FEATURES
Budget Padding: Commotion In Senate As Another Senator Makes Heavy Revelation Indicting More People - Says Each Senator Got N500M
AFOLABICurrently, the Senate finds itself embroiled in a tumultuous session following Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe’s revelation that all ranking senators received the sum of N500 million.
This bombshell was dropped by Senator Jarigbe during Tuesday’s plenary session while discussing the motion on breach of privilege raised by Senator Olamilekan Adeola.
Senator Adeola invoked orders 9, 10, 41, and 51 to bring forth a motion of privilege and address the issue of national importance regarding Senator Abdul Ningi’s recent interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (Hausa Services).
In this interview, Senator Ningi alleged a disparity between the budget passed by the National Assembly and the one being implemented by the Presidency, stating, “For the first time in Nigerian history, today we are operating two different budgets.” He further claimed, “Apparently, we discovered ₦3tn was inserted into the budgets for projects without locations.”
Senator Jarigbe, seeking to provide clarity on the matter, highlighted that the missing N3.7 trillion, as alleged by Senator Abdul Ningi, had been accounted for under the Government Owned Enterprises and first line charge. He remarked, “I thought this issue should have ended when the chairman of Committee on Appropriation explained that the N3.7tn were under GOEs and the first line charge. That explains everything but if we want to express our grouse, I also have mine and we are all culpable. After all, all the ranking senators got N500m each. I am a ranking senator and I didn’t get.”
The revelation about the alleged disbursement of funds to ranking senators swiftly threw the Senate into disarray.
Media
“All of us are culpable. Some so called Senior Senators here got 500M Naira each from the 2024 Budget, I am a ranking Senator and I didn’t get anything. No Senator has a right to accuse Senator Ningi.” - Senator Jarigbe pic.twitter.com/ki0wuj6m5x
— Thεό Abu (@TheoAbuAgada) March 12, 2024
Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers attacked the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) in Ituku Ozalla, Enugu State, in the early hours of Tuesday.
The attack comes after a previous incident earlier this year when a resident doctor was abducted from the hospital premises but later managed to escape from the kidnappers’ den.
According to reports, the attackers abducted a female deputy director of the hospital and a security personnel during the Tuesday morning raid.
The assailants reportedly abandoned an SUV belonging to the abducted woman, a nurse, which displayed signs of bullet perforations on the front passenger side, as seen in a viral video.
“This is so sad; we are not safe at all in this hospital; everywhere is porous,” a distressed staff member told Vanguard.
The police and hospital management have not yet officially confirmed the incident, and details about the circumstances surrounding the abduction remain unclear.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has told Justice Oyindamola Ogala of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja that the Chairman of Ibeto Energy Development Company, Cletus Ibeto, has paid back N1.5 billion in two tranches in respect of the N4.8 billion fraud allegations for which he was charged before the court.
Counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, disclosed this to Justice Ogala on Monday.
He also told the judge that the defendant paid the money as part of the ongoing plea bargain discussions between the anti-graft agency and the defendants.
Rotimi explained that the defendants have agreed to pay the balance within the next three months.
Counsel to the defendants, Adebayo Oshodi, did not deny or confirm the claims.
The defendants, Ibeto and his companies, Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Ltd, face a 10-count charge bordering on allegations of conspiracy, fraud, forgery and fraudulent use of documents brought against them by the EFCC.
The case could, however, not go on Monday owing to the arguments between the prosecution and the defence on which application is ripe for hearing.
Oshodi contended that the court should hear the defendants’ application challenging the court’s territorial jurisdiction.
But EFCC counsel Rotomi argued that the court could not entertain the application because the issues canvassed in it are also the same issues the defendants have placed before the Court of Appeal for determination.
The EFCC counsel also drew the court’s attention to an order issued by the former trial judge, Justice Ismail Ijelu, who presided over the case before it was transferred to Justice Ogala, ordering the arrest of Ibeto.
He said that the order was predicated on the defendant’s alleged refusal to appear in court. The judge cannot hear any application until the order is vacated or the defendant shows up in court to take his plea.
The Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Babajide Martins, who appeared in the matter as an interested party, also told the court that he had filed an Amicus Curiae brief to assist the judge in deciding on what action to take on the case.
After listening to all the parties, Justice Ogala adjourned the case to enable her to study the case file and decide how to proceed with the trial.
The judge then adjourned further hearing in the proceedings till April 15.
DAILY POST recalls that EFCC had charged Ibeto and his companies before the court last year.
The planned arraignment of the defendants was, however, stalled on four occasions, September 28, October 5, November 3 and December 6, owing to the failure of Ibeto to appear in court, although his lawyers represented him.
This prompted the former trial judge, Justice Ismail Ijelu, to accede to the prosecution’s request on November 3, 2023, to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the businessman for allegedly refusing to appear to take his plea despite many undertakings by his lawyers to produce him in court.
The defendant subsequently challenged the decision at the Court of Appeal.
He also wrote a petition to the Chief Judge seeking a review of the case file and another to the Attorney General of Lagos seeking his office’s outright takeover of the case.
Following the petition, the Chief Judge re-assigned the case to Justice Ogala.
The Labour Party, LP, governorship candidate in Lagos state for the 2023 general election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said that the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is the leader Nigeria needs.
Rhodes-Vivour, speaking on the Honest Bunch Podcast, however said Obi is not the politician “we need for us”.
“Peter Obi is the leader that we need for Nigeria, but not the politician we need for us,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour also insisted “Peter (Obi) does not buy votes. He won Lagos without buying votes.”
Obi finished in third position during last year’s polls, behind President Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar.
On his part, Rhodes-Vivour lost the gubernatorial election to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Rhodes-Vivour challenged the election result all the way to the Supreme Court, where a five-member panel in a unanimous judgment delivered in January 2024, affirmed the declaration of Sanwo-Olu as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election, after dismissing two separate appeals challenging his victory.
The company stated that the new price will be effective Friday, March 15, 2024.
It explained that the upward review is necessary considering the continued rising input cost in the country.
It stated, “As earlier informed, we will review some of our SKU prices effective Friday, 15th March 2024. This review has become necessary because of the continued rising input cost and the need to mitigate the impact.
“All open orders in our system at 00.00hrs on Friday 15th of March, 2024, will be invoiced at the new prices.”
The increment is coming barely a month after it announced an initial price increase on some of its products, effective Monday, February 19, 2024.
Naija News reports that in its 2023 financial report, the company revealed that it made a loss of N106 billion for the period compared to the N13 billion profit it realised a year before.
The company explained that the Nigerian business landscape, which experienced a significant shift in 2023 with a substantial impact on businesses and livelihoods nationwide, affected the company’s performance.
A septuagenarian, Engr Hadi Usman, has recently been honoured with an honorary doctorate in Science from Gombe State University.
Naija News understands that Usman’s recognition is a result of his remarkable inventions in academia, which reportedly include a fuelless generator, a stove that operates on water, and a Vespa engine helicopter.
The news of his achievement has garnered widespread praise and admiration from Nigerians on various social media platforms.
Confirming the development, the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Governor of Gombe State, Safianu Danladi Maringa, remarked that Usman received the prestigious degree during the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th combined convocation of Gombe State University.
According to Vanguard, Usman, despite not having a Western Education, is also a lecturer at the same university.
Naija News understands that in addition to his other inventions, Usman has also created a radio station, a radio transmitter, and a handset.
In a recent interview, the skilled inventor revealed that he comes from Jekadafari Ward in the Gombe local government area and has been creating inventions for more than five decades.
He said, “I received education, but not Western education. I received an education in Qur’anic Studies. Afterward, I was sent to a village in Borno for further studies, completed the programme and graduated when I was 12 years old, and thereafter came back home and performed the ceremony.
“I have been inventing things since 1971, and I have 78 inventions. However, none of my inventions took so much time for research, like the construction of the stove that uses water to produce heat energy. I spent three years on that research and I wondered why there was no lightning and thunder in the dry season.”
It is worth mentioning that Nigeria has recently witnessed the emergence of skilled inventors who have developed innovative gadgets to assist individuals.
