A United States, US, District court, on Tuesday, sentenced the founder and former Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao to four months in prison.

The court judge, Richard Jones said Zhao, whose nickname is CZ, has also satisfied the requirement of him to pay $50 million in fines.

The judge also won’t impose five months of probation as was recommended by the probation officer, Mail Online reports.

In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge.

The 47-year-old admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by willfully failing to set up an effective anti-money laundering system at Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded and ran as CEO from July 2017 to November 2023.

Binance also pleaded guilty to similar charges from the US Department of Justice in November 2023 and was forced to pay $4.3 billion in fines and restitution for failing to register as a money transmitting business, Forbes reported.

U.S. prosecutors had urged the court to sentence Zhao to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to violating laws against money laundering.

They argued that sentencing Zhao to twice the maximum 18 months recommended under federal guidelines would reflect the magnitude of his willful violations, and send a message that would deter others.

In March, a U.S. district court had ordered that Zhao must surrender his Canadian passport and notify the court before travelling within the country.

This came after U.S. District Judge, Honorable Richard A. Jones restricted his bond conditions.

President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, has assured Nigerian workers that the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government would work collaboratively to give them a living wage and better working conditions.

The Senate President gave the assurance in a statement through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh to congratulate the workers as they commemorate the 2024 May Day.

Akpabio extolled the sterling qualities that stood out the Nigerian worker saying “A Nigerian worker is noted for his patriotism, hard work, resilience, and dedication to duty.

“I am happy to be associated with the Nigerian worker in the last more than 25 years and I can attest to the fact that everywhere you go, the Nigerian worker’s spirit resonates profoundly”.

Speaking on this year’s theme for Workers Day, “Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate,” Akpabio promised that the National Assembly under his leadership was more than committed to ensuring the best working conditions for the Nigerian worker adding that, “No Nigerian worker will again be allowed to work under inhuman conditions. We will do everything to give you the best because you deserve the best”

The Senate President reiterated that the theme for this year’s celebration was apt and in tune with the international best practices assuring that Nigeria will never be left behind.

According to him, the 10th National Assembly was fully committed to providing the required legislative enablement aimed at protecting the interest of the Nigerian worker, creating a befitting workplace environment and a pay that takes them home.

“On behalf of the Senate and the entire National Assembly and indeed, my family, I wish to join the world in wishing the Nigerian worker a happy International Labour Day.

“We are celebrating patriotism, hard work, commitment and dedication. And I want to assure you that your sacrifices can never go in vain. The tough times will never last forever and in fact, they will soon be over,” he said.

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark International Workers’ Day, IWD, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, say life has been miserable for Nigerians and workers under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

In separate statements by the Head of Information and Public Affairs of NLC, Benson Upah and TUC President Festus Osifo they bemoaned the economic hardship workers and other Nigerians are grappling with due to high inflation, foreign exchange crisis, food inflation and energy crisis.

Upah said life has worsened considerably under Tinubu’s government.

He said fuel subsidy removal, the Naira continued crisis at the foreign exchange market, and electricity tariff hike are policies by the Tinubu government fueling the economic hardship on Nigerians and workers.

The spokesperson for the NLC urged President Tinubu to rethink some of his policies for a better life for Nigerian Workers.

“Life has worsened considerably. In fact, the most painful aspect of it is that there is no silver lining in the sky yet. When workers were trying to get used to this ugly situation, the government slammed them with a new energy tariff of 250 per cent, and on the other side, for the workers, nothing has changed.

“So, life has been very terrible for workers in the past year. We wish it could be better.

“To go to specifics: the ill-advised removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the Naira, and the hike in the tariff of electricity; these three major policies have considerably reduced the value of the Naira.

“Inflation at the moment is 33.2 per cent, and food inflation is a minimum of 40 per cent. The devaluation of the Naira. After these policy announcements. The value of the Naira decreased by about 200 per cent, and after a while, Nigerians started hoping that the Naira would regain its strength and stability. There were other storms.

“Ou we suspect that these policies are dictated from outside this country, and they are not good for the health of this country or for the people of this country, and we advise Mr President to retrace his steps.

“Our message is that workers should not be broken; they should remain strong and be guided by the philosophy of the bedbug that this hot water that they are pouring on us will one day grow cold,” the NLC said.

Meanwhile, the President of the TUC, Osifo, has called on the federal and state governments to prioritise workers’ welfare.

Osifo, who spoke at the Pre-May Day Lecture held in Abuja on Wednesday, said there is a need to put the welfare and interest of the people first in driving any government policy.

Represented at the event by the Deputy President of TUC, Comrade Eitm Okon, Osifo said the theme of the 2024 May Day celebration, which is titled: “Workers First”, is very significant because there is a need to put the people first and to put the workers first in every government policy.

“Today marks another turning point in the history of the trade union movement in this country.

