The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has declared that the old Naira Notes of N200, N500 and N1000 have ceased to be legal tender in Nigeria since the 10th of February, 2023.

The declaration was made by the Branch Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bauchi, Haladu Idris Andaza while briefing Journalists on Monday at the CBN, branch in Bauchi.

He said that “In the last 24 hours, we have been inundated by questions from various angles of the general public about our operational guidelines on the old currency notes, be that as it may, there are so many questions here and there which people have been asking about.”

According to him, “So for the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that CBN is ready and is opened to receive all of those old notes based on certain conditions and criteria.”

“Customers are free to come to the Bank and deposit which they cannot do at the Commercial Banks anymore because the currency has seized to be a legal tender since the 10th of this month.

“Consequently, the management of the CBN decided that those customers will have a sigh of relief by coming to the offices of the CBN in all the 36 states in the Federation including FCT to deposit their money.

“The customer has to go to the CBN portal and fill a form in the portal, there will be a form there concerning this currency redesign and exchange.”

Andaza further explained that “After filling the form, you generate a code, you either print it or come with it in your mobile phone, give us the code and the information contained therein. In the form, you are expected to provide all the basic information about yourself, your account details and the amount you want to deposit.

“By the time you have done it correctly, you come to the CBN where the code will be accepted from you as well as the money, process and confirm the genuineness or otherwise of the money to avoid receiving fake notes because there are some fake notes in circulation now.”

He warned that “If anyone wants to try us by bringing in fake notes, he should be ready to be arrested, so don’t go and print old fake naira notes and bring them to the CBN,

whatever happens to you, don’t blame us, you caused it.”

He however assured that “We will receive the money from you and do our internal checks before we give you an acknowledgement which is evidence to show that we have collected that amount from you and we go ahead with our internal processes, after finishing with the internal processes, we now hit your account and credit it through your Commercial bank.

“All the Commercial banks are expected to bring all old notes deposited to us and we will collect, that is the final. Some of the Banks have started depositing with us because they want to close their books, as soon as they do that, they will not collect from customers again, that is the reason CBN decided to open this portal for the general public especially the vulnerable who are still having problems of cash used for trading and now that the deadline has expired, they need to deposit their money.

“The CBN is trying to minimize risk involved in losing that money, we are trying to minimize hardship also, we know that people are having some hardship, people are suffering, we not unmindful of that fact, that why the management of the CBN has magnanimously decided to open that portal to assist those who were unable to deposit the money into their bank accounts, that is our process flow in a nutshell.

 

In his remarks, CBN Team Lead, Bauchi who is the Director, Medical Services of the Apex Bank, Dr Abdulkadir Jibril explained that “It is a point we have made before, I just want to emphasize it, not everybody in Bauchi state is privileged to be at this meeting and so, there is the moral and professional responsibility on their shoulders to ensure that this information gets to every nook and cranny of the state and even beyond.”

He emphasized that “There is a limited time that has been given by the government and the law, just as I have emphasized earlier on, it is the magnanimity of the government, so, this is just an additional time and opportunity to assist people to get their monies into their bank accounts safely so that nobody misses a dime or loses any money.”

Jibrin concluded saying, “I am appealing to our people both men and women to carry or propagate this message everywhere so that people can do the needful.”

Source :News Express.

President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned the Dangote Fertiliser Plant in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos.

He inaugurated the multi-billion dollar facility on Tuesday at an event well attended by many political, traditional, and religious leaders, as well as key members of the private sector from various parts of the country.

They include the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Kayode Fayemi; as well as members of the forum including Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Darius Ishaku (Taraba), and Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa).

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Mrs Amina Mohammed; the Vice-Chairman of Channels Media Group, Mrs Olusola Momoh; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; as well as former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, were among the dignitaries present at the event.

President Buhari inaugurated the facility as part of activities lined up for his working visit to Lagos. He was also billed to inaugurate the newly built terminal at the Dangote Refinery and the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

The Dangote Fertiliser Plant is Africa’s largest granulated urea fertiliser complex. It occupies 500 hectares of land in the Lekki Free Trade Zone and was built at about $2.5 billion.

It is expected to help Nigeria retain $125 million in import substitution and provide $625 million from exports of products from the fertiliser plant.

While Nigeria is estimated to need about five to seven million metric tonnes of fertiliser per annum amid its current level of fertiliser consumption which is 1.5 million metric tonnes, the Dangote fertiliser complex was established to produce three million metric tonnes of urea fertiliser per annum in its first phase.

In the course of its construction, the complex is said to have provided about 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in all categories, an additional 5,000 jobs within the community, as well as created 500 permanent jobs.

Secured Future

In his speech before commissioning the facility, President Buhari was delighted that the plant would further advance his administration’s drive towards achieving self-sufficiency in food production in the country.

“I commend the Chairman, Board, and Management of Dangote Industries Limited for their business initiative in building this plant to reduce our dependence on importation of fertiliser, create jobs on a massive scale, increase the inflow of  foreign exchange and accelerate economic growth,” he said.