One such inventor is Yusuf Shamsudeen, a 30-year-old Chemistry graduate from Kano State University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil. Shamsudeen’s remarkable invention includes a water-powered stove.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened its pre-emptive surveillance of banks to unearth infractions and ensure compliance with extant rules and guidelines.
The banks have been under intense criticism in recent periods for alleged complicity in economic crimes. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) estimated that some 70 per cent of financial crimes in the country could be traced to the banking sector.
Financial industry sources yesterday said the apex bank has rejigged its surveillance mechanism to appropriately focus on banks’ financial statements and audit reports.
They told The Nation that each report will pass through multiple-level examinations.
One of the sources said the delay in the submission of the audited reports and accounts of many of the banks for last year might not be unconnected with the rigorous screening of the banks’ financial statements.
Banks that had approved their audited results and submitted the same for onward examination and approval by the CBN since the end of January 2024 are still awaiting final approval of the apex bank.
Banks cannot make public their audited reports and accounts without prior and final approval of the CBN.
The delay in the release of the banks’ results has put them in default of the corporate governance rules at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), where most banks are listed.
When asked about the delay in submission of their banks’ results, spokesmen for two major banks, who craved anonymity, said they were waiting for the apex bank’s approvals.
Post-listing rules at the NGX provide two compliance options for the submission of results. Most quoted companies including all banks, major manufacturers, oil and gas companies, breweries and cement companies use the 12-month Gregorian calendar year as their business year.
Under the first option, companies are required to submit interim or unaudited quarterly reports not later than 30 calendar days after the end of the relevant period. Such companies then have extended 90 days, after the end of the relevant period, to submit their full-year audited reports and accounts.
However, where a company chooses to audit its quarterly accounts, it shall be required to file such accounts not later than 60 calendar days after the relevant quarter. For the first set of companies, the deadline for the submission of the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2023, is March 30, 2024. Many banks such as Jaiz Bank, Fidelity Bank and FBN Holdings adopted this option and submitted the interim results for the fourth quarter that ended December 31, 2023.
The deadline for the second set of companies, where several major banks belong, was February 29, 2024. While the rules allow the NGX to grant specific waivers to relevant companies or a general waiver of the deadline under some specific circumstances, a review yesterday indicated that the NGX has not issued any general waiver or specific, publicly announced waiver to the banks.
General waiver is usually given in the event of general disruption to industrial activities such as strikes, national crises, many public holidays and other circumstances that in the judgement of the Exchange may significantly impact the timeline given to companies to prepare and submit the quarterly report.
A review yesterday indicated that the banks had completed their internal approval process and transmitted their results to the apex bank some 40 days ago.
[TheNation]
On Sunday, March 10, Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 96th Oscars live from the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
Heading into the evening, Christopher Nolan’s IMAX-sized biopic Oppenheimer was the year’s most-nominated film, with 13 total nominations, followed by Yorgos Lanthimos’ mad comedy Poor Things with 11 nominations and Martin Scorsese’s historical crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon with 10.
