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CBN Pulls Back Monetary Policy Document
The Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024 – 2025 document published on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, has been withdrawn by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The apex bank made known the invalidation in an unsigned statement published on its website on Friday.
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It averred that the rescinding of the decision was to minimise the risk of any further misrepresentation or misinterpretation, resulting in confusion among stakeholders.
As at Tuesday, excerpts of the policy documents expressed that the lenders’ lender would sustain Ways and Means Advances to the Federal Government at a five percent limit for the fiscal years 2024-2025.
The interest stipulation, however, was contrary to a bill passed by the National Assembly which raised the maximum borrowing percentage in the Act from five percent to 10 percent.
It also had the reinstatement of the cybersecurity levy, which was suspended earlier this year, after a deafening public outcry.
In refuting the claims, the CBN said the guidelines were misunderstood by some outlets as new policies when, they were merely a compilation of previously issued policies and directives effective until December 31, 2023.
It also noted that some policies mentioned in the guidelines have been revised or replaced by newer updates.
The statement read, “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to certain instances of misinterpretation or misrepresentation of its biennial publication on Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines published on September 17, 2024.
“In response, the CBN has temporarily withdrawn the document to minimise the risk of any further misrepresentation. As is stated explicitly in the document to guide stakeholders, the CBN reiterates that the publication is a compilation of previously issued policies and guidelines issued by the bank up to a cut-off date, typically December 31 of the relevant year.
“As in all previous editions, the current document is intended to achieve the following objectives: A single reference source for the ease and convenience of stakeholders. A valid compilation of policies, directives, and guidelines for adjudication in conflict situations involving stakeholders.”
The apex bank also noted that as a compendium of previously issued policies and guidelines, the provisions remained applicable, only to the extent that there had been no updates or revisions to the guidelines and policies contained therein.
“In line with prior editions, the most recent publication (January 2024) contains policies and guidelines issued by the bank up to December 31, 2023, some of which will remain relevant during the period 2024 – 2025,” the bank stated.
Continuing, the statement noted that, “In the light of these clarifications, we ask stakeholders to note the following: Some recent media publications referencing aspects of the guidelines refer to policy positions of the bank issued prior to December 31, 2023, which have changed in the light of revisions and updates in 2024. One example is the Cyber Security Levy, which was suspended in May 2024, superseding the circular reported in the guidelines.
“Certain technical aspects of the guidelines have been widely misreported and misrepresented. For example, reports have mistakenly sought to link the fuel subsidy removal to external reserves. Such reports essentially missed the analytical basis for the original statement, which was intended to observe a potential risk that was to be mitigated by policy. More recently, policies of the bank around the naira exchange rate and those of the fiscal authorities have positively altered the outlook of the subject in question.
“In summary, the guidelines must primarily be viewed as a record of policies, circulars and directives issued by the bank up to the end of 2023. They are not new directives and should not be reported as such.
“The bank will continue to provide clear monetary policy direction and advice for the overall good of the economy. We urge all stakeholders to seek clarification of information about the Bank before publishing,” the statement concluded.
Tesla has set a 2028 commercial production date for its new Roadster sports car that can briefly rise into the air using rocket technology.
According to CNN, the date was revealed when the manufacturers demonstrated its functionality on Thursday at a SpaceX testing facility in Texas, United States, where the two-seater vehicle performed a series of manoeuvres, including driving upside down before making a short airborne movement.
The prototype was operated without a driver during the test, with Musk saying the decision was taken “to make sure we don’t kill anyone.”
“Success is not guaranteed. I mean that. It’ll probably work, but if it doesn’t work, we’re at a safe distance,” he said.
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CNN reported that the vehicle uses 10 nozzles and high-pressure air tanks to generate thrust, with Musk claiming it could accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than a second.
The Tesla boss attributed the development to cooperation between the electric vehicle manufacturer and SpaceX, the rocket company he also leads.
He described the project as “the results of what happens when you have a collaboration with the world’s best car company and the world’s best rocket company.”
