Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago has ordered the immediate suspension of the Vice Chancellor of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), Prof. Abu Kasim Adamu.

The suspension follows reports of ongoing clashes between the Vice Chancellor and university staff, although specific reasons for the action were not disclosed.

It's been alleged that Prof. Adamu’s suspension may be linked to allegations of high-handedness and insubordination, which have reportedly strained relations with faculty members and union bodies. The internal friction has reportedly intensified as the Vice Chancellor’s tenure was due to end in two months.

Governor Bago directed Prof. Adamu to hand over his responsibilities to the next most senior academic, Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Hassan Ibrahim, who will now serve as Acting Vice Chancellor.

The World Bank has said that the reports submitted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC)  were inconsistent, and lacked necessary details on its operations.

This was revealed in the bank’s Accelerating Resource Mobilisation Reforms (ARMOR) Report for May 17, 2024.

According to the WB, in addition to reduced net oil revenues, the opaque governance of NNPCL has significantly undermined the transmission of oil revenues to the federation.

“Non-transparent reporting to the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) and the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), make it difficult for the authorities to oversee NNPCL’s performance, calculate anticipated oil and gas revenues and determine the difference between revenues received by the Federation and NNPCL’s total revenue.

“The reports submitted to FAAC by NNPCL are inconsistent and lack information such as details on pledged revenues, the tradeable value of crude oil, actual payments, and receipts from global trade, among others. As highlighted in the Nigeria Public Finance Review (2022),7 financial reporting is opaque due to quasi-fiscal activities such as in-kind revenues in the form of crude oil, and costs directly deducted from revenues that would have otherwise been transferred to the Federation Account,” the report said in part.

NNPCL is governed by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021

The world’s apex bank cited a case where the NNPCL pledged 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the owners in exchange for a 20 per cent stake in the privately owned Nigerian Dangote Refinery.

WB said although the total value of the contractual investments for pledged oil revenues was estimated to be worth US$5.8 billion at end-2022, the amount eventually declared by NNPCL was below expectation.

“All production sharing contracts signed by NNPC state that all fiscal payments shall be made in-kind by allowing the NNPC to lift tax oil, royalty oil, and profit oil. In joint venture operations, in which the Federation owns 55 per cent or 60 per cent of the equity oil and gas, the NNPC handles crude oil and natural gas receipts on behalf of the Federation.

However, the share of oil production in these contracts amounts to more than two-thirds of the total oil production in Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s dependence on oil and gas revenue is a source of fiscal vulnerability. During the commodity-price boom of 1996-2014, the revenue-to-GDP ratio was 12 per cent, (albeit considerably lower than the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) average of 21.5 per cent at that time), while a decade later, revenue-to-GDP was just 7.7 per cent in 2023.

“ Despite a 116 per cent increase in international oil prices between 2020 and 2022-2023, net oil and gas fiscal revenues transferred to the Federation fell in the same period from 2 per cent of GDP to 1.8 per cent of GDP due to falling oil production and the retention of fiscal transfers to finance the gasoline subsidy.

“Oil production fell from 1.8 million barrels per day (mbpd) in 2020 to 1.4 mbpd in 2022-2023 due to insecurity and a lack of investment and adequate maintenance. The cost of the gasoline subsidy increased over this period from 0.9 to 1.6 percent of GDP, deducted directly by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL)5 and reducing the net oil revenue transfers to the Federation Account.”

Additionally, WB said the NNPCL has retained oil and gas revenues for projects such as a gas pipeline to Morocco.

“NNPCL also entered contractual arrangements that pledge future oil and gas revenues to business partners in lieu of cash payments,” the report added.

FG Eyes Fresh $750m W’Bank Loan

The Federal Government is also pressing for a $750m loan from the World Bank.

This loan project is a part of the broader $2.25bn approved by the World Bank for Nigeria on June 13, 2024, to bolster Nigeria’s economic stability and support its vulnerable populations.

The other second part of the loan package was for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation, Development Policy Financing Programme project.

Already, an agreement for the loan has been signed between Nigeria (through the Ministry of Finance) and the World Bank.

