Another round of bank recapitalisation is here and for the next two years between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2026, the nation’s 25 commercial and six merchant banks are expected to shore up their minimum share capital by as much as 100 per cent, in some categories. The CBN said all international banks should move their capital to a minimum of N500 billion; national banks up to a minimum of N200 billion; regional banks (N50 billion); merchant banks (N50 billion) and N20 billion for non-interest banks operating nationally and N10 billion for those operating regionally.

To achieve this, the banks will adopt one or a combination of these three options: inject fresh equity capital through private placement, rights issue and/or offer for subscription; mergers and acquisition and/or upgrade or downgrade of licence of authorisation (meaning downgrade from international bank to national or regional or reverse). I can bet that the last option would be the least popular.

This wave of recapitalisation is a bit different from that of Charles Soludo implemented between July 2004 and December 31, 2005 in which all the banks were forced to recapitalise to a minimum of N25 billion. It shrunk the industry from 89 to 24 banks. This time, the banks have different capital requirements, depending on their type of licence.

Other key differences between the two programs are: (i) Soludo’s came with a huge surprise as the operators had no inkling of the announcement before it was made, but Yemi Cardoso had in November given a hint of the review, thus preparing the banks for the Thursday announcement; (ii) Shareholders’ funds were included as part of the N25 billion share capital in 2004, but excluded in the current review, indicating that retained earnings will not be counted as part of their share capital this time (iii) Soludo gave a shorter timeframe of 18 months, unlike Cardoso’s 24-month deadline.

I was in the thick of the flurry of activities 20 years ago, going on roadshows across the country with colleagues to help raise money for the bank I was working for. It was fun and exciting. Eventually, the bank merged with four others to form a brand-new institution known as Sterling Bank. This time around, I would be watching the drama from outside, having retired 11 years ago. But I still take a lot of interest in the industry.

I am particularly gratified to see Nigerian-owned banks spreading across Africa, helping businesses and households meet their financial needs. When Prof. Soludo announced the 2004 recapitalisation programme, there were just a handful of subsidiaries of Nigerian-owned banks in other African countries, while only First Bank (London), Union Bank (London) and UBA (New York) had a presence outside the continent. The growth is emblematic of our preeminence in the continent. I believe in Nigeria and what our private-sector people can do.

There will be very few or no mergers and acquisitions this time because, as a CEO told me, ‘’we don’t have many candidates for that this time around’’. But watching from outside, I expect that Polaris, Union and Unity will receive a lot of overtures for mergers. The CBN has asked the banks to file their implementation plan, clearly indicating the preferred options for meeting the new capital requirements and the various activities and their timelines before the end of April.

Among the top five, Access Holdings, the parent company of Access Bank, appears the most prepared for this recapitalization, in spite of the recent devastating death of its CEO, Herbert Wigwe. Last Thursday – the day the CBN announced the new capital review – Access Holdings unveiled plans to raise $1.5 billion through the issuance of various financial instruments such as ordinary shares, preference shares and others. It will also raise N365 billion through the Rights Issue of Ordinary shares, the proceeds of which would combine with its existing N250 billion paid-up capital, to exceed the new regulatory limit.

Access Holdings’ shareholders will meet in Lagos on Friday, April 19 to consider and approve these plans. In addition, they would also be asked to formally approve the appointment of Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, who was named chairman of the Board two weeks ago, as its non-executive director. Other lenders would be equally busy, Zenith most of all. While others would be engrossed in capital raising only, Zenith will combine that with transiting into a holding company structure – a task other comparator banks had completed over two years ago.

It is going to be a herculean task juggling the two. The other three Tier One banks (GT, UBA and First Bank) are yet to announce their recapitalisation plans and date for annual general meetings, but it is clear from their current position that they too would be going for upwards of N250 billion each in additional capital. The capital market and institutional investors would be quite busy, but with inflation at over 30 percent and disposal income severely depressed, ordinary Nigerians would be shut out completely.

Leaning on its 2004 experience, the CBN expects that a highly capitalized banking industry should be in a position to not only withstand the prevailing macroeconomic challenges and headwinds but also to enhance its resilience, solvency and ‘’capacity to continue to support the growth of the Nigerian economy’’.

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.

“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 and five other defendants were discharged of all the charges, leaving Gbinije, the third defendant to open his defence in the remaining counts.