Musk also sought to assure spectators that the demonstration was genuine, saying, “We need an audience to prove that it’s not AI or SI. So you guys can tell people you saw it with your eyes, because what you see with your eyes, you will not believe.”
Despite the display, questions remain about whether the vehicle can achieve sustained flight and how practical it would be for everyday transportation.
Roger Conner, curator for vertical flight at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, told CNN that combining the requirements of road vehicles and aircraft presented significant engineering challenges.
“Aircraft are extremely sensitive to weight, whereas with ground vehicles you want them to have bumpers and crumple zones and all that,” he said.
“Inevitably, something that is a hybrid between the two is going to be a poor performing aircraft and a poor performing vehicle, and also quite expensive,” he added.
Conner questioned whether the demonstration amounted to flying in the conventional sense.
“We’re not talking about sustained flight. We are literally talking about hopping,” he said.
However, Jim Dukhovny, chief executive of flying car startup Alef, said the technology was achievable, while pointing to the difficulties involved in making such vehicles transition safely from vertical take-off to forward flight.
“It absolutely is 100% feasible,” he told CNN.
“That being said, the hardest part on all eVTOLs, and for us, it’s a transition from (rising) vertical to (moving) forward. It needs to be extremely careful, making sure you do not lose lift, and making sure it’s very stable,” he added.
CNN also reported that Alef’s prototype weighs about 254 pounds, uses eight propellers and is designed to carry one person.
Musk said Tesla intended to begin production of the new Roadster in 2028.
CNN reported that the latest display adds to Musk’s ambitions to push Tesla’s vehicle technology beyond conventional electric cars, although the prototype’s ability to operate as a practical flying vehicle has yet to be established.
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has urged the Federal Government to add its member-stations to the petrol discount programme.
It cautioned that the current arrangement could limit the reach and deny vast consumers in underserved communities the benefits of the 30-day discount window.
The PETROAN also urged the FG to allocate at least 30 percent of the discounted petrol volume to outlets operated by its members.
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The calls followed last week’s announcement by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, of a petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) retail outlets, with priority given to public transport operators nationwide.
According to the National Publicity Secretary, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, the exclusion of independent marketers could undermine the programme’s effectiveness, particularly in communities where NNPC retail outlets have limited presence.
He argued that independent marketers, with their extensive nationwide distribution networks, were better positioned to extend the benefits of the intervention to consumers in remote and underserved areas.
“Independent oil marketers have over 90 percent coverage and presence in the nooks and crannies of this country. You are giving NNPC that is situated only in the town. So how do the poor masses, whom you intend to ensure that this petroleum product will alleviate their sufferings, how would they now get it?” Ukadike asked.
He said the association was not opposed to the government’s policy but insisted that independent marketers should be included to ensure wider access to the discounted product.
“But it’s government policies; we are not against government policies, but let it be all-inclusive; let independent marketers be part of it,” he said.
Ukadike also urged the government to extend the discount period to 60 days, citing logistical challenges that could delay the movement of petrol from coastal depots to other parts of the country.
“And the 30 days should be extended to 60 days. Because of the circulation of petroleum products, most times it takes two weeks for a truck to leave Apapa and get to Gombe, Maiduguri, because of the bad road and all the rest of them and loading process,” he added.
Similarly, PETROAN National President, Billy Gillis-Harry, urged the Federal Government to allocate 30 per cent of the discounted petrol volume to the association’s retail outlets to facilitate broader national distribution.
In the bid to transform Tanzania into the East African regional energy hub, the country is on the verge of concluding an agreement with a consortium of energy companies, including a $42 billion LNG project.
It was gathered that the project is designed to tap the 47.13 tcf of gas discovered in Tanzania’s deep offshore fields, part of the country’s estimated 57.54 tcf in total discovered reserves, the sixth-largest in Africa, behind Nigeria, Algeria, Senegal, Mozambique and Egypt.
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Equinor and Shell would be the lead operators, alongside involvement from ExxonMobil Pavilion Energy and Medco Energi, while state oil major, the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), would also hold an equity stake in the project.
“It’s almost there,” Khamis Mussa Omar, Tanzania’s finance minister, told Reuters.
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