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Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for 2023 elections has declared his stance on the recent national convention of the party that saw Barr Julius Abure emerge as national chairman.
Addressing Nigerians on X Space hosted by Parallel Facts on Friday, Peter Obi said he ignored the convention because the party leadership under Abure failed to do wide consultation with key stakeholders of the party before embarking on the said convention.
The former Anambra Governor emphasised the need for the right thing to be done to salvage the party, adding that he is more passionate about building a new Nigeria than building a new Labour Party.
“We promised to build Nigeria, we did not promise to build a New Labour Party,” he emphatically affirmed.
He also threw his weight behind the call for a structure for the ‘OBIdient’ movement.
“It is the standard practice around the world where movements form themselves into blocs and are part of the political process,” he added.
Recall the LP has been in crisis in recent times with many of its supporters calling for a proper restructuring of the party ahead of 2027.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has said that it recorded an inflow of over $1.5 bn into the economy over the past few days, indicating that its monetary policy efforts are working positively.
The bank’s acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mrs. Sidi Ali, made the assertions in a statement on Friday.
She noted that data available to the bank indicated that the inflow resulted from the bank’s effort to stabilise the foreign exchange market.
Ali said the naira has also continued to record gains in the Autonomous Foreign Exchange market as it traded at N1,309/$1 as against N1,611/$1 in the second week of March 2024.
The exchange rate between the naira and dollar closed at N1,534/$1 on the official NAFEM market on Monday, February 12, 2024. The current value of the naira shows a considerable appreciation.
Recently, the CBN held its 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting where it decided to increase the interest rate by 200 points to 24.75 per cent from the previous 22.75 per cent.
During his post-meeting briefing, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, also reiterated that the apex bank had cleared all verified foreign exchange backlogs, underscoring the fact that liquidity would improve in the forex market.
The bank conducted the Nigerian Treasury Bills auction of N1.64 trillion on Wednesday, at stop rates of 16.24 per cent, 17 per cent, and 21.124 per cent for the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors, respectively.
The decision to increase the interest rate raised lots of concern among citizens and economic experts but Cardoso said the bank’s decision was intended to stabilise the economy by bringing the interest rate at par with the current inflation in the country, stating that the increase would not be long.
“While the increase in interest rate may have tendencies toward strangulating the economy, with the foreign exchange rate coming down, that also helps to moderate it overall.
“And as I said earlier, you would expect that this would not be too long drawn; at least I would hope so. We are getting towards a situation where the exchange rate is moderating, and we are expecting it to moderate, and then it finds a level that, quite frankly, is sustainable. This would involve huge collaboration with the fiscal side because a lot of that cannot just rely on the monetary side alone,” the governor said.
While noting that Thursday’s rate signified that the Naira was headed in the right direction, Ali assured that the Cardoso-led CBN would remain committed to ensuring the stability of the market and the appropriate pricing of the Naira against other major currencies worldwide.
The Tinubu-led Federal Government have allegedly released the sum of N90 billion to subsidise the 2024 pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
A source at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) told Daily Trust that without this intervention, each of the intending pilgrims would have been requested to add at least N3.5 million to the initial fare which was pegged at N4.9 million.
The source told the publication;
“The forex crisis has caused a lot of problems. That is why the Hajj Commission has asked intending pilgrims to pay the extra amount of N1.9 million each. The commission actually needed N230 billion to sort out the fare differential caused by the forex crisis.
“The N90 billion support which was provided by the government was announced in the presence of reporters during the inauguration of the board and management of the Hajj Commission which was held at the Office of the Vice Presidency on February 28, 2024. But they (reporters) were asked not to report it. That was why no newspaper carried the report. Or did you see it in any reports? If the intending pilgrims pay ₦1.9 million, it is then it can be balanced."
He added that NAHCON had also contacted state governors “to subsidise the hajj fare for the intending pilgrims in their respective states. Kano has responded by subsiding it by N500,000 for each pilgrim.
“By the previous calculation, the N90 billion given by the federal government can only subsidise 19,000 intending pilgrims by ₦3.5 million. But by spreading it on 50,000 pilgrims, it reduces it to N1.9 million; meaning that the federal government has subsidised each pilgrim by ₦1.6 million before each intending pilgrim was asked to add the remaining N1.9 million.”
