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The Federal Government’s appeal against a Federal High Court of Abuja judgment stopping it from resuming the trial of former Abia Governor Orji Kalu and his company, Slok Nigeria Ltd., on money laundering accusations has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
A three-member panel of the appellate court ruled on Wednesday in two rulings that the two appeals the federal government filed were not competent.
Justice Joseph Oyewole, who wrote and read the majority rulings in both appeals, supported the objections made by Slok and Kalu, who is currently a senator.
The court found that the records of appeal in both cases were not properly compiled and certified as required under Court of Appeal’s Rules and Section 104 of the Evidence Act.
It held that even if the breach of the court’s rule was to be overlooked, the court cannot close its eyes to the non-compliance with the mandatory provision of the Evidence Act.
The court noted that the official of the trial court, who certified the records did not indicate his/her designation as required by the Evidence Act.
Lawyer to the Federal Government, Oluwaleke Atolagbe said, with the court’s decision, the appellant will refile new appeals to enable the appellate court deal with the substance of the case.
The appeals were against the September 29, 2021 judgment by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja prohibiting the Federal Government from further prosecuting Kalu and Slok following an earlier judgment of the Supreme Court voiding the proceedings leading to their earlier trial and conviction.
This is a developing story…
The Pan-Yoruba social political group, Afenifere, on Tuesday told President Bola Ahmed Tinubu he had no excuse not to restructure Nigeria having been elected on the platform and ideology of the group.
The body also declared that its blueprint on restructuring Nigeria is ready.
This is just as the body hinged its restructuring blueprint on the adoption of a parliamentary system of government for Nigeria.
The Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo, disclosed this while briefing journalists after the caucus meeting of the group held at Isanya Ogbo Ijebu, Ogun State residence of Pa Ayo Adebanjo, a factional leader of Afenifere.
The meeting which was presided over by Adebanjo equally had in attendance Oba Oladipo Olaitan, the Deputy leader of the group, Chief Supo Sonibare, Treasurer, Chief Mrs Kofoworola Bucknor, former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Prince Justice Faloye, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Chief Segun Ojo, Bashorun Segun Sanni, among others.
The Afenifere, which is one of the leading voices on agitation for restructuring Nigeria, had set up a committee to aggregate views of stakeholders on the demand.
At a caucus meeting of the Afenifere held on Tuesday, the panel submitted its report.
Adejumo said Afenifere had developed its blueprint on restructuring the country and called on the Tinubu-led administration to adopt the blueprint.
The group said Tinubu before his election was at the vanguard of the call for the restructuring of the country, hence he must not betray Nigerians.
Afenifere described Tinubu as a beneficiary of the call for restructuring within this democratic dispensation.
“Sometimes last year November, a committee under the leadership of Oba Oladipo Olaitan was set up to aggregate Afenifere’s view on restructuring and today (Tuesday), the committee said that the report is ready.
“However, this report will still be considered by the executives of the association after which it will be taken to the general assembly where all the members will get to know what we stand on restructuring as Afenifere and we shall then print the report, do our various publicity on it for people to be enlightened on what we believe on restructuring.
“Tinubu himself is a product of Afenifere, he was elected on the platform and ideology of Afenifere. He took the federal government to court under the leadership of former President Obasanjo for 31 times in an effort to implement restructuring.
“He didn’t do anything when former President Buhari was there for eight years, probably he was bidding his time because he knew that northerners won’t implement restructuring because they thought it won’t favour them.
“But Tinubu is there now as the President, he is answerable to us all as a product of Afenifere and as what the whole Yoruba did under the Afenifere in Adamasingba, Ibadan, Oyo State in 2017 that what we want is nothing but restructuring.
“For this 2017 meeting, we invited the South South, South East and the Middle Belt and this is the beginning of what we called Southern and Middlebelt Leaders Forum.
“So we are still meeting at this forum when other zones will also submit their recommendations. So what we took to 2014 Confab is what we are submitting even though some things have changed. We will then take it before the National Assembly for their approval”, Afenifere said.
