hospitality business are looking downwards to South Africa- a country getting ready to host the world cup in 2010.
Source
U.S. Army Looking to Recruit Igbos
Military officials want to attract immigrants who have native knowledge of languages and cultures that the Pentagon considers strategically vital. The program will also be open to students and refugees.
.
The Army’s one-year pilot program will begin in New York City to recruit about 550 temporary immigrants who speak one or more of 35 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Igbo (a tongue spoken in Nigeria), Kurdish, Nepalese, Pashto, Russian and Tamil. Spanish speakers are not eligible. The Army’s program will also include about 300 medical professionals to be recruited nationwide. Recruiting will start after Department of Homeland Security officials update an immigration rule in coming days.
Pentagon officials expect that the lure of accelerated citizenship will be powerful. Under a statute invoked in 2002 by the Bush administration, immigrants who serve in the military can apply to become citizens on the first day of active service, and they can take the oath in as little as six months.
For foreigners who come to work or study in the United States on temporary visas, the path to citizenship is uncertain and at best agonizingly long, often lasting more than a decade. The military also waives naturalization fees, which are at least $675.
To enlist, temporary immigrants will have to prove that they have lived in the United States for two years and have not been out of the country for longer than 90 days during that time. They will have to pass an English test.
Language experts will have to serve four years of active duty, and health care professionals will serve three years of active duty or six years in the Reserves. If the immigrants do not complete their service honorably, they could lose their citizenship.
Commenters who vented their suspicions of the program on Military.com said it could be used by terrorists to penetrate the armed forces.
At a street corner recruiting station in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, Staff Sgt. Alejandro Campos of the Army said he had already fielded calls from temporary immigrants who heard rumors about the program.
“We’re going to give people the opportunity to be part of the United States who are dying to be part of this country and they weren’t able to before now,” said Sergeant Campos, who was born in the Dominican Republic and became a United States citizen after he joined the Army.
Sergeant Campos said he saw how useful it was to have soldiers who were native Arabic speakers during two tours in Iraq.
“The first time around we didn’t have soldier translators,” he said. “But now that we have soldiers as translators, we are able to trust more, we are able to accomplish the mission with more accuracy.”
Source
.
The Army’s one-year pilot program will begin in New York City to recruit about 550 temporary immigrants who speak one or more of 35 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Igbo (a tongue spoken in Nigeria), Kurdish, Nepalese, Pashto, Russian and Tamil. Spanish speakers are not eligible. The Army’s program will also include about 300 medical professionals to be recruited nationwide. Recruiting will start after Department of Homeland Security officials update an immigration rule in coming days.
Pentagon officials expect that the lure of accelerated citizenship will be powerful. Under a statute invoked in 2002 by the Bush administration, immigrants who serve in the military can apply to become citizens on the first day of active service, and they can take the oath in as little as six months.
For foreigners who come to work or study in the United States on temporary visas, the path to citizenship is uncertain and at best agonizingly long, often lasting more than a decade. The military also waives naturalization fees, which are at least $675.
To enlist, temporary immigrants will have to prove that they have lived in the United States for two years and have not been out of the country for longer than 90 days during that time. They will have to pass an English test.
Language experts will have to serve four years of active duty, and health care professionals will serve three years of active duty or six years in the Reserves. If the immigrants do not complete their service honorably, they could lose their citizenship.
Commenters who vented their suspicions of the program on Military.com said it could be used by terrorists to penetrate the armed forces.
At a street corner recruiting station in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, Staff Sgt. Alejandro Campos of the Army said he had already fielded calls from temporary immigrants who heard rumors about the program.
“We’re going to give people the opportunity to be part of the United States who are dying to be part of this country and they weren’t able to before now,” said Sergeant Campos, who was born in the Dominican Republic and became a United States citizen after he joined the Army.
Sergeant Campos said he saw how useful it was to have soldiers who were native Arabic speakers during two tours in Iraq.
“The first time around we didn’t have soldier translators,” he said. “But now that we have soldiers as translators, we are able to trust more, we are able to accomplish the mission with more accuracy.”
Source
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Global Economic Crunch: Nigeria loses N812bn - CBN moves to save Naira
THE Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Professor Ndi-Okereke Onyiuke revealed on Monday that Nigeria lost N812 billion to capital flight in the last two years.
