The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied devaluing the Naira to N630 per $1 United States dollar from its official exchange rate N465/US$1.

The apex bank said in a statement by
Isa AbdulMumin PhD Ag. Director, Corporate Communications that attention of the bank has been drawn to a news report by Daily Trust Newspaper of June 1, 2023, titled “CBN Devalues Naira To 630/$1”.

“We wish to state categorically that this news report, which in the imagination of the newspaper is exclusive, is replete with outright FALSEHOODS and destabilizing innuendos, reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate at the Investors’ & Exporters’ (I&E) window traded this
morning (June 1, 2023) at N465/US$1 and has been stable around this rate for a while.

“The public is hereby advised to ignore the news report by Daily Trust in its entirety, as it is speculative and calculated at causing panic in the market.

“Media practitioners are advised to verify their facts from the Central Bank of Nigeria before publishing in order not to misinform the public.”

Fear of uncertainty grip most Nigerians on Wednesday as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) confirmed a new PMS pump price of N537 per litre of fuel in Abuja.

The over 200 percent increase of in a product that have influencing impart on transportation cost and consequently on prices of other commodities ,left the residents of Abuja wondering on how to survive in the coming days ,weeks and months.

Nigerians should brace up for harder times as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has confirmed a new price regime for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), across section of the residents said, but majority of the residents preferred to hold back their comments .

In its release dated 31 May, 2023 the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Garba Deen Muhammad, had confirmed the new price regime.

He stated in the release, tagged “Adjustment In Pump Price Of PMS”, that the adjustment in the pump price of fuel was in line with current market realities.

The NNPCL could not give any assurance of stability of the new price regime for PMS as it declared: “It is pertinent to note that prices will continue to fluctuate to reflect market dynamics.”

It however promised to strive to provide end users of the petroleum product of quality service and ceaseless supply.

“NNPC Limited wishes to inform our esteemed customers that we have adjusted our pump prices of PMS across our retail outlets, in line with current market realities.

“As we strive to provide you with the quality service for which we are known, it is pertinent to note that prices will continue to fluctuate to reflect market dynamics.

“We assure you that NNPC Limited is committed to ensuring a ceaseless supply of products.

“The company sincerely regrets any inconvenience this development may have caused.

“We greatly appreciate your continued patronage, support, and understanding during this time of change and growth,” NNPCL stated in the release.

There has been sudden fuel scarcity in several parts of the country following the affirmation by President Bola Tinubu, during his inauguration on Monday, that the fuel subsidy has been removed.

Motorists have since been finding it difficult to get fuel, even as the pump price of the product rose to as high as N650 per litre at some filling stations.

The sudden increment was against an initial understanding that the removal of oil subsidy would be implemented by the end of June.

In the midst of the controversies, Nigerians woke up on Wednesday morning only to learn that the NNPCL had jerked up pump prices of petrol (PMS) by over 200 per cent.

The new PMS pump price template purportedly sent by NNPCL to petroleum marketers.
The latest increment brought the pump price to between N488 and N577 per litre, with Lagos State having the lowest price, while Borno and Yobe states would be selling at N557 per litre.

This was a sharp increase from the old pump price regime of between N189 per litre and N199 per litre across the states before the removal of subsidy.

If the new pricing template, purportedly sent by the NNPCL Management to marketers is anything to go by, the new price regime takes effect from today.

As contained in the template, the new price regime per litre, across the states, effective from today, 31 May, 2023, is as follows:

Lagos: ₦488; FCT Abuja: ₦537; Abia: ₦515; Adamawa: ₦550; Akwa Ibom: ₦515; Anambra: ₦520; Bauchi: ₦550; Bayelsa: ₦515; Benue: ₦537; Borno: ₦557; Cross River: ₦511; Delta: ₦511; Edo: ₦511;

Ekiti: ₦500; Enugu: ₦520; Ebonyi: ₦520; Gombe: ₦550; Imo: ₦515; Jigawa: ₦540; Kaduna: ₦540; Kano: ₦540; Katsina: ₦540; Kebbi: ₦545; Kogi: ₦537; Kwara: ₦515; Nasarawa: N537;

Niger: ₦537; Ogun: ₦500; Ondo: ₦500; Osun: ₦500 per litre; Oyo: ₦500! Plateau: ₦537; Rivers: ₦511; Sokoto: ₦540; Taraba: ₦550! Yobe: ₦557! and Zamfara: ₦540 per litre.

The Organised Private Sector of Nigeria comprising the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industries, and the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises has rejected the recently announced increase in excise tax.

The hike, contained in the circular dated April 20, 2023, was reportedly signed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.

In a statement signed by the Director-General, MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir; Director-General, NACCIMA, Olusola Obadimu; Director-General, NECA, Adewale Oyerinde; Director-General, Ifeanyi Oputa; and Director-General,  NASSI, and Eke Ubiji, the OPSN called for an immediate reversal of the hike. It said the increase was unwarranted, ill-timed and inimical to the Nigerian economy and the manufacturing sector in particular.

It said the manufacturing sector is presently grappling with unprecedented challenges including the sustained scarcity of naira, limited access to foreign exchange, a struggling economy and persistent inflation, alongside perennial problems of multiple taxation and epileptic power supply.

These challenges, the OPSN said, had resulted in a record crash in sales for most businesses running into billions of Naira, with the result that manufacturers are struggling to remain in business, amidst looming job cuts, mothballing of factories and total shutdown of businesses.

The statement partly read, “Therefore, increasing excise rates at this time is extremely ill-advised and may sound the death knell for affected businesses and their contribution to the national economy, even as the broader manufacturing sector continues to deteriorate.

“In light of the above, the OPSN respectfully requests the Federal Government to urgently reverse the increase in excise rates to protect the affected industries and the dependent businesses in their extended value chain from imminent collapse with calamitous consequences for the economy.

“We further request that the Federal Government suspends excise taxes in the manufacturing sector for a minimum of six months, to arrest the alarming decline in the sector.”

The OPSN also advised the Central Bank of Nigeria to urgently deploy measures to fully alleviate the Naira scarcity crisis and prioritise foreign exchange allocations to the productive sector.