There’s no shortage of stories about how technical skills in IT, software and data are in high demand and can command a handsome six-figure salary.

But according to one LinkedIn expert, one particular soft skill may be as coveted as an Ivy League education.

Given the fast-changing world of business, hiring managers “want to look for growth mindset,” says Aneesh Raman, a vice president and workforce expert at LinkedIn. “This is the new degree, the way that you’ve been looking for a Harvard degree.”

A growth mindset, coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, is the idea that you can continue to improve your abilities, talents and knowledge over time by learning through new experiences. The opposite is having a fixed mindset that you can’t improve on your skills.

The advice to prioritize continual learning and development is especially crucial to young professionals today who may one day end up in roles that don’t yet exist, Raman says. For example, LinkedIn recently identified fast-growing jobs on the rise in 2024 — including chief growth officer and sustainability analyst — many of which didn’t exist 20 years ago.

Developing a growth mindset involves setting challenging goals for yourself, taking risks and seeking feedback and coaching from others, Shekhinah Bass, Goldman Sachs’ head of talent strategy, previously told CNBC Make It.

How you respond to feedback is especially important, she says: “Feedback can help you identify your blind spots, so you can shift or change how you’re showing up in certain work situations. With a growth mindset, you will see those blind spots as things that are within your control to improve.” 

Having a growth mindset is essential to achieving goals, gaining skills, viewing failures as learning opportunities and developing positive changes in your life, according to research.

And it could give you an advantage in the hiring market. To demonstrate a growth mindset in an interview, express your enthusiasm for learning on the job and working with the manager to grow as a valuable team member.

“You’ve got to get excited about learning as an individual,” Raman says. “The biggest competitive differentiator a young grad can have is internalizing the idea that they’re going to be learning for the rest of their life and getting excited about it.”

 

CNBC

Oil prices gained in early Asian trading on Tuesday, underpinned by signs of improved demand and escalating Middle East tensions that had sparked a rally in U.S. futures to a five-month high in the previous session.

Brent futures for June delivery rose 37 cents to $87.79 a barrel by 0046 GMT. The May contract for U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 32 cents to $84.03 a barrel.

Stronger than expected U.S. and Chinese manufacturing data is lifting prices, Tony Sycamore, a market analyst with IG, wrote in a note.

Manufacturing activity in China and the U.S.expanded in March for the first time in six months and 1-1/2 years, respectively, which markets viewed as an indicator of rising oil demand. China is the world's largest crude importer while the U.S. is the biggest consumer.

U.S. futures could rise as high as the mid-$90s if they break a technical resistance level of $84.00 a barrel, Sycamore said. The last time the prompt-month WTI contract reached the $95 per barrel level was in August 2022.

The front-month contract settled at $83.71 per barrel on Monday, the highest close since October 2023.

In the Middle East, an Israeli strike on Iran's embassy in Syria killed seven military advisors, among them three senior commanders, marking an escalation in the conflict that has stretched for nearly half a year and sparking concerns about more tangible impacts on oil supply.

"To date, the market hasn’t been worried about supply disruptions, with the war remaining contained. Iran’s involvement could see its oil supply under threat," ANZ analysts wrote in a note.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold an online meeting of its Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee on Wednesday to review the market and members' implementation of output cuts. Members are expected to uphold their current supply policy calling for voluntary output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to the end of the second quarter.

 

Reuters

Some residents of Kebbi State attacked a government warehouse at Bayan Kara area of Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, on Saturday night and carted away food items.

The residents, who defied security operatives stationed at the warehouse, also broke into some private warehouses and shops in the area and stole food items.

They also looted a broken-down truck loaded with assorted grains meant for distribution in Birnin Kebbi.

Attacks on warehouses had occurred at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Suleja in Niger State.

This is amidst the cost of living crisis largely believed to have been caused by the petrol subsidy removal and the floating of the naira.

