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The Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed that businesses in Nigeria believe the naira will depreciate this month and the first three months of 2025.
This was contained in CBN's Business Expectation Survey Report for November 2024.
The apex bank noted that firms’ outlook on the volume of business activities, financial conditions, access to credit, volume of total orders and average capacity utilisation, were pessimistic.
It stated: “The overall confidence index (CI) on the macroeconomy indicated that businesses were optimistic in November 2024.
“Businesses expect the Naira to depreciate in the current month, next month and next 3 months but appreciate in the next 6 months.
“The optimism on business outlook in the current month is driven by the opinion of respondents from all the sectors.
“The Construction Sector expressed optimism on own operations in the review month.
“The outlook of respondents on the volume of business activities, the volume of total order, financial conditions, and access to credit were negative in the review month. volume of business activity respondents expressed optimism on volume of business activity for the next month and subsequent periods under review.”
The report also showed that businesses hope to employ more workers in the month of December 2024 with the Agriculture sector having the highest prospect for expansion.
Meanwhile, the CBN in its latest Consumer Expectation Survey Report said that consumers were pessimistic about the macro economy in November.
According to the CBN report, households projected a rise in the cost of transportation, rent, car/vehicle, house purchase, and medical expenses this month.
The report showed that 61.1 per cent and 57.6 per cent of respondents perceived that prices of non-durable and durable household items, though high, will keep declining this month and next month respectively.
The talent manager and mother of Wizkid’s children, Jada Pollock, has shared her thoughts on the challenges of being labelled a “baby mama.”
In a recent interview with BET UK, she expressed her frustration about being defined solely by her relationship with Wizkid instead of being acknowledged for her own professional achievements.
Jada recounted a particular moment when she released a statement celebrating the growth of Afrobeat following Wizkid’s Grammy win.
Unfortunately, blogs chose to label her statement with “Wizkid’s baby mama,” which she felt diminished her entrepreneurial efforts and dedication. In her words:
“When Wizkid won a Grammy, I wrote a statement about how far Afrobeat has come. They published the statement, and the caption was “Wizkid baby mama.”
The narrative does not recognise that you’re an entrepreneur and a hardworking businesswoman. I’m not only a mother but also a manager, and I’ve helped build a legacy.”
Wizkid and Jada, who began dating in 2014, had their first child together, Zion, in 2017. In 2022, they welcomed another boy, AJ
Legendary Yoruba actor, Yinka Quadri has spoken on his rumoured death and the impact it had on his family.
Rumours claiming Quadri had passed away went viral in June, causing concern among his fans and family members.
The actor took to his social media pages to debunk the rumour and confirm that he was “alive and well”.
In a recent interview on Oyinmomo TV, the 65-year-old expressed disappointment with the individuals who spread the false news.
Quadri revealed that his children, who were overseas at the time, became worried when they heard about the rumoured death.
He said they started calling him frequently to confirm the news, which caused unnecessary “stress and anxiety” for the family. Yinka Quadri wrote:
“If it happened to someone who just came into the industry, the person will likely experience a setback. Or the person would leave the industry. But because this profession is inborn. That is not the first time. We have heard so many things in the past.
“Is it not because of social media that it is now being escalated? When I saw it I said ‘Weldone, you content creators’. Although when I saw it it was not as if I was happy. Just like the words of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu saying he stays off social media.
“No one would be happy whenever people spread rumours about them. Most especially, rumoured death. You will recall that I said I will not curse the person, but I leave him or her to God’s judgment.
“If the person thinks it is by spoiling another person’s name or causing sadness in another person’s family is an opportunity to attain success… because it got to a stage that it started to pain me.
“Despite the fact that my children are overseas and we have constant communication weekly or every three days, when they informed them they were like ‘I still spoke to Daddy last week’. Then they start calling.
“It got to a stage where everybody became troubled. They now started calling in the morning, put a call through in the afternoon, and call again in the evening to confirm.
