Elder statesman, Atedo Peterside has berated the federal government over the payment of N90 billion to subsidise the cost of the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage.

The founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc said the Bola Tinubu-led federal government has continued to repeat the mistakes of past administrations, thereby sending a conflicting signal to Nigerians.

Recall that Vice President Kashim Shettima announced that President Bola Tinubu had approved N90 billion to subsidise the cost of the 2024 hajj pilgrimage.

Shettima made this known on Wednesday during the 2024 inaugural hajj airlift at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi capital.

Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Peterside said the government continues to make the mistakes of past administrations in terms of spending public funds.

He said the government keeps saying it inherited a difficult economy, while its expenditure does not show the seriousness required to rescue the economy.

Peterside, however, said he has no personal issue with pilgrimage, noting that the religious tradition is a privilege.

He said: “I have nothing against pilgrimage. Our economy is in big trouble. The government is trying to convince people that it inherited a difficult economy, and that is trying to correct the mistakes of the past.

“It gets very worrying when you say you are trying to correct the mistakes of the past, and every now and then, you repeat another mistake of the past, thereby sending a conflicting signal.

“That perhaps you are not serious about trying to correct all past mistakes. As soon as investors and everybody is about to take them very seriously they do something else that causes everybody to worry.

“This is not the first item. It is one in a series. You remember the luxury SUV cars, jamboree trip to New York and Dubai, and supplementary budget that came out with items nobody understood why they were priority. It is part of the trend.

“It is not about religious pilgrimage; it is a setback for the economy by sending the wrong signal. It is an own goal.”

The Presiding Pastor of Salvation Ministries, David Ibiyeomie, has surprised a mechanic-turned-messenger who works with the church with a four-bedroom bungalow gift.

Ibiyeomie, whose church’s headquarters is located in GRA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, rewarded the church messenger with the new house for his faithfulness and integrity at the church’s SMHOS 27th anniversary celebration.

A trending video shows the pastor handing over the papers of the beautifully furnished house to the lucky man.

Our correspondent reports that the church’s Instagram handle, #smhosglobal, posted the video on April 13, 2024.

The pastor said, “There is an award, and the person who gets it may shed tears of joy. Let me just say this: Some years ago, a young man said there is a mechanic in Port Harcourt who brings change. I said ‘In this town?’ I said, ‘Call me that mechanic; let me see.’ I said mechanics are not known for honesty.

“I wondered how a mechanic could say that whatever you give him, he will never take your money, not to mention return your balance if he spends less than bargained. I said I do not think it is true, and then everybody testified that it was his nature.

“When he came to me, I asked how much he makes per month, and he answered. Then I told him to resign from his job. Come and work with us as a messenger. You’d be buying things for us since you have integrity.

“We’ve tested him everywhere, and he has stood on integrity impeccably. He has never taken a dime and never stolen where everyone else does—he was exempt.”

The pastor stated that since the man was educated and was a junior staff member, he was convinced that when pastors are rewarded, those who are honest also should be.

He continued, “When pastors are rewarded, we shouldn’t leave out those who are honest. He doesn’t even have any idea, even though I saw him yesterday and told him to keep on doing the good work he is doing. He would be shocked to receive the blessings.

“Then I said no and changed my mind. I said if this man had been this honest, let’s reward him during this anniversary. So, he is living in a rented house somewhere because he is a very junior staffer.

“So, we decided, as a commission, to buy him a four-bedroom bungalow. I want Henry Eremosele to come out.”

Ibiyeomie had barely completed the statement when the joyous congregation began to cheer, as seen in the video.

“Show the video. Bring him. That is the house. It is a four-bedroom bungalow. The documents are here and signed. Whatever made you this honest, keep it up. God bless you. Faithfulness rewards,: he added.

The three-minute and 25-second video ended with a happy Eremosele kneeling as he received the document.

“Give Jesus a big hand,” the pastor said as the video ended.

The three tiers of government in Nigeria — federal, state, and local governments — received a total of ₦1.2 trillion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for April 2024.
This was made known on Thursday in a statement issued by the director of press and public relations in the office of the accountant-general of the federation (OAGF), Bawa Mokwa.

The statement explained that the allocation comprises distributable statutory revenue of N284 billion, distributable value-added tax (VAT) revenue of N466 billion, electronic money transfer levy (ETML) revenue of N18 billion, and exchange difference revenue of N438 billion.

The committee said the total revenue of N2.1 trillion was available in the month of April 2024, adding that the total deduction for the cost of collection was N80 billion; total transfers, interventions and refunds was N903 billion.

A gross statutory revenue of N1.2 trillion was received for April, representing N216 billion higher than the sum of N1.01 billion received in March.

A further breakdown of the figures confirmed that of the total N1.2 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received N390 billion, states got N403 billion and the local governments received N293 billion.

