News
My successor’ll not come from Igbinedion’s family — Oshiomhole
Ahead of the Edo State governorship election, Governor Adams Oshiomhole has reiterated that his successor will not emerge from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party or the political family of former Governor Lucky Igbinedion.
Governor Oshiomhole disclosed this while addressing journalists in Benin, the state capital, on Tuesday.
Oshiomhole, who criticised Igbinedion for claiming that the PDP would win the poll by a wide margin, said that he was aware that the former governor and other leaders of the opposition had been “in pains” since he (Oshiomhole) became governor in 2008. Punch
Recession: AD urges Buhari, others to forfeit security votes
The Kwara State chapter of the Alliance for Democracy has urged President Muhammadu Buhari; his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; the 36 governors, their deputies; the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, and all the local government chairmen, sole administrators or LG caretaker committee heads, to forfeit their security votes to show their concern for Nigerians as a result of the national economic recession.
The party also urged them to forfeit their salaries and only take their allowances if they were genuinely committed to the ‘Change begins with me,’ campaign of the Federal Government.
According to AD, members of the National Assembly; ministers and other political appointees at all tiers of government should also forfeit their salaries, and only receive allowances as their contributions to efforts to reduce the hardship of the masses. Punch
Dogara: Jibrin trying to pull down the house but he won’t succeed
Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the House of Representatives, says Abdulmumin Jibrin, former chairman of the house committee on appropriations, is out to destroy the lower chamber as an institution.
However, he expressed confidence that Jibrin would not succeed, saying: “If history is any guide, no one in a democracy has ever succeeded in destroying a democratic institution such as the House of Representatives.”
Dogara said the house would not be distracted by “any insidious antics however well-orchestrated, and falsehoods however cleverly propagated to confuse Nigerians”. The Cable
Nigeria Wasted $66bn on BDCs In 11 Years
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has disclosed that the apex bank has wasted a whopping $66 billion funding Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in the last 11 years.
He blamed this as one of the several policies that led to the erosion of Nigeria’s foreign reserves, and is partly to blame for the economic crisis in the country today.
Speaking at a media parley in Lagos, Emefiele recalled that in September 2008, Nigeria’s foreign reserves stood at $62 billion when crude prices peaked at $147 per barrel, noting however that rather than save the money or invest it in infrastructure and industry for wealth creation, previous governments embarked on frivolous spending, disclosing that in 11 years, Nigeria spent $66 billion funding BDC operators. Independent
Alleged N2.8b theft: EX-NAMA MD, others get trial date
The trial of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) Managing Director/Chief Executive Ibrahim Abdulsalam will resume at the Federal High Court in Lagos November 8.
The trial was stalled Wednesday due to the absence of Justice Babs Kuewunmi, who is attending a conference in Abuja as part of the court’s new legal year program.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Abdulsalam and others on April 7 for allegedly stealing N2.8billion. The Nation
Ex-Militants Condemn Pipeline Bombings in Niger Delta
‘Gen.’ Morocco Wilfred and ‘Gen.’ Emmanuel Ejedje, both ex-militants of Phase 3 Amnesty Programme from Urhobo ethnic nationality, over the weekend, condemned the continuous bombing of oil installations in the Niger Delta region.
The two ex-militant chiefs, who spoke in a separate interviews called on the militants to embrace dialogue in the interest of one Nigeria.
Gen. Morocco and Gen. Emma, members of the Phase 3 Amnesty Programme, advised Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd.) to settle the legal battle between Morocco and the Federal Government for peace to reign in the troubled Niger Delta region. Independent
Business News
First Bank, Zenith, UBA Lead Nigeria’s Top 10 Banks by Deposit Base
Despite the fact that banks in the country faced a big challenge in growing deposits in 2015, which is a reflection of the loss of public sector deposits in the year, and the redirection of all public sector accounts from banks to the treasury single account domiciled in the Central Bank, there are still good news coming out of the sector.
Part of the funds ought to flow back to banks in the normal course of economic activities, but this isn’t happening much as government spending has slowed down considerably.
Eight of the top 10 banks by deposit base lost customer deposits in the year. That hampered growth in the asset side of the balance sheet. Loss of deposits has continued into the current financial year. Independent
Nokia Reopens Lagos Office
Nokia has stated that it has reopened its Lagos office as part of its constructive and collaborative engagement with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This was contained in a statement from the company.
The statement also noted that Nokia’s business operations and support to its customers in the country have not been affected by the brief office closure.
“Nokia has operated in Nigeria for over a decade, and as in all other markets where we have a presence, we have conducted business with sound corporate governance. We are always mindful that our business success is based upon superior commercial propositions and long-lasting partnerships with regulators, governments, suppliers, customers, partners and employees in all our markets”. Independent
Heritage Bank Highlights Potential in Non-oil Exports
Heritage Bank Limited has identified major commodities that can boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings in the non-oil sector for the country.