“And I now said, the person that did this will get the right reward from God. Because it is not something good. My head does not pray for the person. Why should you wish me death? I wanted to keep quiet. Some people even thought I created the story myself. I asked if they thought I was looking for fame or name.”
I used to do odd jobs like washing, dressing dead bodies to take care of home – Patience Ozokwor
AFOLABI
Speaking on the sidelines of the pre-premiere dinner of Funke Akindele’s movie, ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’, Mama G said she did odd jobs to cater for her family before fortune smiled on her.
Patience Ozokwor revealed that among the odd jobs she did was work as mortician, and went on to praise Funke Akindele as a workaholic like herself. She said:
“Funke Akindele is a very strong woman. I love strong women. I am a strong woman. I am talking about the things that I do at home. I am a very strong woman, I went through thick and thin to become who I am today.
“I used to go to the morgue to dress dead bodies so my children could go to school and eat. I did a lot of things to make my family what they are today.
“You know they say no problem is accepted in his town but in my own place, they appreciate me a lot because they saw me through all these things.
“That’s the way I see Funke. When I see her, I look at myself. She’s a replica of who I am.”
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said he would meet the bail conditions of human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi.
Farotimi, in his alleged defamation case against Afe Babalola, was granted bail by Ekiti Magistrate Court on Friday.
The bail conditions include ₦30 million bond, 2 sureties (one shall be a house owner), submit his passport and shall not grant any media interview.
Peter Obi‘s decision to meet Farotimi’s bail condition was communicated by former spokesman of his presidential campaign organization, in 2023, Tanko Yunusa.
Yunusa disclosed this in a brief statement on his X handle, on Friday.
According to him, the former governor of Anambra State wanted the allegation against the former member of his campaign organization to be resolved in the best interest of all concerned.
“I consulted His Excellency, Peter Obi, as the leader of the Obidient Movement. As a respecter of rule of law, due process, and order he offered to take Dele Farontimi on the bail conditions.
“He thanked our courts and all concerned on this matter. His concern is that situation be resolved to the best interest of all concerned as well as our legal system.
“He extended his sincere appreciation to all concerned,” Obi’s aide stated.
The ICPC unveiled the report on Thursday at its headquarters in Abuja, stating that none of the 330 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) assessed achieved full compliance with established standards.
The Supreme Court, alongside the other non-compliant MDAs, scored zero per cent on the compliance scorecard, highlighting systemic failures in critical areas such as whistleblower policies, strategic planning, and financial accountability.
“These agencies failed due to systemic issues, including the absence of whistleblower policies, inadequate strategic plans, and ineffective stock verification systems,” the ICPC stated.
The report also noted that many of the MDAs failed to produce financial reports or conduct audits, further eroding public trust in their operations.
The EICS evaluated MDAs based on five key indicators:
– Management Culture and Structure (MCS)
– Governance and Executive Management
– Financial Management Systems (FMS)
– Finance, Revenue, and Audit Processes
– Administrative Systems (AS), which includes ethics education and whistleblowing mechanisms.
The 15 institutions with 0.00 score include: Supreme Court of Nigeria, Nigeria Press Council (NPC), Legal Aid Council (LAC), National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG), and Institute of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria (ICCON).
The rest are Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Gombe; National Obstetrics Fistula Centre, Ningi, Bauchi State; Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies, Jos; Federal University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State; Federal College of Forestry Mechanization (FCFM), Mando, Kaduna State; Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State; and Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, and University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court granted bail to Dele Farotimi on the following conditions:
1. ₦30 million bond
2. Two sureties (one of whom must be a property owner), submission of his passport, and
3. A prohibition on granting media interviews.
Dele Farotimi’s bail was also confirmed by human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on his X handle on Friday.
Recall that a petition filed by a prominent lawyer and Senior Advocate in Nigeria, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), prompted Farotimi’s arrest.
