In Abuja, a Federal High Court has granted bail to former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika, along with his daughter and two others, requiring a ₦100 million bail bond and two sureties.

Sirika and others are being tried over an alleged ₦2.7bn fraud.

The sureties, according to the court, must have landed properties in Abuja and also responsible citizens.

The sureties must depose to an affidavit of means. The court also restricted the defendants from traveling abroad without its permission.

Justice Oriji ordered that the defendants should be remanded in prison custody if they failed to meet their bail conditions.

Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has slammed six counts on the former minister, his daughter, and two others.

The Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, on Wednesday, lamented the drop in enrolment of pupils into schools across the state.

Sani, who expressed concern over the development, linked it to the spate of insecurity, occasioned by kidnapping, banditry and other related crimes, in the state.

He disclosed that the government had begun a move to relocate 359 schools from terrorist-infested areas and merge them with other schools in safe places.

The governor spoke while declaring open a one-day capacity-building programme organised by the Nigeria Police Force School Protection Squad in Kaduna on Wednesday.

Sani described as apt the theme of the programme: ‘Strengthening Security Resilience and Integration of Host Communities in the Protection of Education.’

“Incidents like the kidnapping of 135 students from the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga, Chikun Local Government tragically illustrates the devastating impact of insecurity on education access and safety.

“To ensure that the education of our children in conflict-prone and terrorists-infested areas is not interrupted, we have commenced the merging of 359 schools with those in safe locations,” the governor said.

Sani lamented what he described as the alarming drop in school enrolment rate in the state due to insecurity.

Sani said, “Kaduna State is one of the states that has been waging a sustained battle against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other forms of criminality.

“These non-state actors have disrupted socio-economic activities in the affected communities and are threatening our educational revitalization programme.

“Kaduna State’s educational system is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary school pupils recorded in the 2022/2023 academic session compared to the previous year.

“This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in 2022/2023) is largely attributed to insecurity.

“In several local government areas, particularly Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Giwa, and Igabi, insecurity has forced school consolidation, further pushing up the number of out-of-school children.”

The governor commended the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, for establishing the Schools Protection Squad, a proactive initiative aimed at enhancing security and safety in educational institutions across Nigeria.

The Federal Government has said mandatory registration of Point-of-Sales operators nationwide will reduce kidnapping and help security agencies arrest recipients of ransom payments from kidnap victims.

It also vowed that security agencies would go after PoS operators who fail to comply with the directive to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission after July 7, 2024.

The Registrar-General, CAC,  Hussaini Magaji, disclosed this at the formal launch of the CAC registration of agents and merchants of fintechs on Wednesday in Abuja.

The event also marked the unveiling of a 24-hour service centre to help prospective applicants get a prompt response to enquiries and approvals. 

The government had through the commission on Monday issued a two-month registration deadline for PoS operators to register as corporate bodies with the commission in line with the legal requirements and directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The action backed by Section 863, Subsection 1 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA 2020 as well as the 2013 CBN guidelines on agent banking aims to safeguard businesses and strengthen the economy.

It also came against the backdrop of frequent fraud incidents involving PoS terminals and plans to stop trading in cryptocurrency or any virtual currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

PoS terminals accounted for 26.37 per cent of fraud incidents in 2023, according to a fraud report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc.

Last week, the CBN stopped major fintech firms like Kuda, Opay, PalmPay and Moniepoint from onboarding new customers. The fintech firms later warned their customers against trading in cryptocurrency or any virtual currency on their apps, threatening to block any accounts found engaging in such activities.

Speaking at the event, Hussaini reiterated the government’s resolve to fully implement the mandate by providing a fully digitised service centre for easy registration.

He emphasised that the registration process aligns with both legal requirements and the directives of the CBN mandating individual, merchant or business entities to be captured in its database.

He further warned that the 60-day deadline would not be extended while stressing that defaulters would receive adequate punishments after the deadline.

He said, “We have launched a 24-hour service centre to accommodate enquiries from Point of Sales operators and agents who may want to register as directed by the new policy. The secretariat is filled with staff members who have the responsibility of availability, and some are being saddled with the responsibility of approving requests. We have equipped the secretariat with the necessary facilities.

“This is to show you how the government is taking this issue seriously and the centre will be open for a 24-hour service. It will be open for compliance and any feedback from the public especially PoS operators who have been mandated to register their businesses with the commission.” 