The agreement document read in part, “The bank agrees to lend to the borrower the amount of $750,000,000 as such amount may be converted from time to time through a currency conversion (“Loan”), to assist in financing the programme described in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to this Agreement (“Programme”) and the project described in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to this Agreement (“Project”, and together with the Programme, hereinafter jointly referred to as the “Operation”).

“The borrower may withdraw the proceeds of the loan in accordance with Section IV of Schedule 2 to this Agreement. All withdrawals from the loan account shall be deposited by the Bank into an account specified by the Borrower and acceptable to the bank.”

According to the Disbursement Linked Indicators set out in the loan agreement, the loan will only be released upon achieving measurable progress in key areas.

These include raising VAT collection through improved regulations, increasing excise taxes on health and environmental products, and boosting corporate tax compliance through enhanced digital infrastructure.

Central to the ARMOR programme is the government’s plan to increase VAT rates and expand taxpayer compliance.

Some of the loan targets include increasing VAT collections to 1.8 per cent of non-oil Gross Domestic Product, unlocking $105m of the loan.

The WB said despite recent reforms, Nigeria’s non-oil tax revenues underperform due to low tax rates, poor compliance, a narrow tax base, and high tax expenditures.

Reforms introduced in 2020-2021 increased non-oil tax revenues from 2.3 per cent of GDP in 2020 to 3.7 per cent of GDP in 2023 due to a rise in Value-Added Tax (VAT) rates, improvements in tax digitalisation, and the unification of the exchange rate in 2023.

“Despite this increase, tax revenues in Nigeria remain very low compared to peers (Figure 2). Unlike most developing countries, Nigeria has yet to tap VAT (a federal responsibility to collect while sharing VAT revenues) as a significant source of revenue. In 2022, VAT revenues were only 1.2 per cent of GDP while VAT tax expenditures were estimated at 1.98 per cent of GDP in 2022 (latest available data).10 The current VAT rate of 7.5 per cent is the lowest rate in Africa, and well below the SSA average of 15.8 per cent. Under the VAT legislation, the tax operates like a sales tax, since firms are unable to recover input VAT on purchases of fixed assets, services, and general administration costs.

“Meanwhile, Corporate Income Tax (CIT) has a very narrow tax base, and although collections have increased in recent years, they represented just 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2023. By comparison, poorly designed and sometimes discretionary CIT expenditures were estimated to cost 0.4 per cent of GDP.11 Excise rates are exceptionally low by global standards, and revenues were less than 0.1 per cent of GDP in 2023.12 Personal Income Tax (PIT) is assigned exclusively to the States, where challenges persist in collection due to tax evasion and underreporting: only 13 per cent of the workforce is registered for PIT (2018) and only 2 per cent of those are reported as active.

The bank advised that the tax and customs administrations need modernising to improve efficiency.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga says that his principal, President Bola Tinubu, is not unfeeling as painted by some persons on social media. 

Onanuga said the President feels the pain of Nigerians and has assured them that better days are nearer than before.

The presidential spokesman, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, said his principal is not T-pain, as “mischievously” nicknamed on social media.

Onanuga said Tinubu has not come to inflict pain on Nigerians but to “repair the economy”.

He said “the President is aware that the citizens are going through some difficulties” but said Tinubu is not aware that some persons have labelled him T-pain on social media as “the President does not read what is on the social media”.

Onanuga said, “Some people have also responded and called the President a different name. So, as far as I am concerned, it is a non-issue.

“Some people out of mischief just say somebody is a T-pain, He (Tinubu) is not T-pain.

“The President has never shied away from telling Nigerians that he feels their pain and he is working very hard to make sure that he gives them some relief so that things will get better and this country will get more prosperity.”

He said despite galloping inflation, “we are experiencing economic growth, despite inflation, revenues have increased”.

Nigerians are grappling with the weight of unprecedented food inflation, and energy prices which have quadrupled in the last year. Many people have blamed the twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex rates for the high living costs that have assailed the middle class.

Citizens have staged two major protests to drive home their grievances against the Tinubu administration and pressured the All Progressives Congress (APC) government to reverse its “reforms” but the current administration has insisted that its policies are necessary and won’t be reversed.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said contrary to popular opinion, his principal, President Bola Tinubu, did not acquire a new official jet but a refurbished one.