Asked to give a hint on the Afenifere’s report, Adejumo said, “what we are actually proposing is a parliamentary system of government. Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo didn’t have to campaign in Ijebu Igbo, all he had to do was to win in Ikenne to become a member of the House and whoever is the leader of the party becomes the Prime Minister or the Premier.
“The old Western Region was from Badagry in Lagos to Asaba in present day Delta State but he never had to be campaigning everywhere as we do now. It makes governance so cheap, nobody will have to spend billions on campaigns again. You will need as much as N100m to campaign for local government chairmanship elections.
“So, until under this system you will from your constituency come into the house of Assembly and from here you will choose your Ministers and your Commissioners, you are not going to be appointed anyone again from outside but those that have been elected into the House house of Assembly.
“With this system of government, we are going to be spending one tenth of the humongous resources we are using to run this presidential system of government.”
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last general election, Mr Peter Obi, says it is now difficult to sleep at night knowing that millions of Nigerian households do not know where their next meal will come from.
Obi urged Nigerians to unite above tribe, religion, and political party affiliation to rescue the nation from the shackles of leadership failure and bad governance.
He made this known on Wednesday in a post on his X handle.
According to him, “This generation of Nigerians has a sacred duty to make Nigeria a nation Nigerians can be proud of.”
The former Anambra State governor further said that this was no time to apportion blame or to hunt for culprits, adding that it is the hour of collective responsibility for national salvation.
“Considering how our nation sadly retrogressed, and became in the last few months, putting us in a far more deplorable situation, economically and otherwise, than we already were, I must say that we all need to rise and join in rescuing our nation from further collapse.
“It is difficult to sleep at night, knowing that millions of Nigerian households do not know where their next meal will come from, or knowing that some Nigerians may be under terror attack due to the high level insecurity in the country.
“I urge us all to unite, above tribe, religion, and political party affiliation, to rescue our nation free from the shackles of leadership failure and bad governance. This generation of Nigerians has a sacred duty to make Nigeria a nation Nigerians can be proud of.
“This is no time to apportion blame or to hunt for culprits. It is the hour of collective responsibility for national salvation,” Obi said.
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) subsidiary in Ghana says it is working with relevant government agencies and customers in the country to resolve the trade-related issues in no time.
On February 4, 2024, the Central Bank of Ghana suspended the foreign exchange (FX) trading licences of two Nigerian-owned banks over “fraudulent documentation” during operations.
The suspension, which is to take effect on March 18, 2023, and last for one month, involves GTBank and First Bank of Nigeria (FBN).
However, in a statement on Tuesday, GTBank assured customers that the suspension would not affect other services
“We would like to assure all our esteemed customers and stakeholders that we are currently working with the relevant government agencies and customers with a view to resolving these trade-related issues timely,” GTBank said.
‘’Our customers and stakeholders are our primary responsibility and, Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana would like to clarify that this development does not affect customers’ own deposits and other business segments of our operations.
“All other products and services, Main branches, Agency Banking outlets are available for your convenient use at our regular opening hours and our Mobile Apps and Internet banking are available for your use at any time of the day.
“We further assure our customers that the issue was not a function of willful non-compliance by the Bank, as the Bank has a culture that endeavours to comply with regulations at all times and stringent Anti-money laundering CFT policies which are applied across all our operations.
“We are also in ongoing consultations and discussions with the Central Bank of Ghana to fully resolve all matters raised in the shortest possible time.”
The bank said it remained committed to being a constructive participant in Ghana’s financial markets and to contributing to its developments in the interest of all its customers and stakeholders.
FBN ASSURES OF WORKING TO ADDRESS ISSUE
On its part, FBN Ghana, on Monday, also reaffirmed its willingness to resolve the FX trading licence suspension.
The bank said all branches would be open for operations as usual.
“We refer to the Bank of Ghana’s announcement of the 30-day suspension of our Foreign Exchange Trading Licence effective March 18, 2024,” FBN said.
“We would like to advise our valued customers and esteemed stakeholders that we are working with the Bank of Ghana to remediate the identified trade-related matters.
“FBNBank would like to assure its valued customers that when the suspension kicks in, the Bank’s other business segments and solutions will be fully operational. This will include branch operations, agent banking partners and channels for seamless banking.”
