Latest News
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]
- 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
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi said he was not desperate to be the President of Nigeria.
Obi spoke while reacting to his award as the Leadership Politician of the Year 2023 at the newspaper’s Annual Conference and Awards event in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to Obi, it was a shame for Ukraine, a war-torn country, to donate grains to Nigeria when Niger State alone can feed the whole of Africa.
He said, “Let me thank the LEADERSHIP Newspaper for this event and the award. We’ve all heard from the keynote speaker.
“For me, this award, I am grateful to the almighty God. If I have the opportunity, I will give my all to the country.
“I am not desperate to be president, I am desperate to make Nigeria work,” Obi stated, while adding that young Nigerians should be productively engaged in order to eliminate poverty and crime.
“We have no reasons to be poor. Poverty should never be part of our lives especially in the North,” Obi said.
He added that with over 7,442,00 square meters of land, Nigeria can feed Africa.
Obi said, “Ukraine has no reason to give us grain. Niger State can feed Nigeria, Africa with over 73, 000 square meters of land.
“The two biggest states in the North-East, Borno with over 70,000 square metres of land and Taraba, are four times the size of Belgium that is exporting food.
“There is so much we can do in the country if we have the right leadership. The more you remove people out of poverty, the more you have less criminals,” Obi said.
Economic and financial experts have advised Nigerians on some viable investment options to consider following the Federal Government (FG) clampdown on Binance, a major cryptocurrency trading company.
The experts identified the different investment options in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Tuesday.
A former banker, Mr Yomi Babalola, said the investment opportunities or options available to Nigerians depend on the risk level and capacity of individuals.
Babalola, however, stated that the High-Interest Savings Account (HISA), a form of short-term investment option, was very important as it could serve as a reserve for liquidity purposes.
“What it means is that you want to have a certain form of investment that can be easily liquidated to cash, especially in case of emergencies.
“To use a high-interest savings account, you can make use of Fintech Savings Apps such as Piggyvest, and Cowrywise,” he said.
He also identified real estate as another investment option that could be considered.
“Land always appreciates – this is something realtors do talk about regularly and they are not lying.
“Real estate is a very profitable and solid form of investment you can delve into because as long as humans exist, there will always be a need for land banking.
“But I must be honest with you, unlike HISA and stocks, real estate is really capital intensive,” he said.
The ex-banker also mentioned personal business as another form of investment.
According to him, this is one option not many people look at when they want to invest their money.
“But I can tell you that it’s a great option to have in your asset portfolio, especially if you know what you’re doing.
“One of the benefits of investing in your business is that it gives you the option of good and steady cash flow.
“Having an investment that yields consistent cash flow is a great asset to have.
“This is because, depending on the business, it can begin to yield returns almost immediately you begin and it also has huge growth potential,” Babalola said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Ibadan Shareholders Association, Mr Eric Akinduro, commended government’s efforts at stabilising the economy by clamping down on institutions supposedly hindering the economy from developing.
“To me, it is a welcome development as we have a lot of loopholes eating deep into our economy.
“However, inconsistency in policies is a major hindrance to the progress of this country,” he said.
Akinduro stated that the money market seemed better now, particularly the bond and treasury bonds, as they now pay higher interest than before.
“So, these can be considered.
“Nevertheless, we still have some potential in the capital market for companies that have good fundamentals – this can also be considered,” he said.
A financial expert, Mr Tunji Adepeju, who said the present hardship was not peculiar to Nigeria, urged Nigerians to start farming in bags and plastic containers to boost food production.
He encouraged families to embrace backyard farming of vegetables, tubers, and fruits, especially since 51 per cent of monthly income goes into feeding according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
“Some people are already taking advantage of backyard farming and if everybody does, we will force down prices of food items made to keep increasing by some people because of greed and corruption,” Adepeju said.
The Comptroller General of Customs and Excise, Adewale Adeniyi, has said President Bola Tinubu gave orders for seized food items to be sold to vulnerable Nigerians to address hunger across the country.
