Daily Watch – Naira at all time low, Refineries to go semi-autonomous

7th December 2015

  • Nigeria has said it will soon allow its refineries to operate as semi-autonomous entities in order to run as profitable ventures. The country also expressed its readiness to raise funds from international investors and the private sector in 2016 to fund the Joint Venture cash calls between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and International Oil Companies operating in the country. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said in the next 24 months, Nigerians will see a positive turnaround in the corporation’s refinery model. “The new model is that refineries will now buy their own crude oil, refine it and make remittances to the Federal Account Allocation Committee. They will operate a semi-autonomous system that will enable them to run in a profitable manner,” he said.
  • The Nigeria Labour Congress insists that workers across the country will embark on strike if state governors make good their threat to stop the payment of N18,000 minimum wage. NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, said, “Governors should prepare for the mother of all battles. They should not underestimate the resolve of the NLC to protect the interest of workers. We will shut government in any state where the governors stop payment of N18,000 minimum wage. What is N18,000 that these governors say they can’t pay. Some of them spend more than N100,000 to feed their dogs, lions and other pets they keep monthly. If they can feed animals with N100,000, why can’t they pay their fellow human beings, an average worker, N18,000 monthly. It is an insult, we are not going to take it.”
  • Nigeria’s exchange rate crisis worsened after black market rates crashed to an all time low of N253 per USD on Friday. The gap between the official CBN rate of N198 and the Black Market rate of 253 is at its highest spread in 2 decades. The exchange rate used by Nigeria’s money-changers weakened below 250 naira per dollar for the first time on Friday as pressure builds on the CBN to devalue the naira and allow businesses more access to foreign-exchange.