[TheCable]

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]

“Corruption in the Senate of Rome was a prevalent issue throughout the history of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Senators would often accept bribes from wealthy individuals, foreign ambassadors, or even other senators to influence their decision-making. Senators would use their influence to secure positions of power or prestigious appointments for their family members, regardless of qualifications or merit”. 

“Moreover, the Senate was also known for its lavish lifestyles and extravagant spending. Senators often embezzled public funds for personal gain, enriching themselves at the expense of the Roman people”. The widespread bribery, nepotism, political manipulation, and financial misconduct undermined the integrity and effectiveness of the Senate as a governing body. These corrupt practices played a role in the decline and eventual fall of the Roman Empire”.

The behavioural pattern sketched above was typical of the Senate of Rome over two thousand years ago. Yet were I not to reveal this information, it can be mistakenly assumed that it is all about the primitive behaviour of the 10th Senate of Nigeria. In the wake of the 2023 general elections, we have witnessed the iconic personification of corruption by the three organs of government, especially the Judiciary and the National Assembly. I have always argued that it is impossible to have a corrupt executive without a corrupt Parliament and a corrupt Judiciary and vice-versa. It is a systemic crisis in which they are all implicated. 

Thanks to the principle of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances. Notionally and in the anticipation of any of them going rogue, the three organs are separate and intended to serve as checks against any tendentious deviant behaviour of one another. A dysfunctional society ensues where all of them have gone rogue and a vicious cycle of degenerate behaviour rules the nest. A corrupt Executive cannot call a corrupt Judiciary to order. Neither can a corrupt Judiciary call a corrupt Parliament to order. 

This is the interpretation of the persistently high ranking of Nigeria on the ladder of worldwide corruption by the Transparency International, TI. The peculiar dimension of corruption in Nigeria today is that it is not the revenue generated by Nigeria that is being plundered, it is the money borrowed internally and from the international community. 

The Nigerian debt abyss is summed up in the excerpts that follows. “The ICIR shows that as of June 30 2023, Nigeria owes the World Bank $14.5 billion, according to data from the Debt Management Office. Nigeria’s debt to China increased from $3.93bn as of June 30, 2022, to $4.73bn as of June 30, 2023, showing an increase of $800m in one year. Nigeria’s total public debt reached N87. 91 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2023”. 

This then begs the question, what is the opinion of the lending agencies and countries to Nigeria, (World Bank, IMF, China) on the routine evidence of the way and manner Nigerian public officials spend the money we borrow from them? 

Does it not amount to double jeopardy to the low income earners who fare far worse under the ‘IMF’ regime and bear no responsibility for bringing Nigeria to this sorry pass? Worst of all is the regular advertisement of the self-enriching criminal abuse of the loans in the public glare.

Since the pipers dictate the tune, why have these pipers (loaners) fail to exercise their right of first refusal and insist that their money should (for instance) not be used to buy exorbitant state of the art SUVS for the pleasure of four hundred and sixty Nigerians? How does the claim by the IMF that it “works with governments to ensure responsible spending” square up with this kind of spending? Do they not know that the reasons their prescriptions do not work is attributable to the nugatory effect of rampant public sector corruption and impunity. If they know then what are they doing about it?

How does building a fifteen million dollars Vice Presidential Lodge rise to the bar of IMF “responsible spending”. Where is the responsible spending in funding the opulence and conspicuous consumption of a few in a situation in which Nigeria is rated the poverty capital of the World?. After the damage has been done, they will then turn around to blame the country for what was foreseeable right from the beginning. 

It is a behaviour that hacks back to colonialism. The colonial powers would couple together a disparate group of nationalities to form a country, in the full knowledge that the potential to fail far exceeds the probability of success. After the ‘country’ has duly fulfilled the potential to fall, they will then assume the posture of condescending detachment as if they were not the authors of the failure in the first place. As Anthony Kirk Green remorsefully noted “the tragedy of 1967 is that many of its seeds were not, as is often claimed, sown in October or even July 1966, but in the 1950s or, as some see it, in 1914 or maybe in 1900 itself.”

In its 2022 tracking report, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, published its investigations into how the Constituency projects budget item of the Nigerian national assembly are utilised. It reads like a compendium of the escapades of a 419 syndicate. Owing to space constraints, I can only scratch the top of the iceberg. 

‘Records have it that at least N2 trillion has been spent on constituency projects from 2003 to date, even as Sunday Vanguard gathered that N95 billion and N100 billion had been allocated to the projects every year and shared among the 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives’

“In addition to the N100 billion appropriated annually for constituency projects, the National Assembly embedded additional projects into mandate budgets of MDAs. This is done to increase the project portfolios of concerned legislators and their influence on MDAs. The value of the insertion was in billions. Meanwhile, many of the awarded constituency projects across Nigeria have not started, been abandoned or named but are not in existence”.