FBN said it will continue to uphold high ethical standards.
The Federal Government has said that the fact that Nigeria accepted grains from Ukraine to combat hunger does not make Nigeria a weak or failed state.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in Abuja at the LEADERSHIP Annual Conference and Awards 2023, with the theme; ‘An Economy in Distress: The Way Forward’ on Tuesday.
Idris was reacting to the comments by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who spoke at the event moment after being presented with the LEADERSHIP Politician of the Year 2023 Award.
Obi had criticised Nigerian government for accepting the donation of grains from Ukraine, a country currently at war, to combat hunger, describing the action as shameful.
But, Idris, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the occasion, earlier spoke as the government’s chief spokesman to reply Obi before reading the President’s speech.
“Egypt gets about 60 per cent of its grains from Ukraine. The fact that Egypt gets about 60 per cent of its grains from Ukraine does not make it a failed state.
“The fact that we are having challenges at the moment does not make Nigeria a failed state.
“Therefore, accepting grains from Ukraine does not make Nigeria or Egypt failed countries, it is a normal thing, because countries exist to depend on one another,” the Minister fired back.
Idris noted that it was true that Nigeria was facing some challenges and President Tinubu was aware of this and he does not shy away from it.
He stressed that Nigerians voted for Tinubu with the deeper understanding and conviction that he has the capacity to turn things around for the better and that is what he was doing.
He said some of the decisions he has taken were to ensure that Nigeria finds its rightful place among the comity of nations.
He highlighted that the decisions included removal of fuel subsidy and addressing the issue of foreign exchange and many others.
He, however, said in spite of the current challenges, the economic growth of Nigeria was on track and has continued to improve.
He emphasised that fuel subsidy removal was a bold step in the right direction and urged Nigerians to support the president as the country would soon begin to reap the benefits.
He noted that current national challenges did not begin upon the assumption of office by President Tinubu.
He stressed that going by figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s fuel importation reduced by 50 per cent after fuel subsidy removal, just as the economy improved significantly.
Idris noted also that President Tinubu had demonstrated capacity and, since his assumption of office, had attracted more than $30 billion in foreign investments into the country.
“He has not stopped at that. Just last week, President Tinubu went to Qatar to attract more businesses and investments into Nigeria.
“We are optimistic that soon, what we are passing through will be a thing of the past and Nigeria will be better,’’ the Minister declared.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is yet to resume visa services for Nigerian citizens wishing to visit the country.
Several news outlets had reported that UAE on March 4 lifted the visa restriction on Nigerian travellers.
But Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, refuted the viral document in an update on his “X” page on Tuesday, March 5.
In October 2022, the UAE implemented a ban on citizens from approximately 20 African nations from entering its borders.
Among the affected countries are Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cameroon, Liberia, Burundi, Republic of Guinea, Gambia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, Congo, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Comoros, and the Dominican Republic.
The Emirati authorities issued a notice to trade partners and travel agents, instructing them to reject all applications.
Since the ban, the UAE and Nigeria have been embroiled in a diplomatic dispute concerning flight allocations and travel restrictions.
Reacting on Tuesday, Onanuga said: “UAE has not resumed visa issuance to Nigerians. The document in circulation is not authorized either by the Nigerian government or the UAE.”
The Plateau State Government has revealed that some persons planned to forcefully break into the State House of Assembly chamber to swear in the 16 All Progressive Congress (APC) lawmakers, as affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
As against this background, the state government vowed to ensure diligent constitutional processes must be followed over the logjam.
LEADERSHIP reports that in the early hours of Tuesday, men of the Plateau State Police Command averted a clash between the supporters of the 16 APC lawmakers who wanted to force their way into the Assembly complex and some of the PDP supporters loyal to the sacked PDP members.
They were dispersed by the police, who later condoned off the assembly to prevent both parties from gaining access to the premises.
The special adviser to Governor Caleb Mutfwang on Strategic Communication, Hon. Timothy Golu, while reacting to the development, said the unfortunate incident was a shock to the government, considering the fact that the State House of Assembly had shifted its sitting to the old government house because the premises were under renovation.