“This new plant is a testament to the widely acknowledged patriotism of Aliko Dangote and the leadership of Dangote Industries Limited. It also demonstrates their commitment to the socio-economic development of our country and the wellbeing of our people “I am confident that the investment in this plant will replicate the group’s earlier exploit in the cement sector where Dangote Cement holds the enviable record as our continent’s largest cement producer with footprints in 10 other African countries. The group’s investment in integrated cement plants, spanning the value chain from quarry to bagging has effectively ended Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement products.”

According to the President, Dangote Industries Limited, along with several other subsidiaries, has created thousands of jobs across the country.

He described the company as the second biggest employer of labour in Nigeria after the Federal Government, stressing the importance of job creation by private sector operators to national security.

Rise Of Agropreneurs

President Buhari stated, also stands to gain extensively in earnings of foreign exchange from the excess production and export from the plant.

“I am informed that you have already started exporting to other countries, including the United States, India, and Brazil,” he said. “The coming on stream of the plant is creating huge opportunities in the areas of job creation, trade, warehousing, transport, and logistics.

“This will create significant wealth, reduce poverty, and help in securing the future of our nation. In the agriculture sector, another focal point of our economic policy, we expect a boom as fertiliser is now readily available in greater quantities and better quality.

“Many Nigerians who hitherto practised subsistence farming because of the inability of necessary inputs can now take up agriculture as a business.  We expect the rise of a new breed of agro-preneurs who will add value to farming and make the nation self-sufficient in food production.”

President Buhari assured Nigerians that his government would remain focused on providing an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

He also promised that they would continue to improve on infrastructure, power, and security, as well as enact relevant laws and regulations that would drive investment in the economy.

Tackling Youth Restiveness

In his speech, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, believes the plant will make Nigeria self-sufficient in fertiliser production, with excess capacity to export to other African markets and the rest of the world.

He described its commissioning as very historic, saying it is the largest granulated urea plant in Africa and the second-largest in the world.

Africa’s richest businessman hinted that the plant would help Nigeria retain about $125 million in import substitution and provide $625 million from exports of its products.

“It is an ambitious developmental project which will drastically reduce the level of unemployment and youth restiveness in this country, through the direct and indirect employment,” he said.

“Our goal is to make fertiliser available in sufficient quantities and quality for our teeming farmers in achieving greater agricultural outputs and to help realise this potential, we are rolling out initiatives that will transform the agriculture sector including services for all small and medium-scale farmers.”

Dangote informed the audience at the event that the plant has established well-equipped soil testing laboratories to ensure appropriate fertiliser blends were applied to specific soil and crop types.

Source (Channels Television)

 

 

It was stunning to read on many platforms people urging Air Peace Airlines and its chairman to adopt a gung-ho approach in missed flights by the Emir of Kano. It is unhelpful to the airline. The critical issues involved include aviation practice, a penchant for flight delays becoming a negative rap, business interest and cultural communication.

 

A. AVIATION PRACTICE. People in the industry confirm that airlines delay flights in case of delays of the connecting flight. It would not be unusual for Air Peace to have done so for its passengers, regardless of the status. It would have been better if it did BECAUSE OF THE STATUS of the person who requested it. Prince Bayero claimed friendship with the Air Peace chairman as a former pilot and waved the status of the Emir of Kano. Unfortunately, a partisan supposedly speaking in favour of the airline has testified that Air Peace once delayed a flight for his entourage on a peace mission! It turns out the Emir and his people did not buy a connecting flight. They booked Banjul-Lagos and Lagos-Kano separately. Nevertheless.

B. PROCLIVITY FOR FLIGHT DELAYS. Air Peace Airline has become notorious for flight delays on local and international routes. It should not be grandstanding on this score. Last year, it recorded 55% flight delays. It is not a good record, whatever the reasons. Too many of its passengers have harrowing experiences to share.

C. BUSINESS INTEREST. A fundamental rule in marketing and communication states that the customer is always right. Rule 2 affirms, “When the customer is wrong, refer to Rule 1.” It was poor handling of a bad situation for Air Peace to engage in an exchange of news releases on the matter with the Kano prince. It is particularly so when it occasioned the delay in the first instance. What happened to a phone call once the fellow issued a news release trying to draw blood? Make no mistake: Prince Isa Bayero seeks to damage Air Peace. He complained to the regulator DEMANDING punishment then went to the media. What a friend.

D. CULTURAL COMMUNICATION. Intercultural communication is a big issue for businesses and individuals in our increasingly interconnected world. An enormous company such as Air Peace should have acute cultural sensitivity. So, a Kano prince wants to throw the status of their Emir into the mix of a business wrangle? Humour them. Honour them. Handle with circumspection.

E. Air Peace should stoop to conquer. Air Peace should send a high-powered team to Kano. It may not include Mr Onyema. Or Mr Onyema may get First Class chiefs from various parts of Nigeria to go with him, underlining the fact that it is a national airline. He could even get from Ghana and Sierra Leone. International airline. Humour and honour the Emirate and people of Kano. Make the Emir of Kano a Special Class passenger. Offer him privileges for the next three months. It is a business promotion.

F. SUSTAINABILITY. The airline should focus on continued growth and not flex egos with any customer. Air Peace should ignore those beating ethnic drums on both sides. The best practice is not to fight your customer and it applies to airlines as well as the corner shop.

 

By Chido Nwakanma, A PR Expert based in Lagos.