Adeniyi disclosed this on Tuesday on the floor of the House of Representatives during the sectoral debate series, which also had in attendance the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari.
According to Mr Adeniyi, President Bola Tinubu gave the directive that food items produced in Nigeria and seized at the Nigerian land borders, be sold directly to vulnerable Nigerians to ease the challenge of hunger in the country.
He said, “Mr President has directed that we sell directly to needy Nigerians food items produced locally but which were seized. This is one of the ways to address hunger and food scarcity we are facing. We have started this in Lagos.
“Also, the President has also directed that imported food items seized by the Nigeria Customs Service should be sold back to the local markets for resale to Nigerians,” he said
The Bank of Ghana has imposed a one month suspension on the foreign exchange trading licences of the Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana Limited (GTB) and FBNBank Ghana Limited (FBN), due to malpractices including fraudulent documentation.
In a statement announcing the suspension, Bank of Ghana said: “Bank of Ghana has suspended the Foreign Exchange Trading Licences of Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana Limited (GTB) and FBNBank Ghana Limited (FBN), effective 18th March 2024, for a period of one (1) month, in accordance with section 11 (2) of the Foreign Exchange Act 2006, (Act 723).
“This is as a result of various breaches of the foreign exchange market regulations, including fraudulent documentation in their foreign exchange operations which have come to the attention of Bank of Ghana.
“The licence will be restored at the end of the one-month suspension period once the Bank of Ghana is satisfied that they have put in place effective controls to ensure strict adherence to the foreign exchange market regulations.
“By this statement, we caution foreign exchange market players to adhere strictly to the applicable forex market regulations and guidelines.”
More...
Implement cash transfer programme before addressing fuel, electricity subsidies - IMF tells FG:
Admin
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has emphasised the need for the Nigerian government to prioritise the full implementation of its cash transfer program to aid vulnerable households.
This step is crucial before the government takes on the task of revaluating the costly fuel and electricity subsidies.
According to the IMF, the established social safety net programme, designed to disburse cash transfers to the poor and vulnerable, needs to be operational to its fullest capacity. This approach ensures that the economically vulnerable segments of the population remain shielded as the government contemplates adjustments to the existing fuel and electricity subsidy framework.
This recommendation emerged in the backdrop of concerns raised by the IMF over the fiscal burdens emanating from the current practice of subsidising fuel and electricity in a statement following a recent visit by an IMF team led by Axel Schimmelpfennig, the IMF mission chief for Nigeria.
According to the statement, the continuation of capping fuel pump prices and electricity tariffs below their recovery costs could lead Nigeria to incur fiscal costs of up to 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024.
This visit, part of the 2024 Article IV Consultations, saw the team engage in discussions with key Nigerian officials in Lagos and Abuja from February 12 to February 23, 2024.
The statement read partly:
- “Recent improvements in revenue collection and oil production are encouraging. Nigeria’s low revenue mobilization constrains the government’s ability to respond to shocks and to promote long-term development.
- “Non-oil revenue collection improved by 0.8% of GDP in 2023, helped by naira depreciation. Oil production reached 1.65 million barrels per day in January as the result of enhanced security. The capping of fuel pump prices and electricity tariffs below cost recovery could have a fiscal cost of up to 3% of GDP in 2024.
- “The recently approved targeted social safety net program that will provide cash transfers to vulnerable households needs to be fully implemented before the government can address costly, implicit fuel and electricity subsidies in a manner that will ensure low-income households are protected.”
3.2% GDP growth in 2024
The IMF notes that despite Nigeria’s economy showing signs of growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a GDP growth of 2.8%, this growth barely keeps pace with population dynamics.
The Fund further projects an improvement in GDP growth to 3.2% in 2024, supported by increased oil production and anticipated better harvests. However, challenges such as high inflation, a weakening naira, and the need for tighter monetary policies are expected to pose significant headwinds.
On food security and social protection
During its visit, the IMF team praised the Nigerian government’s efforts in addressing food insecurity, which affects approximately 8% of the population.