He added, “We have trained our staff to accommodate these activities and these staff can work from home and that’s why we said 24-hour service. We have equipped them with facilities and they can work from home for approvals and availability segment. The deadline remains 60 days and it will end July 7th.”

The CAC boss further stated that the timeline was not intended to target specific groups or individuals but genuinely aimed at safeguarding businesses.

The CAC boss explained, “Of course, the mandatory registration will reduce crime and fraudulent practices, the commission is hosting data and if any crime is committed anywhere, the security agencies would have to reach us to know the people behind the company and the fraudsters. But if they are not registered, we can’t do anything and that’s the essence of the registration.

“We have had a situation where a ransom is being paid with a PoS terminal and a lot of fraud but after the registration, if anything happens we can provide the details of the persons behind the company to the government. We will capture the picture and other relevant information and this is a good development for the country.”

He stressed that “after the deadline, we would go after defaulters, If you have been identified as a criminal, security agents will go after you, we will go after them because some are being chased by the security agencies already.”

He elaborated on the benefits of registration, emphasising that it goes beyond taxation to encompass access to loans, legality, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

“The law has stated that for any person to carry out business activity in the country, your business must be legitimate and for your business to be legitimate you must register, either you are doing your business as an individual or as an agent, you must register with us.

“The POS terminal holders are doing business, and we are now enforcing part of the provision of the Company and Allied Matters Act.  We have been on this issue since December and extending it to July means they have six months. We have provided a timeline in the interest of their business.

Meanwhile, PoS agents have reacted to the order asking them to register with the CAC.

While some agents agreed with the CBN, many said it would place more burden on the operators, especially those in rural communities.

The National President of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, Sarafa Fasasi, in a reaction on his handles, said the directive was confusing.

 “The memo got me confused because the current CBN agent banking regulations allow individuals to be onboarded as agents under the sub-agent category.  Currently, Nigeria has over 1.9 million agents of which over 70 per cent are sub-agents without registered businesses, operating under an agent network – super agent arrangements. They are the most penetrating channel of financial inclusion. Now, we want to eliminate them with CAC registration?” he queried.

Fasasi noted that the nation should be able to achieve payment security without reversing the 74 per cent financial inclusion rate.

He posited, “On the suspension of top service providers, majorly non-banks like Opay, Palmpay, Moniepoint, Kuda bank and others from account creation due to alleged foreign exchange and crypto transactions; it would be recalled that before Binance controversies, FX/crypto transactions, at one point or the other, terminated in several accounts or wallets, across all service providers, bank and non-banks. So, all service providers may be guilty and should be suspended to be fair.

“I cannot imagine suspending all commercial banks from opening new bank accounts because of pre-regulation transactions.”

In a similar vein, a Point-of-Sale agent, Ogunfowokan Temitope, located in the Ilasa area of Surulere, Lagos State, said the move was unfair against the agents.

She said, “It is not fair because most of the PoS agents only have a small amount of money. Some even borrowed money to start a business. These set of people, how are they going to cope, and do you know how much it costs to register a business now?”

However, the immediate past president of the association, Victor Olojo, backed the move by the CBN, stating that it was the measure needed for standardisation and enhanced security.

He said, “Because it is a financial matter, the CBN needs to ensure the financial system is well galvanised. Today we see people hawking and handling PoS terminals, who should not even have any business handling.

“Also, this move would weed them off, and enable those with capacity to focus on the business, hence Nigeria being better served.”

He noted that it is a plus for the CAC, adding that millions of unregistered PoS agents are adequately regularised.

“We would begin to have a unique business identity or identifier generated for a specific PoS agent. This means that all PoS accounts opened would now have the proper Know-Your-Customer tier 3 standard where you have all the needed verifications plugged into your account.

“That way, if there are any issues, the PoS agent can be easily traced and arrested, therefore curbing fraudulent practices by agents,” he added.

Corroborating Olojo’s position, a PoS agent located in the Berger area of Lagos State, Sunday Samuel, said the move was laudable as it aimed to standardise the businesses of agents.

He said, “The move is going to help the agents to make their businesses more standardised, however, it is not everybody that would understand it from this perspective.

“There are agents in the rural areas that are not aware of what the Corporate Affairs Commission is all about nor the importance. So, they might find it difficult, and it takes a lot of stress going through the registration procedure. However, looking at it in a normal way, having one’s business registered is a good move”.