He was remanded in prison custody on December 7, 2024, after being arrested on 16 counts of criminal defamation, following the publication of his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
House of Representatives member for Kaduna North Constituency, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, has called for the scrapping of some yearly expenses of ministries, departments and agencies.
Bello El-Rufai noted that ministries, departments and agencies cannot include vehicles and furniture every year in their budgets.
He stated this during the debate on the 2025 budget on Wednesday. He explained that some items ministries, departments and agencies included in the 2024 budgets in their recurrent expenditure should not be allowed in the 2025 budget.
“Sir, the recurrent issue is in every budget, even a young person like myself, we budget for vehicles every year, we budget for utensils every year. So what I would like us to do, sir, to open more revenues or block loopholes is to look at all these ministries that are bringing their budgets.
“If they bought vehicles last year, please, they should just relax now. Vehicles do not expire. These are the little things, Mr. Speaker, that if, unless we start looking at them, the loopholes we talk about will not come out. I want to thank the leadership for sessions like this and other experienced members. It’s a learning opportunity, but on this, the Orasanye report, sir, should be implemented. It is key. That is one,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker further demanded financial discipline from leaders just as Nigerians are encouraged to endure the current hardship in the country.
“The second and most important thing to me, since I was a, well, I’m still a young man, since I was a boy, budgets every year come with new computers, new furniture. These things don’t expire, sir. We should cut them out totally. We can’t be asking Nigerians, we can’t have a tax reform bill that could shape the fiscal shape of this country. Well, as leaders, we are not cutting anything.
“So I urge the chairman, I’m honored, sir, that I chair a committee that has CBN, but my budget is not on here. But committee chairmen that are more experienced than myself should look into this. Nigerians are tired of every agency buying fork and knife every year,” he added.
A ₦9.36 billion budget has been made for domestic and international travel and refreshments for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for the upcoming year.
Naija News reports that this information is detailed in the 2025 Appropriation Bill released by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
On Wednesday, the president presented a budget proposal amounting to ₦49.7 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly.
The fiscal document is titled: ‘Restoration Budget, Securing Peace and Building Prosperity.’
As per the budget proposal, President Tinubu is set to spend ₦7.44 billion on travel and refreshments, while Vice President Shettima will allocate ₦1.9 billion for similar expenses.
In 2025, the president’s international travel is expected to cost ₦6.14 billion, with local trips amounting to ₦873.9 million.
Additionally, ₦431.6 million has been designated for the president’s refreshments, meals, and catering supplies.
For the vice president, international travel expenses are projected at ₦1.31 billion, with local travel costing ₦417.5 million.
The budget for refreshments, meals, and catering supplies for the vice president is set at ₦186.02 million.
In the first quarter of 2024, President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, and First Lady Remi Tinubu incurred travel expenses totalling no less than ₦5.24 billion for both local and international trips, as revealed by an analysis conducted using GovSpend, a civic technology platform that monitors and analyzes federal government expenditures.
Budget For Presidency On Cars, Fuel, Honorarium, SAs Office
Meanwhile, the Office of the President has put forward a budget of ₦4,760,035,960 for vehicles, which includes ₦3,661,566,123 allocated for the acquisition of operational vehicles for the State House and ₦1 billion designated for the replacement of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs).
Additionally, ₦255,728,214 has been allocated for the purchase of cars, with ₦127,864,107 specifically reserved for the procurement of SUVs for both the president and vice president and another ₦127,864,107 set aside for operational vehicles within the Presidential Conference Car Unit (CCU) fleet.
Furthermore, a total of ₦5,938,883,548 has been proposed for honorarium, the construction of an office complex for Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants, and fuel for generators.
The budget outlines that ₦2,118,521,128 is designated for sitting allowances/honorarium, ₦1,989,579,359 for fuel, and ₦1,830,783,061 for the construction of the office complex for Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants.
The Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has lamented that some Nigerians lay curses on him and his family because of the tax reform bills.
He, however, stated that he was not deterred by the backlash, adding that as someone rendering public service he did not expect praises from people all the time.
