News
CBN raises interest rate by 150 basis points to 26.25% from 24.75%
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has raised the country’s baseline interest rate by 150 basis points to 26.25 per cent from 24.75 per cent.
Mr Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of CBN, said this on Tuesday in Abuja, while reading the communique from the 295th meeting of the MPC.
Cardoso, however, said that the committee decided to hold all other parameters constant.
The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was thus, retained at 45 per cent, the Liquidity Ratio of 30 per cent was retained and Asymmetric Corridor of +100/-300 basis points around the MPR was also retained.
Cardoso said that all 12 members of the committee were present at the meeting.
According to him, the key focus of the committee at the meeting remained to achieve price stability by effectively using tools available to the monetary authority to reign in inflation.
He said that members observed that while year-on-year headline inflation in April rose moderately, the month-on-month measures of headline, food, and core inflation all declined significantly.
“This follows a decline month-on-month of headline and food measures in March, suggesting that the recent tight monetary policy stance of the CBN is beginning to yield the desired outcome,” he said.
He said that the MPC, however, noted that inflationary pressure continues to be driven largely by food inflation.
“The committee, thus, reiterated several challenges confronting the effective moderation of food inflation.
“They include rising cost of transportation of farm produce, infrastructure related constraints along the line of distribution network, and security challenges in some food producing areas,” he said.
Cardoso said that “exchange rate pass-through” to domestic prices for imported food items was also an impediment to taming food inflation.
According to him, the MPC urged that more be done to improve the security of farming communities to guarantee improved food production in these areas,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this is the third consecutive tightening of the baseline interest rate, known as the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by the MPC under Cardoso.
At its 293rd meeting in February, the committee increased the MPR by 400 basis points from 18.75 per cent to 22.85 per cent, and also increased it by 200 basis points, to 24.75 per cent from 22.75 per cent in March.
Meanwhile, an economist, Dr Chijioke Ekechukwu, reacting to the decision of the MPC, urged stakeholders to give the committee the benefit of the doubt.
” Although, a continuous increase of MPR in my opinion, is not going to control inflation. It is rather going to continue to increase it, as the cost of funds will rise.
“This will ultimately be borne by consumers through higher prices of goods and services.
“There are other drivers of inflation, which are not within the control of the monetary policy.
” If a sickness needs a combined doses of two drugs to heal, and you use only one drug, that sickness will remain with the patient,” Ekechukwu said.
Uche Uwaleke, a professor of Capital Market and the president of the Association of Capital Markets Academics of Nigeria, said that the hike in the MPR by a further 150 basis points would most likely have an adverse consequence on the equities market.
According to Uwaleke, this is given the inverse relationship between interest rates and equities market returns.
“It has the potential of triggering portfolio rebalancing in favour of fixed income securities.
“If I were a member of the MPC, I would have voted for a hold position as the aggressive policy rate hike is taking a toll on output.
” Production is stiffled because of very high cost of funds.
“Moreover, the seeming over reliance on the MPR as a tool to tame inflation does not appear to be making any meaningful impact due to the significant non-monetary factors driving inflation in Nigeria,” he said.
He listed such factors to include high cost of energy, transport as well as insecurity in the food-belt regions of the country. (NAN)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives seized drugs with a street value of N3.428 billion in Lagos and Rivers states.
In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the drugs include 3.5 million pills of opioids and 163,000 bottles of codeine syrups.
He said the codeine syrups were intercepted by NDLEA and customs officers on April 29 during a joint examination of a watch-listed container at the Port Harcourt ports complex, Onne, Rivers state.
The NDLEA spokesman said in Lagos, 1,500,000 pills of a controlled opioid were recovered from a suspect identified as Olarenwaju Wahab at the Alaba-Rago area of Ojo on April 29, while the source of the consignment was traced to Q104B road 25, Victoria Garden City, Lekki, the residence of one Obinna Kenneth who is now at large.
Babafemi said the anti-narcotics agency also raided and confiscated other prohibited drugs across the country.
He said at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos, operatives intercepted 42 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 20kg, concealed in tins of chocolate, milo beverage, white kidney beans and dark red kidney beans.
He said the items were packaged as part of cargo into the Lagos airport onboard a British Airways flight from Canada.
Babafemi said at least three suspects, including the receiver of the consignment, Monsurat Ewawunmi Lawson, were arrested between April 30 and May 3.
“In like manner, a businessman, Bobby Morris Osas, was on Friday, 2nd May, arrested at the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Italy. A thorough search of his luggage led to the seizure of 8,130 pills of tramadol 225mg, 200mg and 100mg,” the statement reads.
Babafemi said another syndicate’s attempt to ship 104 grammes of tramadol and skunk concealed in bottles of body cream to Iraq through a courier company in Lagos was also thwarted on Monday, April 28, by NDLEA officers.
DISCOVERY OF EXPLOSIVES
In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway on May 3 intercepted a commercial vehicle coming from Nasarawa state and heading to Zamfara state.
According to Babafemi, a search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a total of 942 explosives concealed in a sack and the subsequent arrest of a 30-year-old suspect, Nura Sani Muhammad, better known as Nura Hariji.