Meanwhile, another agent located in the Mowe-Ibafo area of Ogun State, Taiwo Shobowale, argued that the new directive would affect the operators because most of them are not oriented on what it means to be registered with the CAC, adding that these agents take it as a daily source of income.

“Most agents do not see this business as an entity, however, rendering financial services can be very sensitive, as the government wants to be involved. The market is already saturated and fraudulent transactions are rarely traced due to the inadequate KYC rule and a lack of proper documentation.

“In addition, the notice is sudden, and the time frame given is short because it is a project that should last for the rest of the year. The rush would lead to a slowdown in the commission’s system, hence resulting in delays,” Shobowale added.

According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, there are over 1.9 million PoS terminals deployed by merchants and individuals nationwide.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has restrained Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from appointing or nominating any person to replace Umar Damagum as its acting national chairman, pending the determination of a suit brought before it by two chieftains of the party.

The court in a ruling delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, made the order on the strength of “an affidavit of extreme urgency” that was filed by the plaintiffs.

The suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/579/2024, was brought before the court by Senator Umar Maina and Alhaji Zanna Gaddama.

Cited as 1st to 5th defendants in the matter, are the PDP, its National Working Committee, NWC, National Executive Committee, NEC, Board of Trustees, BOT, as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Aside from the Originating Summons, the plaintiffs, in a motion ex-parte filed before the court, sought an interim order to retain Damagum in his position as the acting national chairman of the party until their substantive suit is heard and determined.

After he had listened to the plaintiffs’ team of lawyers led by Mr. M. O. Onyilokwu, Justice Lifu, granted the prayers.

Specifically, the court held that: “The Defendants/Respondents are hereby restrained in the interim, from appointing, selecting, nominating any person to replace Amb. Umar llliya Damagum as National Chairman or Acting National Chairman of the the 1st Defendant/Respondent, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice already filed which is herein fixed against the 14th of May, 2024.”

The Federal Government is set to commence a fresh audit of the N2.8tn fuel subsidy claim by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

An audit firm, KPMG had conducted an initial audit reducing the claims from N6tn to N2.7tn.

The Federal Government is also considering either engaging an external audit firm or directing the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation to verify the claims made by the corporation regarding the amount the government owes the oil firm.

The latest plan was revealed in the minutes of the Federal Account Allocation Committee meeting held in March 2024, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent.

On May 30, 2023, a few hours after the “subsidy is gone” declaration by President Bola Tinubu, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, told State House correspondents that the federal government still owes the firm the sum of N2.8tn spent on petrol subsidy.

While saying the NNPCL footed petrol subsidy bills from its cash flow, Kyari said the government had so far been unable to pay back the N2.8tn.

He said “Since the provision of the N6tn in 2022, and N3.7tn in 2023, we have not have not received any payment whatsoever from the Federation.

“That means they (the Federal Government) are unable to pay and we’ve continued to support this subsidy from the cash flow of the NNPC. We are waiting for them to settle up to N2.8tn of NNPC’s cash flow from the subsidy regime and we can’t continue to build this.”

But giving an update on the issue during the FAAC meeting, the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the committee, Wale Edun, said Tinubu was committed to ensuring that the forensic audit of NNPC Limited was conducted and the results analysed.

NNPC’s claim

He stated that the audit would span from 2015 to 2021, aiming to verify the authenticity of NNPC/Federation Account claims on the N2.7tn.

Edun further proposed that the OAuGF be considered for the fresh audit over any other external audit, considering their expertise in auditing.

The minutes read in part, “The Chairman informed the members of Mr President’s commitment to ensuring that the forensic audit of NNPC Limited was conducted. He, however, proposed that since the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation had expertise in the areas of auditing, the Office would be considered first before any other external audit firm. He added that where external support would be required, an independent firm could be engaged, accordingly.”

However, the suggestion was dismissed by the Ogun State Commissioner for Finance, Dapo Okubadejo, who argued that engaging an independent auditor would mitigate potential conflicts of interest during the exercise.

Other commissioners, such as Isaac Kamalu of Rivers State and Lawal A. Maikano of Niger State, contributed additional perspectives to the discussion.

Ultimately, consensus was reached to prioritise the OAuGF, with the proviso to engage an external audit firm when deemed necessary for additional support.