“It’s not President Tinubu’s plane, it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property,” Onanuga said on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-economic programme aired on Channels Television.

He said some jets in the presidential fleet like a 19-year-old Boeing B737-700 purchased under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo are all in bad condition, and their maintenance costs were outrageous. Hence, instead of spending a bogus amount of money on aircraft maintenance, the President sought the approval of the National Assembly for a refurbished jet still in good condition.

Onanuga said the refurbished Airbus A330 would save Nigeria high maintenance costs in servicing the old aircraft.

Onanuga urged Nigerians to prioritise the President’s safety, noting that the newly acquired plane is Nigeria’s property, not Tinubu’s.

The presidential spokesman said Tinubu won’t take the just-acquired jet with him when he leaves office. Onanuga said the jet would also benefit Tinubu’s successor.

Onanuga said, “The president did not buy a new jet; what he has is a refurbished jet – it has been used by somebody else before he got it but it is a much newer model than the one President Buhari used.

“The one President Buhari used was bought by President Obasanjo some 20 years ago.

“There was a time the President went to Saudi Arabia, that plane developed some problems and the President had to leave with a chartered jet to The Netherlands.”

‘Prioritise Tinubu’s Safety’

The presidential spokesman said he spoke with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, on the faulty plane and he said the maintenance costs because of the age of the plane were exorbitant hence the need for another plane.

“People should try to prioritise the safety of the president. I’m not sure anybody wishes our president to go and crash in the air. We want his safety so that he can hand over to whoever wants to take over from him,” Onanuga said.

While the Presidency has continued to defend Tinubu’s action to purchase the refurbished Airbus A330, the move has been criticised by many Nigerians and some of his contenders in the 2023 election, who felt the President was unfeeling to the plight of poor Nigerians grappling under the weight of unprecedented food inflation, and energy prices which have quadrupled in the last one year.

The health state of the Presidential Air Fleet has been a source of concern of late. In May, a faulty presidential jet stopped Vice President Kashim Shettima from attending the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa.

Last December, a presidential aircraft, Falcon 900B, was put up for sale, with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) asking interested persons to submit their bids for the purchase of the aircraft.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga says security agencies have not been able to arrest embattled former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello because of the “complicated” nature of the case.

Onanuga was a guest on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-economic programme aired on Channels Television.

In April, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared Bello, who was Kogi governor from May 2015 to May 2023, wanted for alleged financial crime to the tune of N80.2 billion.

The EFCC had at various times, stormed Bello’s residence in an attempt to arrest the former governor but his successor, Usman Ododo, had come to his rescue, whisking him away to his lodge.

The matter has been in court but the former governor has not appeared before the trial judge despite many adjournments.

Asked why police authorities can’t order orderlies attached to Ododo to arrest Bello, Onanuga said, “I think it’s a bit complicated. The EFCC is an agency of the Federal Government, and it wants to arrest Yahaya Bello. Yahaya Bello is hiding under the agbada (flowing robe) of the governor of Kogi State, his (Bello’s) successor, who happens to enjoy immunity.

“That’s the problem because if he (Bello) stays inside Governor Ododo’s house, the police cannot do anything because they will be violating that immunity that the man enjoys.

“It’s like a diplomat enjoying certain immunity, you cannot do anything about it. You remember in the UK when they were looking for the Wikileaks man and he went to hide in one embassy in Britain, there was nothing they (security agents) could do, they left him there. I think he later came out and they arrested him.

“It’s the same thing. Ododo enjoys immunity. Yahaya Bello is believed to be hiding there. They cannot storm the place and say they want to arrest him. That’s the problem of the EFCC, and the police cannot help the EFCC.”

Families are hurting from high prices, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, said yesterday, at the ongoing Annual Meetings of the IMF/World Bank in Washington DC.

Speaking at the Global Policy Agenda 2024 briefing, the MD said that the global economy was faced with being stuck on the path of slow growth and high debt.