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Professor Onyiuke made the revelation even as the Minister of Finance, Mansur Muktar and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo assured Nigerians that even if the international crude oil price crashed to $30 per barrel, Nigeria’s 2009 budget would not be affected.
But while the Minister of Finance disclosed that the N70 billion bailout for the textile industry would be released in the next one month, they both ruled out any bailout for banks in the face of the global economic crisis, saying that Nigerian banks were very healthy and therefore did not need to be rescued.
They spoke at a meeting with the Joint Senate Committees on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions and Capital Market and Finance.
The committees had invited the Ministers of Finance, and of National Planning, the CBN governor, Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, Director General, Nigerian Stock Exchange and the President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, to an interactive session on the effect of the global economic crisis on the country and pragmatic solutions.
Professor Onyiuke said: “In 2007, we had N256 billion, equivalent of dollars. That was what was captured. Remember that a lot of Nigerians send in money through Western Union to relations, we do not capture that statistics, because we only take money wired through the banks, because Nigeria wants to avoid money laundering.
“We advise Nigerians and our investors to send money through wired transfer. We only have that captured by Nigerian banks, those are the statistics we have. We did not capture that sent through relations’ addresses. There was N256 billion that went out.
But in 2008, we now have N556 billion that went out as the governor of the Central Bank said. “When some of the investors had problems in their home countries, when the global phenomenon started, as they were losing money, they had to now come and sell such shares in our country and go back and shore up their economies at home. Our market is transparent; all the investors published their transactions every day. What happened was that it was the panicking that came through the foreign investors and affected Nigerians who are watching CNN all the time.”
The benchmark for the 2009 Budget is predicated on $45 per barrel but even with the current crash in the price of crude oil to below $40, both the finance minister and the CBN governor still assured Nigerians that if the crude price fell to $30, it would not hamper the operation and performance of the 2009 budget.
The Senators, led by the chairman of the committees, Senator Nkechi Nwogu, had asked from the economic experts how the government intended to restore confidence in the economy in the face of the global economic crunch and how to protect the financial institutions.
Acording to the finance minister, who was represented by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola: “There is no doubt that we are going to have a significant global slowdown in the economy all over the world. When the budget was was being put together, the lowest crude price was $85 and people thought we were ultra-conservative by using $45 but by January when the price came down to $40 everybody said that we should have used $30.
“All the countries that we actually looked at, like Russia, Indonessia, actually used far higher rates than Nigeria used for its budget in 2009. The most conservative estimate for crude price for 2009 is $59.
“The truth is that with the way the budget is structured, we have said so many times that even if the crude price comes down to $30 per barrel, ordinarily, the way we have worked it out, it should not affect budget implementation, it should not affect releases for budget.
“As far as we know, at this point in terms of exchange rate, in terms of interest rate, in terms of inflation rate, in terms of crude price, there are significant challenges, there are downside risks to the economy, but honestly speaking, for an economy that is still growing, it is not the way that it is being put to the market as if everything is down.”
On the efforts being made, he said a lot of things were being done, adding, “We have said it so many times. If we find out that there is a problem with the financial system we will work out modalities by which we certainly ensure that the financial system, that is the pivot of the entire economy, will not be affected, will still remain resilient and stable and we will do whatever we can to assist the financial system.
“I love it when they talk about the textile sector, that is the kind of bailout, intervention we are looking at. In the last two weeks we have had a lot of meetings with the ministry of commerce, we have set up a technical committee, they have met three times.
“The reason: it is not that we are giving them money, it is just a guarantee, so what is stopping us. There are some fundamental challenges about the way it was structured, it is difficult for it to work the way it was structured, and it may even be more than N70 billion. What we are working on now is how to immediately allow the money to be released to that sector and it is the entire sector.
“We want to look at some sectors. That is a sector that can employ more than 500,000 persons at a time and we cannot allow that sector to collapse and disappear, it is just strategic for a country that has a population of 147 million.
“That is why we are intervening. When government guarantees, even though you are not giving out the money it is as good as if you are giving out the cash, within the next one month. Five ministers are involved and we are meeting on a weekly basis. It involves, commerce, it involves agric, it involves ministry of finance and SGF office. A lot of work has gone on in the last two weeks about this.”