Here’s the full list:
Best picture
“American Fiction”
“Anatomy of a Fall”
“Barbie”
“The Holdovers”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Maestro”
“Oppenheimer” – WINNER
“Past Lives”
“Poor Things”
“The Zone of Interest”
Best actor in a leading role
Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”
Colman Domingo, “Rustin”
Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer” – WINNER
Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”
Best actress in a leading role
Annette Bening, “Nyad”
Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”
Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”
Emma Stone, “Poor Things” – WINNER
Best actor in a supporting role
Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction”
Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer” – WINNER
Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”
Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things”
Best actress in a supporting role
Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”
Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”
America Ferrera, “Barbie”
Jodie Foster, “Nyad”
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers” – WINNER
Best director
Justine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall”
Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer” – WINNER
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”
Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest”
Best cinematography
“El Conde”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Maestro”
“Oppenheimer” – WINNER
“Poor Things”
Best international feature film
“The Teachers’ Lounge,” Germany
“Io Capitano,” Italy
“Perfect Days,” Japan
“Society of the Snow,” Spain
“The Zone of Interest,” United Kingdom – WINNER
Best adapted screenplay
“American Fiction” – WINNER
“Barbie”
“Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things”
“The Zone of Interest”
Best original screenplay
“Anatomy of a Fall” – WINNER
“The Holdovers”
“Maestro”
“May December”
“Past Lives”
Best live action short film
“The After”
“Invincible”
“Knight of Fortune”
“Red, White and Blue”
“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” – WINNER
Best animated short film
“Letter to a Pig”
“Ninety-Five Senses”
“Our Uniform”
“Pachyderme”
“War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko” – WINNER
Best animated feature film
“The Boy and the Heron” – WINNER
“Elemental”
“Nimona”
“Robot Dreams”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Best documentary short
“The ABCs of Book Banning”
“The Barber of Little Rock”
“Island in Between”
“The Last Repair Shop” – WINNER
“Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó”
Best documentary feature film
“Bobi Wine: The People’s President”
“The Eternal Memory”
“Four Daughters”
“To Kill a Tiger”
“20 Days in Mariupol” – WINNER
Best original song
“The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot”
“I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie”
“It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony”
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon”
“What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie” – WINNER
Best original score
“American Fiction”
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Oppenheimer” – WINNER
“Poor Things”
Best makeup and hairstyling
“Golda”
“Maestro”
“Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things” – WINNER
“Society of the Snow”
Best costume design
“Barbie”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Napoleon”
“Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things” – WINNER
Best editing
“Anatomy of a Fall”
“The Holdovers”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Oppenheimer” – WINNER
“Poor Things”
Best sound
“The Creator”
“Maestro”
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
“Oppenheimer”
“The Zone of Interest” – WINNER
Best production design
“Barbie”
“Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Napoleon”
“Oppenheimer”
“Poor Things” – WINNER
Best visual effects
“The Creator”
“Godzilla Minus One” – WINNER
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One”
“Napoleon”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s daughter, Iyaloja-General Chief Mrs. Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, has called on women not to relent in contributing their quota to the development of the country.
She said women needed to participate more in the political development of the nation.
Tinubu-Ojo spoke as a special guest at this year’s International Women’s Day celebration held in Akure, Ondo State capital.
She said a peaceful and healthy family contributed to harmonious bond and support in the society.
“Women should not relent in contributing their quota to the development of the country. We must be involved in the stages of building our immediate environment and the nation at large”, the Iyaloja-General said.
Special Adviser on Gender Matters to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Chief Mrs. Olamide Falana, urged opinion leaders and governments to seek ways to empower women around them.
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She said women had a better tendency to thrive if empowered.
According to her, “the era whereby women were being faced with militating factors centred around gender-based violence, sexual harassment, workplace discrimination and disenfranchisement, is phasing out.
“Beyond the home front, women are found in every sphere of life, characterised as moulders, counsellors, managers, networkers, communicators, enthusiasts and in politics, they are great mobilisers and campaigners.
“It is a call for women to be at the forefront and become extraordinary. Only then can we be recognised and recommended for positions of leadership. We want to see women rise to enviable positions; let our young girls no longer be pushed aside into early marriage, forced labour or sexual slavery.
The Resident Pastor of Living Faith Church worldwide, headquartered in Canaan Land, Ogun State, David Oyedepo Jr., has said Nigeria was in a state of distress.
Speaking on the church’s third service, themed ‘’Convenant Day of Fruitfulness’’, Oyedepo urged Christian faithful to take cover in convenant stewardship.
He said: “If you raised an empty Ghana-must-go bag in a windy environment, it would fly away, but if you have a heavy substance in it, no matter the hash wind, it would resist it. The same applies to an individual without convenant practice in Christ Jesus.’’
Meanwhile, Presiding Bishop of the Church, David Oyedepo, while urging Christians to reach out to the needy around them to mitigate the economic hardship, disclosed that the church has opened several Kingdom care outlets to reach out to the needy through its Winners Satellite Fellowship,WSF across Nigeria.
According to him, this is to mitigate the economic hardship currently faced by Nigerians.
“It is not weakness to ask for help when you need it,’’ he said.
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Major companies in Nigeria spent about N635.2 billion on power generation and utilization in 2023 amidst rising energy costs and its attendant impact on businesses.
This represents a 41.5 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) increase compared to N448.76 billion spent in the corresponding period in 2022.