Speaking to our correspondent yesterday, the Chairman of the food vendors association at Bayan Kara Market in Birnin Kebbi, Muhammadu Gwadangwaji, said some shops and warehouses of traders were also set on fire by some youths.

“They (security agents) fired gunshots and teargas into the air, but they (the youths) were not deterred. They forced their way in and looted the government warehouse and some of our shops,” he said.

Reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Nasir Idris, Ahmed Idris, described the incident as “unfortunate”.

He stated: “The hoodlums had earlier attacked the consignment of food items brought to the state for distribution to the people by Dangote before going to the government warehouse to loot it.

“Such incident has never happened in Kebbi before. The food items they looted are part of the foodstuffs purchased by the state government for distribution to people of the state.

“Government has procured and distributed assorted grains worth over N5 billion in over 200 trucks. It is unfortunate those who broke into the warehouse had gone there to steal what belongs to people of the state”, he further decried.

He said the government had secured its warehouses to prevent reoccurrence.

 

Daily Trust

Gunmen have reportedly abducted a yet-to-be-confirmed number of students along the east-west road in the Ughelli area of Delta state.

The students were coming from Calabar, Cross River capital, when their Sienna vehicle was attacked Friday evening.

Bright Edafe, Delta police spokesperson in Delta, confirmed the incident on Monday.

Edafe said the police are currently on the trail of the abductors to rescue the students.

The incident adds to the growing list of abductions of students in the country.

On March 7, gunmen kidnapped 137 students of Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School in Kuriga community in Kaduna.

Two days later, gunmen kidnapped 15 students from a Tsangaya school in Gidan Baya, Gada LGA of Sokoto.

In January, students of Apostolic Faith School in Ekiti state were kidnapped after gunmen attacked their school bus.

 

The Cable

US pushes alternatives to Rafah invasion in Hamas war talks with Israel

Top American and Israeli officials held virtual talks Monday as the U.S. pushed alternatives to the ground assault against Hamasunder consideration by Israelis in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a move the U.S. opposes on humanitarian grounds and that has frayed relations between the two allies.

President Joe Biden and his administration have publicly and privately urged Israel for months to refrain from a large-scale incursion into Rafah without a credible plan to relocate and safeguard noncombatants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israeli forces, which are trying to eradicate Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, must be able to enter the city to root out the group’s remaining battalions.

The more than two-and-a-half-hour meeting by secure video conference was described by both sides as constructive and productive, as Washington encourages the Israelis to avoid an all-out assault on the city, where an estimated four battalions of Hamas fighters are dispersed among more than 1.3 million civilians. The White House has instead pushed Israel to take more targeted actions to kill or capture Hamas leaders while limiting civilian impacts.

The potential operation in the city has exposed one of the deepest rifts between Israel and its closest ally, funder and arms supplier. The U.S. has already openly said Israel must do more to allow food and other goods through its blockade of Gaza to avert famine.

“They agreed that they share the objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah,” the U.S. and Israeli teams known as the Strategic Consultative Group said in a joint statement released by the White House. “The U.S. side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah. The Israeli side agreed to take these concerns into account and to have follow up discussions between experts overseen by the SCG. The follow-up discussions would include in person SCG meeting as early as next week.”

The virtual meeting came a week after planned in-person talks were nixed by Netanyahu when the U.S. didn’t veto a U.N. resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken chaired the meeting for the U.S. side. The Israeli side was led by Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister for Strategic Affairs and Netanyahu confidant Ron Dermer.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is weighing selling Israel up to 50 new F-15 fighter jets, according to two congressional aides. The sale was informally notified to the relevant foreign affairs committees in the House and Senate on Jan. 30, according to the aides, who were granted anonymity to discuss details of a potential sale that have not yet been made public.

The initial notification indicates the administration is likely moving forward with the sale, although it is unclear if it has gotten the final nod of approval from Congress’ national security leadership.

Separately Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to encourage reforms in the group that oversees part of the West Bank and which the U.S. is hopeful can play a role in governing post-war Gaza.