Her words, “The global economy has held up well. Inflation has continued to decline. Thanks to the concerted efforts of Central Banks and thanks to the ease of chain supply performance.

“But people are not feeling good about the economic prospects of their economies. Everybody I asked, ‘How is your economy, the answer is ‘Good’. How is the mood of your people? The answer is ‘Not so good.’

“Families are still hurting from high prices and global growth is anaemic. We expect the global economy to grow by 3.2 per cent this year and slow to 3.1 per cent annual growth in five years. Trade is not more a powerful engine of growth. We live in a more fragile world.

“The bottom line is: Global economy is getting stuck in danger of lower growth and high debt path- lower incomes and fewer jobs, lower government incomes and lower resources to support families and lower income to support funding of climate change.”

According to the Global Policy Agenda 2024 report which was released yesterday, “The global economy has proven resilient, and a soft landing is within reach. Inflation has moderated thanks to tight monetary policy and fading supply shocks, and growth is expected to remain steady.

“But uncertainty remains significant, with risks tilted to the downside; medium-term growth prospects are lackluster; public debt has reached record highs and is expected to approach 100 percent of GDP by 2030; and geoeconomic fragmentation threatens to undo decades of gains from cross-border economic integration.

“At the same time, transformative changes—the green transition, demographic shifts, and digitalization, including artificial intelligence—are poised to reshape the global economy, creating challenges but also opportunities.

“Against this background, the key policy priorities are to secure a soft landing and break from the low growth-high debt path, and address other medium-term challenges. Monetary policy should ensure inflation returns durably to the target, and fiscal policy needs to decisively pivot toward consolidation to rebuild buffers and safeguard debt sustainability.”

Omowunmi Aloba, the wife of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, has expressed readiness to conduct a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test to determine the paternity of their only son, Liam.

Recalls that Mohbad died at the age of 27, with circumstances surrounding his death sparking controversies on social media.

Wunmi had also been at loggerheads with the deceased singer’s father, Joseph Aloba, over the issue of conducting a DNA test for his grandson.

In the application filed by the legal team to Joseph, the family sought an order to serve Wunmi by posting all the originating processes and other processes in the suit on the last-known address of the respondent.

However, the family’s legal team, led by Emmanuel Oroko, argued that attempts to serve Wunmi failed.

The Magistrates Court, during its sitting on July 9, 2024, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, directed both parties to explore an alternative dispute resolution, leading to closed-door negotiations that also failed to yield an agreement.

A representative of the family’s legal team, Monisola Odumosu, said in a statement obtained by Punch that Wunmi had agreed to carry out the DNA.

Odumosu said the latest development was followed by the settlement terms drafted by both parties.

According to Odumosu, Mohbad’s wife agreed in the settlement terms that the DNA test be conducted in a recognized and accredited government or private medical facility within Lagos State or another agreeable hospital outside the state.

The lawyer also noted that Mohbad’s father had agreed to bear the cost of the test processes and other associated fees.

The statement read, “Emmanuel Oroko informed the court that both parties had settled outside the court and are ready to move the terms of the settlement already filed and served on Wunmi Aloba’s lawyers. In response, Kabir Akingbolu, Esq. (leading Adams Atata Esq. and M.K.O Orire Esq.) concurred, and the court adopted the terms of settlement as the judgment of the court.

“In the terms filed before the court, the respondent, Wunmi Aloba, consented to submit herself and her son, (Master Liam Aloba), for the conduct of a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) at Two (2) recognised and accredited government or private medical facilities within Lagos State or other agreeable hospital outside Lagos State. In turn, the applicant, Mr. Joseph Aloba, agreed to bear the cost of the DNA test processes, including the fees for the testing facility, the collection of samples, and any associated legal or administrative fees.

“The court further ordered that the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test be conducted at a mutually agreed-upon laboratory or medical centre within Nigeria. To ensure and ascertain the reliability of the test, the court further appointed some officers to supervise the process of the DNA test.”

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Kano State, Ilyasu Musa Kwankwaso has urged northern leaders and politicians to rally behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

He emphasized the strategic benefit of securing the presidency for the North in 2031.

Kwankwaso argued that backing Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima would ensure a smoother transition of power back to the North after the president’s second term.