The minute later read in part, “The HCF, Ogun State observed that given the diverse nature and objectives of the proposed audit exercise and to prevent conflict of interest, it would be better to engage an independent auditor to conduct the exercise so that other tiers of government will benefit from that level of independence. The HCF, Niger State supported the position and stressed the need to ensure inclusiveness and objectivity in conducting the exercise. On his part, the HCF, Rivers State observed that the engagement of an independent auditor would not necessarily guarantee the success of the exercise. He, therefore, suggested the need to combine both OAuGF and external firms to ensure the success of the exercise.

Federation account

“Contributing, the Federal Commissioner, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission/Chairman, Indices and Disbursement observed that the proposed audit was in respect of some outstanding claims which include the N6tn against NNPC Limited that was subsequently reduced to N2.7tn after initial reconciliation. He informed members that KPMG which carried out the earlier audit exercise of NNPC had looked at some of the claims and recommended further audit to resolve them.

“Concluding, the meeting agreed that OAuGF would be considered first and an external audit firm would be engaged when necessary to provide additional support.”

Efforts to reach the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd., Olufemi Soneye, for comments, proved abortive as of press time on Wednesday. He neither picked up calls made to his telephone line nor replied his WhatsApp messages.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Finance, Delta State, Okenmor Tilije, at the meeting, raised concerns over the alleged utilisation of multiple exchange rates by agencies of the Federal Government in the conversion of revenue inflow.

According to him, the practice affects the revenue remitted into the Federation Account.

The commissioner claimed that NNPC Limited applied three different rates to convert the revenue earnings from oil, saying this cumulated in an exchange rate differential of about N2.83tn between August 2023 and February 2024.

He highlighted the different rates including the CBN Mandated Exchange Rate of N1,185, the rate of N853 applied to Domestic Oil Payables, and the Weighted Average Rate of N714.50 on NNPC Limited Royalty and Taxes.

The minute read, “The HCF, Delta State raised concerns over the multiple exchange rate being applied by the agencies to convert the revenue inflow due to the Federation. He pointed out that NNPC Limited applied three different rates to convert the revenue earnings from oil. He observed that the sum of N2.83tn was the Exchange Rate Differentials from August 2023 to February 2024 and stressed the need to put in place a single exchange rate that would be applicable across the board.

The Nigerian military has pulled out of Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.

According to sources in neighbouring Akugbene and Okoloba communities in Bomadi local government area, the soldiers pulled out of the embattled community, Tuesday, 7th May, 2023, suddenly without any prior information to do so.

Confirming the development, Governor Oborevwori expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu and the military high command for the withdrawal.

“My dear good people of Delta state, I have the pleasure to announce to you that, upon many deliberations and collaborations between the state government and the military leadership, the Nigerian Army has agreed to withdraw its officers and men from Okuama.

“I spoke with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja on Monday, 6th of May, and as at today, 8th of May, 2024, the military have withdrawn from Okuama.

“With this development, the people of Okuama can now safely return to their homes and begin the process of reintegration and rebuilding their homes.

“I want to express my deep and profound gratitude to Mr. President, the Chief of Army Staff, and the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army for their understanding and cooperation.

“In my engagements with them, they demonstrated the highest level of concern and care for the plight of the displaced persons. To God be the glory that we have achieved an amicable resolution,” Oborevwori said.

He also commended members of the National Assembly, other distinguished Nigerians, traditional rulers and other leaders of thought who stood with the state throughout the Okuama saga.

He added, “Let me assure all Deltans and residents in the state that this administration is irrevocably committed to enhanced peace and security in the state as contained in our MORE agenda.

“It is also pertinent to point out that matters of security are better handled with tact, wisdom and patience; it is not meant to be a subject of daily media discourse as some would have wanted.

“As the people of Okuama start the process of returning to their homes, I pledge the commitment of the Delta State Government to make that process smooth and seamless.

“We shall render all the necessary assistance they need to enable them settle down quickly and joyfully in Okuama,” the governor said.

He prayed that Delta State would never “experience the kind of tragedy that happened in Okuama.”

“Security, as we all know, is a shared responsibility. So, we will continue to count on the support and cooperation of every citizen to ensure that our state remains safe and peaceful.

“Once again, I commiserate with the families of victims of the Okuama incident,” the governor stated.

The House of Representatives has opted against proceeding with the proposal to suspend the cybersecurity levy.

Naija News reported that CBN had issued a new directive to all financial institutions, including commercial, merchant, non-interest banks, payment service banks, and mobile money operators, mandating the implementation of a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions.

This move is in line with the provisions of the recently amended Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2024.