 

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russia has fired five Zircon missiles at Kyiv this year

Russia has used five of its new hypersonic Zircon missiles to attack Kyiv since the start of the year, the city's military administration said on Monday.

The attacks are among more than 180 Russian missile and drone attacks launched against the Ukrainian capital in the first three months of the year, the administration said in a post on Telegram.

The sea-based Zircon missiles have a range of 1,000 km (625 miles) and travel at nine times the speed of sound, Russia says. Military analysts have said the missiles' hypersonic speed could mean greatly reduced reaction time for air defences and a capability to attack large, deep and hardened targets.

President Vladimir Putin confirmed in his annual state-of-the-nation address on Feb. 29 that Russia had used Zircon missiles in battle, without saying what sites had been targeted. He has described the Zircon as part of a new generation of unrivalled arms systems.

The Kyiv administration said the city had also been struck since the start of 2024 by six other types of missiles, including the Kh-101, an air-launched cruise missile of which 113 had so far been fired.

Russia also fired 11 Kinzhal missiles, another hypersonic weapon which travels at several times the speed of sound, at the Ukrainian capital this year, it said.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia regularly announces missile strikes on Ukraine against what it says are military and energy targets, though some missiles have also hit civilian buildings.

Over the past two weeks, Russia has escalated its long-range bombardment of power and gas infrastructure across Ukraine, causing significant damage and blackouts in several large cities.

It has also sought to hit political, military and manufacturing targets in Kyiv throughout the two years of its full-scale war against Ukraine.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian troops destroy another American Abrams tank in Avdeyevka area over past day

Russian troops destroyed another US-made Abrams tank of the Ukrainian army in the Avdeyevka area, taking better positions and repulsing two enemy counterattacks over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"The enemy lost as many as 295 personnel, a US-made Abrams tank, 5 armored combat vehicles and 5 motor vehicles. In counter-battery fire, the following targets were destroyed: a Grad multiple rocket launcher, an Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, a Gvozdika motorized artillery system, 2 D-30 howitzers and a US-manufactured M119 artillery gun," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center units took more advantageous positions and inflicted casualties on the Ukrainian army’s 47th mechanized, 59th motorized infantry, 68th jaeger and 25th air assault brigades near the settlements of Pervomaiskoye, Berdychi, Tonenkoye and Vodyanoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces repulsed two counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 24th mechanized brigade near the settlements of Leninskoye and Shumy in the Donetsk People’s Republic, it said.

Russian forces destroy 30 Ukrainian troops in Kupyansk area over past day

Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the Kupyansk area, destroying roughly 30 enemy troops and 7 pieces of military hardware over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the Kupyansk direction, Western Battlegroup units operating in interaction with operational-tactical aircraft inflicted damage on amassed manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 60th mechanized brigade and 4th tank brigade near the settlements of Yampolovka and Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The enemy’s losses amounted to 30 personnel, 2 infantry fighting vehicles, 4 motor vehicles and a Polish-manufactured Krab-self-propelled artillery gun," the ministry said.

 

Reuters/Tass

“Some judges have achieved a considerable degree of expertise….in displaying an immunity from contemporary knowledge and concerns.” – David Pannick, KC, Judges, p. 32 (1987)

Emmanuel Araka was 60 years old when Allison Madueke, then over 20 years his junior, a navy captain and military governor of Anambra State, terminated his judicial career in March 1985. At the time, Araka had been the chief judge of Anambra State for six years and a judge for double that. At the time also, the retirement age of judges in Nigeria was 65.

Araka’s crime was that he took the job of the judge too seriously and believed that he should be manifestly independent of political and executive influence.

Araka was born in 1925 to a father from Onitsha, who worked as head-teacher in a primary school in Agbor in present day Delta State, where he was born. His secondary education took him through Hope Waddel Institute in Calabar, now in Cross River State, where one of his teachers was Eni Njoku (the famous “Teacher Nwanjoku”), who was to become the first vice-chancellor of University of Lagos.