In all of this contemporary perversion, the most unique individual is the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. One of the most negatively predictable public official in Nigeria, his public career has been a study in the utility of public corruption for upward mobility in the ladder of political leadership in Nigeria.

A few years back, of all the potential choices former President Muhammadu Buhari could make as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, it was Akpabio he headhunted for the position-with predictable consequences. ‘Barely a month after his appointment, Akpabio clashed with the acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Joy Nunieh. Ms Nunieh, who was subsequently relieved of her position, accused Akpabio of graft and sexual harassment. Five months after he exited office in 2015, Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the EFCC, arrested Akpabio over an alleged theft of N108bn ($227m) belonging to Akwa Ibom State’. 

Given the conspicuous stench that was bound to emanate from his election to the office of Senate President, I offered the unsolicited counsel that it was non-strategic of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sponsor Akpabio for the position. It turned out I was shooting blind concerning the ulterior motive behind his adoption as Senate President. 

I have been subsequently schooled that  “the charges from seven years ago could now become a tool in the hands of the executive branch. Some political analysts, including Olanrewaju Suraju, chairman of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption, suggest that the executive could use these graft charges to push through policies, effectively compromising the legislative process”. 

In the account of institutional perversion in Nigeria, the story of how Akpabio turned and twisted his way to the Senate is in a class all by itself. In what must go down in history as a lowliest turn of the Supreme Court, he suborned the highest Court in the land to sanction the proposition that it was all well and good to run for the Presidency and Senate at one and the same time. That having lost the pursuit of the former, you are simultaneously entitled to go after the other.

In diabolical humour, former Governor of Imo state Rochas Okorocha who equally contested for the Presidency, wondered aloud “I was there in the field with you running for President, I never knew how you were able to meander, leaving some of us. Next time you must teach me how to do that.”. The combination of Akpabio and the Nigerian Senate has proven to be a marriage made in heaven. No deed is too profane nor outrageous for the Senate to contemplate. In anticipation of the debt Nigeria is about to incur, their first order of duty was to self-allocate seventy billion naira on the purchase of choice SUVs to “support their working conditions”. 

Senator Abdul Ningi is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a reform minded public official. His outing was one of those instances in which thieves could find no honour among themselves. Regardless of the motive, the more of such resultant whistle blow, the better for the Nigerian public. He alleged “For the first time in Nigerian history, today we are operating two different budgets. One budget was approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu, and the one was implemented by the presidency. The one approved by us is N25tn while the one operated by the Federal Government is N28tn.”

There are a few loose ends here. First is that Senator Abdul Ningi cannot just wake up one morning and cook this up, no matter the motives. If he did, then he is a good candidate for Aro mental hospital in Abeokuta. Neither does this corruption prone Senate deserve to be given the benefit of doubt. Where the honesty and probity of these lawmakers are concerned, you bet on them at your utmost peril. Certainly, not when, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe (at the same session) gave us a heads up. “if we want to go into those issues, all of us are culpable. Some senators here, so-called senior senators, got N500 million each. I am a ranking senator, I didn’t get?”

If terror keeps escalating in Nigeria, it is simply following the logic that corruption and terrorism coexist in a mutually reinforcing relationship. Speaking directly to the Nigerian dilemma, Sarah Chayes argues ‘Governments that ostensibly fight terror, may actually generate more dire security crises than they curb as a result of corrupt governance practices’.

President 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

It is in our character as human beings to turn every anniversary into a celebration. There is dancing and rejoicing. Easter is here and what will happen in Christendom was already foreshadowed last Sunday during Palm Sunday processions. Tomorrow which is Good Friday, except in places some young men act the crucifixion of the Lord to remind the world of the brutality and horror visited on the Son of God, Jesus, hardly would seriousness this time calls for be demonstrated. The Palm Sunday is yearly a re-enactment of the enrapturing reception for the Lord during Passover in Jerusalem. Passover was a thanksgiving celebration of the liberation of the Jews by Moses from Pharaoh’s Egypt. The occasion is described as the triumphal entry of the Lord into Jerusalem for the Passover. The reception was, to an unsuspecting great many, deception to entrap the Saviour. The elaborate plan laid out was that His entry would be hailed amidst cries in celebration: “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12: 13).

