The World Bank has appointed Dr Ndiamé Diop as the new Country Director for Nigeria, a statement by the Bank has said.

The statement obtained by the newsmen said Diop assumed his new position in Abuja on Monday and succeeded Shubham Chaudhuri, who completed his term in the same capacity.

It said in his new position, Diop will lead the World Bank’s team in Nigeria and deepen policy dialogue and partnership with the government and key stakeholders.

The statement said he would oversee the delivery and implementation of lending and non-lending support to Nigeria.

It said before Diop’s assignment to Abuja, he served as the World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.

“In this position, he more than tripled the bank’s financing to the Philippines to scale up the bank’s support to key economic reforms (policy-based budget support programmes).

“Also to support the nation’s endeavours to bridge disparities in various sectors, including nutrition, stunting, healthcare, social protection delivery, education, agriculture, and digital connectivity.

“In Malaysia, Diop supervised the delivery of a large Malaysia-funded knowledge programme aimed at helping the country become a high-income economy through cutting edge economic analyses and technical assistance.”

The statement said he engaged the Thai government to resume World Bank investment lending after a pause of two decades.

The statement also quoted Diop as saying “I am most excited to be leading the World Bank’s programme in Nigeria.

“Especially at this critical time when Nigeria has a significant opportunity to make progress towards improving its economy and delivering development outcomes for its citizens.

“I look forward to deepening our partnership with the Government of Nigeria at the Federal and states level ensuring quality technical and financial support which will help accelerate progress for Nigeria’s development priorities.”

Diop said Nigeria is a dynamic and vibrant country which is significant for the entire subregion.

“The Bank is most committed to working with the Government, development partners and citizens to realise a thriving economy where jobs and economic prospects are created, and millions of Nigerians are lifted out of poverty.”

It said Diop joined the World Bank in Washington DC in 2000 as a Young Professional.

The statement said he has held several leadership positions in the bank which include, Head of the Macroeconomics, and Trade and Investment unit for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

It said Diop was also Lead Economist for Indonesia, Lead economist roles for Jordan and Lebanon, and Country Economist roles in the Middle East and North Africa.

The statement said notably, he served as the bank’s Resident Representative for Tunisia between 2007 and 2010.

Moody’s Ratings (Moody’s) has affirmed the Caa1 corporate family rating (CFR) of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR), Concurrently, Moody’s has repositioned the national scale rating (NSR) to Ba1.ng from Baa3.ng. The rating outlook has been changed to stable from positive. Dangote Sugar Refinery is the largest Sub-Saharan African sugar producer and refiner based in Nigeria.

The global rating agency attributed the change to the negative impact of the Naira devaluation on the operations of DSR. The rating agency in a statement said, “the affirmation of DSR’s Caa1 CFR and change in outlook to stable with the repositioning of the NSR to Ba1.ng reflects Moody’s view that the company’s raw material import business model continues to be negatively affected by the sharp devaluation of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira, against the US dollar during the last 12 months. The currency devaluation has deteriorated DSR’s liquidity position and materially increased its letters of credit (LoC) in Naira terms, weakening the company’s credit profile.”

It should be noted in June 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the unification of its multiple foreign exchange windows, merging all official rates into its Investors and Exporters window which has significantly devalued the Naira, particularly in June 2023 and February 2024 from around 460 Naira per USD in June 2023 to around 1,500 in February 2024.

The positive action to be taken against the headwinds of the currency situation in Nigeria is to focus on the Backward Integration Plan for sugar production in Nigeria. DSR has made significant investments and will continue to grow its size of the local sugar production capacity. Given the devaluation of the currency which has made locally produced sugar to have significant profit margin compared to imported sugar. DSR has intensified production activities at its Numan and Nasarawa sugar plantation.

The positive action to be taken against the headwinds of the currency situation in Nigeria is to focus on the Backward Integration Plan for sugar production in Nigeria. DSR has made significant investments and will continue to grow its size of the local sugar production capacity. Given the devaluation of the currency which has made locally produced sugar to have significant profit margin compared to imported sugar. DSR has intensified production activities at its Numan and Nasarawa sugar plantation.

According to Moody, factors considered in the rating of DSR include the positive industry fundamentals supported by government regulation and Nigeria’s demographic and societal trends, DSR’s market positioning as Nigeria’s largest manufacturer and seller of refined sugar, low levels of Moody’s adjusted debt of NGN62 billion excluding letter of credit; and track record of adequate operating margin of 18 percent over the last five years and capacity to pass through additional costs albeit with a lag.

Also, the ratings according to the agency, reflect the company’s exposure to Nigeria, a country that has high social, political, economic and regulatory risks; high exposure to foreign currency risk exposure due to hard currency imports and local sales under a depreciating Naira currency scenario;exposure to commodity price risk volatility through raw material imports of sugar; (4) high reliance on letters of credit of NGN420 billion as of 31 March, which are interest bearing and used for hard currency working capital financing; and weak credit metrics driven by a weaker than expected operating performance and large foreign currency losses.

“The stable outlook reflects our expectation that DSR’s volumes will grow towards the levels achieved in 2022 over the next 18 months. The stable outlook also assumes that the company’s outstanding letters of credit with banks will be rolled over and not increase in size, Moody’s Rating concluded.

A financial expert, Mr Fasasi Atanda, has expressed concern over the recent push by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to mandate the registration for all ‘Point of Sale’ (POS) agents in the country.

Atanda, the National President, Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that the directive would affect small businesses in the country.

According to him, POS agents have become a crucial part of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, particularly in underserved areas, where traditional banking services are scarce.

He said that these agents facilitated financial transactions and provided vital services to communities that would otherwise be excluded from the formal financial system.

Atanda said that the CAC’s mandate had been criticised as redundant and burdensome because the POS agents were already regulated through financial institutions, with their data profiled by entities like MoniePoint.

“Before a POS can be issued, agents must provide their personal and business details, which are stored in a database maintained by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).

“This existing regulatory framework ensures that POS agents are already monitored and accountable.

“The new mandate from CAC, however, requires POS agents to register their businesses with the commission, a move seen as an unnecessary duplication of efforts.

“Critics argue that the mandate does not effectively address fraud concerns, which are cited as the primary reason for the registration requirement.

“Instead, it imposes additional financial and administrative burdens on small business owners, many of whom operate on thin margins,’’ he said.

According to Atanda, POS agents, represented by AMMBAN associations, have taken legal action to challenge the mandate.

“They argue that the CAC’s policy is a misplaced priority that fails to recognise the existing regulatory frameworks in place.

“The association contends that the policy unfairly targets their members and imposes unnecessary costs and bureaucratic hurdles that can drive many small agents out of business.

“ The POS and FinTech sectors have been among the most dynamic and rapidly growing parts of Nigeria’s economy, attracting significant foreign direct investment and creating millions of jobs.

“Policies that stifle this growth can have far-reaching consequences for economic development and financial inclusion,’’ Atanda said.

He, therefore, called on policymakers to engage stakeholders in decision-making that would support innovation, growth and guard against fraud.

“By working collaboratively, regulators and industry participants can find solutions that balance oversights with the need to foster a thriving and inclusive financial sector,’’ Atanda said.