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NCS, India Sign Agreement to Boost Trade Facilitation

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By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has signed a Customs Mutual Administrative Agreement (CMAA) with its Indian counterpart to enhance bilateral relations.

The signing ceremony took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja coincided with the state visit of India’s Prime Minister to Nigeria on Nov.

17.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr.

Adewale Adeniyi, who represented Nigeria at the event, said the agreement marked the culmination of negotiations that began in 2016.

Adeniyi described the agreement as a landmark development aimed at strengthening collaboration between the customs administrations of both nations.

“The agreement will enhance cooperation, streamline border clearance processes, and address customs-related offenses.

By facilitating faster clearance of goods and reducing trade costs, the CMAA is poised to boost cross-border trade and ensure effective enforcement of customs laws,” Adeniyi stated.

Key provisions of the CMAA include: enforcement of customs laws: ensuring accurate duty and tax assessments through better classification, valuation, and origin determination of goods.

The agreement will deal prevention and investigation offensive import and strengthen measures to combat customs-related offenses.

Both countries also agreed on Information Exchange: thereby establishing robust communication channels and offering mutual assistance, including expert witness support when needed.

This agreement underscores Nigeria’s commitment to fostering international trade partnerships and improving the efficiency of its customs operations.

By collaborating with India, Nigeria aims to open new economic opportunities, reduce trade barriers, and deepen its integration into the global.

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Anyanwu, Ude-Okoye Clash at PDP BoT Meeting

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By Johnson Eyiangho, Abuja

Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye, the two men who have been in struggle for the position of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), clashed at the commencement of the Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting of the party on yesterday.

The PDP is currently entangled in crisis from different fronts.

The meeting had begun with Ambassador Iliya Damagum, Acting National Chairman, and Anyanwu seated before the arrival of Ude-Okoye.

Ude-Okoye came into the hall when Senator Adolphus Wabara, the BoT Chairman, was delivering his speech but Ude-Okoye waited for him to finish before going round to greet those on the high table.

He, however, excluded his rival, Anyanwu.

Ude-Okoye was later forced out of the meeting by suspected thugs, leading to hot exchange of words. As this was going on, journalists were asked to give way for a closed door session.

But Ude-Okoye was seen shouting and urging his supporters to prevent his ejection. He lamented as Anyanwu’s men were allowed into the secretariat, while his supporters were denied access.

As a result of the hot exchange of words between the suspected thugs of Anyanwu and Ude-Okoye, the police were called to restore order for the 79th BoT meeting to continue.

The Chairman, PDP BoT, Wabara urged the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to honour its word and convene the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for next month.

He said NEC remains the highest decision-making body of the party, and it was crucial that it be convened without further delay to address pressing concerns.

He said it was imperative that the NWC rise above personal interests and place the survival and progress of the party above all other considerations.

The BoT chairman expressed “profound” disappointment over the crisis currently rocking the leadership of the PDP NWC.

“As elder statesmen and women, leaders who hold the trust of the generality of our party members and the public, it is disheartening that these issues have not been resolved. The failure to resolve these internal conflicts undermines the strength and credibility of our party,” he said.

The Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Damagum assured the NWC that  “we will do everything possible” to convene NEC in February.

He admitted that there was crisis in the NWC, saying, “I want to say this with the highest sense of responsibility, part of this crisis that you see today within the NWC is propelled by our leaders that are supposed to unite us.”

Damagum lamented a situation where certain members of the NWC were invited to visit certain places without his knowledge as acting chairman of the party. He said, “I want to use this opportunity to caution us, caution our leaders.”

He added, “As the conscience of this party, some of us are also complicit. We should look inwards, search our conscience. This party is dear to all of us, it is the only thing we have.”

At the end of the 79th BoT meeting, the much anticipated NEC meeting was scheduled for Feb, a communique issued at the end of the meeting said.

The BoT Chairman, Wabara, who read the communique, said, “Acting National Chairman assured the Board of Trustees that the NEC meeting as scheduled in February 2025 will hold.”

Wabara explained that the NEC would hold to address all pertinent issues and reaffirm members shared commitment to the unity, discipline and ideals that bind the party together.

On crisis over the position of the National Secretary of the party presently before the court, the  communique said the Board of Trustees has set up a committee led by Barrister Tanimu Turaki to interface with the parties, study the situation and report to the board for further action.

On the state of the nation, it expressed concern over the worsening economic and security situation, social dislocation, and total sense of hopelessness in the country due to the ill-conceived and ill-implemented policies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.

“The Board of Trustees decries the insensitivity of the APC administration towards Nigerians as evident in the unjustified multiple taxes and failure to stem the increase in the pump price of fuel, electricity tariffs, and telecommunication charges with its crippling effect on the productive sector and unbearable rise in cost of living in the country.

“The Board of Trustees insists that the APC administration lacks the required patriotism, competence, as well as a proficient, transparent, and innovative governance team to effectively manage the nation’s abundant human and natural resources to benefit our citizens.”

It demanded that the APC administration immediately rescind all its anti-people policies and take urgent steps to stimulate the productive sector, create jobs, and revamp the ailing economy.

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LG Autonomy: CBN Begins Direct Funds Allocation Feb

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By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may have extended to February, the deadline for commencement of  direct remittances of Federation Account proceeds to the 774 LGAs in the country.