Golu said the speaker of the House, Hon. Gabriel Dewan, was handicapped in swearing in the 16 lawmakers because of two court injunctions restraining him, adding that as a law-abiding citizen, he has no choice but to restrain himself until the determination of the suit.
“We just woke up this morning to see the presence of security men around the State House of Assembly. You know the House of Assembly is not sitting in its original location. It has been moved by resolution to the Government House because it was under renovation. The official dealings of the House are being done in the Government House.
“But everybody knows that there has been an issue in the House of Assembly. The Speaker would have reconvened the House, but he was handicapped because he was served with two injunctions restraining him from swearing in the 16 members that were given judgment by the Court of Appeal, and as a law-abiding government, we will not toy with that until that injunction is vacated.
“So to see security men there without the consent of the Chief Security Officer of the State and the Speaker, it is threatening because the House with eight members has nothing to do with the traditional vicinity of the House because they are no longer sitting there,” he said.
“But we heard from the grapevine that there are plans by some people to penetrate the House and swear in the 16 lawmakers illegally. We are law-abiding people; therefore, we must respect the rule of law. We heard it from the grapevine that meetings are being held in someone’s house. Thank God that security has refused to be used, so the police have been there to protect and prevent anyone from getting into the premises to wreak havoc,” he said.
Golu, a former member of the House of Representatives, said the Muftwang-led administration will not condone lawlessness, adding that the government believes in the rule of law and will never use illegal means or circumvent the process of law.
He said, ” This government will not condone lawlessness; everything that needs to be done will have to go through due process, and whatever the outcome, everybody will have to take it. Nobody should be distracted by what is happening; the situation is under control. So we are waiting; whatever the court says, whatever the conclusion, we are going to continue from there.”.
Smuggling, flooding, others causes of food crisis’
Customs intercepts 120 food-laden trucks at border
Nigeria needs at least 72,000 tractors for farmers to engage in mechanised farming and contribute massively to curbing the food crisis facing the populace, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Abubakar Kyari, has said.
Kyari, at a sectoral debate organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja yesterday, revealed that only about 5,000 tractors are currently in working condition at farmlands across the country.
He, however, said that the ministry has signed an agreement with a manufacturer for the supply of 2,000 tractors annually for the next five years.
The minister spoke just as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) and the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) announced the arrest of 141 trucks heading out of the country with loaded smuggled food items.
Making his presentation before the House plenary, the Agriculture minister said the rising food crisis in the country was due mainly to smuggling, flooding, COVID-19, insecurity and last year’s cash swap by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN).
He, however, said that long, medium and short-term measures, including funding for wheat, rice and cassava production, have been initiated to address the challenge.
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Kyari explained that while the Naira redesign/cash swap policy left smallholder farmers without cash for cultivation in 2022/2023, flooding destroyed farmlands across the country.
He said the good news is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently gave his ministry a marching order to release grains from the National Strategic Grain Reserve and to adopt other measures to address food insecurity.
The minister added that the government, in partnership with the World Food Programme, halted mass procurement of grains for stockpiling in order to stabilise food prices.
Also, NCS Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi told the House that President Tinubu directed that 120 trucks arrested by the Service be driven to nearby markets where their contents should be sold to locals at moderate prices.
He, however, did not say where the trucks were heading to and when they were seized.
The Customs boss decried the attitude of border community residents who encourage the smuggling of grains.
Adeniyi advised against adopting quick-fix solutions to the nation’s food crisis, saying that long-term measures must be put in place.
The Customs boss, who said that border posts would soon be reopened, added that the NCS and the government were working on a policy for the export of food items through designated terminals.
He also announced that the ban on petrol stations operating within 20 kilometres to Nigeria’s borders was being reviewed.
House Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu said that efforts to address food crisis must focus on demand and supply.
Kalu said he had personally identified increasing per capita consumption, raising production yields, curbing food price inflation and reducing reliance on food imports as critical levers for improving food security.
He said: “It is evident that Nigeria’s per capita consumption falls behind that of other countries, indicating a clear need for increased diversification to stimulate consumption.
“Moreover, the lower yields attributable to input scarcity underscore the urgency of improving access to timely, high-quality, and affordable inputs such as fertilisers, modern irrigation methods, and mechanization.