A top official at the Presidency also confirmed that the federal government “actually provided some financial support for the hajj exercise”. The official said;
“Of course, the federal government has offered support for the pilgrims because the pilgrims have been lamenting.
“Normally, any support that the government is giving to any faith, whether the Christian faith or the Muslim faith, the government does not like to announce it openly so that it will not appear as if the government is favouring on faith.”
The Senator representing Bayelsa Central, Benson Konbowei, has been remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja.
The order was given by Justice Christopher Oba in a case bordering on alleged forgery of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption certificate by the lawmaker.
Senator Konbowei was arraigned before the court on March 26, and he pleaded not guilty to the charge brought against him.
The court, however, granted the Senator N50m bail but ruled that he should be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
In the charge marked: CR/028/2023, the Inspector General of Police accused Konbowei of fraudulently forging a document titled ‘Certificate of Exemption’ with number 000256454 and dated July 4, 2008.
The police said the Senator acted contrary to the provisions of Sections 366,156, and 158 of the Penal Code Act CAP 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and was liable to punishment under Section 364 of the same Act.
Upon his arraignment earlier on Tuesday, the Senator pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Senator was allowed him to go home and the hearing of his bail application was fixed for Thursday, March 28, 2024.
After listening to counsels in the matter, the Senator was granted bail by the court with two sureties in like sum.
The Judge in his ruling, said, “The law is settled that bail is the discretion of the court. Taking a look at the matter, it is not a capital offence.”
The judge said the sureties must own landed properties with Certificates of Occupancy in the Federal Capital Territory.
Justice Oba, however, ordered that the Senator be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the perfection of his bail conditions.
The matter has been adjourned till June 24, 25 and 27 for hearing.
Abubakar Kutigi, judge of a federal capital territory (FCT) high court, has chastised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for filing “frivolous” charges against Mohammed Bello Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice.
At the court session on Thursday, Kutigi upheld the no-case submission filed by Adoke and dismissed the charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy against the former minister on the grounds that the EFCC failed to adduce credible evidence to prove the allegations contained in the charge.
Although the judge commended the prosecution for conceding that it did not have sufficient evidence to oppose the no-case application by Adoke, he criticised the anti-graft agency for wasting four years prosecuting the case.
The judge added that the defendants ought not to have been charged in the first instance.
The judge further noted that a charge must not be filed just for the purpose of filing, adding that a frivolous charge does damage to the judicial system.
“It is argued that people can be arrested circumstantially,” the judge said.
“But every trial, more so, a criminal trial is a different ball game which must be undertaken with utmost care and attention to details, particularly, the quality of the evidence and availability of witnesses.
“It cannot be right or fair, that in this case, for example, nearly about 30 counts in the case involving forgery, the documents subject to these counts were not presented in evidence and material evidence led to situate the elements of forgery.
“If as stated by the lead investigator, PW10, that they demanded for about 37 documents from the CAC but only a few were made available, this then begs the question, why a charge will be filed involving those documents the prosecution does not have access to?
“I must therefore make the point that the whole trial process whatever its inherent imperfection is entirely evidence driven, evidence which requires quality and probative value.
“This is so whether it is at this stage of situating a prima facie, as in the present situation, or at the point of determining guilt, or otherwise of the defendants.
“Without evidence in either of the two situations, it is self evident that such a case stands compromised ab initio.
“On the whole, the prosecution has failed to prove the essential elements of the offences for which the defendants were charged and accordingly, the no case submission has considerable merit and must be sustained.
“To allow this proceedings to continue having regard to the totality of evidence laid bare on the record by the prosecution is to inflict undue hardship and injustice on the defendants.
“They ought not to have stood trial in the first place if the evidence on record was all the prosecution had to offer.
“The legal consequence of a successful submission of no case to answer is that such a discharge is equivalent to an acquittal, and dismissal of the charge on the merits.
“In my final analysis, and for the avoidance of doubt, my firm decision on the basis of the provision of section 302 of the ACJA 2015 is that the evidence adduced by the prosecution on record is not sufficient to justify the continuation of this trial.
“For this reason, I hereby preclude them from entering upon their defence.
“And accordingly, I hereby dismiss, I hereby discharge the defendants of all the entirity of the charge preferred against them.”
