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Waterleaf Farmers, Sellers Down Tools, Plan Price Increase in Calabar

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Waterleaf farmers, sellers have downed tools to drive home their demand on their planned increase in price of the vegetable botanically known as Talinum Frutiscon or Talinum triangular banning its sales in major markets of Calabar till Monday.

It was also gathered that anyone caught selling the vegetable in any market will be arrested by their Union and fined 10,000.

When our Correspondent visited some of the clusters( farms) around New Airport, Inyansang, Jonathan Bypass,8 miles, Cross River River Basin( Technical Junction, LEMNA where these farmers have large acres covered by the plant, they said it was high time they shared the burden of price increase of input with consumers.

Findings showed that due to the large consumption of the vegetable, the demand is high in Calabar as it is mostly used to as a “softener” when cooking other leaves like Afang ( okazi) known as (Gnetum africanum), fluted pumpkin (Telferia occidentalis), Atama amongst others.
 Speaking with newsmen at the weekend in her farm at Inyansang, Madam Matilda Inyang said she has been planting water leaf for decades but since 2015 a lot has changed.

Her words:” The stem that we used to buy for 3,500 per bag has increased, fertilizer has increased, poultry manure too is now expensive. We cannot continue to bear these costs alone, we have to start selling at a higher price to cover our production cost. “This is part of the reason we decided to down tools to make our stand known and as from Monday we will start selling at 100 naira per bunch from 50 naira. “We now buy bag of poultry dung ( 25kg) for 300 naira, now is about 1,000 naira, for those who use fertilizer same thing, it has also increased, while the stem of the waterleaf per bag before now was 3,500, but now it’s between 6,000 to 7,000 naira,” she said.

Another farmer, who pleaded anonymity said that prices of goods and services keep soaring ,yet they maintained theirs. She hinted that transporting their input from the rural areas to their farms was no longer the same adding that every other item on their list has been increased and that they too are members of the same communities and their farm produce should also alleviate their poverty.
 “We suffer a lot in making sure that waterleaf is abundantly available in the markets, it’s even worse due to dry season, we need more water to keep the vegetable fresh to also get the best results. “The reason we decided to raise that price is to be able to meet up with all these bills, we are not happy it is going to be increased ,but we are not also happy as what we spent and efforts we put in ate not commensurate to the little we make as profit,” she lamented.

Mrs Joy Bajie who resides at 8 miles, said as at Saturday, they could not find the vegetable in 8 miles market, many people had trooped in from the metropolis to buy up the ones at 8 miles since Friday. She went further to say that the dry season was partially responsible adding that the rainy season might change all that. “Their protest for a price increase is not totally bad, because the stem and other things they use have increased, but I don’t think the timing is right, because the economy is really biting hard at the moment, for crying out loud, this is January,” she said.

Efforts to reach the Union head of the Association of waterleaf Farmers and sellers proved abortive. According to an impeccable source close to the leadership of the body, they don’t want to be intimidated by officials, hence they decided to keep the drive for non-sales in major market simple but effective. As at the time of filing this report, there was scarcity of water leaf in major markets including Watt market, Marian Market, Atakpa Market, Atimbo market and so on.

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My Vision to Simplify Payments in Nigeria with Innovative Solutions – Shema

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By Raphael Atuu,  Abuja
The Chief Executive Officer of  Wireless Pay,  Chonedu Shema Emmanuel has said  his vision is to simplify payments in Nigeria with innovative solutions through  his wireless banking platform.
Mr Sharma stated this during an interview with Daily Assets correspondent in his office in Abuja recently.


“I have launched one of Nigeria’s Leading payment platforms, ensuring seamless and efficient financial transactions online, the app is a subsidiary of Wired Banking Africa and collaborates with Asset Matrix MFB to deliver secure and efficient payment solutions.

“My company has  an app with key features like NFC tap-to-pay for softPOS, enabling merchants to effortlessly receive card payments, and an alternative USSD option for customers who prefer to pay with USSD codes.
Virtual accounts are also available for those who prefer transfers, and merchants can request physical cards for transactions with an impressive 99.9% uptime.”
Mr Shena added that his vision for the future of Wireless Pay includes sustained growth, expanded services, and becoming a trusted industry leader in payment processing, contributing to financial inclusion across different regions.
 While advising the public to take advantage of  wireless pay ‘s high  features, secure infrastructure, and global accessibility, to transact business, the company is set to capture the business market.
 The CEO maintained that the company is  registered as Wireless Pay Technologies Limited in Nigeria, the US, and the UK,  with a physical office in Abuja, and an entity under WOBILO Africa Limited, Wired Banking Africa, and Corporate Permit and Consultants Limited, further establishing its credibility and commitment to providing reliable payment solutions.
“It has  a collaboration with Asset Matrix MFB to ensure seamless integration and efficient services, the founder stressed that the platform offers transparent pricing, with card transactions capped at 0.5% up to 100 naira and USSD collections capped at 1.3% up to 1,300 naira. Withdrawals and bank transfers incur a flat fee ranging between 15-20 naira.”