The controversial tax reform bills have generated heated debates across the country, with the majority of the push backs coming from the North.
Speaking during an event for the presentation of the report of a technical committee set up by the League of Northern Democrats (LND) to review the controversial tax reform bills on Thursday in Abuja, Oyedele stated that the content of the bills was not influenced by a higher power but rather the outcome of debates by the committee.
According to him, “Even on social media, you need to see the number of people cursing me and my family. I don’t take it personally. I just go through and say is there any useful comment that we can work on? We pick it and we work on it. It’s public service. You’re not meant to be appreciated and praised every time. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world.
“Public service is public service. You are accountable to the people and you must take that very seriously. So our approach to this is that some Nigerians were asked to do this for our country and I had the privilege of leading that team and we did our best but we’re not in any way suggesting that our best is the best for Nigeria.
“You cannot have more than 200 million people and you then assume that about 100 people are the smartest. You know that that would be arrogance at a different level. So this engagement helped us to even improve the quality of what we have done.
“I’ve said this in a number of fora and I’ll say it again. There’s not a single person in the world, not World Bank, not IMF, not United Nations, not Mr President, not any governor, not any minister, past or present, not president, past or present, no one dictated anything to us. Every single thing you see in all those bills were the outcome of debates by the committee that is representative nationally.
“We have people from all the geo-political zones. We have more than 20 government institutions. We have all manner of engagement, including with people with disability. But we know that engagements will never end. In fact, if the bills are passed, it doesn’t mean that we should stop engaging. We should continue.
“So, I’m eagerly looking forward to the outcome of this event today and I can give you one assurance. Every single point you send to us will be carefully considered and we’ll get back to you with our own explanations. So once we have superior reasoning and superior arguments, we bow to it very quickly because we have no agenda other than the agenda for Nigeria.”
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‘It Was Very Heartbreaking How The Public Blamed Me’ – Tiwa Savage Speaks About Divorce From TeeBillz
AFOLABI
Nigerian singer, Tiwa Savage, has spoken about the effects of the divorce from her ex-husband, Tunji Balogun, popularly known as TeeBillz.
Recalls that TeeBillz announced their divorce in 2018 on social media.
However, in an interview with ‘The Receipts’ Podcast, Tiwa Savage accused TeeBillz of being responsible for the divorce, stating that she did not break up with him.
She explained that TeeBillz announced the divorce while she was still struggling with postpartum depression after the birth of their son.
Tiwa Savage also stated that it was heartbreaking how the public blamed her for the marriage breakup, adding she became ‘African Bad Girl’ afterwards.
She said: “The way our situation happened, he announced it online. I did not break up with him, but I was the one being attacked.
“My baby was just a few months old at that time. My body wasn’t the same because I was dealing with postpartum and depression. Only a few people came to see me. Everyone went to him.
“It got worse after I did an interview to tell my side of the story. People were like, ‘How dare you go and talk? You are a woman, and you are supposed to build the house. It’s your fault.’
“It was very heartbreaking how the public blamed me. Ever since then, I was like, ‘I won’t ever talk about the situation.’ It was an eye-opener for me. It made me depressed and angry for so long. Then I became the ‘African Bad Girl.’ I started getting tattoos and wearing bikinis and short skirts.”
The Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) has said the words British Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, used in describing Nigerian Police was unfair.
The National Chairman of PCRC, Mogaji Olaniyan, said while the Nigeria Police have its challenges, they are also doing great work in the nation.
Olaniyan, who stated this in an interview with newsmen on Friday, advised Kemi Badenoch to use her good office for the country’s good.
The PCRC Chairman said that there are many good and decent police officers in the country, like the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Adegoke Fayode, who rejected N20 million bribe.
He emphasized that United Kingdom and United States policemen in the 1960s and 1970s were also accused of corruption and unprofessional practices.
“While we are not denying the fact that there are challenges and room for improvement, we must not forget the great dangers of ridiculing our country.