THE CHARGES
The EFCC had charged Adoke before the FCT high court, Abuja, on January 15, 2020, along with Aliyu Abubakar, Gbinije of Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd, Shell Ultra Deep Nigeria Ltd, and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo).
Adoke was accused of collecting a gratification of N300 million from Abubakar over the OPL 245 resolution.
He was accused of conspiring with other defendants to “commit the offence of public servant disobeying direction of law with intent to cause injury or to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture”.
The former AGF was accused of “knowingly disobeying direction of law” by allegedly “saving Shell Nigeria Ultra-Deep Limited, Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Company Limited from charges of taxes”.
Adoke denied all allegations, maintaining that he was a victim of political victimisation by former president Muhammadu Buhari on behalf of the Abacha family who felt cheated in the OPL 245 transaction.
Adoke and five other defendants were discharged of all the charges, leaving Gbinije, the third defendant to open his defence in the remaining counts.
[TheCable]
President Bola Tinubu has urged religious leaders to promote unity and avoid vilifying the nation in their sermons.
At an Iftar event in Abuja, he emphasized the constructive role of religious leaders in shaping public opinion and criticized those who denigrate elected officials without offering constructive criticism.
President Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to tackling Nigeria’s challenges and emphasized the resilience of the nation against terrorism.
He reiterated that no terrorist can defeat the collective will of Nigerians, no matter how hard they try to prey on innocent citizens.
He urged traditional and religious leaders to forge a strong bond with the government to defeat terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other forms of criminality in the country.
”Yesterday in Abuja, I attended the burial of the 17 soldiers killed in action at Okuama, Delta State. I saw their pregnant wives and little kids.
”The love of the nation is in your hands. Pray for our country. Educate our children. The sermons we preach to the members of our churches and mosques are important.
”Do not condemn your own nation. As a Yoruba man and as our fathers will say, ‘no matter how slippery the bottom of your child is, you must leave the beads there.’
”Leave the beads there. This is your country; do not condemn it in sermons, do not abuse the nation. Leadership is meant for changes.
”Yes, this leader is bad, fine. Wait until the next election to change him, but do not condemn your country. Do not curse Nigeria. This is a beautiful land.
The President, who acknowledged the birthday wishes and goodwill extended to him on the occasion, reminded the leaders that his birthday on March 29, 2024, coincided with Good Friday.
”I have earned the honour of having my birthday fall on Good Friday, and I pray that on this Maundy Thursday, you all shall return to your homes safely. May God guide and keep you and your families in good health, and lift your spirits,” the President prayed.
Different speakers at the dinner expressed gratitude for the opportunity to come together in the spirit of Ramadan to share a meal with the President and renew the bonds of friendship that unite the nation.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima emphasized the pivotal roles of religious and traditional rulers in promoting peace and unity, urging them to continue to ‘‘build bridges that transcend ethnic and religious divides.’’
The Vice-President expressed delight that the nation’s economy is on a rebound, noting the strengthening of the naira against the dollar.
”The President means well for the nation, and he has continued to redefine the meaning and concept of modern leadership.
Bankers are voicing opposition to the Central Bank’s decision to omit retained earnings from the share capital calculation in its recent recapitalization guidelines.
The Central Bank announced on Thursday a new set of capital thresholds for Nigerian banks, requiring international, national, and regional banks to maintain minimum share capital of N500 billion, N200 billion, and N50 billion, respectively.
However, in defining share capital, the Central Bank excluded retained earnings from the calculation. Instead, it specified that share capital comprises only the banks’ ordinary share capital and share premium.
- “For existing banks, the capital requirements specified above shall be paid-in capital (Paid-up plus Share Premium) only. Bonus issues, other reserves and Additional Tier 1 (AT1 Capital shall not be allowed or recognized for the purpose of meeting the new minimum capital requirements.” CBN
In accounting terms, retained earnings are considered a component of a company’s equity because they represent profits that have not been distributed as dividends but are instead reinvested in the bank.
Many bankers, who requested anonymity when speaking to Nairametrics, expressed the view that the Central Bank’s decision to exclude retained earnings from share capital calculations is flawed.
They argue that this approach fails to acknowledge the actual value that these earnings represent which goes against the conventional and legal treatment of company’s capital structure.