The team also acknowledged the approval of a targeted social safety net programme intended to provide cash transfers to vulnerable households. This initiative, coupled with improvements in revenue collection and oil production, is seen as a positive step towards stabilising the economy.
However, the IMF emphasised the urgent need for Nigeria to address the financial implications of fuel and electricity subsidies. The Fund suggested that before tackling these costly subsidies, the recently approved social safety net program must be fully implemented to protect low-income households effectively.
On MPR
The IMF also applauded the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to tighten monetary policy further by increasing the policy rate by 400 basis points to 22.75%.
This move, aimed at containing inflation, which had hit 29.9% year-on-year in January 2024, and alleviating pressure on the naira, represents a total tightening of 1,025 basis points since May 2022.
More Insights
- The elimination of fuel subsidies and other recent policies have had a disproportionate impact on Nigeria’s poor and vulnerable, who stand to benefit greatly from a monthly cash transfer system.
- The World Bank earlier said that cash transfers can help save Nigerians from intergenerational poverty traps as inflation and low economic growth adversely affect the poor.
- President Bola Tinubu launched a social safety net programme last year that will distribute N25,000 to 15 million homes for three months in observance of the 2023 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
- The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is tasked with carrying out the $800 million World Bank loan project.
- However, the Federal Government had to suspend the cash transfer programme for further investigation and revamping following alleged misappropriations within the programme.
- Betta Edu was earlier suspended as a humanitarian affairs minister due to the misappropriation of N585 million earmarked for palliative distribution.
- Also, Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, is being investigated by the EFCC. The ex-minister is being probed over an alleged laundering of N37.1 billion during her tenure as a minister.
- The Federal Government recently said that it has revamped its cash transfer programme to combat fraud, with immediate implementation of direct payments.
Lawyers, including two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), have called for the reduction of the powers of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to accountability and public confidence in the nation’s judicial process.
They expressed concern that the increasing challenge of accountability, lack of transparency, and corruption among others, contribute to the dwindling public confidence in the judicial process.
These were part of the key issues that dominated discussions at a conference on accountability in the Judiciary held in Abuja on March 1.
Among the conferees were Jibrin Okutrpa (SAN), Adamson Adeboro (SAN), Mbasekei Martin Obono (the Coordinator of Tap Initiative), Victoria Benson, and Lillian Okenwa.
The event, with the theme: “Impact of judicial accountability on democratic Resilience and public trust in the legal system” was organised by Tap Initiative, with the support of Open Society Foundations.
In a communique made available on March 4, the conferees were of the view that the duty to restore the trust of the common man in the Judiciary rests on every member of the profession starting with the Judges and especially the heads of courts.
They urged the Judiciary to take urgent steps to improve transparency within its governance processes especially the appointment of judges.
The conference participants recommended that the office of the CJN should be unbundled especially as chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), National Judicial Institute (NJI), and Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC).
The conference equally recommended that the conversations will continue and that all Nigerians will make their voice heard and the judiciary would listen and not take the calls for accountability as a challenge to its authority but rather as an opportunity to win public trust again.
They stressed the need to strengthen the integrity requirement of the appointment of judges and make it more transparent.
The conference participants also called for the strengthening of the NJC to hold judicial officers accountable.
They added: “The code of ethics for judicial officers by the NJC needs no review but proper political will by the CJN to investigate and sanction erring judicial officers.”
The participants and discussants suggested that the conference should be made periodic to review the state of accountability in Nigeria’s judiciary.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a warning message to Nigeria and other West African nations regarding trends in borrowing practices.
Traditionally, nations often relied on loans from the Paris Club, a group of creditor countries.
However, the CBN has observed a significant shift towards borrowing from non-Paris Club members and private lenders, such as banks and investors who buy government bonds.
The West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) has warned that Nigeria is at a high risk of falling into debt distress and urged the federal government to look for ways of improving revenue generation.
