- As Naira plunges to record low of 345/dollar
The month of February may leave Indian hemp sellers dry, as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Western Marine Command, Lagos, intercepted a consignment of Indian hemp weighing 4,500kg with a market value of N150M Illinois.
The seizure which was recorded on February 9 and handed over to the NDLEA at the weekend was recorded at Igbo-Ojanla near Badagry.
But while seizure was being celebrated by the Customs in Lagos, the Kaduna State Police Command was assembling to showcase 33 bags of Indian hemp and 34 baskets of hard drugs in Kaduna, with a street value of about N50m.
The WMC Area Controller, Yusuf Umar, noted that the seizure was made at the risk life and limbs of his officer, noting that some of them actually got arrived office with deep matched cuts on their hands and backs.
Assuring that the Command would continue to live up to expectations, he highlighted the Command recorded last year, a total of 41 seizures of various items with a duty paid value (DPV) of over N72million, which was an increase of 78% in revenue, compared with the total number of 32 seizures with a duty paid value of N28,8million, recorded in 2014.
He subsequently handover the hemp to the Lagos State National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Commander, Alhaji Sule Aliquippa.
However in Kaduna, the Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu, who displayed the drugs, said police arrested over 150 suspects, who would be duly prosecuted in courts.
The commissioner added that the police also recovered 10 bags of Indian hemp in ‘Bagco bags’, 10 cartons of hard drugs and 17 jerry cans of liquid toxicant acid. Shehu, who thanked Governor Nasir el-Rufai for steering the campaign against illicit drugs said: “As you can see, we recorded this achievement in Kaduna town.
We will continue to do our best in containing this menace in view of the negative consequences of drugs in the society. “Hard drugs are a strong motivation to crime, rape and other vices and we will continue to do our best.
“As you know, the government of Kaduna State, under the leadership of Governor el-Rufai, has been supportive and we are grateful.”
Shehu added that the command would hand over the intercepted drugs to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Governor El-Rufai’s spokesperson, Samuel Aruwan, who represented the state government, said: “Kaduna State government, under the leadership of Governor El-Rufai, will continue to support security agencies in the campaign against hard drugs and other acts undermining law and order in the state.”
In the meantime, the naira tumbled to a record low of 345 against the dollar at the parallel market on Monday, extending its depreciation from nine to 11 per cent in less than two weeks.
The naira had hit a record low of 338 against the greenback on Friday, a day after the Bankers’ Committee announced plans to stop providing foreign exchange for school fees and medical bills payment.
The naira, which has been on a free fall in the past few weeks, fell steadily from 310 last week Monday to 335 on Thursday at the parallel market.
The CBN has left the official exchange rate unchanged at N197 to the dollar on its official interbank window.
Foreign exchange linked the continued depreciation of the naira against the greenback and other major currencies at the parallel market to rising demand for forex by importers who have debt obligations overseas.
But experts and some forex dealers said the rising demand for the greenback in the past few days was speculative, adding that most people wanted to hold the dollar for fear that the naira might depreciate further.
The acting President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Aminu Gwadabe, said “We have legitimate demand from importers. However, people are also hoarding forex because they feel it may go beyond 400. Except there is a deliberate act to curb the activities of speculators, things may get worse.
“The current naira-dollar exchange rate is artificial; it is as a result of the negative perception about the naira, and the fear the naira may be devalued.”
Tumbling global oil prices have battered Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy, with the external reserves down to an 11-year low at $27.89bn on February 9, according to Reuters.
President Muhammadu Buhari is concerned that further depreciation of the currency will hurt poor Nigerians, but the CBN’s refusal to revise the pegged exchange rate has widened a chasm between the official rate and the parallel market rate.
Last month, the central bank halted dollar sales to the BDC operators and allowed commercial banks to accept dollar deposits in an effort to shore up dwindling foreign reserves.
Around 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings come from crude oil exports, but mismanagement of the refineries means the country must also import expensive refined fuel.
The Chief Executive Officer, Economic Associates, Dr. Ayo Teriba, said there were several ways the Federal Government could attract forex into the country to stabilise the naira, stressing that the currency needed not be allowed to depreciate to the current level.
Teriba had in January said rather than the government borrowing to fund critical infrastructure and hold on to its monopoly in sectors like rail, huge amount of forex could be attracted into the country if the sectors were opened up to local and foreign private investors.
The economist told our correspondent on Monday that there were deliberate actions the government could take to attract forex in the long and short terms.
The Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said it was high time the CBN came up with a policy that would address the forex crisis confronting the nation.
In an economic note released on Thursday, Rewane said, “Nigerians are perplexed at the endless slide of their currency, which is now trading at N325/$, the lowest point ever.
“This is happening even when the oil price is up at $31 per barrel. The debate on whether to devalue the naira is not the real issue. The discourse should be whether we need an exchange rate policy or not. The absence of a policy is a recipe for economic anarchy and a race to the bottom.
Additional report from Punch