Some bankers also expressed the opinion that while the Central Bank prefers banks to retain most of their earnings to reinforce their capital base, it should not concurrently prevent them from counting these undistributed earnings as part of their capital.
According to estimates by Nairametrics, the ten largest banks in the country possess a cumulative total of N4.2 trillion in retained earnings.
- With the exception of Sterling Bank, none would require additional capital raising if retained earnings were recognized as part of share capital.
- This may explain the widespread dissatisfaction among bankers with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive.
- It seems that the Central Bank is prioritizing direct capital injections into banks rather than relying on accounting entries to satisfy recapitalization requirements.
- Although the Central Bank has permitted mergers and acquisitions, this suggests it anticipates that some banks might struggle to meet the new capital requirements.
The Central Bank has stated that the purpose of raising capital is to “engender the emergence of stronger, healthier and more resilient banks to support the achievement of a US$1 trillion economy by the year 2030” in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of the Tinubu administration.
The Central Bank contends that larger banks with substantial capital bases are essential, as they can offer more significant levels of credit.
This capacity is deemed critical to facilitating and accelerating the growth of the national economy.
[Nairametrics]
[STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE] At Easter, President Tinubu Celebrates with Christians; Calls for Unity and Compassion
AdminPresident Bola Tinubu joins the Christian faithful to commemorate Easter, a significant moment and a glorious celebration of the triumph of life over death.
The President warmly greets Christians in Nigeria and around the world on this occasion, emphasizing love, sacrifice, and compassion as the patent themes of this solemn season.
President Tinubu notes that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for humanity is an emphatic lesson for leaders and all Nigerians to yield to selflessness and compassion, and be steadfast in the pursuit of a united, peaceful, and prosperous nation.
The President strongly commends Nigerians for the sacrifices they have made in the past few months for the nation to be steered to the path of recovery and sustainable growth, assuring them that the seeds of patience which they have sown are beginning to sprout and will in no time bring forth an abundance of good fruits.
As Christians celebrate the victory of life over death as exemplified by the resurrection of Christ, President Tinubu assures all citizens that Nigeria will triumph over its challenges as his administration remains firmly committed to this end.
The President wishes Nigerians, Happy Easter.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
Today, I celebrate a wise man. A provider of sophisticated solutions to complex problems. An unmatched listener & processor of information. A diligent workaholic who sleeps lightly and briefly but works heavily and constantly. A patient teacher and fearless defender of the voiceless.
To a unifying leader and believer in Nigeria who now serves all Nigerians as our President, Happy Birthday!
♾????????????????????♾
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Official Spokesman of the President
The House of Representatives has berated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), commercial banks and other financial institutions over alleged questionable transactions and remittances over the Remita platform.
Chairman of the House Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Bamidele Salam, while speaking at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee on Thursday, also queried the payment of N15bn to Remita from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) from 2016 to 2018.
He described it as questionable because the OAGF paid the money without agreement or contract.
In his submission, the Director Banking Services (CBN), Ahmed Abdullahi, said the apex bank sourced an alternative way of remitting revenue, adding that Remita and System Spec were selected because they had been rendering similar services to banks.
Similarly, the Chief Accountant, TSA Department, who represented the Accountant General for the Federation, Oyewole Adewale, said the CBN refused to respond to letters requesting it to reconcile the revenue accrued to the country through TSA.
On his part, the Director, Remita Payment Services Ltd, Aderemi Atanda, while reading the summary of the TSA collection record, said that 10, 20 and 50 per cent were shared among CBN, commercial banks and Remita respectively, noting that the collections were usually not static, that they varied.
[DailyTrust]
More...
Patients and their relatives, as well as staff of University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan are currently groaning over the total power outage in the hospital.
DAILY POST reports that the tertiary health institution is currently experiencing total blackout as a result of the disconnection of the hospital from the national grid by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
It could be recalled that the IBEDC on Tuesday, 19th March, 2024, cut off power supply to the hospital over accumulated debt.
IBEDC said the supply was cut off due to over N400 million accumulated debt by the hospital.
However, the hospital management said its debt was N241 million.
DAILY POST correspondent, who visited the hospital on Wednesday, gathered that the disconnection of the hospital from the national grid is negatively affecting major activities.
Most of the equipment and facilities that require electricity are not being used as a result of the power outage.