It all began from Judas Iscariot who made contact with a Resistant Movement who had been agitating to remove the Roman yoke on the Israelites. They believed rebellion against Caesar, Emperor Tiberius was the answer. Members of the movement were to come for Passover Festival disguised as pilgrims so as not to arouse any suspicion, particularly that of the Romans. The resistance members persuaded themselves that since Christ was the one generally believed to be the Messiah, he perfectly fitted the bill to lead them in the rebellion against Rome. The Romans were to be driven away. By their own understanding the mission of the Messiah must be political. Whether he liked it or not, Jesus was to be proclaimed king.

The grouse of Judas was that the Lord Jesus had no interest in material things. Everywhere Christ spoke His audience was always deeply moved; they watched His healing miracles with awe and in disbelief: The blind received their sight; the lame and infirm walked and He raised the dead. Because of His own love for the material, Judas was always ill-at-ease watching Jesus turning down gifts. Those healed offered their wealth which He always declined. How Judas wished such wealth or sundry gifts were his. He could not understand why in the face of opportunities they, that is, the Lord and His Disciples, could be living from hand to mouth and wandering about like vagrants when as the promised Messiah royal dignity should be His lot. He saw how Jesus held His audience spell-bound and exercised power over them through His Person and His Word. Judas was convinced such power could be converted into pursuit of earthly affairs and made to manifest in an earthly way. It would, in his reckoning, be history fulfilling itself and he being part of that history.

The day of the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem with fanfare came, and the reception by the multitude was as the members of the Resistant Movement wished it with the hailing: “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” It surprised Jesus and He felt uneasy with it, seeing through it all. He went to the Temple where He addressed the congregants who were ostensibly pilgrims for the Festival. He called for peace and love for and among fellow men. He spoke of submission to the Will of God, the Father. He then went on to command them to love their enemies. The battle-ready pilgrims were astounded by what they heard and their leaders pressed to meet and speak to the Lord personally, knowing the risk they had taken upon themselves. How could they be asked to love their enemies, the enemies they wanted driven out of Israel? The enemies were the Romans. They wanted to seek confirmation from the Lord of what they had laid out as His role to lead the Jews to battle and also receive words of encouragement from Him. But Judas could not arrange it as the danger to which he had exposed the Lord and fellow Disciples dawned on Him. His breach of loyalty would be exposed. His intellectual superiority among his fellow disciples would have proven to be in vain. He alone among the rebellious group knew that the Lord would not allow Himself to be made an earthly king. He could see that the Lord was far distant from the role penciled down He would play.

Before the Passover, the Son of God had raised Lazarus from the dead in Bethany. It was widely believed, not the least by the political establishment that, acts of raising people from the dead were veritable signs that the time of the promised Messiah and concomitantly the liberation and triumph of Israel was at hand. In Jerusalem, the Great Sanhedrin was totally perturbed by the development. They had a special meeting session where they asked themselves: “What do we? For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation” (John 11: 47-48).

Realizing that his conspiracy had blown up in his face, Judas suffered from inner turmoil and engaged in a fierce inner struggle with himself. He got greatly confused and his turmoil got to the point he grew in hatred for the Lord. He fell into the hands of Caiaphas who soon got persuaded that the hatred Judas had developed for his Master was genuine. The plan was hatched as to how Judas would report the movement of the Lord to the authorities. He pledged that as soon as an opportunity for the arrest of his Master presented itself he would alert Caiaphas, the high priest. When the arrest was effected town–criers went round the streets in Jerusalem to announce it, calling the Lord the fake prophet of Nazareth and a blasphemer. The same crowd that hailed the Lord as the blessed King of Israel asked that He be crucified. It was reported that they had placed all their hopes of national greatness and liberation on the Lord and believed that they had been betrayed whereas it was they that did not have a clear recognition nor the understanding of who Christ was and what His Mission on earth was. He did not come to lead mankind to war, but to show them the way out of chaos and confusion as well as out of the burden of entanglement of the web of sins and wrong-doing. It is revealed in the enlightenment of these times spreading on earth today that “coming from the Highest, from the Luminous Heights of Eternal Truth, in order through His message to draw the human spirits’ attention to their wrong way of living, and to show them the only way leading upwards, the Son of God had no understanding for such futile, fleeting earthly desires as national pride, political influence or the craving for power.

