The Senate on Wednesday joined the House of Representatives and approved the conference committee report on a bill that will grant autonomy to Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
This followed the consideration of clauses of the harmonised report by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
Nigeria will benefit from about 533 million dollars to be released by the United States (U.S.) to some African countries humanitarian assistance.
The benefactors are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan, as well as countries in the Lake Chad region.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said millions of people were facing life-threatening food insecurity and malnutrition as a result of ongoing conflict or prolonged drought in the countries.
Nigeria’s trade account turned positive in 2017 as a rise in oil exports outweighed imports after dollar shortages frustrated transactions, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
The balance of trade last year was 4.03 trillion naira ($13.2 billion). The net trade balance stood at minus 290 billion naira for 2016.
The rise boosts Nigeria’s ambition to promote exports to support its fragile economy and earn foreign exchange while reducing imports. Its 2017 gross domestic product rose 0.8 percent to emerge from Nigeria’s first recession in 25 years.
Nigeria has paid off about 130 billion naira ($413 million) worth of treasury bills maturing this week instead of rolling over the debt as it has done in the past, traders told Reuters.
Patience Oniha, director general of the Debt Management Office (DMO), confirmed the payment on Friday and said a treasury auction calendar for March would be released next week.
Nigeria issued a $2.5 billion Eurobond last month to help redeem portions of its treasury bill portfolio to lower costs.
The National Bureau of Statistics has disclosed that the total capital imported in the fourth quarter of 2017 was $5,382.9 million; this was an annual growth of 247.5%, and quarterly growth of 29.9%.
As at the end of 2017, total capital imported into Nigeria was $12,228.6 million, an increase of $7,104.4 million or 138.7% from the figure recorded in 2016, the Voice of Nigeria reports.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Nigeria will “muddle through” with its economic policies in the medium term, according to a report seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
The lender warned that “comprehensive and coherent” economic policies “remain urgent and must not be delayed by approaching elections and recovering oil prices”.
The IMF added that while the broader economy is slowly exiting recession, real gross domestic product per capita is falling.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah, has said that the trade sub-sector accounted for 18 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Enelamah said this in Abuja at the launch of the Nigeria Annual Trade Policy Report (NATPOR), the first edition put together by the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN).
According to him, the report indicates that trade activities, both imports and exports, employ more than 10.8 million people.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has urged African leaders to Embrace global legislation against illicit financial flows by signing up to global tax transparency and other relevant legislations.
Ms Vera Songwe, the ECA Executive Secretary, made the plea at the 19th quarterly briefing with African Ambassadors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Voice of Nigeria reports.
Songwe, in a statement obtained from the ECA’s website, said the ambassadors had urged ECA to work closely with its partners, African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The Nigerian Non-resident Ambassador to Djibouti, Bankole Adeoye, has pledged to strengthen Nigeria’s existing bilateral relations with the country.
A statement by Sarah Sanda, media aide to Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, said Bankole stated this while presenting his letter of credence to the President of the Republic of Djibouti, Ismail Guelleh.
The ambassador conveyed the best wishes from President Muhammadu Buhari to the President of Djibouti.
The Board of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) says it will focus searchlights on cryptocurrencies, bitcoins and other electronic currencies to minimise risk.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, in a statement on Monday, said the resolution was an outcome of a two-day meeting at the IOSCO headquarters in Madrid, Spain.
“IOSCO resolved to focus its searchlights on cryptocurrencies, bitcoins and other forms of electronic currencies due to risks involved in trading in such assets.