A total sum of N120 billion was shared with the benefiting states as 13 percent derivation revenue.

FAAC further said from the N466 billion distributable VAT revenue, the federal government received N69 billion, states received N233 billion and local governments got N163 billion.

A total sum of N2.704 billion was received by the federal government from the N18 billion EMTL, states received N9 billion and local governments received N6 billion.

According to the committee, out of the exchange difference revenue of N438 billion, the federal government got N205 billion, states got N104 billion, and N80 billion was handed to local governments.

The sum of N48 billion was shared with the benefiting states as 13 percent derivation revenue.

In addition, FAAC said oil and gas royalties, companies’ income tax (CIT), excise duty, petroleum profit tax (PPT), EMTL and CET Levies increased significantly in April.

However, import duty and VAT recorded considerable decreases.

FAAC also said the balance in the excess crude account (ECA) for April was $473,754.

A new mother, Susan Ubangha, has cried for help over her deteriorating health condition after giving birth at the Alimosho General Hospital in the Igando area of Lagos State.

This is as she alleged that her husband used the money meant for her medical bill to buy a phone and a dog.

Ubangha, in a lengthy post on her X handle, stated that her ordeal started in the weeks leading to the delivery of her baby as she started to experience sudden and severe shortness of breath.

The nursing mother who claimed to have been rushed to the hospital alleged that her husband failed to pay for her hospital bills.

She claimed that her husband was opposed to a caesarean section due to the financial constraints while he suggested that would deliver the baby naturally

She wrote, “I got traditionally married recently and took in. I thought that was the best thing that happened to me, everything was going well until I entered the 35th week. I suddenly developed shortness of breath, I could barely walk two seconds without being out of breath. Thinking it was one of those symptoms of late pregnancy, I didn’t take it seriously until the 14th of April when I could barely breathe, and couldn’t lift my head up.

“I was rushed to a nearby clinic, they couldn’t handle me, so I was taken to my hospital where I was admitted and placed on oxygen. The doctors told my husband we should opt for CS, as I and my unborn child were at risk. My husband said no, that I’d definitely deliver naturally. He insisted he had no money for CS and that they should work on stabilising my breathing. So for three days, I was on oxygen and feeling better. Seeing that I was responding to treatment, my husband went around and insisted I should be discharged against the doctor’s advice.”

Ubangha said she became weak to argue with her husband whose insistence led her to be discharged from the hospital.

She however noted that she developed breathing problems again after she arrived home, adding that her husband thereafter bought a herbal drink which he asked her to drink to make her baby’s head turn for natural delivery.

She further narrated she was in so much pain that she drank only for the pain to intensify while she struggled so much till about 1 am in the morning when she couldn’t take it anymore.

She said, “I cried out, my neighbours came running and I was again rushed to the hospital, admitted and placed on oxygen. While my doctors determined what to do, my husband insisted he had no money for a cesarean section. All these while, I was spending my life’s savings on medications, this and that tests.”

“This dragged on until the morning of 29th April, I was broken, my baby wasn’t moving, my breathing wasn’t good, I couldn’t push and my baby’s position was beached. I cried out on Facebook where a kind Samaritan sent me 500k to pay for CS and whatever else I might need afterwards.”

On how her husband allegedly squandered the money Ubangha said, “I immediately sent the sum of 180k and an additional 60k so he could pay for the surgery and whatever we might need. He took the money and spent it instead on a phone and bought a dog while I was battling with life, thinking he was paying.

She said, “We waited from 10 am when I gave him the money to about 2 pm, Doctors were shouting, time was running out, I had to call his sister, counted another N180,000 and gave her, she’s the one who paid. He came at 6 pm when I was being wheeled into the theatre. I could hear both of them fighting, the sister threatening to arrest him.”

Ubangha who eventually gave birth through a cesarean section alleged that her husband had abandoned her, as she was left with her newborn baby girl and her aged mother at the hospital.

Ubangha explained that she was stranded having spent all she had on the medical bills and food, and appealed to the public for help to save her.

In a picture attached to the post, the nursing mother could be seen with a swollen leg

“First diagnosis was that I had peripartum cardiomyopathy. I’ve done ECKG, chest X-ray and a series of other blood tests that I’m waiting for a report on. Whatever the outcome, I will need every help I can get. I need about 500k to help with whatever treatment plan and to help facilitate my discharge process,” she added.

Ubangha explained that she was stranded having spent all she had on the medical bills and food, and appealed to the public for help to save her.

In a picture attached to the post, the nursing mother could be seen with a swollen leg

“First diagnosis was that I had peripartum cardiomyopathy. I’ve done ECKG, chest X-ray and a series of other blood tests that I’m waiting for report on. Whatever the outcome, I will need every help I can get. I need about 500k to help with whatever treatment plan and to help facilitate my discharge process,” she added.