“Food inflation, a persistent challenge, reached a staggering 35.41 percent in January. This places an immense burden on our working population, with 90 percent allocating around 60 percent of their income to meet their basic food needs, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
“This harsh reality is further compounded by the alarming projections for 2024. The number of food-insecure individuals is expected to reach 26.5 million, with 9 million children at risk of acute malnutrition. Of these, 2.6 million children face the threat of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), requiring critical nutrition treatment.
“Agriculture, a crucial sector representing 23 percent of our GDP and employing 51 percent of the workforce, should be the bedrock of our food security. However, a harsh reality confronts us.
The past decade has seen an intensification of insecurity in the North East, coupled with rife fighting in the North Central and banditry in the North West. These conflicts have had a catastrophic impact on food production, particularly amongst our vast farming communities.
“According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 90 percent of food produced in Nigeria comes from rural farmers. The rife insecurity in these regions has steadily contributed to a shrinking cultivated arable land area and declining farm yields.
“This is not the future we envision for our nation. We must act decisively to address these challenges and ensure food security for all Nigerians. Let us now delve deeper into the specific issues and explore potential solutions.”
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) officers in separate operations have intercepted 22 trucks loaded with food and non-food items heading towards N’djamena, Chad Republic, Central African Republic, Cameroon and Benin Republic.
The Maiduguri Zonal Command during a sting operation on Tuesday at Kalabiri/Gamboru Ngala and Bama roads, Borno State, arrested 21 trucks conveying the items.
The head of Media and Publicity of the command, Dele Oyewale, said in a statement that, “Investigation showed food items cleverly concealed in the trucks that would have gone undetected, but for the vigilance of operatives of the Commission.
“Further checks showed that the waybills covering the goods carried by the trucks indicated their destinations as N’djamena, Chad Republic, Central Africa Republic and Cameroon respectively.”
He said those arrested with the trucks are being profiled and would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
In a related development, the Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, intercepted a truck load of beans allegedly being smuggled out of the country by those it described as “economic saboteurs.
It said the truck was found to contain about 400 bags of beans valued at about N61.5 million.
This is even as the command said it arrested about 13 suspects for their alleged involvement in smuggling of contraband items into the country.
The Customs Area Controller, Seme/Krake Command, Badagry, Comptroller Timi Bomodi, said the seizure was made as a result of the continuous surveillance of the border by officers and men of the command.
[DailyTrust]
Veteran Nollywood actor, Femi Brainard, has spoken about his journey following his departure from the entertainment industry to relocate abroad.
The actor, in his latest interview with Teju Babyface, stated that he had to venture into driving to feed his family in America despite being a celebrity.
Brainard revealed this while discussing his ordeal after leaving the entertainment scene.
Reflecting on the advantages and challenges of relocating abroad, he noted that; “As a celebrity, it’s preferable to be a prominent figure in Nigeria than to travel abroad and become unrecognized.
“I became a cab driver in America just to put food on the table. Whenever people see me, especially Nigerian passengers, they often stare at me in disbelief, wondering if I’m indeed the familiar star they recognize.
“America does not recognize your stardom, nor does it respect your celebrity.”
[DailyPost]
More...
- Reforms will take country out of challenges
- Moghalu backs President’s bold reform programmes
The economy is not in distress and the current situation is not beyond redemption, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said yesterday.
He stressed that efforts were on to navigate the country out of the current challenges.
According to him, the latest economic indicators do not portray a country in distress.
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, who backed Tinubu’s reforms, said time was needed to address the issues.
They spoke at the 16th Leadership Conference and Awards held at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja.
Its theme was: “An economy in distress: which way forward?”
The event was organised by Abuja-based Leadership Newspaper.
Tinubu, who received the Leadership Newspaper’s Person of the Year 2023 award, was represented by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
The President acknowledged that the country is faced with challenges but is not helpless.
He said: “I should start by respectfully challenging the notion that the Nigerian economy is in distress.
“Distress suggests helplessness, being at the mercy of something we have no control over. But that is not the case here.
