Inflation report, governorship elections… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business news you need to track this week — March 13 to March 18.

GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS 

This week, Nigerians will exercise their civic rights by heading to the polls again to elect their state governors and house of assembly representatives.

Last week, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rescheduled the gubernatorial elections to March 18, 2023 from March 11, 2023.

The governorship and house of assembly elections will hold in 24 states in Nigeria — three weeks after the presidential contest.

While INEC said it postponed the governorship election to enable it reconfigure the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS), the decision also gave candidates more time to present their plans for the development of states’ economy and to woo voters’ support.

FEBRUARY INFLATION

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release a report on the consumer price index (CPI) and inflation report in February 2023 on Tuesday, March 15.

The bureau also intends to release a report on national household kerosene and premium motor spirit (petrol) price watch for February 2023.

It would also release price watch reports on liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas) and automotive gas oil (diesel) for the same month.

OLD NOTES SAGA

Copious uncertainty still trails the currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) five months since it was introduced as the legal tender status of the old N500 and N1000 notes is being debated by the public.

Despite the supreme court’s ruling that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remain legal tender until December 31, 2023, traders and business owners are refusing to accept the notes.

While some are awaiting an official announcement by the CBN on the ruling, many fear that President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to leave only the old N200 notes until April 10 might be the final decision.

States such as Ekiti, Kogi and Kaduna have pleaded with the public to transact with old currency notes, and also threatened to prosecute those who refuse to obey the apex court’s order to accept the old notes.

CBN RELEASES GUIDELINES FOR OPEN BANKING 

Meanwhile, the CBN recently issued operational guidelines for open banking in the country.

This is to enhance innovation and expand financial services for customers.

Open banking is the sharing of financial information electronically, securely, and only under conditions that customers approve of it.

It enables third-party developers to build applications and services around the financial institution, particularly the banks that hold customer data.

EU BEGINS IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW RULES FOR INBOUND AIR SHIPMENT

The European Union (EU) says it has commenced the second phase of its import control system 2 (ICS2) release 2 for postal operators, express and air carriers as well as freight forwarders.

Last year, the EU announced that all air shipments to or through the bloc will be subjected to new guidelines under the ICS2 Release 2.

The ICS2 Release 2 is a large-scale initiative to enhance customs oversight of the movement of goods before they arrive at the EU’s external borders (air, maritime, land, and inland waterways).

OIL PRICES RISE TO $82 A BARREL AMID FEARS OF GLOBAL RECESSION

Oil prices rose on Friday to $82 a barrel amid fears of a global recession.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.29 percent to $82.64 a barrel at 19:30 GMT+1, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.16 percent to $76.60 a barrel.

So far, the price of the commodity has remained below $100 a barrel in the year, despite recession alerts.

NSCDC UNCOVERS ILLEGAL OIL REFINERY AS PRODUCTION INCREASES

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) recently uncovered an illegal oil refining site at Otamiri-Etche, near Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital.

Michael Ogar, the NSCDC commandant in Rivers, said the illegal refinery was constructed in a sophisticated manner to avoid suspicion.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s oil production increased to 1,306,304 barrels per day (bpd) in February 2023.

The production figure is 3.83 percent or 48,154 bpd higher than the 1,258,150 bpd recorded in January 2023.