Daily Watch – Kogi gets 30-day strike ultimatum, Buhari makes NDDC nominations
21st July 2016
- Nigeria’s naira was stuck at a record closing low of 292.90 to the American dollar on Wednesday after just one transaction was carried out, with the supply of dollars drying up and no intervention by the central bank, traders said. The naira was unchanged from Tuesday’s close after one transaction worth $380,000 was made on Wednesday. That trade was done at 1150 GMT, more than three hours after the market opened. The interbank market had seen just $300,000 traded on Tuesday, again in one transaction. Traders had expected the central bank to intervene to ease dollar shortages, but that did not materialise. Commercial banks had been quoting to trade the dollar as low as ₦295.50 on Wednesday.
- President Buhari has nominated Nsima Ekere and Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, as the Managing Director and Chairman respectively of the NDDC, a letter addressed to Senate President Bukola Saraki, ThisDay reports. Ibim Semenitari has been acting as the MD of the commission. The paper quotes a presidency source as saying that the letter may be read on the floor of the Senate today.
- Oando says it would record lower Q2 earnings. In a notification to the NSE, the oil firm said the lower earnings would result from the impact of the naira’s devaluation by the CBN that is expected to amount to an unrealised foreign exchange loss arising from dollar-denominated liabilities, outstanding bank trade facilities as well as vendor payables. The indigenous energy group had bounced back into profitability in Q1. It also recently agreed an ₦70.5 billion recapitalisation of its downstream business with Vitol, the world’s largest commodities trader and Helios Investments Partners.
- Organised labour has issued the Kogi State Government a 30-day ultimatum to pay seven months in salary arrears to state employees or risk an industrial action. The NLC and TUC presidents gave the ultimatum at a rally organised by their respective state chapters at the NLC office in Lokoja. Ayuba Wabba, NLC National President, told the workers that no reasonable government would owe salaries for seven months. He said labour would go on strike if the governor refused to address lingering issues and stop the usage of two banks for workers to access what he called, their “fundamental human rights”.