“We are in challenging times, no doubt, but these times have also been marked by unprecedented opportunities to reset the course and to build a new and sustainable economy, away from the rent-seeking and the waste that was once the order of the day.
“The Leadership Group has itself alluded to the ‘difficult but necessary’ decisions that we have taken.
“Since the removal of petrol subsidy, our imports of petrol have dropped by about 50 per cent, which translates to roughly one billion litres of petrol every month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
“In addition, the revenues accruing to the three tiers of Government – Federal, State and Local – have grown by between 50 per cent and 100 per cent since the removal of the petrol subsidy.
“This means more funds are available to directly impact the lives of Nigerians through investments in critical infrastructure, social security, and other areas.”
Tinubu said the economy saw a better-than-anticipated performance in the last quarter of 2023.
He noted that it grew by 3.46 per cent (year-on-year), compared with 2.54 per cent in the preceding quarter.
Capital importation into Nigeria, he said, was up 66 per cent in Q4 2023, reversing a 36 per cent decline in the previous quarter.
In January 2024, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (ASI) crossed the 100,000 points mark, its highest ever, the President said.
“There is no one who looks at this data who will conclude that ‘distressed’ is the accurate way to describe the Nigerian economy.
“Yes, we are challenged in a number of ways. But these are the outcomes of necessary reforms, and a lot of effort and energy is going into alleviating these pains and setting the economy on firm footing.
“And we are seeing incredible opportunities for investment in every sector of the economy, as we stabilize our foreign exchange market and our macroeconomic indices.
“I ask for the continuing patience and support of all Nigerians, including the elite that is very well represented in this room today.
“To the Nigerian media, I urge you to strive to report not only the challenges but also the solutions and the opportunities as well.
“Ours is a story of a country that is taking the right steps, and feeling the fleeting pains that will come with this course of action. A glorious dawn is indeed assured.”
The President also paid tribute to Leadership founder, the late Sam Nda-Isaiah.
He said: “Your memory will continue to live on, not only in our hearts but also in your brilliant writings and in the family and the business legacies that you left behind.
“To Madam Zainab Nda-Isaiah, thank you for carrying on so boldly and powerfully from where Sam stopped.
“We appreciate what you’re doing, and we will continue to support you.”
The award organisers said the Person of the Year honour was a recognition of Tinubu’s “undisputable can-do spirit” in defying the odds to emerge as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, going on to win the 2023 presidential election.
The award, the newspaper said, is also to acknowledge the President’s courage in taking many difficult but necessary decisions to reposition the country towards economic prosperity.
Moghalu backs ‘bold decisions’
The keynote speaker, Moghalu, backed the Tinubu Administration’s petrol subsidy removal and forex reform.
He urged the President to further cut down the cost of governance by reducing the size of his cabinet.
He recommended the setting up of a seven-member economic team comprising only economists.
Moghalu hailed the current fiscal measure taken by the Central Bank.
He said: “The past 10 years were particularly ruinous.
“They were the years of the locust, marked by unprecedented mismanagement of fiscal policy, unproductive external borrowing, unnecessary budget deficits, illegal Ways & Means lending by the Central Bank of Nigeria to the federal government to the tune of N30 trillion, and unprecedented corruption.
“Earlier, a combination of oil price shocks and an incompetent policy response from the CBN, in the form of an attempt to fix the exchange rate, all helped give us two recessions within seven years.
“Many of these things happened because, as we witnessed, there was a successful political assault on the independence of the central bank, with the storekeeper willingly handing over the store keys to the marauders.”
Moghalu said while Nigeria attempts to tackle its immediate problems, it must understand that they are simply symptoms of the long-ignored root causes.
“We should not repeat the cycle of past crises that did not force us to fix our economy for good, to be productive and to create wealth and jobs for the average Nigerian.
“It is time to reposition our economy for the long term, out of the lessons of today’s challenges.
“I maintain my position, which is a matter of record, that the decisions to remove the petrol subsidy and forex subsidy were bold and correct.
“We have lived a lie for 40 years and the chickens have come home to roost.
“Given the country’s revenue challenges in the crude oil production and export sector, Nigeria could no longer afford to subsidise the importation of refined petrol, at least fully, and could no longer afford to defend the value of the Naira artificially.”
