NEPZA boss describes Princess Anifalaje’s appointment as offshoot of ingenuity, commitment, hard-work

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

 

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA),  Prof. Adesoji Adesugba has said that the appointment of Princess Abiodun Anifalaje as the new Deputy National Coordinator of the Gemstones Miners and Marketers Association of Nigeria (GMMAN) hinged on ingenuity, commitment and hard-work towards value-addition.

NEPZA in a statement release by the
Head, Corporate Communications, Martins Odeh, Adesugba stated this in his congratulatory message to the Lagos-based business woman on Sunday in Abuja.

The NEPZA boss, himself, a member of the association said that Anifalaje took the business of solid minerals by storm in view of the success she had made of it.

According to him, the association through her professional ingenuity, hard-work and commitment has significantly improved in the overall coordination of members in the mining and processing of precious stones

“It is widely acknowledged in the sector that Princess remains an arrow head in pushing national consciousness toward competitive solid mineral exploration for national growth.

“This is also part of our focus in NEPZA; to galvanise investments in solid mineral by partnering with investors who are willing to key into the country’s free zones scheme with arguably the best incentives in the world’’, he said.

Adesugba also said that the authority was taking inventory of business women like Anifalaje with strong capital base in order to encourage them to establish an `Amazon Free Trade Zone’ for the production of women and children’s items for export.

“The business of Solid Minerals (Gemstones and Metals) such as Gold, Aquamarine, Sapphire, Emerald, Amethyst and Charcoal among others is a good way to start for interested business women and we are committed to ensuring that the processes are made easy for them,’’ the NEPZA boss said.

Adesugba, therefore, said that Anifalaje had indeed distinguished herself within a short period in the sector, adding that her new appointment was well deserved.

CBN sets up Cash Swap Centres in 774 LGAs

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) has established Cash Swap Centres across the 774 Local Government Ares of the federation.

This was contained in a circular issued by the apex bank at the weekend. signedby Haruna Mustafa an Musa Jimoh, Directors of Banking Supervision and Payments Systems , respectively and dated January 20, 2023, the circular indicated that the Cash Centres would commence operations tomorrow..

Addressed to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Mobile Money Operators , Super Agents and Agents, the circular said that the exercise would enable rural dwellers to seamlessly change their old Naira Notes for the redesigned ones.

It reads in part::I “n furtherance of its Naira Redesign policy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sustained its nationwide awareness/sensitization programmes, enforced speedy collection of the new notes at CBN branches by the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and mandated issuance of the new notes through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to ensure distribution is fair, transparent and evenly spread across the country.

“In addition to these measures and in recognition of the need to maximise the channels through which underserved and rural communities can exchange their Naira, the Bank is launching a cash swap programme in partnership with Super Agents & DMBs. The programme enables citizens in rural areas or those with limited access to formal financial services to exchange old Naira notes for redesigned notes.

“The initiative takes effect from Monday, January 23, 2023 as follows: “The old N1000, N500, N200 notes can be exchanged for the newly redesigned notes and/or the existing lower denominations (N100, N50 and N20, etc) which remain legal tender.

*The agent shall exchange a maximum of N10,000 per person. Amounts above N10,000 may be treated as cash-in deposit into wallets or bank accounts in line with the cashless policy. BVN, NIN, or Voter’s card details of the customers should be captured as much as possible.

*To promote financial inclusion, this service is also available to anybody without a bank account. Agents may, on request instantly open a wallet or account, leveraging the CBN Tiered KYC Framework. This will ensure that this category of the populace are able to exchange or deposit their cash seamlessly without taking unnecessary risk or incurring undue cost.

*Agents shall sensitize customers on opening wallets/ bank accounts and the various channels for conducting electronic transactions.

*Designated agents are eligible to collect the redesigned notes from DMBs in line with the Revised Cash Withdrawal Limit policy. Agents are also permitted to charge cash- out fees for the cash swap transactions but prohibited from charging any further commissions to customers for this service.

*Agents shall render weekly returns to their designated banks regarding the cash swap transactions. DMBs shall in turn render same to the CBN on a weekly basis.

*Principals (Super Agents, MMOs, DMBs) shall be held accountable for their agents’ adherence to the above guidelines.

*Cash Swap agents will be readily identifiable in all local governments, particularly those in the rural areas.

*The CBN will continue to monitor implementation of the programme and provide further guidance as may be necessary.