Speaking to reporters in Kano on Sunday, Kwankwaso expressed concerns over divisive campaigns and criticisms directed at President Tinubu by certain factions within the North, labeling these efforts as detrimental to the region’s long-term interests.

“Patriotic northern politicians must not heed the voices calling for alternative candidates from the South,” Kwankwaso stated. “If another candidate wins in 2027, the North may face an extended eight-year wait for power to return.”

Kwankwaso dismissed claims that the country’s current security challenges should dissuade support for Tinubu.

He acknowledged the president’s ongoing efforts to address armed banditry and instability, particularly in the North.

Highlighting Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle’s recent progress in countering banditry in the North and Northwest, Kwankwaso called for unity, urging northern politicians to support Tinubu’s administration.

Addressing rumors about former Kano governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso potentially running as a vice-presidential candidate with a Southern politician, he cautioned against endorsing such moves, arguing that it would delay power returning to the North until 2035.

He concluded by urging northerners to support Tinubu, stating, “The best assistance we can give President Tinubu is to rally around him with our prayers and efforts to achieve peace in the country.”

Former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has publicly addressed her recent dismissal from office, stating that “lies were told” against her.

This remark came during her first public statement since her removal by President Bola Tinubu, suggesting her innocence in the alleged fraudulent activities within her former ministry.

Edu shared her sentiments on her official X (formerly Twitter) account while celebrating her 38th birthday on Sunday, October 27.

In her post, she referred to herself as a “daughter of Zion,” expressing that the efforts to tarnish her reputation would not succeed but instead “lead to her elevation.”

She wrote, “Happy birthday to the woman Jesus Loves! Soon the world will see the glory of a great God! “The lies told to destroy a daughter of Zion will lead to her elevation! Ask Joseph!”

Naija News understands that the ministers sacked on Wednesday are Mrs. Uju Kennedy Ohanenye from the Ministry of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John of Tourism; Prof. Tahir Mamman of Education; Abdullahi Mohammed Gwarzo of State for Housing and Urban Development; and Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim of Youth Development.

Additionally, Betta Edu, who handled Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, had been previously suspended and was notably excluded from recent cabinet activities.

Nigerians are now paying around N105,000 for a 50kg bag of locally-produced parboiled rice, surpassing the new minimum wage of N70,000.

This rise follows the removal of the petrol subsidy and the devaluation of the naira, pushing local rice prices up by 123% over the past year.

Imported rice has also become costly, with a 50kg bag now priced at N130,000, according to a recent BusinessDay market survey.

The steep increase in rice prices highlights the limited capacity of smallholder farmers to meet local demand, due to challenges like insecurity, high input costs, and logistical difficulties.

In Lagos, traders are holding back stock in anticipation of higher prices as the festive season approaches, when demand traditionally spikes.

“The cost of local rice keeps climbing because millers are burdened by high production costs,” said Bose, a trader at Daleko Market in Lagos, attributing the hike in imported rice prices to foreign exchange fluctuations. Bose called for government intervention to ease the impact on Nigerians.

Although the federal government announced in July a suspension of import duties on rice and other essential items to tackle food insecurity, the policy has yet to be implemented, and food prices continue to rise.

“We still don’t grow enough rice to feed our population, and issues like insecurity and kidnappings threaten food security,” said AfricanFarmer Mogaji, CEO of X-Ray Consulting.

Mogaji pointed out that recent flooding and a grain export ban by Nigeria’s northern neighbor, Niger, have further hindered rice production.

“This export ban limits the supply of paddy for local millers, as much of it comes from neighboring countries,” Mogaji explained, adding that insecurity has left many farmlands abandoned.

This sentiment reflects the recent economic data showing a slowdown in the agricultural sector, with second-quarter GDP growth at 1.4%, down from 1.5% in the same quarter last year.

Struggling consumers, like Chioma Okeke, a teacher in Lagos, are feeling the strain. “How can I afford N105,000 for a bag of rice when I only earn N100,000? There’s barely anything left for my family’s needs,” she said. “Prices keep going up, and the subsidy removal has only made things worse,” Okeke added.