By Kadiri Abdulrahman

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has assured Nigerians that its digital currency. eNaira posed no threat to financial stability.

The Director, Corporate Communications Department of CBN, Dr Isa AbdulMumin said this on Monday in Marrakech.

AbdulMumin was reacting to a recent media report that raised concerns about Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), eNaira, indicating potential risks to financial stability.

The media report, quoting articles from a book recently released by the CBN indicated that in spite its success in narrowing the country’s financial inclusion gap, the eNaira was a potential threat to financial stability.

It said that since its inception, bank deposit conversion to eNaira had exhibited an average monthly growth of 78.3 per cent and totaled about N1.66 billion.

According to Abdulmumin, a review of the report indicates a lack of understanding of some portions of some articles in a book recently released by the CBN titled, “Economics of Digital Currencies’’.

“A recurring theme in the book is the interest of regulators such as CBN in the role of crypto currencies as speculative investments and the potential threat they harbour for financial stability.

“The articles in the book provide an in-depth understanding of CBDCs generally, and the workings of the Naira,’’ he said.

The director assured that as the eNaira structure continued to evolve, it was undergoing modifications targeted at improving the user experience “across all interfaces’’.

“We encourage Nigerians to embrace the technology for among other things, greater financial inclusion,’’ AbdulMumin said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the eNaira was initiated by the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele and inaugurated in October 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Nigeria is the first African country to adopt the CBDC. (NAN)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Okeoghene Akubuike

Ms Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), says a prosperous world economy in the 21st century requires a prosperous Africa.

Georgieva said this at the 2023 Annual Meetings Curtain Raiser Speech on the  Outlook for the Global Economy and Policy Priorities in Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the IMF boss gave the speech ahead of the IMF/World Bank 2023 Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, from Oct. 9 to Oct. 15.

She said though advanced economies were rapidly aging, they had abundant capital.

“The key will be to better connect that capital to Africa’s abundant human resources, to inject more dynamism into the current anemic global growth outlook.”

Georgieva said Africa also makes the strongest case for building economic resilience.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine, climate disasters, the cost-of-living crisis, political instability, these are the many faces of a shock-prone world.

“Their impact is most fully on display in Africa, as is the overwhelming necessity to better prepare ourselves for that world.

“A prosperous Africa requires maintaining the most important bridge of all, the bridge that connects all countries, that of international cooperation.

“During the meetings, we will make coming together meaningful for the people in our member countries.”

Speaking on the global economic outlook,  the IMF boss said the economy was resilient, but challenged by weak growth and deepening divergence.

She said this was largely because of stronger-than-expected demand for services and tangible progress in the fight against inflation.

“While the recovery from the shocks of the past few years continues, it is slow and uneven.

“As you will see from our updated forecast next week, the current pace of global growth remains quite weak, well below the 3.8 per cent average in the two decades before the pandemic.

“Looking ahead over the medium term, growth prospects have weakened further.”

The IMF boss identified three policy priorities countries should consider for stronger future economic growth.

She said the first priority was to reinforce economic and financial stability by fighting inflation.

“Winning the fight against inflation requires interest rates to remain higher for longer. It is paramount to avoid a premature easing of policy, given the risk of resurging inflation.”

Georgieva noted that some countries in Africa were reforming their energy subsidies to create space for development spending.

“Nigeria, for example, recently removed fuel subsidies that cost about 10 billion dollars  last year, four times the amount spent on health.

“Many countries also need to generate higher and more reliable domestic revenue.

She said the second policy priority was to lay the foundations for inclusive, sustainable growth through transformational reforms and building strong state institutions.

“History teaches us that poor countries become richer by educating people, putting in place good infrastructure, and ensuring effective governance with respect for the rule of law.

“First and foremost is the need to invest in people. For Africa, this means expanding high-quality education at all levels, so that young people can seize the job opportunities of tomorrow.

“It also means scaling up investment in healthcare.”

The IMF boss said the third policy priority was to boost collective resilience through international cooperation, saying that cooperation is weakening at a time we need it most.

She said that international cooperation was needed to address the existential threat of climate change, especially for vulnerable countries as they dealt with shocks they had not caused.

Georgieva said there was a need to work together to help countries deal with debt challenges.

“With the right policies and Harambee meaning (pulling together in full cooperation), we can build a bridge to a more prosperous and peaceful future.

“We can lay the groundwork for a half-century even more impressive than the last.  (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Kelechi Ogunleye

Alhaji Muhammed Shehu, Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), has tasked Nigerian on compliance with the payment of taxes to boost revenue generation in the country.

Shehu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

He also urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) alongside private business owners to remit to the Federal Government coffers as and when due to avoid sanctions.