Most of the services that require electricity such as X-ray, blood tests, urine tests and other essential services are being referred to facilities outside the hospital.
DAILY POST also observed during the visit that water supply has been disrupted, with patients and their relatives resorting to sachet water.
Those who could not buy sachet water are tempted to bring water from their houses.
A resident of Ibadan, Mr. Akinloye told DAILY POST that he brought 25kg of water from outside the hospital.
He said, “It was a terrible one. My sister gave birth to a new baby there yesterday. I had to use a 25kg keg to fetch water from Iyana Church to UCH this morning”.
Another resident of Ibadan, Dr. Kolawole, lamented that he was referred to a facility outside the hospital before an X-ray could be done on him.
“The situation at UCH is terrible. Can you imagine that I was asked to do an X-ray outside UCH because there is no light.
“I spent four hours before they told us to go and do it elsewhere.
“They told us that they do not have electricity and they cannot do it for us. The situation is very terrible.”
Our members now use torchlights to attend to patients – JAC
Meanwhile, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) which is the umbrella body of all the unions in the hospital has said that its members now use torchlights to attend to patients in the hospital.
JAC made this declaration during a congress attended by staff of the hospital on Wednesday.
The congress was attended by members of Non-academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals Research Institutions and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAN) and Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN).
JAC Chairman, Comrade Oludayo Olabampe, while speaking with DAILY POST shortly after the congress, noted that staff of the hospital have been working in terrible conditions since the power supply was cut off.
He added that workers in the hospital have been using torchlights to attend to patients since the power supply was cut off.
He added that the workers will not be able to perform their duties as expected unless the power supply is restored.
Olabampe appealed to the federal government, governor Seyi Makinde and other stakeholders to come to the aid of the hospital.
“The congress is about briefing our members on the actions we have taken on their behalf to address their welfare.
“Since Tuesday last week, we have been experiencing a total power outage simply because the IBEDC cut our light; they said UCH is owing N495m debt. And they said we must settle a substantial amount before the power can be restored.
“Since that happened, our members have been going through a lot of unbearable conditions to perform their duties.
“We cannot allow this to continue. So, we felt we must do something to address it. We must let Nigerians know what is happening to UCH.
“Look at this hospital that serves the whole Nigeria. If this is happening to UCH, that means it is happening to all Nigerians.
“We want to say that if you come to UCH now, you may not get the best of care because of the power outage. UCH has been in darkness and nothing is working.
“We are calling on Nigerians to come to our rescue.
“Our members are languishing, they are working as live slaves. Imagine a situation when you work in a hospital without light. We cannot continue to work in darkness. We don’t want to lose any member.
“Some of our members are exposed to high risks, we cannot pump water, we are using torchlights to work. So, we want to reduce the hazard,” he stated.
IBEDC insisted on immediate payment of N250m – UCH
Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Funmi Adetuyibi when contacted confirmed that the power supply to the hospital has been cut off by the electricity distribution company.
Adetuyibi, in a statement made available to DAILY POST, said that the hospital is making efforts to settle the outstanding debt.
She added that the electricity distribution company insisted that the hospital should immediately pay N250 million before the power could be restored.
She added that the outstanding bill was N241 million and not over N400 million as claimed by the electricity distribution company.
She said, “While we can say that we have outstanding bills to settle with the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), the hospital management has left no stone unturned in our proactive approach in making our teeming patients have access to adequate medical care at all times.
“It is not true that the hospital has an accumulated bill of N495m over the last three years.
“The outstanding bill as at the assumption of office was 241 million Naira and the payment plan for defraying the outstanding and payment of current bills was maintained until the tariff was arbitrarily increased.
“On the current disconnection of power supply to the hospital, this management has had several meetings with the IBEDC management.
“A payment plan on how to offset the backlog of the outstanding debt has been forwarded to both the consultant of IBEDC and the Regional Head of IBEDC.
“This payment plan was rejected by IBEDC. They insisted on immediate payment of 250 million Naira.
“To put on record, the hospital has never spent 160 million Naira on diesel on a monthly basis. We spend an average of 17 million per month on diesel depending on power supply from IBEDC.
“Also, we have not experienced a 24 hour power supply in the hospital. The Internal Audit department of the hospital has a daily record of the electricity supplied to the hospital by IBEDC.