Meanwhile, in a desperate bid to halt the depreciation of the Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has tightened rules on the foreign exchange market.
Governor of the apex bank, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, announced the new measures Monday in Abuja at a press briefing on the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
The reduced inflow to the economy, according to the committee, had constrained supply to the market thus leaving the CBN as the main source of foreign exchange.
To save the Naira and reduce pressure on the external reserves, Professor Soludo stated that the MPC had decided to directly control the exchange rate within a band of plus or minus three per cent until further notice.
In the new foreign exchange management rule that will revolved around the CBN, Prof Soludo said henceforth, the difference between the CBN buying and selling rate would not be more than one per cent, while that of the banks and Bureaux de Change would not be more than one per cent and two per cent respectively.
To ensure that banks and Bureaux de Change operators complied with the new rules on Foreign Exchange, Prof Soludo said the apex bank monitoring team would be sent out, adding that any erring operators would be appropriately sanctioned.
Reviewing key macroeconomic developments, the CBN governor said the year- on year headlines inflation rate at end December 2008 stood at 15.1 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent at end December 2007.
Similarly, the core inflation went to 10.4 per cent in December 2008 from 3.6 per cent at end 2007. On the monetary aggregates, he said broad money grew sharply by 58.02 per cent in 2008, stressing that the growth was induced largely by the rise in credit to the private sector.
Commenting on the macroeconomic indices, Prof Soludo said the economy was currently facing paradoxes as excess liquidity was co existing with rising interest rates, which in real terms and in relation to the deposit rates seemed to be high.
Another paradox, the apex bank noted, was that the observed excess liquidity had not translated into commensurate credit creation.
In the circumstance, the MPC said it was concerned about achieving the multiple objectives of a sound financial system, price and exchange rate stability as well as ensuring that credit continued to flow to the rest of the economy.
Consequently, the committee stated that it would mop up excess liquidity in the system by actively using Open Market Operation policy while the Monetary Policy Rate, currently at 9.75 per cent remains unchanged.
On the persistently high lending rates and the wide margin between deposit and lending rates , the CBN said it would be meeting with banks’ chief executives to agree on modalities to check excesses, especially, in the light of the global economic and financial crisis.
Source
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Professor Onyiuke made the revelation even as the Minister of Finance, Mansur Muktar and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo assured Nigerians that even if the international crude oil price crashed to $30 per barrel, Nigeria’s 2009 budget would not be affected.
But while the Minister of Finance disclosed that the N70 billion bailout for the textile industry would be released in the next one month, they both ruled out any bailout for banks in the face of the global economic crisis, saying that Nigerian banks were very healthy and therefore did not need to be rescued.
They spoke at a meeting with the Joint Senate Committees on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions and Capital Market and Finance.
The committees had invited the Ministers of Finance, and of National Planning, the CBN governor, Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, Director General, Nigerian Stock Exchange and the President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, to an interactive session on the effect of the global economic crisis on the country and pragmatic solutions.
Professor Onyiuke said: “In 2007, we had N256 billion, equivalent of dollars. That was what was captured. Remember that a lot of Nigerians send in money through Western Union to relations, we do not capture that statistics, because we only take money wired through the banks, because Nigeria wants to avoid money laundering.
“We advise Nigerians and our investors to send money through wired transfer. We only have that captured by Nigerian banks, those are the statistics we have. We did not capture that sent through relations’ addresses. There was N256 billion that went out.
But in 2008, we now have N556 billion that went out as the governor of the Central Bank said. “When some of the investors had problems in their home countries, when the global phenomenon started, as they were losing money, they had to now come and sell such shares in our country and go back and shore up their economies at home. Our market is transparent; all the investors published their transactions every day. What happened was that it was the panicking that came through the foreign investors and affected Nigerians who are watching CNN all the time.”
The benchmark for the 2009 Budget is predicated on $45 per barrel but even with the current crash in the price of crude oil to below $40, both the finance minister and the CBN governor still assured Nigerians that if the crude price fell to $30, it would not hamper the operation and performance of the 2009 budget.
The Senators, led by the chairman of the committees, Senator Nkechi Nwogu, had asked from the economic experts how the government intended to restore confidence in the economy in the face of the global economic crunch and how to protect the financial institutions.