Shehu said that revenues generated from payment of taxes would be utilised for better services and infrastructural development in the country for the benefit of all citizens.

The chairman, who reiterated the need to enlarge the nation’s tax base, added that barely less than 40 million Nigerians pay taxes.

According to him, this is low for a country with high population.

” The Federal Government and tiers of the federation are concerned with how to make more revenue by blocking leakages,” he said.

While reflecting on Nigeria’s years of existence, Shehu said that the country’s 63rd Independence Day Anniversary was a significant milestone.

He added that it was time for Nigerians to look back on the progress made and the challenges confronting the nation since its independence.

“ Nigeria gained independence from British colonial rule on Oct. 1, 1960. Since then, the country has made significant strides in various aspects of development, including politics, economy, culture, and more.

“ It is a time to honour the sacrifices and contributions of those who fought for Nigeria’s independence and to appreciate the diverse cultures and traditions that make the country unique.

“ It is also an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to unity, peace, and progress as Nigeria continues its journey forward,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Deborah Coker/Olawunmi Ashafa

By Rukayat Moisemhe

Lagos and Oyo states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have emerged as best performing states in Nigeria’s socioeconomic scorecard, according to Analysts Data Services and Resources (ADSR).

Dr Afolabi Olowookere, Managing Director and Chief Economist, ADSR, made the disclosure on Tuesday during a Webinar series with the theme: “The Socioeconomic Scorecard of Nigerian States (2023 Baseline Edition).

Olowookere said that while Nigeria’s average was pegged at 45.79 per cent, the best performing states- Lagos, FCT and Oyo scored 62.5 per cent, 58.9 per cent and 58 per cent respectively.

According to him, a total of 57 relevant indicators were used in the construction of the scorecard across 12 key broad socio-economic segments namely Economic Output; Government Finance; Financial Sector; and Capital Importation.

Others were Land, Housing and Sanitation, Transportation, ICT Infrastructure, Energy and Environment, Industrialisation and Business Competitiveness, Education, Health, and Citizens’ Livelihood and Welfare.

He stated that generally across all states, the best performing segments were the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at 58.31 per cent, financial sector at 51.96 per cent.

The Economist revealed that the least performing sectors were transportation 34.24 per cent, citizens’ livelihood and welfare at 37.14 per cent.

He added that the least performing states were Yobe at 34.5 per cent, Gombe State at 35 per cent and Sokoto State at 36.8 per cent.

According to him, after the elections earlier this year, many of the state governors constituted their cabinets and some are already revising or putting together their States’ Economic Development Plan and Strategy Documents.

“The usual promise is to improve the socio-economic status of the citizens of a state in the next four years and beyond.

“To objectively measure the extent of progress a new administration will be making and set measurable and realistic targets, there is a need to provide baseline data, capturing the current level of the socio-economic performance.

“Such data are often not easily made available, and when they are, they may not be in easy to understand, readily usable, and comparable formats and this scorecard, therefore, seeks to fill this gap.

“The aim is to provide baseline data and highlight the relative performance of, and aid effective policy making at, the sub-national level of government in Nigeria,” he added.

Meanwhile, Prof. Bright Eregha, Professor of Economics, Pan-Atlantic University, has emphasised the need to tackle the binding constraints to productivity by and large industrialisation.

Eregha called for a more structured and proper Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework to finance infrastructural facilities therefore enhancing manufacturing and global competitiveness.

“It is also important for government to be more efficient in delivering an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

“Education, health and human capital development as key drivers of productivity must be refocused while Nigeria takes advantage of its youthful population and train them on skills that are relevant to get the needed competitiveness across states.

“The least performing states in welfare and livelihood show the criticality of education and we need to put more emphasis on programmes that drive education to drive human capital development and to strengthen institutions,” he said.

Similarly, Dr OluwaSeyi Vincent, an economist from the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), urged government to focus better on the health sector due to its ability to shore up productivity.

Vincent, lauding government’s various health schemes so far, also noted the need for a wider coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme, particularly in rural areas to further increase access to healthcare.

Also, Mr Adedotun Seyingbo, Economic Development and Governance Reform Specialist, said industrial policies at sub-national levels needed to be rethought and reviewed.

He noted that efforts by some states to drive industrialisation via provision of lands, subsidies among other measures remained largely uncoordinated.

“States must stop imitating policies but create reforms typical to addressing each state’s perculiar industrialisation needs.

“There should be more focus on domestic businesses and encouraging reforms for new and innovative businesses.

“As such, states must refocus developing entrepreneurship, start-ups, new ideas and businesses and encourage domestic firms till they grow large enough, to begin to attract the needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Deborah Coker/Olawunmi Ashafa