“The Hospital has 45 generators. Out of these 45 generators, some are due for servicing while some are due for replacement,” she revealed.
We disconnected UCH owing to over N400m debt – IBEDC
On its part, IBEDC said that it took the decision to disconnect UCH owing to over N400 million debt.
The electricity distribution company made this declaration via a statement issued by Johnson Tinuoye, Chief Key Accounts Officer of IBEDC.
The statement was made available to DAILY POST Wednesday evening.
Tinuoye insisted that the electricity distribution company was compelled to cut off the power supply to the hospital due to over N400 million debt.
According to him, “The Management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has been compelled to disconnect the supply to the University of Ibadan College Hospital (UCH) due to an outstanding debt exceeding 400 million Naira.
“This drastic measure comes after exhaustive attempts to engage with the hospital’s management regarding the substantial overdue balance, which has persisted for over six years.
“Despite numerous written correspondences and multiple meetings, UCH management has displayed an uncooperative attitude toward addressing the outstanding debt.
“IBEDC’s fiduciary responsibility to its stakeholders and market operators necessitates timely and complete remittances, especially considering the liquidity crisis facing DISCOs.
“Unpaid electricity bills hinder DISCOs’ ability to fulfil obligations to GENCOs and purchase gas for power generation, contributing to the nationwide issue of low power supply.”
[DailyPost]
Centre for Law and Civil Culture (CLCC) has urged National Assembly to set up an independent inquiry into the killing of 17 officers and soldiers in Delta State on March 14.
It called on National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to probe the incident to prevent a recurrence.
In a statement by Executive Secretary, Abdul Imran, and Deputy Legal Adviser, Oyinkansola Chukwu, the centre said the police should lead the investigations.
“The Army cannot objectively investigate the killings. It is police responsibility.
“CLCC calls on the police not to abdicate its constitutional and statutory responsibility,” it said.
The centre urged the Army to exercise caution and ensure innocent people are not punished for the offence they knew nothing about.
It said Delta State governor, police and other security agencies as well as the press should be given access to the troubled community.
Describing the killings as “cruel and barbaric”, CLCC commiserated with the Army and the bereaved families.
[TheNation]
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has expressed support for the move of the Senate to probe the Ways and Means loan to the Federal Government under the administration of former president, Muhammadu Buhari.
In February, the Senate constituted a nine-member ad hoc committee to probe the disbursement and usage of the N30tn Ways and Means loan obtained by the Buhari administration from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Speaking with journalists recently, the ICAN President, Dr Innocent Okwuosa, welcomed the inquiry by the upper legislative chamber and called on the CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso to learn from the mistakes of past CBN bosses.
ICAN President said, “Our expectation is that with the new administration, borrowing will be a thing of the past. However, I will advise CBN should continue to extend Ways and Means to the government but the CBN itself has stated that it will not continue to extend Ways and Means to the government. In fact, this is a good policy from our perspective. So, if CBN should stick to not increasing the Ways and Means that it gives to the government, that’s a policy that we support.
“I think it is a Fiscal Responsibility Committee that placed a limit on what Ways and Means percentage would be. It’s something around five per cent. When CBN exceeded this, people kept quiet. They should have spoken up so that CBN does not continue to exceed this limit. Now, it is not five per cent, we are talking about N30tn, that’s huge. I understand it’s been converted into bond. But one good thing we support is the fact that the Senate has instituted an inquiry into those Ways and Means. I would guess that the investigation would lead to more revelation and would be a lesson which the present CBN would learn from and would not go into the mistake of the previous CBN.”
Okwuosa urged the CBN to seek alternative means to support government deficit financing and discontinue increasing Ways and Means to the government.
He said, “They could go to the capital market and tie them to projects because each time you have a government deficit, it must be as a result of not having funds to back a project. So, if we want to raise funds for such a project, we (can) do that in the capital market and tie it specifically to the project that we couldn’t provide funding for in the budget. I think that’s the way CBN should go.”
Okwuosa also said that Nigeria would earn more forex if the nation promoted exports to African countries and took advantage of Africa’s free continental trade agreement.
“If we can also promote trade in Africa, assuming we cannot export to Europe, since we have an Africa Continental Trade Agreement that has come into place. It can be utilised, but we need to utilise it more. I think a combination of all these will increase foreign exchange for us and we begin to see the impact on the exchange rate,” he added.
