The World Bank said on Monday that money transfers to poor and developing countries hit a fresh record in 2018 and should become their largest source of external financing this year.
But many banks and money transfer operators charged too much, cutting into the gains of migration, the bank said in a statement.
Migrant workers and others sent home an estimated $529 billion to low- and middle-income countries last year, up 9.6 percent from the year before, which had also been a record.
Such money transfers should hit $550 billion this year, making them the largest source of external finance, according to the bank.
Money transfers were up 12 percent to $131 billion for South Asia and almost seven percent for East Asia, reaching $143 billion.
Sub-Saharan Africa saw a 10 percent increase at $46 billion, according to the bank.
The United States economy grew strongly while outbound flows from Gulf countries and Russia also rose, according to the bank, which said explained much of the gains.
Excluding China, the remittances amounted to $462 billion, significantly more than foreign direct investment over the period, which stood at $344 billion.
Among development goals set by the United Nations in 2015 was reducing the cost of remittances to three percent. However, banks on average were charging 11 percent in the first quarter of 2019 while post offices charged seven percent.
“The high costs of money transfers reduce the benefits of migration.
“Renegotiating exclusive partnerships and letting new players operate through national post offices, banks and telecom,” said the report’s lead author, Dilip Ratha in a statement.
Navy impounds 501 drums of diesel in Akwa Ibom, arrests 8 bunkerers
The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom has arrested eight suspects and seized 501 drums of illegal automotive gas oil, popularly called diesel worth about N35 million.
Parading the suspects in Mbo on Monday, the acting commanding officer, Capt. Reginald Adoki said the diesel was the product of illegal bunkering.
Adoki said the suspected bunkerers were caught based on intelligence report in the early hours of Friday, April 5.
“The boat is suspected to be carrying illegally refined AGO (diesel). The 501 drums which gives you about 150,000 litres of AGO with estimated market between N25 and N35 million,” he said.
He said that the Nigerian Navy intercepted the suspects conveying the product in a boat from Oyorokoto in Rivers along the Calabar channel leading to Oron River.
“We had strong evidence that there was a case of conveying illegally refined AGO, which has definitely been from broken pipes by way of crude oil theft because you need crude oil to refine and be able to get the illegal AGO,” he said.
Adoki described the act as economic sabotage.
Receiving the suspects, the zonal head of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Uyo, Mr. Abdukarim Chukkoh, commended the efforts of the Nigerian Navy for the job.
Chukkoh, who was represented by a chief superintendent of police, Mr. Alex Ebbah, said that suspect would be brought to book.
“We really assure you that we will do our best to ensure that for every crime of this nature, the suspects are brought to book and we will also give you the feedback,” he said.
In his confession, one of the suspects, Mr. Victor Umana from Mbo, said the urge to make a living led him into the crime.
He said he used to transport fish and crayfish.
However, he said he was contacted on phone to transport the product from Rivers State for the sum of N15, 000.