On the Economic Advisory Council, Moghalu said it should be composed of distinguished economists and economic thinkers with a strong track record.
“This full-time advisory council will recommend the reforms and implementation steps to truly diversify Nigeria’s economy and turn the country into a full Emerging Market economy such as Malaysia, Chile, Turkey and Thailand within the next 10 years.
“Of particular importance for the work of this council will be the challenge of poverty, how the government can take 100 million people out of poverty into the middle class in 10 years and advising on how the human development-GDP growth/GDP per capita-structural transformation continuum can be achieved,” he said.
Obi: no reason for country to be poor
Also, former Anmabra State Governor Peter Obi, said the country has no reason to be poor.
He urged governors to work towards making the country great again.
Obi said: “We have no reason to be poor considering what we have in Nigeria. There is no reason for Ukraine to give Nigeria grain. Let us invest in the north.”
Rain of cash for Salisu
Leadership celebrated Awwalu Salisu, a tricycle operator who returned N15 million to a passenger in Kano.
It was a rain of cash for him as Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago gave him N250 million: N50million on behalf of the President; N50 million on behalf of the governors; N50million on behalf of APC; N50million on behalf of Niger State and N50 million for himself.
Obi, who was a presidential candidate in last year’s election and his former running mate Datty Ahmed offered Salisu a scholarship at Baze University, Abuja.
Chairman of Leadership Group Limited, Zainab Nda-Isaiah, described the event as “very special”.
“This conference and awards year after year provide an exceptional platform in setting the agenda and offering solutions and new insights to a range of the country’s problems.
“Today’s (yesterday’s) event coincides with the 20th anniversary of the founding of LEADERSHIP – the dream of one man, my husband – the Great Sam Nda-Isaiah,” she said.
[TheNation]
Today, as Olusegun Obasanjo celebrates his 87th birthday, a speech prepared by him was delivered by his son, Dr. Seun Obasanjo, at the recent presidential commissioning of geometric power in Aba, Abia State.
It is a great pleasure to be invited to speak on this occasion. The commissioning of the 188-megawatt Geometric Power plant located in the Osisioma Industrial Layout of Aba, the Great Enyimba City, and Aba Power Ltd which will distribute electricity to nine (9) of the seventeen (17) Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Abia State is historic in every sense of the expression. This is a red letter day in the annals of not just Aba or Abia State but also the entire country. I had for months assured my brother and friend, Professor Bart Nnaji, that I would attend this event physically, in flesh and blood. However, the ongoing funeral rites during the same period of a fallen hero of African liberation, President Hage Geingob of Namibia, in his country and the follow-up meeting in Angola have made it impossible for me to be with you in person. I have, therefore, sent a worthy representative in person of my son, Dr. Seun Obasanjo.
I have heard a lot of reasonable members of our society claim that the Geometric Power Group is a product of the far-reaching reforms that our administration decided to carry out in the national economy after the 2003 general election. Geometric Power is, indeed, part of the product of that reform programme, but, in reality, it preceded the 2003 election. Our administration in 2000 wanted to build an emergency power plant to provide power to the Central District of Abuja pending the completion of the Shiroro- 2 Abuja power line by the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). Two companies were final bidders for the 30MW plant after repetitive bids. One was Scottish and one Nigerian.
The Nigerian company, Geometric Power, was led by Professor Bart Nnaji. I asked the then Minister of Power to share the project equally among the two companies. Geometric Power built a 22MW Emergency Power Plant in Abuja to ensure reliable delivery of the required 15MW to provide electricity to some critical parts of the Federal Capital Territory during the period. We felt it was in the overriding national interest to allow this team of young Nigerians to showcase their knowledge and skills rather than award the whole contract to a foreign firm.
This gave birth to Geometric Power becoming the first indigenous Nigerian private power company. I am happy these Nigerians did a very good job. There was no power failure in the Presidential Villa, the NNPC Corporate Headquarters, the Central Bank of Nigeria Headquarters, the Federal Secretariat, and the entire Abuja Central Business District for the period they supplied electricity to these places.