Details of the cost show that the bulk of the expenditure was on diesel and related cost of independent power generation.
Latest statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) paid by consumers in December 2023 was N1,126.69 per litre in December 2023, an increase of 37.76 percent from N817.86 per litre in December 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, this increased by 6.74 percent from N1,055.57 per litre in November 2022.
Also, the average retail price of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) rose by 225.85 per cent to N671.86 within the same period from N206.19 per litre in December 2022, following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu, which triggered major energy crisis in the country. Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (November 2023), the average retail price increased by 3.53 percent from N 648.93.
Among the companies reporting sharp rises in power costs are BUA Foods Plc, BUA Cement Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Chemical and Allied Products (CAP) Plc, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals Plc, Aluminium Extrusion Industries Plc, Juli Plc, Lafarge Cement Africa Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, NASCON Allied Industries Plc and Livestock Feeds Plc, all in the manufacturing sector.
Others are Wema Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Cornerstone Insurance, Transcorp Plc, Transcorp Hotels Plc, NPF Microfinance Bank Plc and Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc from the services sector.
Meanwhile, industrialists and financial experts have said that the persistent hike in the prices of petroleum products as well as poor public power supply nationwide, among other factors, have pushed up cost of production and is adversely impacting business competitiveness and sustainability.
They observed that many small businesses have closed shop as a result of this development.
They suggested decentralization of the grid as well as amendment of the Power Reform Act to remove encumbrances that deter investors from the power sector.
Increase in energy cost for companies
Financial Vanguard findings from the companies’ financial statements showed that manufacturing firms suffer the most in energy cost. The breakdown shows that while the non-manufacturers recorded 26.4 per cent rise in energy cost, manufacturers recorded 41.8 per cent rise.
Amongst the manufacturers, Livestock Feeds recorded the highest increase in energy cost at 104 per cent followed by BUA Foods Plc with 50 per cent increase, and Dangote Cement rose by 49.8 per cent.
Impact on companies
Commenting on the cost of operations, Graham Hefer, Managing Director, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, said: “The high energy cost can be crippling for all of us. The margin you mentioned, that is, the 30 per cent increase could be more. In most cases, If you have been running a generator set, you will be running your activities up to 80 per cent on self-generated power.
“We started the year at a little above N800 per litre for diesel, but, today, the price went up to more than N1,000 per litre. So, you can see the major cost increase; it impacts hugely on our cost of sales.
”If you run your power generator daily at N300 per kilowatt hour, if you are lucky, when at the beginning of the year you budgeted about N160 per kilowatt per hour, you can imagine the implication for all of us.”
He, however, said that while increases in energy cost, especially diesel and PMS have had an inflationary effect on the company (Okomu Oil) because the tractors, lorries and generating sets need the fuel, “we have managed to buffer ourselves partially by installing a 5MW turbine in our oil mill that uses palm biomass through the boilers to generate steam to run the turbine at a fraction of the cost of fuel.”
BUA Foods Plc in its 2023 earnings release noted that the surge in energy cost resulted in increases in cost of sales, selling and distribution expenses as well as total operating cost. According to the company, “67 per cent increase in cost of sales in 2023 to N477.14 billion was driven by an increase in raw materials cost and energy cost.
“Selling and distribution expenses increased by 98 per cent to N28 billion in full year 2023 from N14.1 billion in 2022 due to huge increase in cost of diesel within the period. ‘Total operating expenses increased by 20% to N39.7 billion in 12 months 2023 (12M 2022: N32.9 billion) on the back of increase in selling and distribution cost along the supply chain to customers.”
Speaking in the same vein, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, CEO of Lafarge Africa, noted that the company’s performance in 2023 was largely impacted by spiraling inflation and unprecedented Naira devaluation, with attendant pressure on energy and supply chain costs.
Erodes profitability, impedes competitiveness — Stakeholders
Speaking on the operating environment of businesses, Mr. Muda Yusuf, CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) said that the power supply situation is worrisome as it affects companies’ profitability, competitiveness, sustainability and their ability to reinvest and create new jobs.
He, however, said there’s need for companies to be more innovative to ensure energy efficiency to reduce cost.