[Punch]
•Int’l commercial banks get N500bn as minimim
•National Commercial banks N200bn
•Banks given 24mths deadline
The top five banks have a shortfall of N1.5 trillion to meet the new minimum capital base announced yesterday by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN for international commercial banks.
In a statement yesterday, the CBN unveiled new minimum capital requirements for banks, raising the minimum capital base for commercial banks with international authorisation by 900 per cent to N500 billion from N50 billion.
Confirming this in Abuja, yesterday in a statement, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali said the new minimum capital base for commercial banks with national authorisation is now 200 Billion, representing 700 per cent increase from N25 billion.
She also disclosed that the new requirement for commercial banks with regional authorization has been raised to N50 billion, representing 400 per cent increase from N10 billion.
Mrs. Sidi Ali also disclosed that the new minimum capital for merchant banks would be N50 Billion, while the new requirements for non-interest banks with national and regional authorisations are N20 Billion and N10 Billion, respectively.
A circular signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Mr. Haruna Mustafa, to all commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks and promoters of proposed banks emphasized that all banks are required to meet the minimum capital requirement within 24 months commencing from April 1, 2024, and terminating on March 31, 2026
According to the circular, the move, initially disclosed by the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, in his address to the Annual Bankers’ Dinner in November 2023, was to enhance banks’ resilience, solvency, and capacity to continue supporting the growth of the Nigerian economy.
To enable them to meet the minimum capital requirements, the CBN urged banks to consider inject fresh equity capital through private placements, rights issues and/or offers for subscription; Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As); and/or upgrade or downgrade of license authorisation.
Furthermore, the circular disclosed that the minimum capital shall comprise paid-up capital and share premium only. It stressed that the new capital requirement shall not be based on the Shareholders’ Fund.
“Additional Tier 1 (AT1) Capital shall not be eligible for meeting the new requirement. Notwithstanding the capital increase, banks are to ensure strict compliance with the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirement applicable to their license authorisation.
“In line with extant regulations, banks that breach the CAR requirement shall be required to inject fresh capital to regularise their position,” it added.
The CBN circular said the minimum capital requirement for proposed banks shall be paid-up capital, adding that the new minimum capital requirement shall apply to all new applications for banking licenses submitted after April 1, 2024.
It noted that the CBN would continue to process all pending applications for banking licenses for which a capital deposit had been made and/or an Approval-in-Principle (AIP) had been granted. However, it said that the promoters of such proposed banks would make up the difference between the capital deposited with the CBN and the new capital requirement no later than March 31, 2026.
Meanwhile, the CBN said all banks are required to submit an implementation plan (clearly indicating the chosen option(s) for meeting the new capital requirement and various activities involved with their timelines) no later than April 30, 2024. The CBN also disclosed that it would l monitor and ensure compliance with the new requirements within the specified timeline.
Top banks and capital shortfall
Under the new minimum capital requirement, each of the top five banks namely Access Bank, FirstBank, GTBank, UBA and Zenith Bank must have N500 billion as a minimum capital base.
The CBN however said the minimum capital requirement is limited to paid-up capital and share premium.
Consequently, the five banks are supposed to have combined paid-up capital and share premium of N2.5 trillion.
Vanguard findings, based on the latest financial results of the bank showed that the combined paid-up capital and share premium of the top five banks amounted to N1.037 trillion, representing a shortfall of N1.472 trillion.
Based on the stipulation of the CBN, Access Corporation, the parent company of Access Bank has paid-up capital and share premium of N251.811 billion according to its 2023 full-year result released yesterday hence a shortfall of N248.189 billion.
FBN Holdings, the parent company of FirstBank has paid-up capital and share premium of N251.3 billion, hence a shortfall of N248.66 billion, according to its Q3’23 results
The paid-up capital and share premium of GTHoldco, the parent company of GTBank stands at N138.186 billion as of Q3’23, hence a shortfall of N361.814 billion
UBA has paid-up capital and share premium of N115.815 billion, hence a shortfall of N384.185 billion according to its Q3’23
Zenith Bank has a paid-up capital and share premium of N270.745 billion, hence a shortfall of N229.255 billion.
[Vanguard]