“When we look at the theme of the 2024 Worker’sayWorker’s celebration, which is People First, that is very significant because we need to put the people first, we need to put the workers first, and when you put the people first, you put your family first. This is what is called the first line charge.

“Today, we have experienced various policy mismatches and summersaults where people’s welfare is put at the bottom of the radar.

“A case in point was the increase in electricity tariff without following due process and without consultation with various stakeholders who would have been involved in taking critical decisions that affect the lives of workers,” he lamented.

Deputy governor of Financial System Stability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Philip Ikeazor, has said that the rise in non-performing loans in the Nigerian banking industry is alarming.

Personal statements of the Monetary Policy Committee Members, released on CBN’s website on Tuesday, show that NPL in the industry has risen by 0.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent, a situation Ikeazor said gives backing to the recapitalization move by the apex bank.

In his statement at the last MPC meeting held in March, Ikeazor raised the concern by stating that the banking sector has remained resilient, with most financial soundness indicators within their regulatory thresholds.

“Despite this, the moderate increase in NPLs and the slight decline in CAR reinforces the importance of recapitalizing the banking system.

“The imbalance between the exposure of the oil and manufacturing sectors and their poor contribution to growth is problematic, even as non-performing loans (NPLs) continue to rise.

“Considering their vulnerability to rate hikes, consecutive aggressive tightening will further depress the economy.

“The pressure point is already manifesting as indicated in the projected contraction of PMI in the industrial sector by 7.1 index points occasioned by rising input cost and low-capacity utilization,” he pointed out.

Another member of the Monetary Policy Committee(MPC), former director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Abubakar Yuguda, noted the rise in NPL. However, he said it is still within the prudential threshold of five per cent.

To him, “the banking sector has remained safe and sound with the key indicators within the prudential benchmarks.

“The CAR was above the 10 per cent mark in February. The non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio at 4.5 per cent was up marginally by 0.3 percentage points compared to January 2024 but remained below the prudential benchmark of 5.0 per cent.

“The Industry Liquidity Ratio (LR) was 42.7 per cent, exceeding the minimum regulatory requirement of 30.0 per cent and was higher than the 42.1 per cent recorded in the previous month.”

Recall that on April 2, the apex bank raised the minimum capital requirement for all banks in Nigeria.

The naira recorded its first gain against the US dollar at the official foreign exchange Market this week.

FMDQ data showed an appreciation of N1,390.96 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,419.11 on Monday.

This represents a N28.15 or 1.98 per cent gain against the dollar at the forex market compared to N1,419.11 it traded the previous day.

The naira has continued to depreciate against the dollar in the official market for days until Tuesday.

Meanwhile, at the parallel market, the naira depreciated to N1,360 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,280 the previous day.

The Nigerian passport has been ranked as the 10th worst travel document worldwide, according to VisaGuide’s World Passport Index.

The ranking, which uses the Destination Significance Score (DSS) for assessing and ranking the passports of countries and territories, places Nigeria at number 191 out of 199 countries.

As of April, the Nigerian passport was ranked above only North Korea, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia.

The report added that the factors that contributed to this decline include visa-free access, diplomatic relations, and security concerns.

Other factors are visa-free travel, electronic travel authorisation, visa on arrival, electronic visa (e-visa), embassy or other government-approved visas, passport-free travel, and banned entry.

According to the ranking, the Singaporean passport is the strongest passport in the world, with a score of 91.06 as of April 2024. It is followed by the Italian, Spanish, French, and German passports respectively, to complete the top-five list of strongest passports for 2024.

The complete list of all the passports ranked according to their score HERE

The Federal Government has approved a substantial increase in salary ranging from 25% to 35% for civil servants across various consolidated salary structures.

This augmentation applies to the six remaining consolidated salary structures, namely the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS), Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS), Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure (CONPASS), Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS), and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS).

Previously, salary increases were implemented for sectors such as tertiary education and health, encompassing structures like the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS), Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS), Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONPCASS), Consolidated Tertiary Educational Institutions Salary Structure (CONTEDISS), Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and Consolidated Health Sector Salary Structure (CONHESS).

In a statement signed by the Head of Press, National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Emmanuel Njoku, the increases take effect on January 1, 2024.

Furthermore, the Federal Government has also approved pension increases ranging from 20% to 28% for pensioners enrolled in the Defined Benefits Scheme within the aforementioned consolidated salary structures, with the same effective date.

A police inspector, whose identity remains undisclosed, has reportedly severed his wife’s hand following a dispute over N20,000 in Dong area of Jos North local government area of Plateau State.

The inspector had left the money at home, and upon returning to retrieve it, a heated argument broke out between him and his wife. The altercation escalated, which resulted in the inspector turning violent, and subsequently cutting his wife’s hand.

Alabi said, “We are aware of the incident, the man is an Inspector. Right now, he is at the State CID and the investigation is ongoing.

“He has a minor misunderstanding with his wife over some money. They had an argument over some N20,000 he kept in the house and he said he was looking for the money to do something and an argument ensued. The case is under investigation.”