The success of the 22MW Abuja Emergency Power Plant resulted in the birth, in 2004, of the 188 MW Geometric Power plant and the Aba Power Distribution Company. The success rekindled our belief that the private sector, not the government, should play a commanding role in the power sector. We started with Aba simply because of its reputation as the home of indigenous industrialization. Given that the existing law invested 3 in the Federal Government the sole power of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, we reached a special agreement with Geometric Power to carve out Aba and the environs from the national electricity arrangement and make it operate as a kind of island. We thought that the success of this business model would be recommended across the country. Hence, the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 made the electricity business in Nigeria private-sector driven.
I came to learn that during the privatization of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) successor companies in November 2013, the government of the day did not respect the Federal Government’s MOU with Geometric Power in 2004, with substantive agreement in 2005, to make Aba a Ring-fenced Area. This action led to a loss of public confidence in the privatisation programme and many years were lost in the development of the Aba Ring-fenced Area.
All that is behind us and Aba is now primed to enjoy reliable, quality, and affordable electricity. Quality and regular power supply will, by extension, benefit all Nigerians, not just the people and businesses in Aba. Constant power supply can reduce the cost of doing business in Aba significantly; this will translate to cheaper products and services. I felicitate with the people of Aba for what this 188MW gas-generating plant will contribute to living and business experiences in Aba. I congratulate Geometric Power and its driving force, Professor Bart Nnaji. Let this example be followed in other cities and business areas in other parts of the country.
Thanks for listening.
A former Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State said the federal government still pays subsidy on petroleum products.
Yuguda stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu, in his inaugural speech, announced that “The fuel subsidy is gone.”
The President added that the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy and more so, subsidy payment was no longer justifiable.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in one of its reports last month also advised Nigeria to completely phase out costly fuel and electricity subsidies as part of measures to address its economic challenges.
Speaking on the issue of subsidy, ”If the IMF says we are paying subsidy then we are. But the subsidy that was removed was the one that was going into private pockets and I decoupled that subsidy that ordinarily shouldn’t have been paid.”
”If it should have been paid it should be paid into the treasury of the country and today that revenue increase that we see is reflected in the removal of the monies that were going into the pockets of private individuals is what is going into the treasury of the country.”
”You have that subsidy being paid on petrol products that are pumped through pipelines and in many instances they are pumped through imaginary pipelines, where the pipelines don’t exist, sow e all pay subsidy but that what was the President removed, that is why most states are getting twice or thrice of their allocation.”
On the economic hardship in the country, the former governor said the average Nigerian will not understand the challenges the president has to face in resolving the economic situation.
Yuguda noted that the members of the president’s cabinet need to help in sensitising the masses on how the government policies will change the nation.
He said, ”I will expect the cabinet of Mr Predisnet to go down the strata of our society and explain to the people that this is the situation that we have found ourselves in.”
”If we hadn’t had our Central Bank messing us up and the economy that has been mismanaged in the past, it wouldn’t be the way it is today.”
A former deputy governor, Financial Systems Stability at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Moghalu, has described has grand corruption the 30 trillion ways and means borrowings by the federal government from the apex bank.
Recall that former administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had borrowed N22.7 trillion in ways and means from the Central Bank which was subsequently followed by another N7 trillion borrowing by the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The development has sparked concerns among citizens as they railed against the violation of extant laws guiding borrowings from the apex bank and the sheer lack of accountability on what the massive loans were used for.
Speaking on the matter and state of the nation in general, Moghalu noted that Nigeria’s economy in the last decade has been dogged by mismanagement and widespread corruption.
Moghalu said this while delivering his keynote address at the annual LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards 2023, holding in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Moghalu said: “We should not be surprised that there is hunger and anger in the land because the past 10 years have been marked by many economic mismanagement, blotted ways and means of the CBN, blotted budget which has paved way for unprecedented corruption.”
He also bemoaned the lack of progressive and people oriented fiscal policies, noting the failings of the government on the fiscal side of the economic spectrum over the years is why the CBN has been overwhelmed.
Moghalu added that with Nigeria will not just step out of the current economic crisis regardless of short term measures as it will last at least three to five years