He stated: “The high and increasing energy cost is perhaps the second biggest problem facing companies across all sectors, especially in the real sector, next only to forex.
“This is essentially a legacy problem following years of sub-optimal performance of the public electricity sector. Most companies generate their own electricity at very exorbitant cost.
Cost of diesel has been soaring. Cost of gas is benchmarked against the dollar. It is really a very difficult situation.
“Yet, these additional costs are difficult to pass on to the consumers. It is a major predicament. At the macro level, there is need to accelerate reforms to boost investment in the power sector.
The high energy cost, according to him, has shot up costs significantly for firms from two perspectives.
“One is the cost of production because we are talking about costs that have practically doubled, if not more. The cost of production has gone up significantly and some small businesses have had to shut down operations because it has become difficult to pass on the cost to the consumers. Consumers purchasing power is already very weak; so, there’s a limit to which these additional costs could be passed to the consumers.
“So for smaller businesses, some of them could no longer continue, but for bigger businesses, the impact on their earnings is quite clear. So, it is eroding their profit margin; it is making their products more expensive; it’s affecting shareholders’ value, it also affects competitiveness. For some companies, it also affects their capacity to create more jobs or even retain existing ones.
“It is also contributing to the issue of competitiveness because all these issues of smuggling are a reflection of the fact that the domestic cost of production is extremely high. So, it makes locally-produced goods more expensive and that creates incentive for smuggling.
“The transportation cost is another thing. When these companies produce, they need to distribute the products around the country. You don’t have the road network to do that. All the trucks they are using are powered by diesel. So, their distribution cost has also gone up because of the cost of diesel. So, it is a major issue and that is what is reflected in their results. It reflects in dividends, profits and the ability to reinvest.”
The immediate President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Engr. Mansur Ahmed, said the numbers are not surprising given the increase in the diesel and petrol prices coupled with constant collapse of the national grid, which affects power generation and distribution across the country.
He called for the resolution of the complexities in the implementation of the Eligible Customer Initiative in the power sector to allow manufacturers take advantage of the stranded electricity.
He stated that full implementation of the initiative will allow more companies key into the initiative, thereby reducing their over dependence on petrol and diesel for power generation and thereby, driving down energy cost for the company.
Way forward
Muda Yusuf of CPPE said that the grid should be decentralized, saying the country is too big to rely on a single grid. “We should have as many grids as possible across the states. The grid should be decentralized and each jurisdiction encouraged to generate power and feed to their local grid. You can use gas; you can use other forms of energy depending on what is available in your location. We should also ensure that tariffs are cost reflective because if tariffs are not cost reflective, investors will not put their money,” he said.
He called on government to put the right policies in place to attract investors to the space.
“The policy regime has to be right also. There’s the need to review the Power Reform Act. The Act has some rigid provisions which confer some privileges and monopoly on the DisCos, making it difficult for people to generate their own power. So, all these things need to be revisited,” Yusuf stressed.
The Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ikorodu, Lagos State, is set to hear a suit seeking a Deoxyribonucleic Acid test for Liam, the son of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad.
This was confirmed in a statement signed by a member of the family’s legal team, Monisola Odumosu.
PUNCH Metro reported that the deceased singer’s father, Joseph Aloba, disclosed that he had filed a suit seeking a DNA test for his grandson, Liam.
In the statement titled ‘Aloba family seeks court order for DNA test on Liam,’ obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, Odumosu noted that all necessary legal apparatus was in place to see to the success of the matter.
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He stated that Aloba was seeking an order from the court directing that the test be conducted in a recognised and accredited government or private medical facility within the state at the expense of the applicant.
The statement read, “A date has been fixed for mention of the DNA test application requested by the family of the late ace pop singer, Mr Ilerioluwa Promise Oladimeji Aloba (also known as Mohbad), who died September 12, 2023, in an unusual circumstance. All necessary legal apparatus are (sic) in place to see to the success of the matter.