The victim, who is pregnant, was promptly rushed to a hospital for medical attention. A concerned neighbour, who expressed shock over the incident, said that the disagreement escalated when the wife declined to give the man N3,000 from the N20,000.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denounced what he said is President Bola Tinubu’s tendency to increase tariff, which he said does not correspond with what Nigerians are getting.

Atiku stated this on Tuesday to mark Workers’ Day celebration on May 1.

A statement from the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) noted that the president is subsidising corruption and living in affluence while impoverishing the masses.

Atiku said as Nigerian workers join their counterparts across the world to celebrate International Workers Day, “it is a sobering truth that the plight of the Nigerian worker remains dire.”

He lamented that despite prolonged pledges and flowery words by the government, the much talked-about prospects of wage increment for the Nigerian worker remains a mirage.

The former veepee pointed out that every dawn unveils renewed hardships and harsh living conditions in the current administration.

According to Atiku, “The continued increase in tariffs in different service offerings without addressing the corruption and inefficiencies in the system only amounts to long-suffering Nigerians subsidising the corruption and inefficiencies in the system.”

He noted that since the days of legendary, Pa. Michael Imoudu, to later day fire brands such as Pascal Bafyau and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the Nigerian worker has been at the forefront of the fight against tyranny and bad governance.

He emphasised that no administration in Nigerian “history has trampled workers’ rights like this one. Daily, workers face uncertainty over skyrocketing prices of essential goods.

“The Nigerian worker has had it so rough under this current administration and it is unfortunate that while the living conditions of the Nigerian worker remains at a miserably low ebb, the Nigerian government continues to regale its international audiences with tales of how the masses are being weaned of their wasteful dependence on government.

“It is thus beginning to appear, that as far as the current federal government is concerned, the management of our country’s micro-economic outlook is an unwieldy laboratory experiment, to which the Nigerian worker is laid prostrate.

“While I cannot but share my sympathy with the Nigerian worker for the way the current government has ridiculed her for far too long, I must equally express my felicitations with the Nigerian worker on this year’s Workers Day.

“It is my hope that the theme of this year’s Labour Day: Ensuring Safety and Health at Work In a Changing Climate, will inspire the Nigerian government to put the concerns of the Nigerian Worker on the front burner,” Atiku stated.

Former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Prof. Kingsley Moghalu has urged the federal government to privatise the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to raise about $20 to $30 billion to jumpstart the economy.

Moghalu, in a series of tweets on his X handle, also asked the Yemi Cardoso-led management of the apex bank to focus on price stability rather than seeking to do what he described as falsely strengthening of the naira against the dollar.
Moghalu said the Naira tanking back down to the N1,400 to $1 demonstrated what some people had been saying.

“Seeking a ‘falsely strong’ currency when the fundamentals are out of whack is shadow chasing. The focus should be on the stability of the exchange rate, not a populist exchange rate and premature declarations of ‘best performing currency’.

“Privatise @nnpclimited and raise at $20-$30 billion from an IPO. Or go for a “whale” of a $20-30 billion bailout from @IMFNews (nothing less), with forensic oversight of the money and how it is spent,” he said.

Moghalu stated that the federal government needs the new money to reposition the economy, adding “all these trickle-down” borrowing of $1 billion, $2 billion won’t hack it”.

Reacting to the steady fall of the naira to about N1,400/$ after it had hit a seven-month high of N1,000/$ barely two weeks ago, Moghalu, in a series of tweets on X on Monday, stated that “the focus should be on the stability of the exchange rate, not a populist exchange rate”.

“Reports that there are now multiple exchange rates to BDCs, Customs, and NAFEX are also worrying,” he added.

The political economist said the reports that there are now multiple exchange rates to BDCs, Customs, and NAFEX are worrying to the extent that they create more problems for the economy. “It’s not yet uhuru. Let us stabilise the Naira at whatever is its true market value and then pivot to the real issues: taking Nigeria to 20-25K megawatts of 24 hour electricity in 2-3 years starting with Lagos, Kano, Onitsha and Nnewi (Aba seems promising with Geometric power) so we can create a truly productive economy. Dealing decisively with oil theft and ramping up oil production to bring in dollars soonest. 

“Privatise @nnpclimited and raise at $20-$30 billion from an IPO. Or go for a “whale” of a $20-30 billion bailout from @IMFNews (nothing less), with forensic oversight of the money and how it is spent. All these “trickle down” borrowing of $1 billion, $2 billion there won’t hack it.
“We need to get serious. Managing an economy is not politics or a clap-and dance performance theatre. It’s serious business. I recently briefed global institutional investors with a combined $15 trillion in assets under management 2024 SpringMeeting2024 Washington DC at their request.
“Confidence in Nigeria’s economic reforms, in terms of serious portfolio inflows, remains tentative. These reversals won’t help,” he said in a series of tweets on X.com yesterday.