Economy

AfCFTA Secretary-General allays fears of turning Nigeria into dumping ground

AfCFTA Sec.Gen, Wamkele Mene

Eyewitness reporter

The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has allayed the fears of Nigeria over the possibility of being turned into a dumping ground for goods under the continental trade agreement.

Mr Mene, who stated this during the visit of the AfCFTA secretariat to Lagos ports Wednesday, said adequate measures have been built into the trade agreement to safeguard the country and other African nations from being turned into dumping grounds for foreign goods.

It could be recalled that it took Nigeria’s President, Mohammed Buhari to sign the trade agreement owing to fears being expressed by the government that Nigeria, as the biggest market in Africa, could easily be turned into a dumping ground under the continental trade agreement.

However, the AfCFTA scribe said though such fears are real, the agreement has taken care of its possibility.

He said the issue of dumping is a serious one but the agreement has given each country under the agreement powers to deal with the situation when it arises.

According to him, the agreement is intended to create jobs and not job losses, as dumping could lead to job losses.

“On the issue of dumping, it is a very very serious issue. This agreement is intended to create jobs, not job losses.

“So, we have to make sure that we are very vigilant against the transshipment of goods, against fraudulent invoicing.

” Any goods that are coming in that are not part of AFCTA, we should not hesitate to take action against such goods.

“That is why we are working closely with the customs authorities in Africa.

“In the agreement, there are rules: anti-dumping measures, all these rules are meant to protect domestic economies.

“If you see there is the importation of certain goods from certain countries, the agreement allows you to take action against those goods in that country.

“So we have built into the agreement safeguards to make sure that we minimize these.

“Fraudulent invoicing, and transshipment, like any other crimes, those things will always be there, the issue is to mitigate and make it difficult” Mr Mene declared.

He disclosed that in order to mitigate the issue of dumping, the AfCFTA secretariat is working closely with customs authorities in Africa to check against this menace.

“So we are working closely with the customs authorities, that is why we have hosted them in Accra, five times so that we can jointly together confront these challenges of the possibility of dumping of goods.

“What I always find interesting is that many times, we are willing to accept goods from a country whose name I would not mention that is not on this continent., substandard goods, goods that don’t meet our own requirements, these are the things we have to be vigilant against because it is not a Nigerian market, a Malian market, a Ghanian market, it is AFCTA market.

The AfCFTA chief said that dumping will not affect one county alone but the whole of Africa and that is why the secretariat viewed the issue with all seriousness.

“We are now creating one market, so if there is dumping in Nigeria, it impacts all of us. If it is dumped in another country, it imparts on all of us.

“So I really appreciate the sensitivity of this issue of dumping and I understand it.

“I mentioned in the previous session that in Southern Africa, there is a sugar that is being dumped from another part of the world that is being brought here, displacing the local market in Southern Africa, and creating job loss.

.”So we have to work together to make sure that we prevent this scourge of dumping” Mene stated.

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Economy

Court reverses self over contempt charge against Fidelity Bank chief

Managing Director of Fidelity Bank,Nneka Chinwe Onyeali-Ikpe

The Eyewitness reporter

A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos has vacated its ruling that convicted and sentenced the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank,Nneka Chinwe Onyeali-Ikpe and Company Secretary of Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Unuigboje Ezinwa to six weeks in prison or a fine of Four Hundred Thousand Naira respectively for contempt.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Lateef Owolabi vacated the order in a Suit No: MIK/4726/22 between Justin Ahmed, (judgement creditor), Prince Enabulele Osazee, (judgement debtor) and Fidelity Bank Plc, (1st Garnishee/Applicant).

The court, in an earlier ruling delivered on February 6, 2023, held that the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Nneka Chinwe Onyeali-Ikpe and the Company Secretary, Mrs. Unuigboje Ezinwa should be committed to six weeks’ imprisonment over alleged disobedience of a garnishee order of the court restraining the bank from allowing a judgement debtor access to his account.

However, at the resumed proceedings on the matter on Feb 15, 2023, the court vacated the committal order on the premise of facts presented before the court that the alleged acts of contempt were not deliberate but arose out of a communication gap between the said parties and the erstwhile counsel.

The court in its ruling also stated that the error or sin of the counsel should not be visited on a party or litigants. The court also noted that the monies that were the subject matter and fulcrum of the contempt proceedings have since been paid to the judgment creditor.

“From the materials presented before this court by the applicant, this application falls within the classic rule where the error or sin of the counsel should not be visited on a party or litigants. Moreover, the applicant has averred that the monies subject matter, the fulcrum of the contempt proceedings had since been paid to the judgment creditor.

”Having fully discharged this payment to the satisfaction of the judgment creditor, this court should not be seen to cry more than the bereaved”, Mr Lateef Owolabi held.

”The solicitor to the bank explained that Fidelity Bank, being a law-abiding institution that will never or under any circumstance, directly or indirectly denigrate the integrity of the nation’s judiciary, had upon receipt of the garnishee order nisi on December 22, 2022, conducted a search immediately, and the result showed several accounts bearing similar names to the Judgment Debtor’s (Prince Enabulele Osazee).”

”To prevent the bank from erroneously restricting the wrong account, the bank filed an affidavit requesting additional account details to enable it to ascertain the correct account(s) to restrict.”

He further stated that, on January 16, 2023, the bank received the Judgment Creditor’s affidavit showing the account number of the Judgment Debtor. Armed with the correct account number, the bank immediately identified and placed a lien on the Judgment Debtor’s account. Unfortunately, during the intervening period, the judgement debtor had carried on depositing and withdrawing from his account.

In vacating the order on February 15, 2023, the Chief Magistrate held that based on the materials before the court, the applicant has been able to tether the law to the facts to warrant the grant of the relief sought on their own strength and not based on lack of opposition.

Economy

Supreme court restrains FG from enforcing naira swap deadline

The Eyewitness reporter

There was a temporary relief for Nigerians over the scarcity of naira notes as the Supreme Court has issued an order of interim injunction restraining the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from enforcing the February 10 deadline for the phasing out of the old naira notes.

A five-member panel of the court, led by Justice John Okoro said that it was a matter of urgent national importance that the court intervenes and grant the order.

The ruling was on an ex-parte motion filed by the governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states

The order, according to Justice Okoro, who read the lead ruling, is to subsist pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the state for interlocutory injunctions.

The court adjourned till February 15 for the hearing of the motion on notice and the preliminary objection filed by the defendant – the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), challenging the court’s jurisdiction over the case.

Economy

CBN succumbs to pressure, extends use of old naira notes to February 10

The Eyewitness reporter

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally caved in to Public outcry over the February 1st deadline for the use of old naira notes when on Sunday, the apex bank announced February 10 as the new date.

Announcing the new deadline in a statement, Governor Central Bank Of Nigeria(CBN), Godwin Emefiele, said the decision to add extra 10 days was “to allow for the collection of more old notes”

Up till Saturday, CBN had insisted on the 31st January deadline for the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 despite overwhelming complaints that the notes are either not available or in short supply in the banks or their Automated Teller Machines.

Last October, Emefiele announced the Naira redesign policy which entails the issuance of new notes to replace the existing N200, N500 and N1,000 series.