Following successful studies at the Trinity College, Dublin, Araka was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1951. Over the next two decades, he built a formidable career in private practice and in politics. 12 years after becoming a lawyer, in 1963, he became Queens Counsel, the equivalent of today’s Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Two years before that, in 1961, Chike Obi, who represented Onitsha Federal Constituency in the then House of Representatives, had to quit parliament after being convicted of the political crime of sedition. In his place, Onitsha people elected Araka to represent them in the Federal House.

The onset of military rule in 1966 interfered with Araka’s career in politics but did not entirely derail his availability for public service. At the end of the civil war, he returned to legal practice but not for long.

In 1972, the Administrator of the East Central State, Ukpabi Asika, appointed Araka a judge of the High Court. When in 1976 the East Central State was split into Imo and Anambra states, Araka naturally became a judge in his home state, Anambra. Two years later, in 1978, Anthony Aniagolu, the first chief judge of Anambra State was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court and Araka succeeded him in office, becoming the second Chief Judge of the state.

Around the time of Araka’s appointment as a judge in East Central State, something happened in Lagos State, which made an impression on many judges and judicial wannabes. The then military governor of Lagos State, Mobolaji Johnson, had extended an invitation to the Chief Justice of the state (as they were then known), John Idowu Conrad (JIC) Taylor, to attend a state dinner. It was reported that Chief Justice Taylor, “after reading it, endorsed a brief note to the governor at the back of the invitation card, informing him that he would be unable to attend, because the Lagos State government had several cases pending before him and it would therefore, in the circumstances, be most inappropriate for him to honour the invitation.”

In doing so, JIC Taylor didn’t just underscore the institutional value of judicial independence, he also underlined its reliance in large measure on the moral fibre of the individual judge.

This was the state of affairs when Araka arrived the Bench. 14 years later, Allison Madueke, a member of the First Regular Course at the Nigerian Defence Academy, arrived as military governor in 1984, with no hint of having received the memo. On settling in, the military governor summoned the Chief Judge to a meeting in the government house in Enugu. Araka demurred. Madueke later complained in his memoirs that he “had not reckoned that I was dealing with a law administrator that had a mind of his own.”

That was Araka’s crime. The invitation was renewed unsuccessfully twice, whereupon Captain Madueke “applied for his retirement.” Madueke narrates that he later met the then second-in-command to General Muhammadu Buhari, General Tunde Idiagbon, while the latter was on an official visit to Owerri and secured Idiagbon’s authorisation to terminate Araka’s judicial career for being independent. In March 1985, Madueke fired Araka.

Madueke, who has just turned 80, whoops that this was “something of an earthquake in Anambra State.” It was more than that in the judiciary, where it established a norm that independence was costly. Judges re-calibrated.

Today, cavorting with the executive has become a judicial pastime. In his controversial memoirs, The Accidental Public Servant, former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir El-Rufai recalls that one of his first moves in that role was to visit the then Chief Judge of the Territory to secure the support of the judiciary. He exulted that thereafter, “the FCT judiciary supported us strongly throughout my tenure.”

In November 2023, the current Chief Judge of the FCT, Husseini Baba Yusuf, went one step further, corralling the FCT judiciary to visit the current Minister of the Territory, Nyesom Wike, to pledge judicial allegiance to his rule. There, the Chief Judge promenaded somewhat naked before the Minister, pleading that “[a]s a judiciary, we are part of the government and we should be able to do things that will make government work.”

Three months later, the list of new nominees to the bench of the FCT High Court included an in-law of the Minister, Lesley Nkesi Wike, who only became a senior magistrate in Rivers State in 2023, appointed by the Minister when he was Governor of Rivers State.