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Afreximbank Closes $282m India-Focused Club Deal

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By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the successful completion of a first-of-its-kind India-focussed club deal for US$282.00 million.
Initiated for the exclusive participation of Indian lenders, and arranged by Bank of Africa UK PLC, the primary syndicated club deal saw participation from Indian lenders through their overseas branches and subsidiaries in the Dubai International Financial Centre in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Mauritius.


The facility, which was backed by six participating banks and financial institutions, including five that joined as first-time lenders to Afreximbank, helping the Bank achieve its objective of diversifying its funding sources, carries a three-year tenor.

At a commemorative event held in Dubai, U.A.E., to mark the conclusion of the deal, Haytham ElMaayergi, Executive Vice President at Afreximbank, said that the conclusion of the initiative represented a major milestone for the Bank as it sought to fulfil the key objectives of its funding programme.
Highlighting the importance of investing in, and for, Africa, Mr. ElMaayergi said: “this facility will help Afreximbank to continue to play a major role in the development of intra-African trade and trade between Africa and the rest of the world, particularly with India.
It is a testament to the rapid growth in Africa’s economic relationship with India and is evidence of Afreximbank’s growing ability to harness resources into Africa and to fund trade finance related investments that would have a positive impact on trade between Africa and India.”
Chandi Mwenebungu, Director and Group Treasurer of Afreximbank, reviewing the Bank’s vision for Africa, said that its funding objectives included achieving the diversification of its liability book by geography, investor type and tenor.
Also addressing guests at the event were Said Adren, CEO of Bank of Africa UK PLC, who thanked the lenders for their participation, and Zineb Tamtaoui, General Manager of Bank of Africa, Dubai Branch, who expressed appreciation for the opportunity to put together “a landmark deal that would be a stepping stone to many India-focused club deals going forward.”

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CBN Unveils New Minimum Capital Requirements For Banks

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Gives Them 24 months To Recapitalise

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja 

 Days after urging Nigerian banks to expedite action on the recapitalisation of their capital base in order to strengthen the financial system, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday, March 28, 2024, unveiled new minimum capital requirements for banks, pegging the minimum capital base for commercial banks with international authorisation at N500 Billion.

 

Confirming this in Abuja, on Thursday, March 28, 2024, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mrs.

Hakama Sidi Ali said the new minimum capital base for commercial banks with national authorisation is now N200 Billion, while the new requirement for those with regional authorization is N50 Billion.
 

Mrs. Sidi Ali also disclosed that the new minimum capital for merchant banks would be N50 Billion, while the new requirements for non-interest banks with national and regional authorisations are N20 Billion and N10 Billion, respectively. 

A circular signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Mr. Haruna Mustafa, to all commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks and promoters of proposed banks emphasized that all banks are required to meet the minimum capital requirement within 24 months commencing from April 1, 2024, and terminating on March 31, 2026

According to the circular, the move, initially disclosed by the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, in his address to the Annual Bankers’ Dinner in November 2023, was to enhance banks’ resilience, solvency, and capacity to continue supporting the growth of the Nigerian economy.   

To enable them to meet the minimum capital requirements, the CBN urged banks to consider inject fresh equity capital through private placements, rights issues and/or offers for subscription; Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As); and/or upgrade or downgrade of license authorisation.

Furthermore, the circular disclosed that the minimum capital shall comprise paid-up capital and share premium only. 

It stressed that the new capital requirement shall not be based on the Shareholders’ Fund.

“Additional Tier 1 (AT1) Capital shall not be eligible for meeting the new requirement. Notwithstanding the capital increase, banks are to ensure strict compliance with the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirement applicable to their license authorisation.  

“In line with extant regulations, banks that breach the CAR requirement shall be required to inject fresh capital to regularise their position,” it added.

The CBN circular said the minimum capital requirement for proposed banks shall be paid-up capital, adding that the new minimum capital requirement shall apply to all new applications for banking licenses submitted after April 1, 2024. 

It noted that the CBN would continue to process all pending applications for banking licenses for which a capital deposit had been made and/or an Approval-in-Principle (AIP) had been granted. 

However, it said that the promoters of such proposed banks would make up the difference between the capital deposited with the CBN and the new capital requirement no later than March 31, 2026.

Meanwhile, the CBN said all banks are required to submit an implementation plan (clearly indicating the chosen option(s) for meeting the new capital requirement and various activities involved with their timelines) no later than April 30, 2024. 

The CBN also disclosed that it would l monitor and ensure compliance with the new requirements within the specified timeline.  

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