Governor of the CBN, Yemi Cardoso, gave the warning in Abuja at the Joint World Bank/IMF/WAIFEM Regional Training on Medium Term Debt Management Strategy in Abuja on Monday, March 4.
Represented by Dr. Mohammed Musa Tumala, Director of the Monetary Policy Department of the CBN, Cardoso noted that while this change in who countries owe money to might seem like a minor detail, he emphasized that it is a critical development with serious implications.
He argued that the way countries manage debt owed to the Paris Club may not be as effective for these new lenders. Cardoso expressed concern that this new debt landscape could pose a threat to financial stability and economic recovery for many countries.
According to the CBN Governor, “Public debt dynamics are increasingly influenced by significant debt servicing obligations to non-Paris Club members and private lenders, including commercial banks and bond investors. This shift in the debt structure represents a critical evolution in the global financial framework, with profound ramifications for public debt management in our countries.
Cardoso stated that recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, and natural disasters have put a strain on many countries’ finances, making them more likely to seek loans from diverse sources. However, these non-traditional lenders might come with stricter repayment terms and potentially higher risks compared to Paris Club loans.
“Following the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other developments such as geopolitical conflicts and natural disasters, the financial strain on our sub-region has escalated, posing a threat to their macroeconomic and financial stability and prospects for faster recovery,” he said.
Nigeria, despite being classified as having generally moderate debt risk, the CBN urged the federal government to remain cautious, particularly regarding potential liquidity risks. These risks, if not addressed effectively, could stem from weak revenue mobilization, a persistent challenge hindering debt sustainability and economic stability.
What the CBN is saying is that while Nigeria’s overall debt risk is considered moderate, the country still needs to be careful about its ability to pay back its loans (liquidity risk). This risk could become a problem if the government doesn’t collect enough revenue (money) in the future.
Dr. Baba Yusuf Musa, Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) told journalists: “When you compare Nigeria with the rest of the world or peer countries, you realize that with the 37 percent debt to GDP ratio, we still have room to borrow but the issue with the Nigerian debt is you don’t use GDP to pay debts rather you use the revenue to pay for any debt”
He added: “If you look at it from the revenue side Nigeria is at a high risk of debt distress in terms of our borrowing so what we need to do now is to step up our capacity to generate revenue, the more revenue we have, the less ratio of debt to revenue we have.”
WAIFEM, he said, is “very much in support of what the federal government is doing because there is a window for the government to raise more revenue, all that the people need to do is to support the federal government diversify the sources of revenue and of course generate more sources of revenue, once we have this we don’t really have debt problem but rather revenue problem
Musa said: “What the Medium Term Debt Strategy (MTDS) does is that it smoothens the debt service so that going forward when borrowing, you take into consideration the redemption profile that you have and the type of loans that you have in your existing portfolio and then it will enable you also to minimize the cost and risk the future loans will add to the debt portfolio.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday tasked global partners to stand with Africa in its fight against growing and socio-political crisis springing up on the continent.
He gave the task at the opening of a summit on African Regional Dialogue of the Future titled: “The Africa we want and the UN we need” in Abuja.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, the President expressed concern over the rising threat of terrorism, insurgency and military intrusions in governance across Africa, particularly in West Africa,
He, however, pressed the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to devise innovative strategies to halt the flow of arms and light weapons into the continent.
Tinubu said: “As part of our collective response to these challenges which have grave global implications, may I urge the participants to find innovative and cost-effective strategies by which the African Union would collaborate with the United Nations and the international community to stem the tide of the proliferation of arms and light weapons into Africa, end terrorism and resurgent insurgency and to check the retrogressive return of the military in governance in Africa.”
The president commended the efforts of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development and the Stimson Centre for organising the high-level Regional Dialogue, highlighting the global call for reform and democratisation of the UN System.
“The wide support by many reputable international Civil Society Organisations and research institutions…speaks the minds of honest and progressive global citizens,” he noted, emphasising the collective desire to improve global governance through multilateralism”, Tinubu said.
[TheNation]