One year earlier, in November 2022, Olukayode Ariwoola, the chief justice of Nigeria, had kicked up a firestorm when he traveled to Port Harcourt and at a reception hosted by the same Nyesom Wike, who was then the governor of River State, stepped into the political minefield to offer judicial support to Wike and four other governors, who were at odds with their political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Chief Justice, a devout Muslim, was not under the influence of anything that he should not have consumed but, despite the febrile political season, many were willing to give him benefit of the doubt.

This past week, Chief Justice Ariwoola bettered himself. Under the guise of the traditions of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan, he led the Nigerian judiciary supposedly to break the fast with the president. The team accompanying the Chief Justice included two of his immediate predecessors, each of whom left office under a cloud. Walter Onnoghen, one of the two, is a Christian.

No one had ostensibly warned the Chief Justice about the perils of turning into a prayer warrior for politicians. At the visit, the Chief Justice took the microphone and under the guise of prayers offered to the president intoned: “May the Lord continue to bless you and your administration. Let your ship land and berth beautifully. We shall continue to pray for your administration because there are many good things in the pipeline for Nigerians.”

It is possible that Olukayode Ariwoola has always had a secret career as a clairvoyant which would equip him to know what will happen in future? What is clear is that after these lines, few people can approach the court that he presides over with any expectation of even-handedness in any case in which the administration is party.

Lawyers and judges speak glibly about judicial independence, often treating it as something material, guaranteed by constitutional provisions and by large swathes of money. It is, of course, important that judges are provided for so that they have no excuses to fall prey to bribery or material importuning. Official emoluments are usually not enough competition, however, for the kinds of blandishments that can be deployed in pursuit of the favours of a senior judge.

For that reason, the job requires a lot of skill, patience, and balance. But more than any other thing, it requires persons willing to defend independence. Of all the many virtues that he surely must possess, being an Araka is not a charge that can be levied against the current occupant of the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria.

** Odinkalu, a professor of law, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and can be reached through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Young individuals often struggle to recognise opportunities that may lead them to success and also make the world a better place.

However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk — the world's third richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — has revealed five key steps for the young generation to achieve success in their lives.

In a resurfaced episode of the "Lex Fridman Podcast", Musk shared advice for high schoolers and college students aiming to make a positive impact on the world.

Here are the five tips the billionaire thinks would help young people become successful.

Be useful

Musk's first tip for young people is to "try to be useful."

The tech billionaire told Fridman: "Do things that are useful to your fellow human beings, to the world. It's hard to be useful — very hard."

According to the owner of SpaceX, if someone is living a useful life, it's a "life worth having lived".

Give back to society

Musk believes that one should contribute more to the society than they consume from it.

"Try to have a positive net contribution to society," he told Fridman. "That's something to aim for."

Musk has "a lot of respect for someone who puts in an honest day's work."

Don't try to be a leader

One of the most important things, he told Fridman, was that young people should not to try to be leaders for the sake of it.

"A lot of the time, the people you want as leaders are the people who don't want to be leaders," he told Fridman.

Read and ingest information

Musk also said that he used to read the encyclopedia as a kid, and while he didn't advise young people to do the same, he emphasised the importance of reading and getting information.

"I would encourage people to read a lot of books," he said. "Try to ingest as much information as you can, and try to also develop a good general knowledge so you at least have a rough lay of the land of the knowledge landscape."

Talk to people

His final piece of advice was for young people to talk to others.

"Talk to people from different walks of life and different industries and professions and skills," he said, adding "learn as much as possible."

 

Geo News

 

About 107 companies including Dangote and Mikano International are currently enjoying tax exemption from the Federal Government despite its insistence on discontinuing the programme and drastic steps to improve its revenue base.

It also increased the number of beneficiaries enjoying Pioneer Status under the Industrial Development Income Tax Act by 24 from 83 in the first quarter of 2023 to 107 firms by the fourth quarter of 2023.

This was disclosed in the latest Pioneer Status Incentive reports released by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.

An analysis of the PSI report showed that while the requests of 79 firms were newly received, 211 firms are pending; 56 companies had their applications approved in principle, while 19 firms were granted incentive extensions for another three years to 2026.