“It is an undeniable fact that many horrible things happened and are still happening in foreign countries, particularly in the UK and US, that are not reported by their media.
“Rather than ridiculing the Nigeria Police, it would have been better for Badenoch to use her good position to impact positively on the system,” he said.
He emphasized that Kemi‘s outburst could be a result of an experience she had with some police officers, but that should not take away the great work of some of the personnel.
“It is possible that Badenoch or her family members were stopped or interrogated by the Police in Nigeria over an issue which prompted that derogatory comments.
“This should never take away or ignore the great works of the police in Nigeria, especially, under the current leadership,” he stated.
The Oyo State Police Command has announced ongoing investigations into the tragic stampede at a children’s funfair held in Ibadan on Wednesday.
The incident, which occurred at the Islamic High School, Orita Bashorun, resulted in the death of at least 35 children, with six others sustaining critical injuries and currently receiving medical treatment.
The probe follows a directive from President Bola Tinubu, who ordered a thorough investigation into the causes of the stampede.
Speaking on Channels Television’s programme, The Morning Brief, on Friday, Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, shed light on the initial findings of the investigation.
According to Osifeso, preliminary evidence suggests that poor crowd management may have played a significant role in the tragedy.
He explained that the system for entry into the fair might have contributed to the chaos. Initially, attendees were required to pay a token fee to gain entry.
However, at some point, the fees were reduced, and later, entry was reportedly granted for free. This shift, Osifeso suggested, may have led to agitation and confusion among the crowd.
“Investigations are in progress, but from the preliminary findings, it was discovered that at some point the fair, they were supposed to go in with a token, at some point the prices were slashed and later, some had the opportunity of going in free. So, at some point, something must have gone wrong as regards some sort of agitation,” Osefiso said.
He highlighted that the overwhelming number of attendees far exceeded the expected capacity for the venue, further exacerbating the situation.
“In this case, when it comes to crowd control anything could have triggered it; it could be excitement, it could be fear, it could be panic and judging by the space, which at the end of the day we discovered that the crowd that got into that place which was not the originally planned number, could have also contributed to the stampede because those going in actually did most of the damage to those already in,” Osifeso stated.
In the aftermath of the incident, the police confirmed the arrest of seven suspects believed to have played a role in the stampede.
Among those in custody are Naomi Silekunola, a former queen of the Ooni of Ife, and the Principal of Islamic High School, Ibadan, Fasasi Abdulahi.
The police have not disclosed the specific roles of the suspects but have assured the public that the investigation will be transparent and thorough.
Former Special Adviser on Media to ex President Olusegun Obasanjo, Doyin Okupe, has said the priority given to defence in 2025 budget showed President Bola Tinubu’s seriousness in tackling insecurity.
The former Director-General of Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation said the projections on daily crude oil output, price and foreign exchange benchmarks, are realizable.
Okupe stated this on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Recall that President Bola Tinubu, in the 2025 budget, allocated to defense and security ₦4.91 trillion, infrastructure ₦4.06 trillion, health ₦2.48 trillion and education ₦3.52 trillion.
“The oil daily production of slightly more than ₦2 million barrels, the forex benchmark of ₦1,500 to the dollar and the projected crude oil price of $75 are all vividly realistic figures going on by current and predictably prevailing global trend.
“The huge allocation of ₦4.91 trillion (10 percent) to Defence and Security underscores the seriousness and political will of the administration to finally decimate insurgency and banditry.
“These two plagues are major contributors to food shortage, availability and inflation as they prevent farming activities in the North,” Okupe said.
The former aide to ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan, commended the President for the budget size. He said it showed the administration was out to spend thereby providing the necessary impetus for economic growth of the country.
“All in all, the huge size of the budget is also indicative of government’s intention to increase its spending thereby providing the necessary impetus for economic growth and increase in purchasing power of the citizens.
“The 2025 budget further strengthens the workability of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he added.