Acording to the finance minister, who was represented by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola: “There is no doubt that we are going to have a significant global slowdown in the economy all over the world. When the budget was was being put together, the lowest crude price was $85 and people thought we were ultra-conservative by using $45 but by January when the price came down to $40 everybody said that we should have used $30.
“All the countries that we actually looked at, like Russia, Indonessia, actually used far higher rates than Nigeria used for its budget in 2009. The most conservative estimate for crude price for 2009 is $59.
“The truth is that with the way the budget is structured, we have said so many times that even if the crude price comes down to $30 per barrel, ordinarily, the way we have worked it out, it should not affect budget implementation, it should not affect releases for budget.
“As far as we know, at this point in terms of exchange rate, in terms of interest rate, in terms of inflation rate, in terms of crude price, there are significant challenges, there are downside risks to the economy, but honestly speaking, for an economy that is still growing, it is not the way that it is being put to the market as if everything is down.”
On the efforts being made, he said a lot of things were being done, adding, “We have said it so many times. If we find out that there is a problem with the financial system we will work out modalities by which we certainly ensure that the financial system, that is the pivot of the entire economy, will not be affected, will still remain resilient and stable and we will do whatever we can to assist the financial system.
“I love it when they talk about the textile sector, that is the kind of bailout, intervention we are looking at. In the last two weeks we have had a lot of meetings with the ministry of commerce, we have set up a technical committee, they have met three times.
“The reason: it is not that we are giving them money, it is just a guarantee, so what is stopping us. There are some fundamental challenges about the way it was structured, it is difficult for it to work the way it was structured, and it may even be more than N70 billion. What we are working on now is how to immediately allow the money to be released to that sector and it is the entire sector.
“We want to look at some sectors. That is a sector that can employ more than 500,000 persons at a time and we cannot allow that sector to collapse and disappear, it is just strategic for a country that has a population of 147 million.
“That is why we are intervening. When government guarantees, even though you are not giving out the money it is as good as if you are giving out the cash, within the next one month. Five ministers are involved and we are meeting on a weekly basis. It involves, commerce, it involves agric, it involves ministry of finance and SGF office. A lot of work has gone on in the last two weeks about this.”
Meanwhile, in a desperate bid to halt the depreciation of the Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has tightened rules on the foreign exchange market.
Governor of the apex bank, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, announced the new measures Monday in Abuja at a press briefing on the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
The reduced inflow to the economy, according to the committee, had constrained supply to the market thus leaving the CBN as the main source of foreign exchange.
To save the Naira and reduce pressure on the external reserves, Professor Soludo stated that the MPC had decided to directly control the exchange rate within a band of plus or minus three per cent until further notice.
In the new foreign exchange management rule that will revolved around the CBN, Prof Soludo said henceforth, the difference between the CBN buying and selling rate would not be more than one per cent, while that of the banks and Bureaux de Change would not be more than one per cent and two per cent respectively.
To ensure that banks and Bureaux de Change operators complied with the new rules on Foreign Exchange, Prof Soludo said the apex bank monitoring team would be sent out, adding that any erring operators would be appropriately sanctioned.
Reviewing key macroeconomic developments, the CBN governor said the year- on year headlines inflation rate at end December 2008 stood at 15.1 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent at end December 2007.
Similarly, the core inflation went to 10.4 per cent in December 2008 from 3.6 per cent at end 2007. On the monetary aggregates, he said broad money grew sharply by 58.02 per cent in 2008, stressing that the growth was induced largely by the rise in credit to the private sector.
Commenting on the macroeconomic indices, Prof Soludo said the economy was currently facing paradoxes as excess liquidity was co existing with rising interest rates, which in real terms and in relation to the deposit rates seemed to be high.
Another paradox, the apex bank noted, was that the observed excess liquidity had not translated into commensurate credit creation.
In the circumstance, the MPC said it was concerned about achieving the multiple objectives of a sound financial system, price and exchange rate stability as well as ensuring that credit continued to flow to the rest of the economy.
Consequently, the committee stated that it would mop up excess liquidity in the system by actively using Open Market Operation policy while the Monetary Policy Rate, currently at 9.75 per cent remains unchanged.
On the persistently high lending rates and the wide margin between deposit and lending rates , the CBN said it would be meeting with banks’ chief executives to agree on modalities to check excesses, especially, in the light of the global economic and financial crisis.
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