DAILY ASSET checks revealed that contrary to earlier directives of the Federal Government that the financial autonomy of Local councils should commence in January, the CBN was unable to remit the Monthly proceeds to the Councils.

The apex bank, it was learnt, had issued a directive to all the 774 LGAs in the country to carry out comprehensive audit of their finances as a precondition for commencement of direct remittances from the Federation Account.

However, a source close to the Councils were unable to meet the January deadline for this requirement

Similarly, the source maintained that some of the LGAs were yet to open an account with CBN, one of the necessary conditions for commencement of direct allocation from the Federation Account.

As a result, the 774 LGAs had not received their January allocation, about 10 days after FGN and 36 states of the Federation had been paid.

The Federal Government directive to CBN to commence direct Monthly remittances of Federation account proceeds to the LGAs  was sequel to the Supreme Court judgment on the matter as brought forward by the Federal Government through the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Chief Later Fagbemi (SAN)  against the 36 states of the Federation.

The Supreme Court had in a unanimous judgment by a seven-member Panel on July 11, 2024 ruled that it was illegal for funds meant for the 774 LGAs to be paid through the state governments since the 1999 Constitution as amended, recognised the LGAs as an independent (third)tier of government.

The judgment also made it illegal for LGAs with non-elected functionaries to receive proceeds from the Federation Account Allocation. Committee (FAAC) and accordingly restrained both the Federal Ministry of Finance and CBN from remitting funds to LGAs with undemocratic management structures or systems.

In the subsisting arrangements, funds meant for Local Government Councils from the Federation Account are sent to the various states, who disburse to their LGAs through the States’ Joint Accounts Committee (JAC).

This system was allegedly abused over the years as state Governors were accused of tempering with the funds to the detriment of the Local Government Councils, which situation necessitated the legal action by the AGF.

President Bola Tinubu had in a meeting last December 26,  with a delegation of the Nigerian Governors Forum( NGF), which visited him in his Lagos residence said the new measure was taken by his administration in good fate and intended to give financial  autonomy to the Local Governments.

Tinubu’s comments and clarification followed insinuations in a section of the media to the effect that the decision was intended to undermine the authority of the Governors and their powers to administer their states, including the LGAs.

The Governors were said to have frowned at the “hasty” implementation of the Supreme. Court

Judgment as most states had joint projects and programmes being executed with their LGAs.

Some of the joint projects being handled by the Governors and the LGAs were identified as road construction, fertilizer procurement and farming inputs and security issues among others.

Director of Communications, CBN Hajiya Hakama Sidi Ali, who was contacted on the matter said she would get details on the situation and revert to DAILY ASSET. However, she was yet to honour her pledge after one week by Press time.

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Treasury Bill Investments Soar to ₦1.617trn

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By Tony Obiechina Abuja 

The Nigerian fixed-income market witnessed a remarkable surge in Treasury Bills (T-bills) demand in December 2024, as investors capitalized on the high-interest-rate environment.

According to the FMDQ Markets Monthly Report, the Debt Management Office (DMO) successfully sold T-bills worth ₦1.

617
tn, reflecting a 133.33 per cent month-on-month (MoM) increase from ₦693.
05
bn in November 2024.

The sharp rise in T-bill uptake underscores the growing investor appetite for government securities amid the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) continued monetary tightening to curb inflation.

The CBN had recently increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 25 basis points, raising it from 27.25 per cent to 27.50 per cent, a move that has driven up yields on risk-free instruments such as T-bills.

The surge in demand for T-bills is occasioned by institutional and retail investors seeking to leverage the higher yields offered by government-backed securities.

With inflationary pressures persisting, the CBN’s hawkish stance on interest rates has made fixed-income investments increasingly attractive.

The oversubscription rate for T-bills at DMO auctions stood at 245.60 per cent, demonstrating strong investor confidence in these securities.

The effect of high interest rates has been felt across other segments of the government securities market. In contrast to the spike in T-bill sales, the value of Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds sold in December declined by 39 per cent, with the DMO raising ₦211.14bn, compared to ₦346.16bn in November.

Despite the decline, investor interest in sovereign securities remained robust, as the bond auctions recorded an oversubscription rate of 132.35 per cent.
Meanwhile, the CBN intensified its liquidity mop-up operations, selling Open Market Operation (OMO) Bills worth ₦2.832tn, a staggering 212.95 per cent increase from ₦905.23bn in November. This highlights the central bank’s aggressive efforts to manage excess liquidity in the financial system.

In addition to sovereign securities, corporate debt activities also saw notable movements. A ₦5.82bn corporate bond was listed on the FMDQ Exchange in December, pushing the total value of outstanding non-sovereign bonds to ₦2.246trn.

The commercial paper market experienced a significant increase in new issuances, with CPs valued at ₦174.56bn quoted in December—representing a 125.23 per cent MoM rise from ₦77.5bn in November.

However, the outstanding value of CPs declined 3.19 per cent to ₦508.83bn, primarily due to maturities amounting to ₦191.30bn within the period. Major issuers of CPs during the month included firms from the Telecommunications, Financial Services, and Agriculture sectors.
Despite the heightened primary market activity, the secondary market witnessed a downturn in December. The total turnover on the FMDQ Exchange stood at ₦42.15tn, marking a 28.59 per cent MoM decrease but a 17.73 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase compared to December 2023.

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