Some of the export potential products as listed by the bank in the agriculture sector are: cocoa, cashew, groundnut, fish, horns, sesame seed, ginger, cassava and snails. Others include tobacco, coffee, cotton lint, rubber, among others. Under Vegetables and spices, the lender identified Bitter leaf, plantain flour, Ground melon, Ground Crayfish, Ground Maize among possible foreign exchange earners. Thisday
News
Stop the Blame-Game, Fix Collapsed Economy, Group Tells Buhari
As Nigerians groan under an economy on recession, the worse in decades, a non-governmental organization, the Coalition of Civil Society Groups (CCSG), has called on the government and its economic managers to stop the blame-game
Instead, the group urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) led administration to put on the thinking caps and concentrate on fixing the collapsing Nigerian economy.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Mr. Etuk Bassey Williams, President of CCSG urged government economic managers to work tirelessly as a team to deliver the country from the present economic recession. Independent
Budget padding: Dogara supporters, Jibrin clash over resignation calls
A former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, and supporters of the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday clashed over Jibrin’s call for Dogara to resign.
Jibrin, who addressed journalists after Tuesday’s plenary, reiterated his call for the resignation of the Speaker and three other principal officers of the House, whom he accused of budget fraud.
According to him, the time is ripe for either the Ethics and Privileges Committee or a specially constituted committee of the House to probe the 20 allegations of wrongdoing against the Speaker, including the N40bn “budget padding” allegation.Punch
Banks creating fertile ground for corruption, says Magu
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, has said the agency is investigating a sum of $15,591,700, which Patience, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, claimed belongs to her.
Magu said this in Lagos on Tuesday while fielding questions from journalists after an interactive session with the commission’s external lawyers and civil society organizations.
The EFCC chairman added that some banks in the country which allegedly helped in concealing stolen money in the country would soon face trial by the commission.Punch
Labour kicks as Saraki joins call for sale of oil assets
The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday itemized measures he said the Executive must take to take Nigeria out of recession.
The measures include the partial sale of the Nigeria LNG Limited and the reduction of government shares in upstream oil joint venture operations.
He also recommended the sale of government’s stakes in financial institutions like the Africa Finance Corporation and the privatization and concession of major/regional airports and refineries to private operators.Punch
Governors Confer with Osinbajo over N250bn Shortfall in States’ Allocations
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday in Abuja held a meeting with a committee set up by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to explore options to help state governors to address the challenges posed by a shortfall of about N250 billion in their monthly allocations.
A source closed to the meeting told THISDAY that the states were finding it difficulties to meet up with their responsibilities to their people.
The source said governors were being accused of diverting funds meant for the development of their states but said the true position, ‘is that the governors are not getting the required allocations they needed to develop their states. Thisday
FG begins shortlisting candidates for 500,000 jobs – Lai Mohammed
The Federal Government has commenced shortlisting candidates for the 500,000 jobs it promised.
Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, said this on Tuesday in Abuja when a delegation of the National Council for Women’s Societies (NCWS) paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
Mr. Mohammed said applications were being received and the government had started processing them for the recruitment. Independent
Business News
CBN rejects Finance minister’s call for interest rate cut …retains benchmark rate at 14%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday retained the Monetary Policy Rate, which is the benchmark lending rate, at the current 14 per cent.
The decision to leave the rate unchanged was contrary to expectations of economic analysts, manufacturers and some government officials.
Indeed, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had on Monday said there was a need for the apex bank to lower interest rates so that the government could borrow domestically to boost the economy without increasing debt servicing costs.Punch
Guinness Announces Net Sales of N102bn
Guinness Nigeria Plc, manufacturers of brands like Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and Malta Guinness, yesterday announced their results for the financial period ended June 30 2016. The company reported revenues of N102bn resulting in an overall loss after tax of N2 billion when compared to the same period last year.
Speaking to the results, Peter Ndegwa, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria Plc said that the combination of a tough economic environment and challenges with naira devaluation had a significant impact on Guinness Nigeria’s overall performance. Independent
RMAFC disagrees with Dangote on NLNG, others
The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has disagreed with the proposal of the President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote that the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and other assets of the Federal Government be sold to raise cash to pull the economy out of recession.
A statement endorsed by its Acting Chairman, Shettima Umar Abba Gana, explained that it would be unwise for the Federal Government to dispose of its crown jewels that generate revenue and keep the Federation Account healthy over the long term. The Nation
Dangote Named Co-Chair of US-Africa Business Centre
In a show of commitment on collaboration by the business communities in the United States and across Africa, the United States Chamber of Commerce has named Aliko Dangote, Africa’s most successful businessman, co-chair of its US-Africa Business Centre.
Dangote will serve alongside Jay Ireland, President/CEO of GE Africa, as a leader for the US-Africa Business Center Board of Directors.
“We are honoured to have Aliko Dangote on board to help guide the business communities’ efforts in pursuit of a new era of unprecedented growth between the United States and Africa,” said Scott Eisner, President of the US-Africa Business Centre.Thisday
Nigeria’s debt rises by N4.17tn in one year
The country’s debt profile has risen to N16.29tn, the Debt Management Office has said.
Statistics obtained from the DMO on Tuesday showed that the country’s total debt liability had risen to N16.29tn as of June 30, 2016. As of June 2015, the country’s total debt stood at N12.12tn.
This means that within the one-year period (July 2015 to June 2016), the country’s total debt rose by N4.17tn, or 34.41 per cent. Punch