“Approvals-in-principle are subject to the payment of application fees and only take effect after the payment of such fees,” the report stated.

The pioneer status is an incentive offered by the Federal Government, which exempts companies from paying income tax for a certain period. This tax exemption can be full or partial.

Offered under the Industrial Development Income Tax Act with tax reliefs for a three-year period, the incentive is generally regarded as an industrial measure aimed at stimulating investments in the economy.

The products or companies eligible for this pioneer status are those that do not already exist in the country.

Although the report didn’t contain the amount granted to the companies, Data from the Federal Inland Revenue Service annual reports indicated that about 71 companies enjoyed N390.26bn pioneer status incentives between 2021 and 2022.

The reports also revealed that investments made by the 107 companies during the year amounted to N2.49tn. They operate in sectors that include manufacturing, solid material, pharmaceuticals, information and communication, trade, construction, waste management, electricity and gas supply, tourism, and infrastructure, among others.

The companies that have benefitted include Dangote Fertilizers, Mikano International Limited, Sinotrucks West Africa Limited, West African Cubes Limited, Jigawa Rice Limited, JMG Nigeria Limited, Rain Oil Limited, Okpella Cement Plc, Greenville Liquified Natural Gas Company Limited.

More included GZ Transport and Logistics Nigeria Limited, African Foundries Limited, Royal Pacific Group Limited, Kunoch Hotels Limited, Princess Medi Clinics Nigeria Limited, Medlog Logistics Limited, and Masters Liquefied Gas Company Limited.

Others included Aarti Rolling Mills Limited, Von Automobile Nigeria Limited, Ikorodu Steel Mills Limited, Confluence Metals Fabrication Company Limited, Cormart Nigeria Limited, Tiamin Rice Limited, Outsource Global Technologies Limited, Crown Flour Mills Limited, Elvis Hotels Nigeria Limited, Olam Hatcheries Limited, among others.

It also noted that the government declined the applications submitted by five investing firms including Checkers Africa Limited, Sygen Pharmaceutical Limited during the review period.

Tax incentives have been a contentious issue due to the high amount of revenue lost to waivers granted every year. The Federal Government recently disclosed plans to review and reduce tax waivers given to companies operating in Nigeria.

It said companies operating in Nigeria received tax incentives worth N6tn annually.

But officials of the commission had maintained that the incentives were meant to boost foreign investments into the country.

Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, recently said the committee would carry out a comprehensive tax waiver review in line with the plan the previous administration had set.

At a press briefing last year, the Head of Incentives Administration, Lovina Kayode, indicated that not all companies were granted tax breaks due to stringent procedures followed by the commission on waivers award.

She said, “The pioneer status incentive is a stimulus that allows a company to get three years of not paying corporate income tax, just to get more investments.

 “This process is stringent because our parent ministry and the federal inland revenue service are involved to make sure the right investors get this incentive.

“So far this year, we granted 34 applications have been approved and one of the things we intend to do is to ensure we are not just giving incentives to underserving companies. However, there is already a notion that Nigeria gives out too many waivers, incentives, and concessions.

“However, tax expenditure which means what government has lost by granting pioneers status incentive is just a small amount compared to what the country gains by granting these incentives to qualified companies.”

She further revealed plans by the commission to publish impact reports on the effectiveness of the pioneer status report on job creation and other economic activities to promote investments.

“On impact, that is one thing NIPC is planning on, next year, it is one of our biggest tasks to do an impact assessment. These incentives we gave out, how have they impacted the country in terms of job creation?

“How many jobs are the companies creating and what kind of import substitution has come about because we have granted these incentives and how much would the government gain after the three years of them not paying these taxes,” she added.

Speaking in an earlier interview, economic experts stressed the role of tax waivers in driving economic growth but questioned the transparency and objective rate of the Federal Government in granting tax waivers.

Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, also noted that there was nothing wrong with waivers if they were in line with tax policies.

He noted that tax incentives were necessary to encourage investment and the establishment of some pioneer businesses.

He said, “The whole idea of incentives is to grow the economy. When you are growing the economy, you are not only looking at revenue, you are looking at employment and multiplier effects. In the medium to long term, you will get this revenue by the time you are able to grow these investments. It is inappropriate to see it as revenue loss unless the incentive policy itself is discriminatory.”

He stressed that the process should be transparent and seen as an effort by the government to grow the economy.

 

Punch

Investors demand for treasury bills has reached a record high as the total subscriptions have risen to N2.62 trillion, with particular interest observed in the longer-dated bills, accounting for N2.48 trillion.

According to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s website, instruments worth N161.33 billion, comprising N17.61 billion of the 91-day, N1.56 billion of the 182-day, and N142.16 billion of the 364-day bills were offered by the apex bank during the primary auction at the Nigerian Treasury bills secondary market.

The bullish sentiments persisted in the Nigerian Treasury bills secondary market, as the average yield across all instruments contracted by 6 basis points (bps) to 17.9 per cent with analysts at Cordros Research attributing the performance to higher demand as investors looked to cover for lost bids at the NTB PMA on Wednesday (27 March, 2024).

Across the market segments, the average yield dipped by 4bps and 6bps to 17.7 per cent and 18.5 per cent in the NTB and OMO secondary markets, respectively.

Ultimately, the CBN over-allotted bills worth N1.19 trillion, including N29.83 billion of the 91-day, N25.56 billion of the 182-day, and N1.13 trillion of the 364-day bills, at respective stop rates of 16.24 per cent, 17.00 per cent, and 21.12 per cent, all unchanged from previous levels.

Reacting to this development, money market operators noted that the successful auction and the heightened interest in the NTBs signify a keen investor appetite for higher interest rates, providing a solid anchor for the fiscal stability of Nigeria.

They noted that the CBN’s decision to tighten monetary policy by increasing interest rates and auctioning larger volumes of treasury bills is a strategic move to address several macroeconomic concerns.

“Higher interest rates are typically employed to control inflation; they make borrowing more expensive, thereby tempering spending and investment, which, in theory, should reduce the upward pressure on prices.

Additionally, these higher rates tend to attract foreign investors seeking better yields, leading to an inflow of foreign currency, which can help stabilise and potentially strengthen the Naira. Following our expectation of a possible lower liquidity in the system next week, we envisage moderation in demand for instruments in the T-bills secondary market and, thus, increased yields”, they said.

Meanwhile, the naira further appreciated by 9.3 per cent to N1,309.39/$1 at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), with total turnover (as of 27 March 2024) declining by 47.8 per cent week-to-date (WTD) to $984.84 million, as trades were consummated within the N1,200.00 – N1,486.00/$ band. Notably, the CBN sold another round of $10,000.00 to each of the eligible BDCs at N1,251.00/$1, with an allowable spread capped at 1.5 per cent.

However, Nigeria’s FX reserves weakened further, as the gross reserves level fell by $311.91 million to $33.95 billion.

In the Forwards market, the naira rates recorded for the 1-month (+9.5 per cent to N1,334.58/$1), 3-month (+9.1 per cent to N1,375.00/$1), 6-month (+8.7 per cent to N1,438.11/$1) and 1-year (+10.7 per cent to N1,541.08/$1) contracts increased.

Speaking to our correspondent, Head, Research, FSL Securities, Victor Chiazor, said that the CBN’s continuous efforts in the FX market to stabilise the naira, reflected in the sustained sale of US dollars to eligible BDCs and maintenance of high yields on naira-denominated assets to support FPI inflows.

According to him, “Whilst CBN’s intervention in the FX market is poised to remain frail in the near term given its low FX reserves, we expect the naira to remain stable in the short term, supported by tighter monetary policy conditions and improved FX liquidity”.

 

Sun