Ernest Schmitt, in his work: ‘The Son of God—Birth and Trial of Jesus (in its Historical, Political and Religious Aspect)’ says: “But when in fulfillment of Divine promises He really did appear, it was just the leading religious circles who, having treated the prophecies about His coming so cheaply in order to make the people tractable for themselves, became his embittered enemies. Every word uttered by the Envoy of God exposed the emptiness of their doctrines, and the arrogance of their claim to leadership. With their power threatened, and seething with hatred, they only schemed how they could silence the troublesome admonisher.

“But even among those who honestly longed for the coming of the Messiah, many a one still passed him by unsuspecting, not being sufficiently alert, and in false expectation dreaming of a different fulfillment. Only a few were able to rise up to a divining of the greatness of the sacrifice that lay just in taking upon Himself the hardship and difficulties of an incarnation. Since also the Divine on earth is subject to the eternal and unchangeable Laws of God, It shows purely outwardly no striking difference from men.

“The impending expectation which should have created the soil for a speedy, joyful recognition of the Promised One actually formed a dividing wall, because those who awaited Him had, in the way of men, pressed it into the demand of their earthly-political worldly wishes. Thereby a connection with the Son of God and His Light-Message was made impossible.”

At the time of the Passover Festival, the priests had sentenced the Son of God to death but they could not have Him arrested because of the throng of the admiring crowd. Members of the priestly establishment unceasingly met to deliberate on an unbearable situation of crowd milling round Jesus, all a threat to their power and influence. They felt that there was no way they would attempt to arrest him and it would not trigger serious disturbances. The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew His whereabouts, the person should report to the authorities for His arrest. (John 11:57). Judas knowing where the Lord could be found with His Disciples –Kidron Valley garden—in line with his promise to Caiaphas, led soldiers and police from the chief priests and the Pharisees armed with lanterns, torches and weapons to arrest the Lord. They tied Him up. He was kicked, scorned, and mocked and a crown of thorns was placed on His Head.

The Nazarene was taken to Pontius Pilate, the representative of Tiberius Augustus. Pilate, who did not see Christ as constituting any threat to Rome, thought of setting Him free. His wife too had warned him not to have hand in any harm to an “innocent man.” She said to her husband: “Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.” (Matthew 27:19). He was determined not to yield to the pressure of the Jews. The Jews had said in reply to Pilate’s questioning on why Jesus was brought before him: “We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Ceasar, saying that he himself is Christ, a King.” (Luke 23: 2). But Pilate returned the verdict of not guilty in favour of the Lord Christ. “I find no fault in this man.” But the crowd instigated by the priests further pressed the case which Pilate had thought was closed after his pronouncement. When the rabble would not give up, he referred the matter to Herod. He was again later to turn to the crowd, saying to them: “I find in him no fault at all. Will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?” And the rabble said they would prefer the release of Barabbas a gang leader being held over accusation of murder. Pilate said for the third time that he found no fault in Jesus the Lord. The crowd answered the appeal for their compassion with an even more hateful and dreadful outcry: “Crucify him!” At this point Caiaphas stepped in, employing political blackmail said to Pilate: “If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.” (John 19: 12).

In the end the death sentence on the Lord was supported with the invocation of Section 82 of the Jewish law which states: “Even the execution of an innocent person can serve in the maintenance of law and order, and the salvation of God’s people.” Pontus Pilate not wanting to offend Rome and lose his position, washed off his hands, believing that after all it was the people who would bear responsibility for their actions.

I have recounted these developments to show that the Lord Jesus did not come, descending from the Highest Heights, to die in order to take away the sins of humanity. He was dastardly murdered through the conspiracy of the Jewish priestly and political establishments of the era. The Almighty Father could not have sent His Son, to be sacrificial lamb for the sins of us mankind. Even in normal human law it would be totally strange, indeed horrifying and considered a great act of injustice to have an innocent man seized and executed in place of a criminal. The Lord brought peace and love as the Prince of Peace and the Love of God the Father, but was repaid with searing hate and most brutal cruelties and gruesome death simply because the priests and political authorities feared for their hold and influence on the people which might slip off their hands with the presence of the Envoy of God Whom they did not recognize as the Messiah. They whipped up hatred among the people against the Lord Jesus. There is nothing inscrutable about the perfect Laws expressing the Holy Will of the Almighty Creator which is All-Justice and perfection from the very beginning, governing the whole of Creation. Easter Festival, therefore, calls for nothing other than deep reflection and remorsefulness, not revelry. (NEXT WEEK: WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN IT IS SAID: Behold there goes the Lamb of God that beareth the sins of the world”?).

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]