“The application is at the Family Court of the Ikorodu Magistrate Court (MKD/31/FAM/2024), Joseph Aloba v Cynthia Omowunmi Aloba. The family, represented by the deceased father, is seeking an order of the court directing that a deoxyribonucleic acid test be conducted concerning the paternity of Master Liam Aloba, an alleged son of Mr Ilerioluwa Promise Oladimeji Aloba (deceased), in a recognised and accredited government or private medical facility within Lagos State, Nigeria at the expense of the applicant.”
According to Odumosu, the family also sought an order directing Mrs Omowunmi Aloba to submit herself and Master Liam Aloba for the DNA test.
The legal team added that the application filed by the family also sought an order granting leave to the chief pathologist in charge of the remains of Mohbad presently at the Military Hospital, Yaba Lagos, to take samples of the body of the deceased to conduct a DNA test for Liam.
Meanwhile, the statement revealed that an attempt to serve the court process on Mohbad’s wife on Friday, March 8, at her Lekki home was not successful.
“According to the process server, those from whom enquiries were made to serve the process on her said she had not been seen in the house recently. The legal team has said they will look at an alternative method to ensure that all the court processes are legally served on her,” it added.
Mohbad died at the age of 27, with circumstances surrounding his death sparking controversies on social media.
Being a former record label signee of Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley, Mohbad left the label in February 2022. The Lagos State Police Command had on September 18, 2023, inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe the singer’s death.
His death also led to the arrest of Naira Marley and controversial Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, amongst others.
The body of Mohbad was on September 21, 2023, exhumed for autopsy to unravel the cause of his death.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, had tweeted in September 2023 that an “autopsy has been concluded” and the police were “awaiting result.”
In the course of their probe, the police declared Primeboy wanted on October 4, 2023, after which he turned himself in two days later.
When contacted, Omowunmi, after listening to our correspondent’s enquiry, dropped the call without responding. Efforts to reach her afterwards proved abortive as her phone number did not connect. A text message sent to her phone had yet to be replied to as of the time this report was filed.
Nigeria’s billionaire businesswoman, Folorunsho Alakija, and her lovely husband, Modupe Alakija, have been reportedly separated.
Sunday Telegraph gathered according to a report by The Will that the couple who had been married for 30 years, had encountered significant challenges leading to their separation.
It was further gathered that the couple no longer reside together in their lavish matrimonial home in Ikoyi, Lagos, despite being parents to four children.
The couple has reportedly been experiencing frequent conflicts, prompting Folorunsho to request privacy within her residence. This decision compelled her husband to seek alternative accommodation nearby.
However, a close source claims that despite their public appearance, the couple’s relationship has been strained for several years, and they have maintained a united front primarily due to their public status.
A Federal High Court in Abakaliki has ordered the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to allow female corps members to wear skirts as part of their official uniform if it aligns with their religious beliefs.
The judgment, delivered by Honorable Justice H.A. Nganjiwa on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, pertained to suit number FHC/AI/CS/12/2023 filed by Miss Ufumaka Glory Ukpanken (Corper No. EB/A221514) against the NYSC, its Director General, and the State Coordinator.
Miss Ukpanken had challenged the NYSC’s refusal to recognize and allow skirts as part of the corps uniform, arguing that it violated her fundamental right to freedom of religion and freedom to manifest her Christian faith as enshrined in Section 38(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
In a series of declaratory reliefs, the court ruled that the use of skirts by Miss Ukpanken as her official NYSC uniform forms part of her fundamental rights to freedom of religion and freedom to manifest her beliefs in practice and observance.
The court also declared that the harassment, embarrassment, humiliation, and disciplinary proceedings instituted against Miss Ukpanken by NYSC agents for wearing a skirt amounted to an infringement of her fundamental rights to freedom of religion, dignity, and freedom from degrading treatment.
Consequently, the court issued several orders, including mandating the NYSC to recognize, allow, and provide skirts for female corps members wishing to exercise their religious rights.
It also issued a perpetual injunction restraining the NYSC from further abducting, arresting, detaining, or subjecting female corps members to harassment or disciplinary proceedings for wearing skirts.
Furthermore, the court awarded general and exemplary damages of N5,000,000 (Five Million Naira) to Miss Ukpanken for the violation of her fundamental rights and ordered the NYSC to allow her to complete her service year and issue her certificate upon completion.