The directive, detailed in a circular, instructs that the levy be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, with the deducted amount to be reflected in the customer’s account as a “Cybersecurity Levy.”

The cybersecurity levy has received criticism from Nigerians.

During Wednesday’s session, lawmaker Manu Soro expressed concern over the proposed levy, citing its inappropriate timing given the ongoing challenges facing many Nigerians.

The lawmakers argued that the National Security Adviser (NSA) should not be responsible for handling funds as it is a political role.

However, the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, encouraged the lawmaker to withdraw the motion.

He said that the House leadership will discuss the situation and determine the best course of action.

The naira further depreciated against the US dollar despite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s clampdown on foreign currency speculators in the FX market.

FMDQ data showed that the naira dipped to N1,421 per dollar on Wednesday from N1416.57 on Tuesday.

The figure represents a N4.46 depreciation against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

Similarly, the naira dropped to N1438 per dollar on Wednesday from N1430 the previous day in the parallel market section.

A Bureau De Change operator in Zone 4 Abuja, Mistila Dayyabu, told DAILY POST that operators of the anti-graft agency raided and arrested some BDC operators on Wednesday.

“EFCC operators came again today; they arrested selected BDC operators who have cash. On Wednesday, the dollar was sold at N1438 and bought at N1432,” he said.

DAILY POST recalls that EFCC resumed clampdown on illegal BDC operators and cryptocurrency platforms to defeat the FX crisis.

On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission delisted naira from the cryptocurrency market to tackle naira instability in the FX market.

The lawmaker representing Ondo South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Jimoh Ibrahim, has asked President Bola Tinubu to dissolve his cabinet.

The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

Ibrahim asked the President to drop some ministers from his cabinet and appoint knowledgeable and competent persons.

He stated that the current ministers don’t fall within the country’s “Grade A” and are not the best for the country, as seen so far since their appointment by the President.

The Ondo South Senator also opined that some of the ministers who have been accused of corruption should be dropped.

He said: “If you fail to do that, you will be carrying their burdens and that will be terrible for our country.

”You have to dissolve the cabinet, you have to come up with knowledgeable people, the cabinet is too cold and some of them accused of corruption should be dropped.”

Speaking further, Senator Ibrahim reiterated his reasons for describing the APC governorship primary election in Ondo state as a mega fraud.

He said: ‘The Governor of Kogi State Ahmed Ododo wrote a letter to INEC requesting a change of collation centre …. he didn’t communicate in that letter the new collation centre.’‘

The presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms says there is a need to increase the value-added tax (VAT) rate.

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the committee, spoke on Monday while disclosing the VAT revenue-sharing formula would be reviewed.

He spoke at a policy exposure and impact assessment session organised by the committee.

Nigeria’s VAT rate is currently 7.5 percent.

Oyedele also said the committee has proposed reviewing state and local governments’ share of VAT revenue to 90 percent.

According to section 40 of the VAT Act, the federal government gets 15 percent of the tax revenue, states share 50 percent, and local governments share the balance of 35 percent.

However, Oyedele said the committee is recommending reducing the federal government’s share from 15 percent to 10 percent.

“We are proposing that the federal government’s portion should be reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent. States’ portion will be increased but they would share 90 percent with local governments,” he said.

Oyedele said the committee proposed adjusting the sharing formula for VAT because it is a tax of the states.

“In 1986, we had sales tax collected by states. The military came up with VAT in 1993 and stopped sales tax so they said it would collect VAT and return 15 per cent as cost of collection and that is the 15 per cent charged today came about. But we think it is too much,” he said.

The tax expert added that the burden of VAT should be on the ultimate consumer.

“So we must make it transparent and neutral and this is what over 100 countries where they have VAT are doing,” Oyedele said.

“Nigeria’s economy is more than 50 percent in services and if I just stop at this, many states will be broke because VAT collection will go down by more than 50 percent and it won’t even fly.

“So we therefore need to adjust the VAT rate upward. We would ensure that it doesn’t affect businesses. The only thing is to look at basic consumption from food, education, medical services and accommodation will carry zero percent VAT. So for the poor and small businesses, no VAT.”

Oyedele said other consumers will pay a bit more.

“We have spoken to businesses about it and they won’t increase the product price. We want to make sure when we do VAT reform, no one will increase the price of commodities. We will work the mathematics with the private sector,” he said.

Oyedele also said each state should not be granted exclusive custodianship of their collections– because it would likely result in chaos.