He said Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, has directed that the suspect and exhibits be transferred to the appropriate security agency for further action.
Babafemi said five members of a syndicate led by Aminu Musa, also known as Kadagi, were arrested on April 30 at Dangoro market, Kano state, with 50 blocks of skunk weighing 21.6kg.
In Edo, operatives at Uromi, Esan north-east, on May 1, arrested a white Toyota bus conveying assorted opioids from Onitsha, Anambra state, heading to Auchi.
He noted that items recovered from the vehicle include 314,020 pills of tramadol, phenol, diazepam, exol5, 638 bottles of codeine syrup and 200 ampoules of pentazocine injection.
Babafemi said a suspect, Dare Adeyemo, was taken into custody.
“A Mazda commercial bus marked XA343TSE was equally intercepted at Agu-Awka junction, Awka, Anambra state by NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 30th April while a total of 50,400 capsules of tramadol, 500 tablets of co-codamol and 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection were recovered and a suspect Chinedu Eneh arrested,” Babafemi said.
In Niger state, officers on patrol along Kontagora-Mokwa road on May 3 intercepted a Mitsubishi canter truck marked RBH 104 ZY, and following a search, 5,500 capsules of tramadol and 2,300 ampoules of pentazocine injection were discovered with a suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, arrested.
“After 10 months of painstaking investigation, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 26th April, arrested a wanted drug kingpin, the 52-year-old Managing Director of Ovidaq International Ltd, Dominic Chiegozie Obijiaku, over his involvement in the importation of a consignment of 2,616,060 pills of tramadol 225mg intercepted by NDLEA at Apapa seaport in Lagos on 28th July 2024. A follow-up operation at his house in Lekki led to the seizure of 51 wraps of Canadian Loud weighing 34 grams,” Babafemi said.
The NDLEA spokesman said the war against drug abuse and social advocacy activities of the NDLEA commands continued across the country in the past week.
Babafemi added that some of the activities included a WADA sensitisation lecture delivered to students and staff of Al-stigma University, Kano, and students and staff of Government Girls Junior Secondary School, Kankia, Katsina state, among others.
The Confederation of All Progressives Congress (APC) Support Groups has threatened to mobilise 50 million supporters to protest against the United States and its allies, accusing them of meddling in Nigeria’s affairs ahead of an anticipated release of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) files on President Bola Tinubu’s past.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Prof. Kailani Muhammad, Director-General of the group, condemned the U.S. for allegedly attempting to distract Tinubu with decades-old allegations of drug-related cases and money laundering from the 1990s.
“We want America and its allies to leave our president alone,” Muhammad declared, noting that the release of the files has been postponed by 90 days. “Why shift it? Forget about it.”
Muhammad accused the U.S. of double standards, pointing to issues like racism and drug-related crimes in America while ignoring Nigeria’s internal challenges.
“You are always focusing on Nigeria,” he said, referencing past predictions of Nigeria’s disintegration by former U.S. President Barack Obama.
“We are no more slaves. We cannot let you determine our internal affairs.”
The group demanded that the U.S. provide intelligence on bandits operating in Nigeria and their sponsors, threatening to “chase all foreigners out” if their demands are unmet.
Muhammad urged Tinubu’s administration to focus on economic stability, job creation, and agricultural development to address Nigeria’s hardships, including the high cost of living and the inadequacy of the N75,000 minimum wage, which many state governors have yet to implement.
“What can N75,000 buy in Nigeria today?” Muhammad asked, calling for increased focus on solid minerals and agriculture to create wealth and jobs.
“Nigeria has all it takes to be a great country. All hands must be on deck.”
Chief Hon. Chukwuebuka Obidike, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has rejected the recent allegations levied against Seyi Tinubu regarding the purported assault and abduction of Comrade Atiku Isah, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
In a conversation with our reporter, Obidike characterized these allegations as unfounded, malicious, and a misguided effort to damage the reputation of the President’s son while undermining his charitable contributions.
“It is profoundly troubling that Comrade Atiku Isah would resort to such measures to implicate Seyi Tinubu in matters he is not involved in,” Obidike stated. “Seyi Tinubu is a dedicated Nigerian who has consistently championed youth empowerment and national progress. Linking him to acts of violence is not only unfair but utterly reprehensible.”
Obidike, who also holds the position of Chairman at Clarivo Oil & Gas Limited, emphasized that Seyi Tinubu’s commitment to grassroots initiatives and ongoing support for marginalized communities—particularly in Northern Nigeria—cannot be extinguished by “petty blackmail” or “misguided attacks” from the NANS President.
He further suggested that these accusations are part of a larger scheme aimed at undermining the goodwill Seyi Tinubu enjoys, especially among youth in the north, in the lead-up to the 2027 presidential election.
Obidike called for security agencies to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the matter to reveal the truth. He also urged Comrade Isah and the NANS leadership to redirect their focus toward authentic student advocacy and educational reform, rather than allowing their organization to be a platform for political smear campaigns.
In closing, Obidike reaffirmed his steadfast support for Seyi Tinubu, asserting that no amount of intimidation would hinder his efforts to uplift the underprivileged and foster a positive impact on Nigerian youth.